Get yourself a cup of tea and let’s party like it’s 2010!
by digby
Looks like they’re going to replay their successful campaign of 2010:
“Unlike the current president, who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion, we will preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security,” Romney said Saturday while introducing Ryan.
The trouble with this argument — made frequently by Republicans, including Ryan himself — is that Ryan’s own budget sustains the Medicare cuts in “Obamacare.” Congressional Republicans have voted overwhelmingly — most recently this spring — for the blueprint containing those cuts, which don’t significantly alter the seniors’ safety net program.
Talking points circulated by the Romney campaign Saturday similarly instruct surrogates to make the “Obama cut Medicare” argument to blunt voters’ fears over Ryan’s Medicare plan.
“No. President Obama is the one who should be worried, because he has cut $700 BILLION from Medicare to pay for Obamacare, and put in place a panel of Washington bureaucrats to make decisions about what kind of care seniors will receive under Medicare,” the memo reads. “Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have a bipartisan plan to strengthen Medicare by giving future seniors the choice between traditional Medicare and a variety of private plans.”
You remember 2010, right? When the Tea party swept the congress?
I wonder if there has ever been a dumber political move than the Grand Bargain talks last summer in which the President and the Democrats put the safety net on the table (and bragged about it even as recently as this week) after those ads in 2010? I’m still gobsmacked by it.
Turning this on the Democrats is a perfect “I know you are but what am I” political gambit and it will be a miracle if the electorate just doesn’t assume they cancel each other out and go to other factors to make their choice. On the other hand, it allows the Democrats running down ticket to disavow any cuts to Medicare and Social Security, which could end up being a good thing.
Go out and get a supply of aspirin. This is going to make your head hurt for the next two months.
*Also, you can contribute to Rob Zerban, Ryan’s congressional opponent, here. Maybe we can get rid of him altogether.
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