NY-20 Special Election

[Brittain33]

Tedisco makes an unpolitic comment about Rush Limbaugh in an interview with an Oneonta newspaper.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/20/gop-candidate-tedisco-rus_n_177439.html

This could get ugly. I don't know if this happened in time for Rush Limbaugh's Friday show or whether we'll have to wait until Monday to get Rush's response. If it's the latter, Tedisco has time to apologize before the show tapes, and may only suffer limited media damage for his apology.

[Franzl]

I hope he has to publicly apologize.

[Lunar]

I doubt Rush is popular enough in upstate New York to warrant an apology from Tedisco.  The other people who had to apologize were a Congressman from Georgia, the Governor of South Carolina, and the national RNC chairman.

Here's the hour-long debate:
http://www.wmht.org/index.php?s=3

[Brittain33]

I doubt Rush is popular enough in upstate New York to warrant an apology from Tedisco. 

Talking Points Memo claims Tedisco's follow-up statement is a recanting... I think that's spin, especially since they spoke in response to the Huffington Post asking them about it.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/house-gop-candidate-nothing-i-said-should-be-construed-as-criticizing-rush.php

[Lunar]

I don't think there's that much of a difference between saying "Rush is meaningless to me" to saying "All I care about are the interests of people in this district and they're interested in solutions, not Rush Limbaugh," although the latter is obviously a much, much softer way of saying it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/20/gop-candidate-tedisco-rus_n_177439.html

[Brittain33]

I doubt Rush is popular enough in upstate New York to warrant an apology from Tedisco.

Rush has listeners all over the country who will jam Tedisco's phone lines if Rush mentions his name on his show. I am skeptical that Rush will take the bait this time, but even if he talks about Tedisco in passing "more in sorrow than in anger" that will get the news out there and pressure will be brought to bear.

[Holmes]

Haha, he apologized.

[Eraserhead]

I can't say that I watched the debate. Forgot about it. The Limbaugh thing is interesting though. Limbaugh is not popular here.

[Rowan]

He was basically saying that there are more important things to worry about than Rush Limbaugh.

[Franzl]

He was basically saying that there are more important things to worry about than Rush Limbaugh.

And he was right.

Unfortunately though, he felt the need to apologize for telling the truth.

[justfollowingtheelections]

That was fast lol

[Lunar]

That was fast lol

No really.  His press office was asked a question by the media so they explained what he meant by "meaningless" instead of in reaction to any sort of outcry.  I think Tedisco is a sleazeball politician, I'm not a fan, but I don't think this qualifies for one of the imsorryrush.com stories.

[Tender Branson]

ALBANY, N.Y. - Scott Murphy, the Democrat running for Congress in New York, says he opposes the death penalty, even for terrorists.

Speaking on Talk 1300-AM, WGDJ, Murphy tells host Fred Dicker he opposes the death penalty in all cases, including for the Sept. 11 terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and Washington, D.C.

Murphy says the evidence may not be conclusive in many cases and guilt can't be guaranteed. He says the cost of making a mistake in a death penalty case is too high.

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee calls Murphy's comments "dangerously naive and appalling."

Jim Tedisco, the Republican candidate in the March 31 special election in the 20th Congressional District, supports the death penalty.

"Scott respects that people have deeply held beliefs about the death penalty," Murphy's spokesman, Ryan Rudominer, said in a prepared statement Friday. "He is against it. Scott was in New York City on 9-11, and understands the horrors of that day. Scott believes we need to round up the terrorists and lock them up for life and throw away the key."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--nyhouse20-deathpe0320mar20,0,7034270.story

Great ! My support for Murphy has just increased by 500%.

[Franzl]

Not sure if that was a good idea

[CARLHAYDEN]

ALBANY, N.Y. - Scott Murphy, the Democrat running for Congress in New York, says he opposes the death penalty, even for terrorists.

Speaking on Talk 1300-AM, WGDJ, Murphy tells host Fred Dicker he opposes the death penalty in all cases, including for the Sept. 11 terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and Washington, D.C.

Murphy says the evidence may not be conclusive in many cases and guilt can't be guaranteed. He says the cost of making a mistake in a death penalty case is too high.

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee calls Murphy's comments "dangerously naive and appalling."

Jim Tedisco, the Republican candidate in the March 31 special election in the 20th Congressional District, supports the death penalty.

"Scott respects that people have deeply held beliefs about the death penalty," Murphy's spokesman, Ryan Rudominer, said in a prepared statement Friday. "He is against it. Scott was in New York City on 9-11, and understands the horrors of that day. Scott believes we need to round up the terrorists and lock them up for life and throw away the key."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--nyhouse20-deathpe0320mar20,0,7034270.story

Great ! My support for Murphy has just increased by 500%.

Republicans are giving sighs of relief.

Tedisco has been doing the foot in the mouth routine a lot here lately, now Murphy decides to join him.

I guess the race is to find out which of the candidates is even worse than the other.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Not sure if that was a good idea

Well, it was not.

[Rowan]

The AP is reporting that a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit could delay next week’s special election in the 20th CD.

Here’s the story:

ALBANY — A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit could delay next week’s special election in the 20th Congressional District because military and overseas absentee voters might not have enough time for their votes to be counted.

The complaint says the Department of Defense has determined that overseas voters need at least 30 days to receive and return ballots. The DoD recommends at least 45 days.

In New York, a special election must happen within 30 days of the governor calling for it. The ballot for this vote was certified March 11.

Republican Jim Tedisco is running against Democrat Scott Murphy in the March 31 election.

The state Board of Elections is still reviewing the complaint. No court date has been set.

Calls to the Department of Justice weren’t immediately returned.

[Brittain33]

Obama endorses Murphy, e-mails supporters to ask them to volunteer for him.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/25/obama-flexes-political-mu_n_178801.html

[Holmes]

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!!

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http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/03/25/three_polls_show_ny-20_a_toss_up.html

!!!

[minionofmidas]

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!!

Either they got some pretty grotesque sig validity requirements, or the Libertarian Party's sig collectors are a lot more lazy than their party's program (intellectually). Which is not an easy feat in itself.

Probably both.

[CARLHAYDEN]

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!!

Either they got some pretty grotesque sig validity requirements, or the Libertarian Party's sig collectors are a lot more lazy than their party's program (intellectually). Which is not an easy feat in itself.

Probably both.

New York state has some really bizarre interpretations of ballot regulations to keep candidates off the ballot.

[Eraserhead]

I got some fun mail today...





These are poor quality pictures but you get the point. The Limbaugh one is my personal favorite!

By the way, almost every piece at least mentions Obama by name and states that Tedisco would try to impede his works.

[Tender Branson]

Obama endorses Murphy, e-mails supporters to ask them to volunteer for him.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/25/obama-flexes-political-mu_n_178801.html

"According to the latest Siena College poll on the race (March 12), Obama has a 65 percent approval rating in the district, with 27 percent rating him unfavorably and 9 percent undecided. Gillibrand had a 78 percent approval rating.

That poll showed Tedisco leading Murphy by 4 percentage points, with a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points."

http://www.siena.edu/uploadedFiles/Home/Parents_and_Community/Community_Page/SRI/SNY_Poll/20th%20CD%20SNY%20Poll%202%20Release%20--%20final_2.pdf

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i2nln7p35tRhOT7gX0tNtWIFMkcAD9755G1G4

[Eraserhead]

It looks like Tuesday might actually be pretty damn exciting. I guess I'll be giving a mini-ground report. haha.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Of course, if the deadline for military absentees is extended, we likely won't know who wins for at least a week or two.