Medicare is one of the most popular programs in the nation's history. Strong majorities of Democrats, Independents, Republicans support it, including my 90 year old mother--no ideologue she.
The GOP candidate in today's special election (New York's 26th), a heavily GOP district, was roundly defeated, 48-42%, because she drank the party's Kool-aid on Medicare. Congresspersons who enjoy their jobs should take note.
Democrats must be pinching themselves at their good luck. Who would have thought that the opposition would throw themselves off a political cliff and try to end Medicare? As the New York Times report drily put it:
The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether the party should rethink its commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability as 2012 elections loom.
Ya think? Turnout was large. Many Republicans crossed over. The Buffalo paper reported that people stood in the polling lines--both Republicans and Democrats--chanting "Keep your hands off my Medicare." This looks like a more genuine political movement than any of the various Koch-financed trumped-up outfits.
Image: Former President Harry Truman looks on as President Lyndon Johnson signs Medicare into law in 1965.
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