Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) found himself at the center of the national spotlight again this week after Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich took a verbal swipe at Ryan’s proposed Medicare reforms.
Gingrich distanced himself from Ryan’s plan, which would transform the program into a voucher-based system for Americans under the age of 55.
"I don’t think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering," Gingrich said of Ryan’s plan on NBC’s "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "I don’t think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate."
Gingrich told The Wall Street Journal editorial board that it would be “catastrophic” for Congress to pass Ryan’s bill as written.
The problem for Gingrich was that every Republican in the House of Representatives, with the exception of four, had already voted to approve the Ryan plan.
"With allies like that, who needs the left?" Ryan said on conservative talker Laura Ingraham’s radio show.
Then Fox News captured a curt exchange between a voter and Gingrich during a campaign appearance in Iowa.
The voter said, “Speaker Gingrich, what you just did to Paul Ryan is unforgivable.”
Gingrich replied, “I didn’t do anything to Paul Ryan.”
The voter said, “Yes, you did. You undercut him and his allies in the house …You’re an embarrassment to our party … Why don’t you get out before you make a bigger fool of yourself.”
Later this week, Gingrich blamed the controversy surrounding his own remarks about Ryan on the “liberal media.”
Gingrich told Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, “Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have said publicly those words were inaccurate and unfortunate. When I make a mistake, and I’m going to on occasion, I’m going to share with the American people that was a mistake becuase that way we can have an honest conversation … I want to set a precedent for new kinds of presidential campaigns, I made a mistake, and I called Paul Ryan today, who’s a very close personal friend, and I said that."
Washington Post conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer called Gingrich’s remarks about Ryan “contradictory” and “incoherent.”
Speaking about Gingrich, Krauthammer said, “This is a big deal. He’s done. He didn’t have a big chance from the beginning, but now it’s over … He won’t recover.”
Ryan spoke to the Economic Club of Chicago this week. To read the text of his remarks and view a video of his speech, click here.
Dozens of protesters carrying signs that read “Hands off my Medicare” and “Paul Ryan plan: Let them eat cat food” marched outside the downtown Chicago hotel where Ryan delivered his speech, chanting, “Tax the rich.”
– BizTimes Milwaukee
