Democrats Downplay Special Election Implications

DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-Fla.) downplayed the GOP upset in a conference call with reporters Wednesday, saying that pundits should not draw predictions on the 2012 presidential election based on the results from Tuesday’s special elections.

“If you’re looking for predictions like that, you should really be looking at the president’s standing against the Republican candidates in the battleground states, not the results of two House special elections; one of which was in a ruby red district which the Republicans carried even in 2008,” Wasserman Shultz said.

“The other seat opened up under what can best be called unusual circumstances,” the DNC chair said of former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s departure.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who also served New York’s ninth congressional district for 18 years, said that the district’s demographics have changed since he served in the ’80s and ’90s and that it should not be classified as a bellwether district. Schumer said the district’s Orthodox Jewish population has become more prominent and has created a more conservative base.

“The bottom line is it’s not a bellwether district,” Schumer said. “Anybody who tries to extrapolate between what’s happened in [NY-9] and what would happen in New York City, New York state or the country is making a big mistake.”

DNC Touts Fractured Republican Party Following Congressional Primaries

By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service

Following Tuesday's closely watched primaries, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine argued Wednesday that the actions of Tea Party activists have sent Republicans "running to the right," and made the Republican party "less and less appealing to independents and other swing voters."

Kaine pushed the idea that Democrats should take advantage of the growing fracture in the Republican Party, citing the defeat of more moderate incumbents by more radical - and some Tea Party backed - candidates in Kentucky, Utah and Florida.

"Voters ... can choose President Obama and Democrats - who are taking bold action to turn the economy around," Kaine said. "Or Republicans - whose failed economic policies drove the American economy into a ditch."

McCain has chosen his running mate: Exxon Mobil, says Gov. O'Malley

Gov. Martin O'Malley kicked off his new campaign at press conference in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters. His campaign, called "Exxon-McCain '08," mockingly refers to big oil companies as Senator John McCain's (R-Az.) running mate in the 2008 presidential election, and O'Malley plans to take the campaign through cities across America.

"All of this is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek way of underscoring a very, very serious problem that is facing all of us as Americans," O'Malley said.

At the front of the room sat an oversized check made out to McCain. The amount of money on the check, $2 million, symbolized how much money McCain has received from oil companies during the election season. According to a DNC document from the conference, McCain has received almost $55,000 in contributions from Exxon employees and Exxon's political action committee.

Outside of the DNC headquarters, two members of the Republican National Committee held up their own mock-check made out to Barack Obama for $2.8 billion, which is an attack on Obama's 2005 vote on an energy bill that gave tax breaks to oil companies.

O'Malley said Barack Obama is going to use oil company funds to give people emergency energy rebates at $1000 per family and $500 per individual. McCain cannot do this because of his interest in oil companies, O'Malley said.

When the floor opened up for questions, one man asked O'Malley if the Democratic Party has received any money from oil companies. Brad Woodhouse, Communications Director for the DNC, said he did not know the answer, but would get back to the man about it.

Obama conference call: "the West is ripe for his candidacy"

The Obama campaign held a conference call with former Colorado Governor and Democratic National Committee Chair Roy Romer to announce Romer’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) presidential campaign. Romer said he will cast his vote at the Democratic National Convention for Obama as the democratic nominee for president.

Romer said this had been a very vigorous campaign, and that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has been a strong opponent, but that he believes the math is controlling and that the race is over. He said it is time for the party to unify, get beyond the primary season, and get working on the general election.

Romer said it is up to Clinton to make the decision about staying in the race, and that knowing facts and information, such as where superdelegates stand, will help her make that decision. He said she is a strong asset to the party, and that this campaign was helpful for the Democratic Party because it got out new votes, but that it is time to end it and direct the focus to the general election.

Romer said Obama offers strong leadership on hope and change, and that the West is “ripe for his candidacy.” In the beginning of the campaign he had known Clinton better than Obama, but said that as he watched the campaign unfold he became convinced that Obama was more “elect-able.” He said Obama has the best possibility of winning in November and leading the country in an effective way.

Romer also said the Democratic Party needs to make decisions on delegates for Michigan and Florida. He said a compromise needs to be made that enforces following the rules for primaries but allows the states to be seated.