Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Opinion

Michael Barone

More Satisfaction For Democrats Than Republicans In New York 20th Special Election

April 01, 2009 01:50 PM ET | Michael Barone | Permanent Link | Print

Reader Comments

Newyork election

I like Gerson...

District 1 election

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WOW!

Anyone who has a negative comment for Obama... did any of you actually vote for him? Didn't think so... Actually, polls shows that people that voted against him approve of the job he's doing, not less. Also, Jim Tedisco has been a politician for 23 years and is minority leader for the general assembly of New York... if anything this race shows that Tedisco, despite having a huge name recognition advantage blew it (or that the GOP talking points don't play well anymore in this district) You guys pick which one.

20 District race

Sorry, but I disagree with those who try to spin this as a GOP loss...no matter what.

It's only a loss if Tedesco actually loses.

This was a Democrat congressional seat; Gillibrand was re-elected by a landslide AND Obama carried this district only 5 months ago!!

It may have been a mistake for Obama to let himself be so prominently used in Murphy's campaign literature.

Now...if Tedesco wins after Obama so prominently supported Murphy and was so prominently featured in Murphy's campaign materials .(AND in a district Obama carried in the election) there is NO way that this can be spun except as a HUGE loss and HUGE repudiation of Obama and his policies...after being voted for in THIS district only 5 months ago.

Any attempt to deny that is laughable...but I expect Obama's

media allies to make the attempt...by either totally ignoring the outcome..or trying to minimize it...if Tedisco wins.

THAT will make THEM laughable!

Obama's Bloom is fading

Murphy is only barely ahead. It does show people are starting to waver on Obama. If this election would have been held 6-8 months in the future, Murphy would definitely be trailing. I am trusting that America's citizens will wake up and declare this is not the change we need!

Obama's plan to bankrupt America not yet rejected

"There is no way that this race should of been so close! This is indeed a very negative sign for the GOP. "

Obama won this district in November. Democrat Gillibrand got 62% of the vote in Nov!

The only bad news for the GOP is if they lose; they lose a seat.

The other story is that many voters have yet to wake up and realize how awful Obama's trillion-dollar deficits and over-spending will be for the economy.

Obama's plan to bankrupt America not yet rejected by voters - that's the story.

2 million jobs lost under Obama ... and counting.

Too early

Had this by-election been held later, Murphy would have lost because people would have seen more clearly what the Democrat Party's policies would bring. At this early stage, Obama's honeymoon hasn't ended. Luckily for Murphy.

Excellent Analysis, Michael

I would have to say in the end that Obama is the big loser here.

A President who had previously chosen not to involve himself in supporting Democratic candidates goes and endorses Scott Murphy, appears in an ad endorsing him, has his top advisers steer Murphy's campaign at the end, sends 60,000 emails to his supporters urging a vote for Democrat Scott Murphy, and the Vice President, Joe Biden, cuts a radio ad for Murphy.

So what a big gamble to commit to the race that way.

And in a district Obama carried with more than 61% of the vote just 4 months ago. A district that had been represented by a Democrat (who won the last 2 elections for the congressional seat).

Obviously to then have the Democratic candidate now down to just 50% is a huge blow.

And Obama's first endorsed and actively supported candidate will likely be defeated by the time the absentee and military ballots are counted.

Not Exactly

This analysis overlooks some things about the district that better explain the results in Saratoga and Warren counties (and from which I think nothing can be extrapolated nationally). Gomer of NY is exactly right about Saratoga. As for Warren, I used to live there. I would not describe it as remotely Vermontish except in being predominantly rural.

Scott Murphy, though a newcomer to the area, lives in a prominent house in the center Glens Falls, the only "city" Warren County. He is married to a woman with a large extended family of well-known, well-connected and office-holding Republicans in Warren and Washington Counties. Scott Murphy's sister-in-law, for example, is District Attorney of Warren County. Murphy is also related by marriage to Betty Little, the GOP NY state senator representing Warren, Washington (and Essex) Counties. (Little herself could have been a candidate for the seat had Murphy not chosen to run first.) The point is that Murphy had a lot going for him through personal connections and goodwill in Warren County and neighboring Washington County that explain the results far better than Warren County's being in any way "Vermontish".

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Michael Barone is a senior writer for U.S.News & World Report and principal coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. He has written for many publications—including the Economist and the New York Times.

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