Begging for a Democratic primary challenger in 2012

Image courtesy of UppityWoman08.wordpress.com

In the aftermath of the debt ceiling bill fiasco, Froma Harrop offers a sane and balanced rationale for a Democratic challenger to oppose Barack Obama in 2012. If anything, Harrop might be accused of being too kind to Obama:

Ed Rendell, do you have plans for 2012? Hillary Clinton? If you, the former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, or you, the secretary of state, are free next year and wouldn't mind, would you please launch a primary challenge against President Obama?

This request stems not from anger at Obama's penchant for blithely negotiating away certain Medicare benefits or the need to modestly raise tax revenues -- things that Democrats want, and if the polls are correct, so do most Americans. It was about not negotiating at all while appearing to negotiate on a matter that should be non-negotiable: the full faith and credit of the United States.

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Uninformed politicians and media reps waging war on the safety net for America’s seniors

Senior citizens mall walking, courtesy of freerepublic.com

In her article on Obama’s proposed budget for 2011, Jackie Calmes at the NY Times falls in line with a majority of her ignorant colleagues who repeatedly use the derogatory term “entitlement” to describe programs that benefit America’s seniors and the disabled.  

So too, Calmes appears to be oblivious to the fact that Social Security is not a part of the federal budget; it is a self-sustaining program funded by high payroll taxes on Americans throughout their working years. Furthermore, hefty Medicare premiums are deducted from the monthly Social Security checks of even low income retirees.

In addition to the above, Calmes also seems unaware that the government has raided the Social Security trust fund, supposedly in a "lock box," to support its two costly wars and avoid taxing the wealthy and closing the loopholes for large corporations.

Here’s a sample of Calmes’ uninformed article:

Typically, such spending has grown faster than inflation, but not nearly as fast as that for much bigger items whose costs are driving projections of a dangerously mounting debt — the military, the entitlement programs Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and interest on that debt.

Again, I urge seniors to mobilize and sue the United States government for violating the law and robbing the Social Security trust fund of its revenue drawn from the paychecks of American workers.

Obama’s budget for 2011: expect cuts to Medicare beyond curtailing waste, fraud and abuse

The other day I wrote to PBS ombudsman Mike Getler about use of the term “entitlement programs” to describe Social Security and Medicare in the rants of NewsHour regulars, David Brooks, et al, insisting that the Federal deficit could only be resolved by gutting programs that serve the elderly and those suffering from disabilities.

I noticed that in his most recent column, Brooks used the term “entitlement programs” repeatedly as if to get even with anyone who dared challenge him. As I’ve said before, the usage of “entitlement” is derogatory and implies that Social Security and Medicare recipients are receiving handouts without ever having paid into the system.

This evening during the NewsHour’s weekly analysis of Shields and Brooks, Brooks delivered his usual rant and again with obvious contempt mentioned the necessity for cutting those “entitlement” programs.

However, this time Mark Shields called him on it. Shields noted that “Social Security is self-funding, it’s solvent, and in fact, it’s been bankrolling the rest of the government.”

My satisfaction was short-lived, however. Minutes ago, I read Politico’s item headlined, Medicare cuts likely in W.H. budget:

As President Barack Obama unveils his budget Monday, multiple sources say to expect cuts to Medicare beyond just curtailing waste, fraud and abuse.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. has for years served its clients without asking whether or not they carried insurance. A close friend, whose late husband was a leading Mayo physician, told me recently that Mayo had always lost money on their Medicare patients.

If Obama’s 2011 budget is passed as is, our seniors may have difficulty finding a doctor who will even see them and if David Brooks get his way, they’ll lose their meager Social Security income as well – never mind that they paid into it with high payroll taxes throughout their working lives.