We talked a few months ago about "McLuhan Moments." To recap, there's a scene in "Annie Hall" in which Woody Allen starts lecturing some loudmouth in a movie-theater line about how little he knows about Marshall McLuhan. When the guy protests, Allen brings the actual McLuhan over. "You know nothing of my work," the scholar says.
It caused Mitt Romney some trouble because he had an awkward habit of quoting various people in support of his work, without realizing that those same people disagree with him.
Something similar happened last night, when Paul Ryan tried to make the case that his controversial Medicare plan is "bipartisan."
RYAN: This is a plan that's bipartisan. It's a plan I put together with a prominent Democrat senator from Oregon.
BIDEN: There's not one Democrat who endorses it.
RYAN: It's a plan ... our partner is a Democrat from Oregon.
The Republican congressman was, of course, referring to Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who tried to work with Ryan on Medicare policy. So, is Wyden a "partner" to Ryan on the GOP Medicare scheme?
Not according to Wyden. The "prominent Democrat [sic] senator from Oregon" went to Facebook after the debate to explain why he "strongly" opposes Ryan's proposal: "The Romney/Ryan plan raises the age of eligibility and repeals the ACA leaving millions of seniors with no health coverage. The Romney/Ryan plan on Medicare pulls the safety net out from under the poorest and most vulnerable seniors, taking away the opportunity for nursing home care from seniors who need it and have no other options. The Wyden-Ryan white paper strengthened the safety net for these dual eligibles. The Romney/Ryan version shreds it. The Republican ticket knows that neither I, nor any other Democrat, would support these policies."
Wyden didn't get around to telling Ryan, "You know nothing of my work," but he should have.
