Boehner: Let's Play 'Offense' on Medicare

House GOP leader John Boehner orchestrated a conference call last night to settle the nerves of members of his party worried over a recent barrage of Democratic attacks tying them to Paul Ryan's controversial plan to reshape Medicare, reports Politico. Boehner told his colleagues that Democrats were already planning a Medicare-centered onslaught— before Ryan was selected by Romney. The best tactic for striking back on the Medicare topic, asserted Boehner, will be to go on the offensive.

They'll do that in part with the contention that Obama's health care law includes cuts to Medicare. “We want this fight not just because Obamacare raided Medicare by $700 billion, but also because Republicans are the only ones who’ve taken action to save the program,” Boehner said during the telephone powwow. "Paul Ryan gives us the ability to play offense." (More Medicare stories.)