Pelosi: Medicare will be race-by-race issue on 2012 campaign stump

The top House Democrat said Thursday that Medicare won’t necessarily be the decisive issue on the campaign trail next year.

In the wake of Democrat Kathy Hochul’s upset victory in New York Tuesday — one that hinged in part on criticism of a Republican plan to turn Medicare into a block-grant program — many party strategists are gearing up to make the popular seniors’ healthcare program the focus of races nationwide.

{mosads}But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the Democrats’ formula won’t be so simple.

“This is an issue that emerged in this district,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.

“Public sentiment is everything,” Pelosi said, quoting President Lincoln, “and the public sentiment in this district was very negative toward the Republican plan to end Medicare and continue tax cuts at the high end.”

But, she added, “Every race is a different one.”

Hochul, the clerk of Erie County, wasn’t expected to be much of a contender against Republican Jane Corwin in New York’s 26th, one of the most conservative districts in the state. But her numbers soared — and Corwin’s plunged — when Hochul focused the contest on House Republicans’ plan to overhaul Medicare as part of their 2012 budget proposal.

Championed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), that proposal would sunset Medicare’s single-payer structure in 2022 and shuffle seniors into private insurance plans. It would also transfer more costs to seniors and raise the eligibility age from 65 to 67.

Supporters, including most Republicans, say the changes are necessary to keep Medicare solvent and ensure it’s around for future recipients. But critics, including most Democrats, say the erosion of benefits is a bridge too far to cross.

The House passed the Ryan budget last month on a largely party-line vote. Just four Republicans joined every Democrat in opposing the measure.

Voters have been wary of the Medicare changes, which Hochul recognized — and capitalized on.

“When that door opened on Medicare, she walked right through it, and saw the connection between increasing costs to seniors while giving tax breaks to big oil,” Pelosi said.

Senate Democrats were quick to recognize the influence of the GOP’s Medicare proposal on Hochul’s win, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) immediately pushing for an upper-chamber vote on the Ryan budget in order to get Republicans on the record regarding the Medicare privatization plan.

The Senate on Wednesday shot down the proposal; all but five Republicans voted in favor of it.