Priebus: Obama has 'blood on his hands' for destroying Medicare

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday said that presumptive GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's plan would "preserve Medicare," and insisted that President Barack Obama was the one with "blood on his hands" for stealing money from the program.

NBC host David Gregory reminded Priebus that Ryan had proposed to "change Medicare as we know it" into a voucher system.

"That would hurt the social safety net," Gregory noted. "All of those are facts, are they not?"

"Medicare is going broke," Priebus remarked. "This president stole -- he didn't cut Medicare -- he stole $700 billion from Medicare to fund Obamacare."

"If any person in this entire debate has blood on their hands in regard to Medicare, it's Barack Obama," he continued. "He's the one that's destroying Medicare."

"We are the ones that are offering solutions as to how to -- number one -- preserve Medicare for seniors that are at or near retirement, and -- number two -- figure out a way to make sure that for future generations -- we're talking about if you're 54 or younger -- how to save Medicare and Social Security."

Priebus added that Romney "appreciates and admires the work that Paul Ryan has done."

"They're going to share a lot of ideas to get this country back on track," the RNC chairman explained, but "Mitt Romney has his own plan."

Watch this video from NBC's Meet the Press, broadcast Aug. 12, 2012.