But He Won't Cut My Programs, The Trump Voter Said

Paul Ryan and the House GOP have the green light from Trump to burn down the federal safety net system, and the damage is going to be horrific.

House Republicans just voted to slash hundreds of billions of dollars in health care for the poor as part of their Obamacare replacement. Now, they’re weighing a plan to take the scalpel to programs that provide meals to needy kids and housing and education assistance for low-income families. 

President Donald Trump’s refusal to overhaul Social Security and Medicare — and his pricey wish-list for infrastructure, a border wall and tax cuts — is sending House budget writers scouring for pennies in politically sensitive places: safety-net programs for the most vulnerable.

Under enormous internal pressure to quickly balance the budget, Republicans are considering slashing more than $400 billion in spending through a process to evade Democratic filibusters in the Senate, multiple sources told POLITICO. 

The proposal, which would be part of the House Budget Committee's fiscal 2018 budget, won't specify which programs would get the ax; instead it will instruct committees to figure out what to cut to reach the savings. But among the programs most likely on the chopping block, the sources say, are food stamps, welfare, income assistance for the disabled and perhaps even veterans benefits. 

If enacted, such a plan to curb safety-net programs — all while juicing the Pentagon’s budget and slicing corporate tax rates — would amount to the biggest shift in federal spending priorities in decades. 

Atop that, GOP budget writers will also likely include Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) proposal to essentially privatize Medicare in their fiscal 2018 budget, despite Trump’s unwavering rejection of the idea. While that proposal is more symbolic and won’t become law under this budget, it’s just another thorny issue that will have Democrats again accusing Republicans of “pushing Granny off the cliff.”

Granny will have a softer landing after the her fall, there will already be a lot of bodies down there for her to land on.  Bottom line: Republicans are expecting to be able to use budget reconciliation to make draconian austerity cuts, but hey as long as it's those people who suffer the most, Trump voters will happily go along with the plan.

This was always coming, and Trump voters knew it deep down.  They just figured Trump wouldn't hurt them personally.  When that happens, well he can just blame someone else.  The GOP victimhood complex is fascinating, isn't it?