According to Gibson's office, these were his top two committee picks, though it was reported that he had been angling for a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Energy and Commerce Committee will be the hotspot for discussions on a possible health care overhaul, and Gibson placed heavy emphasis on repealing the Affordable Care Act during his campaign.

Nonetheless, Gibson's placements put him in on the same committees as his predecessor, Democrat Scott Murphy.

“New York farms have been struggling, particularly in recent years, to remain profitable in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The rural nature of our district relies heavily of the profitability of our family farms," Gibson said in a statement. "On the Agriculture Committee, I will be an ardent and strong champion for our farmers to ensure that they are treated fairly, particularly in regards to how their products are priced."

Gibson will be taking 24 years of military experience with him to the Armed Services committee. He is the recipient of a Purple Heart and most recently served in Iraq.

“This post will give me the opportunity to ensure our troops and their families have the resources they need and deserve, and that we can bring our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to a rapid and successful conclusion," the release quoted. "Additionally, a top priority of mine will be instituting reforms to make certain our defense dollars are spent judiciously and effectively, particularly in light of our challenging economic times.”

"Bill Clinton's visit doesn't change the fact that New York Democrats have a record of failure on the economy after blindly supporting misguided and reckless policies that have killed jobs and stunted growth," said RNC spokesman Parish Braden in a press release.

Clinton is scheduled to make a stop in Saratoga Springs today to help Rep. Scott Murphy in the 20^th district. Later in the day, he will be attending an event in Watertown to support Rep. William Owens in the 23^rd district.

The RNC is trying to tie Murphy and Owens to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"For the last two years, Scott Murphy and Bill Owens have towed the party line in support of a failed agenda of higher taxes, out of control spending and budget busting deficits," Braden continued. "With almost 160,000 New York jobs lost since passage of the Democrats' 'stimulus' and one day left until the election, upstate voters knows it's time for new leadership."

Last Tuesday's Siena poll has Murphy, the Democratic incumbent who won the seat in a special election last year, down by nine points to Republican challenger Chris Gibson.

Things seem slightly closer in Owen's race, with last Wednesday's Siena poll putting him three points above Republican Matt Doheny.

From Murphy's email to supporters:

By taking a stand against the status quo, I have already come under attack.  Glenn Beck and Dick Morris of Fox News singled me out this week as the number 1 target of the national GOP, and declared it their mission to defeat me in November.   The National Republican Campaign Committee has already launched dishonest attacks to try to intimidate me.  And now that unlimited corporate spending in elections is allowed I will need to be able to combat these lies and make sure our positive message is heard.

Murphy's plea for money is, in a way, the other side of the coin of the threat from liberal groups and labor unions that threatened to support third-party challengers to any Democrats who voted against the bill.

How much will they raise for Democrats who voted in favor of the bill?

In announcing the move, the party noted "Votes on the WFP ballot line have been the margin of victory for Democratic Congressional candidates in New York five times since 2002: Tim Bishop (2002), Brian Higgins (2004), Eric Massa (2008), Bill Owens and Scott Murphy (2009)."

Before the announcement was made, one of Bishop's G.O.P. challengers, Chris Cox, called on Bishop to oppose the bill and stand up against the "liberal interests in Washington."

I saw Representatives Scott Murphy and Paul Tonko of the Capital Region, Mike McMahon of Staten Island, Mike Arcuri of Utica, Eric Massa of the Southern Tier and Steve Israel of Long Island. Also present are Jerry Nadler and Greg Meeks. All are Democrats.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Israel told me. "I just got back from Afghanistan. You know what the difference is between Kabul and Albany? In Kabul they give you body armor."

Murphy said he wasn't staying for the speech—starting now—because he has remote towns in his district to visit.

McMahon last year expressed discomfort with Paterson's presence at the top of the ticket.

Many other members from New York City—including Charlie Rangel, dean of the New York delegation—are at the funeral of Percy Sutton.

Murphy voted last night to spend $150 billion in, as Murphy said in a release, "immediate investments to improve our crumbling infrastructure and create good-paying jobs right here at home."

Democrats call the bill the Jobs for Main Street Act; as the Washington Post notes, it has no Senate companion and is almost entirely symbolic. The National Republican Congressional Committee is calling it the "Son of Stimulus," and attacking Murphy (and other marginal Democrats in New York like Eric Massa, John Hall and Tim Bishop) for their affirmative votes as a "spending crusade" that "is burying middle-class New York families under mountains of debt."

"Before even being elected to Congress, Scott Murphy came out in favor of the first stimulus," said Joe Sciarrino, an NRCC spokesman. "Now that he was able to cast an actual vote, it looks like he waited until the last minute to gauge the political winds and hand Pelosi a victory.  Not exactly the type of conviction voters want in their elected officials.  But still, he's willing to double down on round two even though New Yorkers are still waiting for the first stimulus to create jobs."

Murphy's special election win over Assemblyman Jim Tedisco was largely seen as a referendum on the newly elected Obama and the economic stimulus plan he guided though Congress last winter. Tedisco--who is mulling another run against Murphy--stalled before finally coming out against the stimulus package as "porkulous." These attacks are a harbinger for Murphy's 2010 re-election battle.

Josh Schwerin, a spokesman for Murphy, said his position remains clear.

"As he has been since day one, Congressman Murphy remains focused on creating jobs in Upstate New York and working to turn our economy around," he said. "Whether its projects to improve our infrastructure like the $49 million in broadband funds announced today, or the Small Business Administration loan workshops he's held, his top priority remains fighting to create jobs for the people of the 20th district."

Lawler was a regional field director for Scott Murphy's successful congressional race upstate, and was most recently the campaign manager for City Council candidate Evan Thies, who was defeated by Steve Levin. Lawler was also a regional field director for Barack Obama's campaign, working in Iowa, Misouri, Texas, Mississippi, Oregon and Montana, according to his FaceBook page.

Saujani is one of the only declared congressional candidates (so far) taking on a member of her own party. The argument she's laying out, in a fund-raising email sent this morning to supporters—presumably all Democrats—is that there needs to be "change" in the district.

"In 2008, we saw how small dollar political donations helped change American politics forever. And your contribution of $14 can bring change to the 14th District," Saujani wrote.

Scott Murphy, Eric Massa and Mike McMahon all voted no; Massa was clear about his intentions but Murphy was on the fence until the last possible minute. Steve Kornacki writes that this is no surprise; Murphy was elected to a district that consistently delivered Republicans until John Sweeney lost it amid allegations of drinking with college students and domestically abusing his wife.

"This bill makes a number of important reforms, which I wholeheartedly support," Murphy said in a statement. "I am deeply frustrated by the last minute addition of over $50 billion in taxes on the two largest private employers in the 20^th District - medical device manufacturers and paper mills."

This could mean trouble for Murphy. One of the major factors in his special election win over Jim Tedisco was the support of labor; SEIU 1199 spent more money on his race than that DCCC, and labor unions like PEF knocked on many doors for him.

"As for those who voted against the bill, the New York State AFL-CIO is disappointed by their actions," said Denis Hughes, that organization's president, in a statement. "We hope that they will eventually vote for final passage of health care reform that closely mirrors the values contained in HR 3962. And most important, we trust they will support legislation that will finally bring security and stability to our nation's health care system."

The political calculation is whether their support can be won back, and if not whether its loss is a greater threat to his re-election than a stance which the electorate might consider Murphy has scheduled a press conference this afternoon to "address Saturday's vote on health care reform."

Owens announced the vote in a press release and suggested as much in Watertown yesterday. He just concluded a special election campaign against Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava and Doug Hoffman, but never got specific about how he would vote on many of the healthcare proposals that were floating through, including H.R. 3962, which could be voted on Saturday.

"During his campaign for Congress, Owens showed consistent support for legislation that would end pre-existing condition exclusions, reign in spending, protect small businesses and keep middle-class taxes low," the press release says. (They probably meant "rein in." Anyway.)

When I first talked to Owens on the night of his nomination, he told me he was against a public option for healthcare (then laid out his four criteria). A week later, Owens was endorsed by the union SEIU 1199, whose political director Kevin Finnegan told me "his position is a little more nuanced than that." Finnegan said the union picked Owens because he would work with the president.

A few weeks later, after Barack Obama gave a speech to Congress about the issue, I called Owens for his reaction, and again asked him about health care. He refused to be specific about the public option, and referred to the four principles above: "I don't want to apply a litmus test, I don't want to apply a label. I want to be able to analyze the information and the bill and come to a conclusion," he said then.

Nancy Pelosi unveiled the bill members will vote on Oct. 29; the same night as a televised debate in Syracuse. Owens hinted then he could support the House bill.

"The bills were changing so rapidly prior to that, and I suspect will continue to change," he told reporters the next day in Watertown, noting he had bill language to analyze. "I'm going to measure my view of any legislation that I will vote on based on the four criteria that I talked about for a couple of months now."

Now, after the election and after he was sworn in: "This legislation will reform the insurance industry and provide increased access to affordable healthcare without taxing healthcare benefits, cutting Medicare benefits or raising taxes on the middle class, and that is exactly the direction we need to go," Owens said. "There are still changes I would like to make, including raising the payroll exemption for small businesses, but like I said last week, there is a fundamental need for reform and we must act with a sense of urgency. This plan will reign in costs, strengthen the middle class and protect our economy from additional debt down the road."

Republicans were never able to specifically attack Owens on this issue, as they have attacked other House members. And with an internecine fight between the Republican and Conservative candidates, the issue faded to the background in the final days of the campaign.

"You have to really look hard to say that he said anything about anything. Everyone was so transfixed with Dede and Hoffman," said Jim Ellis, the Franklin County Republican chairman. "I don't think people who are voters in the North Country are in favor of card check, and they're not in favor of the public health care option, and they're not in favor of Nancy Pelosi. He's going to stand up and be a little tutu for Nancy Pelosi. We'll see it tomorrow."

Four other upstate Democrats are not clear supporters of the issue: Eric Massa says he will vote no, and Mike Arcuri, Scott Murphy and Dan Maffei have not taken public positions.

"The president of the United States is coming to Capitol Hill tomorrow morning on a Saturday, to meet in groups and individually with members of Congress. I anticipate that I will be called into a room to discuss my position with him, and my position has not and will not change," Massa said on a conference call with reporters. "My vote on H.R. 3962 will be no."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said "we're very close" to getting the 218 votes needed to pass the bill. Several other upstate Democrats in the House--Dan Maffei, Mike Arcuri and Scott Murphy--are undecided on the bill. Massa said he doesn't like the fact that the bill perpetuates a "monopolistic" employer-based private health care system and doesn't do enough to address "cost factors" in the system.

"It is exceptionally painful to me to not be able to bring a common sense bill on health care reform to my district, but I will not vote on something that I think will hurt the people who sent me to Washington, regardless of how popular it may be," Massa said.

I asked him whether he was worried his remarks would cause enmity among some of his colleagues, some of whom may vote for the bill and be attacked for it later, possibly with Massa's own words.

"Let me be very clear: I mean what I say, and I speak for myself. And while some think that telling the truth is a lost principle in Washington, I happen to believe that's what got me here, and I will always tell people where I stand on a bill. My voters have a right to know how I'm going to vote to represent them. Period. I hope I make myself clear."

Another reporter asked Massa if he was afraid he'll be "taken to the woodshed" by Obama.

"If I am, it wouldn't be the first time," Massa replied. "Everybody loves an independent member of Congress until you're independent. I have great respect for the chief executive, but I do not work for him. I work for the people of the 29^th Congressional District, and in a larger sense, the United States of America. The president is not my boss under any circumstances. And the Constitution says very clearly that the minute I consider him to be my boss, I should no longer hold this office."