Hey Norm, Pay Attention

Republican Jim Tedisco has conceded the NY-20 special election to Democrat Scott Murphy. There's a lesson here, but the one person who needs to heed it never will.

Well, two people need to heed the lesson, the other being Michael Steele.

It was, at least on paper, a race Republicans should have won. They didn't.

Which leads us to the next question: just how painful is this defeat for RNC Chairman Michael Steele? He not only poured a lot of money into this race, Steele also pointed to New York's 20th as a race that would help turn things around for the Republican Party.

Back in January, Steele boasted, "That win will send a powerful signal to the rest of the country ... that our game is not up,"

That seemed like safe bravado in January, when Tedisco looked like a sure thing. But "that win" has become "that loss." Does that mean, by Steele's reasoning, that a powerful signal has been sent to the rest of the country that the Republican Party's game is up?

There were some rumors in February that a GOP defeat in this special election would put Michael Steele's job in jeopardy. Something to keep an eye on.

I guess the rumors of the demise of the Democratic Party were indeed a bit exaggerated. Eric Kleefield has reactions from both parties at TPMDC.