Republicans worry as self-inflicted wounds pile up

Republican lawmakers are wary of their party’s propensity for self-inflicted wounds and are hoping for more discipline heading into the next election cycle.  

Leading Republicans think that the House GOP’s raucous reception of President Biden at last week’s State of the Union played into the president’s hands and that the proposal by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to sunset all federal legislation after five years is a political gift to Democrats.  

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are dismayed that Scott hasn’t disavowed his 12-point plan to “Rescue America,” despite repeated Democratic attacks, and they are disappointed by lapses in message discipline, such as Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) call for annual votes on Medicare and Social Security, which he described as “a legal Ponzi scheme.”  

Johnson says that doesn’t mean he wants to cut Social Security, but some of his colleagues worry that Republicans are already giving Democrats too much ammo heading into the 2024 election.  

“I think Republicans have got to be wise in how we talk about these issues,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).

Some Republicans, like Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), have urged other members of their party to be cautious in how they approach the issue of Social Security. (Greg Nash)

Biden’s job approval rating has been mired in the low 40s for much of his first term in office, but Democrats still managed to expand their Senate majority and exceed expectations in the battle for the House last year.  

Many Republicans believe the Democrats’ strong showing in the midterms had more to do with their own party’s mistakes than the popularity of Biden’s agenda.  

Biden seized on Scott’s 12-point plan at his State of the Union speech, telling the nation that “some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset every five years.”   

And Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday pointed to Johnson’s recent comments to advance Biden’s claim.   

“Almost as if to prove President Biden correct, Sen. Johnson of Wisconsin reacted to the State of the Union by going on radio and calling for annual votes on Social Security, calling it a ‘Ponzi scheme,’” Schumer said on the Senate floor.  

Schumer also pointed out that the House Republican Study Committee released a budget proposal last year that raised the Social Security retirement age and cut some benefits to certain recipients.  

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) for describing Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.” (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Johnson on Wednesday defended his comments by arguing that future Social Security recipients aren’t going to get what they put into the trust fund given the nation’s mounting debt.  

“It’s not a sustainable system,” he said of Social Security, noting that the number of workers paying into the system to support retirees has dwindled. “A Ponzi scheme is you take from investors. You don’t invest it. You spend it. And you pay off early investors. The later investors get hosed.” 

But members of the Senate Republican leadership team don’t see any point in talking about Medicare and Social Security reforms when they don’t think Democrats have any good-faith desire to reform those programs and instead will just use GOP proposals to play offense in next year’s election.  

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Biden “loves that, doesn’t he?” referring to Biden hammering Republicans over Scott’s plan.  

“What it’s showing is that Biden has no interest in saving Social Security or Medicare from insolvency,” he said. “He’s just going to use it purely as a political pinata.” 

Cornyn later said Democrats are using Scott’s plan as “a diversion” to shift public attention away from the nation’s serious debt problem.  

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is among the GOP members who do not see advantages to continuing to speak about Social Security and Medicare, noting that, Biden “loves that, doesn’t he?” (Greg Nash)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday tried to quash once and for all Democratic claims that Republicans want to use the expiring debt limit as leverage to cut benefits for seniors.  

“It continues to come up. The president was talking about it in the State of the Union,” McConnell told reporters this week. “So let me say it one more time. There is no agenda on the part of Senate Republicans to revisit Medicare or Social Security. Period.” 

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) pointed out that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said last week that Medicare and Social Security cuts are “off the table” and fellow Republicans need to get the message.   

Capito, the chairwoman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said GOP senators discussed “trying to keep on [a] unified message as much as we can.” 

“With the Speaker and our leader, the two Republican leaders, being on the same page, that’s going to drive the message of the day,” she said, referring to McCarthy’s and McConnell’s pledges not to cut Medicare or Social Security.  

“Members are going to disagree,” she said, acknowledging differing views on strategy within the GOP conference.  

But she argued that party leaders are smart to stay away from what has become the “third rail” of politics — specifically Medicare and Social Security cuts — in the debt limit discussions with the White House.  

“I’m unified with the message that we need to stay away from these things to solve some fiscal problems,” she said.  

Some Republican senators say they weren’t thrilled with the jeering and raucous reception Biden received from House Republicans at last week’s State of the Union address, which appeared to play into the president’s hands in front of a national television audience.  

Some Republicans have expressed dismay over the raucous response Biden received at his State of the Union address, where he addressed Republicans’ reported plans for Social Security and Medicare. (Greg Nash)

Schumer said the contrast between Biden and “these guys screaming and yelling” and “just calling names” is “going to serve the president so well.” 

Veteran journalist Chris Wallace said GOP lawmakers who heckled Biden “literally played into his hands.” 

Later, when he was asked about Wallace’s observation that Republicans might have unwittingly made the president look good, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) replied, “That may be fair.”  

He said that Republicans should stick to “reasonable and enduring policy” proposals instead of made-for-television antics that give Democrats a chance to change to subject to the behavior of Republican personalities.  

“I think we’re missing an opportunity to differentiate,” he said. “Focus on policy. If you get that done, it will age well.” 

Another Republican senator who requested anonymity to comment on House colleagues said that decorum is good for the party’s brand.  

“We ought to be polite and respectful to each other. This is not theater. It’s governing,” the senator said, commenting on the unruly reactions to Biden’s speech last week. “It’s damaging to the politics. It appeals to a handful of people and turns off a whole bunch more.”  

Looking ahead to next year’s election, Senate Republicans say they need to do a better job of helping ensure the most electable candidates advance to the general election, something they believe did not happen last year in Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, where Democrats won.  

At a one-day retreat last week, GOP lawmakers discussed the need for the National Republican Senatorial Committee to get more involved in the candidate vetting and selection process in 2024. 

“I think it’s more a matter of interacting with the states to make sure that they understand this is all about winning the finals, not the semifinals,” Tillis said.  

Capito said the retreat was “forward thinking.”  

“Candidate recruitment is a repeating message, making sure we get candidates that win the primary that can win the general,” she said.