Democrats commit worst act of incivility in American politics again
By 
I regret to inform you that Joe Biden has accurately described the unpopular policy positions held by most Republicans, and surely there can be no greater sin:
With Republicans telling us, collectively, “Who are you going to believe? Us or your lyin’ eyes?” the work of de-bamboozling is never done. Don’t thank me now. Just remember to sign up to become a member.
As we noted earlier, Republicans are now aghast that anyone would be claiming they want to cut Social Security. But last year the Republican Study Committee — a House caucus which includes about 75% of all House Republicans — released a proposed 2023 budget which included basically every kind of Social Security cut on offer.
The Blueprint to Save America proposed raising the eligibility age at first to 70 and then higher if and when life expectancy goes up; it proposed cutting (or in their words “modernizing”) the benefit formula for everyone currently 54 and under; means-testing Social Security benefits; including work requirements for some Social Security beneficiaries; and allowing people to divert payroll taxes into private investment accounts — aka “retirement freedom.”
(See details on pages 81-82 of the Blueprint to Save America.)
Earlier I noted there are three broad buckets of proposed cuts to Social Security which program foes push for. Three quarters of House Republicans just proposed steep versions of all three and actually included a couple more I didn’t even think to mention.
RSC members are out hitting the airwaves now claiming that none of this ever happened. In fact, new RSC Chair Rep. Kevin Hern (OK), who oversaw the creation of the Blueprint, says this: “There is NO Republican in Washington, DC, in the House of Representatives or the Senate, that wants to CUT the benefits for seniors on Social Security and Medicare. That’s a falsehood. That’s a lie.”
As JMM goes on to observe, the crude scam here is to pretend that it doesn’t count as advocating for Social Security cuts if the cuts don’t apply to people currently on Social Security. This routine is so dumb it could only “fool” a mainstream media fact-chucker. More historical background from Krugman.
Anyway, Biden needs to ignore the fact-chuckers and keep at it:
Sounds pretty clear to me. pic.twitter.com/I4vxN8aDHQ— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 14, 2023
NEVER HAVE I SEEN SUCH UNCIVIL DISCOURSE!