FactCheck Opines On DNC Medicare Ad

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Fact Check says, "Senior Scare, Yet Again."
A DNC ad falsely accuses Republicans of voting "to abolish Medicare?"

FactCheck begins their defense by parroting GOP talking points. The GOP plan "preserves" the current Medicare program for anyone now receiving it or within 10 years of qualifying for it. And the proposal is similar to one endorsed a decade ago by the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. Does that mean Republicans don't want to dismantle Medicare?

Washington Monthly Excerpt
But did Republicans vote to "end," "abolish," and "kill" Medicare? It's provocative, but it's a supportable claim. In April, 137 Republicans voted in support of a GOP alternative budget. It didn't generate a lot of attention, but the plan, drafted by the House Budget Committee's Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called for "replacing the traditional Medicare program with subsidies to help retirees enroll in private health care plans."

The budget bill written by Paul Ryan did not - but could have had language to defund the U.S. Navy to meet his budget objectives. If it's in the bill it can't be denied it's there. Clearly the eventual "conversion" of what everyone understands as Medicare today was part and parcel to Ryan's arithmetic to accomplish his goal. In fact it could be said, without Ryan's deliberate conversion of Medicare out of existence, his budget as written would fail to reach its' projected goals.

Just in case you didn't swallow that evidence, FactCheck then rambles on claiming Medicare spending would rise 88.5% under the GOP proposal over the next years as proof the GOP plan isn't meant to "abolish" Medicare. Nevermind that the increased cost actually proves Medicare as we know it today then would no longer exist. A very weak analysis at best.

Factcheck Excerpt:
The GOP alternative budget contained a "policy statement on Medicare" calling for gradual conversion of Medicare from government insurance to government-subsidized and government-approved private insurance.

Oh, well why didn't you say so the first time - hah! Pure semantics here. What exactly is Medicare right now? Paul Ryan insists Medicare is not a single-payer system. He said anyone can get Medicare through Aetna, Blue Cross or any other government approved private insurance providers. It is private insurance subsidized by the government. So why would Ryan and the GOP bother to make the motions to convert Medicare away from something Factcheck falsely claims it is? It's not only a government insurance program - at least according to Ryan.

Ryan should know, he's the guy who actually wrote the language in the bill. Just like his earlier idea to "strengthen" Social Security was to bait current workers with risky returns in private investment, eventually leading to less participation in the system. His plan for Medicare is nearly identical. It is meant to gradually cut a safety net away that only, and only the government can provide.

We should never forget it was Paul Ryan who actually drafted the language to deleverage future seniors during the most critical times of their lives. The folks at FactCheck can spin the facts any way they want, after all it's only their opinion.