A Huge win for G.O.P in special elections

[steveox]

Republican Jolly wins Florida special election

In the first major test of voter attitudes in 2014, Republican David Jolly won a closely watched special election for the U.S. House in Florida Tuesday, handing his party a narrow victory in a battleground district where Republicans and Democrats spent millions of dollars fine-tuning their messages on national issues ahead of the fall midterm elections.

Jolly's win in a Gulf Coast district just west of Tampa illustrated the political toxicity of the law known as Obamacare. Jolly favored repealing and replacing the law, which was a central focus of the campaign, while his Democratic opponent did not. The law's botched rollout has heightened Democrats' anxiety eight months before the midterm elections. The Florida result is likely to raise their concerns.

With Jolly holding the seat for Republicans, Democrats must pick up 17 seats to win back the House majority in the fall, a task widely viewed as extremely difficult given historical trends, President Obama's political woes and the limited pool of competitive seats up for grabs. Jolly will have to defend his seat in the fall.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...publican-jolly-wins-florida-special-election/

Can you say AMERICA HAS FINALY HAD ENOUGH WITH LIBERALISM! It seems now no one really watches NBC NEWS,CBS NEWS,ABC NEWS,CNN or MSNBC. The Main stream media must change their tune if theyre gonna survive. Even subscriptions are down for the NY Times and the Chicago Tribune. All three major networks but get an owner who is right wing conservative. And start firing reporters who get biased. If I owned NBC NEWS I fire Rachel Maddow and Chris Mathews. And ill send a warning to rest of reporters if they get biased instead of reporting the news as you saw it ill kick you out that door and send you home!

 

[DeadCenter]

That was expected, it was a district that leaned republican and there were issues with Sink being from out of the county. She also had the stigma of a Loss in the race against Rick Scott

 

[dogtowner]

gop holds a seat by a.small margin. Its good but not a bellweather. Had it been a landslide maybe it means something. I thought the lp guy getting four plus was more interesting.

 

[DeadCenter]

I agree with you Dogtowner, that particular win in an republican county isnt any concrete prediction of gop dominance in midterms

 

[dogtowner]

I agree with you Dogtowner, that particular win in an republican county isnt any concrete prediction of gop dominance in midterms

Im kinda curious who started this meme. It feels like a dnc thing to inflate confidence. Unfortujatly gop folks are easy prey for this.

 

[GBFan]

While the seat has been Republican for 60 years, it must be remembered that 40 of that was a single person ... all the other offices in Pinellas County have been trending Democratic.

ABC News said, "Until his death in October, Rep. Young held the seat for nearly 40 years. Young’s legacy persisted despite the 2012 congressional redistricting, during which Florida’s 13th Congressional District was assigned to encompass Pinellas County and portions of St. Petersburg. The redistricting tides seemed to be shifting toward the end of his tenure."

Democrats outspent Republicans 4-to-1;

"Campaign spending reached colossal levels in this race, with the combined total raised by both Republicans and Democrats (through individual candidate fundraising and outside group support) totaling more than $12 million.
...

Considering that the winner of today’s election will be holding their Congressional seat until November when the district will have to vote to fill the seat again, the combined amount spent on this race could be illustrated in terms of about $1.5 million per month in office."

Democrats brought in all their heavy hitters ... Clinton campaigned for Sink, Biden campaigned for Sink, Pelosi campaigned for Sink, and even Obama mentioned her name. All to no avail ... the Democrat story just ain't selling.

 

[dogtowner]

While the seat has been Republican for 60 years, it must be remembered that 40 of that was a single person ... all the other offices in Pinellas County have been trending Democratic.

ABC News said, "Until his death in October, Rep. Young held the seat for nearly 40 years. Young’s legacy persisted despite the 2012 congressional redistricting, during which Florida’s 13th Congressional District was assigned to encompass Pinellas County and portions of St. Petersburg. The redistricting tides seemed to be shifting toward the end of his tenure."

Democrats outspent Republicans 4-to-1;

"Campaign spending reached colossal levels in this race, with the combined total raised by both Republicans and Democrats (through individual candidate fundraising and outside group support) totaling more than $12 million.
...

Considering that the winner of today’s election will be holding their Congressional seat until November when the district will have to vote to fill the seat again, the combined amount spent on this race could be illustrated in terms of about $1.5 million per month in office."

Democrats brought in all their heavy hitters ... Clinton campaigned for Sink, Biden campaigned for Sink, Pelosi campaigned for Sink, and even Obama mentioned her name. All to no avail ... the Democrat story just ain't selling.

Those heavy hitters may well have hurt rather than help. That sort of arrogance could prove costly. But how did the libertarian get nearly 5% ? Thats the story to me.

 

[GBFan]

Those heavy hitters may well have hurt rather than help. That sort of arrogance could prove costly. But how did the libertarian get nearly 5% ? Thats the story to me.

I think it's the 'pendulum effect' - those who supported Obama, etc are so disappointed that they swing completely over to the polar opposite ... clearly, it's a reflection of the reaction to the 'too much government in our lives' syndrome.

So, while the outcome was a wake up call for the left, the Republicans need to pay attention, too ... they cannot ignore the libertarian vote ... they need to cultivate it, as well ... libertarians, on the other hand, are going to have to accept that, no matter how strongly they feel about their candidates/positions, they are going to have to compromise in order to defeat the monolithic left. 'Message sending' votes are not going to be acceptable ...

 

[DeadCenter]

S

While the seat has been Republican for 60 years, it must be remembered that 40 of that was a single person ... all the other offices in Pinellas County have been trending Democratic.

ABC News said, "Until his death in October, Rep. Young held the seat for nearly 40 years. Young’s legacy persisted despite the 2012 congressional redistricting, during which Florida’s 13th Congressional District was assigned to encompass Pinellas County and portions of St. Petersburg. The redistricting tides seemed to be shifting toward the end of his tenure."

Democrats outspent Republicans 4-to-1;

"Campaign spending reached colossal levels in this race, with the combined total raised by both Republicans and Democrats (through individual candidate fundraising and outside group support) totaling more than $12 million.
...

Considering that the winner of today’s election will be holding their Congressional seat until November when the district will have to vote to fill the seat again, the combined amount spent on this race could be illustrated in terms of about $1.5 million per month in office."

Democrats brought in all their heavy hitters ... Clinton campaigned for Sink, Biden campaigned for Sink, Pelosi campaigned for Sink, and even Obama mentioned her name. All to no avail ... the Democrat story just ain't selling.

Dont you think young being there 40 yrs as a republican helped Jolly ? and just the fact he was there 40 yrs tells you Alex Sink had an uphill climb.

 

[GBFan]

S



Dont you think young being there 40 yrs as a republican helped Jolly ? and just the fact he was there 40 yrs tells you Alex Sink had an uphill climb.

I think it would be a mistake to place too much emphasis on that ... local politics is more about individual, than about party or position. Rep. Young was well-liked, and even though, the demographics of his constituency had changed, he was re-elected on name recognition and popularity.

However, with his death, you have to revert to the inherent position of the constituency, which because of gerrymandering and infusion of people, had veered toward the left. To get elected in the face of that is an accomplishment - Jolly had little or no recognition in the area (he was a staff worker for Young), and Sink had both local and national popularity. When you couple that with 1) the infusion of money, and 2) the support of national celebrities (Biden and Clinton), you would reasonably expect Sink to win.

But, in this case, position won out over popularity ... I think it's a backlash against the 'more government' philosophies that Sink so ardently supported.

 

[dogtowner]

I think it's the 'pendulum effect' - those who supported Obama, etc are so disappointed that they swing completely over to the polar opposite ... clearly, it's a reflection of the reaction to the 'too much government in our lives' syndrome.

So, while the outcome was a wake up call for the left, the Republicans need to pay attention, too ... they cannot ignore the libertarian vote ... they need to cultivate it, as well ... libertarians, on the other hand, are going to have to accept that, no matter how strongly they feel about their candidates/positions, they are going to have to compromise in order to defeat the monolithic left. 'Message sending' votes are not going to be acceptable ...

im afraid the libertarians are going to feel empowered this go round largely because of the freedom destroying actions of the current administration (Nsa to a huge extent) and they have reason to hope if they can stop talking about pot for a change. But not overly concerned with the house, the senate is the brass ring and there can simply be no loss of intensity. Talk of this being the canary in the coal mine is a loss of focus (in my mind) and unhelpfull. The fringe lefties are talking this up as a loss of voter turnout and ginning up renewed focus on dragging anyone at least somewhat warm to the polls. That has been our waterloo of late along with lack of focus on message. Dont like being a buzzkill but this election cycle is critical.

 

[steveox]

ITS THE TEA PARTY FOLKS! The Tea party is making a comeback theyre much stronger than ever before! Only this time the protests they will not get permits to protest. Because most of cities are controlled by Democrats. Just like the Mayor of Trention N J is Democrat. OWS protesters didn't pay a single penny for the permit and the Tea Party asked the Mayor for refunds for permits on their protest he denied them a refund. And it doesn't matter how much Democrats spent on Campaign ads. THEY STILL LOSE!

 

[GBFan]

im afraid the libertarians are going to feel empowered this go round largely because of the freedom destroying actions of the current administration (Nsa to a huge extent) and they have reason to hope if they can stop talking about pot for a change. But not overly concerned with the house, the senate is the brass ring and there can simply be no loss of intensity. Talk of this being the canary in the coal mine is a loss of focus (in my mind) and unhelpfull. The fringe lefties are talking this up as a loss of voter turnout and ginning up renewed focus on dragging anyone at least somewhat warm to the polls. That has been our waterloo of late along with lack of focus on message. Dont like being a buzzkill but this election cycle is critical.

I couldn't agree more. The growth in libertarianism is a direct result of the actions of the current administration.

Fringe lefties can talk about 'loss of voter turnout', but they better expect that across the board. Obama mobilized a significant voting bloc that never voted before, and unless there is something in it for them, will never vote again.

The message is the key ... and it has to start with 'repeal obamacare' and 'get the government out of your life'

 

[steveox]

The Tea party is targeting Democrats and Republican incumbents. For those Republicans who disobeyed the Tea Party will be dealt with in the primaries. For example John Boehner will be dealt with in his state by the Tea Party.

 

[GBFan]

The Tea party is targeting Democrats and Republican incumbents. For those Republicans who disobeyed the Tea Party will be dealt with in the primaries. For example John Boehner will be dealt with in his state by the Tea Party.

While I recognize the point you're trying to make ... this election isn't about making points. This election is about saving a country. Tea Party candidates are welcome IF they can defeat the Democratic incumbent. It serves no purpose to knock off a Republican who can defeat the Democrat, simply to make a position statement at the cost of a congressional seat (Christine O'Donnell comes to mind).

The Tea Party needs to think with their head, for a change ... it's better to get 50% of something than 100% of nothing. Put up the candidate that can WIN --- that's all that matters, not their position on abortion, not their position on education, not their position on taxation .. nothing. JUST WIN -- that's all that matters. It's better to have a moderate Republican than it is to have a moderate to extreme Democrat ... you might not get exactly what you want, but you better make damn sure you DON'T get what you don't want.

A vote against a winning candidate is a vote for the Dems - and it doesn't matter one bit who the hell you are voting for.