So Rick Scott published a 'Rescue America ' plan . Something he will presumably use as a platform for his Presidential run in 2024 .

Rescue America: Rick Scott's Plan for our country's future (https://rescueamerica.com/)

In it's 12 pt plan is a section called 'Government Reform and Debt'

6. Government Reform & Debt - Rescue America (https://rescueamerica.com/steps/6-government-reform-debt/)

In that section are some bullet points . They include some really good ideas like the sunset provision of laws . A responsible oversight by Congress should include a review of laws passed to determine their effectiveness. , Also included is
"

Force Congress to issue a report every year telling the public what they plan to do when Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt



Yertle the Turtle McConnell summarily rejected Scott's plan

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell rejects Sen. Rick Scott’s tax plan, insists he will remain GOP leader - The Washington Post

But that did not stop the NY Slimes from writing a 1500 word hit piece about how Republicans are embracing a plan to gut Social Security and Medicare. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/01/mcconnell-scott-republicans-taxes/)


“The fact that Republicans are openly talking about cutting the programs has galvanized Democrats in the final weeks of the midterm campaign.”

The report by the Slimes fails to substantiate their claim by quoting any Repub who wants to cut either plan . I've heard plenty of mindless campaign chatter from the Dems with the usual pablum about Repubs 'throwing granny over the cliff 'type rhetoric .
An audit and sunset provisions rejected by the Repub leader becomes gutting of entitlements .


But wait it gets better . Buried in the text of the Slimes report is this .....

“Democrats and Republicans largely agree Congress will need to ensure the solvency of the programs in the decade to come. Spending for the programs is projected to balloon in the coming decade as more baby boomers retire.”

The only reform from the Repubs about this is to raise the retirement age for anyone born after 1975 to 70 .

Microsoft Word - Republican Budget Fact Sheet (house.gov) (https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/media/pdf/112/GOP_Budget_SocialSecurity.pdf)

Clueless Joe's plan to jack up payroll taxes on the rich to finance the entitlements are essentially reductions of benefits too. But dare not call it gutting the programs .

We all know that reforms are indeed needed to save the ponzi schemes .But the programs have become sacred cows ;and it is forbidden to openly suggest it .

.....to save the ponzi schemes

Ponzi schemes? Social Security is the greatest anti-poverty program in US history.

Ponzi schemes? Social Security is the greatest anti-poverty program in US history.

worked out fine for the silent generation through parts of the baby boomers . Generations after that are screwed . the fund will be depleted in 10 years without drastic cuts and reforms

That’s correct. The “pretend it isn’t so” approach will lead to disaster. It was the ultimate in dishonest government when Social Security receipts began to be treated as simple revenue. It has allowed those people to disguise the extreme nature of the federal budget deficits while also making it certain that Social Security will end up insolvent far sooner than would otherwise would have happened.

The Slimes also tried to portray his lies and gaffes as due to his grandfatherly folksy charm.

Biden’s Folksiness Can Veer Into Folklore, or Falsehoods - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/10/us/politics/biden-exaggeration-falsehood.html)



For more than four decades, Mr. Biden has embraced storytelling as a way of connecting with his audience, often emphasizing the truth of his account by adding, “Not a joke!” in the middle of a story. But Mr. Biden’s folksiness can veer into folklore, with dates that don’t quite add up and details that are exaggerated or wrong...

“He obviously has this tendency, where he’s a good and decent man who in politics has felt like he could stretch the truth up to a point just like virtually every president has done,” said Eric Alterman, the author of “Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie — and Why Trump Is Worse” and a professor at City University of New York.

“With Biden, people have decided these are not the kind of lies that matter,” Mr. Alterman added. “These are the kinds of lies that people’s grandfathers tell.”


CNN and the Compost tells it a little more straight forward in their premortems .

Fact check: Biden's midterms message includes false and misleading claims | CNN Politics (https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/05/politics/fact-check-biden-midterms-2022/index.html)



President Joe Biden has been back on the campaign trail, traveling in October and early November to deliver his pitch for electing Democrats in the midterm elections on Tuesday.

Biden’s pitch has included claims that are false, misleading or lacking important context.


A Bottomless Pinocchio for Biden — and other recent gaffes - The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/07/bottomless-pinocchio-biden-other-recent-gaffes/)

They see the writing on the wall about a red wave that could be a tsunami. They are trying to salvage what little credibility they have left .

Too bad they published AFTER millions of Americans had already cast their votes in this silly democracy destroying early voting system we have unfortunately embraced .

.....this silly democracy destroying early voting system we have unfortunately embraced .

Encouraging voting is "silly democracy destroying". But the Jan 6 insurrection trying to overthrow the duly elected government is "tourists taking pictures".

The Constitution provides a DAY for elections . Yes early voting is democracy destroying because the final arguments are made sometimes over a month before early voting begins .Many of the debates happened well after early voting happened .
And of course the compliant press waited well after early voting started to run fact checkingcritiques of the President and the Dem campaign.

There is no need for early voting and it is inexcusable that the vote can't be counted in a day.

But Mr. Biden’s folksiness can veer into folklore, with dates that don’t quite add up and details that are exaggerated or wrong...So "exaggerated or wrong" details just adds up to a warm, fuzzy, folksy old guy? How convenient.


Yes early voting is democracy destroying because the final arguments are made sometimes over a month before early voting begins .Many of the debates happened well after early voting happened .Exactly correct. There should be some point of responsibility in voting. You want to vote, then get up on Tuesday, go to a polling place, and vote. Now there should not be long lines and unnecessary delays, but to vote when there is still much to heard from candidates seems irresponsible. There can be exceptions within reason, but the vast majority should be voting today.


Social Security is the greatest anti-poverty program in US history.The greatest anti-poverty program in history is a sound economy based on free-enterprise and the principles of capitalism.

There is no need for early voting and it is inexcusable that the vote can't be counted in a day.

Only the MAGA far right agree with you.

You want to vote, then get up on Tuesday, go to a polling place, and vote. Now there should not be long lines and unnecessary delays
I live in a heavily populated area with a limited number of polling places. How many hours should I wait in line before I give up and go home?

I live in a heavily populated area with a limited number of polling places. When the nation was founded people had to walk sometimes miles to get to their polling place. Still the election was a 1 day event .

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/custom/vgo/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by tomder55 https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/custom/vgo/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?p=3886498#post3886498)
There is no need for early voting and it is inexcusable that the vote can't be counted in a day.



Only the MAGA far right agree with you.

wrong again


“In my experience in New York, paper ballots are extremely susceptible to fraud. I could show you experience which would make your head spin.” Rep Jerry the toad Nadler (D NY)

Was the toad a MAGA election denier in 2004 ?

Voting Irregularities in Ohio | C-SPAN.org (https://www.c-span.org/video/?184728-1/voting-irregularities-ohio)

The reason it increases the chances of fraud is that there are fewer ballots being cast in front of election observers . It is that simple . Having fewer election observers to monitor the actual casting of ballots inevitably increases the potential for fraud.

When the nation was founded people had to walk sometimes miles to get to their polling place. Still the election was a 1 day event .
How many people?

In the early 1800s, an American polling place “displayed many of the worst features of all-male society: rowdy behavior, heavy drinking, coarse language, and occasional violence.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 491.

Voting “was sometimes oral and seldom secret.” Id. With the advent of political parties came more involvement by the political parties. Rival parties printed each other’s ballots, with distinctive colors “to make it easy for poll-watchers to tell which one a voter placed in the ballot box.” Id.

https://lastbesthopeofearth.com/2016/05/26/voting-in-the-early-1800s/

How many people in France ? 67.5 million . They manage to vote in a day .


n the early 1800s, an American polling place “displayed many of the worst features of all-male society: rowdy behavior, heavy drinking, coarse language, and occasional violence.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 491.

an interesting but irrelevant point. Here is the relevant point. Election DAY is set by statutory law in the US .
2 U.S. Code § 7 - Time of election | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/2/7)

The law has not been changed to make it multiple days

How many people in France ? 67.5 million . They manage to vote in a day .
How are you, fully cognizant and eager, going to be able to vote after you've suffered a stroke, are in a wheelchair, and are housebound?

I live in a heavily populated area with a limited number of polling places. How many hours should I wait in line before I give up and go home?As I said in my statement that you posted but perhaps did not read, long lines, where they exist, are a serious problem and should be addressed, but that does not need early voting as a solution.


How are you, fully cognizant and eager, going to be able to vote after you've suffered a stroke, are in a wheelchair, and are housebound?If we agree that perhaps 3% or 4% of the population really needs to have some form of absentee voting, then we can also agree that the remaining vast majority can get off their duffs and go vote as my 70 year old wife and I are about to do?

As I said in my statement that you posted but perhaps did not read, long lines, where they exist, are a serious problem and should be addressed, but that does not need early voting as a solution.
What do you suggest?


If we agree that perhaps 3% or 4% of the population really needs to have some form of absentee voting, then we can also agree that the remaining vast majority can get off their duffs and go vote as my 70 year old wife and I are about to do?
Why not make voting convenient so all eligible voters will vote?

The reason it increases the chances of fraud is that there are fewer ballots being cast in front of election observers . It is that simple . Having fewer election observers to monitor the actual casting of ballots inevitably increases the potential for fraud.

If it's so simple, why did 60+ courts rule against fraud cases in the 2020 election? Oh yeah, I forgot - compliant courts, right? The only fraud, tiny as it was, was from Republicans casting votes for their deceased grandmothers.

What do you suggest?More polling places or more efficient use of what we have now.


Why not make voting convenient so all eligible voters will vote?Yeah. Good ole convenience. Good thing the men who fought and bled in wars defending our country didn't worry about convenience.

Anyone too lazy to get off his/her backside and go vote doesn't deserve the opportunity.


The reason it increases the chances of fraud is that there are fewer ballots being cast in front of election observers .It is difficult to imagine a more self-evident truth than that one, and even more difficult to imagine anyone who would argue against it unless, of course, election integrity was for them a minor issue.

More polling places or more efficient use of what we have now.
Wow! That's the same type of thing you root for at the southern border -- more border stations and more efficiency. Oooops, no, you don't root for those things.

Yeah. Good ole convenience. Good thing the men who fought and bled in wars defending our country didn't worry about convenience.

Anyone too lazy to get off his/her backside and go vote doesn't deserve the opportunity.
So nuts to any voter who wants to vote but that person is homebound for whatever reason, is in a hospital, is in a nursing home, etc. and can't travel.

Wow! That's the same type of thing you root for at the southern border -- more border stations and more efficiency. Oooops, no, you don't root for those things.Perfect example of a false equivalency.


So nuts to any voter who wants to vote but that person is homebound for whatever reason, is in a hospital, is in a nursing home, etc. and can't travel. You must, must, must learn to pay attention. That has been asked (by you!!) and answered on post 16.

You must, must, must learn to pay attention. That has been asked (by you!!) and answered on post 16.
Nope, you just babbled a bit. No clear, doable solution was given.

Your complaint was that I would say "nuts" to any disabled voter who wanted to vote. My reply in post 16 was that those problems, "should be addressed, but that does not need early voting as a solution." Even before that I had posted, "If we agree that perhaps 3% or 4% of the population really needs to have some form of absentee voting..." Did you catch that? REALLY NEEDS TO HAVE SOME FORM OF ABSENTEE VOTING!!! Should I sat that one more time??? REALLY NEEDS TO HAVE SOME FORM OF ABSENTEE VOTING!!!It is hard to imagine anyone reading that with something even slightly beyond a careless approach and then replying as you did.

It's doubly hard to even read posts like that one (#23) -- punitively and achingly spit out.

You complain, but I'm not sure how to respond to, "So nuts to any voter who wants to vote but that person is homebound for whatever reason, is in a hospital, is in a nursing home, etc. and can't travel," when I had so clearly posted the exact opposite. I do think it reasonable to ask you to read and consider what is being posted.

And please don't respond with, "Oh! Oh! You should read and consider too!"

OMYGod -this just in!!!!

The ink toner had to be changed in Maricopa AZ for a copier. The ink came from CHINA!!! The person who changed it did NOT get approval to do so. I repeat - DID NOT GET APPROVAL. We have his name and his great grandfather on his mother''s side fought for the Estonian freedom fighters in the 1800s - obviously a socialistic organization. He emigrated to the US where he ran a child-trafficking pizza place in the basement that catered to pedophiles.

THIS PROVES WITHOUT A DOUBT THE ELECTION IS A FRAUD! (Unless the Republicans win.)

With computer balloting it is beyond embarrassing that it takes so long to honestly tabulate election results in this country .
And what machines are they ? Dominion machines of course . Everyone owes Mike Lindell an apology . Why doesn't it surprise me that Arizona and Georgia are front and center ? (see below)

According to the Slimes ;
It could be days until a party is projected to win the House of Representatives.
It could be a month until we know the same for the Senate.

Which Election Races Are Still Being Called, and When Will We Have Results? (msn.com) (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/which-election-races-are-still-being-called-and-when-will-we-have-results/ar-AA13URff?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1ea1869824e34c79acf40927aa22607c)


the fight for control of the Senate has come down to three states: Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.

And what machines are they ? Dominion machines of course

Dominion machines are again in the news. Not a single charge against Dominion stemming from 2020 and promoted by disbarred lawyer Giuliani and nutty lawyer Sidney Whassername has been proven. Hugo Chavez - Italy - Germany - Mike Lindell --- all a collection of bizarre claims of fraud. Now the Repubs are at it again - some people never learn.


Everyone owes Mike Lindell an apology

Good Lord. You can't be serious. Lindell is a crazy man. He constantly claims he has proof of fraud and NEVER produces it.


Why doesn't it surprise me that Arizona and Georgia are front and center ? (see below)

According to the Slimes ;
It could be days until a party is projected to win the House of Representatives.
It could be a month until we know the same for the Senate.

Which Election Races Are Still Being Called, and When Will We Have Results? (msn.com) (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/which-election-races-are-still-being-called-and-when-will-we-have-results/ar-AA13URff?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1ea1869824e34c79acf40927aa22607c)


the fight for control of the Senate has come down to three states: Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.

Is there a point with this?

Clueless Joe baited the Repubs by lumping them all together with the sensible Rick Scott plan to sunset Federal Legislation. They took the bait and loudly booed him .

He singled out Social Security . I think all legislation should have sunset provisions in them . If there is a consensus about the program it would take a minute to have a roll call vote to renew .

As long as Social Security is considered a 3rd rail program it will never be adequately reformed ;and is doomed to bankruptcy . Then it will become just another PAYGO with monopoly money welfare program.

But Clueless baited the hook and he was able to deliver the line he wanted .


“So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?”

Bam ! drop the mike !!

He added, of course, the tired old mantra of making the rich, "pay their fair share". The rich pay nearly 90% of income tax now, with the poor not only paying nothing, but in many cases actually receiving a payment from the feds. So that is one area I'd agree with the pres on. It's time to have some fairness in income tax policies rather than expecting a relatively small group to pay it all.


I think all legislation should have sunset provisions in them I don't think the typical American has any idea what that argument is about to begin with.

yeah it is complex . soak the rich is much easier to understand .

Yep. It's the dumbing down of America.