It can’t be easy defending your party’s plan to cut and privatize Medicare in retiree-heavy Boca Raton, Florida, but Rep. Allen West gave it his best shot on Wednesday. Questioned by constituents about the budget at a town hall, the freshman Republican warned that everyone is doomed with Medicare as is.
“I gotta tell you something: if you support Medicare the way it is now, you can kiss the United States of America goodbye,” West said, according to local station WPTV.
The town hall drew a number of protesters, some of whom were led out of the event by security after heckling the Congressman. West’s Democratic-leaning district is considered among the most vulnerable in 2012.
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
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