Turner Wins Weiner Seat (Video)

The times they are a-changin'.

Back in June, Democrat Anthony Weiner resigned in disgrace from the U.S. House of Representatives.

Not only is Weiner history, but the Democrats also lost the seat to Republican Bob Turner.

That's historic. The last time a Republican held that seat it was 1920!

From the New York Times:

A little-known Republican businessman from Queens, channeling voter discontent with President Obama into an upset, won election to Congress on Tuesday from the heavily Democratic district in New York City last represented by Anthony D. Weiner.

The Republican, Bob Turner, a retired cable television executive, defeated Assemblyman David I. Weprin, the scion of a prominent Democratic family in Queens, in a nationally watched special election.

With 84 percent of the precincts counted early Wednesday, Mr. Turner was leading Mr. Weprin by 54 percent to 46 percent, according to The Associated Press.

National Republican leaders immediately trumpeted the victory as a sign of trouble for Mr. Obama’s re-election effort. “An unpopular President Obama is now a liability for Democrats nationwide,” Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.

But 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.

As Mr. Turner declared that the election had been a referendum on the president, his buoyant supporters, gathered at a restaurant in Howard Beach, Queens, shouted “Yes, we can,” appropriating the galvanizing phrase of Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign. Mr. Turner predicted that voters elsewhere would also rebuke Mr. Obama in the elections next year.

“We have lit one candle today,” he said. “It’s going to be a bonfire pretty soon.”

Wasserman Schultz sounds ridiculous, saying that a large number of people in the district don't support Democrats anyway.

That makes no sense given the fact that Democrat Weiner held the seat since 1999. Obviously, people supported Weiner. They kept reelecting him.

No, Turner's victory shouldn't be written off as an aberration.

...“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.”

Mr. Turner will become the first Republican since 1920 elected to represent the Ninth Congressional District, which now stretches from the Rockaways to Forest Hills and encompasses a swath of middle-class and working-class neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. The district is predominantly white and has long been known for its large Jewish population, though it has become increasingly diverse in recent years.

A Republican was last elected in the 9th District 90 years ago.

And Wasserman Schultz claims that people there don't support Democrats?

She'll say anything.

The fact is Obama and his Democrat comrades have reason to worry.

2012 may make the "thumpin' of 2010" seem like a little love tap.
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Watch Turner's acceptance speech:



Transcript

BOB TURNER: We've been asked by the people of this district to send a message to Washington, and I hope they hear it loud and clear. We have been told this is a referendum, and we are ready to say: 'Mr. President, we are on the wrong track.'

We have had it with an irresponsible fiscal policy, which endangers the entire economy and every one of our social safety networks. We have had it with your treatment of Israel. We seek leadership and direction in returning prosperity and finding jobs for the people of this district. We are unhappy.

I am telling you, I am the messenger. Heed us. This message will resound for a full year. And it will resound into 2012. The only hope that our voices are heard, and we can start putting things right again.

This district is sending a practical, non-politician businessman to Washington with a practical point of view. I promise you I will preserve the interests of this community, this district.

I will tell you the truth. I am delighted you have rejected the political rhetoric and nonsense that has been heaped in this campaign.

Some people have said, 'Can they handle the truth?' Well, they can. People can handle the truth. They are adults, and it's about time we have stood up and we're paying attention. We're listening to what's being said. And I think Washington better listen to us. OK.

Look, guys, it's still me, Bob, you know? I am a citizen candidate. Let's not forget that. I won't. And in serving the needs of this community, I just want to be your guy and your voice. And I think we have lit one candle today, and there's gonna be a bonfire pretty soon when they fully understand it.

Very nice victory speech.

Congratulations, Bob Turner - citizen candidate!