People here believed that too. Come on, look at all the posts screaming and wailing that the new Republican House didn't do nearly enough to curtail entitlements (even though with only 1/2 of the legislative branch and a Dem in the White House there was not much we could realistically do).
The Ryan plan was bold and politically dangerous. We proposed and voted to fundamentally reform Medicaid. The Dems are giddy as they think we fell into their trap. We are right on the issue, Medicare is going broke - but politically it still appears to be a 3rd rail.
We may have no choice now but stand by Ryan's plan and boldly argue for significant entitlement reform - just don't be disappointed if we lose a few election cycles doing it. It's either that or drop the issue and let these entitlements reach critical mass and collapse and hope it happens on the Democrats watch.
Bottom line, there has been no significant change in American's view of the social welfare state. This country is still wedded to it. Despite what many hoped, 2010 was not a revolution, it was a correction. It appears the voters were really just rejecting some of Obama administrations overreach and protesting the bad economy.
But look at this! Bill Clinton is warning Dems that attacking Ryan's plan and doing nothing is not going to work for them in the long run. Clinton: “I think the Democrats are going to have to be willing to give up, maybe, some short-term political gain by whipping up fears on some of these things — if it’s a reasonable Social Security proposal, a reasonable Medicare proposal. We’ve got to deal with these things. You cannot have health care devour the economy.”
Clinton actually told Ryan to call him, and Ryan said he would. Don't trust Clinton 100%, but is this a ray of hope for both the GOP and fiscal sanity?
Clinton criticizes Dem politics and Newt attacks the GOP plan. What's wrong with this picture?