Make no mistake about it – between Rick Scott’s agenda that would end the Medicare and Social Security guarantee and Lindsey Graham confirming Republican majorities could go after these critical programs, it’s clear Republicans are laying the groundwork to gut Medicare and Social Security – further raising the stakes of this November’s elections.

Every Republican lawmaker on the Hill has to answer these questions: Why are they still committed to ripping away critical programs millions of Americans rely on? Do they agree with plans from a member of Mitch McConnell’s leadership team and the leading Senate Republican on the budget to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it?

Yesterday, Lindsey Graham suggested Senate majorities would try to gut Medicare and Social Security, and rip the rug out from underneath millions of Americans, including seniors – “entitlement reform is a must.”

Politico: “Lindsey’s pledge: If Republicans regain control of the Senate following the midterms, the current Senate Budget ranking member is laying the groundwork: ‘Entitlement reform is a must for us to not become Greece.’”

WATCH

That’s to say nothing of NRSC Chair and Florida Senator Rick Scott’s policy agenda many Republicans are coalescing around, which would end the Social Security and Medicare guarantee.

Washington Post: “But during the seven weeks of turmoil since Scott dropped a provocative conservative policy bomb on an unsuspecting party — a plan that called for tax increases and expiration dates for all federal laws, including those establishing Social Security and Medicare — he has not once expressed regret. Instead, the former hospital chain CEO and two-term governor, the richest man in the Senate, argues that he owes his detractors nothing.”

Washington Post Opinion: “Scott’s plan would also sunset — eliminate — all federal legislation over five years, under the (risky) assumption that worthy laws would be reenacted. That could mean an end to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, everything else mentioned above — and potentially more.”

Up North News: “Ron Johnson Thinks a GOP Plan for Tax Increases and the Potential End of Medicare and Social Security Is a ‘Positive Thing’”

The Daily Beast: “At least four GOP candidates in the most important battleground states this fall have either explicitly expressed support for Scott’s plan or have campaigned on the political views that form the foundation of his platform.”