Political opportunism is to be expected, but they're abusing the privilege: Even longtime Washington insiders say they are struck by the brazenness with which Rebuplicans and Democrats are changing their rhetoric to woo senior voters.
Just a little over a year ago, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) took to the House floor to warn America of the perils facing seniors if Democrats' healthcare reform bill wasn't stopped.
“Can you go home and tell your senior citizens that these cuts in Medicare will not limit their access to doctors or further weaken the program instead of strengthening it? No, you cannot,” the then-minority leader asked his colleagues last March.
Fast forward 13 months, and Boehner - now Speaker - is singing a different tune.
Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) proposal to replace Medicare with subsidies to buy private insurance, Boehner told ABC News the blueprint “transforms Medicare into a plan that's very similar to the president's own healthcare bill.”
If Boehner can be accused of shifting his rhetoric, so too have some Democrats.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius echoed GOP complaints about the Obama healthcare law when she said Americans would “die sooner” under the Ryan plan.
Included are nine pages of quotes reflecting what they all said then and what they say now. It's downright dizzying. I've been watching politics for a long time, and I don't know if it's really gotten worse or it's just that my tolerance has reached the limit, but politics certainly seem more cynical and opportunistic than ever. The default position today should be: Just assume they're all lying and start from there.
