The Hill News

Last night, the Senate voted on the notorious Republican budget created by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), essentially cementing the Medicare issue into the foundation of the 2012 elections.

The entire episode, from the “Pledge to America” last fall to the House vote passing the budget earlier this year to the Senate rejection of it, has been a lesson in message discipline for both sides. For the Democrats, on the defensive for two years and following a disastrous midterm election that was a referendum on them, this budget has given them the upper hand and higher ground with seniors and other important constituencies. For the Republicans, who decimated Democrats for two years with their out-of-control spending message and misleading attacks on “ObamaCare,” the budget has destroyed their message discipline and given away their momentum and any discernible advantage.

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