Look who’s scaring seniors now?

Ross Douthat
The New York Times

Guess who’s trying to frighten seniors into believing that their entitlements are at risk? said Ross Douthat. Hint: It’s not those tax-and-spend Democrats.

Seizing on any excuse to undermine health-care reform, the GOP has taken to attacking President Obama’s goal of “shearing waste from Medicare.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says Obama is “sticking it to seniors with cuts,” while Sen. John Cornyn charges that Democrats are out to “cannibalize” Medicare to pay for universal coverage. “You can understand why Republicans, after decades of being demagogued for proposing even modest entitlement reforms, would relish the chance to turn the tables.”

But this is a perilous tack. “By fighting health-care reform with tactics ripped from Democratic playbooks,” the GOP is sabotaging its claim as the party of fiscal responsibility. Medicare is spiraling out of control; we can’t just keep growing the deficit to pay for it. Somebody needs to say enough. “That’s supposed to be the Republicans’ job.”