Combs Spouts Off

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Posts Tagged ‘nevada’

Shocker in New York, landslide in Nevada

Posted by Richard on September 15, 2011

If Scott Brown's stunning upset in Massachusetts foreshadowed the Democrats' drubbing in November 2010, does Bob Turner's shocking victory over David Weprin in New York portend even more trouble for Dems in 2012? Maybe. I sure hope so.

Dems and their media shills have been whistling past the graveyard today, claiming Turner's 8-point victory in a district that's 3-1 Democratic is no big deal (Erick Erickson has a funny post illustrating their claims). But the polls right before Tuesday's special election told a different story. CBS News reported today:

Weprin, a 56-year-old Orthodox Jew and member of a prominent Queens political family, initially seemed a good fit for the largely white, working-class district, which is nearly 40 percent Jewish.

But voter frustration with Obama put Weprin in the unlikely spot of playing defense.

While Obama won the district by 11 points in 2008 against Republican John McCain, a Siena Poll released Friday found just 43 percent of likely voters approved of the president's job performance, while 54 percent said they disapproved. Among independents, just 29 percent said they approved of Obama's job performance.

PPP's poll was even more informative: 

Turner's winning in a heavily Democratic district for two reasons: a huge lead with independents and a large amount of crossover support.  He's ahead by 32 points at 58-26 with voters unaffiliated with either major party.  And he's winning 29% of the Democratic vote, holding Weprin under 60% with voters of his own party, while losing just 10% of Republican partisans.

If Turner wins on Tuesday it will be largely due to the incredible unpopularity of Barack Obama dragging his party down in the district.  Obama won 55% there in 2008 but now has a staggeringly bad 31% approval rating, with 56% of voters disapproving of him.  It's a given that Republicans don't like him but more shocking are his 16% approval rating with independents and the fact that he's below 50% even with Democrats at 46% approving and 38% disapproving. Obama trails Mitt Romney 46-42 in a hypothetical match up in the district and leads Rick Perry only 44-43.

Unlike Scott Brown, whom Tea Party groups supported largely for strategic reasons, Turner didn't campaign as a moderate centrist. He made the campaign a referendum on Obamanomics, Obamacare, taxes, and spending. (Yes, Israel was an issue, but not as much as some claim. Weprin has a solid, life-long pro-Israel record and he repeatedly criticized the President on that issue.) Democrats and their media shills portrayed Turner as a "Tea Party extremist," and cited his positions on the issues as proof: 

Mr. Turner, citing his background in business, said that the federal government needed to cut spending by 35 percent, and suggested eliminating the Agriculture and Education Departments and curtailing the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We have a government that is out of control,” Mr. Turner said, stressing that the cuts should be made without increasing taxes. “It’s not only possible, it’s absolutely necessary,” he added.

Mr. Weprin, on the other hand, used the Tea Party name as a pejorative and tried to affix it to Mr. Turner as often as possible. He proposed raising taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations, and defended the place of the federal government in regulating the environment.

Unlike the ruling class Republicans, Turner didn't seem to be ashamed of his "extremism," retorting "If I suggest a 30% cut in spending when we're overspending by 40%, does that seem extreme?" Not to me, Bob. And apparently not even to New Yorkers. 

Meanwhile, across the country in Nevada's District 2, Republican Mark Amodei beat Democrat Kate Marshall, which was not a big surprise. But his margin of 22 points was. And Politico's Molly Ball thinks the outcome in one county of that district is even more significant than the huge upset in New York's District 9: 

When Democrats lost Tuesday’s Nevada special election, they didn’t just lose a long-shot House race. They also got creamed in one of the most crucial swing counties in the nation.

Washoe County, the Northern Nevada county that contains Reno, is the No. 1 bellwether in a top Western swing state. It was crucial to Harry Reid’s 2010 reelection, to Barack Obama’s 2008 election and to the countless governors, senators and presidents who have competed in the Silver State before them. And on Tuesday, Republican Mark Amodei won it by 10 points.

Bush carried the county 51-47% in 2004. Obama won it by 12 points in 2008. And a 5-point lead there was critical in Harry Reid's 2010 re-election.

Of Tuesday’s two House elections, it’s the surprise GOP win in New York that’s getting the most attention – an unexpected rout in a seat not held by a Republican since the 1920s. But it is the Nevada race that could hold more ominous signs for Democrats.

It is almost universally true that as goes Washoe, so goes Nevada – and as goes Nevada, so goes the nation. The state has voted for the winner of every presidential race but one since 1912, giving it a stronger claim to bellwether status than Missouri.

How bad do things look for the Dems? The Hill's Cameron Joseph reported:

A Democratic strategist said Obama has become such a problem for down-ticket Democrats that he was wary of encouraging candidates to run next year. “I’m warning my clients — ‘Don’t run in 2012.’ I don’t want to see good candidates lose by 12 to 15 points because of the president,” said the strategist. 

The question for Democrats is, to quote a former governor, "How's that hopey-changey thing working out for you?"

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Nevada is a banana republic

Posted by Richard on November 3, 2010

If Harry Reid manages to hang onto his seat, it may be because of Chavez-style politics like this. Contemptible and outrageous.

Just how much strong-arm pressure was there? This much: 

On Friday, Western Regional President Tom Jenkin sent out a follow-up email showing a total vote count for Harrah’s properties along with the percentages of employees who had voted at each property. Attached to the email was a spreadsheet showing employee names and at which property they worked. Supervisors were asked to fill in codes explaining why their employees had not yet voted.

The Harrah's employee who forwarded the emails asked not to be identified due to fear of reprisal. The employee said the pressure from upper management was "disturbing."

"We were asked to talk to people individually to find out why they had not yet voted and to fill in these spreadsheets explaining why," the employee said. "I did not feel comfortable doing that."

"It put me in a very awkward position," the employee added, saying the level of coordination between Harrah's upper management, the culinary union, and the Reid campaign was "disgusting."

Add to these thuggish tactics the earlier reports of voting machines controlled by SEIU technicians "pre-selecting" Harry Reid's name, and it's clear that Nevada is politically a banana republic, where instead of free and fair elections, they have a sham democracy.

A few years ago, Hugh Hewitt wrote a book called If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat. Although tonight is shaping up as a powerful nation-wide repudiation of the Socialist Democrat agenda, there are still many close races. And it's a pretty safe bet that the Socialist Democrats will win some of those — because they cheat. 

UPDATE: The cheater has won. Bummer.

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At least dozens for real this time

Posted by Richard on April 6, 2010

On March 27, the Tea Party Express kicked off their latest cross-country tour with a "retire Harry Reid" rally in the senator's home town of Searchlight, NV. According to credible sources, 10,000 or more attended. According to CNN, it was "at least dozens of people."

Yesterday, Sen. Reid kicked off his reelection campaign in Searchlight. With the help of 100 supporters.

So this time, CNN could have honestly described the turnout as "at least dozens of people." But of course, this time they didn't mention the crowd size. They were too busy reporting that Reid "put supporters in hysterics" with a Palin joke.

Let's try writing a better lede for CNN's story: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid kicked off his reelection campaign Monday in front of at least dozens of hysterical supporters." I like it! 🙂

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Tea Party Express III comes to Colorado

Posted by Richard on March 30, 2010

The Tea Party Express has two stops in Colorado on Wednesday (via email):

GRAND JUNCTION: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 – 10:00 AM

1301 East Sherwood Drive
Grand Junction, CO

DENVER: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 – 4:00 PM

West steps of the State Capitol
200 E Colfax Ave
Denver, CO 80203

Tea Party Express III: Just Vote Them Out national tour kicked off this weekend in Searchlight, NV where one of the largest political gatherings in Nevada history took place. The Tea Party Express will hold 44 tea party rallies across the nation, ending in Washington, D.C. for the Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th.

Of course, the Denver turnout won't hold a candle to the Searchlight, Nevada, mega-rally. But I hope the Denver Post at least provides fairer coverage than CNN gave the Searchlight event.

Searchlight's population is about 600, and it's in the middle of the desert 60 miles south of Las Vegas. Crowd estimates for the "retire Harry Reid" rally ranged from 9-11,000 to more than 20,000. Countless others weren't able to get there; even after the rally had ended, traffic headed into Searchlight was still backed up 15 in both directions. So how did CNN's Fredricka Whitfield report the event? According to NewsBusters (emphasis in original):

"Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin there in Searchlight, Nev., was the backyard of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but today it's the backdrop of this Tea Party Express – making a stop here," Whitfield said. "Hundreds of people, at least dozens of people – we haven't gotten a count of how many people turned out there. We heard Sarah Palin talk about everything about the campaign, to unseat Sen. Reid to what she calls ObamaCare, on the heels of that health care vote and even talking about her definition of her love of America."

Pictures and links at Gateway Pundit. Yep, that's at least dozens. 

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