Politics 2000

New York’s 20th House District won’t have a representative for awhile after today’s election ended in a stalemate after 100 percent of the precincts were counted. Absentee ballots–including military and overseas ballots that may not arrive for two weeks–will be the deciding factor.

Democrat Steve Harper, a venture capitalist, leads Republican Jim Tedisco, a leader in the state assembly, by 59 votes, 77,344-77,285. About 6,000 absentee ballots were received before Election Day. As many as 10,000 more absentee votes could be received by Apr. 13 and counted, provided they were postmarked by today.

Gov. David Paterson called the special election after he appointed Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton’s U.S. Senate seat upon her confirmation as Secretary of State. Democrats and Republicans tried to raise the opposition’s expectations and while lowering their own in the campaign’s final days.

Each party will say, should it win, that political trends are with them. The losing side will maintain the election wasn’t followed by anyone but district residents and political junkies; therefore, there’s no national momentum heading into next year’s midterm elections.

Murphy trailed by 12 points last month but he narrowed the gap to four last week after an ad from President Obama began hitting the Albany airwaves. Forty-one percent of the district’s voters are registered Republicans compared to 27 percent Democratic.

However, Gillibrand ousted an incumbent Republican in 2006 and won a second term handily in 2008. Obama carried the district narrowly last year.

The U.S. government has rejected reorganization plans submitted by Chrysler and General Motors. As the March 31 deadline approaches, GM CEO Rick Wagoner was forced to resign last night.

GM has 60 days to retool its proposal or enter bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Chrsyler has 30 days to merge with Fiat, an Italian automaker, if it wants additional federal aid.

President Obama’s administration believes GM still could be viable if costs are slashed further. The government apparently thinks there’s no hope for Chrysler–which has needed federal bailouts twice within the last 30 years–as an independent company.

A key sticking point is the bondholders’ reluctance to accept pennies on the dollar. Letting GM and Chrysler go to bankruptcy court would enable a judge to force bondholders to take some losses.

The government, under the proposal, would guarantee warranties for GM and Chrysler vehicles. That promise, officials believe, would encourage people to buy from the beleaguered companies.

Congress will start discussion of the 2010 federal budget tomorrow. Both the House and the Senate will look at the blueprint offered by President Obama, tear it apart and rebuild it as they want.

The process will be slow. In many years, continuing resolutions are needed. A continuing resolution allows government operations to continue functioning even though no budget has been approved.

About ten years ago, the Republican-led Congress wouldn’t approve continuing resolutions and allowed most of the federal government to close. Led by Newt Gingrich, the party hoped the move would force then-President Clinton to negotiate on the budget. The plan backfired and Clinton’s power was strengthened.

It’s unlikely such drastic measures will be taken this year. No one wants to seem responsible for closing national parks and the Washington Monument. Instead, expect plenty of posturing.