Aa
VP candidate Ryan heckled, booed at retiree event
(Reuters) - Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan received a chilly reception from a seniors' group on Friday as he argued that popular health and pension programs for U.S. retirees need to be overhauled to ensure their stability.
Members of the retiree group AARP booed and heckled Ryan as he laid out the Republican ticket's case for repealing President Barack Obama's healthcare law and partially privatizing the Medicare health plan.
"I had a feeling there would be mixed reactions," Ryan told the crowd.
The event in New Orleans underscored the gamble that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took on when he picked Ryan as his running mate in August.
And, it came during a tough week for the Romney campaign which has struggled to explain comments the presidential candidate made denigrating people who receive government benefits or pay no federal income taxes - a group that includes those who receive Social Security and Medicare.
As chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Ryan has led the Republican charge to gradually change Medicare's guarantee of universal coverage into a subsidy that would allow retirees to buy coverage on the private market if they wish.
Ryan and other Republicans argue that private competition is the best way to rein in spiraling health costs, while Obama's Democrats say that approach would force retirees to pay more of their health bills themselves.
"I don't consider this approach bold or particularly courageous. I just think it's a bad idea," Obama told the AARP group less than an hour before Ryan spoke.
So far, Obama seems to be winning the argument. Voters in the 12 most competitive states say they have more faith in Obama than Romney to address Medicare's challenges by a margin of 50 percent to 44 percent, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll.
People over age 65 are more likely to participate in elections than younger groups, and in recent elections they have become one of the most reliably Republican voting blocs. But Romney's 20-point edge among this group has eroded over the past several weeks to the point where the two candidates are effectively tied, according to Reuters/IPSOS polling data.
Still, Obama's landmark 2010 healthcare overhaul has not been popular. Romney and Ryan argue that it could weaken traditional Medicare by squeezing payments to doctors and hospitals, narrowing retirees' treatment options.
Ryan pointed out that Congress has postponed cuts to doctors and hospitals every year since they were passed into law in 1997, and questioned whether the advisory board put in place by Obama's law would have better success.
"Top down bureaucratic cuts to Medicare just don't work. Providers stop providing care - that's what happens," he said.
BOOING, HECKLING, STONY SILENCE
That argument did not appear to sit well with many in the audience, who booed at several points when Ryan vowed to repeal the law and argued that it would hurt seniors.
Audience members also heckled Ryan over the course of the speech, much of which was met with stony silence. The opposition was not universal, however, as applause mixed in with the boos for much of his appearance.
AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, claims 37 million members and is regarded as one of the most powerful lobbying forces in Washington. It resisted cuts to Social Security and Medicare during budget negotiations and angered many Republicans by working to pass Obama's healthcare law.
Obama appeared to get a friendlier reception from the crowd when he argued that the new law has helped seniors by reducing their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and expanding preventive care options. He pointed out that the Medicare savings in his law extended the program's anticipated solvency by several years.
"Given the conversations that have been out there in the political arena lately, I want to emphasize Medicare and Social Security are not handouts," Obama said. "You've paid into these programs your whole life, you've earned them."
Romney's secretly recorded comments that seemed to write off half the electorate as 'victims,' prompted some Republican commentators to call for an overhaul of the Romney campaign.
Romney's wife, Ann, said they were not helping the cause.
"Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring," she said on an Iowa radio station late Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/vp-candidate-ryan-heckled-booed-retiree-event-194856123.html?_esi=1
Members of the retiree group AARP booed and heckled Ryan as he laid out the Republican ticket's case for repealing President Barack Obama's healthcare law and partially privatizing the Medicare health plan.
"I had a feeling there would be mixed reactions," Ryan told the crowd.
The event in New Orleans underscored the gamble that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took on when he picked Ryan as his running mate in August.
And, it came during a tough week for the Romney campaign which has struggled to explain comments the presidential candidate made denigrating people who receive government benefits or pay no federal income taxes - a group that includes those who receive Social Security and Medicare.
As chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Ryan has led the Republican charge to gradually change Medicare's guarantee of universal coverage into a subsidy that would allow retirees to buy coverage on the private market if they wish.
Ryan and other Republicans argue that private competition is the best way to rein in spiraling health costs, while Obama's Democrats say that approach would force retirees to pay more of their health bills themselves.
"I don't consider this approach bold or particularly courageous. I just think it's a bad idea," Obama told the AARP group less than an hour before Ryan spoke.
So far, Obama seems to be winning the argument. Voters in the 12 most competitive states say they have more faith in Obama than Romney to address Medicare's challenges by a margin of 50 percent to 44 percent, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll.
People over age 65 are more likely to participate in elections than younger groups, and in recent elections they have become one of the most reliably Republican voting blocs. But Romney's 20-point edge among this group has eroded over the past several weeks to the point where the two candidates are effectively tied, according to Reuters/IPSOS polling data.
Still, Obama's landmark 2010 healthcare overhaul has not been popular. Romney and Ryan argue that it could weaken traditional Medicare by squeezing payments to doctors and hospitals, narrowing retirees' treatment options.
Ryan pointed out that Congress has postponed cuts to doctors and hospitals every year since they were passed into law in 1997, and questioned whether the advisory board put in place by Obama's law would have better success.
"Top down bureaucratic cuts to Medicare just don't work. Providers stop providing care - that's what happens," he said.
BOOING, HECKLING, STONY SILENCE
That argument did not appear to sit well with many in the audience, who booed at several points when Ryan vowed to repeal the law and argued that it would hurt seniors.
Audience members also heckled Ryan over the course of the speech, much of which was met with stony silence. The opposition was not universal, however, as applause mixed in with the boos for much of his appearance.
AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, claims 37 million members and is regarded as one of the most powerful lobbying forces in Washington. It resisted cuts to Social Security and Medicare during budget negotiations and angered many Republicans by working to pass Obama's healthcare law.
Obama appeared to get a friendlier reception from the crowd when he argued that the new law has helped seniors by reducing their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and expanding preventive care options. He pointed out that the Medicare savings in his law extended the program's anticipated solvency by several years.
"Given the conversations that have been out there in the political arena lately, I want to emphasize Medicare and Social Security are not handouts," Obama said. "You've paid into these programs your whole life, you've earned them."
Romney's secretly recorded comments that seemed to write off half the electorate as 'victims,' prompted some Republican commentators to call for an overhaul of the Romney campaign.
Romney's wife, Ann, said they were not helping the cause.
"Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring," she said on an Iowa radio station late Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/vp-candidate-ryan-heckled-booed-retiree-event-194856123.html?_esi=1
I remember poking a bit of fun at my mother when her AARP information began showing up in the mail.
Mine began to show up last year.... it was kind of insidious at first. Maybe 2 pieces of mail. Now, at least 1 thing every 2 months.... I told my mother and she is still laughing.
Mine began to show up last year.... it was kind of insidious at first. Maybe 2 pieces of mail. Now, at least 1 thing every 2 months.... I told my mother and she is still laughing.
" As much as I disagree with a lot of Ryans ideas/policies, why attend a political event just to boo? I don't like that."
You are truly a very civil person, Adgal. I understand you and in many situations, I hate seeing ppl booed just for their political stand. Public humiliations re really not nice,
However, Ryan threatens their very existence. If they win, these folks who have paid into the system all these years will be left without the retirement they worked for their entire adult lives.
Some booing is preferable to mass demonstrations or remaining silent while they are stripped of whatever quality of life that remains.
You are truly a very civil person, Adgal. I understand you and in many situations, I hate seeing ppl booed just for their political stand. Public humiliations re really not nice,
However, Ryan threatens their very existence. If they win, these folks who have paid into the system all these years will be left without the retirement they worked for their entire adult lives.
Some booing is preferable to mass demonstrations or remaining silent while they are stripped of whatever quality of life that remains.
I really don’t know a lot about AARP but remember like it was yesterday when they requested my membership. I thought, “well it’s official, I’m Old.”
I know many people over 50 on AARP because it helps seniors with car insurance.
It supports what is good for people over 50 years of age.
Ryan got booed in New Orleans~ not the most liberal state around.
Vance, I so with you'd stop lying but I guess you believe your lies are truth.
It supports what is good for people over 50 years of age.
Ryan got booed in New Orleans~ not the most liberal state around.
Vance, I so with you'd stop lying but I guess you believe your lies are truth.
Republicans are trying to reform a broke and going bankrupt system called Medicare. Who took away $716 million from Medicare? Obama.
AARP supported Plan D as rightfully they should have. But 90% of the time they are pro-left.
AARP supported Plan D as rightfully they should have. But 90% of the time they are pro-left.
sorry el, I meant vance.
Is that real hard to understand el, since aarp represents medicare and republicans are known for trying to do away with it for decades. You think they are gonna support the ones who want to do away with it. really? As I said, I know seniors across the board who are members of aarp, not just democrats.
We know what AARP is but follow the $, where does it go...to the left. Just like unions. Modern day rackets.
And all my republican family and friends have aarp... Here is what it is....
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement,[1] it is "a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over ... dedicated to enhancing quality of life for all as we age," which "provides a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members."
AARP operates as a non-profit advocate for its members and as one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States. AARP has two affiliated organizations: AARP Services Inc. which is managed wholly for profit, and the AARP Foundation, a charity that operates on a non-profit basis.
AARP Services Inc. offers: Medicare supplemental health insurance, discounts on prescription drugs and consumer goods, entertainment and travel packages, long-term care insurance and automobile, home and life insurance.[2] It provides quality control over the products and services made available by AARP-endorsed providers. According to AARP's 2008 Consolidated financials, it was paid $652,000,000 in royalties from insurance companies that sold products referred by AARP. AARP also received an additional $120,000,000 for the ads placed in its publications.[3]
The AARP Foundation's website says the nonprofit "wants to win back opportunity for those now in crisis, so thousands of vulnerable low-income Americans 50+ can regain their foothold, continue to serve as anchors for their families and communities and ensure that their best life is still within reach." Key areas of focus are hunger, income, housing and isolation. The Foundation's vision is "a country that is free of poverty where no older person feels vulnerable."
AARP claims approximately 38 million members,[4] making it one of the largest membership organizations in the United States.
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement,[1] it is "a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over ... dedicated to enhancing quality of life for all as we age," which "provides a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members."
AARP operates as a non-profit advocate for its members and as one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States. AARP has two affiliated organizations: AARP Services Inc. which is managed wholly for profit, and the AARP Foundation, a charity that operates on a non-profit basis.
AARP Services Inc. offers: Medicare supplemental health insurance, discounts on prescription drugs and consumer goods, entertainment and travel packages, long-term care insurance and automobile, home and life insurance.[2] It provides quality control over the products and services made available by AARP-endorsed providers. According to AARP's 2008 Consolidated financials, it was paid $652,000,000 in royalties from insurance companies that sold products referred by AARP. AARP also received an additional $120,000,000 for the ads placed in its publications.[3]
The AARP Foundation's website says the nonprofit "wants to win back opportunity for those now in crisis, so thousands of vulnerable low-income Americans 50+ can regain their foothold, continue to serve as anchors for their families and communities and ensure that their best life is still within reach." Key areas of focus are hunger, income, housing and isolation. The Foundation's vision is "a country that is free of poverty where no older person feels vulnerable."
AARP claims approximately 38 million members,[4] making it one of the largest membership organizations in the United States.
I understand they got up and walked out amid his speach? I guess they didnt like the message and voted with their feet? Not a good sign. I found it curious why Ryan was sent on this particular mission. Anyone with common sense could and should have predicted this outcome.
AARP donates tons of money to the Dems.
http://www.wnd.com/2009/11/115617/
http://www.wnd.com/2009/11/115617/
AARP tells its members to always side with the Democrats???
When he got bood there were some cheers if you listen to the tape,video.
But remember the AARP is just like unions, they spend so much money on telling there members what to think (always side with the Dems) it's a hard obsticle to overcome.
But remember the AARP is just like unions, they spend so much money on telling there members what to think (always side with the Dems) it's a hard obsticle to overcome.
Ok, I dislike people behaving this way. As much as I disagree with a lot of Ryans ideas/policies, why attend a political evet just to boo? I don't like that.
You must join this user group in order to participate in this discussion.
You are reading content posted in the Current Events . . . Group
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
