After realizing his Medicare voucher plan was not sitting well with American voters, Representative Paul Ryan tried to re-brand his plan during a speech in Chicago earlier this week. By using phrases like “empowering Americans” and “guaranteed coverage options,” Ryan tried to conceal what’s at heart of his plan: increasing the power of private insurance companies to take advantage of seniors, a demographic not seen as profitable by the industry. The Nation’s John Nichols debunks this rhetoric and explains on The Ed Show that the American people are rejecting Ryan’s plan because Medicare is a widely popular and functional federal program.

—Sara Jerving