Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are trying to turn the tables on President Obama, making what Democrats had thought was a weakness -- their Medicare plan -- into a strength in the presidential race.
Since Ryan was introduced as Romney's running mate on the presumptive
GOP ticket, all the talk of the campaign has been about Medicare, not
the economy.
That's because the Democrats tried to use the Wisconsin congressman's
plan to overhaul Medicare, essentially turning it into a voucher program
for seniors to buy their own health insurance, to undermine support for
Romney.
But now, with the Republican National Convention
just a week away, Romney, Ryan and their surrogates are using Medicare
to hammer Obama, focusing on a $716 billion cut in funding for the
program that was part of the Affordable Care Act.
Ryan included those same cuts in his signature budget plan -- the same
plan Romney has said he would sign if he becomes president -- but Ryan
says he was forced to build his plan on those cuts because they were
already signed into law.
The $716 billion in cuts to Medicare in the Affordable Care Act do not
affect benefits for seniors. Instead, they reduce provider
reimbursements and are intended to curb waste, fraud and abuse, but that
has not stopped the GOP attacks.
"Medicare should not be used as a piggy bank for 'Obamacare,"
Ryan said Saturday in a speech at The Villages, Fla.,
the nation's largest retirement community. "Medicare should be used to
be the promise that it made to our current seniors. Period. End of
story."
Obama himself acknowledged the strategy.
"I guess they figure the best defense is to try to go on offense," he said Saturday in New Hampshire.
Romney's top advisor said the president is right, and added that it seems to be working.
"This is first election cycle I can remember in a long time where
Democrats are on the defensive because of Medicare," Romney senior
advisor Eric Fehrnstrom said today on CNN's "State of the Union."
If they can convince voters that the president's health care plan is the
one that is threatening Medicare, not Ryan's, they could effectively
neutralize some of the concerns about whether the addition of the
conservative Wisconsin congressman to the ticket might alienate centrist
independent voters.
"They're trying to neutralize the negatives while accentuating the
positive parts of the Ryan budget and the Ryan plan, which is this is
forward looking, it's bold," ABC News Political Director Amy Walter
said. "They want to go into Tampa on their toes. And then to pivot from
that offense on to the broader argument, which is this is a referendum
on President Obama's handling of the economy."
But Obama hasn't exactly gone on the defensive about his Medicare
approach, instead keeping up the attacks on the Republicans' plan.
"What they want to do is they want seniors to get a voucher to buy their
own insurance, which could force seniors to pay an extra $6,400 a year
for their health care," he said Saturday in New Hampshire.
And he found a new line of criticism of Ryan's economic proposals,
taking a swipe at his plan from 2010 that would have eliminated capital
gains taxes altogether.
"He put forward a plan that would let Governor Romney pay less than 1 percent in taxes each year," the president said. "And here's the kicker -- he expects you to pick up the tab."
After a messy breakup with German hubby Marc Schwarz in 2010,the couple
are back together proclaiming undying love for one another,a love that
comes with a condition that is hanging heavy on the 'wifes' neck. chika confirmed he is back together with marc but under lock and key.
Robin Van Persie played in a Manchester United shirt for the first
time, but he could not stop his new club falling to an opening day
defeat at Everton.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died, state television
reported Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation about his whereabouts and
state of health.
