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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Bob Turner's Stance on Medicare Posses a Problem in Run for NY-9?

Democrat David Weprin's campaign has signaled that it is going to begin a strategy of mediscare. Today, his campaign released the following statement against Bob Turner's views on Medicare:

A news release out last night was titled, “Does Bob Turner plan to cut Medicare for the next generation or is he lying to voters?” and describes a group of seniors approaching Turner at a fundraiser last night and asking if he supported Paul Ryan’s plan to end Medicare.

“Nothing will change for people over 55,” Turner is said to have responded.

Per the release: ”He purposefully neglected any comment about the security of Medicare for the next generation.”

“Bob Turner continues to try to hedge his position on Medicare, but he can’t have it both ways,” said Elizabeth Kerr, Weprin’s spokeswoman. “Bob Turner either has to support asking millionaires and Big Oil to pay their fair share, or he has to admit he plans to cut Medicare.”


Will it work? We'll see. However, it has signaled two very important nuances to the race.

First of all, David Weprin is now elevating Bob Turner and recognizing him as a threat to his race. That's a significant development and a recognition on Weprin's part, that he is vulnerable in the race.

Second, Weprin's response means that we are going to get a full vetting of the messages the Parties hoped to run in 2012. Since NY-26, Democrats have hung their hats on the idea that Mediscare is going to be effective in retaking the House in 2012. Weprin hopes to right his sinking ship on this message. If it proves unfruitful, in a highly liberal district and fails to eclipse Bob Turner's message of "NY-9 as a referendum on Obama foreign policy", you can be sure that Mediscare won't work in 2012.

If not mediscare, if not the deficit, it is a real mystery as to what Democrats will run on; certainly not on any accomplishments.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Obama NY Fundraiser: the day the messiah compared himself to Cuomo and King

Obama's numbers are in the red in NY, but that's not half as interesting as how desperate and lost the President appeared at his own fundraiser.

Today, Obama flew out to NY for yet another fundraiser. Despite being amongst the most liberal of supporters, Obama tried hard to lift his own image in parity with others:

Standing in Weinstein’s basement, Obama said his troubles are like the ones facing Cuomo.

“When I ran in 2008, I think that a lot of folks believed we elect Obama and suddenly we’re going to fix politics in Washington,” Obama said. “And Andrew is familiar with this, because everybody figures, well, we’re going to fix politics in Albany.”

“And then it turns out that there are a lot of bad habits that have been built up over time, and we’re also a big, diverse country and not everybody agrees with me; not everybody agrees with the folks who live in Manhattan,” he said, drawing laughter from the rich celebrities that filled the room. “West of here,” he said. “You guys may not be familiar with it.”

The comparison was something of a stretch. Obama is struggling to recharge the national economy amid an increasingly deadlocked capitol split along party lines, while Cuomo, for his part, isn’t struggling much.

He passed a budget without raising taxes or destroying social service programs, and passed a landmark bill legalizing same-sex marriage, turning the state government in Albany from “dysfunctional” to hyperactive, in under seven months. (Cuomo attended the fundraiser as an invited guest, and did not pay, according to a source.)

Before leaving, Obama likened himself to one more figure. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I think that we forget when he was alive there was nobody who was more vilified, nobody who was more controversial, nobody who was more despairing at times,” he said.

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In 2008, Obama was stopping the rising tides and healing the planet. Hehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif basked in messiah comparisons. Flash forward to 2011 and Obama is hoping people mistake him for Martin Luther King Jr. or even just Cuomo. Unable to sell himself as himself, he's trying to sell himself as other people and doing a bad job of it if the tone of the Observer is any indication.

Completely gone is the once seemingly impenetrable brand and image of the Obama of 2008. Now the President of the United States highest aims are to somehow elevate himself to the level of a freshman governor.

Update:

A memeorandum thread!

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