cross posted at dptilson on May 18, 2011
At U.S. Rep. West’s 5/16/11 Town Hall, GOP congressman & Tea Party favorite is circled by security forces, but still gets confronted by small business owner from his district who takes issue with Republican talking points on deficit, taxes, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid…and gets escorted out of the meeting for expressing himself. Continue reading
Filed under Allen West
After voting for the Ryan Plan, which turns Medicare into an under-valued voucher program, Congressman Allen West was honored with the Guardian of Seniors Rights’ award by the 60 Plus Association.
It's easy to guard something when it no longer exists
The self-proclaimed alternative to AARP began running 60-second radio ads in 30 Congressional districts – Allen West included – thanking Republicans for voting for House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan, which would phase out the current Medicare program completely for those under 55 years of age. The ads misleadingly assert that the Ryan Plan, which will turn Medicare into a voucher system, will make “no changes for seniors on Medicare now or those who will soon go on it”.
In an award ceremony at the nation’s capital, 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin said “While both programs are running deficits, seniors are not to blame,” Martin emphasized. “After all, we seniors have paid into both all our working lives. We’ve paid our dues but seniors know why deficits face both Medicare and Social Security.”
He continues “On behalf of 7.l million seniors that 60 Plus looks to for support, seniors know you’re in our corner. Congressman West, you have earned our respect and our appreciation. 60 Plus thanks you.”
Allen West has made clear how he feels about Medicare and those other big government evils. We also know how much the seniors in his district responded at his latest town hall.
Filed under Allen West
Allen West held his second town hall since he cast controversial votes that have been plaguing Republicans who returned to their respective districts earlier this week.
It’s that damn Paul Ryan and his budget bill. The Tea-Party freshman were going to return to a loving embrace at their town halls. But Karma’s a bitch, and instead time-warped them back to the circus of 2009. Only now, these town-hall attendees actually live in the area and are yelling at the Republican Congressmen whose plan threatens their Medicare and health care while adding to the massive budget deficit they promised to close.
Less than a minute in to this first clip, West defends his choice to de-fund Planned Parenthood and NPR, a measly 1% of the budget, while the Department of Defense has doubled their budget to over $600 billion. West’s response is a fantastic demonstration of the art of room clearing:
He might have pissed off all those people with those Planned Parenthood remarks, but he really dug himself into a hole when he pivoted into the “not turning his back on the people he served with” justification.
About 6 minutes into the next clip is West’s read on how the 2 parties can work together for the great good of America as a nation:
“There is an incredible ideological chasm developing in the United States of America and the gist is very simple: if you got more people who are tied or dependent upon government, by subsistence check or employment check, it becomes upside-down in the United States of America. And if there are people who believe that what built this great nation in 234 years is large government, I can’t compromise with that. Because that goes against our principles – that goes against everything the founding fathers wrote, that goes against everything that has built this country to where it is now.”
That’s depressingly unsurprising. Allen West stands firm on his tea-bagger platform of not cooperating with anyone who supports helping the greater good of those he was hired to represent.
Filed under Allen West
Florida Congressman Allen West held a town hall event in Fort Lauderdale this evening. It would have been a better show (by which I mean “authentic”), however it did start with some fireworks.
Upon arriving, everyone was given a card to fill out with standard info such as name, address, phone number, and email. We were also asked to fill out the question/concern we wanted West to address. Initially I assumed it was so they could gauge the temperature of the crowd. Ya know, take stock of general areas of interest and call people to the microphone accordingly. This isn’t unusual considering what most GOP congressman have faced at their respective town halls this week. If anything I figured they were hoping to avoid the Medicare voucher vote entirely.
He works for "you"....just don't ask him any questions
This wasn’t the case it all. Instead of calling people down to voice their concerns, Allen West had 2 staffers allegedly read the questions to him. I know for a fact they threw aside most of genuine questions because they threw out at least 4 people who took issue with this Q & A format. One woman was taken into police custody.
Dave Weigel reports that a Wall Street front group is loading conservative activists with soft ball questions and packing them into GOP town halls. That was what I expected. Instead we have a Congressman totally ducking any questions and soft-balling himself.
With regard to the Debt Ceiling, West defined the terms under which he’ll vote to raise it: a constitutional “balanced budget” amendment”, a provision in the constitution that triggers automatic budget cuts when the federal budget nears the debt limit, deregulation and cutting corporate taxes to 20%.
**UPDATE** Turns out the woman who was arrested by Fort Lauderdale police was Air America’s own Nicole Sandler.
Filed under Allen West
Since Rick Scott bought the Florida Governor’s office, one question has been plaguing me: what’s in it for him? A self-described business-man with no political experience drops over $70 million on his campaign. What’s the pay-off for his large investment? An answer is beginning to materialize, and it’s unsettling how not-surprising it is.
Rick Scott on Cluster FOX
Scott was forced out as head of the for-profit hospital chain Columbia/HCA as a result of federal investigation against the company (who later plead guilty to Medicare fraud and paid a record $1.7 billion in fines). It was revealed that the company had been ripping off Medicare while giving kickbacks to doctors who steered patients to their hospitals. 6 days before he announced his candidacy, Rick Scott was deposed for a federal investigation on fraudulent business practices at his company Solantic.
As Governor, Voldemort transferred his Solantic ownership to his wife’s name. Solantic is regulated by the state, administers Medicaid, is licensed through the Agency for Health Care Administration, The Department of Health licenses its doctors, and both agencies’ secretaries are appointed by the Governor.
Governor Voldemort is very open about his opposition to the Patients for Affordability Act (cleverly referred to as “ObamaCare”). Not only does he refuse to implement the law, he organized raised over $20 million to fight the reform in 2009. Rick Scott is the founder of Conservatives for Patients Rights (CPR), one of the front groups who coordinated with allied groups (including Koch owned “Americans for Prosperity”) protestors at town-hall meetings nationally. This flyer was one of many they sent with schedules of meetings.
Scott has also recently taken action against pill-mill regulation. His controversial plans to kill the prescription drug database allowing law-enforcement to track patients that “doctor shop” to obtain prescriptions for pain-killers like oxycodone. Solantic currently sells on-site prescription medication, and recently announced news they’ll be selling them at a deep discount.
So what do you think Rick Scott hopes to profit from his $70 billion investment?
Filed under Rick Scott
Educated Rants 