Rep. John Campbell (R., Ca.) slammed Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Ca.) calling his and other Democrats' rhetoric about Republicans trying to harm middle-class seniors through Medicare cuts "absolute garbage."
"If we can reduce the cost of health care, reduce the cost of the Medicare system, that's something Democrats may be able to embrace," Schiff said, discussing where common ground can be found in the fiscal cliff negotiations on Fox Business. "But if it's just the Republicans trying to get a pound of flesh out of middle-class seniors by going after their health benefits under Medicare, that's a non-starter."
Schiff went on to say he was very confident a deal would get done before the deadline, but Campbell was troubled by his colleague's rhetoric.
"Just hearing what Adam said doesn't make me any more confident," Campbell said. "If you want to wreck Medicare, leave it alone, because it is on schedule to wreck itself and very, very soon. We have to reform it to save it."
"When I hear this kind of stuff that we're trying to push Granny over the cliff, that's absolute garbage and that is not going to make a deal," he continued. "If we want to make a deal, we have to reduce the deficit. You have to reduce the deficit by reforming Medicare and Medicaid and yes, Social Security. When I hear my Democratic colleagues say, no, we'll increase taxes in a month and maybe we'll do something with Medicare 10 years away or 15 years away, that is not going to work."
Full interview: