Donald Trump now parroting Paul Ryan, which could mean the end of Medicare and Trump's popularity

[babylonsister]

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/16/1600349/-Donald-Trump-now-parroting-Paul-Ryan-which-could-mean-the-end-of-Medicare-and-Trump-s-popularity?detail=facebook


Donald Trump now parroting Paul Ryan, which could mean the end of Medicare—and Trump’s popularity
By Joan McCarter
Wednesday Nov 16, 2016 · 12:11 PM EST


Throughout the campaign, Donald Trump maintained that he wasn't going to touch Social Security or Medicare. Now that he's president-elect and has done absolutely nothing to prepare for that eventuality, he—or his transition team—is apparently latching onto whatever is already out there. Thanks to the sharp eye of Huffington Post's Jonathon Cohn, we know Trump's evolution. He's now embracing privatizing Medicare. Oh, and decimating Medicaid.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has championed these ideas for years. Trump has not. In fact, in a 2015 interview his campaign website highlighted, he vowed that "I'm not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid." But the health care agenda on Trump's transition website, which went live Thursday, vows to "modernize Medicare" and allow more "flexibility" for Medicaid.

In Washington, those are euphemisms for precisely the kind of Medicare and Medicaid plans Ryan has long envisioned. And while it's never clear what Trump really thinks or how he'll act, it sure looks like both he and congressional Republicans are out to undo Lyndon Johnson's health care legacy, not just Barack Obama's. […]

It's difficult to be precise about the real-world effects, because the Republican plans for replacing existing government insurance programs remain so undefined. Ryan's "A Better Way" proposal is a broad, 37-page outline without dollar figures, and Senate Republican leaders have never produced an actual Obamacare "replacement" plan.

However, Ryan has consistently been very clear and detailed on a couple of things: Medicare privatization—turning it into a voucher program, and turning Medicaid into a block-grant where states get to choose what to do with a chunk of money that will, over time, diminish. And it sure looks like Trump has decided to embrace that. Which is kind of crazy, because Trump above all else wants to be popular. This isn't going to be popular.

Therein lies Democrats' first real opportunity to fight and win. Even Trump recognizes that ending Medicare is a dumb idea. Here's the chance to splinter the Republicans and jam the wedge that already exists between the two in even deeper. Democrats can mobilize their constituents—the white working class folks who rely on Medicare!—and work with advocacy groups to pressure Trump to fight Ryan, and likely win.

[MrScorpio]

1. Since Cheeto Jeezus has adopted the Zombie Eyed Granny Starver's agenda

Everything is up for grabs.

It's a fire sale, baby!

[DesertFlower]

2. i never understood why people who vote republican

vote against their own interests.

[sarcasmo]

8. Abortion

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

9. And guns.

Even though the myth of the Dems coming for the guns is just that.

The RW never lets the facts get in the way of a sensationalized story.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. They expect this van in their neighborhood

[dhol82]

3. Umm, don't know

Maybe we would be better off trying to get an insider telling him that Medicare and SS is a great idea, guaranteed to make him a great man. A GREAT MAN! Send him out to an audience that cheers him mightily?

[Generator]

4. Third rail and all!

I already spread the word on Twitter and called Ron Wyden. If Putin isn't the death knell this needs to be.

[Solly Mack]

5. K&R

[rgbecker]

6. So will I be able to trade or sell my Medicare voucher to someone else?

Like my wife, might need some operation, but I don't, so could I give her my vouchers so she could get the care she needs?

Just asking, Paul.... wondering about that.

[central scrutinizer]

7. Okay, repubs

Get that spare room ready, your parents are going to need somewhere to live after medical expenses bankrupt them.

[HughBeaumont]

10. Sure hope the revenge vote was worth it.

Just the beginning in "Land of the Free 2.0".

Sad.

[NCTraveler]

11. Trump is not popular. That is proven in poll after poll.

Point is still valid.

[Nevernose]

12. Focus groups simply didn't believe it

Even when told flat out, in 2012, what Ryan's plans for healthcare were, focus groups just refused to believe it. There's an article about it on Thinkprogress right now