What Do Progressives In Upstate New York Think Of The Candidate Democratic Bosses Picked To Run For Kirsten Gillibrand's House Seat?

I asked a prominent progressive from Saratoga County to give us an assessment of the race to fill Kristen Gillibrand's House seat. He doesn't sound very optimistic:

BLUE DOG ANYONE

Here in the 20th congressional district of Upstate New York we have borne our share of electoral indignities over the years. Chief among these were Congressman Gerry Solomon (R), who once famously claimed on the House floor that his wife needed to be able to have assault weapons to defend herself (in their exclusive and wealthy neighborhood of mansions in Queensbury, NY).  Solomon’s successor, handpicked by Republicans was the infamous John Sweeney, a drunk, spousal abuser, and quite possibly the main reason (see Florida recount shutdown) we suffered through 8 years of the worst presidency in the country’s history. When then Congressional candidate Kirsten Gillibrand decided to run for the seat in the '06 election, she was enthusiastically embraced by Democrats and progressives in the district. During her campaign she portrayed herself as a progressive, promising to help bring the Iraq war to an end and to restore some accountability to Congress. Once elected, she joined the Blue Dog caucus and repeatedly voted for funding Bush’s war. In a delegation of increasingly progressive congressional Democrats from New York State, she acted more like a Republican than a Democrat would, should or could. Shortly after being picked by now unpopular NY Governor David Patterson to fill Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, it was revealed that she had a 100% approval rating from the NRA.  She also told reporters that she kept shotguns under her bed to protect her family in “dangerous” Hudson, NY.  Brilliant, considering that she has 2 young children, one a toddler!

Now with a vacated seat here in the 20th CD, we are left with 2 choices: James Tedisco (R), a 25 year NY assemblyman with no legislative accomplishments and who is barely coherent, or a newcomer, Scott Murphy, a venture capitalist. Murphy, originally from Missouri, worked as an aide for Missouri's former Democratic governors, Mel Carnahan and Roger Wilson.

Murphy’s website is light on details of how he would represent the district.  Consider these position factoids from his website:

America and the World

Scott believes the US can be an effective leader in the world on fighting terrorism, combating climate change, and helping those suffering from poverty and hunger.

Hmm. Hard to be against those issues. Tell me more

Health Care

With about 47 million Americans lacking health insurance-- and many more unable to afford skyrocketing costs-- the United States is facing a health care crisis. As a successful businessman, Scott knows the strain that rising health care costs place on small business, families, and local communities.

Scott believes we must find a bipartisan solution that provides health care access to everyone.

By increasing coverage, we can reduce visits to the emergency room and ensure that no family is forced to choose between quality health care and other necessities. Scott has pledged to work with President Obama, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and leaders in the health care industry to find common ground on ways to expand health care coverage to all Americans.

Scott applauded the bipartisan passage of an expansion of the successful State Children’s Health Insurance Program as an important step forward in making sure every American has access to health insurance.

Scott also supports federally-funded stem cell research. This research holds promise to provide cures to some of the most devastating diseases including childhood diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

Again not very substantive. How will coverage be increased?  Are you advocating Single Payer Universal healthcare? Why not? How does one find a bipartisan solution with the party of NO? The last paragraph should be a no brainer as almost all progressives support Stem cell research and probably a majority of Republicans. It is also a moot point as President Obama will reverse the bush policies prohibiting stem cell research by executive order.

Job Creation and Economic Recovery

Scott doesn’t just talk about putting people back to work, he has actually helped create over 1,000 jobs, including jobs in growing sectors like green energy and internet technology. It’s that kind of private sector experience and willingness to look beyond ideology that we need in Washington to get our economy back on track and create jobs right here in the 20th Congressional District.

Vague, vague, vague! Where did you create these jobs? Can we look up the statistics?

Where will these new jobs come from in Upstate NY’s chronically depressed economy that lacks critical infrastructure? Most young people leave here never to return after college because there are NO jobs. Green energy! Does that include the Republican favorite of green energy: Nuclear power? You know the one where we magically dispose of the waste for future generations.

So where does Murphy stand on issues such as Civil rights? Gay Marriage? The environment? Illegal surveillance of Americans? No one knows. Many have asked. None have been answered. An article in Newsday does tell us where he stands on a few issues:

The last person to hold the seat in the 20th district was a Blue Dog Democrat-- a fiscally conservative caucus that Murphy wants to join. Gillibrand had managed to wrest the seat from former Republican Congressman John Sweeney in 2006 after a police report became public showing that Sweeney's wife had called 911 in what appeared to be a domestic violence incident. 

Many voters are just beginning to learn about Murphy, a businessman and former political staffer from Missouri. 

For starters, he's pro-gun, a position he shares with Gillibrand, which has gotten her some criticism in more urban parts of the state since she's become Senator. 

So he wants to be a Blue Dog and supports gun rights (already guaranteed in the constitution for 200+ years).  I think we’ve been down this path before. There are also murmurings from Democrats in the district who wonder why it is that Murphy has never contributed money to any local Democratic candidates for other offices in the district, or why he had a re-election sign for Republican State Senator Betty Little in his front yard in a recent election.

The lack of candor on questions from both candidates has even rattled one local newspaper in the district, the Glens Falls Post-Star. In their weekly column, entitled "Boos and Bravos," they wrote:

Candidates should communicate more directly

Boos to the congressional candidates from the two major parties, Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy, for their over-reliance on spokesmen and press releases to communicate to voters. This is a grassroots election taking place in a very short time frame. Voters deserve to hear from the candidates and have their questions answered directly, not filtered by political flacks and in pre-written, sanitized statements. Every day, the local media is bombarded by press releases from the candidates with alleged quotes from the candidates. But when asked to come on the phone to clarify their positions and answer questions, the candidates have taken to deferring to their "spokesmen." It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens far more than it should. If you want to run for Congress, have the courage to speak to voters for yourselves. Otherwise, step out of the way and let someone else have a try.

So here in the 20th we have an unknown quantity running on the Democratic line for Congress. Other than his pro-gun, Blue Dog leanings, we don’t know what else he stands for. Some might argue that electing a Democrat, any Democrat is better than a Republican. But is that true? How is it good if this representation supports values that will fail to help a majority of the districts residents? In the Glens Falls Metro area the median income (of those still employed) is around $38,000 per year and this is one of the better stats for this CD. Tax cuts for the wealthy anyone? How will more of the same failed policies such as those advocated by Republicans and Blue Dogs help working people in a collapsing economy in an already economically depressed district? In addition there is the likelihood that this CD will be redistricted out of existence after the next census.

After the last 8 years of crime, corruption and cronyism why should anyone be willing to support candidates who are evasive in their positions on critical issues? Progressives have worked hard to elect candidates who share their values. We are in deep trouble on many different fronts: environment, economy, critical government services, deficits and Civil liberties. If Mr. Murphy can’t take a stand on issues how can he represent us effectively in Congress? As the Post-Star wrote:

"If you want to run for Congress, have the courage to speak to voters for yourselves. Otherwise, step out of the way and let someone else have a try."