Marc Caputo, McClatchy: How Paul Ryan could be a drag on Mitt Romney in Florida

[highplainsdem]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/11/161761/how-paul-ryan-could-be-a-drag.html

Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, is the architect of the Ryan budget plan that makes big changes to Medicare and Medicaid and could allow for some privatization of Social Security. And that's widely seen by Democrats and most analysts as a politically risky stance in Florida, a must-win state for Republicans.

Ryan might have another problem in Florida: he opposes the Cuban embargo, a stance that's anathema to Miami-Dade's exile community, which is overwhelmingly Republican and had hoped that one of their own, Sen. Marco Rubio, would have been picked as Romney's running mate. Though conservative, the county's elderly Cuban population relies heavily on government assistance, particularly Medicare.

Polls indicate that voters over 50 years old - who comprise more than half the Florida electorate - are wary of changes to the major government-entitlement programs, which pump about $96 billion yearly into the hands of the elderly, the infirm and the hospitals, doctors and other providers who give them care.

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But even Republicans might not be on board with wholesale Medicare changes, according to an AARP poll last year of Florida Republican voters. It showed that modest changes to benefits for future retirees are opposed by 66 percent of voters. Only 27 percent favor future reductions, which could include raising the retirement age, though the poll didn't specifically address that issue.

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[highplainsdem]

1. Kick. This article is on the Miami Herald website now:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/11/2946098/how-paul-ryan-could-be-a-drag.html