House GOP To America: Were Going To Hurt Some People

Jul 27, 2011 | By ThinkProgress War Room

According to the Washington Post, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) replied, Im ready to drive the car. In the movie, the characters then put on hockey masks and bludgeon two men with sticks, then shoot one man in the leg.

Violent Film Motivates House GOP As They Push Us Toward Default

As we reported yesterday, Speaker Boehner is having some trouble rounding up the votes for his disastrous default bill. So much trouble that he had to postpone todays planned vote until at least tomorrow. (Good thing were not in a rush or anything.) In order to whip up support for the Boehner plan, the Washington Post reported that yesterday the GOP leadership played a clip from the Ben Affleck flick The Town. Here are the details, via ThinkProgress Judd Legum: Ben Affleck: I need your help. I cant tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later. And were going to hurt some people. Jeremy Renner: Whose car are we going to take?

Quick Condemnation The controversy lit up twitter last night, and today Democratic leaders were quick to denounce the showing of the clip and the message behind it. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee: When we set out to get our countrys deficit problem in order and under control, we knew that it would be a difficult debate. But I dont think anyone anticipated that our disagreements would lead to the type of vitriol and negative tone that this clip was clearly meant to incite. Not only did the Republican leadership apparently think this clip appropriate for their meeting. Those in attendance seemed to embrace its message. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) put it plainly: Ladies and gentleman, this is your House Republican majority.

Ladies and gentleman, this is the Republican plan for America.

How the GOP Plan Really Will Hurt People As we noted yesterday, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said if the Boehner plan were to be enacted, it could well produce the greatest increase in poverty and hardship produced by any law in modern U.S. history. In order to meet the extremely deep level of entitlement cuts implied in the Boehner plan, CBPP says policymakers would be left with basically three painful options:

Cut Social Security and Medicare benefits heavily for current retirees, something that all budget plans from both parties (including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryans plan) have ruled out

Repeal the Affordable Care Acts coverage expansions while retaining its measures that cut Medicare payments and raise tax revenues, even though Republicans seek to repeal many of those measures as well

Eviscerate the safety net for low-income children, parents, senior citizens, and people with disabilities

As CBPP says, There is no other plausible way to get $1.5 trillion in entitlement cuts in the next ten years.