It appears that the NRCC is in a panic over Paul Ryan's elevation to the national ticket. They've sent a flurry of memos since Saturday, and the latest is over messaging on Medicare and Social Security. Despite the fact that the actual memo came
August 13, 2012

It appears that the NRCC is in a panic over Paul Ryan's elevation to the national ticket. They've sent a flurry of memos since Saturday, and the latest is over messaging on Medicare and Social Security. Despite the fact that the actual memo came from the NRCC, the instructions are straight out of the Luntz playbook, as outlined in 2009 and 2010.

Via Politico:

Do not say: ‘entitlement reform,’ ‘privatization,’ ‘every option is on the table,’” the National Republican Congressional Committee said in an email memo. “Do say: ‘strengthen,’ ‘secure,’ ‘save,’ ‘preserve, ‘protect.’”

The email read like a warning shot, alerting Republicans that they would soon face a barrage of Medicare-themed attacks and telling them they needed to be ready for the scrutiny that was to come. The internal email, obtained by POLITICO, was a clear and immediate sign that Republicans knew Ryan could create trouble down ballot for GOP candidates in tight congressional races.

“Predictably,” the NRCC wrote, Democrats are “already blasting Mitt Romney’s selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate. Expect your boss to get questions from reporters on how this selection of a fellow House member impacts your race.”

These directives are being taken to heart, not only by candidates including Romney himself, but also the cable networks cheering Ryan on. No questions are being asked that should be asked, like why it is that if the Ryan plan is so wonderful for people under age 55, people over age 55 can't participate. That one seems fairly obvious, and yet no one asks. That ridiculous softball interview with Bob Schieffer is a terrific example.

The Romney campaign is banking on ignorance to slide Ryan's whole profitization plan right by. Go out and talk to your neighbors, who aren't really paying attention and don't start until sometime in October. They likely won't know who Paul Ryan is or why he's such a threat to their financial future. With messaging schemes like the Luntz terms above, they never will unless people start telling them.

Here it is, plain and simple. Paul Ryan is a fervent believer in killing social insurance by privatizing it for profit. To that end, his budget proposal ends Medicare. It ends it. Period. There is no "choice." involved. It ends Medicare and shifts the burden for medical costs onto senior citizens. Similarly, his scheme for Social Security ends it. Period. It takes our retirement funds and gives them to Wall Street, where all the risk then shifts over to the retiree and all the profit heads into Wall Street's pocket.

Wall Street and health insurers benefit from Paul Ryan's plan, but people don't. They can paint that pig with all kinds of different shades of lipstick but everyone needs to know that Paul Ryan aims to destroy the social safety nets by shifting all costs and risks from the government to individuals, terminating the agreement that has worked so well for so many years, and handing our retirement to profit-driven enterprise.

Spread the word.

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