One Step Forward, One Step Back

Kathy Hochul's victory in the special election for House of Representatives in New York's 26th Congressional District Tuesday could do for Democrats what Scott Brown's victory in the 2010 Massachusetts special U.S. Senate election did for Republicans - galvanize the party and reverse their electoral fortunes. Hochul was elected due to the fears of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's plan to turn Medicare into a worthless voucher system, a plan endorsed by all but four house Republicans. Ryan (R-WI) accused Democrats of scare tactics by making his plan seem catastrophic, but for people who have been working for thirty-five years and are now just below the age threshold for qualifying for Medicare, it is scary. People between 50 and 64 start to get sick more often, they're in greater danger of getting laid off these days, and their medical insurance becomes more expensive. Maybe Ryan's plan won't affect Americans 65 or older, but the ones coming up behind them are in danger of being left behind.

PBS's David Chalian doesn't see a clear advantage for the Democrats, though. Yes, they have a better shot at taking back the House in 2012 despite GOP-friendly redistricting, but he thinks the new advantage given to the Democrats in the Medicare debate may be temporary. After all, they still have to come up with solutions to reduce the debt and fix the economy - two issues the Republicans are still very much able to exploit.

While the progressive movement gained an advantage, they lost a spokesman, at least for a week. After right-wing blonde talk radio host Laura Ingraham bashed President Obama for traveling to Europe while devastating tornadoes blew through Missouri and Oklahoma - even though the President's official trip was scheduled before anyone could have predicted the weather in those two states and he could not just drop everything and return home - Ed Schultz called her a slut on his radio show. Schultz apologized with great regret and empathy - just before starting a one-week suspension from his MSNBC show. Ingraham - no stranger to shooting the wounded - said that she was unaware that Schultz has a radio show, and that it must be an Internet show. A nasty comment, to be sure, as was her commentary about Obama, but thanks to Schultz's hot-headed, misogynistic rhetoric, she's getting away with it even as Schultz pays.

So am I going to apologize to Ingraham for calling her someone who shoots the wounded? Hell, no! Right-wingers have been saying that about liberals for decades, and so it's time to counterattack. I won't call her a slut - I'm sure her personal life is beyond reproach - but I will attack her for her attacks.

In other news, Florida governor Rick Scott has a 29 percent approval rating. Good. That's as may be, though, Florida Democrats won't likely be giving Alex Sink another shot at the office. Democrats, like Laura Ingraham, shoot the wounded - their own.