Murphy Up By 273 Votes in NY District 20

George Wenschhof Bio

All of the absentee, military and overseas ballots have now been counted and Democrat Scott Murphy leads 79,839 to 79,566 for Republican Jim Tedisco. This special election is needed to fill the House seat vacated when Kristen Hillibrand was picked by NY Governor David Patterson to fill the vacant Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate seat. Politico.com has more here.

Most of us who had followed this special election in District 20 felt it was too close to call and that turned out to be the case. This is much to the chagrin of Republican Leaders including RNC Chair Michael Steele who had hoped to use a Republican victory here as a way to say voters were turning against the Obama administration.

Kristen Hillibrand, who had held the seat previously is a moderate Democrat who had surprised many by winning in a district with a predominate number of Republican registered voters. President Obama had also won this upstate NY district with 51% in the election last year.

There remain 1,773 challenged ballots from the campaigns with 810 being Democrats, 653 Republicans and 310 Independents. It is not impossible for Republican Jim Tedisco to make up the difference, but it is unlikely. Let's hope this does not turn into a mini Minnesota where Republican Norm Coleman is still using legal action to challenge his defeat to Democrat Al Franken five months after the election.

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Democratic News Chatter 4-9-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama starts off busy day with economic roundtable discussion - they will be discussing low interest rates and the roundtable discussion meeting in the Roosevelt room will include some homeowners who have recently refinanced their mortgages.

At 11:45 PM ET, the President joined by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Eric Shinseki will present a plan to improve the health care of veterans. Reuters.com has more here.

Later, Obama will meet with Treasury Secretary Robert Gates, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke and FDIC Chair Sheila Bair. They will be reviewing an update on the "stress test" of the 19 largest banks in the country. The reports are due the end of this month and will help measure the impact of recent government action and determine the need for addition moves by the government. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Wells Fargo Bank revenue rises 16% in first quarter - in a report out today, a three billion profit was realized in the first three months of this year. J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., Citigroup and Bank of America will all be reporting their first quarter earnings within the next two weeks. CNN.com has more here.

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Immigration reform on the table for the President - many pundits felt with the economy being the number one issue, any discussion on immigration reform would be put off by the White House. Fortunately, they were wrong as the president intends to speak publicly on this contentious issue in May, followed by workshop over the summer. There is hope legislation could be introduced in the Fall of this year. Included in the discussion will be a path to citizenship. The NY Times has more here.

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Karl Rove op-ed attacks Obama - thank goodness the former White House Senior adviser to George W. Bush is no longer there. After eight years of fear mongering and attacks on individuals patriotism, Rove now writes op-eds for the Wall Street Journal. You can read his latest piece here.

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Absentee ballots being counted today in NY District 20 race - Republican Jim Tedisco holds a 17 vote lead over Democrat Scott Murphy. The Republican absentee ballots received are 3,111 and the Democratic absentee ballots number 2394. This would indicate an advantage to Tedisco. This district has a majority of Republican registered voters, but Obama won the district with 51% and Kirsten Hillibrand, a moderate Democrat had previously held the Congressional seat before being chosen to fill the vacant Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate seat. The absentee count can take some time as both campaigns can challenge ballots. You can read more here.

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Democratic Chatter 4-8-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama arrived home at 3:00 AM ET this morning - he arrived a little later than originally planned due to his surprise visit to Iraq. he was greet enthusiastically, when in a speech delivered to the troops, he spoke of the withdraw timetable from Iraq and the time for the Iraq government to take over security of their country. Reuters.com has more on the Iraq visit here.

The whirlwind eight day European trip is now over and all early reports have been that it was a tremendous success. Today, the president has no planned events.

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Fidel Castro meets with Congressional Black Caucus members in Havana yesterday - the ailing Cuban leader has not been seen publicly for some time. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Barbara Lee (D-Calf.), and Laura Richardson (D-calf.) meet with Castro and will be submitting their report to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi upon their return to the States. They indicated Castro wanted to know how Cuba could help President Obama and the u.S. better relations between the two countries. You can read more here.

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Iranian Leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomes talks with the U.S. and President Obama - In a speech broadcast on state television, he stated Iran welcomed "honest" dialogue with the U.S. Iran has not had diplomatic relations with the U.S. since former president George W. Bush labeled them a terrorist nation and a member of the "axis of evil". You can read more here.

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Franken leads grows by 87 in Minnesota Senate race - good grief! five months later and we are still waiting for a Senator to be certified and seated from Minnesota. As expected, Democrat Al Franken's lead grew to 312 votes from 225 over Republican Norm Coleman after 351 absentee ballots ordered by the court were counted yesterday. The final court ruling is expected by the end of this week on various other issues surrounding the election. The Coleman campaign is expected to appeal the decision to the state supreme court. The Chicago Star Tribune has more here.

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7000 absentee ballots count begins today in NY Special Election - Republican Jim Tedisco has a slim lead of 17 votes over Democrat Scott Murphy. This is the election to replace Kirsten Hillibrand (D) in the 20th district after she was named to replace the vacancy Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate seat. Politico.com has more here.

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As expected, Democrat Mike Quigley easily wins special election in Illinois - the former Cook County Commissioner easily beat Republican Rosanna Pulido with 70% of the vote with 94% of the precincts reporting. Quigley will replace Rahm Emanuel in Congress. Emanuel vacated the position when he became White House Chief of Staff. You can read more here.

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Congressional Ethics office begins preliminary inquiry into actions of Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) - information is being sought pertaining to the filling of the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois by former Governor Rod Blagojevich. TheHill.com has more here.

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Democratic News Chatter 4-7-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama is on his way home after a very successful overseas trip - On the last day of his trip, the president attended a town hall meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. He spoke of building new bridges instead of new walls as he discussed future relationships with Turkey. ThePage.Time.com has his entire remarks and a video clip here.

Earlier, Obama met with Religious Leaders in Istanbul and also visited several Mosques. The president is expected to arrive in Washington D.C. at 5:30 PM ET.

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Obama makes unannounced stop in Baghdad - on his way home, he stops in Baghdad, Iraq to meet with General Odierno and troops. He is expected to personally award medals of honor to about a dozen soldiers. He will also call the Iraq President and Prime Minister as it is reported the visibility is too tough for Helicopter travel. Reuters.com has more here. The surprise visit is also most likely due to security concerns.

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Congressional delegation meets with Raul Castro in Havana - they were there to discuss future U.S - Cuba relations. You can read more here. Recently, a bill was introduced in the senate to allow for easier travel for U.S. citizens to Cuba. It is expected to pass by the time President Obama attends the Summit of Americas in Trinidad on April 17. CNN.com has more here. The current U.S. embargo of Cuba has been a failure for over 50 years and it is time to revisit U.S. policy in this area.

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On the home front, the federal budget deficit for the first six months of fiscal year '09 hits 953 Billion - for the same period in '08, it was 313 Billion. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. The deficit for fiscal year '09 will probably double over the next six months as the Stimulus bill and more TARP funds are spent. Reuters.com has more here.

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Tedisco ahead in NY special election - the latest tally by the NY Board of elections shows Republican Jim Tedisco ahead by 97 votes with 76,914 to Democrat Scott Murphy with 76,817. The state supreme court ruled yesterday the election officials must begin counting the 6,780 absentee ballots tomorrow. Politico.com has more here.

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In another special election, Democrat Mike Quiqley is expected to win easily the Illinois 5th District Congressional seat - this is the seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel when he became White House Chief of Staff. The 5th district is heavily registered Democrat so Republican challenger Rosanna Pulido is not expected to win. You can read more here.

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In Minnesota, the Senate vote count continues today - five months after the election another 387 absentee ballots will be counted today as a result of a resent court decision. Democrat Al Franken has a 225 vote lead over republican Norm Coleman. It is doubtful, Coleman can pick up enough votes with these absentee ballots to take the lead. However, Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will not certify the election until the appellate process is complete. This indicates future appeals by the Coleman campaign. You can read more here.

As I have commented before, this has become ridiculous as there remains a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. If need be, legislation should be passed to ensure certification of a election be complete within sixty days from the date the election is held.

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Democratic News Chatter 4-4-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, in his weekly address to the nation, President Barack Obama speaks of the global challenges we face. He discusses the highlights of his overseas trip to date and the potential for the U.S. to face these challenges with renewed international alliances.

download .mp3 or HD .mp4 (51.5 Mb) read prepared remarks

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NATO Summit has shaky start - Turkey was the only one of 28 nations who would not agree on the new Secretary-General. This blocked the announcement of danish prime Minister Andres Fogh Rasmussen to the post. Violent demonstrations continue to mar the site of the meeting in Strasbourg, France. President Obama announced he was not asking for NATO troops in Afghanistan but was looking for support. Reuters.com has more here.

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Will NY special election be a Minnesota redo? - as the final vote tallies are coming in from precincts the vote is now tied between Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy for the Congressional seat in District 20. Let's hope this is settled in a shorter time frame than the U.S. senate race in Minnesota where legal maneuvering has kept that seat open with no winner decided between Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D). Politico.com has more here.

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Top Obama economic adviser Lawrence Summers earned 5 million salary while working for Hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co. - Summers was named by the president to be director of the White House National Economic Council. Summers also earned considerable speaking fees from the same Banks receiving federal bailout funds today. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Democratic News Chatter 4-2-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, President Barack Obama attends the G-20 economic summit - this comes after a busy day yesterday with major announcements pertaining to meetings with the leaders of Russia and China. Included in the day was a meeting ad press conference with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and of course, a meeting with the Queen.

The G-20 is expected to reach some agreements today. One area will be to increase funds to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF helps those countries who are struggling financially. You can read more on the areas of agreement expected here.

Early action on Wall Street is positive today with gains of 200 on the Dow Jones. Bloomberg.com has more here.

At the conclusion of the summit, the president is expected to hold a press conference today at 12:45 PM ET

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Meanwhile, unemployment figures in the U.S. are the highest in 26 years - the Labor Department released the increase in claims and indicated this was the highest since the 1982 recession. The Wall Street journal has more of their report here.

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Obama's 3.55 trillion budget should receive a positive vote in the House and Senate today - this would be to move it forward to a final vote expected later this month. You can read more here. Democratic Leaders have not ruled out using a parliamentary move called budget reconciliation which would allow them to by-pass any potential filibuster in the Senate over specifics in health care legislation.

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NY District 20 special election gets even closer - the 65 vote lead Democrat Scott Murphy had yesterday is now 25 votes over Republican Jim Tedisco. This is sure to change again as a final tally is made of the votes and close to 6000 absentee ballots are counted. Over 154,000 votes were cast. Politico.com has more here.

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Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) continues slide in popularity - it seemed just yesterday the chair of the Senate Banking committee was running for president. The revelations of favorable mortgages being provided to him did not help him in the early days of the financial meltdown. Recently, his actions to insert language in the stimulus bill to allow AIG to pay bonuses has only added to his downfall. His reelection in 2010 looks bleak at the moment and in recent polls, he is trailing every potential Republican candidate. TheHill.com has more here.

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Democratic News Chatter 4-1-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama is making the rounds today in London - breakfast with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and meetings with Russia and Chinese Leaders. After a meeting with Russia President Dimitry Medvedev, it was announced Obama would travel to Moscow for nuclear arm reduction talks in July. Reuters.com has more here. Obama will also travel to China at the end of the year to meet with China President Hu Jintao to discuss enhanced U.S. - Chinese relations and strengthening economic and financial cooperation. You can read more here.

At a press briefing with PM Gordon Brown, Obama indicated they expected cooperation among world leaders at the G-20 economic crisis summit tomorrow.

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White House Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers to visit Michigan today - Dr. Ed Montgomery will meet with Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) and her economic staff to discuss efforts being made by the auto task force. Granholm was critical of the firing of GM CEO Richard Wagoner by the Obama administration. WhiteHouse.gov has more here.

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Congressional election in New York another close one! - Democrat Scott Murphy is leading by only 65 votes over Republican Jim Tedisco with all precincts reporting. However, there are still 4100 absentee ballots to be counted. Over 150,000 votes were cast in the 20th district in the special election to replace Kristen Gillibrand who was named to fill the vacant Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate seat. While this is a heavily registered republican district, conservative Democrat Gillibrand had won and Obama received 51% of the vote in his election last year. The NY Times has more here.

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Meanwhile, Minnesota is still waiting for a U.S. Senator to be named - in a ruling that appears to favor democrat Al Franken, the court ruled to review 400 absentee ballots instead of the 1300 requested by republican Norm Coleman. Franken currently leads by 225 votes so Coleman would need to win 80% of these 400 absentee ballots to overtake Franken. The absentee ballots will be opened and reviewed in court on April 7. However, the likelihood of a Senator heading to Washington to be sworn in is remote as the Coleman campaign has indicated they will appeal the decision. Stay Tuned. CNN.com has more here.

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So much for increased White House vetting as Sebelius reveals she also owed back taxes - The last Obama nominee for a cabinet position indicated she had recently paid around $8,000 in back taxes when questioned by a senate sub committee yesterday. It was back taxes that derailed the nomination of Tom Daschle for this position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. With all the attention on AIG bonuses, the firing of GM Richard Wagoner and the President overseas, this is likely to receive little media attention and Sebelius is expected to be confirmed. Politico.com has more here.

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Is Gingrich on the way back? - after a miscommunication with the staff of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich was named to be the keynote speaker for a major Republican fundraising dinner in June. The Republican House and Senate fundraising committees are holding the fundraiser. You can read more here.

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Democratic News Chatter 3-31-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, President Barack Obama and the First Lady head to London on the first day of an eight day overseas trip - He will meet with American workers today at the American School in London. Thursday is the G-20 Summit on the world economy. The G-20 is made up of leading industrial and emerging market nations. Together, they represent 80% of world trade and two-thirds of the world population. Time.com has more here.

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Obama's ouster of GM CEO Richard Wagoner has many talking - the removal of the CEO of GM by the President has many questioning as to if this was a proper move to be made by the government. The Dow Jones dropped 250 points yesterday after the announcement by the president. It also has many wondering why this was done for the auto industry, but not the financial industry. Bank executives are now taking notice. The Washington Post has more here.

However, there is no question the auto industry needed to change course. I was in those long gas lines in the early seventies when I was attending undergraduate school and often wondered how long the auto industry would push low mileage Vans and then SUVs to the American consumer. A free market system is great, as long as it does not act in a irresponsible manner that endangers future generations.

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Home prices continue to drop - it has now been 30 straight months of declines and the rate over the last year was 19%. CNN.com has more here. A little over three years ago when local home prices almost doubled overnight, I remember saying this was phony money. Unfortunately, I was right. Sustained low and adjustable interest rates had led sellers to raise the sales prices as they realized the buyer could afford twice as much with such low rates.

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Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) signs legislation to allow sale of "Choose Life" specialty license plates - since Michael Steele has become RNC chair he has continuously made gaffes. Now it is Kaine's turn as DNC chair to take heat from some party members. Supporters of a woman's right to choose are upset the Governor approved this legislation. Politico.com has more here.

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Eyes are on Congressional special election in NY today - voters will elect their congressman in the 20th district today as Democrat Scott Murphy faces Republican Jim Tedisco. This special election was necessary after Kirsten Gillibrand (D) who held the seat was named to fill the vacant Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate seat. Polls are showing it is too close to call. You can count on whoever the winner is, their party touting this victory nationwide. TheHill.com has more here.

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Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to testify before Senate today - the last of the Obama administration cabinet members will face questions from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. Senator Ted Kennedy who is chair of the committee is expected to preside over the meeting. Sebelius is expected to stress the importance of health reform now. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Democratic Chatter 3-27-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, President Barack Obama will meet with Bank Executives - about a dozen executives of the largest U.S. banks will gather at the White House. They will discuss regulatory reform, executive bonuses and other ways to stabilize the financial system. reuters.com has more here.

Tonight, the president and his family will head to Camp David for the weekend. The presidential retreat located near Thurmont, Maryland is fast becoming a favorite spot for the new president.

On Sunday, the president will appear on CBS "Face The Nation" in an interview with Bob Schieffer.

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Obama announces more troops to go to Afghanistan - an additional 4,000 troops will be sent in addition to the 17,000 he already ordered to the country since taking office. He also announced he wants to triple aid to Pakistan to 1.5 billion a year for the next five years. The NY Times has more here.

The pundits are all quickly saying this is now Obama's war and they are right. The "surge" strategy that appears to have helped in Iraq may not be as successful in Afghanistan. Also, increasing financial aid to Pakistan when the government is presently labeled as "fragile' at best, may not be a good idea. The billions sent by the former Bush administration to prop up President Musharraf did little to help in the battle against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

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Vice President Joe Biden will visit Chile and Costa Rica over the weekend - accompanied by his wife Jill, he will attend a Progressive Governance Conference in Chile. he is scheduled to meet with many of the South American Leaders over the next several days. The Washington post has more here.

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Keep an eye on NY special election to fill vacant Congressional seat - On Tuesday, the voters in the 20th district of New york will vote on a replacement for Kirsten Hillabrand (D) who was picked to replace the Hillary Clinton vacant U.S. senate seat. Some polls are showing the race between Democrat Scott Murphy and Republican Jim Tedisco as a toss up. MSNBC.com has more here. If Tedisco wins, what is a heavily registered Republican district, expect the Republican party to widely publicize this as an attempt to show dissatisfaction with the Obama administration.

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Kathleen Sebelius Confirmation Hearings to be held next week - she is the last Cabinet member to be confirmed of the Obama administration. The former nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Daschle withdrew after revelations pertaining to unpaid taxes. On Tuesday she will appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee and on Thursday, the Senate Financial committee. Politico.com has more here.

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