Paul Ryan's (update: Lies about) Collaboration With Ron Wyden Sure To Factor Into 2012 Debate

[flamingdem]

NOTE: Du is on the case and there was a post regarding Wyden's denial of this "collaboration"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/125168630

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-ron-wyden_n_1768495.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

Last December, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) announced that he was joining with Ryan to propose a budget and entitlement reform plan. Romney brought up Wyden's name at his third rally of the day in Manassas, referencing that joint plan as the sign of Ryan's commitment to preserve Medicare.

"The president's put out a plan on Medicare. He would cut spending $700 billion," Romney said to a raucous crowd that the campaign estimated at 8,000. "Paul Ryan and Sen. Wyden said, 'No, we need to restore, retain and protect Medicare.' That's what our party will do."

It is this plan that Romney's own website says "almost precisely mirrors Mitt's ideas," in a section that answers the question of how his plan is "different from the Ryan plan."

The Wyden-Ryan plan complicates Democrats' plans to hit Romney and Ryan on their budget.


This is from the article comments:
Here's some info on the Ryan-Wyden plan:

"The Ryan-Wyden proposal would limit the growth of Medicare spending per beneficiary to the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita plus one percentage point. Health care costs have grown faster than that for several decades, however, and the plan doesn’t clearly spell out what would happen to implement this limit if Medicare spending were projected to exceed it.

But one thing is clear: limiting the growth in Medicare spending to GDP plus one percentage point is, in essence, limiting the growth in the premium support payment to GDP plus one percentage point. After all, in a premium support system, the premium support payments constitute virtually all of Medicare’s spending. Except for modest administrative costs, that’s all there is, so limiting the growth of Medicare spending necessarily means limiting the growth of premium support payments to plans. Indeed, Chairman Ryan acknowledged at a December 15 briefing that the spending target would be met through automatic reductions in premium support payments, unless Congress decided to take other action."

This means as costs go up, seniors will have to pay MORE of the premium cost out of pocket.

The CBO projects that by 2022, seniors will be paying 61% of their health care costs out of pocket. Those who can't afford to do that will be without insurance.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3645

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/paul-ryans-2011-medicare-plan-a-primer/

[elleng]

1. Yes, and grinch has already noted it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014191735

We are fools if we don't recognize this, and other likely somewhat valid points grinch (and others) make.
And p.s., ryan is NOT a fool. rmoney may be closer to one than is his running-mate.

[flamingdem]

2. Yes, they want to WIN and will say/do anything including moderating

their positions .. for now.

They're going after the undecided voter and want to present something reasonable -- at least reasonable if the undecided voter is low info enough to skip reading details.

Sadly, I know plenty of "good" people just like that. They won't detect the difference if enough fuzzy detail is thrown around.

[elleng]

4. Right.

En garde.

[jenmito]

3. "Ron Wyden Takes Issue With Mitt Romney Linking Him to Paul Ryan":

http://www.democraticunderground.com/125168630

[The Magistrate]

6. Too Late For It, Ma'am: He Did Not Tell Ryan To Pound Sand In the First Place, Like He Should Have

Now he is stuck with it. He would have to accuse Ryan of pedophilia on network TV to make a clear break now....

"Romney loves America like a tick loves a dog."

[jenmito]

8. It's better that Wyden's now speaking out AGAINST it rather than FOR it.

I was wondering what he'd say about this, if anything.

[The Magistrate]

11. Better, Ma'am, But It Will Not Completely Repair the Breach

And he ought to have known better in the first place: you cannot give these snakes an inch....

"Romney loves America like a tick loves a dog."

[flamingdem]

13. Yup, Bill Bennett just went out of his way to talk about Wyden's support on MSNBC

He muddied the water further by extending that to other, unnamed Democratic "supporters".

[TheKentuckian]

12. Fuckin' A. It isn't just him though. All the party leaders have varying degrees of stupid comments

and hands into several deficit commissions and gangs.

The opposition has been provided with potentially enough to muddy the waters enough for many to be dubious enough to blunt the issue and give the opposition quarter to spin and hide.

Even given the very best of intentions, I believe Democrats give our politicians too much room to negotiate, so much room that when the chickens come home to roost, it is difficult to distill a coherent message to refute lies and carve out a firm position as a party.

You never want to be caught offering only a different brand of peas for the people to swallow.

Don't be surprised when the TeaPubliKlans have the unmitigated gall to engage in a campaign accusing Democrats of trying to cut Social Security and Medicaid and the polling becomes unbelievably convoluted despite the multi-generational agenda of the TeaPubliKlans to kill the programs.

The whining about the media keeping the beat for the distortions will be shrill as well but will ultimately be foolish, we gave them the ammo instead of holding the line and telling the opposition to go fuck themselves instead of wagging fingers in the air trying to capture the sentiment of polls.

[flamingdem]

7. Thanks for that. I just updated my headline to reflect

yet more GOP lie peddling!

[jenmito]

10. No problemo...

I'm glad I could help.

[ProSense]

5. It'll be as big

an issue as Lieberman supporting McCain.

[flamingdem]

9. Bennett was just pushing the Wyden collaboration on Meet the Press

Wyden had better speak up loudly.

[sadbear]

14. We may have to throw Wyden under the bus.

Collateral damage, so to speak.

[flamingdem]

15. He better be working on getting on the talk shows and writing Op-Eds

right now!! Fortunately I think he realizes that he's being used by rabid repukes.