At what point will the White House say there's a Republican plan to end Medicare?

[CreekDog]

It didn't take long for Republicans to say Health Care Reform had "Death Panels" even when it wasn't true.

How long will it take, or when will we hear that a top Republican has a plan to abolish Medicare, when that is most certainly true?

First, are we going to hear that ever? Second, if so, when?

[vroomvroom]

1. Let's be Honest..its the WH...they will NEVER Say it. It will hurt Repub feelings.

Just stating it like it is.

[phantom power]

2. +1, the dems refuse to do anything that would anger their opponents.

[daa]

5. +2

[tallahasseedem]

33. You are absolutely correct.

It drives me insane to see the Dems do this day after day after day. I was practically screaming at the President during his news conference yesterday when he wouldn't even point out the obvious.

[Mimosa]

3. They'd better say it. Tell the truth! n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

4. The President thinks they are honest brokers with great ideas

he is a bipartisan guy.

[ProudDad]

6. Never...

It doesn't fit in with "the New Triangulation(tm)"

[Cali_Democrat]

7. The White House is afraid of how the Republicans will react to that accusation

Obama doesn't want to be that confrontational.

[CreekDog]

8. but when avoiding confrontation means avoiding the truth?

i guess i can understand not saying it today but if the gov't shuts down and it doesn't get said, that's just ridiculous.

[Doctor_J]

12. Ridiculous pretty much describes the president's deference to the Repukes

at least in G-rated language.

[Cali_Democrat]

19. Indeed it is ridiculous

Pure insanity.

[Bake]

40. He's just "keepin' it cool."

So, like, you know, chill the fuck out ... he's got this ...

:sarcasm:

Harry Truman would've already called it like he saw it. Apparently Dems have forgotten how to "give 'em hell."

Bake

[slipslidingaway]

9. Barack Obama to bill O'Reilly: Policy Goals Require Civility ...

"...Obama said he will include $400 billion in proposed cuts in his new budget, including to defense, but he conceded that “the long-term problem is entitlements.” “Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. And what I’ve said to the Republicans is, ‘I want to work with you to figure out how we cut spending on this.’ … One side is not going to be able to get it done because it requires tough choices."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49011.html#ixzz1DNQz09xA

Medicare costs should have been part of the heath care debates, all HC spending should have been discussed.

CBO - Preliminary Analysis of Rivlin-Ryan Health Care Proposal
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/slipslidingaway/363

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. ZOMG!!!

Well, I guess that means that Obama agrees with the GOP plan or something? :shrug:

[slipslidingaway]

20. Obama has been talking about entitlement reform for years ...

government HC expenses under Medicare and Medicaid should have entered into the HC discussions from the beginning, but anyone who suggested we look at the big picture in HC spending was not invited to sit at the table.

Now what - it is a problem we cannot ignore.

I've said for a few years that medicare is The Big problem and a major reason we needed to open the debate to include a national HC policy funded by tax dollars, but proponents were excluded, mocked "I see we have the little single payer advocates up there ..." and misrepresented by Obama in the speech to the AMA.

This was the perfect time for Dems to advance a universal HC for our country - something Obama believed in at one point. He could have opened the door and furthered the discussion of HC for all without backing it 100%, sometimes it is just about advancing an idea and educating people. Sadly, we saw just the opposite and now the Medicare problem still exists - still kicking that can down the road.

:(


January 2009
Obama's "Mandate" To Slash Medicare, Medicaid & Social Security
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10969

"...Obama said that he has made clear to his advisers that some of the difficult choices--particularly in regards to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare - should be made on his watch. "We've kicked this can down the road and now we are at the end of the road," he said..."


November 2010 - Obama appointed Rivlin, that is why the CBO scored the Rivlin/Ryan plan.
Deficit commission debates Medicare overhaul
Future seniors would buy health insurance with government vouchers
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40244470

"President Barack Obama's deficit commission on Wednesday debated a dramatic plan to gradually turn Medicare from a system in which the government pays most beneficiaries' medical bills into a program in which seniors would purchase health insurance with government-issued vouchers.

Current Medicare beneficiaries wouldn't be affected, nor would future enrollees age 55 or over.

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc. The plan by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Democratic economist Alice Rivlin of the panel would seem to face steep odds with most other panel Democrat.."


Feb 2011
Obama Stresses Need to Curb Medicare, Medicaid Cost While Skirting Details
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-16/obama-stresses-need-to-curb-medicare-medicaid-cost-while-skirting-details.html

"...Obama is looking to two separate groups of senators working on deficit-reduction plans to “provide some bipartisan cover” for specific cuts, said Rivlin, who co-chaired the Bipartisan Policy Center’s debt commission with Domenici.

...At his news conference, Obama underscored that non-defense discretionary spending amounts to only about 12 percent of the budget. “We’ve got a whole bunch of other stuff that we’re going to have to do, including dealing with entitlements,” he said.

Republicans are responding by saying they’ll tackle those programs..."

[Proud Liberal Dem]

26. Saying that he thinks that they need to be discussed

doesn't necessarily mean that he would ever agree to such an audacious and savage proposal as what Ryan appears to be presenting though, particularly since it rests partly on repealing ACA, his signature piece of legislation. I just can't see it. Can you? :shrug: If super corporate-friendly Baucus has declared it DOA in the Senate and the WH issues a statement rejecting it, then I don't think we have much to worry about as long Democrats keep the WH and maintain at least a toehold in the Senate.

[slipslidingaway]

38. I agree that it does not mean he would sign onto this plan ...

but Medicare is a big problem. We've heard for years how the long term debt problems will need to look at entitlement reform and that they would be a central part of the plan.

Then there were presidential appointments for people who are not so friendly to Medicare and SS be selected for the deficit commission. That is why there was such a backlash against the "catfood commission."

With HC both parties are taking a divide and conquer approach. What is needed is someone to allow discussion of a national system funded by tax dollars and that should have happened this time, especially when polls showed two-thirds of the country would favor such a system. But those advocates were left outside the WH gates and also arrested by Baucus for protesting their exclusion from his hearings.

Alice Rivlin, appointed by Obama to the commission, has come out in favor of "optional Medicare" instead of Ryan's extreme cut off of anyone under 55. Maybe that will be the compromise, but IMO that does not bode well for the future of Medicare.

So we've heard talk from President Obama that the main problems are Medicare, Medicaid and SS, then our party allows Republicans to come up with a plan from which negotiations might begin.

:shrug:

January 2009 ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/business/economy/08deficit.html

$1.2 Trillion Deficit Forecast as Obama Weighs Options

"Changes in Social Security and Medicare will be central to efforts to bring federal spending in line, President-elect Barack Obama said on Wednesday, as the Congressional Budget Office projected a $1.2 trillion budget deficit for the fiscal year.

“We expect that discussion around entitlements will be a part, a central part” of efforts to curb federal spending, Mr. Obama said at a news conference. By February, he said, “we will have more to say about how we’re going to approach entitlement spending.”

Alluding to the projected deficit, which was accompanied by grim unemployment predictions, Mr. Obama said: “And we know that our recovery and reinvestment plan will necessarily add more. My own economic and budget team projects that, unless we take decisive action, even after our economy pulls out of its slide, trillion-dollar deficits will be a reality for years to come.”

Mr. Obama did not offer specifics on how he would address Social Security and Medicare, nor was there any hint that he expects to ask Congress to approve draconian cuts in benefits. The programs are vital to millions of Americans, and talk of cutting benefits has long been considered politically explosive. On the other hand, both programs face long-range problems, given the growing legions of baby boomers nearing retirement and, in the case of Medicare, the ever-rising cost of health care..."


Alice Rivlin: I don't back 'Ryan-Rivlin' plan
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52622_Page2.html

In the plan Rivlin advocates, she said seniors would have the choice between keeping their current form of Medicare or choosing to enter the pool. In Ryan’s version, he did not keep the beneficiaries with the choice to keep what Rivlin called the “default option.”

“I prefer keeping the old version as a choice,” Rivlin said.

The other main difference is in the rate of growth in subsidies for beneficiaries entering the new exchange system.

...“The important thing to realize about the Ryan budget is that it’s an open bid in a negotiations,” Rivlin said..."

[Enthusiast]

14. It's right there in black and white.

Yet we are supposed to be enthusiastic Obama supporters.

[slipslidingaway]

22. What a lost opportunity for universal HC for all ...

but it is all the fault of the Repubs.

Go Dems!

:(

[ecstatic]

47. I interpret that comment differently

I think he's challenging Republicans to think through what they're proposing because what they're proposing isn't feasible. He basically put the ball in their court to explain to Americans how they plan to cut care for the elderly. Not going to happen.

[Doctor_J]

11. The day after hell freezes over

and I have sex with Scarlett Johanssen

[Enthusiast]

13. Yeah, when will the White House

say this? I won't hold my breath.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. Let's get someone on the left to make the same proposal. Then we'll hear all about how moronic it is

[CreekDog]

18. no Republican or DC pundit ever called a Democrat "courageous" for supporting single-payer

:eyes:

[ProSense]

16. WH response

here

[CreekDog]

17. gosh, they don't even say what the proposal is --maybe that's why you won't quote it here

:hi:

[hatrack]

30. "There's a more balanced way to achieve that goal" - Wow, the gloves are off now!!

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the president also wants to reduce the deficit, but believes "there's a more balanced way to achieve that goal."

Said Carney: "We strongly disagree with this proposal" by GOP House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan.

Hmmm . . .

Compare with a hypothetical response, i.e. "This Republican plan would destroy Medicare".

Which message will voters remember? "We strongly disagree with this proposal"? Or "This Republican plan would destroy Medicare"?

[Ignis]

41. Strong words!

[olegramps]

31. I believe the problem is that he should actually challenge them concerning their intentions.

I agree that he inherited a horrible situation, however, I don't believe that he has been as effective as he could have been. His bipartisanship has been a bust and allowed the Republicans to define him to the point that Democrats are abandoning him.

[FrenchieCat]

21. Perhaps we need to spread that word......

a tactic that the media can't interfere with.

Ever thought of that; us doing some damage as opposed to waiting
to see if one entity can do it by its lonesome?

[slipslidingaway]

24. Since at least Jan. 2009 Obama has been saying that entitlements are the big...

problem when it comes to our deficit and that would be a major area for his administration to look at in deficit reduction.

The damage will be done to real people because our party was too timid to fight for all people while giving corporate interests what they wanted. You need to look no further than Obama's HC plan, the speech he gave in Newport News in Nov 2008 and the deals cut once the WH was gained, posted many times, but I'll post them again if needed.

[Skittles]

23. LOLOLOL

THIS White House? :rofl:

[PurityOfEssence]

25. Yes, you tell the truce.

That's about as truceful as it gets.

[Ikonoklast]

27. So, you want childish rhetoric from Democrats, because the Republicans say stupid things.

No.

I want adults to act like adults, and let those that resort to childish games to continue to look foolish.

[JoePhilly]

28. Bluster, more bluster!!!

[CreekDog]

34. Wait, you're saying Ryan's plan DOESN'T END MEDICARE?

:wtf:

[Ikonoklast]

35. Should Democratic legfislative leaders call him names?

Some want that, I don't.

It doesn't help one bit.

[CreekDog]

37. ah, now that you're statement is wrong, you're nowhere to be found

:wtf:

[CreekDog]

36. where did I refer to chlidish names?

I said the Republican plan ended Medicare.

Can you read, or did you choose not to?

Did you get confused and wander into a different thread than the one you thought you were on?

[TheKentuckian]

44. The truth is childish just like a job is a pony.

What a stupid comment! Nobody is asking for anything more than annunciating the obvious intent of the right and the facts of their proposal.

I suspect it isn't "maturity" so much as using Ryan's scheme as a foil to pivot us toward largely accepting, endorsing, and even pushing for Catfood which limits how hard the TeaPubliKlans can be hit.

I hope that isn't the case but otherwise it is essentially political malpractice not to tell the truth about the TeaPubliKlan agenda in the most direct and stark terms available.

[NorthCarolina]

29. LOL. I think you're likely to be disappointed. The WH probably had input on the GOP plan. nt

[Safetykitten]

32. You are correct!

[jillan]

39. I want to hear the dems talk about death panels.

[Bake]

42. Don't hold your breath.

Bake

[CreekDog]

43. Yesterday is the point at which Obama explained what the Republican plans were

and he did a great job doing so.

:applause:

[chowder66]

45. Who said this?

"Put simply, it ends Medicare as we know it." ......" I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs."



google is your friend

[CreekDog]

46. why do you think i kicked this thread this morning?

because originally, I asked "when" will the White House say it and yesterday the White House did.

i kicked this thread today because i wanted to acknowledge the good statement Obama made yesterday.

[chowder66]

48. Got it. It seemed as if you were asking when...I saw nothing

indicating otherwise.

I'm clear on it now.

[Teaser]

49. Yesterday

FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!