Target Dems Officially At Odds with Seniors

FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following districts: Tim Bishop (NY-01); John Boccieri (OH-16); Leonard Boswell (IA-03); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Dennis Cardoza (CA-18); Russ Carnahan (MO-03); Chris Carney (PA-10); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Jim Costa (CA-20); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-01); Bill Foster (IL-14); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-02); John Hall (NY-19); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Martin Heinrich (NM-01); Baron Hill (IN-09); Jim Himes (CT-04); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Ron Klein (FL-22); Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Alan Mollohan (WV-01); Patrick Murphy (PA-08); Scott Murphy (NY-20); David Obey (WI-07); Bill Owens (NY-23); Ed Perlmutter (CO-07); Tom Perriello (VA-05); Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); John Salazar (CO-03); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); John Spratt (SC-05); Bart Stupak (MI-01); Betty Sutton (OH-13); Dina Titus (NV-03); Niki Tsongas (MA-05); Tim Walz (MN-01); and David Wu (OR-01).

Alan Mollohan Officially At Odds with Seniors

Seniors Oppose Healthcare Takeover as Report States Medicare Cuts ‘Will Sting’

Washington- As if Alan Mollohan wasn’t already in enough trouble with voters for delivering one of the deciding votes on his party’s healthcare takeover, a new report indicates seniors are bracing for the bill’s devastating consequences. Polling shows that seniors are understandably opposed to the Democrats’ healthcare agenda, and it’s easy to see why. According to the Associated Press, the numerous cuts to seniors’ healthcare coverage are sure to sting:

“Seniors aren’t celebrating President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. While Democrats hail the sweeping legislation as the greatest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare, they also fear that seniors won’t see it that way for this fall’s elections…. An Associated Press-GfK survey in March found that 54 percent of seniors opposed the legislation that was then taking final shape in Congress, compared with 36 percent of people age 18-50. And last week a USA Today/Gallup Poll found that a majority of seniors said passing the bill was a bad thing…There’s no doubt that broad cuts in projected Medicare payments to insurance plans, hospitals, nursing homes and other service providers will sting.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Seniors Wary of Health Overhaul Impact on Medicare,” Associated Press, 4/1/10)

With $500 billion coming out of the Medicare program, no surprise that seniors are wary about Mollohan’s  push for his party’s healthcare takeover.

“A plan to slash more than $500 billion from future Medicare spending — one of the biggest sources of funding for President Obama’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s health-care system — would sharply reduce benefits for some senior citizens and could jeopardize access to care for millions of others, according to a government evaluation released Saturday.” (Lori Montgomery, “Report: Bill Would Reduce Senior Care,” Washington Post, 11/15/09)

“By voting for a bill that cuts Medicare and limits coverage for seniors, Alan Mollohan has all but asked voters to send him packing in November,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Mollohan’s support for his party’s toxic healthcare takeover is the latest sign that he’s more concerned with partisan loyalty than protecting critical healthcare coverage for West Virginia’s seniors. As Mollohan and his fellow Democrats celebrate their healthcare takeover in Washington, seniors across the country are bracing themselves for the fallout.”

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