Gutting Medicare may be part of repealing Obamacare, right? (Congress, healthcare, solution)

[bpollen]

We knew that gutting Medicare would be part of repealing Obamacare, or parts of it, right? Or did we?

Paul Ryan:

"Your solution has always been to put things together, including entitlement reform," says Baier, using Republican code for privatizing Medicare. Ryan replies, "If you're going to repeal and replace Obamacare, you have to address those issues as well. … Medicare has got some serious issues because of Obamacare. So those things are part of our plan to replace Obamacare."

The Republican Healthcare Plan: Gut Medicare and Blame Obama

This is the Republican dream. "You asked for it, you got it...Toyota," as the famous ad says.

In the guise of repealing Obamacare, there will be the recommended "reform" of Medicare, which guts it, as well as the privatizing of Social Security (even though Trump said he'd leave SS alone, he lists privatizing SS partially as one of his positions, although he didn't shout this at his rallies).

GOP Wanted Medicare to “Whither on the Vine.” Then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, in remarks to a Blue Cross/Blue Shield conference on October 24, 1995, said of Medicare, “Now, we don’t get rid of it in round one because we don’t think that that’s politically smart, and we don’t think that’s the right way to go through a transition. But we believe it’s going to wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it — voluntarily.” [New York Times, 7/20/96]

GOP Wanted to “Wean” Seniors From Medicare. In a 1995 meeting with reporters, then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey said, “We need to wean our old people away from Medicare.” [Newsday, 12/09/06]

Obamacare has in the opinion of many failed. Medicare and Social Security have in the opinion of many succeeded. But in getting rid of Obamacare, or parts of it, they will no doubt try to roll Medicare into it, making the program so difficult or not worth the cost, that people will end up dropping it (that is, "wither on the vine," as Gingrich put it).

[Rescue3]

I'd be very reluctant to take a 20 year-old quote from some former House Speaker and try to mix it with some of the discrete effects Obamacare has had on Medicare and come up with an argument that Medicare was going to be gutted.

How about we take a breath, let the guy take office, and see what comes out of Congress - from where all such legislatuion must originate.