Better in their words…

Second GOP Senator Opposes Medicare Plan – WSJ.com.

I have yet to see Republicans demonstrate qualitative differences on who, how, what they are vs Democrates.   Guess I should start looking at Independents …

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A GOP plan to overhaul Medicare faces its first vote in the Senate this week, presenting a test of just how risky Republicans view one of the party’s signature proposals.

Sen. Scott Brown (R., Mass.), who is running for re-election next year in a heavily Democratic state, on Monday became the second Republican to announce opposition to the Medicare plan, joining Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

Mr. Brown’s opposition comes a week after he was quoted in a local newspaper saying he would vote for the Ryan plan, but a spokesman said he was misinterpreted.

Also announcing his opposition to the budget, which Senate Democrats plan to bring to a vote on Wednesday or Thursday, was Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a conservative who said the GOP budget did not balance the budget quickly enough.

In western New York, voters on Tuesday will cast ballots in a special House election that could turn in part on the Medicare plan. Newt Gingrich, the presidential candidate and former House speaker, criticized it this month as “right-wing social engineering,” a critique he later retracted under fire. (He has no principle – just testing for soft spots…)

The proposal, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), would replace the popular Medicare program with government-subsidized private insurance for people now under the age of 55 when they retire. Older Americans would not be affected. The plan passed the House last month on a near party-line vote as part of a broader budget bill.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) said Monday that GOP presidential candidates should embrace the plan, and that Mr. Ryan himself would make a strong contender for the White House.

Democrats are looking for ways to keep the spotlight on the proposal, because they believe the public is on their side. “This issue will have staying power and be a defining issue in 2012,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), a member of the Democratic leadership.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) has said he would vote for the House budget but not lean on GOP colleagues to join him, because he expects other Republican proposals to be offered. “What I’ve said to my members [is] that we’re not going to be able to coalesce behind just one,” said Mr. McConnell Sunday on Fox News.

One GOP alternative from Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.), would make deeper spending cuts and balance the budget faster than the House budget, but without specifying Medicare changes as broad as Mr. Ryan’s. That difference, a GOP leadership aide said, could attract support from Republicans wary of Mr. Ryan’s Medicare plan.

While Mr. Brown and Ms. Collins oppose the Ryan proposal, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R., Maine), who faces a conservative primary challenge next year, has voiced opposition without saying what she would do when it comes to a vote.  (Another one – the primary thing she cares about is re-election. )

In an op-ed article in Politico, Mr. Brown said he opposed the proposal because he worried it would shift too much financial burden onto elderly beneficiaries.

“Our country is on an unsustainable fiscal path,” Mr. Brown wrote. “But I do not think it requires us to change Medicare as we know it. We can work inside of Medicare to make it work.”  (Is he serious?)

In New York’s 26th congressional district, voters will fill a vacant seat that has traditionally been held by a Republican. The Democratic candidate, Kathy Hochul, has made an issue of Republican Jane Corwin’s support for Mr. Ryan’s budget.

A third-party candidate is complicating the race and possibly drawing voters from Ms. Corwin. For that reason and others, Mr. Cantor and other Republican leaders have said the race cannot be seen as a referendum on the House Medicare plan.

Still, a victory for Ms. Hochul will fuel Democrats’ hope that criticism of the GOP budget could help them shift political momentum in their favor.

—Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article.