Democrat Kathy Hochul Wins Upset In NY-26

The sign of things to come....
Democrat Kathy Hochul Wins Upset In NY-26, Medicare Vote Key To Victory

Quote :

Republicans are going to have plenty of questions about their plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program tomorrow morning after Democrats romped to an improbable victory in a special election focused almost entirely on the issue.

Democrat Kathy Hochul lead 48-43 with over 83% of the votes counted and her victory looks to be a strong one -- the Associated Press called the race within an hour of the polls closing. Corwin underperformed in key GOP counties while Hochul's margins in Democratic areas were in line with the party's high water mark in the district from 2006, a wave year that swept the Republicans out of the majority in the House and Senate. The district is normally a safe seat for Republicans and has never elected a Democrat.

The reason Republicans did so well in the last election was because of their demonization of healthcare reform and how it was going to ruin Medicare.

Now, for reasons I can't understand, ruining Medicare is their new campaign. I don't know how they think it'll help them win anything...

The plan to privatize Medicare is going to cost the R's quite a few seats in 2012. Here is one of the emails I received regarding the changes Paul Ryan wants to institute. After the recent attacks on public employee unions in Wisconsin and elsewhere, voters are starting to see the truth that many R's are nothing more than elected lackeys of corporate America.

Pop Quiz: What would IN look like under Rep. Ryan’s (R-Wis.) radical, Tea Party-inspired budget?

A. A typical 65-year-old in IN would spend $6,617.65 more per year out of pocket for health care by 2022 because Medicare’s promise would be replaced with underfunded vouchers. (The national average is a $6,359 increase.)

B. At least 297,737 IN residents would lose Medicaid health care (at least 15 million nationally).

C. $4.2 trillion in new tax cuts would be handed out mostly to corporations and the rich.

D. All of the above.

If you answered D, all of the above, you’re right. The House Republican budget would do all of those things.

All but four House Republicans voted for this radical proposal. The Senate will consider it this week.

How many Senate Republicans will vote to give even more tax cuts to Wall Street and the wealthy and pay for them by cutting deeply into services for seniors, children and low- and middle-income working families?

Let’s make sure every U.S. senator knows this “right-wing social engineering” bill—which is what former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently called Rep. Ryan’s budget—is not used as a starting point for a debate over America’s future.

Heretic wrote:

The reason Republicans did so well in the last election was because of their demonization of healthcare reform and how it was going to ruin Medicare.

Now, for reasons I can't understand, ruining Medicare is their new campaign. I don't know how they think it'll help them win anything...

Put simply, the GOP is ideologically opposed to Medicare, so they are once again trying to kill off the program. Medicare = Big Government in their eyes. They have always hated the program.

The problem with the Republican Party is that it tries to "govern by ideology." When you use ideology to make all your decisions, it really doesn't leave any room for compromise. When the Republicans are in a position of power, they act as if this country has a parliamentary system of government.

As long as they are an ideologically driven party, they will continue to misinterpret every electoral success as " a mandate from the people." In reality, most Americans don't give a rats ass about ideology. But Republicans simply aren't capable of "governing" in any other manner.

Well, I guess that's fine by me. As awful as they all think Obama is, the public hates his competition more. Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot with this nonsense and don't seem to notice or care.

Heretic wrote:

Well, I guess that's fine by me. As awful as they all think Obama is, the public hates his competition more. Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot with this nonsense and don't seem to notice or care.

Yeah. Well if this poll is accurate, the GOP is in serious trouble...

The GOP is also having a fit about Democrats using their own votes on ending medicare against them
Comcast refuses to take down Medicare ad
Published: June 4, 2011 at 12:10 AM

Quote :

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- Comcast Boston has refused to take down an ad attacking U.S. Rep. Charles Bass, R-N.H., for his support of a Republican plan to change Medicare.

The National Republican Congressional Committee sent the cable television provider a letter arguing the Democratic commercial is false, The Washington Post reported Friday. The ad says the Republicans want to "end Medicare."

"We are continuing to air the ad," Chris Ellis, a spokesman for the Comcast ad sales division, told the Post. "We've reviewed the materials provided by the NRCC and the documentation provided by the advertisers, and we've decided that the ad does meet our guidelines."

Republicans have already lost one special election in New York, largely because of the Medicare issue. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in an interview with ABC News, said the issue could restore control of the House to the Democrats in 2012.

The plan, put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would convert Medicare from government insurance to vouchers the elderly could use to buy private insurance.

Bass lost his seat in the House in the Democratic sweep in 2006. In 2010, he won a close contest to get it back.