The Elephant in the Room

Democrat Kathy Hochul was victorious (47% to 43%) in a special election in NY-26, one of the most conservative and Republican districts in all of the state. Republicans spent more than $3M trying to hold the seat, which has been in Republican hands almost continuously since the Civil War.  The Republicans fate was sealed when their candidate Jane Corwin stated that she would have voted for the Ryan budget plan which would replace Medicare with a voucher program while retaining tax breaks for the wealthiest. 

The Ryan plan would destroy Medicare, add $6400/year to each senior's medical costs, not keep pace with medical inflation, and make it more difficult (or impossible) for some seniors to obtain any coverage at all.

Following the raucous town halls protesting the plan and the flap over Gingrich's statement (and later retraction) that Ryan's Medicare plan amounted to conservative "social engineering", it's clear that the Ryan plan is the elephant in the room for the 2012 elections.  Only a few Republicans have stepped out of line so far but unless the RNC is totally deluded, their new litmus test could turn out to be their downfall.  That is good news indeed.

Now is the time for Democrats to step up to the plate and start to hammer home how far from the average American's interest those of the GOP are.  From the GOP's extremist agenda to destroy the social safety net to their support of Wall St. interests (e.g., currently blocking the appointee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) to their refusal to reverse the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to their blatant support for all things corporate to their attacks against consumer and environmental protections and against workers' rights, people need to begin to realize: the GOP is not on your side.