Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein have a request
They ask that I direct more messages to Republican Congressmen (here and here); Kevin Drum discusses related issues. They have a point and I'll state it more clearly: Republicans should support and indeed applaud Obama's attempt to cut some Medicare costs. Republican Congressmen also should stand ready to make a "grand bargain" on health care, again provided that it puts Medicare on a sustainable cost basis.
If I don't write more "for Republican politicians," it is for two reasons. First, I view their incentive as to make Obama fail, not to find an acceptable compromise that will move the nation forward. Second, I view the future of Medicare as the President vs. Congress, not one party vs. another. Democratic Congressmen will, ultimately, require persuasion as much as the Republicans or maybe more so. I still think the real danger is not recalcitrant Republicans but rather that we will get a health care plan without plausible mechanisms for fiscal responsibility.