French center allies themselves with French left, instead copying a winning strategy US Dems surrender to MAGA fascists

From NPR:

But in the month between the dissolution and Sunday’s vote, a coalition of left-wing parties and Macron’s own Ensemble movement struck a series of local “hold your nose” deals, whereby whoever was most likely to defeat the National Rally candidate would get the full support of the other party. The deal was called the “Republican Front,” after the 1936 pact between communists, socialists and others to keep the far right out of power.

###

What likelihood of centrists coming to the left to prevent Trump election? I would venture a guess that most within the political consultant industrial complex would rather lose to Trump rather than win with popular policies that are at the detriment of their patrons in the donor class. In 2020, Florida voted overwhelming for an increase of the state minimum wage but Biden who had white papers supporting increasing the federal minimum wage and tying it to inflation didn't campaign on it to make his name synonymous with increasing the minimum wage law losing the state by nearly 10%. A 30% swing of the same voters were lost because employers and Wall Street are vehemently opposed to increasing the floor of what working people get for their labor. This is but one glaring example of how the centrist neoliberal Democrats would rather lose than win with progressives/Leftists. 

The US is very likely to see a second dose of a Trump administration, but this time there will be far more prepared, far more sycophantic, toadies and as often is the case personnel beats policy. 

Cantor Loses To Tea Party Candidate: Not Holding Breath For The End Of Crony Capitalism

Eric Cantor stepping down from Republican House leadership is being reported as sending shockwaves through political halls of power, I believe that it is actually not an indicative of things to come but rather a lagging indicator that the GOP's purity test is has the party on a trajectory to obliviation. When elected officials that are willing to compromise about anything are thrown out of the party, such as Arlen Spectre and Bob Bennett, there can be no debate or civil discourse between the parties. As the logjam becomes semi permanant, the voters will continually seek to 'throw the bums out' and as the primaries veer off to a more and more untenable obstruction for obstruction sake position the moderates that were thrown out of the party would either join the Democrats or start their own moderate party like the Likud party in Israel.

Starting a third party with centrist inclination while the Democratic party veering back to a populist left position would be best for the nation, having gradients of political policy among the three parties would give more choice to the electorate for having their voice represented while at the same time dissuade an absolutist purity of ideology due to an alternative viable option in the general election. Though that scenario would be best for the electorate and democracy, the more likely outcome is the lip service paid in campaigns against status quo crony-capitalism hegemony but govern to the whims of Big Business so that every election both Republican and Democratic politicians claim to be the savior of Main Street and bash the elite until they are sworn into office. For example, Barack "Change" Obama who repeatedly stated that you can keep sending the same people into office and expect different results-- then goes hires Clinton's old economic team and Bush's Military-Industrial-Complex team to carry out exactly the same policies.

To rebut the Chief Justice of Supreme Court in his McCutcheon decision, but it is absolutely within the role of government to fix the apparatus of democracy and whether the elected representatives decide that the fix is providing transparency of campaign contributions or restricting only constituents to contribute to campaigns or some sort of public financing of campaigns, to keep our democracy strong and transform an out-of-touch Majority Leader losing an election from shock to expected outcome we need to tackle this as an problem that needs a solution.

Zephyr Teachout for New York State Governor

The following is an email I sent to Zephyr Teachout yesterday after Cuomo's allies denied her the WFP endorsement and thereby denied the state a viable liberal alternative to Cuomoccio who has balked at every turn regarding progressive economic policy.


Subject:I implore you to run for Governor in the Dem, WFP primaries and as an Independent 

Ms. Zephyr Teachout, 

I know that a stranger emailing you to ask you to run for Governor of
New York state is quite the non-sequitur, but New Yorkers like myself
need you to be our next governor. New York state is the birthplace of
expanding civil liberties from suffragettes of Seneca Falls to LGBTQ
equality rights activists of Stonewall;  religious freedom under
Flushing Remonstrance and the freedom of the press of the Zenger case shows that New York State is home to those that challenge the conventional wisdom even before the American Revolution; Governors have a tradition of bucking the status quo and being muscular in intervening on behalf of the little guy whether it be DeWitt Clinton, Al Smith, or Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We need you as New York's next governor.

Though I admit I could be incorrect about this, you could collect 175
signatures of WFP enrolled voters and force a primary against Cuomo on
the WFP line while also running on the Democratic line after collecting
15,000 signatures. Also to assure that you appear on the November ballot collect 15,000 signatures of voters in August to run as an independent candidate.

I have included my resume that shows my extensive experience in
electoral campaigns especially here in New York. I first became aware of you as a volunteer for Howard Dean, though you are only first becoming aware of me, I have been aware of the good work you have done for more than a decade. I hope to be able to help you become the next governor of New York and look forward to hearing a response in the very near future.

Working Families Party: Like the Party's Name Constantly Being Duped By Elected Officials For the Sake of Uber Wealthy

This past weekend the Working Families Party (WFP) held their convention to endorse state wide office seekers and provide access to their fusion ballot line (candidates in New York are allowed to appear on multiple parties' ballot lines, when I ran for Clifton Park Town Council I was on both the Democratic and WFP ballot lines). Typically this is a mundane affair, but in recent weeks and months public polls (Quinnipiac and Siena) showed that an unnamed WFP candidate would take 20% or more support in the general election pulling down Cuomo from astronomically high margin of victory to a mere plurality. This is response to Cuomo's triangulation in a state that gets pejoratively put down for it's liberal tendencies despite the fact to the past 30 years that have shown right-wing plutocratic policy has been deleterious to Middle-American family but the conventional wisdom in the halls of power continues to hold that those that were successful in business or the progeny of those successful in business has special knowledge and wisdom when discussing how communities or nations should be organized (surprise they put themselves on top). 

We have seen on a national level in the previous 5 years Obama being elected on the electoral promises that you can't expect change by sending the same people to elected office and that he was going to change the game and not just play it better which in the wake of the Great Recession sounded intuitive-- then proceeded to carry out policy exactly in line with his predecessors; we have seen on the state level 4 years ago Andrew Cuomo was chosen as the Obama's preferred candidate and won election against far right-wing Tea Party backed Carl Paladino-- what could have easily been a clear repudiation of that mindset was instead taken by Cuomo as needing to given excessive deference to the point of view that he was instrumental  to ensuring GOP control of the State Senate relinquishing a vestigial and repudiated world view to be remain as an opposition for the sake of opposition; we have seen on the city level that Bill DeBlasio's being elected on an electoral promise to end domination of the economic elitism and raise up those in outerboroughs that have been dismissed, through policies like stop and frisk that routinely harassed young men and teens of color like his own son-- what might have been expected had the Mayor followed the intentions of the electorated that just hired him would be an immediate suspension of stop and frisks, what we got was hiring Bill Bratton who initiated the program under Rudy Giulliani.  What we might have also expected that the universal  pre-k that was promised to be funded by those earning more than $500,000 a year in the city that just chose him in large part because they wanted to see those that earned a disproportionate income while never receiving their justified comeuppance from their role in the creation of the Great Recession was bamboozled by the governor with a promise of temporary revenues from other parts of the budget (ie. promised matching funds for campaign finance) that could be yanked away at the whim of Cuomo or any other future governor rather than permanent source of revenue to ensure a permanent universal pre-k.

I provide this background not as to make a case as to how consistent elected officials' hypocrisy is but show how the institutionalization of policy making is directly in rebuttal to the will of the people. A minor party like the WFP would be expected to not ever be able to bring enough sway to anything about this situation, and with the eroding union membership the establishment left should be powerless to anything about this trajectory; and yet the WFP along with SEIU 1199, SEIU 32BJ, RWDSU, and Hotel Trades Union have made a concerted effort in getting the electoral promises to be more and more left of center. With WFP's endorsement of Cuomo at the behest of Bill DeBlasio and his top political aide Emma Wolfe (former Political Director at WFP) has commited a critical blow to the progressive/liberal movement. Though the promises continue to be leftward leaning, the delivery of those promises are never to come to fruition. The elected officials decided to pantomime shared beliefs with those self identify as left-wing and those that are activists, but when it comes down to brass tacks they are the Washington Generals to the right-wing plutocrats' Harlem Globetrotters; all the effort to show that they are attempting to win policy implementation but the game is rigged and the end results are already decided against the will of the governed. If the it is inevitable that the WFP will collapse, then they might as well flip the bird to those are decimating the party as they go out the door rather than being courteous and deferential to those will see to it the party no longer exists. The 40% of the state committee that voted to endorse Fordham Law Professor and campaign aide to Howard Dean, Zephyr Teachout might have had this in mind, it is a shame that she did not win the endorsement. I will likely vote for her as write-in candidate both in the primary (if there is one) and the general election.

Why would true believers still volunteer for WFP candidates when they refuse to withhold support after it has been demonstrated those elected officials dismiss demands of the activists the moment they are elected? Why would anyone continue to contribute money to the WFP of that money is going to be spent on candidates that are never to be held accountable, and actually work against WFP states goals? If Cuomo's unspoken threat that if the WFP were to withhold their endorsement would be that he would persuade the unions that supply much needed resources to the WFP to withdraw from the WFP altogether, then what good is endorsing an overt backstabber who has no loyalty nor any shared principle? Cuomo was central to the collapse of the Liberal Party when it was too late to get his name off their ballot in his 2002 aborted run for Governor, Cuomo withdrew from the Governor's race which ensured the Liberal Party wouldn't receive enough votes to retain ballot access, so it is well within Cuomo's modus oprendi to follow a 'Scorched Earth' policy in regards to his allies, but oddly not his opponents (at least not conservative opponents). If Bill DeBlasio knows that he will not receive full hearted support from Cuomo (as demonstrated by Cuomo killing any guaranteed revenue for universal pre-k) why work so hard to ensure attain the ballot line of third party if not squelch real progressive change?

If Cuomo thinks that a winning presidential strategy is to deride the left's most vocal activists, I'm not sure who's votes he's expecting to win in the primary, but I know it is not mine!

Steamroller Spitzer: Had To Go; "My Way or No Way" Cuomo: Can Stay Forever

So it was often referred to in 2008 and throughout Eliot Spitzer's governship that he 'did not play well with others' which was part of the rationale to why he couldn't weather out the storm of his perchance to use high end prostitutes like current Senator David Vitter did when he was outed as a family values politician that flouted his family obligations. Assemblyman Keith Wright in an attempt to collect endorsements from Democratic clubs around the city came across the problem that the Governor is not too popular among the most active Democratic activists, as seen in the below quote from Capital New York article:

Later, (satirist and protest candidate for governor Randy) Credico asked (former Assemblyman Peter) Grannis, “How is the comptroller’s relationship with Andrew Cuomo? Seriously.” After a few moments of silence from Grannis, who had a knowing smile on his face, Credico added, “Be honest.”

“I know the answer to the question," Grannis replied. "It’s a strained relationship and that’s unfortunate because we … could be a much more aggressive and productive partner with the governor.” He added, “the governor has this approach: my way or no way.”

AND

“Expectations have been high for this governor because of what he did with the Marriage Equality Act,” Wright told the crowd. “Why can’t he do that everywhere? I mean, that’s the question. This governor is in firm support of the Dream Act. I’m going to tell you quite frankly, the New York State Senate doesn’t like it. They hate it. And the Dream Act really doesn’t poll that well. So, you have senators that just won’t do it, just won’t do it. You’re giving tuition, financial aid to children of undocumented immigrants. Every place is not Greenwich Village."

So the styles of the Governors could be considered similar, if there was even a small smell of scandal would Cuomo be forced to resign as Spitzer did due to lack of support? Or would Cuomo weather the storm due to the support that his grating leadership style has lost him are the grassroots and not the big money contributors. In the documentary "Client 9", Ken Langone (billionaire founder of Home Depot) was shown in his own words to have inside information about investigating Eliot Spitzer prior to any knowledge of Spitzer's involvement with prostitutes, and demonstrated that his personality had nothing to do with his resignation but that his grating and obnoxious was merely directed towards the wrong segment of society, the organized money. Andrew Cuomo's obnoxious behavior is set against the least among us and those in the middle class, so he is secure in getting an insurmountable level of support and resources from those that are morbidly wealthy. Only those that have near infinite resources cannot be offended by elected officials that dare to seek out to carry out the will of the people and enforce the law indifferent to size of his/her bank account. When organized money screams for the heads of elected officials, get behind those candidates for office; when organized money get behind elected officials they find agreeable, scream for their heads and oppose them in every possible democratic institution.

But maybe the current New York State governor with future presidential ambitions should look to a previous holder of that office for some advice:

"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace-business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hatred for me - and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second administration that in it these forces met their master.- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Speech at Madison Square Garden"

Patrick Gaspard: Complicit in systemic homophobia

Sent: Thu 9/5/2013 12:37 PM
To: 'patrickg@1199.org'; 'patrickg@dnc.org'; 'patrickg@democrats.org'; 'pgaspard@dnc.org'; 'pgaspard@democrats.org'; 'patrickg@whitehouse.gov'; 'pgaspard@whitehouse.gov'; 'patrick.gaspard@democrats.org'; 'patrick.gaspard@dnc.org'; 'patrick.gaspard@whitehouse.gov'

Mr. Gaspard,

You very likely do not remember me or the incidents that occurred around May and June of 2007 while I was employed by SEIU 1199's political department, but as the forwarded email below shows you were aware of it at the time. With your likely appointment to Ambassador to South Africa I hope that the spirit of reconciliation, that could bring even F.W. de Clerk to admit his responsibility and apologize for his part  of Apartheid, would enter your heart so that you too would be able to own up to your part in a vastly smaller infraction to human equality. There is as Ms. Platt said five years ago professional repercussions to challenging someone as influential as you, but if it is more advantageous to buttress the status quo and let malevolence go unchecked I do not wish to profit from such systemic evil.  

I want to refresh your memory, that on the June 29th before the meeting of all the organizers (essentially a closing ceremony) you called me to further explain that you had not done anything wrong, and that it would be illegal to fire any of the organizers (under what I could only assume was the presumption that the organizers that were released from their contracts to work for your department still had some collective bargaining agreement with SEIU not just their union shops); I had even given examples of organizers refusing to work, sleeping on the job, and taking SEIU rented van to drive into Manhattan to complain about not being authorized to drive the SEIU van any longer (the last example was not fully fleshed out at the time). In each instance you held to your belief that they couldn't be fired. I stated that New York State was an At-Will Work State, and employers could fire employees at will just as employees could leave the employer, even after the declarative statement you still held to the belief that it was still illegal to dismiss these employees. You, within the course of our discussion, mentioned that you had been called the n-word in the work environment. We hold different opinions on whether or not that would be just cause for termination-- I would have no qualms about sacking an individual for stating such racial epitaphs and you have no objections to continuing that bigot's employment.

Yesterday a federal jury awarded Brandi Johnson $280,000 for her supervisor using the n-word towards her in one incident that happened to be recorded. The consistent culture and use of homophobic phrases within the department that you were head of, is your responsibility. I bringing this up not for litigious reasons, but to ensure you know the labor laws in New York State are the opposite that you so emphatically assured me, and you carried out in policy within the SEIU's Political department.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/jury-n-word-workplace-article-1.1444600

Sean Finnerty

P.S.

Due to not knowing which if any of the emails I'm sending to you will reach you, I am also going to post tread of emails on my own website and send a link to your twitter.

-----Original Message-----

From: Sean Finnerty

Sent: Fri 6/29/2007 9:56 AM

To: Patrick Gaspard; 'kymplatt@gmail.com'; Joshua Gold; Van Parish; Betel Manjura; Robert Constant; Debra Pucci; Laura Santucci

Subject: RE: Kym Platt

Other than the pluralization of the homophobic comment from yesterday's 4:00PM meeting everything that was in Ms. Platt's email was consistent with the truth. The omission of Mr. Gaspard's squashing any intolerant language in Ms. Platt's email does not take away from the essential message. The greater issue that I believe Ms. Platt was referring to is the culture of intolerance that exists within the union membership as well as Friends & Family campaign employees. In large part the hateful outbursts that occurred May 31st was the catalyst to the June 6th meeting that was attended by Mr. Parish, Ms. Manjura, and Mr. Gold. The May 31st outburst was also witnessed by former SEQ Area Coordinator Mr. Daniel May who had commented to me afterward that he was shocked at how angry and hateful they were.

On May 21st the community organizers were directed to get confirmations from pastors for a church blitz for Sunday June 3rd and after getting a confirmation with a specific church that they would write which of the community organizers would be attending which church on piece of butcher paper on the wall. On May 31st, 3 days till the church blitz, there were only 2 churches written on the wall. As a reaction to the utter lack of initiative on the part of the vast majority of community organizers was that Ms. Platt and myself gave them the direction that the activity they would blitz on Sunday was the Queens Gay Pride Parade/Festival. Due to Ms. Platt's and my justified assumption that the community organizers already held homophobic beliefs I took it upon myself to be the only lead to give the direction, with the intent that as a heterosexual it would soften the community organizer's homophobia. Their intolerant outburst and hateful language would have ended in an immediate termination in other organization that I have worked with in the past, but the culture that permeates throughout the union of lax or non-existent discipline creates the effect of absence of accountability on the part of the community organizers.

The pliant attitude towards discipline that is held by Ms. Manjura, Ms. Pucci, Mr. Parish, and Mr. Gold causes the continuation of a work environment that is complicit of intolerance and bigotry. Mr. Gold and Mr. Parish were both aware of the behavioral problems from the South East Queens team previous to the beginning of phase 2. Ms. Manjura became aware of the behavioral problem no later than the morning meeting on June 6th in the Political Action Department’s office, which resulted in her attendance of the South East Queens team meeting at 12:00 of the same day.

Within the same spirit as Mr. Gaspard’s comments that ‘there are community organizers, and then there are community organizers-in-name-only,’ it is my belief that a substantial minority of the Friend’s & Family campaign’s community organizers are wholly unemployable, and that a majority of the  community organizers are incapable of performing tasks beyond that of a canvasser. Under serious scrutiny and a thorough interview those that are unemployable would have never been hired.  Under Mr. Gaspard’s tenure as Political Director the union delegates that are delegates-in-name-only continue to hold their positions, it would be counter-intuitive for any direct supervisor or objective outside observer to come to the conclusion that if the head of the political department is frustrated with dead weight within the organization and cannot do anything about it there is little if anything that direct supervisors can do about ridding the same dead weight that exists beneath them. 

As Ms. Platt had noted in her email, the 4:00PM meeting was simply a venue for sub-par employees to pile-on complaints towards their supervisors. I also did not feel comfortable in the room, but due to the futile belief that my staying and taking hypocritical and unjustifiable attacks on my work performance would show my ability to be the bigger man would accomplish anything. The complaints and the reiteration of incidents heard yesterday, as stated in the meeting by me, was nearly a daily occurrence. Nothing was resolved yesterday in large part because of the systemic problem that the union’s culture is counter productive. If a line worker chooses not to work, they can simply distract themselves, coworkers and their supervisor with petty interpersonal problems and not held accountable for his/her choice not to work. It was never expressed throughout the 3 hour meeting that the leadership style of Ms. Platt, Mr. Constant or myself detrimentally effected their ability to accomplish their work duties.

Sean Finnerty

Friends & Family Campaign

Area Coordinator

sean.finnerty@1199.org

(917) 612-9021

-----Original Message-----

From: Patrick Gaspard

Sent: Thu 6/28/2007 10:10 PM

To: 'kymplatt@gmail.com'; Joshua Gold; Van Parish; Betel Manjura; Sean Finnerty; Robert Constant; Debra Pucci; Laura Santucci

Subject: Re: Kym Platt

Kim, did Sean tell you my response to that derogatory language? I'm certain that he must have. I didn't tolerate a hint of homophobia in that meeting. I made it abundantly clear to all that we have zero tolerance for hate speech. And to be absolutely factual, this negative expression came from a single member of the team and others showed their disapproval when I chastised her. Sean would be doing you a disservice if he failed to communicate the incident in its full dimension.

This afternoon, I moved quickly in response to what I saw as a cowardly attack against you and Sean in the form of a petition. I clearly stated my displeasure with the organizers at the start of the meeting. I did not deprive you of the letter. You never gave me an opportunity to share it with you. You stormed out of the room after I asked every participant to be mindful of tone and language. You weren't robbed of the opportunity to defend yourself. You left when I asked you and all to refrain from cursing. That is a perfectly reasonable ask in a professional setting. I was disappointed when you indicated that you are unable to conduct a conversation without resorting to foul language. In your absence I spoke out vigorously on your behalf. Your storming out of the room was inappropriate and immature. Sean can attest to my defense of your leadership style and my promotion of your accomplishments. I hope that he will be honest enough to do so as a response to this email. Any repurcussions you experience as a result of your decision to exit today's conversation will be entirely unrelated to your performance in the field.

The details of the incidents in Southeast Queens that you allude to were not directed to my attention. I would never allow you to suffer such indignities in an 1199 space without addressing the offenders. Gary Hilliard and others who targeted you based on gender or sexual orientation will be properly addressed. Please accept my deepest apologies for any hatred directed at you by anyone on this organization's payroll.

-----Original Message-----

From: Kym Platt 

To: Joshua Gold; Patrick Gaspard; Van Parish; Betel Manjura; Sean Finnerty; Robert Constant; Debra Pucci

Sent: Thu Jun 28 21:37:27 2007

Subject: Kym Platt

This afternoon I was verbally abused and called a "dyke bitch" by community organizer Gary Hilliard, who called me this inches from my face in a threatening manner.  A few hours later, a meeting was convened as a forum for the community organizers to express their complaints against me and my co-Area Coordinator Sean Finnerty.  The impetus behind this meeting was a letter and petition calling for my removal from the project as the Area Coordinator.  I was never shown the letter or the petition, although both were sent to the entire leadership staff of The Healthcare Education Project, including George Gresham, the President of 1199.  This alone is character defamation.

I felt that from the moment that I walked into the room that it was nothing more than a venue for personal attacks rather than constructive criticism.  Still hurt and frightened from Gary Hilliard's offensive and bigoted comments, I chose to leave the meeting rather than further subject myself to the hostility and attacks of what felt like a homophobic lynch mob.  Especially, when I knew that I would be unable to defend myself properly, and had received no support from my supervisors.

It was later confirmed by my co-worker, Sean Finnerty, that several references were made by community organizers regarding my sexual orientation and gender expression, including being called "manly" by Yvonne Ming.  

Throughout this entire campaign I have worked in a charged and hostile environment in which there are documented cases of explosive behavior and near-violent incidents by several community organizers.  I have endured numerous personal verbal attacks and been made fun of because of my sexual orientation and gender expression without being allowed any professional leverage as a supervisor to counter any of it.  I had previously alerted Josh Gold and Van Parrish about the challenging conditions I was working under when community organizers Michael Harris and Anne-Marie Parris stated to me that they "hated gay people" and did not wish to attend the scheduled Gay Pride event in Queens.  Nothing was done about this.  I feel management has not defended me.  My complaints have not been dealt with and little support has been given to me to enforce my very basic human rights; rights supported by New York State Law.

I have worked extremely hard on The Health Care Education Project: Friends And Family Neighborhood Action Plan.  I strongly believe in the focus and goals of the project.  However staying for today's meeting to face more bigotry and anger was more than I felt I could do.  Now I fear professional repercussions because of the disempowering situation within which I was required to navigate.

Sincerely,

Kym Platt

New York City's Republican Nomination up for sale to Democratic State Senator

So former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion (D) is already running for Mayor with intentions of running under the Independence Party or non-affiliated. Former MTA chief Joe Lhota and grocery store magnate John Catsimadis are already viable Republican nominees that will running for mayor later this year. The Democratic primary will likely be source of the city's next mayor among the 4-5 declared candidates. What else would New York City need in the mayoral race this year? How about Democrat State Senator trying to buy his way onto the Republican primary ballot-- not buying a Republican nomination just onto the ballot. Not entirely sure how the electorate that make up the Republican primary is supposed be won over by former State Senate Majority Leader. The neighborhoods that Senator Smith represents has some of the lowest Republican enrollment of the city, and the Republicans elsewhere in the city would be right to be skeptical of a turn-coat that will continue to be a Democrat in Albany. It is less than convincing that Republican primary voters would share the values of a man who refuse to publicly to be member of their party.


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bribing_his_way_onto_the_ballot_3XFvV67oWZHFo7bVdoCkcO

Oh SNAP! The Slasher got back on the ballot

So it's official my District Leader, for now, disgraced party flip flopping, slush fund stealing all around thug Hiram Monserate got on the ballot.

Monser-Rat!

Today in response to my State Senator betraying his Democratic Party, I called to have my displeasure with him as a constituent and I am guessing I'm not the only one since the constituent liaison who picked up the phone kept fumbling the name of his boss.

It went a little something like this.
HM staffer: "Senator Malcolm's ... I mean Hiram Monserrate's office, how can I help you?"

Me: "I'm a constituent and would like to leave a message for the Senator."

HM staffer: "um, so where in Smith's I mean the senator's district do you live?"

Me: "[Gave address]"

HM staffer: "What's the message?"

Me: "He's a disgrace."

Brokered Convention

We could see the first televised brokered convention one maybe even both national parties this summer. With the GOP so scatter-shot four or even five candidates that are plausible to be nominees (plausible= Giuliani; Huckabee; Romney; McCain, and much less plausible Thompson). On the Democratic side Obama and Hillary are unlikely more than 45% of the delegates except in their respective home states. A brokered convention is probably what Edwards is banking on, because when Denver rolls around and head-to-head match ups are the only thing the political press can write about Edwards will certainly look better than Hillary, and Hillary will probably start slinging mud at Obama to take the shine off him. Saving grace for Hillary and Obama are that some states have winner-take-all primaries, I couldn't find a list of them on the net , but thenattering-nay-bobs of negativity (aka the media) will get around to talking about it by Febuary 5th.

Democrats: Colleges must police copyright, or else | CNET News.com

Democrats: Colleges must police copyright, or else | CNET News.com
Ridiculous! Democrats can not find the huevos to stop Bush breaking the law regarding American's right to privacy and from illegal searches, but they can crack down on peer-to-peer networks (not the individuals who participate mind you but the colleges that may have only one student illegally downloading music and movies). The Democratic Congress is threaten to withdraw all federal finacial aid and benefits to institutions of higher learning that will not name-names of students who download copyrighted material. The Congressional Democrats cannot get it together stop the Iraq War which they were given the majority last November for, but they twiddle their thumbs and do the bidding of copyright holders! American universities and colleges do not have anything better to do that track every move their students make online? Really!?! Because I remember in 2004 Kerry, and the Democratic platform had nothing but bad things to say about unfunded mandates regarding education... what happened to that old saw? It is not the government's job insure the movie and music industries' profits. It is not the government's job to be the movie and music industries' thug to scare individuals. We do not have the FBI or local cops standing in the doorway of Wal-Marts to prevent Wal-Mart customers from shoplifting. Our government does not pull up the roads that lead to the Wal-Mart to punish the shoplifters.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are throwing a temper tantrum over the fact that their industries are changing. Despite the legal concept of safe harbor (ie media hosting services such as YouTube.com who pull copyrighted material after notified or internet service providers not being culpable of their customers' actions online) the media industries cannot seem to get over the fact they are going to have start suing all of their potentional customers or deal with the fact that they will always have some of their copyrighted media loose on the net.

The Chief Reports: Can't Keep Both Salaries: Say City Reservists Repaying Too Much

Can't Keep Both Salaries

Say City Reservists Repaying Too Much

By
REUVEN BLAU
The state should create a uniform differential pay program to accommodate city workers returning from military duty who are now required to pay back as much as $100,000 of their supplemental earnings, a Democratic candidate for State Assembly said last week

"These are people who are literally defending the city against future terrorist attacks," said Rory Lancman, who's running to succeed Queens Assemblyman
Brian M. McLaughlin, who is not seeking a new term. "We are not asking for them to get free money. All we are asking for is that the city calculate the money fairly, so that these guys are not paying more
than they received."

PBA,
Council Supporters

The proposal has also been championed by City Council Members Michael E. McMahon and Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. as well as the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

The Bloomberg administration, however, has traditionally opposed legislation that would add to the city's already burgeoning pension and labor costs.

"It's a very small sum in the scheme of things to protect this city," Mr. Lancman countered. "We are not talking about more than a couple of thousand city workers. It's not going to be more than a few million dollars."

State statute requires every locality to continue to pay up to 30 days a year to workers who perform ordinary National Guard and Reserve military service. After Sept. 11, 2001, that period was extended to 60 days for employees called up in connection with the terrorist attacks.

The state Department of Civil Service provides differential pay for state workers called to duty, who must choose between receiving their military or state salaries. The state determines the employee's total military pay, which includes a housing and food allowance, and then adjusts and supplements the worker's periodic paycheck so that the combined pay equals their normal civilian salary.

City
Staff Must Repay

City workers, however, are required to repay the lesser of the two salaries upon returning from military service. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services has also asked that the workers repay military housing, food, and hazardous duty allowances."The way the city is calculating how much these guys owe is based on gross pay as opposed to net pay," Mr. Lancman added. "The city is actually asking them to pay back more than they receive. That's ridiculous."

Kristen Zach, Councilman McMahon's Deputy Chief of Staff, said that her Police Officer husband returned from a year of military service in 2002 but only recently received a letter from DCAS asking for the money to be returned.

"It was a huge surprise," she remarked, noting that they owe $37,000 according to the city's calculations. "Now we have to figure out what to do. A lot of people were lulled into a false sense of hope."

Saved But Then Spent

Most officers initially saved the extra wages but then spent the money, she said. "Because there was no word for four years, people didn't really expect they were going to have to pay back," she commented. "Other cities such as Philly and Los Angeles have cancelled the debt." Most of the officers, she continued, aren't expecting the Bloomberg administration to erase the debt. "Nobody is saying we shouldn't have to pay anything back," she added. "It's just not reasonable the way the city is calculating payments."

Council Member McMahon has drafted a resolution urging the Bloomberg administration to change the way the city has estimated what employees owe. "It's a way to encourage the Mayor to do the right thing," Ms. Zach said. A mayoral spokesman declined to comment on the proposal, noting that it has not yet been drafted.

According to an internal DCAS memo, there have been 1,624 city workers called to active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. The departments most affected and the numbers of reservists in each are: Police Department, 988; Fire Department, 172; Correction Department, 149; Sanitation Department, 65; and Human Resources Administration, 34.

Sanitation
Faster to Notify

Agencies have established their repayment plans differently, the document noted. For instance, the Sanitation Department has been notifying employees of their obligation to pay back the money shortly after the workers return from service.

The NYPD, however, has only recently begun sending letters to members telling them about the amounts that they owe, the memo acknowledged. "The first letters went to approximately 100 individuals who returned from military duty from 2001 through September 2002," the DCAS document noted. "The NYPD expects to issue letters at a later point to those individuals who returned from leave in more recent years."

Because of the delay, many of the officers have already retired, Mr. Lancman pointed out. Those officers have been ordered to pay the money in full within 30 days. In contrast, current employees are required to give no more than 10 percent of their biweekly civilian salary towards repayment. "When they came back, the city was going to let it slide," the Assembly candidate asserted. "You can't retire, because the day you retire you are going to owe the whole thing."

Not a Crowd-Pleaser

The DCAS memo also noted the negative media attention the issue had been attracting since the notification letters were mailed. DCAS Director of Communications Mark Daly advised city officials that the matter "appeared in at least two news reports and was the subject of a call to the Mayor's radio show."

Mr. Addabbo, who chairs the Civil Service and Labor Committee, said that he will hold a hearing on the matter in early fall. "The issue has to be paid attention to," he remarked in an Aug. 15 phone interview. "So many of our city workers are being hit with a severe financial burden." Mr. Lancman's broader proposal is in its nascent stages. He is pitted against Morshed Alam, who is running as a Democrat and a Republican, in the Sept. 12 primary election. Mr. Alam is also a member of District Council 37's Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375.

But Mr. Lancman is quick to point out that Mr. Alam's own local has refused to endorse him, despite his gaining the backing of DC 37. Mr. Lancman, who political pundits view as the favorite, has been endorsed by many elected officials and has broad labor support, including
that of the United Federation of Teachers and the DC 37 Retirees' Association.

Alam Hate Rally Backfires

All you really need to know about the difference between Democrat Rory Lancman and Republicrat Morshed Alam can be found by reading this week's community newspapers and see how each of them spent their week: Rory's law firm took on the case of dozens of Queens businesses devastated by last month's blackout in a lawsuit against Con Ed (Courier; Chronicle), and he spoke at a rally in support of Israel alongside Congressman Anthony Weiner, Councilman Jim Gennaro and other elected officials attended by over 500 people (Times Ledger), while Morshed was excoriated for playing the race card to hide his seeming inability to muster the 500 signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot from actual Democrats who actually live in the District (Tribune: "Shame on Morshed Alam for stooping to such low campaign tactics . . . Morshed Alam should be ashamed of the actions of his campaign -- and he owes Rory Lancman an apology."; Examiner: "Poking holes in Alam and Nath's charge of xenophobia is Lancman's choice for female district leader, Uma Sengupta, herself a member of the South Asian community. Her petition was also challenged [by Alam]. 'If these candidates are so concerned about South Asians having the opportunity to run for office, why did they challenge my petitions to prevent me from getting on the ballot?'"; Times/Ledger: "Seven leaders of the district's civic associations also made a joint statement defending Lancman, calling Alam's allegations "a tactic to win votes.";)

The funny (sad?) part about Alam's rally, as the Tribune reported, is that he tried to pretend it was staged by a non-political and heretofore unknown group, "The Immigrant Coalition For Democracy" (headed by, you guessed it, Alam's campaign manager), except that someone forgot to tell Alam that when you fax a press release from your campaign office, it prints out of the recipient's fax machine with the sender's identity printed on top (you guessed it again: "Alam4Assembly"). D'OH!

Tough Week For Morshed Alam

It's been a tough week for Republicrat Morshed Alam, who is Democrat Rory Lancman's opponent for the open 25th District State Assembly seat in Queens. First, he got caught using a non-union printer for his lit and posters, even though the lit in question touts his being a DC37 member and claims he "Supports labor's right to organize and for their members to be treated with dignity and respect." I guess that doesn't apply to workers in the printing trade. Then the New York Observer caught him fabricating endorsements. The reporter's conversation with Councilman Leroy Comrie is particularly funny ("He's been calling me and begging me and calling me and asking me and calling me and asking me."). Then the Queens Tribune outed Alam as also running on the Republican line (understandably, Alam was "reluctant" to discuss his Republican endorsement). And finally Alam's campaign finance filing showed him with barely $14,000 on hand. (Rory Lancman filed with over $78,000 on hand). Like I said, it's been a tough week for Morshed.
Rory, on the other hand, had another great week, with UNITE HERE adding its name to the formidable list of unions already backing Rory, including 32BJ, RWDSU, CSEA, DC37 Retirees, DC37 Local 983, UFCW Local 1500, Carpenters Local 45, Mason Tenders, Painters DC9, SEIU Local 74, CWA 1180, 1106 & 1102 (and, of course, the Working Families Party).

Les Roberts drops out from the 24th Congressional Race

Les Roberts, Public Health Expert and former CDC official, decided last week to end his run for Congress and leave Michael Arcuri, DA of Oneida County, to be lone Democrat running for the seat being vacated by Sherwood Boehlert (R-Utica).


It is my opinion that if there was enough demand from New Yorkers for him to run for State Senate (against James Seward), he might roll his current federal contributions to a state account and have a considerable amount of money to run a viable race against a State Senator who has been involved in lots of corruption centered around railroad exec and cooperstown fundraiser Walter Rich. I urge anyone reading this please ask Les Roberts to throw his hat into the ring and run against James Seward.

les@lesroberts2006.com

Roberts drops out of 24th District race

Democrat’s decision leaves Arcuri and three Republicans remaining

By Tom Grace, The Daily Star

Cooperstown News Bureau

Chenango County Democrat Les Roberts, 44, withdrew Wednesday from the 24th Congressional District race.

Roberts, of German, said it had become clear to him that Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri was better-funded and supported by Democratic leaders in the district.

"Michael Arcuri is a strong candidate, and I came to the realization that my staying in the race would only make it more difficult for him to win in November," Roberts said Wednesday morning. "I think it’s critically important that we elect a Democrat and that Democrats take control of the House of Representatives."

Roberts said, "Republican control of the Congress and White House in recent years has given us the most destructive governance since the Vietnam War."

The pre-emptive war against Iraq and record deficits fueled by "tax gifts for the richest few" have left the United States greatly weakened, he said.

In recent years, "one-party rule has degraded the Constitution and American civil liberties dramatically," Roberts continued. "We need to do something about that this year."

Roberts said he would try to help Arcuri win in November, and later in the morning, Arcuri had kind words for his former opponent.

"Although it’s helpful to be the only candidate from my party, I’ll miss Les Roberts on the campaign trail," Arcuri said. "He’s very intelligent, very honest, and I know he brought our campaign up a few notches."

Roberts was the third Democrat to leave the race to succeed retiring Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford. Earlier, former Cortland Mayor Bruce Tytler and Utica attorney Leon Koziol ended their campaigns. Koziol is now running for the New York state Senate.

Roberts’ withdrawal leaves four declared candidates in the race: Arcuri and three Republicans: state Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Western; Brad Jones, general manager of ITT Industries-Gould Pumps of Auburn, and Robert "Ken" Camera, an energy consultant from Geneva.

In response to Roberts’ comments, Meier said, "You know, the Democrats in this district continually try to make this race about Washington, but it’s not: It’s about who best reflects the desires and aspirations of the people in the district.

"They’d like to run against Tom DeLay, but they’re not," he said. "They’re running against me."

Meier said he already has been endorsed by Republican committees in Oneida, Cortland and Ontario counties, and by Republican executive committees in Seneca and Herkimer counties.

Jones, the first candidate to enter the race, said, "It looks like that leaves us with two lawyers and me in the race. One lawyer is a career politician, and the other one wants to be. Then we have one businessman who’d like to restore some fiscal responsibility to the federal government."

Camera said, "I can understand the problems Les encountered because it’s tough to run against big money. In my race, I tell people the Republicans have a choice between a candidate with few ideas and lots of money like Ray Meier, and one with lots of ideas and little money, like me."

Typically, GOP leaders have opted for money over ideas, Camera said, but he will stay in the race nonetheless to force a primary, campaigning mostly from his website, http://www.kencamera.us.

Roberts, an epidemiologist whose study of deaths in the Iraq War was published in the British medical journal Lancet, said he doesn’t regret his foray into politics in central New York.

"I’ve found that the Democratic Party of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt and the Republican Party of Dwight Eisenhower are still alive at the grass-roots level, and that’s heartening," he said. "Our local governments are far better and more honestly run than the federal government, and that’s good to see, too."

However, Roberts said he also is more convinced that ever that American elections need immediate reform:

"I think it’s very important that we take the private money out of elections, so candidates can discuss the issues in depth, and voters can find out who they’re really voting for."

Democrat running in NY's 24th Congressional District

This guy has worked in more war zones than the entire bush administrations. I know that the Bushies are not ones to every put themselves in the line of fire that why Les Roberts needs to be sent to Congress.

Democrat running in Ny's 20th

Fundraising by Boehlert trails previous years

Opponents say he may not run again

By Tom Grace

Cooperstown News Bureau

Is U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, running for re-election?

Based on the amount of money the congressman has raised, the answer might well be "no."

Boehlert, 69, will make an announcement in March, his spokesman, Sam Marchio, said Friday.

"I think he’ll announce his plans in the third week of March because that’s when Congress will be in recess," Marchio said.

First elected a representative in 1982, Boehlert, a self-styled moderate Republican, has cruised to victory in every general el

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ection since then. But in 2002 and 2004, he faced strong primary challenges from conservative candidates in his party.

And in 2004, an underfunded Democratic candidate, Utica College Professor Jeff Miller, managed to win about a third of the vote with a campaign that raised less than $40,000.

In the same election cycle, Boehlert’s campaign spent more than $1.5 million, according to the Center For Responsive Politics.

Boehlert, chairman of the House Science Committee, has consistently raised more money than his opponents over the years. But money has not been pouring in at the usual rate this time. As of Sept. 30, Boehlert’s campaign had $166,220 on hand, according to the CFRP, which obtains its information from the Federal Elections Commission.

Asked why Boehlert, who has three challengers registered with FEC and others professing interest in the race, has not been more aggressively raising money, Marchio said, "I think he’s been more focused on policy than politics."

In about two weeks, the FEC will release figures on money raised in the last quarter of 2005. Marchio said these numbers "probably" will show Boehlert has raised less money at this stage of the 2006 election cycle than in recent elections.

"What you have to remember is he’s shown he can raise the money when he needs to," Marchio said.

But will he need to?

Democrat Les Roberts of German, who announced his candidacy for 24th District seat a few weeks ago, said Friday that the smaller-than-usual size of Boehlert’s war chest does make it appear the incumbent is getting ready to retire.

Also, although Boehlert has often voted with his party on budgets, alienating some liberal voters, he has also broken ranks on other issues, such as drilling for oil in Alaska, alienating some in House leadership, Roberts observed.

With the House dominated by conservative Republicans, Roberts said, Boehlert may not be given another committee chairmanship when his tenure as Science Committee chairman expires this year.

"That might be a reason to retire, too," he said.

Miller, who said Friday that he will announce his election plans Monday, said he, too, thinks the incumbent is getting ready to retire.

The first candidate to challenge Boehlert in this cycle was Republican Brad Jones, general manager of ITT Industries-Gould Pumps in Auburn and the former mayor of Seneca Falls.

Jones, whose campaign has raised nearly $86,000 so far, said he has heard the rumors that Boehlert will step down.

"It won’t really affect my campaign, because I’m running for the office no matter who else is running," Jones said.

Jones said he has heard that state Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, and state Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Utica, are considering runs for the 24th congressional district seat.

Duncan Davie, Seward’s spokesman, said Friday that Seward is not considering a run for Congress at present.

"There is no vacancy in that district," Davie said.

However, if Boehlert were to announce his pending retirement this spring, Seward might consider running, Davie said.

In addition to Jones and Roberts, Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri, a Democrat, has registered with the FEC.

Other candidates who have expressed interest include Utica lawyer Leon Koziol and former Cortland Mayor Bruce Tytler, both Democrats.

Spitzer picks Patterson over Eve for Lt. Gov

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 23, 7:38 PM ET

ALBANY, N.Y. - Democrat Eliot Spitzer, the leading candidate for governor, has chosen New York's top black legislator as his running mate, a person familiar with the decision said Monday.
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State Senate Democratic leader David Paterson, who is legally blind, is credited with narrowing his party's deficit in the Senate, controlled by Republicans since 1965.

Paterson has agreed to run as lieutenant governor with Spitzer, according to the source, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because no official announcement is expected for a few days. Spitzer, the state's attorney general, is known for his crackdown on Wall Street abuses.

A spokesman for Paterson, 51, had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the state Republican chairman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

"He is a legitimate, intelligent and so far effective reformer," former Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo said of Paterson.

Paterson was elected in 1985 at age 31, representing a Manhattan district. He was elected minority leader in 2002 and addressed the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

He has sought to open the budget process and change the workings of the Senate, which provides little power to the minority party.

He lives in Harlem with his wife and two children. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Hofstra University Law School.

His father, Basil Paterson, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1970 and later became New York secretary of state.

In October, Basil Paterson endorsed another Democrat running for lieutenant governor, Leecia Eve, according to Eve's Web site.