Slate: Kerry vs. Kerry – He's schizoid about Medicare

[pruner]

By Timothy Noah
Posted Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003, at 4:55 PM PT

Does Sen. John Kerry, D.-Mass., want to restrict the growth of Medicare or not? It depends on which Kerry you ask: Thrifty Kerry or Demagogic Kerry.

Thrifty Kerry boasts on his Web site that he "has the courage to take on special interests to get health care costs under control." In the Nov. 24 presidential debate in Iowa, Kerry called the just-passed Medicare prescription-drug bill a "special interest giveaway" containing "$139 billion worth of slush fund money that's going to go directly to the drug companies." Kerry criticized the Medicare bill for, among other things, not allowing the federal government "to actually negotiate bulk purchases for states, which would lower prices." (He's quite right on this point, which we'll get back to in a moment.)

Demagogic Kerry seems blissfully unaware of Thrifty Kerry's existence. In the Nov. 24 debate, he mocked Howard Dean for calling himself a "balanced budget freak" and repeated a challenge he's made before:

Will he still try to reduce the rate of growth in Medicare? He's said several times he's going to cut the rate of growth in Medicare. … I'd like to know if he still intends to reduce the rate of growth in Medicare as one of the ways in which he's going to balance the budget.

Dean tried to duck the question, but Demagogic Kerry wouldn't let him. Chatterbox's Slate colleagues Mickey Kaus and Will Saletan have already noted the bizarre exchange that followed, in which Demagogic Kerry harassed Dean for refusing to make a fiscally irresponsible pledge that Medicare would continue its present growth rate forever. But to properly appreciate how fervently Demagogic Kerry turned not only on Dean but on Thrifty ("get health care costs under control") Kerry, you need to read the whole thing:

http://slate.msn.com//?id=2091684&

[Gloria]

1. They had a piece on Kerry and the others on Lehrer tonight....

Kerry said he was going to FIGHT.....so he went to DC, and didn't vote on the Medicare bill (OK, voted for the filibuster...but when it came to the bill..)

What kind of FIGHT is that??

[sandnsea]

3. The fillibuster was the fight

There was no fight when it came down to the final vote, although I do think he should have voted on it anyway.

I heard Lou Dobbs say the exact same thing. Wonder who is spreading that claptrap.

[JaneQPublic]

4. On CBS Evening News, they said Kerry was trying to have it both ways

In John Roberts' report, they showed a clip of Kerry participating in the Iowa debate via TV so he could fight the Medicare bill, but then Roberts noted that Kerry then ducked out of Washington without voting on the bill.

[blm]

7. Kerry went back to filibuster. When that broke he went back to campaign.

Who's pushing this smear and trying to pump it into sounding worse than it is?

The same people who pushed stories about Gore.

[sandnsea]

2. Kerry tells his plans and he's schizoid

Well that's really interesting. He specifically says what he's planning to do to control the costs of health care and Medicare, and that's just not good enough.

Howard hems and haws and won't give a straight answer, and I guess he's being picked on again.

Weird primary, just weird.

[blm]

5. Yep...Kerry is getting Gored...BIGTIME.

Getting costs under control in Kerry's plan has everything to do with cutting the WASTE in the healthcare business.

Kerry was trying to get Dean to specify his plan to slow growth, and Dean wouldn't do it.

[DrFunkenstein]

6. Also By Timothy Noah

Whopper of the Week: Howard Dean
"Oh, that statement about raising the retirement age …"
By Timothy Noah
Posted Friday, Aug. 8, 2003, at 10:16 AM PT


"Dennis Kucinich: y good friend, Mr. Dean, has said that he'd move the retirement age to 68. One time he talked about moving it to 70.

<…>

"Howard Dean: I'll take 20 seconds just to tell everybody that I have never favored Social Security retirement at the age of 70, nor do I favor one of 68."

-------------------------------

—AFL-CIO Democratic presidential candidate forum, Aug. 5, 2003

"Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.): I've said many times that I think we should raise the retirement age about the year 2015—raise it by that time to about age 70.

<…>

"Howard Dean: I am very pleased to hear Bob Packwood because I absolutely agree we need to reduce the—I mean, to increase the retirement age. There will be cuts and losses of some benefits, but I believe that Sen. Packwood is on exactly the right track."

—CNN's Crossfire, Feb. 28, 1995

--------------------------------

"The way to balance the budget, Dean said, is for Congress to cut Social Security, move the retirement age to 70, cut defense, Medicare and veterans pensions, while the states cut almost everything else. 'It would be tough but we could do it,' he said."

—News story on a breakfast meeting Dean held with reporters by Miles Benson, Newhouse News Service, March 3, 1995

--------------------------------

"Just six weeks ago, Dean told NBC, 'I would also entertain taking the retirement age up to 68.' "

—Deborah Orin, "Is Dean Being Honest? Well, Define 'Honest,' " New York Post, Aug. 8

--------------------------------

Discussion. Dean's Clinton-esque rhetorical construction, "nor do I favor ," arguably signals a change of mind since he "entertained" raising it to 68 a few weeks earlier. But in the context of the accusation from Kucinich, it's clearly meant to mislead. The statement, "I have never favored Social Security retirement at the age of 70" is completely untrue.


http://slate.msn.com/id/2086804/

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. 1996 Kerry or 2003 Kerry?

MR. RUSSERT: In ’96 you told The Globe you would look at raising the retirement age. You—no?
SEN. KERRY: I would not—I said that was one of many options that were out there that people would put on the table. Back then we were talking about putting everything on the table. I would not do that, period.
MR. RUSSERT: You’re now taking it off the table?
SEN. KERRY: Well, somebody else may put it on the table, but it’s not happening in a Kerry administration.
http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/960385.asp


This exact scenario for Dean is a waffle. For Kerry it is practical nuance.


LMFAO.