So now that Paul Ryan and the House GOP leadership has proposed eliminating Medicare and replacing it with voucher-like subsidies for private insurance, what will the politically vulnerable rank and file say?
The decision before them boils down to this: Will they stake their seats on a risky vote to overhaul the federal budget, including the popular Medicare entitlement program?So far, the most popular answer is: maybe.
?I am still looking over the details of the chairman?s proposal,? Rep. Bobby Schilling, a surprise 2010 winner from western Illinois, said in a statement. ?Though I may not agree with every proposed cut, I am glad an open dialogue about our nation?s fiscal crisis is taking place.?
A spokeswoman for Blake Farenthold, one of the most endangered members of the historic freshman class, said the congressman is ?concerned about making sure that cuts are in line with his commitment to South Texans? and ?does not have a firm position on the Ryan budget bill as he is reading through it.?
And the list of hedgers went on from there. Shocking, right? I mean, who could possibly have guessed that eliminating Medicare wouldn't be politically popular?
The most fun part of this is is going to come when the Ryan plan to repeal and replace Medicare comes up for a vote on the floor of the House, as budget resolutions must. If for no other reason than politics, that's going to be a must-pass vote, and there's going to be a lot of Republicans who don't want to walk the plank on it. And many of those who do won't be coming back in 2013.
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