Parties craft strategies, Medicare spin in aftermath of NY-26 special election results

Because the of what many view as the vote-changing impact that Medicare had on this congressional contest, Democrats and Republicans are considering how to advance their positions toward 2012.

Bloomberg: Republicans to Hone Medicare Pitch After New York Loss in House Contest
Republicans are vowing to prevent the 2012 election from becoming a referendum on their proposal to privatize Medicare after a New York Democrat who opposed the plan won a vacant U.S. House seat (Rowley, 5/26).

The Associated Press: GOP Repackages Agenda
Top House Republicans called for tax reform, an easing of government regulations and increased domestic energy production on Thursday in what officials said was an attempt to show that spending cuts are not their sole emphasis for creating jobs. … The Republicans' decision to make the announcement came after weeks of controversy over their proposal to remake Medicare. Beginning in a decade, they envision replacing the current program, in which the government pays the bills for a specific set of benefits, with a system under which private insurance companies sell coverage (5/26).

Reuters: U.S. Lawmakers Run Scared From Reforming Medicare
A Democratic victory in a reliably Republican House of Representatives district this week has lawmakers running scared from reforming Medicare, greatly reducing chances of a comprehensive deal to cut the long-term U.S. deficit (Reid, 5/26).

The Washington Post: Boehner: Medicare Played 'Small Part' In New York Defeat
As both parties continue to spar over Medicare following Republicans' loss in a New York special election, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) stood by the his party's budget plan, while conceding that the House GOP's proposal to overhaul Medicare was a "small part" of his party's stinging defeat on Tuesday. House Democrats, meanwhile, kept up their attacks on the plan by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arguing that the 40 Senate Republicans who voted in favor of the budget blueprint on Wednesday were the latest indication that the GOP has "a tin ear" on the issue (Sonmez, 5/26).

Politico: DCCC: Medicare Puts House In Play
Democrats say the House of Representatives has become much more competitive because of their success using Medicare as an issue to win the New York special election earlier this week (Haberkorn, 5/26).

Roll Call: Democrats Promise To Keep Up Medicare Attacks Through 2012
The leaders of Democrats' campaign committees said Thursday they wouldn't get "cocky" about their victory in New York's 26th Congressional district but promised to keep attacking Republicans over Medicare. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (Wash.) spoke to reporters about their plans, attempting to use Rep.-elect Kathy Hochul's win to gain momentum without sounding overly optimistic (Miller, 5/26).

The Christian Science Monitor: Medicare: Republicans Voice Resolve As They Prepare To Face Constituents
One reason the party is not running scared is that 2012 elections are more than a year away. Moreover, the 87-member GOP freshmen class campaigned on making bold, tough choices to get the nation's fiscal house in order. Taking hits was to be expected, GOP lawmakers said in interviews after Tuesday's election in New York's 26th congressional district (Russell Chaddock, 5/26).