Rand's $2,000 Medicare Deductible

Rand Paul believes "the real answer to Medicare would be a $2,000 deductible" -- prompting Kentucky seniors to say Paul's position would put a financial burden on them that they cannot afford.

Editorial comic roundup

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Mitch gets fact-checked

Courtesy of FactCheck.org:

On ABC’s "This Week," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made a false claim about the federal debt — a claim that we debunked in January, when Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, made a similar statement. The debt situation has worsened since then, but not enough to make this GOP talking point true.

McConnell: What most Americans think is extreme is the kind of government we’ve been running for the last year-and-a-half. We’ve seen the government taken over banks, insurance companies, car companies, nationalizing the student loan business. We’re on a path to double the national debt in five years and triple it in 10.

First, current projections don’t show the debt doubling in five years or tripling in 10. Second, McConnell incorrectly blames Obama for the bank bailout. Obama supported it as a senator, as did McConnell, but it was signed by President George W. Bush. And, lastly, the changes in the federal student loan program will not increase the federal debt; in fact, they will save the federal government $62 billion over 10 years, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Rand Paul: Wrong for Kentucky

McConnell boohoos for rich friends

There's a must-read editorial in today's Herald-Leader:

To hear Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and some of his fellow Capitol Hill Republicans tell it, a failure to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans would cripple the nation's small businesses.

...According to a Bloomberg News report, research by Moody's Analytics Inc. found that wealthy Americans put more money into savings following the Bush tax cuts.

By contrast, they saved less during the Clinton years of the 1990s, when taxes were higher. So, tax cuts for the rich don't provide the kind of economic stimulus McConnell and his fellow Republicans would have us believe.

Memo to Republicans...

Americans DON'T Support Tax Cuts For The Rich

Rand Paul is Soft on Crime

Lessons In Running From The Press

Watch as Rand Paul teaches lessons in running from Kentucky voters as well as Kentucky reporters.

'Liberal Media' Myth: BUSTED

Think Progress has the story:

NBC’s Meet the Press, CBS’s Face the Nation, Fox News Sunday, CNN’s State of the Union, and ABC’s This Week are the five major Sunday talk shows that aim to bring “a diverse group of voices” that “reflect the cultural, economic, and political landscape” of the U.S. However, according to a new study published by George Mason University School of Law this month, the Congressional guests featured in 2009 were anything but diverse, failing not only to represent the demographics of the American population but also the diversity of Congress. In fact, according to the study, the congressional voice was disproportionately represented by one type of guest in 2009: “white, male, senior, and Republican.”

...According to the study, the top guests were Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John McCain (R-AZ), and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). The Republican leadership “appeared on these shows a total of 43 times” while Democratic Leadership, including the first female Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), “appeared only 11 times.” And 2010 is shaping up to be more of the same, with McConnell “again leading the pack – appearing 10 times on Sunday shows – a rate even higher than he achieved in 2009.”

C-J on Republican hypocrisy

From yesterday's Courier-Journal:

State Agriculture Commissioner (and lieutenant governor wannabe) Richie Farmer has spent about $445,000 on 19 new vehicles for his department this year, including $35,340 for a Chevrolet Suburban for himself, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. All told, the department has a fleet of 206 vehicles, up from 178 in 2007, when Mr. Farmer removed the department's wheels from the state's vehicle fleet.

Note to Mr. Farmer: The state and nation have been in a deep recession. You may have been on the road and missed reports on this misfortune. Nonetheless, your fellow Republicans bleat ceaselessly about eliminating spending and waste. Most of state government is buying fewer vehicles and using the ones it has longer. Why aren't you?