After Arguing Against Medicare Cuts To Reform Health Care, Steele Says They’re Back ‘On The Table’
During his run for the U.S. Senate in 2006, then-Lt. Gov. Michael Steele argued that in order to control federal spending, he would advocate cuts in other government programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and defense. “Everything has to be on the table, my friend,” Steele said to NBC’s Tim Russert.
Now as Republican National Committee chair, Steele is singing a different tune. In an effort to scare seniors, the RNC released a “Seniors Health Care Bill of Rights” last week, calling on the government to “protect Medicare and not cut it in the name of reform.”
But it appears that Steele has put Medicare cuts back “on the table.” On ABCNews.com’s Top Line Monday, host David Chalian asked Steele about his view on Medicare cuts. After meandering through a long non-answer, Steele finally said that they may be necessary to reform Medicare:
STEELE: Well yeah. I mean you’ve got to look at the Medicare system as a whole and see that it’s in financial trouble. So how do you correct that? [...]
CHALIAN: Part of correcting it is to keep the idea of cuts on the table, correct?
STEELE: Part of correcting …
CHALIAN: Part of correcting the financial stability of Medicare.
STEELE: Oh yeah. You’ve got to deal with those inefficiencies, absolutely.
During his run for the U.S. Senate in 2006, then-Lt. Gov. Michael Steele argued that in order to control federal spending, he would advocate cuts in other government programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and defense. “Everything has to be on the table, my friend,” Steele said to NBC’s Tim Russert.
Now as Republican National Committee chair, Steele is singing a different tune. In an effort to scare seniors, the RNC released a “Seniors Health Care Bill of Rights” last week, calling on the government to “protect Medicare and not cut it in the name of reform.”
But it appears that Steele has put Medicare cuts back “on the table.” On ABCNews.com’s Top Line Monday, host David Chalian asked Steele about his view on Medicare cuts. After meandering through a long non-answer, Steele finally said that they may be necessary to reform Medicare:
STEELE: Well yeah. I mean you’ve got to look at the Medicare system as a whole and see that it’s in financial trouble. So how do you correct that? [...]
CHALIAN: Part of correcting it is to keep the idea of cuts on the table, correct?
STEELE: Part of correcting …
CHALIAN: Part of correcting the financial stability of Medicare.
STEELE: Oh yeah. You’ve got to deal with those inefficiencies, absolutely.
Gingrich And Boehner Argue Stimulus Is A ‘Failure’ That Hasn’t Created ‘A Single Job’
Last Friday, Boehner continued to press his case that the stimulus has been an utter failure. On Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Boehner claimed the stimulus “didn’t create any jobs”:
Last Friday, Boehner continued to press his case that the stimulus has been an utter failure. On Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Boehner claimed the stimulus “didn’t create any jobs”:
BOEHNER: Well, I think it’s the American people who are winning this debate. They’ve looked up at this program, this giant government bureaucracy that the Democrats want to create in Washington, and said enough is enough. And while most of this is about health care, it’s really about a much bigger issue, and that is just the growth and size of government. You know, after the $1 trillion dollars stimulus bill that didn’t create any jobs, and the trillion dollars deficits for as far as the eye can see [...]
Echoing Boehner’s sentiment, Newt Gingrich blasted out a fundraising appeal for the right-wing group Citizens for the Republic today, attacking the stimulus as a “failure” that “hasn’t created a single job.”
Echoing Boehner’s sentiment, Newt Gingrich blasted out a fundraising appeal for the right-wing group Citizens for the Republic today, attacking the stimulus as a “failure” that “hasn’t created a single job.”
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