Well, Democrats are at it again, doing what they do best….scaring the American public, whom they think are too ignorant to know what these pathetic politicians are up to. Every time the Republicans attempt to make substantive changes to out-of-control government spending, Democrats go into a tailspin, crying that the Republicans are trying to take away everything that is important to you. As we’ve all been reminded, over and over, and over again, Republicans protect rich people and big oil, and they tromp all over the little guys like you.
Last week, as Paul Ryan proposed the FY 2012 Republican budget, Path to Prosperity, Democrats kicked it into high gear, claiming that Republicans are starving old people, taking away children’s education, and torturing your puppies…ok, well, maybe not the puppy part, but you get the idea. I’ve listed a few of my personal favorites:
- Chuck Schumer claims that this new proposal will deprive students of a college education, by taking away their Pell grants. The reality, however, is that studies have shown that Pell grants, which have increased dramatically over the years, are directly linked to skyrocketing tuition in colleges across the nation. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/html/pa531/pa531index.html. The purpose of cutting spending in this area is to curb tuition inflation and require more efficiency in determining which students truly qualify, and how much they really need.
- Nancy Pelosi cries that this bill will deprive six million seniors of meals. That would be terrible…..if it were true. But it came from Nancy Pelosi, and we all know her propensity for, well, lying through her teeth, so we can assume that it’s not. The fact is that the Administration on Aging, a branch of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, only distributed meals to 2.4 million seniors last year, so her number isn’t even plausible. Of course, Pelosi’s staff backpedaled on the issue, saying that Nancy misspoke, and she meant to say the budget cuts 6 million meals, not meals for 6 million people. Nice try, Stretch. Again, this is false. First of all, the administration, not the Republicans, proposed $6 million in earmark cuts. The remaining $65 million in cuts to the AOA have not even been identified yet, according to House Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Marta Dehmlow, and the impact is unknown. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/nancy-pelosis-absurd-math-on-senior-citizens-losing-their-meals/2011/04/06/AFUf51rC_blog.html
- Newly appointed DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz claims that this new budget proposal is a “death trap to seniors”. She goes on to say that “this Republican path to poverty passes like a tornado through America’s nursing homes…” and that it goes back on promises made to our greatest generation. Now that’s a good way to get the elderly worked into a frenzy. This, from a woman who wanted the word “Obamacare” banned from the House floor debates, because it was inflammatory. The truth is that the Path to Prosperity proposal explicitly states that there will be no changes in Medicare for those in and near retirement. When the new plan begins in 2022, those in the current program will have a choice to opt into the new program. This new premium-support plan will provide additional assistance for lower income recipients, to help cover out-of- pocket costs. So maybe the Congresswoman could bring her own inflammatory rhetoric down a notch….I’m just sayin’.
- Ok, I’ve saved the best for last. The clincher…the coup de grâce….is none other than Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. Slaughter is up in arms regarding the Republican attempts to prevent taxpayer-funded abortions, so she’s claiming that Republicans do not care about women’s health. At a rally on Wednesday, April 6th, she told a group of pro-choice advocates that Republicans were brought to Washington to……are you ready….wait for it……”kill women.” Come again? Oh, you heard me right, ladies and gentlemen…kill women. I can’t even dignify that with a response.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that only Democrats engage in such tactics. It comes from both sides. I am saying, however, that they have taken the art of scaring Americans to an all-new low. What they have failed to realize, to their detriment, is that Americans, now more than ever, are paying attention to what’s happening in government, and they’re just not buying it anymore. So Dems, maybe you should find a legitimate argument and keep it moving. If you actually had some good ideas of your own, you wouldn’t have to work so hard to discredit ours.
way to go, felicia. you hit it out of the park again. how sad that this even has to be a discussion. nothing like scaring people to death with lies to get what you want. the dems definitely aren’t looking out for the american people like they so adamently claim.
Wow! You finished with a crushing right blow; then stomped on ‘em.
Excellent excerpts. I’m neither Democratic or Republican, but agree whole heartedly.