Democrats spent the last week of Easter recess bashing the GOP on the Medicare reforms in the Paul Ryan budget, and Republicans say they are feeling the heat back home.

Apr 29, 2011
WSJ

By STEPHEN MOORE

Democrats spent the last week of Easter recess bashing the GOP on the Medicare reforms in the Paul Ryan budget, and Republicans tell me they are feeling the heat back home.

Republicans say the ploy, dubbed “Mediscare redux,” harkens back to the mid-1990s. That’s when House Republicans tried to reform the health insurance program for seniors, only to see a big push back from the senior lobby. Polls so far show less than 40% of voters supporting Rep. Ryan’s plan, which includes “premium support” of up to $15,000 to allow seniors to purchase private plans. Anxious Republicans are now asking the House Republican leadership for talking points to counter the left’s charge of “privatizing Medicare.”

The only Republican so far to come out against the Ryan budget is Susan Collins of Maine. The scuttlebutt is that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may try to force more defections by holding a vote to get Republicans on the record supporting Medicare cuts. Meanwhile, the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee is urging members to remind voters that the White House plan will lead to price controls and rationing of care. “So far Republicans are standing by the Ryan plan and defending it,” one House leadership aide assures me. But “yes, they are worried about the polling,” he adds.

One member who isn’t backing away is Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who is running for Senate next year. In an interview, Mr. Flake says that he plans to go to Sun City and other retirement areas in Arizona to explain the fiscal necessity of the GOP cutbacks. “I think we need to reassure seniors on Medicare that this plan impacts future retirees, not them,” he tells me. He also says that Republicans have to do a better job reminding seniors that “Medicare is going broke if we stick with the current system.”

Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703655404576293094120322056.html

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment