WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. - Western New York's long-disregarded Democrats believe a Republican plan to make sweeping changes in Medicare gives them a rare chance to snatch a GOP House seat 10 days from now.
The May 24 special election here to replace former Rep. Chris Lee is a complicated three-way affair, with polls showing a tight race between Democrat Kathy Hochul and Republican Jane Corwin. Republicans point to the presence of a third candidate in the race -- Jack Davis, a two-time Democratic nominee for the seat who is now running as a self-proclaimed tea party candidate -- as the reason the race is artificially close.
The May 24 special election here to replace former Rep. Chris Lee is a complicated three-way affair, with polls showing a tight race between Democrat Kathy Hochul and Republican Jane Corwin. Republicans point to the presence of a third candidate in the race -- Jack Davis, a two-time Democratic nominee for the seat who is now running as a self-proclaimed tea party candidate -- as the reason the race is artificially close.
But on the ground, it's Medicare that's weighing on voters' minds. A proposal by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., to privatize the health insurance program for seniors -- approved by a overwhelming vote of House Republicans as part of the party's budget proposal -- was the dominant issue this in a debate between Hochul and Corwin (Davis was a no-show).
On Saturday, Hochul repeatedly pointed to the House vote one month ago as the tipping point in the race as she spoke to about 40 members at a women's gathering at the Village Meeting House in downtown Williamsville.
Hochul said the April 15 House vote threatened a 45-year-old social contract designed to keep the nation's senior citizens out of poverty.
"Republicans have been in charge just since January, and they decided that they had a different set of priority than I have, than you have, or even that Republicans and independents have in this district," she said.
Earlier in the day, Hochul spent her morning at the Hillview Diner, in nearby Depew, N.Y., asking breakfast-goers for their votes. Concerns over potential changes to Medicare arose at nearly every table. After chatting with Hochul, Sue and Mike Sanker said they'd both be voting with her for one main reason - the Republican budget. "I don't want them to turn Medicare into a voucher program," said Sue Sanker. She said she'd seen the commercials saying Corwin was for the changes to Medicare -- an attack used in ads aired by both Hochul and, beginning this week, by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The newly-formed House Majority PAC also plans an ad blitz beginning next week hammering Corwin over Medicare. Don Pascucci of Clarence said he is still undecided on who he'd vote for in the election, but identified Medicare and the rising deficit as the two issues most important to him. While Pascucci, who considers himself an independent, agrees that "the spending has to stop," he was not enthused about the Ryan plan. "This Medicare plan, it's an open-ended voucher program," he said. "That concerns me." Corwin supports the Ryan plan. In a district where nearly 15 percent of the population is senior citizens, she has been stressing that it would not affect Medicare for voters over age 55. But she argues that Ryan's proposal is needed because Medicare is unsustainable in its current form. A new federal report this week said Medicare will go broke in 2024, five years earlier than previously projected. "There's a lot of criticisms of a plan that I'm supporting, but I haven't seen any other plans offered from [Hochul and Davis], and I think that that's too big of an issue to just ignore," Corwin said in a Friday interview. She's also been getting support from the Medicare plan's architect: Ryan sent out a fundraising appeal from his Prosperity PAC on Friday asking for last-minute fundraising help on the New York Republican's behalf. "Throughout the campaign, [Corwin] has voiced her support for my budget proposal. This will come as no surprise to many of you, but the playbook the Democrats and special interests have been using to attack me is being used right now in New York's 26th District. You know the drill: they spread all kinds of falsehoods about the Path to Prosperity and see what sticks. Jane Corwin needs our help," Ryan wrote, setting a $5,000 contribution goal. On Friday, his PAC donated $2,500 to Corwin. Though May 2, Corwin reported raising $304,000 in donations, but has largely been underwriting the campaign herself. On Friday, she added another $500,000 of her own money, bringing the total that she has financed to nearly $2.5 million and surpassing the $2.1 million that Davis -- who isn't accepting outside contributions -- gave his campaign. Republicans, meanwhile, tried to take advantage of Hochul's fundraising, pouncing on a New York City fundraiser she held that featured House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi among the guests. As House speaker last year, Pelosi was a favorite target of Republicans. This year, they are painting Hochul as the San Francisco Democrat's "hand-picked candidate. "Kathy Hochul just doesn't get it," said Corwin spokesman Matthew Harakal. "Voters across the country rejected Nancy Pelosi's tax-and-spend economic policies which have brought our economy to a screeching halt, but Kathy Hochul continues to push that same failed agenda."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/05/western-ny-voters-worried-about-medicare-14
On Saturday, Hochul repeatedly pointed to the House vote one month ago as the tipping point in the race as she spoke to about 40 members at a women's gathering at the Village Meeting House in downtown Williamsville.
Hochul said the April 15 House vote threatened a 45-year-old social contract designed to keep the nation's senior citizens out of poverty.
"Republicans have been in charge just since January, and they decided that they had a different set of priority than I have, than you have, or even that Republicans and independents have in this district," she said.
Earlier in the day, Hochul spent her morning at the Hillview Diner, in nearby Depew, N.Y., asking breakfast-goers for their votes. Concerns over potential changes to Medicare arose at nearly every table. After chatting with Hochul, Sue and Mike Sanker said they'd both be voting with her for one main reason - the Republican budget. "I don't want them to turn Medicare into a voucher program," said Sue Sanker. She said she'd seen the commercials saying Corwin was for the changes to Medicare -- an attack used in ads aired by both Hochul and, beginning this week, by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The newly-formed House Majority PAC also plans an ad blitz beginning next week hammering Corwin over Medicare. Don Pascucci of Clarence said he is still undecided on who he'd vote for in the election, but identified Medicare and the rising deficit as the two issues most important to him. While Pascucci, who considers himself an independent, agrees that "the spending has to stop," he was not enthused about the Ryan plan. "This Medicare plan, it's an open-ended voucher program," he said. "That concerns me." Corwin supports the Ryan plan. In a district where nearly 15 percent of the population is senior citizens, she has been stressing that it would not affect Medicare for voters over age 55. But she argues that Ryan's proposal is needed because Medicare is unsustainable in its current form. A new federal report this week said Medicare will go broke in 2024, five years earlier than previously projected. "There's a lot of criticisms of a plan that I'm supporting, but I haven't seen any other plans offered from [Hochul and Davis], and I think that that's too big of an issue to just ignore," Corwin said in a Friday interview. She's also been getting support from the Medicare plan's architect: Ryan sent out a fundraising appeal from his Prosperity PAC on Friday asking for last-minute fundraising help on the New York Republican's behalf. "Throughout the campaign, [Corwin] has voiced her support for my budget proposal. This will come as no surprise to many of you, but the playbook the Democrats and special interests have been using to attack me is being used right now in New York's 26th District. You know the drill: they spread all kinds of falsehoods about the Path to Prosperity and see what sticks. Jane Corwin needs our help," Ryan wrote, setting a $5,000 contribution goal. On Friday, his PAC donated $2,500 to Corwin. Though May 2, Corwin reported raising $304,000 in donations, but has largely been underwriting the campaign herself. On Friday, she added another $500,000 of her own money, bringing the total that she has financed to nearly $2.5 million and surpassing the $2.1 million that Davis -- who isn't accepting outside contributions -- gave his campaign. Republicans, meanwhile, tried to take advantage of Hochul's fundraising, pouncing on a New York City fundraiser she held that featured House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi among the guests. As House speaker last year, Pelosi was a favorite target of Republicans. This year, they are painting Hochul as the San Francisco Democrat's "hand-picked candidate. "Kathy Hochul just doesn't get it," said Corwin spokesman Matthew Harakal. "Voters across the country rejected Nancy Pelosi's tax-and-spend economic policies which have brought our economy to a screeching halt, but Kathy Hochul continues to push that same failed agenda."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/05/western-ny-voters-worried-about-medicare-14