GOP Readies for Left Attacks After Ryan Selection

Now that the GOP ticket is set for the 2012 presidential election, the Republicans leadership is shoring up its base – telling candidates and surrogates how to beat back attacks from the left on everything from Medicare to Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s budget proposal.

“Predictably,” the National Republican Congressional Committee said in an email memo released Saturday, Democrats are “already blasting Mitt Romney’s selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate. Expect your boss to get questions from reporters on how this selection of a fellow House member impacts your race.”

The existence of several such internal RNCC memos was reported on Monday by Politico.

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It then followed with this advice: “Do not say: ‘entitlement reform,’ ‘privatization,’ ‘every option is on the table. ’ Do say: ‘strengthen,’ ‘secure,’ ‘save,’ ‘preserve, ‘protect.’”

In another memo, this one released on Sunday by Mike Shields, NRCC’s political director, advised GOP candidates to highlight President Barack Obama’s health care law and its proposed cuts to Medicare.

The memo included a link to a 10-minute, 27-second YouTube video by Shields in which he discusses a 2011 Nevada special House election Republicans had won.

Shields said in the video that the victory proved how Republicans could successfully counter attacks centered around Medicare and “chase” Democrats “off the field on something they want to talk about,” Politico reports.

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