The next time you hear that the problem in Washington is that the GOP is putting party above country, recall the fate of Ron Wyden. The Democratic Senator from Oregon worked with Rep. Paul Ryan (R, WI) on a
bipartisan plan to save Medicare. For his efforts, Wyden
faced the wrath of fellow Democrats:
"Ron Wyden, Useful Idiot," railed New York Times columnist Paul
Krugman. "Is Ron Wyden trying to get Mitt Romney elected?" fumed the
Nation magazine. Ron Zerban, a Democrat running for Mr. Ryan's seat,
accused Mr. Wyden of giving the GOP cover and proclaimed him no longer a
"Democrat."
The White House went defcon, insisting that the plan would cause
Medicare to "wither on the vine." House Democrats hissed the plan would
end "Medicare as we know it." Most informative was the gripe of a former
Senate staffer: Mr. Wyden was taking away "a key argument for Democrats
that are trying to retake the House." The nerve!
