Are entitlements the next front in the GOP's civil war?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It's long been said that Social Security is the third rail of American politics — touch it, the warning goes, and you're dead. But despite that well-trafficked truism, a number of congressional Republicans are telegraphing their intent to do just that: risk political suicide by going after the governmental entitlement trifecta of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as part of their budget negotiations with the Biden administration ahead of the looming debt ceiling deadline.

"If we really want to talk about the debt and spending, it's the entitlements programs," Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) told Fox Business host Stuart Varney in early January.

"If we're going raise the debt ceiling, we can't just raise it without focusing on some way to address the debt and the deficit," Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) told Axios, noting that Medicare should be changed to become "sustainable over time."

And speaking at a Washington Post live event in early December, GOP Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) mused that when it came to Social Security and entitlement reform, "can the debt limit present that opportunity? I think it can, but we'll see."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/entitlements-next-front-gops-civil-103712433.html

[Meadowoak]

1. I paid into social security for 40 years, I am entitled.

[GP6971]

2. It's a earned benefit

which often escapes political conversations from the repukes.

[JHB]

4. It's also an entitlement. Conservatives have spent decades demonizing the word.

In the 70s and 80s, conservative groups would send people on speaking tours (to service clubs, church groups, conservative youth organizations, etc.) where they'd throw out some big scary numbers about how much of the federal budget was devoted to "entitlements" and then seamlessly pivot to talking about Welfare.

This was to deliberately give the audience the impression that the big scary number was what we spent on welfare programs, when about 90% of it was Social Security and Medicare -- programs for people like them. But by getting their audiences to assume it was all about welfare -- y'know, programs that mostly helped those people -- they could play upon the audiences' bigotries and paint a picture of a vast army of lazy you know whos sponging off all their hard-earned tax money.

It was a very effective slight of hand by conservatives, but their goal is still to eliminate any government program that benefits anybody but the those in the economic stratosphere.

[Irish_Dem]

3. Trump taught them that nothing is off limits. Nothing.

Any kind of crime, poor leadership, corruption is on the table.
Actions that result in death and destruction are fine.
Actions that damage the country and Americans are fine.

[Turbineguy]

5. With trickle down economics

they will eventually get to having to tax the rich.

[PortTack]

6. They had a trifecta from 17-18 and didn't cut these programs. Why? They know it's political suicide

But with a dem president they see it as a way to make President Biden complicit. Those that, if any are living in the REAL world know Biden will never do that. Their idiots!!