Apr 26, 2011
Constituents Erupt Over House Republicans Voting to End Medicare
Over the past 10 days, it’s clear that Americans are standing up and fighting back against House Republicans for choosing to end Medicare and raise health care costs for seniors, rather than ending taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil companies making record profits or tax breaks for the ultra rich.
Republican Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan even “said the crowds were larger than those during the infamous August 2009 health care town hall sessions.”
Take a look for yourself.
New -- West, like Republicans at home district meetings nationwide, draws hecklers on Medicare [Palm Beach Post]
“U.S. Rep. Allen West's first town hall meeting since voting for a controversial Medicare proposal saw three hecklers removed -- one in handcuffs -- from a generally supportive crowd of about 500. […] Outside the sprawling campus of Calvary Chapel, where West's meeting was held in a theater, about 15 demonstrators carried signs criticizing the Medicare proposal. Inside the meeting, West was less than a minute into his remarks tonight when two or three men began shouting from the audience. ‘How about our Medicare that you're stealing?’ shouted one. ‘How about allowing questions from the audience?’ shouted another man, apparently dissatisfied with West's decision to answer written questions submitted by audience members before the meeting.” [Palm Beach Post 4/26/2011]
New -- Berg hears a variety of concerns from audience [Bismarck Tribune]
“Rep. Rick Berg got an ear-full in Bismarck on Tuesday. Some of it was good, and some of it not so much. Berg, R-N.D., was at the Bismarck Public Library for his second of four scheduled town hall meetings, with stops yet in Fargo and Grand Forks. About 100 people showed up for the meeting, including a contingent from the North Dakota Legislature to hear Berg talk primarily about the federal budget debate.” [Bismarck Tribune 4/26/11]
New -- Voters right to grill Bass on Medicare [Concord Monitor]
“U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass deserves credit. Not for supporting Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan's plan to replace the enormously popular Medicare program with government vouchers - that's a terrible idea - but for showing up at senior center and a Hillsboro meeting with constituents to defend that plan. Bass had the Republican script for such encounters. Traditional Medicare would be replaced not with vouchers but with a ‘premium support system.’ Please, Charlie, you're insulting people. Call it what it is: a voucher whose value increases more slowly than the cost of health care. The government saves money, but Medicare recipients pay a bigger share of the cost of health care every year. The nation's debt and deficit can't be reduced without doing more to control health care costs, including Medicare, but a voucher system is a heartless way to go about it.” [Concord Monitor, 4/27/11]
New -- Voters confront Gibson on issues [Daily Gazette]
“Voters angry at U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson’s stance on Medicare reform, Planned Parenthood and other issues crowded a town hall meeting on Tuesday and demanded answers. Many were concerned about Gibson’s support for a controversial bill that would keep Medicare benefit costs from rising as quickly as they have been. Seniors would likely pay the difference, one man said. ‘You’re just shifting those costs to the senior citizens, who pay them,’ said Tom Hilliard of Wilton.” [Daily Gazette 4/27/11]
New -- Angry crowd at town-hall meeting could be the norm for Dan Webster [Orlando Sentinel]
“A town-hall meeting held in Orlando by U.S. Rep. Dan Webster degenerated into bedlam Tuesday, with members of the crowd shouting down the freshman Republican congressman and yelling at one another. It could be a sign of things to come for Webster, a staunch conservative in a competitive district that Democrats hope to recapture in 2012. Last week, Webster took heat from conservative tea party members for not pushing hard enough to cut the federal budget.” [Orlando Sentinel, 4/26/11]
Overflow crowds for Ryan town halls [POLITICO]
“Record crowds of supporters and opponents flooded town hall meetings throughout southeastern Wisconsin on Tuesday to hear Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan defend his plan to trim government savings — including controversial changes to the Medicare program. In the district’s Democratic stronghold of Kenosha, at least 200 people were left outside once the 300-seat auditorium filled to capacity. The crowd largely opposed the Ryan plan, holding signs such as ‘Caution: Paul Ryan at Play,’ ‘Leave Medicare Alone’ or simply, ‘Save Medicare!’ Voters expressed concern with what the Medicare changes would do, but others applauded him for his courage to tackle economic problems.” [POLITICO, 4/26/11]
Webster confronted by angry town hall crowd [Orlando Sentinel]
“A town hall meeting held in Orlando by U.S. Rep. Dan Webster degenerated into bedlam Tuesday, with members of the crowd shouting down the freshman Republican congressman and yelling at one another. It was the last of a series of town hall meetings Webster has hosted during Congress' spring recess, which ends Monday. While the others were civil and largely uneventful, the 300 people at Tuesday's meeting were so raucous they were scolded by a police officer to act ‘like grown people.’ […] Boos and shouts of ‘liar’ were mixed with angry accusations that Ryan's plan to change Medicare would leave those now under 55 without health insurance in their retirement, calls to eliminate the tax cuts first put in place by former President Bush and the need to raise corporate taxes rather than cut entitlement programs.” [Orlando Sentinel, 4/26/11]
Wis. voters press Rep. Ryan about jobs, wars [Associated Press]
“Rep. Paul Ryan is ready to talk about Medicare, but voters in southeastern Wisconsin seem more interested in talking about jobs and the wars. The Republican congressman spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of about 200 in Lake Geneva on Tuesday morning. The crowd was largely supportive, although some people pressed Ryan on tax issues and the lack of jobs in Janesville, about 40 miles to the west. Ryan opened with a 15-minute presentation on the economy and his budget blueprint. His plan would slash social safety-net programs such as food stamps and Medicaid. It would also fundamentally restructure Medicare health care for the elderly. Although the audience was mainly an older crowd, questioners focused more on why the U.S. was still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and why the tax code seems to favor corporations.” [AP, 4/26/11]
Rep. Chris Gibson Says ‘Illegal’ Immigrants Not Paying Taxes, Town Hall Attendee Asks: ‘You Mean Like GE?!’ “In a video posted on YouTube, Gibson responding to a question from a constituent concerned over border security by explaining his plan for dealing with the immigration system. Towards the end of his answer, Gibson said that Americans actually pay higher taxes because “there are people in the country that are not paying taxes because they’re illegal.” At this point, a town hall attendee cried out, “You mean like GE?!” which actually forced the congressman to say that he agrees and that the company needs to pay its fair share […]” [Think Progress, 4/26/11]
As Congressional GOP Faces Voter Anger at Town Meetings, Senator Urges Hiding Out in DC [The Nation]
“Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, continues to be confronted with tough questions on his listening-session tour of southeastern Wisconsin communities. He’s been forced to move several of the events to bigger venues to accommodate the crowds—after things got tight and tense in places such at Milton, Wisconsin, where the crowd in a small venue was challenging him at every turn. […] The core issues that are bringing people out to the GOP town meetings are opposition to Medicare and Medicaid cuts (a real hot-button issue) and support for tax hikes for the rich. This fits with those national polls shows that show Americans are very opposed to developing voucher programs to replace traditional Medicare and Medicaid and would prefer tax hikes for the wealthy. So what should Republicans do? Newly elected Illinois Senator Mark Kirk has an idea. Instead of hearing what the people have to say, the Republican senator is suggesting that members of Congress should hunker down in DC. ‘Ideally the Senate would have not taken a two-week break,’ Kirk said on CBS’s Face the Nation. Instead, the senator says, Congress should be advancing Ryan’s agenda.” [The Nation, 4/25/11]
Republicans in Congress get earful on Medicare [USA Today]
“Some Republicans in Congress are getting an earful back home over their votes to dramatically revamp Medicare for seniors. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who proposed changing the federal entitlement into a voucher program, got booed at such a meeting in his district last week. Rep. Charlie Bass, R-N.H., who represents a district that voted for Democrats Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential contest and John Kerry in the 2004 race, was questioned about Medicare in his swing district. So was freshman Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., who heard from Democrats such as Linda Christman at his town hall meetings. ‘You said nothing in the campaign about “I'm going to change Medicare.” Now you voted for a plan that will destroy Medicare,’ Christman said, according to the Los Angeles Times. Barletta stuck by his vote: ‘I won't destroy Medicare. Medicare is going to be destroyed by itself.’” [USA Today, 4/25/11]
Republicans in Swing Districts Take Heat for Supporting Ryan's Medicare Plan [National Journal]
Many who voted for the plan House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., laid out to privatize the programs in future years have been in constituents’ crosshairs during Easter recess town-hall meetings. Others have simply avoided meeting with constituents. All but four House Republicans voted in favor of Ryan’s plan. House Republican leaders plan to hold a conference call with members Tuesday. Republicans with knowledge of the call say that it has long been scheduled, but that part of the call will be spent discussing ways to discuss the vote with constituents. One source says it’s intended to help swing-district members ‘who have been getting the crap kicked out of them.’” [National Journal, 4/25/11]
Republican Lawmakers Face Angry, Confused Constituents on Medicare, Budget Cuts [ABC News]
“As Republican members take to the road during their two-week break from Congress to try and sell the budget proposal crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan, they are facing similar questions, though the outcry thus far has not yet escalated to the level that their Democratic counterparts faced. Americans are particularly concerned, and somewhat confused, about the proposal to overhaul Medicare, a central feature of the Wisconsin congressman's proposal.” [ABC News, 4/25/11]
More Voters In GOP Districts Angry Over Ryan’s Medicare Proposal [Washington Post]
“With more House GOPers catching an earful from constituents worried about Paul Ryan’s Medicare proposals […] This is only the latest expression of unhappiness with the Ryan plan in GOP districts. Last week voters loudly complained about it to House GOPers in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.” [Washington Post, 4/25/11]
Lawmakers hear from constituents on budget clashes [Post Gazette]
“U.S. representatives returned from their flurry of budget votes to sober discussions in their districts last week, while the Democratic campaign apparatus took the juicy offering of a threat to Medicare as it exists and ran wild with it. Reps. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, and Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, were both in their districts talking to constituents about proposals for dealing with deficits -- including the GOP plan to retool Medicare. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targeted the districts of 25 Republicans -- none in Pennsylvania -- with phone calls and radio advertising. Part of the campaign was a cheeky Internet ad featuring an elderly man operating a lemonade stand, pushing a lawn mower and working as an exotic dancer, asking ‘How will you pay?’ in response to Republicans' vote to ‘end Medicare.’’ [Post Gazette, 4/24/11]
House Republicans face backlash at home over budget plan [LA Times]
“The lawmakers, back in their districts during the Congress recess, are confronted with tough questions from constituents about the GOP proposal that would turn Medicare into a voucher system and reduce taxes for the wealthy.” [LA Times, 4/23/11]
Freshmen feel the heat back home [POLITICO]
“And hardly anyone in his senior-heavy district wants to see Congress touch their Medicare benefits. Barletta’s district is one of a handful that Democrats have zeroed in on this spring break: One of 13 that voted for John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008 but elected a Republican to Congress in 2010. The town halls in Pennsylvania showed deep concern about the national debt but extreme wariness of cuts to entitlements, and constituents are starting to vent their frustrations with the new House GOP majority, bolstered by 87 freshmen, all but one of whom voted for Ryan’s budget plan. […]At Barletta’s town hall, there were indications that the spending votes could become the defining debate for his first term in Congress.” [POLITICO, 4/24/11]
Republicans facing tough questions over medicare overhaul in budget plan [Washington Post]
“Anxiety is rising among some Republicans over the party’s embrace of a plan to overhaul Medicare, with GOP lawmakers already starting to face tough questions on the issue at town hall meetings back in their districts. House leaders have scheduled a Tuesday conference call in which members are expected in part to discuss strategies for defending the vote they took this month on a budget that would transform the popular entitlement program as part of a plan to cut trillions in federal spending. […] The assault has taken some Republicans by surprise, prompting concerns that the party is ceding ground in a policy debate that GOP strategists already viewed as perilous. Some Republicans fear a repeat of 2005, when President George W. Bush tried to turn the political capital of his reelection into a push to privatize Social Security. Republicans abandoned the effort after Democrats vigorously attacked them, accusing the GOP of trying to cut benefits.” [Washington Post, 4/22/11]
Manteno: Heritage Woods' senior citizens take Kinzinger to task [Daily Journal]
“U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Manteno, who spoke Wednesday to a crowd of about 70 at Heritage Woods, an affordable assisted-living community for senior citizens in Manteno, got that message and an earful. ‘This (federal entitlements) was all supposed to be taken care of,” said the first of about a dozen residents who either asked the congressman a question or offered their commentary.’ [Daily Journal, 4/24/11]
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) interrupts, laughs at his own constituents at town hall: “Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) receives some pointed questions from his constituents on the bill the he voted for. Toward the end Duffy grows frustrated and interrupts the constituents before they can get their points across. When one constituent claims Duffy voted for a tax cut Duffy laughs at him […] Duffy again plays with semantics, saying it would not be a voucher program, but instead a ‘premium support’ program. Either way, if the ‘premium support’ did not cover the cost of insurance the costs would be shifted from the government to the taxpayer. [Examiner, 4/22/11]
Republicans Seek to Reassure Seniors [Wall Street Journal]
“GOP Rep. Lou Barletta kicked off a town-hall meeting here this week by delivering a message Republicans across the country are trying hard to convey: He promised older residents that he wouldn't slash their Medicare benefits. ‘Whenever you hear that seniors are going to lose their benefits, I'm telling you now, it's an outright lie,’ Mr. Barletta told a crowd of about 50 gathered at an outpost of veterans group Amvets in the heart of Pennsylvania's former coal country. That assurance, however, wasn't enough to calm a crowd of constituents anxious about a GOP proposal to rein in Medicare [...]” [Wall Street Journal, 4/22/11 ]
Gosar faces questions over budget votes [KNAU]
“People at the town hall were much less sympathetic to Gosar's vote in favor of the House budget bill that would significantly transform Medicare. It's a risky vote in a state like Arizona, where retirees known as ‘snowbirds’ flock to the desert sun, and vote in high numbers. ‘I'm horrified by the plan to turn Medicare into a voucher system,’ says retiree Susan Cosentino. ‘I think it will just send the seniors into poverty.’ Cosentino was one of about a hundred or so people at the town hall in Sedona. Most were seniors. Another, Anne Leap, also works with retirees. She runs a small business connecting them with services they need to live independently. She says ‘Seniors at the lower end are so frightened by all this, and seniors at the upper end are just outraged. It's a scary time for us.’ Democrats are hoping to take advantage of that fright. Paul Gosar is one of 25 Republican Congressmen they're targeting with radio ads.” [KNAU, 4/22/11]
Constituents Question Rep. Meehan's Budget Vote [NPR]
“Congress left town a week ago having settled one budget fight that keeps the government funded until October. But more epic battles are in store when lawmakers get back early next month. Rep. Pat Meehan (R-PA) defended his recent votes during town hall-style meetings with constituents. […] Meehan also sought to defend his vote last week for a spending plan for next year, drawn up by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. Arguably, that budget's most controversial item is a plan to change Medicare into a voucher program. Meehan said he expected Democrats would bash Republicans for backing that plan. […] Despite Meehan's defense of a revamping of Medicare, 83-year-old Mary Fran Ballard(ph) remains skeptical.” [NPR, 4/22/11]
Paul Ryan's budget draws boos, highlights risk to GOP [Los Angeles Times]
“Rep. Paul Ryan, the face of the GOP’s efforts to scale back the size of the federal government and trim the federal deficit, was booed by some Wisconsin constituents this week, but not for the reason you might think. Ryan’s budget plan, as overwhelmingly approved by the House, would convert Medicare into a program which would provide seniors with subsidies to purchase private health insurance. But as Ryan returned home along with the other 240 Republican members to explain the budget blueprint to voters, he received heat not for the Medicare proposal, but for his call to cut taxes for wealthy Americans.” [LA Times, 4/21/11]
Barletta town hall gets heated over Medicare [Morning Call]
“Reminiscent of the August 2009 town halls when members of Congress faced angry constituents over health care reforms, a public forum in Carbon County with Rep. Lou Barletta Wednesday night provided a glimpse of the strong emotions stirred by a Republican plan to alter Medicare benefits. […] ‘You said nothing in the campaign about I’m going to change Medicare, now you voted for a plan that will destroy Medicare,’ Linda Christman, 64, said. […] Then it got ugly.” [Morning Call, 4/21/11]
The Ryan Budget Vote: An Upstream Swim for Charlie Bass [Time Magazine]
“Rep. Charlie Bass knew he was in for a rough night. The first question out of the gate during his Wednesday town hall in Hillsborough, NH was about his vote for Paul Ryan’s budget. And the second. And the third and the fourth, fifth and sixth questions. […] Bass’s case isn’t helped by the high-profile defection of two of his colleagues: Denny Rehberg, who is running for Senate in Montana, and David McKinley, who comes from a district in West Virginia that’s similar to Bass’s. Both Rehberg and McKinley said this week that they voted against Ryan’s budget because they were concerned that the plan could hurt seniors – bolstering the Democrats’ case.” [Time Magazine, 4/21/11]
Freshman Congressman faces tough crowd back home, after budget vote [CNN]
“In the suburbs of Philadelphia, freshman Congressman Patrick Meehan is spending his day running around his district, answering questions from his constituents. […] Meehan was asked about entitlement reform and Medicare at nearly every town hall he went to. Some of his constituents say they're worried about proposed Republican reforms to the Medicare system. ‘Reform usually means cutting benefits, if it's cutting benefits, no, I do not want that,’ says constituent Bette Popiel.” [CNN, 4/21/11]
Dold faces tough questions at town hall meeting [Daily Herald]
“Fresh off voting for the so-called Paul Ryan budget plan on Friday, newly-elected Congressman Robert Dold returned to Buffalo Grove Saturday where constituents questioned him about several elements of the Republican budget. […] But Dold couldn’t even get to the end of the presentation before audience members began peppering him with questions about the Ryan budget, named after House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin.[…] Some in the audience then told Dold they don’t like the idea in the Ryan budget plan of Medicare becoming a voucher program that makes senior citizens buy private health insurance about 10 years from now. Audience members said buying private insurance is a shell game where no one really knows what costs a company will cover or to what degree.” [Daily Herald, 4/16/11]
Herrera Beutler defends her vote for House budget [Columbian]
“U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler defended her vote Friday for a 2012 House budget that would transform Medicare. […] Ryan’s budget bill would replace today’s Medicare program with what has been widely described as a voucher system, which would provide seniors with federal money and allow them to buy their own coverage in the private health insurance market. The independent Congressional Budget Office has predicted that health care costs for seniors would more than double under the plan, and Ryan acknowledged on Fox News that it would shift more of the burden of health care costs to seniors.” [Columbia, 4/16/11]
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