Gilbert Gutknecht: “I just want to reiterate a couple of things that Mr. Kingston has just said. First of all, seniors especially but indeed…”

“I just want to reiterate a couple of things that Mr. Kingston has just said. First of all, seniors especially but indeed all Americans have a right to the facts. Frankly I think that there have been too many of these distortions and half-truths and mistruths and outright lies. Frankly the quotes that you have used tonight from the minority leader, I do not think they were taken out of context at all. I think for a number of months I think it was a calculated position by one side in this debate to basically say there is no problem and that the Republicans have made this up and they are trying to cut Medicare so that they can give this tax cut to the rich, which is bogus, anyway, but the point is this is serious, it is real, and the program is going bankrupt at an even faster rate than we were told last year. But the other point that was made, and it needs to be restated, this is not the time and this is not the issue for partisanship. This is an issue that deserves real statesmanship. But the first thing we have to do is face up to the facts. We have to get the facts. The American people and seniors have a right to the facts.”