Friday, June 17, 2011

Even Paul Ryan doesn't support his Medicare plan any more

This just in. The Hill:

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday that he is open to reforming Medicare in a way that would leave a traditional fee-for-service system as an option for future seniors.

Ryan, speaking at a policy discussion hosted by The Hill and sponsored by No American Debt, an advocacy group, said that he has consistently been open to an optional version of his controversial Medicare plan, which Democrats have seized upon as a campaign issue.

“I have always said all along all of those ideas are ideas we should be considering when it comes to legislation,” the House Budget Committee chairman said. “When you are down in the details, there should be a fee-for-service option alongside premium support.

“They are all good ideas,” Ryan said.
Really? Even President Obama's?  Even the Democrats' ideas?  Ryan and the GOP majority in the House were in a no-amendment, no-compromise, take-no-prisoners mode when they passed the budget.

The fact is that the House Republicans voted for Ryan's plan to end Medicare and replace it with a voucher system -- although he denies that's what it is, that's what it is. But the GOP has been taking a political beating ever since.

Nancy Pelosi's office got it right:
"Republicans are not fooling anyone. They voted to end Medicare and now they can’t take the heat,” Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said. “The only plan Americans want is called Medicare and we must strengthen it, not weaken it. What you’re hearing now is a lead balloon crashing to the ground.”

No comments:

Post a Comment