Rick Santorum issued a statement today praising Paul Ryan’s plan and lambasting Newt Gingrich for his remarks about it:
For several years, Newt Gingrich has deserved a lot of credit for thinking through a great many issues in a serious and interesting fashion. But his criticism of Congressman Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan yesterday was a big departure from Speaker Gingrich’s often sound policy proposals. Furthermore, it was a departure from his support of Paul Ryan’s plan just a few weeks ago. Contrary to what Speaker Gingrich said yesterday, the Ryan plan does not ‘suddenly impose’ ‘radical change.’ It is a good first step toward positive reform of a program in desperate need of rescue. Paul Ryan’s plan is the first serious step by our new Congress to empower future seniors with more choices while at the same time keeping the Medicare system solvent and reigning in out-of-control federal spending.
As for the rest of our nation’s health care system, it is out of line with conservative principles to continue to support individual mandates as both the Speaker did yesterday and Governor Romney did last week. A mandate, be it at the state or federal level, is still a government power-grab that neither lowers costs nor enhances individual choice, principles that are the essence of the market-based reforms our party should be supporting.