Republican Chairman Michael Steele wrote an op-ed earlier this week supposedly about protecting our seniors. We were half-way through writing our response, but Wonk Room's Igor Volsky was quicker. He has an excellent response, pointing out some of the inconsistencies of current Republican rhetoric and past Republican policies. Remember that most Republicans opposed creation of Medicare in the first place (Socialized Medicine!! Now where have we heard that before?). Here's some of what Igor had to say:

Steele is on a tight rope. He wants to "prohibit government from getting between seniors and doctors" -- i.e. limit the government's role in the Medicare program -- but "protect [government sponsored] Medicare" -- including the $500 billion in waste that's already in the system.

Steele characterizes the proposed cuts as a "raid" on the system, but they're really designed to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce insurance company subsidies, unnecessary hospital readmissions, and lower payments that encourage overtreatment. None of the $500 billion is coming out of benefits. In fact, some of the cuts have been endorsed by the health industry, and supported by Republicans. All of the latest Republican health care plans call for eliminating Medicare "waste, fraud and abuse", for instance, and a good number of Republicans voted for Medicare payment cuts as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. In other words, they supported decreasing Medicare spending by 12.7% in 1997, but they're now opposing cutting some 10% out of the program over 10 years.

To be clear, there is a difference between cutting around the edges of the Medicare system and cutting into the system. And, despite Steel's commitment to "protect Medicare," Republicans have proposed numerous schemes to slash benefits or privatize the program. Most notably, in 1995, under the leadership of then House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Republicans proposed cutting 14% from projected Medicare spending over seven years and forcing millions of elderly recipients into managed health care programs or HMOs. The cuts were to ensure that Medicare is "going to wither on the vine," Gingrich explained. Similarly, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proposed cutting $1.3 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid.

Health reform won't "Cut" Medicare. It will save Medicare. It will change the way we spend our Medicare money, slow down how the program's runaway costs, and make sure it's there, not just for today's seniors, but for tomorrow's.