After Promising To Preserve Medicare For Current Retirees, GOP Demands Immediate Cuts...

[ProSense]

After Promising To Preserve Medicare For Current Retirees, GOP Demands Immediate Cuts In Fiscal Cliff Talks

By Igor Volsky

Throughout the election, Republicans tried to sell Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) Medicare reforms by arguing that the party’s proposed changes would not affect current seniors. “Our point is we need to preserve their benefits, because government made promises to them that they’ve organized their retirements around,” Ryan argued in his first interview after being named as Mitt Romney’s running mate. “In order to make sure we can do that, you must reform it for those of us who are younger.”

But in negotiating legislation to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, Republicans are abandoning this guarantee and pressuring President Obama to accept immediate changes to the program as a “down payment” for larger “structural reform”:

Republicans have countered by arguing for a smaller down payment that must include immediate savings from Medicare and other entitlements….House Republicans say the down payment should be at least $110 billion, the value of the automatic spending cuts they would cancel next year, and they want those savings to come largely from cuts in Medicare and other benefit programs. <...>

But Republicans say they are selling Congress short on what can be done before the January deadline. They made clear that they want some initial changes to entitlement programs ahead of larger talks next year.

Senator Michael D. Crapo, Republican of Idaho and another Gang of Six member, said some initial changes to entitlement programs could and should be in the down payment.

The party has largely dismissed President Obama’s proposal of identifying savings and inefficiencies from providers and drug manufacturers in search of so-called “serious” savings that will surely impact beneficiaries. As Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) bragged on Sunday during an appearance on Meet The Press, “I laid out in great detail very painful cuts to Medicare…. We really have to look at much deeper reforms to the entitlements.”

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/12/03/1273861/republicans-demand-immediate-cuts-to-medicare-as-down-payment-in-fiscal-cliff-talks/

In case you still don't get it...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021917233

[ProSense]

1. Kick for

hypocritical, no, make that lying assholes.

[dballance]

2. Shocking, just shocking

The Republicans go back on their word and promises. Who would ever think such a thing would happen?

[MiniMe]

3. And this should tell people what would have happened if Romney/Ryan won

[ProSense]

4. Exactly, this

is more than simply saying one thing during the campaign and going back on it. This is proof that the Democrats' characterization of the Romney/Ryan plan was accurate.

The MSM/factcheckers spent a lot of time defending Romney/Ryan against what they claimed were Democratic embellishments. What the hell do they have to say now?

Boehner/Republicans have come out demanding cuts to benefits in specific terms.

[freshwest]

5. Go climb a rope, you slimy miscreants. Hint: you won't get very far.

[ProSense]

6. And now a word from the bloodsuckers on the slimy miscreants

Prominent Conservative Grassroots Group Slams Boehner’s Counteroffer
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/prominent-conservative-grassroots-group-slams-boehners-counteroffer

"Counteroffer"? Is that the same as "preposterous drivel"?