One More Cup of Coffee Before I Go*

*Bob Dylan

One of my many election blunders was to suggest Bill White might win the election fro Governor of Texas. All Texans and Americans would have been better off. Now Rick Perry announced after winning an unprecedented third term that he might not complete his term. Immediately, he appeared on national television because he is going to run for President. He said George W was a great President because "he defended us against our freedom."

Following on the George W.'s ideas that the deficits have nothing with your own actions, Perry is facing a mammoth $25 billion budget deficit he failed to inform voters about during the campaign. So in the new Republican mantra, what does he want to do?

Appearing on CNN's Parker/Spitzer show, he suggested that states be allowed to opt-out of social security. Has anyone noticed during the last year how individual citizens have dropped off the Republican rader screen in favor of corporate entities such as companies, banks and states? Perry pointed out that three counties in Texas had opted out of social security for their public employees in 1981 and he said the program was successful. However, observers of that program say that the public employees over the years did poorly compared to what they would have done in social security.

Joe Miller, the thug candidate for Senate in Alaska, also proposed the same thing. He suggests that states takeover Social Security and Medicare. His plan once analyzed required draconian provisions, such as a mandate that everyone must retire in the same state that they worked and paid taxes. Also, younger workers would move to an opt-out state to avoid paying Social Security taxes and then promptly move to a state with Social Security benefits the moment they become eligible. Eventually the whole system would collapse.

Well, in Texas, Republican lawmakers are actually proposing to drop out of the federal Medicaid program so as to solve their budget shortfall. Helped by the D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, Texas would save some $60 billion from 2013 to 2019 by opting out of Medicare and the Children's Health Insurance Program, dropping all coverage for acute care. Currently, Texas has 3.6 million children , people with disabilities and impoverished Texans enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.

In the type of new Republican thinking, State Senator Jane Nelson summarized it best saying that it was worth considering dropping out of Medicaid for fiscal reasons--as long as that didn't jeopardize the quality of care.

They could also save enormous amounts of money by eliminating public education and privatizing all highways (which is something Perry is doing).

And seniors voted for Republicans because Barack Obama cut $500 billion from the Medicare subsidies to the health insurance companies? Puh-Leese.

Stay tuned as more of this insanity gets transmitted through the Great Right-Wing Wurlizer.

Another great moment of the day was Eric Cantor wanted to separate aid to Israel from the overall foreign aid bill, signalling the Republicans want to decimate foreign aid. Now think about this--our foreign aid has increased as a substitute for our military expenditure in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. The idea was that our aid would help stabilize these countries after we have left, thus ensuring that it wouldn't look like we just abandoned these people. This has escaped the new House majority. However, it was the Jewish groups that flipped out and objected, having been promised that American foreign aid in general would not be cut. The other point is that if you do separate aid for Israel--some day the vote will turn against you.

Up in Halifax, Nova Scotia--which had enjoyed my sane presence about one month ago--Senator Lindsey Graham fired up with Republican victories told the Canadian audience that Barack Obama must abandon his approach to Iran and be willing to go to war against Tehran, even though Americans don't want any more wars. Also, Lindsey called for a confrontation with China. Don't laugh. Mitt Romney before the Heritage Foundation last year said the same thing.

Senate Republicans led by Country Last McCain believe their increased strength will force President Obama from leaving Afghanistan this coming summer and will pressure him to attack Iran. The David Broder article suggesting that Iran would save Obama was not just the idle thoughts of a senile old man--apparently there are the idle thoughts of several senile old men.

I guess everyone missed being radicals when they were young so now in their later years they are going for broke.