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Mitt Romney, yesterday, asked about Paul Ryan's Medicare plan:
"[M]y plan for Medicare, it's very similar to his plan for Medicare."
Romney surrogate John Sununu, this morning, asked about the similarities in Romney's Medicare plan to Paul Ryan's policy:
"But it's very different."
I'm glad we got this straightened out. Here I thought the Romney-Ryan campaign might have a muddled message on the issue they've put at the center of the 2012 presidential race.
To help clarify matters, Romney's policy director, Lanhee Chen, told TPM, "Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have always been fully committed to repealing Obamacare, ending President Obama's $716 billion raid on Medicare and tackling the serious fiscal challenges our country faces."
Except, as even the most ignorant policy directors surely know, every penny of savings Obama found in Medicare has been included in Paul Ryan's budget, which Romney endorsed. (And if they repeal Obamacare, they'll take away benefits for seniors.)
So, Romney/Ryan are now condemning the Romney/Ryan plan, while insisting that Romney's and Ryan's positions on Medicare are "very similar" and "very different."
There may be voters who find this coherent and persuasive, but I don't know why.
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Seems only fitting that the worst presidential candidate ever would have the worst surrogates ever.
Come on Steve, give credit where it is due. Soledad O'Brien on CNN was great. The transcript has the full blow by blow, but she was a tiger. Omitting some of the in the weeds wonk details..
O’Brien: “It sounds awfully like the Paul Ryan Medicare plan.”
Sununu: “But it’s very different. For example when Obama gutted Medicare by taking $717 billion out of it, the Romney plan does not do that. The Ryan plan mimicked part of the Obama package, the Romney plan does not. That’s a big difference.”
O’Brien: “I understand that this is a Republican talking point because I’ve heard it repeated over and over again,” O’Brien observed. “These numbers have been debunked, as you know, by the Congressional Budget Office. … I can tell you what it says. [Obama's plan] cuts a reduction in the expect rate of growth, which you know, not cutting budgets to the elderly. Benefits will be improved.”
Sununu (shouting): “Soledad, stop this! All you’re doing is mimicking the stuff that comes out of the White House and gets repeated on the Democratic blog boards out there.”
O’Brien: “I’m telling you what Factcheck.com tells you, I’m telling you what the CBO tells you, I’m telling you what CNN’s independent analysis says.”
Sununu: “Put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead when you do this!”
Obrien finished with this confrontation of the reality game: Sir, let me finish. There's independent analysis, fact check.com, the CBO and CNN has already done its own independent analysis, and name calling to me and somehow acting as if by repeating a number of $716 billion that you can make that stick when that figure is being stolen from Medicare, that's not true. You can't just repeat it and make it true, sir.
When all else as has failed, CNN is throwing caution to the wind trying a wild and reckless experiment:
Rejection of passivity.
Journalism.
John, I had to go see that exchange for myself -- WOWWWW. Thanks for pointing us to that. Soledad O'Brien showed Sununu up for the lying sack o'Mitt he is!
“Put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead" Ha, Ha!!! Priceless.
I'm gonna stop watching the Daily show and start watching CNN for my political satire!!!!
I hope that this is an indication of something broader: that upper management knows the old formula isn't working and that to survive that CNN must go "off leash", and harder edge. Possibly they are instructing CNN's executive producers to be unconcerned with threats of reprisals. It will be interesting to see how the meta story unfolds- eg whether Romney's campaign pushes back hard- either denigrating O'Brien through surrogates at FOX or cutting CNN's access to guests and events due to their "misbehavior".
The misbehavior?
That a free press would have the temerity to vigorously challenge falsehoods.
That is very good to hear, indeed. Maybe journalism will wake up and do its job. I once again encourage everyone to contact all sorts of media and tell them just what you think of their false-equivalencing, fake even-handedness, and stenography acts.
That was a good first-step for O'Brien towards doing her job of informing the public. Something I'm seeing a little more of, better late than never, on other programs that to me are rather "clubby" with guests. Still, guests regularly do not answer questions but to make self-serving free-air campaign statements in a cycle/agenda driven information gathering process that has so far failed.
Sununu you can't be taken seriously. PRyin'/Rmoney can't be taken seriously.
Repeating a lie over and over does not make it true, when will people get that?
Sununu may be Chris Christie's long lost uncle?
Sununu is a bullying thug.
And this isn't some hack talk show host like Bill Bennett we're talking about here, this is a spokesperson for the Romney campaign.
After reading steves op , the press is either going to chase the light like a cat all around the room , with romney wiggling it around , or the press are going to stand up to the retardationn , and report reality , it is their choice at this point
The romneys response to every question the press presents at this point is
" yes, no , maybe , maybe not , it is this , no its not , its that , we are out of time " ....Repeat 300 times
"Hi, I'm Mitt Romney, and my plan for Medicare is very similar to Paul Ryan's in the ways that you want it to be, but it is also very different from Paul Ryan's in the ways you want it to be. How? Well, it depends on who you are and how you want it to be similar and different. Just trust me... ;)"
As ridiculous as that sounds, I can actually imagine Romney saying just that, and being serious about it.
Yes, of course, the secret egg salad recipe! It's all clear now!
Of course he can't tell us the differences before the election, or we might not vote for him!
He's not sure how he said it would be the same or different, but whatever he said, he agrees with it!
;-)
It's part of their secret plan to rule the World. They'e still awaiting the arrival of the secret decoder ring that will unveil the truth behind all their wonderful plans. Why help Americans now with their well devised schemes, better wait to see if they're elected first, sounds very familiar. Sort of the way Ryan has been working so hard to obstruct Congress. The secret plan is probably about the same as their jobs' bill....nada, zero, zilch, empty promises. But, the Big Wigs are happy, and that's all that mattters. They want to continue their plans to continue stupifying women or at least keep them out of the conversation. According to them women should be seen and not heard.
You Got That Right It's Called American Greed And Swindlers Of The 99% And Millionare Tyrants Club For The Rich And Millionare Tyrants,Go Right Ahead And Face It ,You'll Put The Mark Of The Beast On Your Forehead With Paul Ryan And Mitt Romney ,Cause Your Life In America As We Knew It. Is Now Over Finished And The Ederly,And Middle Class People And Lower Economic Status Families Are Duke For Ever By Sneaky Smiles And Quick Rich Schemes,To Control Your Every Dollar And Pay Into Their Fake And Phoney Government Pocket Books,While They Eat, Drink And Be Marry ,You'll Get Your House Took And Lose Your Job And Have No Medical Plan Except A Paul Ryan Voucher,Just Like A Foodstamp ,You'll Hope A Doctor Will Take It , If Not Screw You. You Won't Get The Cancer Screen Today Baby, Oh No You Will Die Cause Paul Ryan's Voucher Saids So, And Mitt Will Have That Same Dirty Smile On His Face Laughing All The Way To The Bank .While You Mourn Over Your Ederly Parents, Cause Paul Ryan's Voucher Says Hell NO. I Got You Now Medicare Card Holder .You Are My Property Mitt We Did It It Again Another 1 Down And Billions More To Go ,Is That Who You Want In The White House Two People Who Plan On Killing Millions Of Ederly People? Think Obama Walked Into The White House And Started.A Whole Economic Disaster And So As He Got In The White House, Jobs Just Magically Started To Disappear On Day One.Now You Listen People The Truth Hurts. He Had'nt Even Sat Down In The White House Chair For A Full Week Yet It Makes No Logically Since. But The GOP Wants Everyone To Believe,Their Tyrant Government legislational Hold For Decades Didn't Play One Note In This Musical Chairs Of Back And Fourth Lies It's Obama's Fault ,It's The Republicans And The Democratics Fault Together For Being Selfish And Not Implementing A Strong And Lasting Government Economically Sound Structured Plan, From The Get Go Thats All To It Simple Truth Not Some Back Class Watered Down Lie We Keep Hearing From Both Patries With These Twisted Attack Adds When They Look In The Mirror I Wonder How Do They Sleep At Night Knowing God Is Watching Them Hurt American People Over American Greed And Selfish Dirty Tricks To Remain In Political Power Of The White House. A Lasting Death To Our Nation's Security,And Backbone With Millions Of Men And Women Who Have Lost Their Lives Over So Called Lying Selfish Dirty Tricks Planned Out By Congress.To Start Wars And Hold American People Under Tyrany A Sad Plan To Inforce Under The Senate House Floor. When You Have The Words Over Your Head. In God We Trust Do They? Or Are The Full Of American Greed American? Please Pray For Our Nation God Is Watching Them Hurt American People Everyday, And God Is Not Happy Believe That^_* God Bless. By.Mrs.Sarah L.Gibson MSNBC Blogger Newvine.com
may be time to rethink this subject as a way to focus attention on something other than mitt's tax returns
You have to wonder is it's incompetence or planned cynical confusion manufacturing. Since it's clear Mitt Romney's lies are intentional campaign strategy, how can you dismiss the latter?
The GOP is trying to make a bad situation better, and failing misserabley. If they were up for a debate, my 6 year old grandson could beat them.
http://mojoe.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/14/13278649-school-bus-drivers-and-cold-selfishness-robinson-on-paul-ryan-and-romney?__utma=154396583.134541144.1344720377.1344968330.1344974144.5&__utmb=154396583.0.10.1344975028&__utmc=154396583&__utmx=-&__utmz=154396583.1344968287.3.3.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=http%3A%2F%2Fbroadcaster.msnbc.msn.com%2Ft%3Fr%3D2%26c%3D15823%26l%3D51%26ctl%3D9DCBB%3A4AE847E58D5A8F6FE0925878D39C2649%26&__utmv=154396583.|8=Earned%20By=newsvine%7Cnewsvine=1^12=Landing%20Content=Original=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=fb-sarahlgibson2.newsvine.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Original=1&__utmk=48456038
I don't completely understand the deal with the $716B, and I've been trying to pay attention. How do you make a simple sound bite to deal with this latest lie of Romney's? We really should regulate his lies... there are too many to bat away.
Most of the supposed "cuts" they're claiming are actually constraints on the growth of Medicare payments to providers over the next ten years, because the ACA is projected to reduce the growth of medical costs (and is already beginning to do that.) So no cuts to beneficiaries there. The ACA does this to fund closing the "donut hole" and preventive care, both of which do benefit seniors, and ensure that the whole bill is paid for rather than being deficit financed like Republican Medicare "reforms."
The other part is cutting payments to Medicare Advantage plans, paying them the same as Medicare, rather than more.
Medicare Advantage was a GOP scheme to funnel Medicare through private insurance companies, because of course the private sector is always more efficient. Instead (predictably), Medicare Advantage has never reduced costs and has always cost more than traditional Medicare. Anyone who is honestly interested in "saving" Medicare and making government more efficient would call it a failed experiment and demand that it would be ended.
More detail and references from the Obama campaign here. The original debunking of this was in January, so Mitt's been repeating this shameless lie at least that long!
Sesame street music in the background.... "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong. Can you guess which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my soooong!"
I see that most of the people commenting here are not at all interested in preserving ss or medicare. Everyone knows it will be bankrupt in the near future. So... With Obama we will let it self destruct and wonder what next. let's not plan ahead or even formulate any kind of plan. By sticking your head in the sand and thinking that the government can just keep spending insures that the programs will come to an end.
I expect the government to live-up to it's end of the bargain on my SS and Medicare and not sell me off to some redistribution of cost and service plan.
jeas33
You losers have been predicting the destruction of ss and medicare since it was introduced , save you romney platitudes for fox.com , we are to educated here
I can't decide whether or not to respond to this troll. I guess I will to say how utterly gullible or utterly "stick with what the talking point" jeas33 is. This is the SAME BS they said about "saving" - translation - privatize and disintegrate- Social Security, which was utterly rejected. They said the same thing then, it's not for those under 55 now. We are not stupid to fall for this crap, no matter how many times you say "saving" it. CATO Institute has been trying for YEARS to get young folks to think they won't get it because they HATE I and want to KILL it.
Your absolutely right they want the world hostage except them.and their evil people hell bent on doing just what you said. Thats their altitude. And if we don't like screw us,cause their the ones implementing the american disastrous plan.To Inforce American tyrants take over with political power job one for them. And no jobs for american's till death do us part .God Bless . MSNBC Blogger Newvine.com Mrs.Sarah L.Gibson