OPINION:
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Politicians around here keep talking about some kind of underground, undeclared War on Women. But the only real open warfare going on is President Obama’s all-out War on Seniors.
When it came time for him to find spending cuts to pay for some fraction of his massive health care overhaul, where did Mr. Obama go? He raided Medicare.
Bipartisan projections predict that over 10 years, $500 billion will be siphoned out of the seniors’ health-care program to pay for Mr. Obama’s political boondoggle. As if it is not cruel enough to strip away trusted doctor care for the elderly, Mr. Obama also seems to enjoy terrorizing seniors whenever he doesn’t get his way.
The first time we saw this tantrum was last year during the epic debate over whether to allow the government to borrow another $2 trillion to keep our “vital” federal operations going.
This town was cleaved in two with some demanding drastic savings be found to pay for the new borrowing and others saying the federal government could not withstand all those cuts.
Mr. Obama led the camp arguing that further cuts would be crippling. Funny to think of that today with the daily shocking revelations about the clowns and mind-readers brought in for the lavish federal government conferences in Vegas.
Still, Mr. Obama was adamant that the government could not withstand further cuts. And, he insisted, the “debt ceiling” had to be lifted right away. If not, Mr. Obama threatened belligerently, seniors would not get their Social Security checks. He even took veterans and handicapped hostage on that one.
“It’s not just a matter of Social Security checks,” he menacingly implored. “These are veterans checks, these are folks on disability and their checks.”
Mr. Obama, of course, soon got his $2 trillion and he’s spending it at a terrifying clip. We will be paying it off for generations.
The president threw his latest temper tantrum over the serious constitutional questions the Supreme Court raised about his aforementioned health-care law.
His first reaction to these questions was to threaten members of the court by announcing that any interference with his law would be viewed as “judicial activism.” Then the Harvard Law grad — incorrectly — argued that such a move would be “unprecedented.”
Roundly mocked and ridiculed for his ham-fisted attempts to bully the court, Mr. Obama quickly resorted to his old stand-by tactic: threatening Granny.
In papers quietly filed with the Supreme Court last week, Mr. Obama warned — once again — that seniors would be dumped into the streets if the court overturns Obamacare. Such a move by the court, his lawyers warned, would cause “extraordinary disruption” in Medicare payments.
In past disputes, Mr. Obama’s allies have been quick to portray those who disagree them as people willing to dump Granny out of a wheelchair and over a cliff. Or down a set of stairs.
Ironically, the truth is that it is always Mr. Obama steadying Granny in a wheelchair on the precipice of long, steep, marble steps and threatening to let go if he doesn’t get his way.
• Charles Hurt can be reached at charleshurt@live.com.
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