A Democratic District for over eighty years goes to a Republican at a time

[Bandit]

Republicans in Congress are polling at their lowest approval ratings EVER.... What is going on? Has America gone completely bonkers......A Democratic District thinks a Republican will do a better job representing them than a Democrat.....I think Obama and the Democrats are in for a world of hurt, so I guess they will move even further right than the Republicans are now...I never realized I was so damn out of sinc with the rest of the country.. I never used to be..

[JTFrog]

1. I'm sure Weinergate had nothing to do with it.

:eyes:

[Bandit]

2. As fare as I could tell Weiner was not on the ballot.

It was a Democrat facing off against a Republican in a District that had been Democratic for over eighty years.....

[JTFrog]

3. He had more exposure than the Dem running on the ticket.

Pun not necessarily intended.

:eyes:

[butterfly77]

4. It is also...

people who care about other countries more than they do America...

[RKP5637]

5. A trend and an indicator, an ominous one. Not good at all. n/t

[Bok_Tukalo]

6. It is just the latest bellwether

NY-26 had gotten stale.

[daggahead]

7. Isn't this district to merge with another one in 2012? n/t

[RZM]

8. This kind of thing happens from time to time. It's usually much more mundane

And often has to do with the specifics of the race. In this case there was Weinergate and Weprin had his own problems. Coakley thought she could coast against Brown and got bit in the ass. Without Jefferson's 'freezer cash,' Joseph Cao wouldn't have won that seat in Louisiana either. In all three cases I don't think the Republicans really won the seats, the Democrats lost them because of their own mistakes.

Don't forget NY-26 on the other side too. Without Lee's antics and the Tea Party's actions, there wouldn't be a Democrat in that seat either.

It's not that unusual and usually it's reversed not long after. Cao's already gone, Warren might do well against Brown, and Weiner's district will either be eliminated or probably go to a Dem as soon as they find a better candidate.

[LiberalEsto]

9. Money

The 'pukes have lots of it.

[leveymg]

10. Everyone's going to lose their seats. Expect extraordinary turnover in '12

From the top down, this is a referendum on the DC Establishment. Almost everyone who fits that description is in BIG TROUBLE come next November if things don't turn around sharply.

I don't think it's even a partisan thing, anymore. It's a herd panic thing, running away from the smoke into the fire.

The President and the Dems have to go radical populist, and be convincing about it, or else. Unfortunately, it's just not in the nature of almost all of the party leadership, including the President. The GOP are in touch with their radicals, but they're even more closely chained to the Lumpen Capitalist Junior Chamber of Commerce/Rotarian types.

None of them have a clue as to how to deal with the Global Banksters and Multinationalistas who, as we speak, are piling their movable assets onto corporate jets.

[RKP5637]

20. I think you summed it up well. Storming the castle, so to say. "It's a herd panic thing,

running away from the smoke into the fire." I see 2012 as one of the major pivotal turning points of this country. And the rats are escaping the burning ship, "piling their movable assets onto corporate jets." As all of us slide into uncharted territory.

[Javaman]

11. Because Weiner showed his Weener!!!!

don't you know that any mention of sex is a bad thing!!!

I get so tired of the prudish stupidity knee jerk reactions by the general public.

So what else is new? more people voting against their own best interests. It's all the rage.

[Recursion]

12. An embarrassing enough scandal can roll any district for a bit

It happens; I wouldn't sweat this one too much.

[WI_DEM]

13. Two reasons 1) a horrible dem candidate 2) Obama unpopularity in district

PPP had a poll which showed that Obama has only a 31% approval rating in this district. But like Teddy Kennedy's senate seat (nobody thought that would go republican either, remember?) we nominated a terrible candidate because dems thought 'oh anybody we put up can win.' Wrong!! This is also a fairly socially conservative district. Obama got 55% of the vote in 2008--sounds pretty good, but if you look at the fact that he won NY City as a whole with about 80% and NY State with 62% of the vote then you have to look at this district as being an under performer (even in '08) for Obama.

[OHdem10]

14. Democrats have never learned or if they learned they ignore.

Republicans are skilled and I mean skilled at winning
races because they know EMOTION COUNTS.

Just watch--the last 48 hours before any election
they have an emotional issue all prepared, they
have the foot soldiers whom they unleash simultaneously
Instead of talking issues, they have the troops fired
to apread --"Let' send a Message --we are as angry as
hell and they had better stop--whatever."

They used Ed Koch to stir up the voters and send Obama
a message.

The Tea Party won the 2020 landslide just this. Of course
America may have buyer's remorse, but the GOP is still in
charge.

This strategy became obvious in the Paul Wellstone Race.

They call it their 72 hour plan or something.

What would happen if Democrats went in early and warned
about being snookered??? Republicans go afer everyone
who will listen.

[Octafish]

15. Sex Sells

That, and a corrupt news media coupled with invisible support from the Party that must really, really want to embrace a new role as the other corporate enabler.

[liberal N proud]

16. This is what happens when the Democratic leaders become complacent

about the security of any district of seat.

They didn't run a strong candidate and the teabaggers are working their hardest to take this country down, one congressional seat at a time.

[shraby]

17. Diebold????

[WI_DEM]

18. good grief, every dem loss isn't because of diebold! it's because the dems have done a

lousy job.

[Mr Gerrity]

21. I agree.

This makes no sense. Hopefully they will impound the ballots and Weprin will call for a recount.

[RC]

22. Correct. The Republicans own the voting apparatus. Also,

Gerrymandering. They have no qualms about any kind of cheating, if it will win the election. The sooner we acknowledge the fact our elections are being fixed, the sooner we can do something about it.

[PRETZEL]

19. I know the Right is trying to make this into some type of referendum

on the President. I'm not so sure that's totally true.

It's a part of it, yes, but I don't think it's the whole story.

Part of it is Weiner backlash. Part is that Welprin wasn't the strongest of candidates. Part of it is a referendum on the Democrats and the President. It was a combination of the three.

Imagine the outcome if this was held six months from now? The jobs bill is passed. Or, if not passed, the President and Congressional Democrats both in the House and as candidates demanding to know why the Republicans have been so obstructionary?

The outcome more than likely would have been different.