There are just six days until election day in New York's 20th Congressional District, and the race is absolutely neck-and-neck.
Democratic candidate Scott Murphy and Republican nominee Jim Tedisco debated last night on WNYT, and Murphy carried it.
You can watch the entire debate here, at The Albany Project: one of the highlights was when Murphy attacked Tedisco's patently false claim that the stimulus package "contains $300 billion in pork", about 36 minutes in.
* Tedisco once again repeated the false claim that President Obama's jobs and economy recovery package contains $300 billion in "pork." For the first time, Tedisco finally gave up the repetition of his fictitious story about mice, but continued to lie about the economic recovery package. When questioned directly by Scott Murphy, Tedisco simply couldn't list his proposed $300 billion in cuts.
o In reality, here is a summary of the components of the Stimulus Plan:
§ $288 Billion in Tax Cuts
§ $144 Billion in Budget Relief to Hold the Line on Property Taxes
§ $111 Billion in Infastructure Investment
§ $81 Billion in Unemployment and Assistance
§ $59 Billion in Health Care
§ $53 Billion in Education and Training
§ $43 Billion in Energy
§ $8 Billion Other [Source: Recovery.gov]
Prior to Murphy's debate victory, he won the endorsement of upstate New York Rep. Eric Massa, who should be very familiar to Daily Kos readers:
He has also won the endorsement of President Obama, who sent out an email this morning backing Scott Murphy for Congress.
Scott has the kind of experience and background we desperately need right now in Washington.
He's created jobs by building and growing small businesses while bringing people together to address difficult challenges. He supports the economic recovery plan we've put in place, and I know we can count on him as an ally for change.
To restore our economy and build a foundation for lasting prosperity, I'll need Scott's help. This week, Scott needs yours.
Sign up and pitch in to elect Scott Murphy to Congress:
http://my.barackobama.com/...
With the race deadlocked, Obama's support is well-timed, though House Democrats are grousing to Politico that the DNC, and the administration, haven't yet done enough to help Murphy; the DNC has spent just $5,000 on the race to this point, while the RNC is in for $275,000.
Even Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine has kept his distance from the race by refusing to meet with Murphy when the candidate was at DNC headquarters recently, according to two Democratic insiders.
Murphy’s lack of White House support has infuriated House Democrats, who say the Democratic businessman trails Tedisco by just 2 points in their internal polling.
"Where is the mission of the Democratic National Committee if not electing Democrats?" asked a Democratic consultant close to the race. "Is the DNC only going to promote the president’s agenda?"
Now, the President is fairly busy at this point, so the attempt to bring the administration in here is probably another Politico attempt to manufacture Obama controversy where little exists. Still, it would be nice to see a nifty DNC moneybomb in the final week of the campaign.
With just days to go until the final whistle, Scott Murphy has closed a 21-point deficit into a dead heat. He needs all the help he can muster to get over the final hill.
On the web:
On the web:
Scott Murphy for Congress
Phonebank for Scott Murphy
Albany Project ActBlue Page