Can we now admit that the chained CPI cut was a dumb idea

[dsc]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/10/1200768/-GOP-campaign-chairman-calls-chained-CPI-trying-to-balance-the-budget-on-the-backs-of-nbsp-seniors?showAll=yes

Ladies and gentlemen, here's your preview of the 2014 Republican campaign commercials, from Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), who is chairman of the NRCC, the GOP's House re-election committee.

BLITZER: Well, let's talk about these proposed changes that the president is putting forward when it comes to Social Security and Medicare, the shocking proposals that you say the president's putting forward that could affect seniors. What's so shocking about changing that CPI, that consumer price index the way that you would determine how much inflation would go ahead with increases for Social Security recipients, for example?

WALDEN: Well, once again, you're trying to balance this budget on the backs of seniors and I just think it's not the right way to go.

And here he is on the Medicare cuts:

Well, I thought it very intriguing in that the budget really lays out kind of a shocking attack on seniors, if you will. And we haven't seen all the detail yet, and we'll look at it, but I'll tell you, when you're going after seniors the way he's already done on Obamacare, taking $700 billion out of Medicare to put into Obamacare, and now coming back at seniors again, I think you're crossing that line very quickly here in terms of denying access to seniors for health care in districts like mine, certainly, and around the country. I think he's going to have a lot of pushback from some of the major senior organizations on this and Republicans, as well.

Gee, who could have foreseen that line of attack from Republicans?

end of quote and answer to the gee question

How about anyone who watched the 2010 campaign. Our shot at the House is very slim anyway but this will cost us any shot we would have had. Bad policy, bad politics, just pain bad.

[monmouth3]

1. I just finished reading a portion of the CPI bill and it made me ill. I'm so over Obama..really.n/t

[The Link]

2. We need a professional to make some sense of this.

Some voices are notably silent.

[dawg]

3. Don't worry. I'm sure they're getting their act together.

I hope the next round of bullshit will come with more cute kitten pictures to soften the blow.

[Armstead]

4. I don't know enough about poker to give a real comparison, but....

But the idea of tossing out a winning hand comes to mind.

[neverforget]

5. And will those defending President Obama say that they either support or oppose it?

I have yet to hear that. They attack the messengers with full righteous fury but leave out their stand on the Chained Grandma.

[HereSince1628]

6. No, it's way way worse than dumb, eleventy dimensions worth of worse

I can't believe people can rationalize this as completely incomprehensible and therefore brilliant negotiating position.

[stillwaiting]

7. We need Democrats to come out strongly against this too. Now. nt

[RedCappedBandit]

8. It doesn't even matter WHY, at this point.

Even if, as some would have us believe, Obama IS playing 3 dimensional chess and is just oh so much smarter than the rest of us, the perception is going to be negative. It should be. Chained CPI is BS.

[randome]

9. And you have Paul Ryan saying, basically, that it's not enough.