From debt ceiling negotiations, to Obamacare, to energy development and economic stimulus, the past year in Washington was filled with heated political rhetoric and hyperbole from both sides of the ideological spectrum. However only one rhetorical flourish is worthy of being branded PolitiFact’s 2011 “Lie of the Year,” and thanks to Sherrod Brown, Ohio has become quite familiar with the line.
A frequent catchphrase uttered by Sherrod Brown and the Ohio Democratic Party this year has been that “Republicans voted to end Medicare.” Despite the fact that numerous periodicals and independent fact checkers claimed the accusation was false, Ohio Democrats perpetuated the myth time and again during political rallies, speeches and fundraising appeals. Back in June, PolitiFactOhio went so far as to brand Brown’s comments as “false.”
What makes Brown’s appeal so pathetic isn’t the fact that he reiterated information which he knew was false, or that he knowingly raised money for his 2012 campaign coffers by misleading Ohioans. We’ve known for some time that Brown is adept at voting with Barack Obama 97% of the time in Washington and then talking a different way when he returns to Ohio.
What’s so incredibly wrong and unjust about Sherrod’s record is that on Medicare, he placed protecting his own job before protecting Ohio seniors.
Last July, the Washington Post reported that Senate Democrat campaign strategists tasked with overseeing Sherrod Brown’s re-election bid concluded that passing much-needed Medicare reforms will squander their efforts to score political points by scaring Ohio seniors. This came despite President Obama’s assertion that everything should be on the table to start reining-in our out-of-control federal debt.
- Top Democrats in charge of keeping the Senate in Dem hands and maintaining the political health of the party — DSCC chair Patty Murray and messaging chief Chuck Schumer — have privately expressed frustration that deep Medicare cuts risk squandering the major political advantage Democrats have built up on the issue, people familiar with internal discussions say.
Notably, the decision by Senate Democrats and Sherrod Brown to put their own political interests ahead of reaching a bipartisan agreement on entitlement reform came just weeks after a report from the trustees who confirmed that doing nothing would doom Medicare to bankruptcy in 2024.
The report confirmed what many who have followed this debate have long suspected – Sherrod Brown would rather win re-election than protect Medicare for future generations. Ohio seniors deserve more than political games and lies from Sherrod Brown when it comes to protecting Medicare.
