Romney Challenges Gingrich On Medicare, Opposes Tax Cuts For The Rich

WASHINGTON -- While appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney praised Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) plan to replace Medicare with a voucher system in a shot at fellow presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.

During the Sunday show, Romney criticized Gingrich, the former House Speaker, for making a statement in May that "cut the legs out" from under the plan, part of a 2012 budget Ryan proposed back in April.

"Are we going to deal with entitlement reform or not?" Romney asked. "Republicans came together, Paul Ryan was the author of the plan. But almost every single Republican voted for it, and the Speaker said this is 'right-wing social engineering.'"

Romney's actual Medicare plan is not as extreme as Ryan's, however. Instead, it preserves the existing Medicare program, allowing seniors to choose to receive vouchers for private insurance instead of the government plan, while Ryan would end Medicare in favor of a voucher system.

Fox host Chris Wallace pressed Romney on his support for the Ryan budget, suggesting that Ryan's plans to eliminate $700 billion in aid to states, including $127 billion in food stamps, would make Romney vulnerable to Democratic attacks in the general election. Romney said that he would help the poor by growing the economy, and suggested that cutting government benefits for the poor wouldn't cause problems.

"Cutting welfare spending dramatically, I don't think will hurt the poor," Romney said.

But Romney also emphasized contrasts between his economic plans and those of other Republican candidates by saying that he does not support major tax cuts for the rich.

"The people who have been hurt are in the middle class," Romney said. "I'm not looking to dramatically reduce taxes for the wealthiest in society."

Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) have both proposed flat taxes that would lower taxes on the rich by raising them on the poor.

Romney's Sunday jab at Gingrich comes just days after Ryan launched a new Medicare reform plan with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that takes some of the elements of his earlier proposal. Romney backed the new proposal Thursday night during a Republican presidential debate; Gingrich lauded Ryan and Wyden on Twitter for reaching across party lines. Earlier on Thursday, the Obama administration came out against the new plan, saying it would leave Medicare to "wither on the vine."

Comments

[the99pct]

09:41 PM on 04/04/2012

Romney said that he would help the poor by growing the economy, and suggested that cutting government benefits for the poor wouldn't cause problems. "Cutting welfare spending dramatically, I don't think will hurt the poor," Romney said. This coming from a man whose luxury house in CA will have car elevators!

He has to go to a family on welfare, take half the money they get and try to live with them for 2 weeks.

[the99pct]

10:06 PM on 04/04/2012

I have a few families I know of who are on welfare that I can recommend to Mitt Romney. They are all white. After living with them for two weeks, I would like to hear what he will say.

[RG41]

09:11 AM on 12/21/2011

HMMM, help the poor by growing the economy. I believe that there are people who abuse the welfare system (very little), benefits for the poor should not be drastically because we are going to pay more in the long run for malnurished children and increased homelessness. Like I said before, the republicans are going to put the old and young poor on the streets which is going to cause way more problems. Romney is a wolf in sheeps clothing and I hope the American public is not dumb enough to vote for him. Do we really want a businessman in the white house which WILL be putting the wolf in with the hens. Corporate America would LOVE a Romney Presidency, who do you think that would benefit?

Obama 2012

[ChristianEcon.com]

07:56 PM on 12/20/2011

Sure, cut welfare for the poor. Right after you pay back all your ill-gotten wealth, Mitt.

[MovieGuy2010]

12:17 PM on 12/20/2011

Mitt sees Newtons ship starting to sink, so he can go back to his fake playing to the middle thing?

So, he doesn't see ADDITIONAL tax cuts for the rich, eh?

When Mitt was pitching his massive cuts to capital gains taxes, which would put millions into the pockets of the wealthy, he defended it by saying “average middle class folks would get an average $156.00 tax break out of it.”

This week, he was saying the $1500.00 average cut that working folks would get from the payroll tax holiday was “just not that significant…”

The poor guy is trapped in upside down bagger-logic land, and he can’t get out.

[ls263]

10:45 AM on 12/20/2011

Do these republicans really believe the elderly are so silly that they would choose an insurance company's "low paid coupon" and their denial of most benefits, over medicare? I will be 65 in 2022, and "you betcha" I won't be that silly!!

[Coyote50]

12:26 AM on 12/20/2011

Romney says that cutting food stamps won't hurt the poor? No, it won't hurt them, it will just starve them. Richest country in the world, 1/3 of the country at or below the poverty line. I have just one question for the Greedy One Percent -- where are the jobs? You said if you won in 2010, there would be jobs.

[hangdogit]

12:41 AM on 12/20/2011

“Romney says that cutting food stamps won't hurt the poor?"

Maybe each poor person could somehow come up with the money to incorporate themselves -- because Romney has no problem with corporate welfare.

And when he says: "Corporations are people too." -- why not "People are corporations too."

[Coyote50]

12:46 AM on 12/20/2011

I like it!

[ajustman]

10:20 PM on 12/19/2011

Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) have both proposed flat taxes that would lower taxes on the rich by raising them on the poor. Remember this come voting time!!!! That is exactly what a flat tax would do.

[ChristianEcon.com]

07:56 PM on 12/20/2011

Of course. That's what Republicans exist to do.

[Veri]

07:02 PM on 12/19/2011

Social Security is not an entitlemen­­t program - workers pay into the system. Medicare and Medicaid exist because our health care system is broke. Health care vouchers are a payoff to failed health care corporatio­­ns using taxpayer money, in exchange for 'campaign contributi­­ons'. 50 million people rely on foodstamps - not enough jobs that pay enough - eliminate foodstamps and watch 50 million malnourish­­ed Americans without food - parts of America turn into Ethiopia. The wealthy advocate a flat tax - stupid Americans on the idiot Right need to ask themselves­­, "Why do I support what the wealthy want?" - taxes go up on the poor and middle-cla­­ss and down on the wealthy - which means, dear idiotic Right, YOUR TAXES GO UP - who is stupid enough to vote for that? Tthe idiotic Right.

Morons on the Right cry about a corrupt Congress. And want that same corrupt Congress to legislate the flat tax, health care, etc. While expecting not to get screwed. This goes beyond stupidity into lunacy.

Tthe Right elected a cult leader, G.W. Bush. The mistakes he made. The crippling of America's economy. $6 trillion in new debt. Two unfinished wars. And a host of other problems to haunt us for decades. What does the Right do? They take no responsibi­­lity for bringing about the near destructio­­n of America, preferring to blame Democrats; pretending they did no wrong.

Oh, and are tripling down on stupidity in an effort to prove to themselves that they are Right

[Coyote50]

12:28 AM on 12/20/2011

And don't forget that Bush's tax cuts for the rich did not create jobs. Why would they now?

[ls263]

09:57 AM on 12/20/2011

Well, don't ya know that if the poor were open and willing to working for a dollar a day they would have jobs? LOL

[cris robin]

07:00 PM on 12/19/2011

why aren't Americans ruuning for the exits when they see someone with an (R) behind their name?

[time2talk]

08:23 PM on 12/19/2011

The Democrats sure are. I hope the Independents are too!

[ChristianEcon.com]

07:58 PM on 12/20/2011

(R) stands for the Rich.

[BiznessLady]

06:38 PM on 12/19/2011

When I open or expand new territory and have to hire I get close to a thousand resumes. You should see the gamut of qualifications of the applicants. I have to hire trusted colleagues help to sort through the responses for fairness.

I could hire more if I was willing to deal with the banks and their outrageous fees, riders and fine print in order to get the loan, and we have been seeing the same from venture capitalists. So I only expand when i have the capital and remain debt-free to the chagrin of my bankers.

Abusive lending practices have been found for small business owners who don't have savvy lawyers to navigate the clauses in the contract and have been brought up in Chamber of Commerce meetings for a while now.

Mitt Romney and his ilk are the authors of these practices and they call it "dog eat dog business".

[markgoode]

07:18 PM on 12/19/2011

F&F.

[l78lancer]

05:34 PM on 12/19/2011

Romney is a complete fake. I doubt that he even understands or has seriously read what's in Ryans' plan. He just hopes to score points by saying if Newt's against it he's for it.

Fail.

[time2talk]

08:24 PM on 12/19/2011

Romney's gone from being credible to just being a mess that's in favor of everything one week and against everything the next. I think he thinks the Tea Party and the Republicans are two opposing parties, and he can't decide which one he has to please more.

[l78lancer]

12:40 AM on 12/22/2011

F/F.

[too young but old enough]

05:21 PM on 12/19/2011

"Cutting welfare spending dramatically, I don't think will hurt the poor," Romney said.

In other words, he doesn't expect taking away money that people depend on to just 'get by' would hurt those people? What does he think they'll be able to do to cover their impending shortfall? Maybe he thinks that everyone on welfare is like him, and get millions from a job that they don't even do anymore.

[NoboyukiMasaki]

03:37 PM on 12/19/2011

No Ethics Whatsoever...

[Dianne McCarthy]

03:31 PM on 12/19/2011

clueless rich guys...rocky anderson 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[cris robin]

06:54 PM on 12/19/2011

Rocky & Dianne 2012 !!!!!!!

[time2talk]

08:26 PM on 12/19/2011

Anderson Cooper 2012!!!!

[Raven Evermore]

03:28 PM on 12/19/2011

of course any welfare recipient that has $10,000 doesnt need it. Not for those what, 3-6 months anyways. Once that is gone on mortgages, food, car payments or maybe a car that RUNS ... well, d be happy to take him up on that one, and see just how far he can get on nothing...

a humourous idea i say we make this a test to see who gets into the candidacy no matter who or what you are.

Here is a way for the middle class to gain some respect for their disciplined use of money, unfortunately the people now and their damn reality shows, well, why dont we pick people who are rich, put them on a reality show, give them what THEY Think a family should be able to live on and just tell them to donate if they lose, either way they pay for the televising, and the publicity, and however much they decide to donate will give them what the outlide of the show will inevitably decide which bracket of poorness they have to live in for a year. how many people on the show depends on how many we can gather to pitch in and volunteer. they choose their priority, and cannot exceed the given budget. whoever wins gets the most media attention and obviously proves us wrong.... then distribute the money to the poor

[ls263]

10:04 AM on 12/20/2011

These rich people should not receive one dime in government aid during this time period of imposed poverty, so they can see what their ideas will be like when the real poor actually have to live within the rich people's idea of fairness.