Franken suggests GOP misread mandate

“Sometimes, when something like the 2010 election happens, a lot of us wondered if they were going to overread their mandate,” Franken said Saturday during an address at a Jefferson-Jackson Day event in Detroit.

“You think so? We are going to beat them on that, ending Medicare as we know it,” Franken said, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The House on Friday approved a GOP budget resolution that would cut $5.8 trillion in spending over 10 years. The budget would impose significant reforms to Medicare and Medicare, and would reform the tax code. It would balance the budget by 2040.

Franken accused the GOP of giving up on states like Michigan that have been hit especially hard by the recession. 

“When the auto industry was lifeblood of Michigan, Republicans were ready to give up on it. [Sen.] John McCain [R-Ariz.] actually came to Michigan and said ‘Those jobs ain’t coming back,’ ” Franken said. “Well, when Republicans try to repeat that strategy in 2012, we’ve got a message for them — sorry, but those votes ain’t coming back.”