Just when you think that the Republican party can't sink any lower into the muddy waters of hypocrisy, they don their diving gear and double down for a race to the bottom.
The party that claims they and their ball and chain President Bush had absolutely nothing to do with the deficit, yet claim he deserves all the credit for the death of Osama Bin Laden has a new line they'd like you to buy.
Remember those angry town halls last year where they hired shills to play angry voters and yell "Hands off my Medicare!" so they could scare the elderly into thinking Obama's health care plan would have them lined up at "death panels" all across the nation, which in turn helped them win the U.S. House back in last year's election? You do? Well, you're going to need a neck brace for this new whiplash inducing revelation.
Now that those same Republicans actually are trying to kill future Grandmas (that would be you if you're 55 or younger) by killing Medicare altogether have suddenly noticed that people really DO want them to keep their hands off their Medicare! (Imagine that!) Due to the unpopularity of the Paul Ryan "plan" they have come up with a new solution. They have called the "Waambulance."
From Talking Points Memo:
House Republican freshmen admit that their so-called "MediScare" attacks on Democrats helped them win a big majority in 2010. Democrats had voted for the health care law, which included $500 billion in "cuts" to Medicare -- primarily slashing over-payments to private insurers -- and Republican challengers never let them forget it.
Now, they say, it's time to let bygones be bygones.
Nearly a dozen House Republican freshmen held a press conference outside the Capitol Tuesday morning to "wipe the slate clean," and "hit the reset button."
That "reset button" is the key. You see, they think that while it's perfectly fine to lie about the health care bill, they don't think it's a good idea to now have the Democrats point out those lies when they can no longer fool the public with them. Got that?
Wait, there's more:
On Tuesday, Kinzinger and 41 of his colleagues sent a letter to President Obama, asking him to rein in Democratic attacks on GOP members who voted for the House budget, which includes a plan to privatize Medicare and cap spending on the program.
"We ask that you stand above partisanship, condemn the disingenuous attacks and work with this Congress to reform spending on entitlement programs," the letter reads.
"Let's get past the past. Let's move forward to the future, and say, 'ok, today is today, and we have a real problem,'" Kinzinger said.
In other words, "waaah, Mr. President, the Democrats are being mean to us. Make them stop, pretty please Mr. President?" Yes, I'm sure after over two years of bashing him and blocking virtually everything he and the Democrats have tried to do, I'm sure President Obama will get right on that!
But wait, there's still more. The letter (which you can read here) does indeed have signatures from those 41 freshmen House members, and among them is one from Florida's own Allen West.
Yes, that's right. That would be the Allen West who "fixes" his town hall meetings on the Ryan plan, but lectures and doesn't take questions unless screened by his staff, and who has constituents arrested if they dare to ask a spontaneous question, and the Allen West who recently told this whopper:
"I gotta tell you something: if you support Medicare the way it is now, you can kiss the United States of America goodbye."
Yes, well Allen West now wants to ask President Obama to interrupt important business to take the time to tell Democrats "C'mon guys, sure the Republicans are lying, but it's what they do! Don't call them on it! C'mon!"
Note to Allen West, "notorious military tough guy" (according to Allen West, that is): to quote a famous movie line "You can't handle the truth!"
It's almost as if he's been somehow "neutered" or something.
Not so tough after all, is he?
Deal with it Rep. West.
