Unlike Bachmann, Pawlenty opposes ‘tearing down’ Medicare, Social Security
Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 12:03 pm
- 5 Comments
Rep. Michele Bachmann’s been pretty gung ho in her attacks on Medicare and Social Security: After saying she thinks the country needs to “wean” many off these programs, she called Social Security a “tremendous fraud.” But her view is apparently contradicted by that of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who, ThinkProgress points out, says he doesn’t “think anybody’s gonna go back now and say, Let’s abolish, or reduce, Medicare and Medicaid.”
That quote comes from this month’s Esquire interview with Pawlenty [emphasis added]:
ESQ: …Do you think the Medicare Act of 1965 would have been consistent with your beliefs and something you would have signed had you been president? Or how about the Social Security Act? Is Social Security a proper role of government? How are those programs materially different from the health-care reform that has been the focus of the president’s attention?
TP: Well, in 1965 I was only five years old. I think if you look at Medicare and Medicaid, the premise was that government needs to provide some assistance to people who aren’t able to take care of themselves. I think we all share that goal, Republicans and Democrats. I don’t think anybody’s gonna go back now and say, Let’s abolish, or reduce, Medicare and Medicaid. But as we confront the challenges and the responsibilities of our time — from here on — how do we serve more people or different people who are in need of financial assistance? Just forever having the government expand to address all of that seems unwise.
So I can’t tell you what I would have thought in 1965. I can tell you I don’t favor tearing down those programs, but I do think they can be reformed and improved.
Here’s what Bachmann said, in context:
So, what you have to do, is keep faith with the people that are already in the system, that don’t have any other options, we have to keep faith with them. But basically what we have to do is wean everybody else off.
5 Comments
Comment posted February 20, 2010 @ 6:01 pm
Each one of these politicians will say one thing but always do something entirely different.
Comment posted February 20, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
Despite his extremist rhetoric, T-paw is rightly viewed as a pussy by the red-meat right-wing T-baggers who are convinced Social Security and Medicare are “socialist” schemes to bring our American way of life to its knees. Many of these people would also threaten to kill you if you touched “their Social Security” and “their Medicare” just as they would if you threatened to touch “their money” by talking about raising taxes. Our political discourse is run by fools who haven’t a clue about how their garbage is picked up, their sewage is processed once it flushed down the toilet or how laws are made. Why politicians pander to these fools is beyond me because you can never make sense to them except by pandering to their conceits. God love them, they are our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, brothers-in-laws and sisters-in-laws, uncles, aunts and grandparents, but they don’t know shit. Pawlenty is a fool if he think he’s going to appeal to their prejudice because their prejudice can be turned around just as easily against him next week. Or sooner, given that he doesn’t even show up in 5th place in their “straw poll.”
Maybe Pawlenty thinks he can be a rising star in our Weimarish Republic if there is a suitable putsch that eliminates the other brownshirts by 2012.
Comment posted February 21, 2010 @ 8:49 am
These people who vote for both Bachmann and Pawlenty, had better realize they are voting against their own best interests. Re elect Bachman and and you are voting yourself into polverty. (taking away your SS and Medicare). Vote for Pawlenty and vote for killing off whats left of the American dream. Keep giving those businesses more tax cuts who have no desire to hire American workers. These businesses will take every incentive and tax break given and still outsource to Asia or China. (or use modern tech to replace working hands of real people). America has fallen at the hands of the GOP and we continue to beleive the lies told by the Bachmans and Pawlentys. WE HAVE BECOME OUR OWN WORST ENEMIES, WHO NEEDS OUTSIDERS TO HURT US?
Comment posted February 22, 2010 @ 9:49 am
T-Paw = neoconservative while Bachmann = paleoconservative.
Neocons are a shade left of center. Social program are ok. Paleocons simply believe the constitution, period.
Of course, your rag wouldn’t tell anyone that…since it is fairly well left of center itself…will your rag point out who will support the constitution that all politicians swear to uphold or not? Is the constitution even relevant today? That is the real question…which never seems to find its way into the written word on this site.
So, is the constitution the law or is it not?
Comment posted March 10, 2010 @ 1:56 pm
why is reconciliation only good if the republican use it the to pass 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the rich over 2 trillion was wasted now we owe it to chienese .
the so the constitution say to make the rich live better and screw the poor i dont thinks so god say to help the poor not the rich
the rich our the scum of the earth
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