Ellison: Republicans Are Committed to Undermining Medicare

With former vice presidential candidate and U.S. House Budget Committee chairman, Paul Ryan, to unveil his budget proposal for next year on Tuesday, another Medicare controversy could be on the horizon.

According to CNN, Ryan's considering some changes to the entitlement program that would possibly change the plan for people who are 57 and older. This would be quite a departure from the GOP's 2012 campaign that pledged no such cuts for seniors.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) was a guest on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" March 5 to talk about the potential Medicare cuts.

"They (Paul Ryan and the Republican caucus) don't believe in protecting seniors," Ellison said. "They believe that the rich people don't have anough money and the poor people have too much. ... They are unrepented and absolutely committed to undermining this program."

Besides Ellison sharing his feelings on Ryan's budgetary plans, he also previewed the Progressive Caucus budget, called the Back to Work Budget.

Ellison said the budget focuses on making investments in infrastructure, medical research, closing loopholes and making sure everyone pays their fair share of taxes.

Local Expresses Her Thoughts on the Ellison-Hannity "Feud"

One 5th District resident came to the defense of her congressman after a very talked about encounter with Fox's Sean Hannity in a letter to Patch last week.

Ellison went on Hannity's TV show in late February discussing the sequestration. The aftermath proved to be a bit of a battle.

Richfield's Donna Connelly took the blame for Ellison and Hannity's firery discussion. She went on to say Hannity was not even a legitimate journalist, nor Fox a legitimate news source:

Only on Fox News could an elected official who embodies vox populi vox Dei get demeaned as the stereotypical “angry black man.” That’s what Sean Hannity tried to do, anyway. He didn’t succeed, though, because Keith Ellison refused to defer to him and his emotionally loaded questions. Rep. Ellison wouldn’t go along to get along.