Yesterday's Washington Examiner posted an editorial about the circular firing squad the Republicans have formed around Paul Ryan's Medicare plan. The problem with reforming Medicare is not going to be the Democrats--it is going to be wobbly Republicans. Newt Gingrich began the exodus; Scott Brown has followed him, forgetting who elected him. The Scott Brown supporters in Massachusetts are reminding Massachusetts Republicans that Scott Brown is in Massachusetts and that he won't be reelected if he supports the Ryan plan. And that sort of thinking is the reason that America will continue in financial decline. Massachusetts was the beginning of the American Revolution. The patriots in Massachusetts had the courage to stand up for what was right. I am truly sorry Scott Brown has chosen to speak out against Paul Ryan's proposal. He could have at least kept quiet.
Meanwhile, the Republicans lost the special election in New York State. The pundits are saying that the Ryan plan was the reason for the loss. Let's look at the initial results of the New York special election.
Late last night, the Daily Caller reported:
"With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Hochel (D) led Corwin (R) by 48-to-42 percent, the AP reports."
There are a few things that need to be noted here. There was a third-party candidate in this race with a questionable relationship with the Tea Party (he had run as a Democrat in previous campaigns) who took votes away from the Republican candidate. The Democrat candidate did not get the majority of the votes; she just got enough to win. During the 2010 Congressional election, one of the tactics the Democrats used in Massachusetts was to run third-party candidates to dilute the Republican vote. I suspect that was done in this election.
The Democrats needed to win in New York. The poured money into the state and ran misleading ads against the Paul Ryan plan. I don't know if the "pushing granny over the cliff in her wheelchair" ad ran there, but it wouldn't surprise me. The Republican candidate was not conversant enough with the details of the Ryan plan to successfully communicate what it was. That is something that needs to be corrected. All Republicans need a crash course in what Paul Ryan's budget is and what it isn't. Were it not for the likes of Newt Gingrich and Scott Brown, there would be a chance of getting the Ryan budget passed. Now I suspect we will see more wobbly Republicans and no improvement of the country's spending problem.
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