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Sheldon Silver: Ed Koch Needs To Shut Up About Ninth District Election
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 18, 2011
Modified Jul 18, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 18, 2011
Modified Jul 18, 2011
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Former NYC mayor Ed Koch is pissed that President Obama suggested this spring that a Palestinian state should be created from the 1967 borders. So much so that he's written, "If President Obama does not change his position, I cannot vote for his reelection." Nevermind that what the president actually meant was that negotiations would start from those borders and work outward, Koch wants to "put a shot across Obama's bow," and is doing so by endorsing GOP candidate Bob Turner over Democrat David Weprin for the special election in former Congressman Anthony Weiner's Ninth District. Orthodox Jew and New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is not happy about this, calling Koch's behavior "totally inappropriate."
"Ed Koch is totally out of line," Silver tells the Daily News, "In order to change the perceptions, it's important to elect more staunch Democrats who are supporters of Israel." Obama is said to "have a problem" with Jewish voters in New York, as a recent poll showed 51% of them have an "unfavorable" opinion of the president, with 71% saying he's doing a "poor or bad job." Koch's support of Turner is somewhat puzzling given that Weprin is an Orthodox Jew, and that Koch himself has said that the district will probably vote a Democrat in anyway.
Rather than pull a "Scott Brown," which is what Koch believes will drag Obama back into the center (really though, how much more centrist can Barry get?), Silver believes that the answer is to "elect more staunch Democrats who are supporters of Israel." Silver also believes that New York's Jewish voters will come around once they know who the GOP presidential candidate is: "they may find out that, 'I disagree with the incumbent 10% of the time, and [the] challenger 50% of the time.'" Nationally, Obama is still doing well with Jewish voters with a 60% approval rating. Look for that to change when the GOP nominates shadow candidate "A Republican."
Tagged
anthony weiner
bob turner
david weprin
Democratic party
ed koch
gop
israel
obama
president obama
sheldon silver
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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