Republican Businessman Wins Rep. Weiner’s Vacated Seat
Republicans are being very quick to trumpet this as a sign of trouble for Barack Obama: Bob Turner Wins Anthony Weiner’s House Seat.
But despite the right wing crowing, the reason why Turner won has little to do with the President:
Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said the district’s large concentration of Orthodox Jews made it unusual and meant the race had few national ramifications.
“In this district, there is a large number of people who went to the polls tonight who didn’t support the president to begin with and don’t support Democrats — and it’s nothing more than that,” she said in a telephone interview.
And of course, there’s an obvious backlash against Anthony Weiner after his embarrassing escapades.
But I really don’t understand this kind of thinking:
“I am a registered Democrat, I have always been a registered Democrat, I come from a family of Democrats — and I hate to say this, I voted Republican,” said Linda Goldberg, 61, after casting her ballot in Queens. “I need to send a message to the president that he’s not doing a very good job. Our economy is horrible. People are scared.”
The people she should be “sending messages” to are the Republicans who obstruct and attack everything Obama does. It’s beyond me how anyone thinks this kind of “message” does anything but further strengthen the deranged Republican Party.