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MIAMI – Stumping here on Monday, Mitt Romney told reporters he couldn’t think of how he differs from running mate Paul Ryan when it comes to their views on Medicare.
“We haven’t gone through piece by piece and said, ‘Oh, here’s a place where there’s a difference,’” Romney said of his running mate’s plan. “But my plan for Medicare is very similar to his plan, which is ‘Do not change the program for current retirees or near-retirees but do not do what the president has done and that is to cut $700 billion out of the current program.”
Sustaining Medicare, the government’s health care program for seniors, will likely become a central issue in this election campaign – particularly because Ryan, the House budget committee chairman, crafted a controversial plan that analysts say would increase costs for low-income and unhealthy seniors down the road.
In the days since Paul Ryan joined the Republican ticket, the spotlight has been on Ryan's proposal for government to give seniors money to buy their own insurance – part of a sweeping Medicare reform plan. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
Romney was less committal Monday than he was in January, when he said during a debate that Ryan’s Medicare reform plan was “absolutely right on.” Instead, he said that he and Ryan agreed on the main points – and that he planned to restore the $700 billion cut from Medicare under Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Ryan's Medicare plan and his budget: What's in them for you?
There’s a hitch, however: Ryan’s budget makes the same $700 billion in Medicare cuts as the Obama plan. CNBC's Scott Cohn explains:
“The Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – does cut the growth of Medicare by $700 billion over 10 years. But benefits to seniors actually increase under Obamacare, which reduces payments to providers in exchange for more people covered by insurance. What’s more, the Ryan plan – approved by the House – cuts Medicare spending every bit as much as Obamacare does. In fact, it incorporates the very same budget projections, even as it repeals Obamacare. That’s what you call having it both ways.”
Faced with questions about Ryan's support for these cuts, the Romney campaign clarified its position Monday evening and disagreed with those cuts.
"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have always been fully committed to repealing Obamacare, ending President Obama’s $716 billion raid on Medicare, and tackling the serious fiscal challenges our country faces," Lanhee Chen, Romney’s policy director, said in a statement. "A Romney-Ryan Administration will restore the funding to Medicare, ensure that no changes are made to the program for those 55 or older, and implement the reforms that they have proposed to strengthen it for future generations."
At his last event of the day here in Miami, Romney did not mention Medicare or Obama’s health care reform, focusing instead on economic issues. But when Paul Ryan comes to Florida, where retirees make up a sizable part of the population, it would be safe to assume that Medicare reform will once again take center stage.
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Question #2 for the Debates: Mr. Romney, you have said that you support the Ryan voucher plan which would give people vouchers to purchase health insurance. These vouchers will increase over time in value by a percentage of growth in the GDP. Could you please explain how the restricted growth of the vouchers will cover the unrestricted increases imposed by the health insurance industry?
Romney: I'd like to use one of my life-line calls for that answer!
Question #3....Mr. Obama, Why haven't you offered an alternative to the Ryan plan when every economist has said that medicare is unsustainable..
Sorry, Bruce--Romnut's out of life lines, now that he's annointed Ryan!
PAT:
The answer to rescuing Medicare is in Obamacare. Moron.
Question #3 for the Debates: Will you please tell us exactly which credits, exemptions and deductions will be eliminated in order to finance the reduction in the top income tax rate down to 25% as proposed by Rep. Ryan?
Question #4.....Mr. Obama why haven't you cut the deficit in half? Are you still going to try?
Question #5.....Mr. Obama, why have you attended 100 fundraisers, but haven't met with your jobs council once in the last 6 months?
Romney: Wait! Wait! Wait! I can only deflect one question at a time!!! What? Those last two aren't my questions. But, I thought I was Obama. I'm Romney? Are you sure? I feel like, um, you know, that fish, the porpoise or whatever, FLIPPER! Yah! FLIPPER! That's who I am!!
Mitt Romney's Campaign Theme Song
(written by Bruce-1628250, To the TV Theme for "Flipper")
(With sincere apologies to the memory of Flipper the Dolphin)
Question #7 President Obama in 2006 you gave a speech on the senate floor stating that raising the dept ceiling is a failure in leadership.
http://redwhitebluenews.com/?p=18346
“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure,” he said on March 16, 2006. “Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.” Obama, 2006
In 2011 you argued for raising the dept ceiling. Are you ready to admit your administration is a failure in Leadership?
Bruce, since you're into reworking songs, I figured you'd enjoy this. They will not be singing "God Bless America" at the DNC. Instead, they'll be singing Jeremiah Wright's special rendition, titled "God [bleep] America." It sings to the same tune.
"God [bleep] America,
Land that I loathe,
Stand beside her and chide her
With the bombers and planes from above.
From al Queda came the airplanes to the towers here at home,
God [bleep] America, your chicks have come home,
God [bleep] America, your chicks have come home!"
Answer to Question #7:
Now I have heard it all, Romney says Ryans plans to overhaul Medicare and his own are very similar. And some people are actually thinking about voting for this corporate puppet for president ?
Dear Mittens:
Did you ever hearing the saying: "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it"? Well, you wished for a way to make your bones among such conservatives as the WSJ, ALEC, the Koch brothers, and the tea baggers. As a result you picked Paul Ryan. Now you are stuck with him and his "Path to Prosperity (it isn't) and his votes on the Bush tax cuts, 2 off budget wars and Medicare Part D. No backtracking, no take backs, no flip flopping. Retreat, even a tiny bit, and the baggers, the Hannitys, the Limbaughs, the Coulters, the Malkins, etc. will have you for lunch. Poor Mittens, in so far over his head and the water is only up to my ankles.
So we're going to crucify Ryan for voting for the very same Bush tax cuts that Obama extended? Interesting.
Cubs, yep Obama signed the Bush tax cut extension - because he was blackmailed by the Republicans who would not extend unemployment benefits for those at the bottom of the ladder unless those tax cuts for those at the top of the ladder were continued.
Any questions as to the highest Republican priorities?
Funny--Romnut first insists corporations are people, now he's back-pedaling even on that, with his latest, "I am not a business," because he doesn't want you to know he didn't pay taxes for several years in a row.
Show us the tax returns, Willard.
Mitt MItt full of @!$%#!
Gallop: Reaction to Ryan as VP Among Least Positive Historically
http://www.gallup.com/poll/156545/Reaction-Ryan-Pick-Among-Least-Positive-Historically.aspx
On another thread skrekk points out that ...
LOL.....only Dan Quayle was seen as a worse choice for VP.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/08/paul-ryan-poll-vice-president-mitt-romney-/1#.UCk2VaOI7Rh
"Americans don't believe GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney hit a home run with his choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, with more of the public giving him lower marks than high ones.
Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, is seen as only a "fair" or "poor" choice by 42% of Americans vs. 39% who think he is an "excellent" or "pretty good" vice presidential choice.
USA TODAY/Gallup Polls of registered voters after the announcements of running mates since Dick Cheney in 2000 all showed more positive reactions. Only Dan Quayle in a 1988 Harris Poll of likely voters was viewed less positively than Ryan, with 52% rating Quayle as a "fair" or "poor" vice presidential choice. The Ryan poll includes all adults, not just registered voters."
LMAO
Romney, Ryan and Maire-Antoinette - what do all three have in common? They were all born rich and entitled. For all three of them being poor or having to work for a living are simply experiences that are not a part of their reality. For them poverty is merely an intellectual awareness, not an actual lived experience. All of the cuts Romney and Ryan want to make to so-called entitlement programs will never affect them or their families personally. In fact their plans on taxation will help them at the expense of the poor. It would seem from their actions that they are indifferent or dismissive of the poor, and middle-class. What difference does it make to them, if a certain number of elderly and poor people will die from their gutting off medicare. I thought Americans revolted against this sort of superior aristocratic thinking. Oh well, let them eat cake!
If they would cut just a third of the military budget there'd be plenty of money for Medicare, Medicaid and Education, but of course they won't touch that. God damn government.
Of course cutting a third of the military would put hundreds of thousands of people on the unemployment line.
Why not just keep them employed and performing an invaluable service to the United States, defending our nation, protecting our rights and Constitution, performing humanitarian missions in times of disasters and emergencies, etc. instead of putting them on welfare, food stamps, unemployment insurance, etc?
JP......Actually, that wouldn't even cover half the deficits with medicare, medicaid and education.
FDR put more people to work than any of you can imagine and we are still enjoying the fruits of their labors every time you visit a national park, enter a post office, or turn your electric lights on!
The choice is guns or butter. David you've made your choice as have many before you and if you want to see the result, take a look at how much we spend on our military compared with the next ten biggest defense budgets in the world.
Hint: Our military expenditures are larger than the next ten highest spending countries combined!
War is a big profit making racket for the top 1%, a sort of a giant welfare scam for the 1%. I'm over 70 now and our children are gonna suffer big-time. If we keep this up there will be a revolt within the next 10 years. I see this coming.
"Romney struggles to get square"?
Hardly.
It would come as naturally as hiding his taxes.
The Political Wisdom of Forrest Gump:
The five biggest items in our budget are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Defense spending, and interest on the debt.
When you're operating with a deficit as large as ours, you clearly need to make some cuts somewhere folks. Something needs to get reformed, and here are two guys who both have essentially identical plans for part of that reform. Compare that with the Democratic camp whose plan for everything is "Just leave it all alone and let it go to He//"
Obama just throws money at problems, and vote pandering lol
Cubbie,
No, you need a mix of cuts with an increase in taxes on the uber-rich, silly!
Of the four items you propose for cuts I would agree that the 'defense industry welfare state' should be the first, and perhaps only. Besides, Republicans already AGREED last year to major cuts to defense in exchange for an extension of the Bush tax cuts.
Oh...say what? Now Republicans say defense CAN'T possibly be cut?
Who didn't see THAT coming?
Liars all.
CubsFan: No, that's what Rethugs have been doing these four years!! Willing to sink the national economy and causing our credit rating to drop--all to bring down the smartest president since FDR--because he's part black.
So cut Defense! Ike warned us about the military industrial complex. Lincoln did, too. And Jefferson warned democracy would end when "monied corporations" took over government.
The Pentagon even says they don't need all that dough, but the GOP keeps throwing money at 'em, anyway. Completely unresponsive.
Ryan's position is, we can't feed America's children because we have to feed defense contractors? I call bulls---.
Oh, thank you! My faith that Americans do still sometimes think is being restored here. Love your ditty, Bruce.
Let's give our president a Blue Congress so we can get to work w/o GOP obstructionism!
My "faith that Americans do still sometimes think" is a bit shaky now thanks to you, Dee Turner.
CubsFan: My brain, education, and understanding of facts & history against yours any day, cubby.
Dee, do you realize Obama is bankrupting America? US DEBTCLOCK.ORG
Dee,
LOL. Oh, I wish, Honey. I wish. That's a sparring match I'd jump at.
German, when you get a moment, read Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution then come back and tell all of us what authority the President has to adopt budgets or tax policy. You will see that those duties and many others are reserved to the Congress.
Obama got the Unaffordable care act approved, used executive order to grant work permits to 800,000+ illegals, and circumvented congress to reform welfare via HHS. Excuses, excuses bruce. Yawn. And good night lol.
IF AFA is so great why are unions, government employees and Congress exempt for the wonderful program? All the dems should be on this program showing us how great it is and supporting the President. AFA is a joke. I can't wait until Senior try to fine a doctor who will accept medicare when the amount medicare will pay to doctors is lower again.
Bruce, I think you'd be more at home trying for a career in comedy than politics. I'd say seven out of every eight of your posts are lame attempts at getting a laugh. Given the caliber of your attempts, though, I'd give you the age old advice "Don't quit your day job."
How about offering up some intelligent conversation? What do you have against Ryan? How can you defend Obama's record? Why do you think anyone in their right mind should vote for Obama? What do you think of the Ryan Plan? Take your pick or make up your own. I'm not particular.
Cubby, please try to remember that there are more than one Bruce posting here! <grin>
I'll tell you what I have against Ryan.
When Republicans are in control he votes to authorize two wars and not pay for them.
When Republicans are in control he votes for the Bush tax cuts and the deficits that result.
When Republicans are in control he votes for a prescription drug plan that was at the time the largest entitlement since the Great Society but was practically unpaid for.
When Republican were in control he was one of a few House Republicans that voted FOR (yes FOR) TARP. You know that thing that all Tea Party people hate so much.
Then when Democrats are in control it becomes horrible to spend money.
He wants Medicare to become a voucher plan that MIGHT pay for your healthcare. There's really no way to know until it happens.
He claims that Medicare won't be touched for people in the system now or up until 2023. What no one seems to talk about is Medicaid. Ask Mr. Ryan how many seniors will be affected by his gutting of Medicaid in the here and now.
These are a few reasons that I don't like Mr. Ryan.
Cubby, I could list reasons all day long as to why I hate Ryan. But then you would just jump on the pro-life, anti-woman band wagon. His whole agenda stinks. The voucher plan has been shot down by those who work in healthcare as ridiculous and unfeasible. He wants to be so pro-life as to deny abortions even in the case of rape or incest. He wants do deny women the right to even get birth control because he finds it religiously offensive. Um, so you know in the healthcare field, we have listened very close to both sides of the healthcare argument.
If this plan is such a good thing why not convert everyone immediately? Methinks Ryan wants to discourage current or soon-to-be Medicare participants from thinking about his plan. out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Weasel-think.
Personally, I want us to have a better plan than the #1 country has, not the 30th whatever position the US currently holds.
If the Democrats have such a great plan were is it?
Any plan?
rick, the answer is a true single payer system where everyone, rich and poor, healthy and ill all are in the same federal program - like the programs in nearly every other civilized industrial nation in the world. The more people in the risk pool, the lower the cost for everyone.
With regards to Medicare, Democrats believe that Medicare is the cheapest, most efficient way to deliver comprehensive health care to our elderly. That isn't to say there aren't issues due to the baby boomers retiring and the ratio of workers to retirees dropping.
Bruce 848280
I would add that Kaiser is a model for not-for-profit HMO that returns 93% of premiums into delivery of health care, 7% for admin. This is almost as good as Medicare, and shows that quality health care insurance, if not-for-profit, is feasible. The real engine of escalating costs is the profit motive in the private insurance industry. Of course, Insurance is a big part of Wall Street, and starving the beast is a risky tactic. I see ACA as a first step towards single payer. Eventually everyone will have as good a plan as Congress gives itself. Richer folks can go private if they like.
When former Colorado Governor Romer was asked why so much government spending is for safety net programs, he replied, "Because people don't die when they are supposed to." Everyone, including Romer laughed.
Ryan thought he was serious.
Do you have a link so I can look it up?
Too late I already tried and couldn't find it. If your going to claim someone said something and put it in quotes maybe you had better site your source other wise any one who actually tries looking it up will see it for what it is.
Unsubstantiated garbage. The really sad thing is that their are those that are so gullible they will believe it.
David, 9news Denver channel. It was televised try thier archives. Or the Denver Post. I would say the Westwood but it's alternate lifestyle might bother you.
Well, now you cannot say Romney is not charitable, by choosing Ryan as his running mate he just gave Obama a great Christmas gift, four more years rent free in the White House.
By picking a polar opposite as his running mate, Romney gave us a preview of the kind of decisions he would make as president, god forbid.
Yes Eric, there are some really stupid "prople" on here....
"Romney struggles..."
Ain't it the truth.
Mitt takes a stand on both sides of every issue...examples:
"The Arizona immigration policy is a good model" – Mitt Romney.
"I didn't really support the Arizona immigration policy" – Mitt Romney.
“The Massachusetts healthcare plan should be a model for the nation” – Mitt Romney.
“Healthcare reform should be left to the states” – Mitt Romney.
"Let Detroit go bankrupt" -Mitt Romney.
"I'll take a lot of credit for saving the auto industry" -Mitt Romney.
“I believe Roe v Wade has gone too far.” – Mitt Romney.
“Roe v Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.”– Mitt Romney.
“I respect and will protect a woman’s right to choose.” – Mitt Romney.
“I never really called myself pro-choice.” – Mitt Romney.
“It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.” – Mitt Romney.
“I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and represent our country there.” – Mitt Romney.
“I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.” – Mitt Romney.
“Ronald Reagan is… my hero.” – Mitt Romney.
“I think the minimum wage ought to keep pace with inflation.” – Mitt Romney.
"There’s no question raising the minimum wage excessively causes a loss of jobs.”– Mitt Romney.
“I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.” – Mitt Romney.
“I did not see it with my own eyes.” – Mitt Romney.
“I would like to have campaign spending limits.” – Mitt Romney.
“The American people should be free to advocate for their candidates without burdensome limitations.” – Mitt Romney.
“I supported the assault weapon ban.” – Mitt Romney
"I don’t support any gun control legislation.” – Mitt Romney
Let's go to the flop, oh baby, let's go to the flop!
Greg, that could be a great song for Mitt! Go for it!!!
Glad to see that MSN has squared with Obama on his issues.
Heading off for the night, folks. G'nite, Gem. :) Je t'aime tres beaucoup. :)
Good seeing you, David.
You too. Night cubs fan. Keep up the good fight.
Good Night CubsFan. I'm going too. Je t'aime:)
David is tucking him in now... with his Romney blow-up-doll... good night!
“We haven’t gone through piece by piece"
You want to overhaul the program, but haven't gotten around to analyzing it? What?
It was perfectly acceptable when the Democrats wrote a 2300 page PPACA bill, which effects 1/6 of our economy, didn't even read it and stated "We have to pass it to find out whats in it.".
David Noah: Republicans said it was that long. Was only a little over 900 pages, in fact--I've read it. All of it.
Pelosi said that referring to the country, not Congress. That said, Congress hasn't written any laws in about 25 years. Founding fathers had an avg. 17th grade education, doctoral degrees in law--as lawmakers should be lawyers. But over half in the House are NOT lawyers, and their avg. education is sadly, 10th grade--they can barely comprehend the bills they read, and most don't bother.
Corporate lawyers write all federal bills now. Which is why the ACA's so long and has so many fr---in' loopholes. Still, it's the best we could manage in 100+ years of trying! And it can and should be worked on and improved over time.
The $700 billion it cuts? Is not benefits to patients, but profits for health insurers and checks, for example, that ensure doctors aren't repeating tests & procedures over & over for any one patient, by packaging patient data so a patient's records can be seen all at once instead of by helter skelter searches. And by saving costs through economy of scale.
The $716 billion in Ryan cuts? Directly cuts benefits.
And that, folks, is one hell of a difference.
Mitt has managed to make this election hinge on destroying Medicare when his base is old people. Did they think this through?
No.
Happily, they put as much thought into this as they did parading around that imbecile Palin to make her empty-headed remarks.
Somebody else posted "if she doesn't wear a scarf, you can hear her skull whistle" - which of course I have to use all the time now.
This election is about the Economy.
When Old people cant afford to buy food, gas to put in their car, pay electricity bills, the house they have worked to pay off all their life is worth 1/3rd less than they paid, their grand children cant find job's, their retirement savings have been wiped out and they find they cant retire when they were planning on do you really think "Medicare" is the only thing they are going to be thinking about?
But Davie, this TOPIC is about Ryan's Medicare Plan. Are you trying some DEFLECTION TACTIC because you've lost the debate on Medicare?
David Noah: You can be sure they'll be thinking about a Congress refusing to help or do its job--the TSA has a higher approval rating! People like our president. They know he's been absolutely hamstrung by racist bigots.
They don't like your guy(s) much You shouldn't either. It's all Bush all over again, David. They did this to you. And Ryan voted for all of it.
Luv when willard says something stupid,.. and then has to have somebody from campaign central , clarify the stupidity...
Always amusing...
""There’s a hitch, however: Ryan’s budget makes the same $700 billion in Medicare cuts as the Obama plan. CNBC's Scott Cohn explains:.......
Faced with questions about Ryan's support for these cuts, the Romney campaign clarified its position Monday evening and disagreed with those cuts.""
It's just a darn good thing Mitt can always fall back on this...
So,.. in other words here:
Romeny was FOR the cuts to medicare, before he was against them... which means now, he can continue to criticize Obama,.. but is at odds with the cuts to medicare included in the Ryan budget... for just about the exact same amount..
Got it..
See willard,.. this is what happens, when you have absolutely no idea what you're for, or what you're against..
You just end up looking like a complete fool..... again...
Even with all of Willard's faults he is more stable and consistent than Obama. Obama criticized Ryan's plan for the cut in medicare, but has the same cuts as Obama. I know a little of what Romney offers, but after 4 years, does anyone know what Obama offers? How can you criticize Romney yet support the flipfloppernking Obama.
You mean like how Obama supported the traditional definition of Marriage before he "Evolved"?
How Obama was against raising the Dept ceiling in 2006 and declared it a "Failure in Leadership" but in 2011 fought for having the dept ceiling raised?
Like how Obama promised to close Gitmo?
How about how Obama said he wouldn't Hide behind Executive Privilege?
How Obama said the PPACA negotiations would be completely transparent and broadcast on C-Span?
How Obama said there would be no "Lobbyists" in his White House?
I could go on but its getting late.
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Flip
"I like mandates. Mandates work." — Presidential primary debate, 2008
"I'm proud of what we've done. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing [Romneycare], then that will be a model for the nation." — Speech in Baltimore, 2007
Flop
"At the time I crafted the plan in the last campaign I was asked is [Romneycare] something that you would have the whole nation do, and I said no. This is something that was crafted for Massachusetts. It would be wrong to adopt this as a nation." — Presidential primary debate, 2011
Bret Baier: "Governor, you did say on camera and in other places, at times you thought [Romneycare] would be a model for the nation."
Mitt Romney: "You're wrong, Bret." — Fox News interview, 2011
Watch for the resurrection of Ron Paul at the republican convention, word in the wind is Ron Paul has almost as many committed delegates as Romney at present.
Oh please, Dr. Paul, resurrect! There could be no better entertainment for the Left than to watch the Republican sharks consume eachother in utero.
Hopefully, in spite of every possible under-handed effort to castrate the duly-elected Ron Paul delegates to the Republican convention, Dr. Paul's loyal followers will do everything in their collective power to tear the convention apart.
Now THAT'S entertainment!
MSNBCMFE,......
Entertaining indeed, hasn't the entire republican primary process been entertaining with new front runners every other week, the perfect definition of totally dysfunctional............To be continued----
Ellis,
I'm curious as to whether you might have heard something which might indicate that a challenge to Romney is forthcoming in Tampa Bay. Or is it just wishful thinking?
For my part, I saw Dr. Paul's emphasis on delegate accumulation a simply masterful strategy. When it became clear, however, that Romney's campaign, perhaps sensing what was in the wind, was circumventing the democratic process by requiring a loyalty oath to Romney himself on the first ballot, I was stunned.
Truly a fascist response by a corrupted campaign.