Bill Clinton deserves to get demagogued over Medicare. The federal health insurance program for senior citizens will be insolvent before long, and Clinton has double-crossed the Republican Congress every time it dealt with him on the subject. But as much as Clinton is owed any amount of abuse for this, the Republican National Committee isn't up to the job. And that's being gentle.
Last week the RNC issued a ludicrous press release that had chairman Jim Nicholson blasting the president's "secret war on senior citizens with cancer." As the release detailed: "The Clinton-Gore budget proposal contains a reduction in Medicare Part B reimbursement for cancer drugs provided to patients in doctors' offices and outpatient clinics," which "will likely force patients into more expensive and inconvenient inpatient settings." Said Nicholson: "Their war on cancer is really a war on cancer patients."
Oh, please. This is moronic, James Carvillean abuse -- WE'RE GREAT, THEY STINK! -- without the Cajun charm. And, not to over-interpret an inept political document, it gets the issue backwards. Clinton's basic position on Medicare is to be extravagant with federal promises to seniors and stiff some future administration with the insolvency problem. Republicans' basis position is to be less extravagant, while preventing a complete government takeover of the health-care system.
So the RNC thinks it's being clever by finding some part of the Medicare program where Clinton's probably behaving responsibly, and accusing him of warfare on the elderly.
Obviously, this mode of argument will ultimately backfire against the Republicans, who are bound to end up supporting less Medicare spending than Clinton. And Republicans wonder why they haven't shed their reputation for being the "stupid party."