Maddow Clashes With National Review's Rich Lowry Over Ryan's Budget Plan

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MSNBC host Rachel Maddow clashed with National Review editor Rich Lowry during a roundtable discussion about Paul Ryan's budget plan on Sunday's Meet the Press. While Maddow insisted that Mitt Romney's picking Ryan as his running mate is everything the Democrats could have hoped for, Lowry disagreed, commending the choice.

'Democrats think that this is the best thing that could possibly happen to their campaign,' Maddow said, noting that the conversation is no longer just about whether voters like the way the country is going. 'Now the choice is, 'Well you may not like Afghanistan or renewable energy or Solyndra or health insurance coverage for contraception or something, fine. Do you like Medicare?'' she continued. 'Now it is a choice. It is no longer just a referendum on Obama and that's everything they wanted.'

Lowry begged to differ, viewing the Ryan pick as one that shows 'a real commitment to getting things done,' and demonstrates Romney's eye for good talent. The segment then grew into a more heated debate as the two argued over Ryan's budget plan as it relates to Medicare and entitlements.

As Lowry noted that Ryan's plan would maintain President Barack Obama's cuts to Medicare while Romney wants to undo those cuts, Maddow interjected, 'Wait, but that's amazing.' She added, 'We're going to have Romney vs. Ryan on Medicare. That's going to be awkward.'

Lowry then directed specific Medicare questions at Maddow, to which she responded that she's 'not running for anything.' Nonetheless, Lowry repeated questioned, 'Do you?' The circular questioning went on for quite a bit.

Take a look below, via NBC:

• Voodoo economics from a Vulture capitalist.  With just a touch of trickle down if you pay a little more in taxes so his fellow vultures can get tax breaks.

  Good grief.  Yea, it's class warfare alright.

• Nice try at the 'I'll say 'defend it, go on, defend it, do you defend it' to the person I disagree with because my argument is hilariously bad', Rich Lowry.

• It took all of 5 minutes for Romney to distance himself for the Ryan budget.

• Every senior in the sunshine state will have little R&R voodoo dolls by the time the super pacs are done. Obama will be singing 'Sun City, here I come!'.

• I love how libs keep repeating over and over again what was named 'lie of the year'.  Isn't it sad you libs have to lie and hope enough morons believe your lies and re-elect you?  Isn't it a shame you can't run on the truth and what your real vision for American is?

• Poor little lady Maddow in over her pretty little head.  

  Smart Dems know the Romney/Ryan ticket pits the two smart guys ( with no divorce records to unseal) against the failed Demagoguer-in-Chief and the Buffoon from Delaware.

  Yes, Delaware. Home of Biden's mansion, where he rents a shack for $2200. a month to the Secret Service so they can protect him.

  Scaring seniors is high up in the Dem playbook, even Obama does it, but seniors are not stupid. They know Obama now, and want him out.

• Well I'm pretty sure Rachel won't be winking at him.

  I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, 'Hey, I think she just winked at me.' And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America.  
  ~Rich Lowrey

  And the right calls Chris Mathews tingles.
  Those are some tingles no one should have to hear about.
  And talk about delusional''

  It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America.  
  Yeeesh

• I think they're banking on being able to sell the fact that it doesn't affect the current baby boomers.

  Where I think they are mistaken is thinking that everyone is as selfish as they are, and that baby boomers are going to tell their kids and grand kids, 'I got mine, screw you.'

• Poor lady Maddow had it exactly right, and called Lowry out on his hypocrisy.  Expect more of that Gloves.

• Scaring seniors may be part of the Democrats playbook, but scaring white people about black people is part of the Republican strategy.

• You didn't get the memo?

  The election is incredibly simple.  I can put it in a single sentence for you.

  Support Pre-Great Depression Government or Support New Deal government.

  Really, easy.

• Wow''just wow. Isn't Rachel Maddow supposed to be one of the 'smart ones'????

  I think Ms. Maddow should just stick to the safe confines of MSNBC if she doesn't want to continue to be embarassed on national television.

• Lowry is a slimy little turd who often uses childish rhetorical tactics such as this to deflect. 

• Yeah, it's totally weird that the guy on the top of the ticket would want to go with his own plan.  NOT!

• Did you mean to comment of the actual topic, which is Roger getting caught again not knowing what she's talking about?  A true road kill scholar.

• Lie of the year?
  This week Politifact is quotable?
  Do you have a calendar so the rest of us can keep up?

• Uh oh lib-turds, YOU may have to go back to work under Romney/Ryan.

  I know is is scary, but you can't live in Mommy's basement eating PBJ sandwiches forever.

  I sugguest you get a window server job at Chick-fil-a so you can cater to those nice (NOT GAY of course) liberals who need water but just need to spew on YOUTUBE.

•  'Democrats think that this is the best thing that could possibly happen to their campaign,'

  That way they can keep pushing the 2011 Politifact 'Lie of the Year' that the Ryan Plan ends medicare

• Yeah, when even the liberals at Politifact call you out, you know the lie is bad. 

•  What is Ryan famous for?  His ears?  No, his BUDGET.

  And now he is running away from the thing that defines his running mate?

  And you defend that?

  Hilarious.

• What did he get wrong?  It would appear you don't like him telling the truth you libs want kept in the closet.

• Sorry Gloves, but Maddow and 'pretty' in the same
  sentence ?

• Watching Ryan demolish the oh so ignorant Joe Biden is going to be the highlight of the election season for me. 

• Then why are their of videos showing Romney defending the Ryan Plan for the last year only to distance himself after he chooses Ryan as VP? Classic Romney the flip flopper. All Romney has done is convince his own party to support him now and that's it. There is still the rest of America to deal with. Good luck with all that.

• Let me defend it:

  - For one thing, the figure is $500b and not $700b
  - 'About $196 billion would come from a permanent reduction in the annual payment adjustments for some Medicare services, including inpatient hospital services and ambulatory care, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That doesn't mean health care providers will stop being paid for taking care of the elderly; rather, they won't see pay increases in the future.'
  -  $177 billion inefficiencies that come from Insurance Companies, because of 'something called Medicare Advantage that is not competitively bid, so insurance companies basically get a $177 billion of taxpayer money to provide services that Medicare already provides. And it's no better ' it doesn't result in better health care for seniors. It is a giveaway of $177 billion. Indeed, a June 2009 MedPAC analysis said that the Advantage plan costs taxpayers on average of 14 percent more than the traditional Medicare plan.'
  - Another $156b by changing 'the benchmarks that set the payments, making them equal to what the government pays for traditional Medicare services. According to the Congressional Budget Office, those changes would translate to a savings of $156 billion over 10 years.

  - And basically 'The core benefits of Medicare won't change' 
  - Source: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/14/barack-obama/obama-claims-medicare-benefits-will-not-be-cut-und/

• He kept on not letting her speak'wtf'

• Sarah Palin is an idiot, but to be fair, Rich Lowry is a pundit.  Matthews is supposed to be a journalist.  Big difference there.

• I haven't seen that myself.  What I have seen is the intention is to replace Medicare as we know it by handing out coupons that are based on the GDP, which the recipient then has to 'negotiate' with insurance providers who will look at the coupons the same way that a restaurant looks at their discounts.  If you have a 'buy one get one free' coupon, the restaurant is going to get some cash out of your pocket one way or the other.  Insurance companies will be exactly the same way, and probably more so since the wingnuts intend on deregulating most of government, leaving insurance companies free to trample over it's customers anyway they like.

• Team Obama spokesperson Stephanie Cutter called Obama's $700 million in Medicare cuts stolen from taxpayers to fund Obamacare an 'achievement.'
  Which is it libs?  Is it an achievement or throwing granny off a cliff?

• He got wrong the fact that the Ryan budget is designed to reduce Medicare expenditures while complaining about the President doing exactly the same thing.  It doesn't matter.  Maddow nailed him on it in the end, even after his temper tantrum.

• That would be a true statement.  If it were true.  She nailed him on the point he was evading.  It's all good.

• They wont be able to run away from it, and I'm not even sure why they are trying.

• It's going to be just as fun watching Obama destroy Mitt Romney.

• Here is why Paul Ryan fails.
   Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
  Voted NO on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (Mar 2009)
  Voted NO on monitoring TARP funds to ensure more mortgage relief. (Jan 2009)
  Voted NO on revitalizing severely distressed public housing. (Jan 2008)
  8.5% Business Consumption Tax instead of taxing profit. (Jul 2009) Voted NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons. (Jun 2000) Voted NO on enforcing against anti-gay hate crimes. (Apr 2009) Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006) Voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. (Apr 2011) Voted NO on four weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees. (Jun 2009) Voted NO on withdrawing from the WTO. (Jun 2000) Voted YES on requiring photo ID for voting in federal elections. (Sep 2006) Replace Medicare with $9500/year private insurance payment. (Jul 2009) Voted YES on allowing electronic surveillance without a warrant. (Sep 2006) Voted YES on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill. (Jul 1999) Voted NO on increasing minimum wage to $7.25. (Jan 2007) Voted YES on making the Bush tax cuts permanent. (Apr 2002) Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002) http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Paul_Ryan.htm/

• Ryan at least had a plan although even many Republicans were against it, Romney has no specific plan that I can find,

• It depends on what you intend to do with it.  Under ACA Medicare service isn't affected.  And saves 700B which is then being used to fund other portions of ACA.  Under Ryan's plan the government saves 700B dollars and you get a nightmare trying to cash in your 'coupons' with your private insurance provider who will likely charge you twice the face value of your coupon.

  That wasn't hard, was it?

• She handled herself well though, as she normally does.

  Maybe she should replace DWS. 

• She's beautiful, but what's even more attractive is her intelligence and prep.  The woman knows her policy.  Too bad more broadcast journalists aren't as well-prepared as she is. Her Rhodes Scholarship was put to good use.

• Well said.

  This pick will also rejuvenate the youth vote.

  The system was good enough for our parents and grandparents but not for us. If we stop fighting so many wars, ask the wealthy to pitch in and help, and start investing in infrastructure and technical education and job retraining, yes we can afford to have universal healthcare for our senior citizens.

• Fact is, she is one of the 'smart' ones.  Take a look at her work night after night and you will see that she is exceedingly well-prepared in sharp contrast to those on Fox whose 'prep' comes straight from Murdoch's office.  

  You may not always agree with her POV, but it's ludicrous to deny that Rachel Maddow is intelligent and knowledgeable.

• The mistake that Lowery 'I crossed my legs when Palin began to speak, it was as though she was speaking directly to me' is that he thought he was on fox.  It's not whether Rachel should defend the Medicare cuts which are actuallty subsidies TO INSURANCE COMPANIES but, whether it's true that the Romney/Ryan plan keeps those same cuts.  Nice try Rich but, you weren't on Hannity like Couter when she told us what we already know.  That fox is the GOP Propaganda wing of the Republican party.

• because they understand that their audience is the media'and it's full of people who are either interested in protecting their own pocketbooks or are simply not bright.

  time will tell if their strategy of obfuscate and deny will work.

  if I had an interview with Ryan, my first softball question would be, 'What is your favorite book?' And watch him squirm and deny.

• You have a country, point is we as members of a society should build a stronger one.  Your childish response is indicative as to the level of 'discourse' these days.  As for living in the basement, why don't you ask Mitt Romney about the time he lived in his son's basement in Massachusetts so he could claim residency?

• Now thats funny'. Ryan is a idiot! Only a moron would think a guy thats used SSI to pay for college, Had government jobs in college and went to to work for the government after college and when he gets there tells you to find a job in the private sector and he's been a Welfare loser like Allen West bot have been living on the government all there lives. Wake up snd see who this loser really is.

• What video were you watching Mr. Maddow is the one who wouldn't answer Lowery's question, sounding like Polly Wasserman Schultz. You Democrats suffer from mental Dyslexia.

• Kind of reminds me of that scene in the Monty Python movie'. 'Run away, run away!'

• I definitely think it will get the Democrats off the couch.  This is the choice election of our lifetimes.  With stakes this high, I can't see many folks sitting this out.  We can thank team Romney for ratcheting up our base for us.

• Money is tight, but I would like to see funds spent on a 50 state strategy with this one.

  Logistically I'm not sure if it's possible though.

• Who is Roger.

  Oh yeah.
  Republicans welcome (make fun of) the gays.

• Maddow wasn't even trying to answer his question, because the premise was faulty.  And she illustrated that by pointing out his hypocrisy.  Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, sparky.

  Wingnuts need education alot more than progressives, yet they hate it so much. I guess comprehension is intimidating to them.