Does Joe Biden have a little momentum? On the back of his fiery State of the Union speech, a robust economy, and, now, a handful of favorable polls, it sure seems as if things are looking up for the president.
And if the success of his own policies and oratory has given him a boost, he’s getting even more help from Republicans. Recently, both Trump and Republican members of Congress have generously (inadvertently) taken to making Biden’s case for him—grabbing the third rail of American politics with both hands by pledging to cut beloved entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
On Wednesday, the Republican Study Committee rolled out its newest budget plan. It calls for raising the eligibility age for Social Security, a major benefit cut; overhauling Medicare into a voucherlike “premium support” system, a privatization gambit Paul Ryan once pined for, ultimately to his own political disadvantage; and an endorsement of the Life at Conception Act, which was already under attack because it would severely restrict not just abortion but likely in vitro fertilization as well.
Publication of this budget, by the way, is totally optional. This proposal is usually created as a forward-looking wish list, not a practicable charter. But there was nothing compelling the influential RSC to put out this document, particularly in an election year. (Also, the committee has other immediate, practical........