Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Dueling Medi-Scare Ads

We've reached that part of the electoral cycle when candidates simultaneously accuse each other of lying about a particular issue.

On the issue of Rand Paul supporting a $2000 deductible for Medicare, it is a false conflict. Paul was very candid in the Fox debate Sunday (see post below) by stating that Medicare needs drastic reforms to continue to exist. But Paul was adamant that any such reform cannot, must not apply to current recipients. This deductible is a reform that younger voters may bear.

That Jack Conway ad, in which a bunch of grumpy old people complain about Rand Paul imposing a $2000 deductible against them is therefore dishonest; this group is "grand-fathered" from any such reform, so to speak. And Conway knows it.

Likewise, the follow-up Conway ad that quotes Paul calling for a $2000 deductible is beside the point. Paul has reiterated that such a deductible is a very real possibility for younger voters; indeed, it is their only hope for ever seeing a Medicare check. But none of the sound-bites in the Conway ad quote Paul as applying the deductible to those Seniors who now enjoy Medicare.

That's why the Demo-blogs misquote the Paul ad as stating that Paul claims he "never supported higher Medicare deductibles." Note that the end of the Paul quote drops the operative words "for Seniors."

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