No one could have predicted that opposition to the stimulus bill would be a political liability for Republicans in some competitive districts, but here’s the Albany Times Union calling out Republican candidate James Tedisco in the special election in NY-20 (being vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand):
Sometime between now and an election tentatively set for March 31, James Tedisco has to take a stand on the $787 billion economic stimulus that Congress passed last week and President Obama just signed into law.
How else can the voters of the 20th Congressional District begin to judge whether he’s the best candidate to fill what had been Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s seat in the House?
That Mr. Tedisco would suggest that his position on what just might be the most contentious issue in Washington is a “hypothetical question” raises serious questions about his qualifications to serve in Congress. Economic policy couldn’t be more critical in a congressional race.
[….]
Even Mr. Tedisco himself acknowledges what it can do. Just listen.
“Love the unemployment help that we need to bridge that gap. Love the infrastructure. They’ve got some nice tax cuts in there.”
So, what’s his problem? Why’s he on the fence? Why can’t he level with the voters?
It’s not because the stimulus was the Democrats’ bill, is it?
A guy named Cantor seems to have constructed a strategy that’s locally perfect inside the Beltway and everywhere dense outside it.
(via)
Update: This may be on Shuster tonight.
Update #2. More stimulus trouble for Republicans:
Congressman Joseph “Anh” Cao, a Republican, who defeated William “Bill” Jefferson is facing a recall petition because of his vote on the Barack Obama stimulus package. The recall has been initiated by a group of ministers.
Time to cut another “Back In the Saddle” video.
sgwhiteinfla
DougJ
To your point, did you hear that the people in freshman Congressman Anh Cao’s district are trying to put together a recall vote because of his voting against the bailout after saying he would vote for it just the day before? Thats the Republican who beat William "Money Bags" Jefferson this year in New Orleans, Louisianna. Man I hope they get him.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/19/cao-recall/
Zifnab
The newly elected congressman Joseph Cao (R) from Lousiana’s 2nd is actually up for recall.
Probably because he’s too liberal.
Damn you, sg
trizzlor
This is the brilliance of the Democratic strategy and why the republicans were so fearful of these types of programs passing (as was most clear when they talked about effective, specifically effective, healthcare reform heralding the death of the party): "everybody loves money – that’s why they call it money"
TenguPhule
Fix your grammer DougJ.
TenguPhule
Corrected.
Did I mention how much I hate WordPress?
sgwhiteinfla
LOL Zifnab, gotcha this time!
DougJ
Click the Cantor link and look for "nowhere dense".
Tom Hilton
That’s part of it. The other part is that Cantor’s strategy is based on the premise that there are no general elections, only primaries.
valdivia
What I find hilarious is that the Villagers continue arguing that this was a gift to republicans and that Obama somehow lost. Huh? Martin’s idiotic column yesterday in Politico about how pointing to the disconnect between the DC beltway CW and the rest of the country is bad news for Obama.
And sort of OT–was watching Obama’s trip to Ottawa via the CBC. They have real journalists! Or at least it seemed so. In all everyone was very impressed with our Pres.
Stuck
@TenguPhule:
Grammar — No Alphabet Soup For You!
Andre
@Stuck:
Grandma?
gbear
Gaaah!
I just read a story about how republican-voting districts are going to be the biggest recipients of stimulus money in MN. District that’s going to get the most stimulus? Michelle Bachman’s! Life sucks.
TenguPhule
I blame WordPress and not getting a $10 billion bailout.
TenguPhule
Revenge is a dish best served with 10 pounds of the good book delivered square to the forehead.
OriGuy
You know how they send food packages to starving people overseas and they stencil "A gift from the people of the United States of America" on them? Every mile of road in her district or whatever that gets built with this money should have a sign that says "Built with your tax money, no thanks to Michelle Bachman."
Punchy
Rule #1 — never, ever fuck with Southern ministers. A whole diff breed apart from the phony Northern, Sharpton-style hucksters. Especially in a minority community…..wow. Cao’s fucked.
Zifnab
@gbear: Wow. There is no justice.
Chuck Butcher
The political question is whether this stuff can be made to resonate in early fall 2010, particularly if things have evened out. Americans have an extremely short political memory if their lives aren’t being disrupted. Here’s the really big problem, turning Republican votes will be mostly about their emotions not their reason.
Ask John Cole about this aspect. Look at the economic situation of most of these hard core red districts the House Rs still hold – and feel safe in, at least from Dems. I know something about red districts – I live in one, in for pete’s sake, Oregon. Obama didn’t break out of the 30s, consider that, and it wasn’t racism (much).
Consider that into the 80’s this was solid Democrat land.
MIT
"everywhere dense"
Mathematical Topology Reference?
http://www.google.com/search?q=everywhere+dense
Dennis-SGMM
@Chuck Butcher:
It will be difficult to make it resonate in 2010 because, over the next few months, many Republicans will do their best to make it seem that they didn’t vote against the stimulus bill and all Republicans will take credit for bringing in whatever stimulus money comes to their districts.
sgwhiteinfla
Shuster is killing the House GOP on hypocrisy watch right now.
burnspbesq
I have a small soft spot for Tedisco, who is a fellow Union College alum. But if he can’t get his head out of his hindquarters and get in step with the voters he hopes I represent, then I will enjoy watching him lose.
valdivia
@sgwhiteinfla:
yeah I saw that which was very good. But the coverage of Obama in Canada was not good at all. Why do they have to make everything a controversy? The visit was great, the Canadians were ecstatic but according to the Village….you can guess what they said.
sgwhiteinfla
valdivia
Yeah I try to avoid listening to the Village unless its to mock them. Pres Obama was awesome answering questions and I think even most of the Canadian media was blown away with his ability to answer their questions so fully and thoughtfully.
J. Michael Neal
Yeah, but to collect, I’d have to move to St. Cloud. No, thanks.
sgwhiteinfla
I hope you guys watched David Shuster kick Amanda Carpenter in the teeth every time she tried to push a right wing talking point about the stimulus bill. It was a thing of beauty.
valdivia
@sgwhiteinfla:
no, can you fill us in?
Jay B.
Consider that into the 80’s this was solid Democrat land.
A few things:
It is again.
The party realignment that started during the Civil Rights Movement and reached critical mass during Reagan has now pretty much run its course.
Prior to that, the parties were a mixed bag of archetypes: the Southern Democrat, the Yankee Republican, etc. that didn’t necessarily reflect an ideology homogeneous to their respective parties. Or, rather, the parties themselves were more heterodox. The Democrats are still larger and reflect a more diverse range of opinions — but certainly NOT to the extent they used to, when they had poles much farther to the left and the right.
The conservatives, having wrung racial resentment dry are now on the wrong side of the demographic divide and their response so far has been to further winnow their appeal, leaving them basically dead in New England, NYC, DC/MD and the West Coast, dying in New York state, IL and PA, weakening on the Eastern Seaboard all the way down to North Carolina and losing ground in states where the Latino population is growing. Add to that amazing turnarounds in places like Montana you are seeing a true shift (one the Emerging Democratic Majority accurately described) in American politics — one that pits a pragmatic (if maddening) party against a retrograde one. The one thing the Republicans are right about is that if the Democrats can get most of their projects passed, the GOP will be out of power for a generation or more — which is why they oppose what Obama and the Democrats are offering. Right now, it’s the only way they can get back into the throne more easily, but even then that doesn’t solve their deeper problem: by and large, people gravitate toward pragmatism.
sgwhiteinfla
valdiva
Shuster had a panel of conservatives on to talk about the Republican’s boneheaded opposition to the stimulus. The impetus was a post by David Frum who was also a part of the panel that basically said the GOP looked like a bunch of clowns by talking about mouses instead of putting forth a serious alternative. So it Mike Smerconish, Mike Crowley from TNR and Carpenter rounded out the panel. When he got to her first she tried to pass off the 1 billion to ACORN canard and Shuster promptly shot her down by saying there was no such provision in the bill and then she tried to say "well they could apply for it though" to which Shuster said something to the effect of, "yeah they could, but they never have in their entire existence". So then she went to the health care canard made popular by ElFatbo. To which Shuster again shot her down, pointed out that it wasn’t new but created by Bush in 2004 and that it wouldn’t have a thing to do with patient care. She looked like somebody had stole her bike at that point and more or less just started mumbling under her breath. I should also point out that while Shuster wasn’t as agressive as Tweety, he DID talk over her when she tried to promote that bullshit.
Stuck
@sgwhiteinfla:
Yes, I saw that. Imagine an anchor that actually knows the facts on stuff. Amanda tried peddling the canard that the stimulus has a provision in it that says the government has to OK what a doctor does in treating their patients. She was aghast at the temerity of someone calling her bullshit, and went into, "well, like that’s what conservatives think " . Shuster went on to say well it’s false.
Stuck
@sgwhiteinfla:
You said it better:)
Napoleon
@sgwhiteinfla:
What is Carpenters background – why would he have her on the show?
sgwhiteinfla
Stuck
The thing about it is Carpenter appeared on MSNBC all during the general election campaign and they let her say whatever the hell she wanted and when they had her own with a liberal she usually creamed them. I was so happy for someone to FINALLY spank that ass that if I would have had a football handy I would have spiked that mofo like I had just won the Superbowl. She is used to being on FauxNooz where you can make shit up as you go along. I have to say that after a rough start Shuster is a DEFINITE upgrade over Stretch.
And thanks.
sgwhiteinfla
Napoleon
She is a conservative blogger on Townhall.com. I really don’t know what else she has as a claim to fame but she is on FauxNooz like every other day.
Chuck Butcher
solid Democrat land = Baker Co & OR CD2
We’ve got massive work to do and I’ll tell you flatly if those DC assholes can’t keep their traps shut about guns I may as well spit in the wind. You cannot get these people to blame a thing for what people do, you can get them to swallow some pretty stupid policies but they’re not going there.
valdivia
@sgwhiteinfla:
thanks for that summary, I personally think Mike Crowley is a wanker.
gbear
@J. Michael Neal:
Agree with you about St. Cloud, but Stillwater and the St Croix Valley are in her district too. I’d live around Marine On The St. Croix if I could afford it.
sgwhiteinfla
Hot off the press, the fun starts around 5:15
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29288710#29288618
low-tech cyclist
Eric Cantor has uncountably many stupid thoughts, and their value to the world is of measure zero.
jcricket
Perhaps this time they can make sure to secure the rights. I hear the "Bush was Right" folks are into licensing their song, any takers? Maybe a Pat Boone gem?
Dems should deal with Social Security’s problem by simply raising taxes on rich people and/or mildly cutting benefits (rather than destroying the program and adding risk to everyone through private accounts). That’ll be another huge win (after the stimulus package), because during that debate Republicans will be arguing in favor of the private accounts. Their memory is apparently so short they don’t realize most people, who loved Social Security before, now desperately depend on it. So anyone suggesting more retirement money go into the "market" will just come out looking idiotic. Just like now with the stimulus.
If Dems then find some way to deal with Medicare (or at least begin dealing with) by doing something like "Medicare for all" (as an option) or whatever, they’ll not only get props now, but (as you said) they’ll generate a huge wellspring of support down the road (like SS and Medicare did to begin with). Heaven help the Republicans if Democrats ever pass something like single payer w/ all the goodies.
If Dems get out of Iraq… etc. you get the picture. Each debate/win builds on the previous, establishes our credibility and destroys the Republicans further (unless they change course, which wouldn’t be so bad, honestly).
ppcli
Whoohooo! Topology jokes!
Those Republicans are, like, totally disconnected, man.