Tables turned: Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have started attacking President Obama for cutting Medicare in order to pay for Obamacare, and Democrats now fear the attack “could cost us the election,” according to a new email.

“This could cost us the election,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) political director Kelly Ward wrote today. “The Romney campaign is up with a new ad campaign trying to confuse voters into thinking that Republicans are the ones trying to protect Medicare. You and I know that Romney and Paul Ryan are dead set on slashing seniors’ Medicare benefits to pay for more millionaire tax breaks — but we have to get the facts out to voters immediately.”

You can watch the ad above. Ryan elaborated on the attack during an interview last night. “We’re the ones who are not raiding Medicare to pay for Obamacare,” he told Fox News’ Brit Hume. “We’re the ones who are repealing President Obama’s 15-person bureaucratic board that will put price controls on Medicare that will lead to denied care for current seniors.”

Here is Ward’s full email:

This could cost us the election. The Romney campaign is up with a new ad campaign trying to confuse voters into thinking that Republicans are the ones trying to protect Medicare. You and I know that Romney and Paul Ryan are dead set on slashing seniors’ Medicare benefits to pay for more millionaire tax breaks — but we have to get the facts out to voters immediately. Stand with President Obama: Donate $3 or more to help us fight Republican attacks and set the record straight >> Our polls show that if voters have the facts, we’ll win. But now we’re facing millions of dollars in dishonest attacks distorting President Obama’s record. We have to get our own ads on the air and organizers on the ground ASAP to set the record straight. Please donate $3 or whatever you can to back up President Obama with a Democratic majority: http://dccc.org/Stand-With-President-Obama Thank you, Kelly Kelly Ward DCCC Political Director