The GOP certainly needs to sharpen its message, but this is no slam-dunk for Democrats.

Republican Jane Corwin’s defeat may make it appear that the GOP is the 2012 underdog and that Republicans are losing the fight over Paul Ryan’s plan to overhaul Medicare. But that doesn’t change the fact that Medicare and Social Security – our largest outlays – aren’t a serious threat to our long-term economic and national security.

Recent estimates by the Cato Institute of Social Security alone reveal that outstanding obligations to future retirees amount to nearly $16 trillion over the next 75 years. And let’s not forget, the trustees of Social Security and Medicare just reported that the programs are expected to dry up five years earlier than originally predicted and run a permanent deficit.

Corwin tried to have her cake and eat it too. She opposed Obamacare but also criticized the Ryan plan, and she offered no clear vision of her own for how to reform entitlement spending. So it should come as no surprise Democrats walked away with this election.

Still, the reality is that a majority of Americans (51 percent) view free market competition rather than more government intervention as the best way to drive down health care costs.