Chicken came home to roost for GOP candidate Lowden

In recent weeks, Republican Sue Lowden found herself on a swift trajectory to the front of the 12-person pack of Republicans competing to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November.
Then, the chickens clucked.

At a candidate forum two weeks ago, Lowden gave a clumsy response to a health care question, saying costs could be driven down if patients could barter with their doctors for the price of care. It didn’t seem like a campaign-threatening gaffe at the time.

But Reid’s volunteers knew immediately they had something. They gave the video to a national blogger. Within days, comedian Jay Leno cracked a joke on the Tonight show.

This week, Lowden attempted to explain her comment by harkening back to the “olden days” when “our grandparents they would bring a chicken to the doctor” when they couldn’t afford to pay.