David Shuster: Yes -- Protecting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Is a Political Winner

David Shuster: Yes -- Protecting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Is a Political Winner:

click link

Schakowsky is spot on. And it's refreshing to see at least some Democrats paying attention to the intriguing special election results last month in Arizona. Democrat Ron Barber focused hard on protecting social programs and easily fended off a strong Republican challenge in the swing district previously represented by Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

The backbone emerging in the Democratic Party comes at an important time. It was 47 years ago this week when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law. The legislation represented a monumental leap forward in how Americans treated one another. At the time, half of seniors did not have any health insurance. And those seniors who did have insurance paid three times what younger people paid for their care despite having, on average, just half as much income.