Romney, Ryan and surrogates on Medicare

Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and a number of GOP big shots came out in force over the last few days to attack President Obama for “stealing” $716 billion from Medicare to fund the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican attack was marvelously uncoordinated, with Romney, Ryan, and a horde of faithful surrogates stumping, interviewing, and appearing on almost every political talk show to toe the line on a chain of talking points. They are as follows:

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• President Obama stole, cut, and/or raided $716 billion from Medicare to fund Obamacare.
• Medicare is going broke. By 2014, according to bipartisan estimates, the entitlement program will become insolvent. This problem has to be dealt with now because it will get really ugly if we wait.
• Paul Ryan worked with Ron Wyden, a Democrat, on this Medicare plan, so it’s the only truly bipartisan bill on this issue that exists.
• No one 55 years of age or older will be affected by Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan.
• Romney/Ryan are running on Romney’s plan, not Ryan’s.

Watch the video for a rundown of all the Republican arguments on Medicare.