Early today on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Diane Sawyer
and Claire Shipman attempted to discuss some of the intricacies of the Medicare bill. MRC’s Jessica Anderson noted that Shipman found nothing controversial in adding a “$400 billion” entitlement for seniors as the demographic lump known as the baby boomers approach Medicare age:
“Nobody minds the prescription drug benefits, obviously — everyone thinks that’s a good thing — but what’s really getting to people is the $120 billion that’s being handed out to the private health care industry, doctors and hospitals…”
As if the doctors and hospitals are offering nothing in exchange?
During the buildup to war, when many Democrats in Congress crossed party lines and voted to authorize the war, the Left acted as if they were courageous “dissenters,” completely marginalized and ignored by the consensus. That’s where the econo-cons were in this Medicare debate. Republicans crossed party lines to sound like Great Society Democrats and AARP lapdogs, and the opponents of new entitlements are marginalized and ignored by the media. So can we claim to be courageous forces of fiscal “dissent”?