CONGRATULATIONS JOHN HALL!

Howie, Rep. Hall, John Amato, Lucas Gardner

Congressman Hall has been a real leader on the issues that made him want to get into politics and government. Even in a Republican leaning district he hasn't catered to the knuckledragging mouth-breathers Rahm Emanuel thinks need to be coddled by Democrats. Hall won his race last year despite Emanuel's hysterical warnings that he was too anti-war for the district-- and despite the fact that Emanuel backed a conservative insider against him. But John stuck to his guns and went out of his way to stay in close touch with his constituents and to bring them along on his key ideas about the war. He's been an excellent representative for the 19th CD in New York.

But he had a problem-- a big one. A billionaire Republican hack, Andrew Saul, promised to spend whatever it takes, as much as $5 million of his own money in fact, to beat Hall. Notice I said "had." After being slammed by the NY Times a couple days ago for serious ethical-- if not criminal-- problems, Saul and his wife decided they could do without that kind of publicity-- what will the people at the countryclub think?-- and he pulled out of the race and told the RNCC to go find someone else.

Saul was vice chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and was taking "political donations from two developers [one of whom has a company Saul is a part owner of!] bidding for the right to build a mammoth residential and commercial complex over the authority’s West Side railyards." Not good, although Saul at first tried toughing it out by claiming he was above these kinds of considerations, presumably because he's too rich to be bribed. That didn't fly and today he announced he was giving up his bid to unseat Congressman Hall.


UPDATE: AND THE REPUBLICANS HAVE... NOTHIN'

Republicans started scurrying for a candidate as soon as Saul dropped out. But the list is less than impressive in a district where Hillary Clinton (who lives there) is likely to have massive coattails and against a very impressive and popular incumbent who is voting in Congress the way most of his constituents want him to-- and who has put together a million dollar war chest. "Several Republican names surfaced immediately as possible standard-bearers for the GOP in the district. The list of potential contenders includes state Sen. Vincent Leibell, Assemblyman Greg Ball, Orange County Executive Ed Diana and Michael Finnegan, an investment banker and longtime aide to former New York Gov. George E. Pataki, according to a Republican operative and interviews conducted by CQ Politics."

One of the hapless Repugs, Assemblyman Ball knows 2008 isn't likely to be a Republican year. “George Bush," he said, "has not only hurt the Republican Party, he’s left the nation without leadership. It’s going to be a tough year to run as a Republican at the national level.”

David at Swing State makes the point, eloquently, that New York isn't the only place where the Republicans are experiencing a "debacle" in candidate recruitment. Even before right-wing nut Jon Bruning dropped out in Nebraska this morning, Republicans have been pulling their heads out of their asses, sniffing the fresh air of reality and shoving their heads right back in again. Potential GOP disasters due to recruitment loom in Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, and Colorado.