11 Apr 2011 4/11 Outrage of the Day

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews wins outrage of the day “honors” today for his on-air contention that Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed Medicare reforms will “kill half the people who watch this show.”

Matthews’ demagoguery, which is reported here in detail by Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters, is a disgrace on two levels.

First, Medicare needs to be reformed, as it is unaffordable. Ryan’s trying to save it. If Matthews thinks it can be saved in a better way, it behooves him to say how. America will not rescue Medicare by accusing the rare politician with the guts to try to save it of being a would-be mass-murderer.

Second, Medicare needs to be reformed, as it is a substandard health insurance plan. Seniors are second-class citizens in the health care purchasing market because the federal government does not pay market rates to doctors, hospitals and others supplying health care services. It is not at all uncommon for patients on Medicare to have difficulty getting medical appointments.

Rep. Paul Ryan want to replace the insolvent, substandard Medicare system with a health plan for seniors based on the excellent, and very popular, health insurance plan enjoyed by Members of Congress. If Chris Matthews has a better idea, he should share it. Meantime, he should stop telling lies about Ryan’s quite constructive proposal.