Yesterday, as the Republicans continued to wage war on reform by attempting to defend the status quo, they decided to turn their attention to Americans over 65. In an attempt to scare seniors (and pander to their buddies in the insurance industry), the Republicans rose to the "defense" of Medicare, claiming that 10 million senior citizens who have Medicare Advantage would see a loss in benefits under the new bill.

Sen. Hatch, for one, was so entrenched in his position that he could not be swayed, even when a Senate Finance Committee staff member repeatedly reiterated that reform would actually benefit seniors. Take a look:

What Sen. Hatch and the Republicans doggedly refuse to admit is that the current legislation will shore up Medicare's long-term solvency by cutting wasteful overpayments to insurance companies through Medicare Advantage - measures that could generate up to $149 billion in savings without affecting benefits and actually reduce premiums for traditional Medicare recipients. The Republican's option of doing nothing, on the other hand, will lead to project bankruptcy of Medicare by 2019.

Of course the claim that reform would harm seniors isn't anything new. A few weeks ago, the White House put out a video outlining why that claim is patently false:

Despite the President's efforts to have meaningful dialogue on the issues, Republicans have refused to back away from the cynical politics of scaring seniors. To set the record straight, Vice President Biden visited a senior community Wednesday to talk about what's really in store for seniors in health care reform:

During his speech, the VP denounced the misinformation campaign by Republicans and insurance companies calling it "a bunch of malarkey!" Truer words were never spoken.