What happened in NY9? Simple. Weprin lost because he didn't call Turner on his lies and because he allowed Turner to distract the voters with non issues. He lost because he ran an awful campaign, and allowed his opponent to set the tone. For example:
Gay marriage: This doesn't affect the people of NY9 in any way shape or form, and I've been unable to find a principled objection to it, that doesn't boil down to simple bigotry.
Israel: There is very little daylight between Weprin and Turner on this, just as there is very little daylight between Bush and Obama. One of the top ten disgusting things I've seen GOP supporters do is lie about Obama's Israel record. Its virtually identical to Bush's! Specifically, I mean the outright lie about the '67 borders. Obama simply repeated what every president for the last 40 years has said, but liars on the right such as Bob Turner said it was something new and something terrible. Anyway, a US representative has very little influence over foreign affairs.
Spending. Sure Turner says he wants to cut spending, but so does every GOP candidate, for every office.. Ronald Reagen said he wanted to cut spending. So did Bush Sr. So did W. Did it happen? No. All three of those presidents increased spending, and W. did it with a GOP house that supported all of his spending increases. So is Turner's promise credible? Doubt it.
Instead the campaign in NY9 should have been about credentials, character, and achievements. Weprin should have talked about his superior track record, and his years of service to the community. He should have forcefully rebuffed every single Turner lie. And he should have made it clear to the people of NY9 that he's "their guy." For over 30 years he's represented the people of Brooklyn and Queens in the corridors of power, and received nothing but high marks for his performance. He always delivered. That service have been rewarded, and Weprin's' past success should have been taken as an indication that Weprin would continue to deliver as a Congressman.
Unfortunately, this message was not received, and the fault lies squarely with Weprin.
Gay marriage: This doesn't affect the people of NY9 in any way shape or form, and I've been unable to find a principled objection to it, that doesn't boil down to simple bigotry.
Israel: There is very little daylight between Weprin and Turner on this, just as there is very little daylight between Bush and Obama. One of the top ten disgusting things I've seen GOP supporters do is lie about Obama's Israel record. Its virtually identical to Bush's! Specifically, I mean the outright lie about the '67 borders. Obama simply repeated what every president for the last 40 years has said, but liars on the right such as Bob Turner said it was something new and something terrible. Anyway, a US representative has very little influence over foreign affairs.
Spending. Sure Turner says he wants to cut spending, but so does every GOP candidate, for every office.. Ronald Reagen said he wanted to cut spending. So did Bush Sr. So did W. Did it happen? No. All three of those presidents increased spending, and W. did it with a GOP house that supported all of his spending increases. So is Turner's promise credible? Doubt it.
Instead the campaign in NY9 should have been about credentials, character, and achievements. Weprin should have talked about his superior track record, and his years of service to the community. He should have forcefully rebuffed every single Turner lie. And he should have made it clear to the people of NY9 that he's "their guy." For over 30 years he's represented the people of Brooklyn and Queens in the corridors of power, and received nothing but high marks for his performance. He always delivered. That service have been rewarded, and Weprin's' past success should have been taken as an indication that Weprin would continue to deliver as a Congressman.
Unfortunately, this message was not received, and the fault lies squarely with Weprin.
Real reason was weprins vote on same sex marriages. District 9 had the phones ringing all week to get out and vote against him. I imagine that if he wasn't orthodox it would have been less of an issue, as haredim viewed him as a chillul Hashem. District 9 has a lot of haredim. Israel plays second to social issues.
ReplyDeleteThe press is making it an Israel vote, but if they would come to flatbush and ask in landau's or any shul, all they would hear about is toeiva....