The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has taken an odd course in the Florida special election to replace Republican Rep. Bill Young after his death in October of last year: The NRCC is bashing Democratic candidate Alex Sink for supporting Simpson-Bowles, a deficit reduction plan Republicans most often attack President Obama for abandoning or ignoring.
"Alex Sink supports a plan that raises the retirement age for Social Security recipients, raises Social Security taxes and cuts Medicare, all while making it harder for Pinellas seniors to keep their doctors that they know and love," Katie Prill, a spokeswoman for the NRCC said, according to the Sunshine State News. "Sending Alex Sink to Washington guarantees that seniors right here in Pinellas County are in jeopardy of losing the Social Security and Medicare benefits that they have earned and deserve."
The list of Republicans who have praised, cited, or attack Obama for ignoring Simpson-Bowles is long.
"He set up a deficit reduction commission a year ago. They did a lot of really good work," House Speaker John Boehner said on ABC's This Week in April 2011. "And while I didn't agree with everything they did, there was a lot in their — in their proposal that was worthy of consideration. And what did the president do? He took exactly none of his own deficit reduction commission's ideas. Not one. Come on? It's time to grow up and get serious about the problems that face our country."
"He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing," Paul Ryan said in his 2012 RNC speech as the vice presidential nominee. "Republicans stepped up with good-faith reforms and solutions equal to the problems. How did the president respond? By doing nothing — nothing except to dodge and demagogue the issue."
The Republican National Committee has also attacked the president on Simpson-Bowles numerous times. Here are just two examples from their website:
