Democrats Whistling Past Graveyard

Democrats Whistling Past Graveyard

The unexpected victory of Republican Jimmy Higdon in the Kentucky state Senate special election -- despite a 2-to-1 Democratic registration advantage -- is another fire bell in the night that national Democrats are going to ignore. Marking the 33rd Republican win in the 50 or so special elections since 2008, the Kentucky race was a referendum on health care reform. Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear acknowledged that "The Republican Party was successful in … national(izing) this race." The winning margin was 12 points in a district that was supposed to drop into the Democrat's lap like a ripe peach.