Looks like Republicans are giving up on killing Medicare:

Senior Republicans conceded Wednesday that a deal is unlikely on a contentious plan to overhaul Medicare and offered to open budget talks with the White House by focusing on areas where both parties can agree, such as cutting farm subsidies. On the eve of debt-reduction talks led by Vice President Biden, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) said Republicans remain convinced that reining in federal retirement programs is the key to stabilizing the nation’s finances over the long term. But he said Republicans recognize they may need to look elsewhere to achieve consensus after President Obama “excoriated us” for a proposal to privatize Medicare.

The truth of what happened here is pretty simple, and it has nothing to do with Obama’s excoriations, strongly-worded letters or lack of lunch invitations. Some more vulnerable members of the Republican caucus chickened out after a few slightly contentious town hall meetings, and Cantor is looking for some lame strategy to lay off the blame for his decision to let Paul Ryan’s political suicide note come to a vote.

Well, it’s too late for that. All but a handful of his caucus are on record as voting to end Medicare, and the 30 second ads write themselves. Now Cantor wants to say that Obama was the guy who saved Medicare. Fine — that’s short enough for Democrats to print on a bumpersticker.