http://youtu.be/2FIChGN5akk
It’s one of the most competitive congressional elections in the country, and with the launch Wednesday of Mark Crtiz’s new ad it’s becoming one of the most boilerplate. The spot contains familiar attacks over Medicare, as does Rothfus’s response.
It’s not Larry Maggi’s Medicare ad; rather, it’s a soft, straight-to-camera example of the “he’s a nice guy, we just disagree” genre.
Over easy listening acoustic guitar music, Critz begins, “there are some things Keith Rothfus and I agree on. We’re both pro-life, pro-gun and pro-military. But we don’t agree on Medicare.”
He’s referring to Rothfus’s support for the House GOP budget, written by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). He avoids a overreach common of Democrats and says, “Keith Rothfus wants to end the current Medicare system”. The budget would make Medicare more like a voucher program, but would not “end Medicare” as other critics have claimed.
However, he says, Rothfus wants to, “make seniors pay more for health care.”
That’s a tenuous claim. The budget’s authors vociferously note that their reform plan wouldn’t affect the benefits structure for current retirees or those 55 and older.
To wit, Rothfus Campaign Manager Jon Raso rejected the accusation.
“Keith Rothfus does not want to make any changes to Medicare for our seniors and Congressman Critz knows that, but he continues to lie about Keith to save his political career, and the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania have had enough,” he said.
Like any multi-billion dollar program, Medicare is complicated.
Critics of the Ryan plan say that changes made to the health care system by the Ryan plan would cause providers to shift prices and raise prices for current seniors, intentionally or not. Supporters of the plan, like Rothfus, note that Medicare will go bankrupt within a few years if serious reforms are not enacted, resulting in everyone’s benefits being cut.
That’s why Ryan’s plan keeps in place changes and reforms made to Medicare by the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, to the tune of $716 billion in savings.
Which leads to team Rothfus’s tenuous claim about Critz, who has voted repeatedly against measures that would repeal Obamacare.
“Mr. Critz is the only one who used Medicare funding for something else, choosing to raid Medicare of $716 billion just to pay for Obamacare,” Raso said. “Keith Rothfus will repeal Obamacare and fight to save Medicare.”
In other PA-12 news, Critz also rolled out the endorsement Wednesday of the Alliance for Retired Americans, a group mainly comprised of former trade workers of the AFL-CIO.
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6 Responses
If Keith had his way he would go back in time and kill Medicare at birth. Vouchered Medicare is the first step to no Medicare , once costs exceed voucher worth the voucher is worthless for those that are not millionaire lawyers who married old money
Mark Critz and other Democrats took $700 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare. It’s going to hasten the demise of the Trust Fund, which is headed toward bankruptcy anyway. Keith at least wants to find a way to make it solvent. That’s not a bad thing.
Idiot alert. The editor of this or Any other story isn’t grinding an axe. I don’t always like what they say but c’mon. That said Rothfus represents more of the anger hate and angst that as stopped all progress.
How are these candidates allowed to perpetrate such a huge fraud on the voters. While Obamacare actually steals 800 billion from Medicare, this budget proposal Critz and Maggie talk about is just a…yea, it’s a budget proposal. Zero impact VS actual billions stolen from Medicare. And the editor of this story feeds right in by calling it a “tenuous” claim? It’s a damn fact! hope Rothfus and Murphy come back swinging against these lies.
Nice to see candidates can agree on some things.
Keegan, why do you point out that the “Alliance for Retired Americans, a group mainly comprised of former trade workers of the AFL-CIO,” but you don’t point out in the Rothfus piece that Grover Norquist’s groups is mainly comprised of current douchebags from the Tea Party?