White House hopeful Newt Gingrich called the House Republican plan for Medicare “right-wing social engineering,” injecting a discordant GOP voice into the party’s efforts to reshape both entitlements and the broader budget debate.
In the same interview Sunday, on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Gingrich backed a requirement that all Americans buy health insurance, complicating a Republican line of attack on President Barack Obama’s health law.
The former House speaker’s decision to stick with his previous support for an individual mandate comes days after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney defended the health revamp he championed as governor, which includes a mandate.
Mr. Gingrich also said he would like to see the mandate implemented at the state level, with states experimenting with alternative approaches. But he said he should apply to all Americans.
Mr. Gingrich, who has fashioned himself as a policy wonk in recent years, instantly roiled an already controversial debate over the U.S.’s long-term budget picture. He said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that seniors should not be required to use a new Medicare program, as envisioned by the House GOP, but should be persuaded to voluntarily migrate to a better system.
Ryan spokesman Conor Sweeney said in response to Mr. Gingrich that Mr. Ryan’s plan is the only serious proposal for Medicare, which faces long-term financial crisis as health costs rise and Baby Boomers join the program’s ranks. “The most ‘radical’ course of action on Medicare is to continue to cling to the unsustainable status quo,” he said.
Gingrich is just flat out not the type of person anyone wants to be our next elitist president. This commercial is just one of the many reasons why he is a joke.
Gingrich just another Obama calling himself a Republican. Just tell Gingrich your not hope and you would not be a change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6n_-wB154
