Today, to welcome Rand Paul to the Sunshine State for his evening campaign stop in the Panhandle, FDP Chair Allison Tant released the following statement: 

“Rand Paul’s extreme conservative ideology may play well at a Tea Party convention or a College Libertarians club — but here in Florida he’ll find out that folks don’t believe Medicare is ‘socialized medicine’ or that Social Security is a ‘Ponzi scheme’. Floridians are committed to honoring our nation’s promise to our seniors, and Rand’s record of proposing radical changes to Medicare and Social Security — including raising deductibles and raising the retirement age to 70 — could not be more out of step with the values our state holds dear.”

Background: 

In June 2009 Rand Paul Called Medicare “Socialized Medicine.” “In June 2009 remarks in Lexington, Ky., Paul said that ‘Medicare is socialized medicine’ and one way to control medical costs would be to impose a $2,000 deductible in the program. ‘But try selling that one in an election,’ he said.” [Associated Press, 5/19/14]

1998: Rand Paul Compared Medicare To Socialism. “Advancing his belief that health care prices should be set by the marketplace, Paul also has attacked having government set Medicare reimbursements for doctors. ‘The fundamental reason why Medicare is failing is why the Soviet Union failed — socialism doesn’t work,’ Paul said on Kentucky Tonight on June 16, 1998. ‘You have … no price fluctuation.’” [Courier-Journal, 6/20/10]