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Opinions/Editorials Title: Time to Call the Tea Party's Bluff I'm done trying to hack through the tea party thicket of self-contradiction, self-delusion and self- serving positions. My last straw is Rand Paul, a tea party favorite and now Republican nominee for senator from Kentucky. What damns Paul wasn't the flap over his views on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Presumably, Paul isn't a racist. He's just a privileged white guy -- a doctor and son of 11-term congressman Ron Paul -- who lacks feeling for America's tragic history of racism. What makes Rand Paul so exasperating is his crashing hypocrisy on Medicare. The hero to the cause of smaller government and balanced budgets also vows not to touch Medicare -- the biggest and fastest- growing expense on the federal balance sheet. Rand's compromised stance reflects the political necessity of keeping the tea party people happy. The group is heavy with older folk, who have carefully drawn a line of self-interest around the king of government entitlements, Medicare. Here's a sample view from a leader of the Rhode Island tea party: "We understand that the federal government cannot take $500 billion out of Medicare and provide the same medical services to our elderly, all the while offering health care to 30 million new people, without a vast increase in the number of providers, the imposition of massive new taxes and/or the rationing of care." Where does one start? First off, the new health care legislation does not cut a single guaranteed Medicare benefit. It actually expands the offerings to include screening services and closing the drug- benefit doughnut hole. The savings come largely from ending overpayments to the private Medicare Advantage plans. As for "the massive new taxes," would the tea party folk please tell us where they are? While they're looking, the public should note that money for the new health care legislation is honestly allocated. That can't be said of the Republicans' 2003 Medicare drug benefit -- a corporate bonanza for which not a penny was funded. Our tea party spokeswoman goes on to claim that, in any case, "we paid" for Medicare. Oh, really? It happens that Medicare payroll taxes provide 40 percent of the program's funding and premiums another 12 percent. The remaining 39 percent comes from general revenues (mostly income taxes). Much of the payroll and income taxes are born by people who won't live long enough to collect benefits themselves. And given the spiraling costs of the program, today's young taxpayers will never see the level of benefits that they are now subsidizing. What is the extent of the support? A typical couple retiring in 2020 will have paid about $100,000 in lifetime Medicare taxes but will receive $500,000 in scheduled Medicare benefits over the premiums they pay to the program. This is according to C. Eugene Steuerle, a tax policy expert at the Urban Institute. I asked Steuerle about the income taxes that many Medicare beneficiaries paid and continue to pay. He responded that "given the large deficits we're running and the benefit level relative to previous or current tax levels, there's still no doubt that current generations are being subsidized by future generations." My question to the tea party's lovers of liberty: If you really think you've paid for Medicare and hate big government, why don't you demand that this expensive program be ended? Hey, the same Constitution that (you keep insisting) says nothing about a universal right to health coverage doesn't guarantee health benefits for older people, either. Of course, you will get a refund for those payroll taxes you've paid. But tea party patriots are not clamoring to lift the taxpayers' yoke of subsidizing their retirements. The phoniness of this movement is hard to calculate. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 23. (laughing) Lets see. Called the Tea Party a bunch of racists. Then bigots. Then ignorant. Then claimed it was a GOP 'astro turffing'. Then claimed its a front for Aryan Nation idiots. After all that...they were a huge force in NJ, VA, and of course MA, getting GOP victories in each due to their enthusiasm. They also supported Democrats who were running on conservative principals related to curtailing federal spending, taxation. And were against Owe-bama care, and cap and trade (PA-12 specifically). Now...'call their bluff'? rotfl! Yeah, you keep doing that, so far they're winning.
#2. To: Badeye (#1) After all that...they were a huge force in NJ, VA, and of course MA, getting GOP victories in each due to their enthusiasm. You completely missed the point (as usual). Where are the list of programs the Tea Party actually wants to cut? And did you miss the fact that Scott Brown has become a key swing vote to help Democrats?
#5. To: go65 (#2) You completely missed the point (as usual). 'You completely missed the point (as usual). ' If you mean the dem talking point, nope, just ignored it.
'Where are the list of programs the Tea Party actually wants to cut? ' What does that have to do with the TP being wildly sucessful to date?
'And did you miss the fact that Scott Brown has become a key swing vote to help Democrats? ' Did you miss the fact that seat was held by Democrats for sixty years, and is now Republican? Did you miss the fact you lost your Super Majority? Did you miss the fact this is the single most hated Congress in American History, brought about by total Democrat control? Did you miss the fact Owe-bama has been thwarted in several areas because DEMOCRATS wouldn't vote with him? Did you miss the fact every race where he's shown up of note in the past eight months his choosen Candidate/Nominee has LOST? No worries, I'm here for you on these 'misses'.
#6. To: Badeye (#5) If you mean the dem talking point, nope, just ignored it. what programs does the tea party specifically want to cut?
What does that have to do with the TP being wildly sucessful to date? Doug Hoffman, Marlin Stutzman, John Hostetter, J.D. Heyworth, Chuck DeVore, Tim Burns, Debra Medina, Sam Rohrer, and Peg Luksik might have a different view of tea party success. All of them are Tea Party candidates who lost, or are losing in polls. And with respect to Virginia, Bob McDonnell shunned the tea party and instead campaigned with Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. And in MA, Scott Brown's organization had close ties to Romney while Brown blew off tea party events. Reality sucks, but then again.....
#7. To: go65 (#6) The reality is your side is losing the political war by a significant margin, and the outlook for regaining the upper hand for this year, and this election cycle is remote at best.
#23. To: Badeye (#7) The reality is your side is losing the political war by a significant margin, and the outlook for regaining the upper hand for this year, and this election cycle is remote at best. yeah, we proved that by losing PA-13 and NY-23. Oh wait....
Replies to Comment # 23. yeah, we proved that by losing PA-13 and NY-23. You wanna brag about PA-13 going to a guy that agrees with Limbaugh, be my guest....(laughing) Pro life, pro gun, anti tax, anti spend, anti Owe-bama care, anti cap and trade. Anti Pelosi. His words. Pity your party leadership isn't learning from HOW he won.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 23. Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
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