Gingrich calls GOP Medicare voucher plan radical

Now that he is officially in the running to be the Republican nominee for president, Newt Gingrich made his opinions very clear while appearing on Sunday morning talk shows.

The New York Times: Gingrich Calls GOP's Medicare Plan Too Radical
Days after formally announcing his candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich on Sunday sharply criticized a plan by House Republicans that would drastically overhaul Medicare, the federal health care program for retirees (Hernandez, 5/15).

Los Angeles Times: New Gingrich Slams Paul Ryan's Plan To Overhaul Medicare
Presidential contender Newt Gingrich took a potshot Sunday at Republican House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan's proposal to reform Medicare, becoming the most prominent Republican to distance himself from the plan (Skiba, 5/15).

The Wall Street Journal: Gingrich Blasts House GOP's Medicare Plan
The moves suggest the Republican primary contest, which will include both men, could feature a robust debate on health care, with GOP candidates challenging the Democratic law while defending their own variations (Meckler, 5/16).

Politico: Gingrich Says No To Medicare Vouchers
Newt Gingrich on Sunday rejected a Republican proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program that helps senior citizens purchase private health insurance. "I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering," Gingrich said on NBC's "Meet The Press" (Marr, 5/15).

National Journal: Gingrich Dismisses Medicare Vouchers As 'Social Engineering'
The ever-shifting to unseat President Obama in 2012 got a supercharge last week with Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul formally jumping in, Mike Huckabee staying out, and Mitt Romney talking health care. But the debt-ceiling vote loomed, as always, as a more immediate concern. Both dominated this week's Sunday talk shows. Among the highlights: Huckabee slept soundly after making his no-go official; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he'll listen to the markets on raising the debt limit; Gingrich dismisses Medicare vouchers as "social engineering" and saying the teacher/analyst Newt will have to take a back seat if he's elected president (5/15).

Meanwhile, news outlets continue to report on last week's health policy speech by another GOP presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney:

CNN: (Video) Can Romney Overcome 'Romneycare' Legacy?
Mitt Romney faces a backlash over his health care plan when he was governor of Massachusetts. CNN's Jim Acosta reports (5/15).

Politico Pro: Right Recoils From Mitt Romney's Speech
The reaction on the right to Romney's much-anticipated Big Speech on health care in Michigan Thursday was overwhelmingly negative, leaving him about where he started, if not worse off. Conservatives blasted the former Massachusetts governor for his complicated defense of the universal-care law he enacted in the Bay State, while giving him little credit for his detailed critique of President Barack Obama (Ball, 5/13).