Democrats hammer GOP candidates over Ryan's plan to overhaul Medicare

St. Louis Beacon:  Akin Launches TV Ad That Attacks McCaskill For Attacking Him On Medicare, Social Security
Facing attacks on the ground and the airwaves, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Todd Akin is launching a counterattack with his first post-primary TV ad that his campaign contends "holds embattled Senator Claire McCaskill accountable for her desperate and misleading attacks..." The Akin ad is running statewide, his campaign said late Monday. It contends that recent ad attacks by McCaskill, D-Mo., and the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are "misleading, deceptive, false."  In particular, the TV spot asserts that Akin "fights to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security" (Mannies, 8/14).

Philadelphia Inquirer: Area Democrats Try To Use Ryan Against Congressional Incumbents
Using a South Philadelphia senior center as a backdrop, the Democrats hammered U.S. Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick, Jim Gerlach, and Patrick Meehan for their past votes in favor of Ryan's fiscal plan, his signature proposal. The plan includes a controversial call for overhauling Medicare by relying in part on private insurance. "Mitt Romney has made his decision; now Congressman Meehan's votes for the Ryan plan to privatize Medicare are all the more real, serious, and dangerous," said George Badey, who spoke alongside fellow congressional candidates Katherine Boockvar and Manan Trivedi (Tamari and Lai, 8/14).