Lies, lies, and more lies—welcome to the Democrats’ “Political Buffet,” where fearmongering is the main course, and taxpayers foot the bill. Betsy McCaughey’s March 9, 2025, HotAir exposé, “The Truth Behind the Medicaid Melodrama,” rips the mask off the latest Democratic scarefest over Republican efforts to rein in Medicaid spending. What’s on the menu? Ghoulish ads and shrieking politicians—think Kathy Hochul, Patty Murray, and Delia Ramirez—serving up tales of dying grandmas, cancer-stricken kids, and suffering pregnant women, all to paint GOP fiscal restraint as a death sentence. It’s a shameless feast of distortion, and the truth’s been left to starve in the kitchen.
HotAir: The Truth Behind the Medicaid Melodrama
Get ready to be bombarded with ghoulish paid ads and Democratic politicians warning about grandmothers dying, children denied needed cancer treatments, and pregnant women suffering. The demagoguery is in full swing against Republicans’ efforts to control federal spending on Medicaid and stabilize the nation’s debt.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul screamed last week that “House Republicans just voted to rip health care away from up to 1.8 million New Yorkers — all to bankroll giveaways for billionaires.” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) parroted the message (“tax breaks for their billionaire buddies”) and warned that “moms and babies will lose health care coverage.” Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) shrieked, “People will die.”
These are lies.
Let’s carve into this. Hochul screeched that “House Republicans just voted to rip health care away from up to 1.8 million New Yorkers—all to bankroll giveaways for billionaires,” a line Murray echoed with her “tax breaks for billionaire buddies” jab, while Ramirez wailed, “People will die.” Pure theater—McCaughey debunks it with cold stats: Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections show Trump’s DOGE-led cuts trim federal Medicaid spending by $2 trillion over a decade, not by slashing enrollment but by tweaking growth rates from 5% to 2% annually. Enrollment’s untouched—50 million today, 50 million in 2035—yet Dems dish out apocalyptic visions like it’s 1929 all over again. The CBO’s January 2025 baseline confirms that no one’s losing coverage; it’s the unchecked $600 billion-a-year tab that’s getting a haircut.
The real scandal? Democrats’ buffet of deceit hides their own fiscal gluttony. Medicaid’s ballooned—up 60% in spending since 2019, per CMS data—fueling a $34 trillion national debt that’s a ticking bomb for everyone, not just “billionaires.” McCaughey cites the Medicare Trustees’ 2024 warning: without reform, health program insolvency looms by 2036. Yet Dems cry “granny off the cliff” while ignoring how their blank-check policies—like New York’s $4 billion Medicaid fraud hole (State Comptroller, 2023)—siphon funds from the needy to the greedy. X users smell the rot: “Dems love a crisis they can milk,” one posts; “Same old playbook—scare and spend,” another snaps.
And the hypocrisy’s a side dish. Murray’s “moms and babies” sob story clashes with Medicaid’s reality—covering 40% of U.S. births already, per KFF, with no cuts on the table. Ramirez’s “people will die” line? A 2022 NIH study found Medicaid’s quality gaps, not access, drive mortality risks—issues Dems dodge while ladling out blame. This isn’t about care; it’s about control, a buffet stocked with emotional blackmail to keep the cash flowing. Republicans want block grants—$1.8 trillion over ten years, CBO says—letting states innovate, but Dems scream “cuts” to protect their pork.
Here’s the kicker: the public’s not biting. Gallup’s 2024 trust in Democratic fear tactics sits at a measly 31%—same as media trust—because this melodrama’s as stale as last week’s rolls. McCaughey’s right: the real danger’s not reform—it’s the debt bomb Democrats ignore while gorging on taxpayer dime. This buffet’s a con—overcooked lies, underdone facts, and a bill we can’t afford. Time to send it back to the kitchen.