Politics
Out of context: Reply #16158
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Republican’s lead in N.Y. election for Weiner’s seat shows Democrats’ vulnerability
http://www.washingtonpost.com/po…New York’s 9th Congressional District isn’t the likeliest place for a national political referendum.
Vice President Al Gore won it with 67 percent of the vote in 2000, and Barack Obama carried it by 11 percentage points eight years later. It has been held by a string of high-profile Democrats — including Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) — for decades.
And yet, the special election set for Tuesday in the Brooklyn and Queens areas between state Assemblyman David Weprin (D) and businessman Bob Turner (R) — a race occasioned by the scandal and subsequent resignation of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D) — is surprisingly close, the result, many observers suggest, of the toxic national political environment and Obama’s low poll ratings.
“Obama wins no popularity contests here,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant in New York.
In a Siena College poll released late last week, Turner held a six-point edge over Weprin. Obama’s approval rating stood at 43 percent, with 54 percent disapproving.
Republicans — and even some Democrats — are painting the race as an Obama referendum. Ed Koch, a Democratic former mayor of New York, endorsed Turner and likened the impact of his possible victory to that of Republican Scott Brown in 2010 in the special Senate election in Massachusetts. A vote for Turner, Koch said, would “register a protest against the positions of President Obama and the Republican leadership on a number of key issues.”
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Dem Deserves to Lose Race for Anthony Weiner's Old Seat But ...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/da…Maybe it won't happen, but it certainly could. The local Democrats are scared to death. And they should be. If the Republican candidate, retired TV executive Bob Turner, the man who gave us the Jerry Springer Show, wins, it will tell the entire world that the Democratic Party in New York City is, in many places, brain-dead and worthy of repudiating.