GOP Medicare plan may put 'elderly vote in play'

Political push back surrounding the Paul Ryan budget plan continues to feed the Democrats' view that they may have a 2012 opportunity with older voters. For instance, at home in their districts this week some Republicans are facing voter anger. And House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says he is "not wedded" to the Ryan approach to reduce Medicare spending by transforming the program.

Politico: Poll Shows Even Split Over Budget Plans
That the Ryan plan does better with seniors is a bit unexpected, since analysts see the Republican vision for deep cuts to Medicare as likely to benefit Obama, who has traditionally struggled to gain the support of older Americans. Overall, 66 percent of those surveyed said they worry that Ryan's plan cuts Medicare too much and 65 percent say the same about his vision for trimming Social Security spending (Epstein, 4/27).

Politico: Paul Ryan's Plan Puts 2012 Elderly Vote In Play
Democrats still smarting from their 2010 mid-term defeat see Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's controversial plan to overhaul Medicare as political aspirin, a cure for just about everything that ails them. But for Barack Obama it's more like Geritol — a targeted treatment for his chronic aches and pains with older voters (Thrush and Phillip, 4/27).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Boehner: 'Not Wedded' To Ryan Plan For Medicare
Rep. Paul Ryan acknowledged he was handing Democrats a political weapon when he unveiled his fiscal 2012 budget proposal, including a controversial overhaul of Medicare. Congressional leaders in both parties now seem to agree with him. House Speaker John Boehner, R.-Ohio, said he is "not wedded" to Mr. Ryan's plan to redo Medicare (Yadron, 4/26).

Politico: John Boehner Says He's Not 'Wedded To' Paul Ryan Plan
Democrats and liberal groups said Boehner's comments to ABC News, in an interview posted Tuesday afternoon, make it sound like he's backpedaling from the House vote two weeks ago in which all but four Republicans voted for Ryan's budget plan — including the Medicare overhaul that's raising so many questions at their town hall meetings (Nather, 4/26).

The Hill: Boehner Again Offers Tepid Support For Ryan's Medicare Plan
For the second time in less than two weeks, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) raised eyebrows Tuesday with a tepid endorsement of Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) Medicare reform plan. Ryan's proposal to replace Medicare with subsidies to buy private insurance was a central part of the GOP's 2012 budget blueprint, which sailed through the Republican-controlled House on April 15 on a party-line vote of 235-193. But in an interview with ABC News this week, Boehner called the Ryan Medicare plan "an idea … worthy of consideration;" two weeks ago, the Speaker called it "an option worth considering" (Pecquet, 4/26).

CBS: (Video) Angry Votes Crowd GOP Town Meetings
Congressman Paul Ryan has a plan that would change Medicare as we know it, and require future generations of seniors to pay a greater share of their health care costs. CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes reports Rep. Ryan is holding a series of town meetings on the plan — and not everyone's buying what he's selling. The town meetings in this mostly rural district are normally intimate affairs. But this week, constituents from Twin Lakes to Kenosha are being turned away as capacity crowds inside come to praise or condemn the plan Ryan likes to call the "path to prosperity" (Cordes, 4/26).

Politico Pro: How One GOP-er Handles The Medicare Mess
Rep. Patrick Meehan is one of the House Republican freshmen who have gotten earfuls about Paul Ryan's Medicare plan, but he says he has been able to satisfy most of his town hall audiences by saying it's just the start of a longer discussion. Meehan ... was captured on video fielding questions from a town hall audience member who accused him of voting to "abolish Medicare." He's also one of 42 House Republicans who are being targeted by a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee robocall drive that accuses them of voting to "end Medicare"and "lace the burden on seniors" (Nather, 4/27).

The New York Times: House GOP Members Face Voter Anger Over Budget
In central Florida, a Congressional town meeting erupted into near chaos on Tuesday as attendees accused a Republican lawmaker of trying to dismantle Medicare while providing tax cuts to corporations and affluent Americans (Steinhauer and Hulse, 4/26).

CNN: (Video) Crowd Turns Loud At Town Hall Session For Freshman GOP Rep
House Republicans back home for congressional recess have been getting some tough questions about plans to overhaul Medicare, but GOP freshman Daniel Webster's town hall meeting in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday was beyond tough — it turned into a chaotic scene. Webster used charts and graphs to try to explain the controversial House GOP budget he voted for, but he could barely be heard over angry yelling — mostly about the Medicare proposal (Bash, Thai and Couwels, 4/26).

Orlando Sentinel/Los Angeles Times: Florida Congressman Confronted By Angry Town Hall Crowd
Boos and shouts of "liar" were mixed with angry accusations that Ryan's plan to change Medicare would leave those now under 55 without health insurance in their retirement, calls to eliminate the tax cuts first put in place by former President Bush and the need to raise corporate taxes rather than cut entitlement programs (Schlueb, 4/26).

The Baltimore Sun: Ruppersberger Decries Proposed Federal Health Cuts
Speaking at a community health center in Cherry Hill on Tuesday, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said that federal budget cuts proposed for low-income health clinics could cost Maryland as much as $2 billion over the next five years. The Baltimore County Democrat said the centers, which were already the target of cuts in a spending measure passed by Congress earlier this month, save the national health care system as much as $17.6 billion a year by helping low-income patients avoid emergency rooms when they get sick (4/26).