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Subscribe to RSS“Kathleen Courtney Hochul, the Erie County clerk and longtime Democratic figure who defied political experts who had given her little chance of success, ground out a stunning and surprisingly comfortable victory Tuesday in the special election for the House seat in the predominantly Republican 26th Congressional District,” the Buffalo News says. “The results marked a stunning defeat for the GOP in a contest that garnered intense national attention as the first competitive race following the Republican takeover of the House in last November's elections.” She said in her victory speech: "We had the issues on our side. We can balance the budget the right way and not on the backs of our seniors.”
In a separate story, the Buffalo News writes, “For Republicans from Alaska to Maine, including those in Erie County GOP headquarters, the soul-searching already has begun… With Jane L. Corwin, the Republican candidate, struggling under the weight of a Medicare reform plan that she, like 235 House Republicans, supported, a handful of Republicans across the country had started edging away from the proposal even before local voters went to the polls.”
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: “Voters chose Democrat Kathy Hochul over Republican Jane Corwin on Tuesday in the 26th Congressional District, once friendly Republican territory… Hochul, 52, used shoe-leather campaigning and Corwin's support for an unpopular Republican proposal to overhaul Medicare to her advantage. Corwin, 47, wasn't helped by the presence of third place finisher Jack Davis, 78, who tried to fashion a "Tea Party" candidacy, and her own campaign's missteps.”
The New York Times front-pages the outcome. “Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare.”
Roll Call calls it an “embarrassing” loss for Republicans, “frustrating the national GOP establishment and its allies, who invested millions of dollars in the contest.” And it sums up the politics: “Democrats cheered the outcome as the direct result of voter dissatisfaction with the House Republican budget plan, which Corwin supported and would fundamentally reshape Medicare. Republicans largely blamed the loss on Davis, a former Democrat who occupied the Tea Party ballot line and spent more than $2.5 million from his personal fortune on a campaign that ultimately siphoned votes away from Corwin.”
The Hill: “The Democrats’ triumph in the GOP stronghold of upstate New York Tuesday has wide-ranging ramifications on the 2012 battles for control of Congress and the White House… While the 2012 general election is a political eternity away, Tuesday's result ensures Democrats will be talking about Medicare for the next year-and-a-half.”
The New York Post’s lead: “Democrat Kathy Hochul last night won a special election to fill a vacant US House seat in a conservative upstate New York district -- snatching victory by campaigning against the GOP plan to transform Medicare.”
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Interesting spin on the outcome of the election. It leaves one wondering if this was really a litmus test or referendum on the Medicare overhaul as is fashioned by the media or the expected result of a three way race where the winner held less than a majority. My bet is the latter but one can be sure it will be presented as the winds of change.
It could very well be the latter. BUT- do you think the Repubs learned their lesson about pandering to folks like the evangelicals and Teapartiers? I'm guesing, nope.
Fox is the Republican's Achilles' heel. In trying to indoctrinate others they indoctrinate themselves and don't have a sense of reality. They end up believing their own propaganda. In W's White House, they didn't watch any other network.
drive by- i'm hoping not.
Oh happy day.
Independent, the Democrat won with 48% of the vote, pretty amazing in a traditionally Republican district,
Our Teapublican governor won in 2010 with just 38% of the vote when the Independent and the Democrat split the vote, but, in that instance it was more like moderate Republicans, Independents and Democrats fervantly wishing to block the Teapublican and failing to do so. LePAge, naturally, decided it was a mandate and overreached within his first week (telling the NAACP to kiss his butt on MLK Day no less!)
I would bet that there is a lot of Republican/Tea Party congress people not sleeping well last night, and many night until the election in 2012. You people voted for Ryan's BS now suffer the consequence.
I would concentrate more on the Republican candidate. He was a poor choice and widely disliked. But here is something even more interesting, by Eric Cantor:
With Congress just back from a week's vacation, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., indicated Monday that Republicans want to change the subject. Without mentioning Medicare, he said the House majority has been focusing recently on "how to address the deficit (by) cutting back on the expenditures."
Democrats need to change too; focus on the message, not who gets credit.
I think that if they'd start creating jobs, that the message would change itself.
tom- who caused the near depression that resulted in high employment? it's been just 2 years and 4 months since obama was inaugurated. Sorry, but its going to take longer than that to cleanup your mess. why don't you pick up a shovel instead of blaming those that are busy cleaning up your mess.
Cantor's new message is "no help for those hit by ravaging tornadoes, etc., no emergency help, unless it is paid for by cuts". That's the new (same old, same old) Republican congressional message.....FU middle America, we've got to preserve those tax cuts for the rich!
McCain won 52% of the district in 2008, a year that was heavily tilted in the Democrats favor. The Republican and Tea Party candidate combined for 52%. Not sure that this tells us a whole lot.
I think it says pretty clearly that the GOP has to do something about the giant rift the Tea Party has created in their party.
politically speaking, Tim D, I think it tells us the split in the Republican Party between the Tea Party and the old school is working to the Democrats' advantage. Hey, we'll take it.
shhh. we want tim to keep up that line of thought.
i love ryan saying dems are scaring seniors about medicare when that's how repubs regained the house- by scaring seniors about medicare. and the first thing they did was try to basically get rid of medicare. surprise ryan- seniors aren't as senial as you had hoped.
and why does ryan's plan only impact seniors over 55. so that he can sneek it by without alienating those that would be NEGATIVELY impacted RIGHT NOW. basically admitting that the plan is bad, just not for you right now. sleazy, underhanded conservative social engineering. just like newt said, and then he got slapped down by a republican regime that says if you don't walk in lockstep with our devious plans, we'll take you out.
how can a dem run as a tea party canidate?
FACE IT, you seniors are just greedy and selfish and don't care about your kids , your grand kids or your country. If you did you would back the ryan plan and quit dependin on uncle sam to take care of your free loadin self. Vote Tea Party were takin america back!
you constitute 10% of the voting public. how are you going to hijack YOUR america with 10 % of the vote from the EXTREME right
oops, just caught myself. i'm sorry limbecker. keep up the good work.
anyone that thought ryan's ideas have a snowball's chance is deluded. medicare & social security are the most popular programs in the history of the united states. but ryan's ideas are nothing new. conservatives have always been against anything that helps the great bulk of the american people if it raises taxes slightly on the wealthiest people. all this nonsense coming out about shared sacrifice. nope, the poor & middle class don't need to make any more sacrifices. the wealthy have moved tens of millions of american jobs to slave labor countries, speculated on wallstreet causing an $8 trillion loss in home equity, made huge profits off iraq & afghanistan, & got huge tax cuts. tax cuts on capital gains & tax reductions for the top income brackets do nothing except shrink the economy, move more jobs to china, & provide more tax dodges in offshore principalities so millionaires & billionaires can avoid the IRS. the middle class & poor pay when the rich don't pay. class warfare? your damn right! the wealthy have had a class war against the poor & middle class for too damn long.
extremely well said.
Bravo, Mel! I cannot understand why the rich don't pay the same tax rates as the middle class. How many more millions and billions do the rich need?
"At least one local tea party group has been attacking Davis, a Republican-turned-Democrat-turned-Republican, as a tea party fraud for several weeks."
http://www.rollcall.com/news/-205630-1.html?
It appears that the 3rd candidate was a fraudulent Tea Party candidate. I would think that without Jack Davis in the race it could have gone the other way. We shall see in the coming days when the Vote is analyzed.
Congratulation Kathleen Courtney Hochul, You are the first of many more Democrats to come! Senator Reid please force a vote, so we can see the Repub/Tea-baggers run!
I was on Ed's thread last night when this was finnal, and we ripped the Rep's, the trolls did not show up until we had all gone to bed.....Only left two of their name calling post....HA HA.
YEAH, NY-26! May more red districts turn blue!!!
Folks, the winner of the election in this diistrict will serve 18 months. They will be a temporary occupant until the next election in 2012. The three candidates were VERY weak, and as a lifetime resident of the district, I had reasons to be disgusted with all three. The third party candidate, who ran as a Democrat twice before and claimed he was a tea party candidate this time (but was not), siphoned votes from the Republican. (Same way that Ross Perot siphoned votes and got us Clinton; some of you are too young to remember that.)
Analysis of the outcomes are always slanted in favor of the writer, based on predjudices or a lack of education and experience, including most TV talking heads. Don't believe any of them as they all try to say the other side lied, or that the other party needs to "learn." Saying such things only exemplifies the naievete of the writer or speaker. To believe them is even dumber.
If Kathy Hochul gets redistricted, who are the Republican incumbents in the districts most likely to absorb her district? (After all, any redistricting is likely to provide a better balance.)her district could not be
Whoever you are, let's hope Kathy runs, and you're next.
Republicans, by all means, stay the course. Keep looking out for the rich, those who created this financial disaster, and continue to insist that the less fortunate bare the burden of the recovery. You are in step with the American people. Please keep doing what you are doing. I'm actually thinking about voting for a republican candidate in the next election. Not. You are a bunch of stupid, out of touch, rich jerks.
Uh?
Unfortunately, the Dems play underhanded politics when they are desperate so they put a "spoiler" (fake Tea Party ) candidate into this race to keep the Repub. from winning.