In the two special elections for the House being held next week, Democrats appear to have thrown in the towel in a Hawaii race where the presence of two Democrats on the ballot looks like it may hand the seat to a Republican.
But in the Pennsylvania coal-mining district once held by the late Jack Murtha, former Murtha aide Mark Critz appears to have made a comeback with a flurry of TV commercials accusing GOP businessman Tim Burns of wanting to raise taxes. A Democratic campaign committee ad accuses Mr. Burns of supporting "a 23% national sales tax" and "corporate tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas." The latest public poll shows Mr. Critz with a 45% to 40% lead.
Mr. Burns says his record has been distorted. He denies he wants to outsource jobs overseas. He also claims any quotes supporting a so-called FAIR tax reform were "taken out of context" and notes that Mr. Critz hasn't pointed out that advocates of a national sales tax want to completely replace the current federal income tax.
That may be, but Mr. Burns's plight shows just how tricky tax reform can be to raise in a hardscrabble blue-collar district where voters are deeply suspicious of change. Republicans have made progress in the race by calling for repeal of ObamaCare, which is viewed with hostility by many of the district's seniors. But the ads blasting Mr. Burns on a national sales tax have erased many of those gains.
Next week we will find out which set of attacks had the most resonance with voters and just how much the Obama health care bill will be a drag on Democratic prospects this fall.
-- John Fund
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