The voting machine as slot machine

To generate support. Democrats across the nation have played the politics of fear card, suggesting that should Republicans assume control of Congress, social security would be at risk.

Now they are also trying bribes - and we know from the ugly methods that were used to pass Obama Care that they have some experience in this area.

From this morning's Washington Post editorial:

NOT AGAIN. Is there no limit to politicians' pandering to seniors? Last year, as part of the stimulus package, President Obama and the Democrats made sure to take care of seniors with a $250 payment. Then, when the absence of inflation meant that there would be no cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits in 2010, the president proposed another $250 check. It didn't pass, but now that the Social Security trustees have said there is no need for a cost-of-living adjustment next year, the White House, with depressing predictability, proposes it again.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement Friday that neglected to mention the cost of this $250 handout ($12 billion) or how the White House proposes to pay (adding it to the debt and letting the grandkids pick up the tab). "Many seniors are struggling in the face of the economic downturn, having seen their savings fall," he said. No doubt some seniors are struggling. So are many other Americans who are more likely to be affected by the high unemployment rate and don't have guaranteed benefits.

The poverty rate for seniors fell last year, from 9.7 percent to 8.9 percent. In 2009, incomes rose for households headed by people 65 and older, while every other age group lost ground, according to Census Bureau figures reported recently in USA Today.

The Washington Post notes that fiscal watchdog groups look at this maneuver as a litmus test of responsibility and calls for lawmakers to reject this bribe. As for the President, he gets a "failing grade",

There goes that B+ average he generously gave himself a few months ago.

That is not the only Midterm stunt he has pulled from his pocket: there was the "end" of the offshore drilling moratorium (that was the headline; in reality, they will impose more regulations that may stall its resumption). Obama is also offering colleges students and their families tax breaks. This is a blatant and transparent stunt to get his old base revved up to pull the ballot - and the voting machine sure is beginning to look like a slot machine that for lucky winners will bring the bucks flowing to them.

The Post recognizes that Obama blithely is unconcerned about the future impact of these bribes: he is endangering our nation's future while raiding our kids' piggy banks with this newest form of pork.

And Obama ran against the ways of Washington - but that was so 2008.