Ryan in Fla. makes emotional pitch for Medicare

(CBS News) THE VILLAGES, Fla. - In front of thousands of Florida seniors, Republican vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan made a highly emotional appeal for his Medicare reforms and slammed a 15-member board charged with slowing the cost growth of the popular entitlement program.

Ryan had some help from his mother, 78-year-old Betty Douglas, a part-time Florida resident who appeared on stage with him as he began his speech and was the center of the argument he made that Republicans are trying to keep Medicare solvent for future generations.

"Like a lot of Americans, when I think about Medicare it's not just a program, it's not just a bunch of numbers, it's what my mom relies on, it's what my grandma had," Ryan said.

He told the story of his grandmother relying on Medicare after she developed advanced Alzheimer's and moved in with Ryan and his mother. "Medicare was there for our family," he said, stressing the importance of preserving the "guarantee" of Medicare for people close to retirement or already retired.

Under proposals backed by Mitt Romney and Ryan, any changes to the program would not affect Americans 55 or older--a big part of Ryan's audience Saturday as demonstrated by the number of hands that went up when he asked about the crowd's age.

(Watch a clip of Ryan's remarks in the video to the left.)

Ryan singled out two villains in his address: President Obama, who he and Romney repeatedly have said "raided" $716 billion from Medicare to pay for the 2010 health care law; and the Independent Payment Advisory Board, an unelected panel tasked with slowing the cost growth of Medicare. Ryan has said the latter will put health care providers out of business and lead to seniors being denied care. Under the health care law, IPAB will have the authority to implement changes to Medicare unless Congress explicitly rejects them.

"We will restore the promise of this program, and we will make sure that this board of bureaucrats will not mess with my mom's health care or your mom's health care," he pledged of the plan he and Romney are offering.

Democrats have suggested that Romney and Ryan's program - which would give seniors vouchers to purchase either traditional Medicare or private insurance - would drive up costs that fall on those in the program by thousands of dollars, a claim based on an older Medicare reform proposal by Ryan that has since been modified. Ryan contends his plan will lead to guaranteed options and affordability.

"Mitt Romney and I will protect and strengthen Medicare so that the promises that were made, that people organized their retirements around like my mom, will be promises that are kept," he said.

Up until now, Ryan has only made brief references to Medicare in his speeches, choosing to focus on the cuts in Medicare's growth made by Obama. The Saturday speech in Florida, a week after his candidacy was announced, marks the first time he has spent the bulk of an address not only criticizing the president but also outlining his own proposals.

For all of the attacks on Ryan's plan, people in the crowd seemed unconcerned about his proposals.

"I believe Ryan's telling the truth when he says he's not going to change it for those that are currently on it and that solidifies my vote," said Tom Able, a resident of the Villages who came to see Ryan with his wife, Sharon.

"There is a plan. That's what impresses us," he said.

[TJphoto]

Hi Ya Folks, This is my Mom. Now here comes bus, now sit back and watch. It is sickening that our elected officials give Health Care Coverage to themselves and then try to figure out how they can deny it to the electorate.

[gasbecca1]

It is very hipcritical that Ryan is comforting the seniors above 55yrs old for his political gains. What about all those who have paid into the system? To give them a voucher for $8000 is a slap on the face when he knows that surgeries cost over $ 8000, e.g my daughter cut her ACL and the bill was 50,000 and if I was on Romney's voucher system I would be bankrupt by now. Worse still the middle class are footing the bill to pay for his tax cuts for the wealthy! Shame on your Romney/Ryan! Obama/Biden 2012

[nearl451]

So just like Sarah Palin used to hang Trig as a penchant around her neck (as a medal of how "prolife" she was), I guess Mr. Ryan will start adorning himself with his mother to show how much he cars about older people.

I'd really like to see him prove his merit and geta job fora change....at a nursing home.

[AttyFAM]

The man presents budget after budget, year after year, that would do away with not only Social Security and Medicare but the Department of Education, and now, now that he has a chance to be Vice President, do you really believe that he has changed his mind? Or is he just saying what you want him to say?

[nearl451]

Dusty-Trail.

Now let me help you.

Regardless of what a person's parents believe(d) or other people who are "associated with him" espouse, a man should be judged by is own actions. [I certainly don't think that you would hold the same political stance as your estranged father, but I guess it could be so.]

The point is that nothing (and I do mean not one thing) that Obama has done or proposed while is office is anywhere close to Communism.

Some of his ideas may be classified as Socialist (Universal Healthcare for example), but most of his positions smack of pragmatism and centrism. He has, in fact, continued many of his predecesser's policies. In fact, the ACA ended up being a veryRepublican idea centered around an individual mandate to purchase PRIVATE Health insurance. It isn't even managed by a central govt.

So please to continue to plaguerize chapters out of "Hate Obama" research and books and repost here........but keep in mind: He has not executed the office in any manner that could be classified as communist.

Come back if you feel the need to be taken to the woodshed again.

[nearl451]

Dusty. Do I really seem desperate to you?

Yaaaaawn.

Inyour reasoning Richard Nixon was Red Chinese. LOL.

[nearl451]

Sorry, Dusty. orshould I say "little brother" (so quaint). Seems that some censor took it upon him/herself to remove your canned spam.

Now, I didn't complain about it, although I recognized it was a canned argument organized by some Obama haters group.


Better off to just think on your feet. The ability to reason is under valued.

[alphabet77-2009]

Ryan and Romney will cut Medicare more than Obama, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Medicare spending will be 4.75% of GDP by 2050 under Ryan's plan. Under Obamacare, Medicare spending would be 7% by 2050

Medicare: 7% under Obama, versus 4.7% in Ryan's plan.

See for the CBO analysis for yourself (Table 2). (For the CBO analysis, "specifed path" refers to the Ryan plan, and "baseline scenario" refers to current law under Obama, which includes Obamacare, aka ACA.)
http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/03-20-Ryan_Specified_Paths_2.pdf

[TimeToEvolve]

GOP to old people: Good Luck!

[John_Swift]

So seniors like Tom Able are impressed that Ryan has a plan, but reassured that the plan won't affect their own coverage. If it's such a great plan then why are they so hesitant to sign-up for it themselves? Cognitive dissonance triumphs again.

[nearl451]

Republican Healthcare solutions including their economic solutions are always the same worn out zombies.

1. Tort Reform
2. Interstate Coverage (more competition will lower costs -so they claim)
3. Trickle down ( = give the money to the "creator class")
4. Privatizations (= vouchers)

Each one of these sounds great until you consider the real effects. There is no cost containment in any of it. AND in this case the FICA already paid in is not supposed to be used for anything else. It is NOT to be given to private entities to manage.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Paul Ryan's use of his mother to try and legitimize the lies, propaganda and scam he and Romney are proposing on medicare show that republicans have no sense of shame or honor and will stoop to anything to gain power.

This bares for all to see that republicans care only about controlling government to use for the benefit of the super rich contributors along with corporations, big oil and big pharma.

Republicans have shown time and time again that they don't give a damn about ordinary Americans. However they do lie like the devil to ordinary Americans to scam them into voting them into office.

[Jhihmoac]

"I wanna save Medicare...By turning most Americans away from it, it won't get used much...Yay, it's saved!"

[sjc_1]

The whole idea is for rich Republicans to get a $6000 voucher to buy their $20,000 health care plan. They have no way of getting tax payer dollars now, but under Ryan they will.