South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Federal revote a ‘Scott plan’ not GOP plan
McConnell disavows proposal that could endanger Medicare
GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell sided with President Joe Biden and disavowed Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s “bad idea” to sunset all federal laws, saying it could cost Scott reelection after Biden used it as a weapon against Republicans over Social Security and Medicare.
“That was the Rick Scott plan, not a Republican plan,” McConnell told a Kentucky radio station Thursday.
Scott’s plan to have all federal laws come up for a vote again after five years was the centerpiece of Biden’s attack on the GOP in his State of the Union address, and he continued the offensive at an event in Tampa on Thursday.
In an interview later that day, Senate Minority Leader McConnell appeared to agree with Biden that Scott’s proposal could endanger Social Security and Medicare.
McConnell said GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged that “Social Security and Medicare are not to be touched, and I’ve said the same. And I think we’re in a more authoritative position to state what the position of the party is than any single senator.”
McConnell added it would be a “challenge” for Scott “to deal with this in his own reelection in Florida, a state with more elderly people than any other state in America.”
Scott is on the ballot next year. In response, longtime Scott spokesman Chris Hartline wrote on Twitter, “Lol. Rick Scott knows how to win Florida a hell of a lot better than Mitch McConnell does.”
Scott and McConnell have been at odds ever since Scott, the head of the GOP Senate campaign arm, released his own plan last year that also initially called for poor people and retirees who don’t pay income tax to begin paying them to have some “skin in the game.”
Scott backtracked on that part of his proposal but announced last month that the rest of it, including his five-year sunset proposal, would be the basis of his reelection campaign in 2024.
The feud between the two reached a climax in December as Scott challenged McConnell’s leadership despite Scott’s poor showing when it came to Republican Senate campaigns. The party lost ground in the chamber from 50 to 49 seats.
Scott received just 10 votes in his bid to lead the GOP in the Senate, and McConnell responded by kicking Scott off the Senate Commerce Committee. Scott called the move “petty” on Fox News.
McConnell has tried to distance himself from Scott’s plan from the beginning, but it came to a head Tuesday during Biden’s State of the Union Address.
Biden drew boos from Republicans when he said some in their party wanted to “take the economy hostage” by sunsetting Social Security and Medicare. He quickly ad-libbed that he was happy to hear they were on his side.
“As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?” Biden said.
Scott tried to rebut Biden’s claims, calling Biden a “liar” and posting on Twitter that Biden “forgot to share the facts.”
But he also doubled down on his sunset proposal.
“In my plan, I suggested the following: All federal legislation sunsets in 5 yrs. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again,” Scott wrote. “... To suggest that this means I want to cut Social Security or Medicare is a lie, and is a dishonest move … from a very confused President.”
One of Scott’s attempted rebuttals was retweeted by the White House twitter account, which added, “Senator Rick Scott introduced a plan that would sunset Social Security and Medicare every five years unless Congress votes them back into existence.”
Biden continued the theme in Tampa, passing out a pamphlet on Scott’s plan which stated, “This means Medicare and Social Security would be on the chopping block every five years.”
“I guarantee it will not happen,” Biden said. “A lot of Republicans, their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare. Well, let me say this: If that’s your dream, I’m your nightmare.”
Scott fired back in a web ad, saying the president should “resign” and accusing Biden of cutting $80 billion from Medicare. Scott’s claim was rebutted by CNN, PolitiFact and Fact-Check, all of which stated the $80 billion in “cuts” were actually savings due to the federal government spending less on prescription drugs because of a new law allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
Despite Scott’s troubles, he remains a favorite for reelection next year, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.