Congressional Budget Cutters Take Aim at Two Sacred Cows GOP Raises Curtain on Ambitious Medicare Plan

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CANCEL your dinner plans. Unplug the phone. Heat up a bag of popcorn. Even in a year when Congress is considering dozens of ambitious reforms, nothing will match the upcoming Medicare debate for raw political theater. Armed with flow charts, opinion polls, and podium-thumping speeches, Republicans will portray themselves as the party of good sense, bent on saving Medicare from insolvency. Democrats will accuse the GOP of gutting the $180-billion program to finance a tax break for the wealthy. The show could start tomorrow, when Republicans plan to unveil blueprints for slowing Medicare's growth by $270 billion, over the next seven years. Many observers say this goal cannot be …