Businessman congressional candidate Bob Turner (R), surrounded by New York City school-age children and standing beneath the National Debt Clock on West 44th Street in Manhattan, today lambasted his opponent for Congress, career politician David Weprin, for being “clueless” on the size of the federal debt. Mr. Weprin boasts on the campaign trail that he is a government finance “expert”, but was more than $10 trillion off the mark when estimating the size of our $14-plus trillion debt.
In an exchange reported in Sunday’s Daily News, Mr. Weprin reportedly appeared like “a deer in the headlights” when confronted with the simple question, “how big is the [federal] debt?”
Here is the exchange:
Daily News: “Right now, how big is the debt?”
Weprin: (Pause) “Trillions.”
News: “But how many?”
Weprin: (Deer in headlights look.) “I got caught up on this once before,” referring to his inability while running unsuccessfully for city controller in 2009 to state that office’s budget.
News: “This is central to what is going on in Washington.”
Weprin: “About 4 trillion.”
News: “Four trillion is the debt?”
Weprin: “Right.”
Well, he was off only by a $10 trillion order of magnitude.
“These are the reasons career politicians like David Weprin deserve to be fired,” Mr. Turner said, pointing to the children. “I have five children and 13 grandchildren, and, together, they owe almost $850,000. Yet we’re still borrowing 40 cents on the dollar. Every child standing here today is starting out life around $45,000 in the hole. David Weprin apparently has no concept of that and, in my book, that makes him unsuitable to serve in this Congress. If Mr. Weprin ducks another debate, I suggest he stand here and study this clock. He’ll learn something.”
Mr. Turner and Weprin are in a neck-in-neck race to fill the congressional seat recently vacated by disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner (NY-9). The Siena Research Poll released a survey recently showing Mr. Turner trailing by just six points, 42-48, in the heavily Democratic district.
Mr. Turner has been endorsed for Congress by both Republicans and Democrats, including former New York City Mayor Ed Koch (D) and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R). Mr. Turner’s business career has taken him around the globe.
The special election will be held on Tuesday, September 13.
(Press Release From Turner Campaign)
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13 Responses
Why is YWN so obsessed with this weprin guy?
Gee i guess we dont have to wonder who YWN will be endorsing.
He should Know that – I knew that – anyone who knows a little bit about current events knows how much the debt is – this is like a rebbe not knowing is rashee is a rishone or a achrone , very bad mistake
To #1: Maybe because Mr. Weprin claims to be Orthodox and yet endorses gay “marriage.”
Mr. Weprin never bothered to prepare for this job, because he comes from a famous New York City political dynasty, and he expected the Democratic Party to anoint him, with very little opposition from the Republicans.
He never expected to have to debate seriously with a highly-qualified intelligent opponent, like mr. Turner.
Weprin expected to just “wing-it,” and coast into office without much effort.
If you’re going to issue a press release making fun of someone for not knowing something, it would be nice the Turner campaign was aware that being off by $10 trillion is not the same thing as being off by a $10 trillion dollar order of magnitude.
What I don’t understand is why the race is even close. It’s like a “no-brainer”. Apparently, because Weprin is a dem in a dem district, they vote for him. It’s like someone said:”of course democrats are stupid. If they were smart, they’d be republicans!”
ahavas yisroel,
I can think of numerous reasons:
Turner won’t commit to protecting Medicare.
Turner expressed scepticism that volunteers who risked their lives at Ground Zero should be able to be recompensed for their health problems.
Turner won’t commit to prompt funding of hurricane relief rather than getting it mixed up with yet another budget battle.
Turner’s own budget numbers don’t add up, and Turner won’t correct them.
Weprin is a reasonable candidate committed to supporting the interest of New Yorkers, 9/11 responders, the Orthodox community, and Israel.
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And maybe, just maybe, voters are sick of Ed Koch trying to get revenge for the 1982 primary for Governor when Weprin’s father endorsed Mario Cuomo over Koch. The odds were always against Koch getting elected governor, as the last time a NY Mayor had managed to get elected to a higher office was in the 1860s.
To address 8 charliehall
First Turner did publicly commit to protect medicare, numerous times. While Weprin claims that Turner is against medicare, both the NY Post and the Daily News called his claim false and that Weprin made it up, b/c all of Turner statements have been about protecting Medicare, NEVER ONCE did he ever advocate hurting it
Two: Turner never “expressed scepticism that volunteers who risked their lives at Ground Zero should be able to be recompensed for their health problems” If you actually bothered to read the Daily News article, all it said it that he felt that it should only apply to rescue workers and clean up crews, and that the current bill makes it too easy for fakes to defraud the system and he wanted protection.
Three: Turner did call for Federal relief, long before Weprin did. In Fact Turner’s home is in Zone A, and was forced to evacuate because of the storm and his whole neighborhood was flooded. Don’t lie here
Four: Just because Weprin claims that Turner’s numbers don’t add up doesn’t make them true. In Fact Turner’s plan was one that was endorsed by several economists at several top institutes like Harvard over a year ago. He’s endorsing a plan supported by top people in the field.
While Weprin is a supporter of Israel, so is Turner. And Weprin is not a reasonable candidate. He’s not even from the district, he can’t vote for himself this election, legally. What about his 0% legislative record from several small business groups. Or what about the 18% property tax hike that wrote when he was in the city council. Or his mismanagement of millions in city funds, or his campaign kickbacks with charities that was a scandal a few years ago. Besides how is anyone who thinks his rabbi should perform gay marriage and doesn’t know whats wrong with intermarriage, defiantly doesn’t represent the Orthodox community in any way.
Tell your Boss David that you tried hard but failed
Charliehall sounds like he’s from the weprin campaign.
We will NOT for for ANY yid that supports gay marriage.
Put politics aside and put Gd first!!!! Its all in His hands anyways and not in the hands of the politicians in this country so do what Gd expects of us which is to come out STRONG against this toeiva bill and He will take care of our needs.
But isn’t being “clueless” about the debt a prerequisite for being a Democrat (sort of like being clueless about Shabbos and Kashrus is a requirement if you want to be a Reform Rabbi). While Democrats have some discretion on social issues (you can be pro-marriage and pro-life and still be a Democrat–most frum Democrats feel that way), supporting fiscal responsibility (against high taxes, against patronage, aginst entitlements, against a balanced budget) is totally incompatible with the Democratic party.
As mentioned in a different thread here on YWN, I was quite turned off at the Queens debate last week by the tea party type hecklers. What most bothered me was that Turner never made even the slightest attempt to quiet them down. And while I’d need a transcript of the debate to recall specifically what he said, I have a recollection that his responses about 9/11 workers was quite out of touch. This is truly an election of poor choices from both parties. I keep trying to see how Weprin is different then Weiner. What I keep coming up with was that although I didn’t care for Weiner’s domestic policies (like Obamacare), he could think very rapidly on his feet, and he basically did a good job for his district. There’s something oily about Weprin that just doesn’t sit with well with me. The Gay bill has already been passed, with votes from Orthodox politicians Silver and Weprin. It’s not the most relevant issue in this particiular campaign. Let’s face what’s ahead, not behind.
In the first week of the campaign Turner expressed support for the Republican campaign to end Medicare and replace it with a voucher system (ironically much like Obamacare). Since then he has waffled, but he won’t say definitively whether he will or won’t vote for it. The Ryan plan’s “Protecting” Medicare is like Dr. Kevorkian was “Protecting” seriously ill elderly people.
Turner does claim to have a budget diagram that would preserve Medicare. But it would require the destruction of most of the federal government. Like I said, that doesn’t add up.
Turner was quoted in the Daily News article as saying, “My call would be to protect police, fire, emergency workers, construction workers, etc….If someone said, ‘I volunteered’ or walked through there, it’s just not the type,” In other words, paid workers at the 9/11 site should be covered, but not volunteers. I consider that to be a disgrace. As should NY-09 voters.
Turner has also opposed federal cleanup help in the past, and he won’t distance himself from the Republican leadership that is trying to use the disaster as a political weapon to get even more budget cuts. That is also a disgrace.
Regarding the alleged 18% tax hike, my property taxes remain far lower than any of my friends in the suburbs — or that of almost any urban area in the US. And it allowed continued adequate levels of public safety funding, along with the continuation of a lot of programs that benefit the frum community that get praised here in YWN regularly. OTOH, Turner’s Republicans pushed a debt ceiling bill that will destroy the US military if the triggered cuts take effect. You can say you are pro-Israel all you want but if the US military is devastated with budget cuts it won’t matter.
BTW the Constitution does NOT require a Congressman to live in his district, only within the state.
Full disclosure: I do not work for the Weprin campaign and my only contact with them was sending them a small campaign contribution.