Carnahan Pushing Back Against Paul Ryan's Plan to End Medicare As We Know It

Glad that Russ Carnahan is actively pushing back against Paul Ryan's budget plan which calls for privatizing Medicare:

RUSS CARNAHAN TO VISIT BETHESDA TERRACE INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTER

Carnahan will give a brief update regarding Medicare and answer questions from residents

(St. Louis, MO) – This Tuesday, June 21 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time, Rep. Russ Carnahan will speak to residents of the Bethesda Terrace Independent Living Center regarding the upcoming congressional budget proposals and how we can get our debt under control without ending Medicare and scapegoating our seniors.

Carnahan will discuss how Republican budget proposals will affect seniors, and will reaffirm his efforts to prevent deep cuts to the programs seniors rely on.

“I am working hard every day with the help of my Senior Advisory Panel to protect Social Security, strengthen and improve Medicare, and defend programs vital to our seniors,” Carnahan said. “Instead of scapegoating seniors, we should look first at cuts to taxpayer giveaways for oil companies and giant corporations who ship jobs overseas.”

Reardon Accuses Sarah Steelman of "Lying" About Paul Ryan's Plan

I'm not even sure Sarah Steelman has a coherent position on Paul Ryan's disastrous budget plan, but apparently is it's coherent enough for KMOX radio host Mark Reardon to accuse her of "lying" about it:

That's the modern Republican Party; if you dare even hesitate about the plan to destroy Medicare as we know it, you will be attacked.

GOP Plan To End Medicare As We Know It Too Extreme For Sarah Steelman?

It sounds that way! Fired Up Missouri reports that she has now endorsed what her campaign adviser described as the "Obama/Reid plan."

According to Steelman, the budget legislation with the Medicare changes put forward by Reps. Paul Ryan and Todd Akin includes the "cuts" to Medicare Advantage that Republicans campaign against in 2010, and "I don't like the idea of vouchers that don't keep up with the skyrocketing costs of health insurance."

Steelman certainly tries to frame it as an attack on McCaskill, but it sure sounds like she's basically undermining a key Republican proposal.

Clear Path To Victory for Senator McCaskill

PPP is out with some new polling, which shows that Missourians really, really like Medicare and Social Security:

McCaskill's Missouri shows the largest divide in surveys done by the Democratically friendly Public Policy Polling, especially on Medicare. When asked, "In order to reduce the national debt, would you support or oppose cutting spending on Medicare, which is the government health insurance program for the elderly?" just 19 percent of respondents said they would, while an overwhelming 77 percent said they would oppose cuts.

And similarly with Social Security:

In order to reduce the national debt, would you support or oppose cutting spending on Social Security, which is the retirement program for the elderly?
Ohio: 16% support, 80% oppose
Missouri: 17% support, 76% oppose
Montana: 20% support, 76% oppose
Minnesota: 23% support, 72% oppose

The problem for Republicans? Here's Fired Up Missouri on the candidate most likely to survive the GOP primary:

Akin proudly endorses the GOP plan to phase out Medicare as we know it. "I had the privilege of being part of the process of crafting this budget," he bragged to constituents last month.

So if 77% of Missourians oppose cuts to Medicare, and Todd Akin helped craft a budget that tries to get rid of Medicare, it seems pretty clear to me which message Senator McCaskill should be pushing.