The summer of 2009 was dominated by town hall anger against Democrats for their plans on health care reform. Now, in the summer of 2011, Republicans are experiencing some backlash for their deficit reduction plan. The plan in question was authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). One week ago the bill passed through the House by a 235-189 vote, with all but 6 Republicans voting for the plan and every Democrat voting against. This week Republican representatives are going back to their districts and facing some tough questions on the vote as can be seen in the video to the left.
In the video, Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) is asked how he could vote for "abolishing Medicare" when some older adults are not prepared to pay for their own medical expenses. Meehan denies that the Ryan budget "abolishes" Medicare, a point of contention between Democrats and Republicans.
What the Ryan plan does is replace the current version of Medicare, in which all people are guaranteed a minimum amount of insurance coverage, with a private voucher program. Starting in 2021, those over 65 would start receiving a voucher to purchase their own private insurance plan. If the voucher did not cover the costs of the insurance, and the Congressional Budget Office argues that it would not, than older senior citizen would either have to make up the difference or simply go without coverage.
Rep. Meehan is not the only Republican facing this kind of backlash. Think Progress provides a list of elected officials who have experiences some voter wrath this week. Some are upset that the GOP plan would lower taxes on the richest Americans. Others are upset that Ryan's plan would lower the corporate tax rate even as many corporations pay no taxes at all.
It has yet to be seen whether the "summer of discontent" in 2011 will match that of 2009, but Republicans are certainly not getting positive reviews from at least some of their constituents so far.
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