Reuters/New York

 
Republicans scored an upset victory in a congressional election on Tuesday in a Democratic stronghold of New York, trumpeting the win as a sign of voter discontent with US President Barack Obama.
Less than a week after Obama delivered a $447bn plan to create jobs as the country teeters on the brink of another recession, New York City voters handed Republican Bob Turner - a retired media executive - a 6 percentage point victory.
“We’ve been asked by the people of this district to send a message to Washington and I hope they hear it loud and clear,” Turner told supporters. “We’re ready to say, ‘Mr. President, we are on the wrong track.’”
With the 2012 presidential election a year away, Obama’s approval rating is at 43%, with voters frustrated at his handling of the economy and with a 9.1% national jobless rate, signaling trouble for his re-election bid next November.
Turner defeated Democrat David Weprin, a state assemblyman, to win the special US House of Representatives election for the seat vacated by former Representative Anthony Weiner, who resigned after a Twitter sex scandal.
The district, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens, had gone Democratic in every election since the 1920s, and Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one. It is also heavily Jewish, and some experts say voters may also have been expressing dissatisfaction at Obama’s stance on Israel.
Some influential politicians like former New York Mayor Ed Koch, a Democrat, endorsed Turner to protest Obama’s Israel stance. Some critics say Obama hasn’t been supportive enough of Israel and object to his call for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to use the Jewish state’s pre-1967 borders as a starting point.
Steve Israel, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, played down the importance of Turner’s victory.
“The results ... are not reflective of what will happen in November 2012 when Democratic challengers run against Republican incumbents who voted to end Medicare and cut Social Security while protecting tax loopholes for big Corps and the ultra wealthy,” he said in a statement.
Turner’s triumph, and a Republican victory in another special House election - in Nevada - boosted the Republican majority over Democrats in the House to 242-192.
Turner, who said he entered politics because he was “fed up” with overspending in Washington, has called for deep cuts in the federal budget.
Weiner, who served for seven terms, was a Democratic firebrand known for passionate speeches in support of healthcare reform and other issues dear to liberals.
Weprin had tried to cast Turner as part of the Tea Party, which wants smaller government and lower taxes and is unpopular with many liberal New Yorkers.
Standoff over Guantanamo records
The Obama administration is caught in a standoff with Congress over records documenting the release of suspected militants from the US detention facility at Guantanamo, Cuba.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has approved an intelligence authorisation bill requiring the administration to turn over diplomatic cables and other material documenting contacts between US and foreign governments who agreed to accept released Guantanamo detainees for resettlement.
But the White House is threatening a presidential veto of any bill including the Guantanamo provisions.