RNC Chair Steele Foolishly Boasted That NY Special Election Was ‘Credible Repudiation’ Of Obama

This guy is a treasure trove of oops. Via Think Progress-

The New York special election was held on March 31, 2009. Wasting absolutely no time, the very next day, Steele wrote an audacious -- and foolish -- op-ed in Politico, triumphantly declaring the outcome a defeat for President Obama's agenda:

Tedisco’s victory will be a credible repudiation of the spending spree that Obama and Congress have been on since January. Even the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee acknowledged over the weekend that the race was “a referendum on the Economic Recovery Act and Barack Obama’s policies.” Well, the DCCC is right — this likely Republican victory is a referendum on the president. [...]

Well, the voters have spoken, and while the results are still pending, Republicans are confident that the final vote tallies will show those voters have rejected the president’s approach. [...]

The ground has shifted, and is shifting, as the voters become increasingly worried about Obamanomics. [...]

Tuesday’s election was a vote of "no confidence" in the Democrats’ tax, spend and borrow approach. I hope Obama and congressional Democrats are listening.

"That's a seat that we should be able to go in and be competitive and win," Steele said prior to the special election. "I'm gonna put -- make it a focal point, right out of the box."

Huge oops.

Scott Murphy Gains on Tedisco in NY-20

Oh oh. NY-20 is the race that looks to make or break Chairman Steele.

With less than three weeks until the NY-20 special election, Scott Murphy (D) has cut James Tedisco's 12 point lead to just 4 points, according to a new Siena Research Institute poll.

Tedisco now leads the race 45% to 41%.

Key factor: "While two weeks ago, voters said Tedisco would do a better job than Murphy representing them on six issues, Murphy now leads on two of those issues, including the most important issue for 20th C.D. voters: the economy."

A Democratic poll yesterday also showed the race tightening.