At the U-T TV congressional debate on Wednesday night, Port Commissioner Scott Peters accused Rep. Brian Bilbray of taking his words out of context in a video clip about Medicare.
Peters called on Bilbray to release the full video showing Peters’ comments on cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
U-T Campaign Watch has obtained the entire video and posted it with this item.
In a full-page advertisement in U-T San Diego Thursday, Bilbray implored voters to watch two clips of Peters stating he supports cuts to Medicare and Social Security. One of the videos was from last year on KUSI News and the other was from a Sept. 18 event organized by the Asian and Pacific American Coalition.
“We have two instances, not just one, but twice where Peters said he would cut Medicare and Social Security to our seniors,” Bilbray said at a Sept. 26 news conference.
Bilbray’s campaign posted online an edited version of the video in which Peters is asked if he favors cuts to entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security.
“Everyone understands that cuts have to be made to those programs,” Peters said.
Peters said the edited video makes it sound like he plans to make cuts to benefits.
In the full version of the video, posted at the top of this story, Peters goes on to state that he supports negotiating the cost of prescription drugs, seeking out benefits from electronic records keeping and changing the system from “sick-care” that rewards procedures to health care that provides incentives for prevention.
“Taking sound bites out of context to scare seniors is dirty politics at its worst; it’s why Brian Bilbray’s Congress has the lowest approval rating in American history,” MaryAnne Pintar, Peters’ campaign spokeswoman, said Thursday. “The voters are smart and once they see the full video, they’ll see how Congressman Bilbray is playing political games.”
Original Link: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/oct/11/peters-says-medicare-cuts-comment-was-skewed/