Remember all those Republican TV campaign ads last November that warned senior citizens about how the Democrats were hatching plans to cut their Medicare? Some people, sadly, were ignorant enough to believe this claim, as preposterous as it was and that billionaires needed tax breaks, etc, etc, etc. Now we now have a GOP-controlled House. Well, folks, guess what? When you vote for a wolf in sheep’s clothing, don’t be surprised when they eat your carcass and spit the bones out once the election’s over:

This just in from Paul Krugman’s blog at the New York Times. Stunning:

So they’re really going to propose it.

More when we have some details. But two key points:

1. Privatizing and voucherizing Medicare does nothing whatsoever to control costs. We’ve seen that from the sorry history of Medicare Advantage. I’m sure that the Republicans will claim savings — but those savings will come entirely from limiting the vouchers to below the rate of rise in health care costs; in effect, they will come from denying medical care to those who can’t afford to top up their premiums.

Oh, and for all those older Americans who voted GOP last year because those nasty Democrats were going to cut Medicare, I have just one word: suckers!

2. E.J. Dionne is right: This will be Obama’s defining moment. Will he stand up for the principle that society takes care of those in need? Or will he cave in? I wish I had confidence in the answer.

Me, too!

House Republicans Propose $4 Trillion in Cuts Over Decade (New York Times)