Dems’ Medicare denialism, red states rising and other commentary

From the right: Dems’ Medicare Denialism

“The Trump Administration is considering automatically enrolling Medicare beneficiaries in private insurance plans — a k a Medicare Advantage — as a default,” cheer The Wall Street Journal’s editors, as this “may be the single most effective way to reduce Medicare waste, fraud and abuse.” Democrats falsely claim “Medicare Advantage is wasting money”; in fact, Congress created the program “to improve care for seniors and restrain spending”: “Insurers use savings from reducing waste to lower patient costs and offer supplemental benefits like dental and vision care.” “Democrats claim the private plans draw healthier enrollees than traditional Medicare,” yet “Advantage enrollees are less likely to report themselves as in ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ health.” “Democrats dislike Advantage because they prefer government-run healthcare, though the latter has higher costs.” It’s ideological, “no matter the facts.”

Republican: Red States Rising

“Much focus is on how Americans plan to vote in upcoming elections,” but “where they will be voting” merits attention, too, notes USA Today & Ingrid Jacques. “Progressive states like New York and California” are “losing residents” to low-tax “states like Texas and Florida.” The latest Census Bureau estimates show “red states are gaining population”; if the trend continues into 2030 “Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas would pick up congressional districts.” The Brennan Center projects “Florida and Texas would lead the pickups, with three new seats for Florida and four for Texas.” It all points “to the fact that Democrats have lost the plot, and Americans are voting with their feet to head to places that resonate with their values, whether on taxes, abortion or school choice.”

Elex desk: The Trump Demo Shift 

“The past five years have seen a massive migration of Americans” into counties “where Donald Trump won majorities in each of the past three elections,” notes the Issues & Insights Editorial Board — some 5.4 million. And these “millions aren’t just moving out of blue states, but are moving out of blue counties within states.” Worse for Dems: “Of the 50 counties with the biggest net gain of population, all but four voted for Trump in the past three elections. Of the 50 counties with the biggest losses due to net migration, all but five are solid blue.” “We keep hearing how unpopular Trump and his policies are,” but “millions of Americans would rather live among Trump supporters than those voting for the likes of Kamala Harris.”

Justice watch: Accountability for Weaponization

“The best way to end the political weaponization of the bureaucracy is to punish the weaponizers,” thunders The Federalist’s Elle Purnell: If those behind “the most infamous abuses — from the Russia collusion hoax to the Biden DOJ effort to throw its political opposition in prison — escape accountability, new partisans will be emboldened to abuse their prosecutorial power for political ends.” So “the likes of James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith” must be “held accountable for their war on the rule of law.” Beware: “When the media talk about ‘ending weaponization,’ they mean the exact opposite.” No: “Punishing the architects of that weaponization isn’t just not contradictory to ending weaponization, it’s an essential feature.”

Rue, Britannia: Islamification KOs Free Speech

In Britain, “a growing Muslim population has become more confident in asserting its identity,” while British elites urge “respect for Islam” as a sign “of diversity, multiculturalism, and anti-racism,” grumbles Joanna Williams at City Journal. The school system “plays an important role in normalizing Islamic religious practices among all children.” Growing Muslim populations “in particular areas enables Islam to gain disproportionate political influence,” especially in the Labour Party. It seems “those in charge of U.K. institutions lack the capacity to assert British values, traditions, and identity.” Indeed, the latest definition of anti-Muslim hate “effectively curtails free speech when it comes to criticizing Islamic practices or behavior.” Overall, “Britain’s continuing Islamification has come at the expense of women’s safety, Jewish security, and core liberal principles such as free speech.” 

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board