The two big hitters at today's Blog Row, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R.-Mo.) and Republican Conference Chairman Deb Pryce (R.-Ohio), kept their remarks focused on Medicare Part D, the prescription drug plan that was vigorously opposed by conservatives at the time of its passage in 2003.

Pryce said she wanted to spread the good news about the drug plan, which she said Republicans aren't getting enough credit for in the mainstream media. Pryce said the GOP conference would be making a push before newspaper editorial boards to get the message out.

I asked Pryce how a conservative newspaper such as HUMAN EVENTS, which has criticized the prescription drug plan, could say something positive about it now. She put Blunt in the spotlight, and he spelled out the reasons why he thinks conservatives should give the program a second look.

1. Critics of the program said competition wouldn't make a difference in the cost. But Blunt said competition is having a major impact for participants in the program, reducing its cost and the burden on the federal government. Blunt said more competition is likely as more seniors turn to the program as their source of prescription drugs.

2. Cost estimates didn't take into account that seniors' access to drugs at an earlier age would reduce long-term health problems. Again, Blunt said this factor was a reason that projections put the cost of the program so high. He acknowledged that HUMAN EVENTS had every right to question the program based on these projections, but he said now that they have been revised, the program deserves a fresh look.