Santorum stakes out Medicare, budget positions

Jun 8 2011

News outlets report that former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., may turn out to be Rep. Paul Ryan's, R-Wis., biggest advocate. He gave a strong defense of Ryan's plan to revamp Medicare and control its costs.   

The Wall Street Journal: Santorum Jumps In, Blasts Obama
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum formally entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination Monday, staking out ground as an ardent fiscal conservative who would overhaul both Social Security and Medicare to bring the budget into balance (Weisman, 6/7).

Politico: Rick Santorum Has Paul Ryan's Back
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum may turn out to be Rep. Paul Ryan's strongest advocate in the presidential field. In his announcement speech Monday, Santorum — a former senator from Pennsylvania — gave the most full-throated defense of Ryan's Medicare plan of any Republican presidential candidate yet. He said Ryan's plan would make the overall program more like the Medicare prescription drug program, where seniors get to pick from a selection of plans and the government subsidizes them (Nather, 6/6). 

The Associated Press: Fact Check: Santorum Omits Key Details On Deficit
A look at some of Santorum's statements made Monday and how they compare with the facts. … SANTORUM: Under the 2010 health care overhaul, "it's the government for the first time that's going to have its clutches to create dependency on every single American. ... Every single American now will be hooked to the government with an IV. And they will come to you every time they want to do more and say, 'Well, you want that IV, you want that health care? Then you've got to give us more power.'" THE FACTS: The 2010 law preserves employer-based private insurance for most people, so they would not be wholly or perhaps even partly dependent on the government for health care. Obama quickly gave up on a government-run single-payer universal health insurance system that all Americans would count on. Even so, due to Medicare, Medicaid and more, government was an enormous player in health care long before last year's changes (Babington, 6/7).

Houston Chronicle: Easy money: Ron Paul Raises $1 Million By Blasting 'Romneycare'
Texas Rep. Ron Paul raised more than $1 million dollars by attacking fellow Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney in an online fundraising barrage ending today (French, 6/6).