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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated
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To: Lane3 who wrote (13565)10/24/2003 7:39:16 AM
From: LindyBill  Read Replies (1) of 793622
 
How can the Democrats vote against the Medicare Drug bill and not get nailed by the Seniors? Mickey Kaus doesn't see an answer either.
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Medicare 'Means-Test' Mystery
By Mickey Kaus
Updated Thursday, October 23, 2003, at 3:39 AM PT

Fate of Means-Testing as Urgent as it is Unpredictable! The proposed "mean-testing" of Medicare (i.e. making the rich pay more for their benefits) barely makes the list of Democratic complaints in Amy Goldstein's WaPo story and is completely absent from Robert Pear's NYT account. ... Does this mean means-testing is in like Flynn if the prescription drug bill passes? I certainly don't think it means Democrats no longer care about means-testing. And often one side in a legislative debate will make a big deal over Issue A when they're really worried about Issue B--especially if pushing A looks better in press than pushing B. (Predictable example: If you were a Democrat upset with welfare reform's work requirements during the 1990s, you made a big fuss--not about the work requirements, but about day care money.) But it's hard to characterize as mere stalking-horse issues the Democratic complaints that are prominently featured in WaPo and the NYT. Forcing Medicare to compete with private insurers--the big issue, according to both papers--would seem to threaten the program in a way means-testing doesn't. Democrats may have to swallow means-testing to avoid the privatization threat. ... P.S.: The best hope of the Democratic anti-means-testers would seem to be another bit of Washington Kabuki: Engineering an impasse so the prescription drug bill doesn't pass, but they can't be blamed for it.
slate.msn.com
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