"It is a flag we've planted that we will protect and defend. We have a plan. It's called Medicare." That's from Nancy Pelosi, who called me Thursday from Wisconsin, where she was holding events defending Medicare in Paul Ryan's backyard. On the call, Pelosi laid out a message on Medicare that she hopes Democrats will use for — well, forever. Pelosi recently came under fire when she said that "we must put everything on the table" for deficit reduction. Republicans claimed that she now agreed with them on Medicare; some liberals wondered whether even staunchly liberal Pelosi — whose sharp line on Social Security enabled Democrats to beat back George W. Bush's privatization scheme — is preparing to cave.christian louboutin platform Asked to clarify her comments, and to detail what sort of changes she'd be open to, Pelosi insisted that any claims that she could support cuts in Medicare are wrong. "No benefits cuts," she said flatly. Democrats have already put on the table the type of reform they should continue advocating for, she said — the Affordable Care Act. "We gave the blueprint for how we strengthen Medicare in the Affordable Care Act," Pelosi said — a plan that is still "ripening" and "which does not reduce benefits. It lowers costs to taxpayers, the deficit and beneficiaries." She said the only type of Medicare cuts she's open to be extracting savings via bureaucratic and pharmaceutical reforms that don't touch benefits.
