Republicans Against Medicare

I knew that despite their recent posturing as the Party of Medicare, most Republicans actually hate Medicare. But I hadn’t realized they’d gone on record with this so recently:

But did Republicans vote to “end,” “abolish,” and “kill” Medicare? It’s provocative, but it’s a supportable claim. In April, 137 Republicans voted in support of a GOP alternative budget. It didn’t generate a lot of attention, but the plan, drafted by the House Budget Committee’s Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called for “replacing the traditional Medicare program with subsidies to help retirees enroll in private health care plans.”

The AP noted at the time that Republican leaders were “clearly nervous that votes in favor of the GOP alternative have exposed their members to political danger.”

Of course to pile ironies onto ironies, providing subsidies to help people enroll in (regulated) private health care plans is the core element of the Obama’s administration’s plan for people under the age of 65. When applied to people 65 and older, subsidized, regulated, private health insurance is considered such a right-wing position that many Republican members of congress won’t vote for it. But when applied to people aged 64 and younger, it’s socialism
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/09/republicans-against-medicare.php

"ironies" is too weak.