DNC Chairwoman Visits Concord [VIDEO]

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman , a U.S. Representative from Florida, made a campaign stop in Concord on July 27 to tout the president’s health care efforts while attacking Republicans for offering Medicare reform proposals she said would decimate the program.

Surrounded by doctors and Concord politicians in the back of on North Main Street, Schultz said she was in the state to celebrate the 47th anniversary of Medicare. She said New Hampshire Republicans had joined presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney and Congressional Republicans in making plans to gut the program that seniors have been paying into for years. Schultz said the changes in the program would require seniors to pay $6,350 more per year for the care they currently receive.

“I can tell you, as a representative in South Florida, of thousands and thousands of senior citizens, there is no senior citizen that I know of that can afford an additional $6,000 a year in healthcare costs,” she said. “It’s simply unacceptable ... it is wrong.”

At the same time, Schultz claimed that if Romney were elected, he would cut taxes on the wealthy while raising the taxes of the middle class. She said he would also join U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, to “voucherize” Medicare, causing costs to be passed onto seniors. Schultz said the , which President and Democrats championed, lowered costs for seniors.

“We can either choose to fall backward with and the failed policies of the past, or we can continue to move forward under the president’s leadership,” she said. “That is the choice that New Hampshire seniors face and with so much progress at stake, it’s a choice that could not possibly be more clear.”

At-Large Concord City Councilor , who is also a state representative, attacked state Republicans for raising rates on nursing homes and making plans for cutting medical aid for seniors while cutting taxes for the wealthy.

“They are preparing for a tea party takeover of health care,” he said. “Workers would still pay a tax on Medicare health insurance but there would be no guarantee of health care when they turn 65.”

Dr. Steve Gorin, a professor of social work at Plymouth State University, called Medicare “a personal issue” since like Shurtleff he was in his mid-60s. He called Medicare “a vital, successful program,” that provided healthcare for 220,000 seniors. President Obama, he said, knew that the program needed to stay strong for those who had worked so hard to pay into the system.

“The healthcare law extended the Medicare trust fund by eight years,” Gorin said, adding that due to the law, “is closing the donut hole … with New Hampshire seniors saving millions of dollars (on prescription drugs).”

While the press conference was going on, a counter-demonstration of about 10 to 15 supporters for Romney lined Main Street outside the cafe and held signs about the lack of job creation while chanting “Mitt! Mitt!”