I've been watching Democrats stumble over the GOP talking point about how "Obamacare cuts Medicare by $700 Billion." Well, my Great Orange Satan denizens, it's true and rather than run from it ... embrace it!
I'm starting a series of my own talking points called Slaying the Romney Zombie Lies but after watching poor Rachael Maddow this morning stumbling to get to this $700 Billion point, as have so many others, I decided to start with the final point of my first installment (which is actually Part II).
So, if you'll follow me below the Great Orange Caduceus, I'll present my take on how to defend this.
First of all, I want to say a little something about the construct. You'll notice there's a Prebuttal, the GOP TP (Talking Point -- which is the blah, blah you'll get from the Coordinated Conservative Chorus or more appropriately their Toilet Paper, take your pick) and a Rebuttal.
The Prebuttal is an offensive posture: start the debate from an attack position, going after what you know is coming and neutralize it. This is that part I find we miss quite often. Embracing our own positions sometimes comes hard but we must do it. The Rebuttal is simply an expansion with additional facts for clarification.
The caps aren't necessarily screaming ... they're just key words I've set apart that help make the case. Knowing those key phrases will help people defending the case remember their "script" when under the siege of a well-rehearsed and coordinated script.
On 'Obama cuts $700 billion from Medicare'
· Prebuttal: The claim that OBAMACARE cuts $700 BILLION from Medicare is TRUE and the GOOD NEWS is that in doing so, it INCREASES HEALTHCARE FOR SENIORS and AT THE SAME TIME cuts fraud, WASTE and abuse. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office determined that the Medicare provisions in President Obama's health care law would save $700 BILLION over a decade and EXTENDS THE LIFE OF MEDICARE. Extends it EIGHT YEARS.
GOP TP: Mitt Romney also laid out commonsense reforms that will make good on our promises to today’s seniors and save Social Security and Medicare for future generations.
Rebuttal: The ROMNEY-RYAN plan takes $700 BILLION AWAY FROM SENIORS but does NOT use it to fund HEALTH SERVICES for ANYBODY. Yet Republicans in the House voted to strip that $700 Billion FROM SENIORS ENTIRELY. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates under the ROMNEY-RYAN plan new Medicare beneficiaries will pay more than $1,200 OUT OF POCKET by 2030 and more than $5,900 more by 2050 and SHIFT ADDITIONAL COSTS to seniors by RAISING the eligibility age to 67. This NEGATIVELY impacts today's middle-aged, middle class HARD WORKING Americans while giving the wealthiest 1-percent HUGE TAX BREAKS.
Sources:
FACT CHECK: Questionable claims in veep debut
Romney Slams Obama For Medicare Cuts In Ryan’s Budget