"GOP Tees Up Medicare Manifesto"

GOP Tees Up Medicare Manifesto. The Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2009. The obvious topic of this article is the Repulicans' offering of a "senior's health care bill of rights" in the midst of the heated health care debate. In this proposal, Republicans promise to protect Medicare from cuts they say exist within the Democratic health care bill. However, beyond just this political move, this article provides excellent examples of the importance of the elderly as a political demographic. The article discusses how both Democrats and Republicans have tried tirelessly to essentially convince the elderly that they are "on their side." As an age group that votes in huge percentages, it makes sense that the opinions of the elderly are critical in Washington, dealing with health care and many other issues. What struck me most about this article is how ambiguous the potential impact of the currently proposed health care bill on Medicare is. Virtually no one, it seems, can articulate how Medicare would change, except that costs would be reduced. Another thing that I found interesting was how the AARP, an organization advocating for the rights of senior citizen, came out against this Republican measure. While the organization's rationale is eventually explained, the surface irony of the AARP opposing a measure with "senior bill of rights" in the title did make me chuckle; politics is never boring or predictable.