GOP and Medicare

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn is usually one of my favorite Republicans in Washington. However, I have become concerned that Coburn is just another politician rather than a real reformer. I've been watching the health care debate unfold on the Senate floor lately and it's clear to me that Obamacare would be a negative piece of legislation for this country. However, the GOP has done a terrible job at countering the arguments and policies of the Democrats. The one issue that sticks out the most is Medicare.
It used to be the practice of Republicans to rail against Medicare and the danger to the budget that it represents. Throughout the 1990's the GOP tried time and time again to "slow the growth" of Medicare. This is a wonderful idea and should be argued for. But in the present day, the GOP stands on the floors of the Senate and House floor attacking Democrats for cutting Medicare. Yet earlier this year 138 GOP House members voted in favor of the Republican health care plan that would have replaced the current Medicare system and replace it with direct-to-taxpayer subsidies. That's a wonderful idea and I applaud them for voting for it. But when Democrats try and cut Medicare, the Republicans play the same scare cards that Democrats usually play with regard to Medicare.
Also, the GOP is railing against cuts to Medicare Advantage. Yet they have supported almost exactly the same cuts in the past. Sen. Tom Coburn's health care plan cut Medicare Advantage funding and he wrote that, "The only alternative to Medicare bureaucracy for seniors is Medicare Advantage, a program dominated by HMOs, which doctors know can be as bad as traditional Medicare when it comes to doubting their professional judgment."
Medicare is a crappy system that limits choice, screws doctors and hospitals, and never stays on budget. Reform is needed now. Republicans should choose not to rail against Medicare cuts as a strategy for defeating Obamacare...there are plenty of other terrible things in the bill.