Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:36 pm
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Sen. Sanders debunked the Romney lie about preserving Medicare, “Well everybody understands that they are destroying Medicare as it is currently constituted. What they intend to do is convert Medicare over a period of years into a voucher program. So what they’re going to say to a 70 year old senior who is dealing with cancer or heart disease here is a check for eight thousand dollars, go out and get the best private insurance that you can, and lots of luck. Now you tell me, Ed if somebody is dealing with cancer or heart disease, or a serious illness what eight thousand dollars is going to do. Everybody knows what it means is that a). Seniors are going to have to come up with more money out of their own pocket, or their kids are going to have to help them, or worse, they’re not going to get the care they need.”
Sanders then dunked the Republican lie that Obama cut $700 million from Medicare, “The point to be made as I hope most people know, in the United States we spend almost twice as much per capita on healthcare as do the people of any other country. We have a wildly inefficient and wasteful system, so what we were trying to do, and what we did is not cut benefits for senior, but make the system more efficient. That’s a good start. I am a single payer advocate, because I think we could do a lot more.”
After talking about the impact of the Republican cuts to Medicaid, Sen. Sanders called Ryan and Romney oligarchs, “As a strong progressive what I think the fight here is about is defeating the oligarchic form of government that Romney and Ryan want. What they believe government should be is a handful of wealthy people controlling the economics and politics of this country. That’s what they believe. I happen to be old fashioned, and believe we need a strong middle class. Happen to be old fashioned and believe that instead of Citizens United, you have a democracy where ordinary people can be heard, and not just billionaires.”
Sen. Sanders blew Romney’s great Medicare lie to pieces, but more importantly he called out Romney and Ryan for what they really are. If Mitt Romney wins the election, the oligarchy of rich conservative billionaires will have successfully purchased the White House. Once they have the White House, their corporatist agenda will be unstoppable.
If Mitt Romney wins, it isn’t just entitlements that are in jeopardy. Everything from environmental laws and food safety to employee rights and women’s healthcare will be at risk. The United States will return to the pre-New Deal era when government wasn’t a referee, but a tool of big business.
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are trying to mask their true intentions for Medicare. They are trying to hide their billionaire backed agenda from the America people. This game of hide and seek is the reason why Mitt Romney won’t fill in the numbers about his tax plan. It is the reason why Romney won’t release his tax returns. Romney and Ryan are running a campaign of deception.
Since he is unrestrained by partisan chains, Bernie Sanders can call out that deception, and remind us all that this election could have life and death consequences for millions of Americans.
As Sen. Sanders pointed out, a vote for Romney/Ryan is a vote for the Koch brothers and their fellow billionaire oligarchs.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
