Those forthright opposers of “socialized” medicine the republican party:
Ronald Reagan: “[I]f you don’t [stop Medicare] and I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” [1961]
George H.W. Bush: Described Medicare in 1964 as “socialized medicine.” [1964]
Barry Goldwater: “Having given our pensioners their medical care in kind, why not food baskets, why not public housing accommodations, why not vacation resorts, why not a ration of cigarettes for those who smoke and of beer for those who drink.” [1964]
Bob Dole: In 1996, while running for the Presidency, Dole openly bragged that he was one of 12 House members who voted against creating Medicare in 1965. “I was there, fighting the fight, voting against Medicare . . . because we knew it wouldn’t work in 1965.” [1965]
McCain October 17, 2008:
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that McCain would cut Medicare and Medicaid funding by $1.3 trillion dollars over the next decade to keep his plan budget-neutral — based on estimates by independent analysts — and that McCain’s campaign had acknowledged his plan would pay for his health care tax credits in part with savings from the two programs. The paper said the campaign had not given a specific figure for the cuts, but did not dispute the analysts’ estimate.
Now the great defender of Medicare and in favor of maintaining excessive Medicare spending. McCain December 3, 2009:
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama’s Republican opponent in last year’s presidential race, laid bare the political nature of the debate by making a recording to be telephoned automatically to thousands of voters in states represented by Democrats, urging the deletion of the Medicare cuts.
Medicynic 