Friday, April 24, 2009

One Down, One to Go

It took 4 weeks to do it, but it looks like the comeback that was proudly predicted by Republicans in New York’s 20th congressional district, as well as Republicans from coast to coast failed to materialize.

Scott Murphy, now Congressman Scott Murphy, had a 65 vote lead at the end of the day in a New York special election that was held to fill the empty congressional seat due to the elevation of Kirsten Gillibrand to the US Senate, taking Hillary Clinton’s old seat. This triggered an automatic recount as well as the counting of absentee ballots from overseas.

In the recount process, Murphy’s lead kept rising. Now at 400 votes, it’s still a squeaker but Republican challenger John Tedesco gave Murphy a call today and conceded the election to him.

New York registers voters with party preference. A very civilized practice that I wish Texas would adopt. So we know that CD-20 is Republican leaning. As they say in the business of vote prediction, CD-20 is an R +2 district. So Republicans were predicting victory now that the Democratic candidate didn’t share a ballot with Barack Obama.

So that had to be hard to do, conceding with such a narrow margin, but Tedesco ended up showing everyone that he is a class act.

Contrast that to the behavior of Minnesota’s former senator Norm Coleman. A truly pitiful picture in comparison. Coleman, who won the senate seat of Minnesota’s beloved and well-respected Senator Paul Wellstone because Senator Wellstone was killed, along with his wife and daughter in a plane crash just before the 2002 general election, is doing to Minnesota what Republican hooligans did to America in 2000.

Busing in out-of-state Republican staffers and others to Florida to disrupt the recount there, this assault on America resulted in a battered and maimed nation. Eight years of mental and physical abuse of our country. Our country's rights and freedoms. Our country's world image. Our country's wealth. These hooligans disrupted the recount long enough for the US Supreme Court to step in and award the presidency to one of the worst presidents in US history.

Something that Norm Coleman wants to have happen again.

Only this time, he wants the courts to overturn the decision of voters in Minnesota and award him the seat that he won away from a dead man.

So, good news from New York, but we still have one more of these to settle.

Because Norm Coleman is no class act.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some never learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately today’s Republicans keep engaging in the same behaviors which solidify why the American voters are turned off to their brand of politics. The vote to “not” elect a Republican candidate was a vote which exhibited the frustrated anger and disillusion of the American people who were saddled for eight years with a President who never actually won the vote of the American people and in the process of it all, he took the country to hell and back which put a kiss and a seal on a very bad presidential performance.

Though, I never thought I would have such feelings, but, my heart goes out to the former president's parents. Seemingly, their public involvements were scarce and, they were, hardly, ever, seen in public, abundance. They were often mentioned as ailing, ill or on the mend and/or out of the country, in Spain, I believe. Is it any wonder? My Original thinking was that Bush 1’s presidency was mediocre, however, having experienced Bush 2; I became more appreciative of
Bush 1; comparatively speaking. In fact, Bush 1’s presidency was fabulous! I do believe, in the final analysis, Bush 1’s presidency will be elevated in the way history remembers him.

Furthermore, the last eight years made it more plausible for the country to forget about color and look past skin color and view it as insignificant if someone had a message of hope and promise to save our democracy and our country. Yes, I do believe the country was so down on its luck that it made it more feasible for the country to take a risk on anyone except a Republican; even if it happened to be a man of color with a funny name and Hussein as a middle name to boot; who was, simultaneously, very intelligent and had a plan and gave us hope that perhaps we "could"” regain what our country once stood for and represented.

Hal said...

Anon, that was very eloquent. You need to start a blog if you haven't already. People will benefit from your words.

Or, if you are still young, and not an old fart like me, you need to consider public service.

Anonymous said...

As a matter of fact, I do have a blog. But, it is not a political one. Your blog is so great! There is no reason to interfere with success.

I am not young, but not over the hill, yet. I'm a young senior citizen. I, too, am a public servant; not politics, though.

Hal said...

OK Anon. No problem. America needs blogs of all kinds. I would love to blog on all the foods I can't eat because of the "old fart issue." These issues just matter to me more.

Yours in HDLs and LDLs.

Hal