In a Capitol briefing with reporters Friday, McConnell declared affirmatively that unspecified Medicare cuts are on the table in bipartisan debt limit negotiations, led by Vice President Joe Biden, and, he expects, will be part of the solution. But in response to a question from TPM, he went further than he has in the past in laying down a marker on that issue. Medicare cuts must be part of that deal to get his support — even if negotiators manage to find trillions of dollars in savings elsewhere, even if his other priorities are met.
“To get my vote, for me, it’s going to take short term [cuts, via spending caps]… Both medium and long-term, entitlements.,” McConnell said. “Medicare will be part of the solution.”
To clarify, I asked “To clarify, if [the Biden group] comes up with big cuts, trillions of dollars worth of cuts, but without substantially addressing Medicare, it won’t get your vote?”
“Correct,” McConnell said.
Having Democrats on the hook for voting along with Republicans to cut Medicare eliminates the contrast between the two parties and thus effectively defuses the clear advantage that Democrats derive from the GOP's vociferous support for the Ryan plan. The debt ceiling will be raised. It has to be raised. The corporate masters that hold the GOP's leash will not let them obstruct this. If the Democrats go along with McConnell's demands, they are politically impotent and they do so because they want to cut Medicare. This is an empty threat and should be derided and ignored as such.
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