Reply #32: Al's wrong.

[Jakes Progress]

I like him a lot. I think he is one of the very few good guys in Washington.

But he is wrong. First is his use of the weasel word "beneficiaries". It may the word that let him eat a little of his conscience and vote for the bill. But there is discussion up thread that takes on what this means.

But even there, he is wrong. There is only rhetoric and political promises (worth less than an Enron gift card) that deal with this. There is no language in the bill that forbids SS and Medicare and Medicaid from being cut to achieve budgetary goals. Just like there is no language to guarantee that the bush tax cuts will expire. It's all still open to play.

I can't prove a negative without posting the whole bill. Anyone who disagrees can prove me wrong with the language in the bill that absolutely says that SS and Medicare and Medicaid will not be limited or cut. Actually, it is barely mentioned, and the few lines that deal with it are packed with some of the densest political weasel words possible.

It's okay if Al was wrong. He's still a good guy.