Rumblings In Western New York-- If The Wave Is Strong Enough...

Only Collins has been arrested so far but Reed sells his votes to fracking interests

The most conservative congressional district in New York (NY-27) isn't one the DCCC thought was winnable. So they ignored it, allowing a progressive who backs Medicare-for-All, Nate McMurray, to win the primary. The Trumpist maniac Chris Collins was arrested, arraigned and released on bail, first saying he had withdrawn from seeking reelection and then deciding the would have a better chance at a plea bargain if he was a sitting member of Congress. So... Collins is running again and suddenly McMurray-- even in an R+11 district that Trump won 60-35%-- is looking like a contender. Even the DCCC, albeit reluctantly-- wound up endorsing a staunch progressive. He's been outraging Collins, while Collins hides out and avoids the media-- and his constituents. Yesterday, the Buffalo News, which normally always endorses incumbents regardless of party, endorsed McMurray.

"McMurray," wrote the editors, "may be aiming high, but he is not without notable accomplishments. They include development of the West River Parkway Trail and the arrival of cashless tolls on Grand Island. And while it’s a big leap from town supervisor to Congress, McMurray, a Democrat running in the state’s most Republican district, has pledged to find “core common values” with other members and to reflect voters’ concerns. By itself, Collins’ indictment renders him unsuitable. But even before the indictment, his reckless mingling of his private business with his public duties was troubling. And his push to eliminate New Yorkers’ deduction for state and local taxes was baffling and outrageous. He was so wed to ideological mumbo jumbo that he chose to hurt his constituents and all of New York. This may be one of the hottest congressional races but the decision should be easy. McMurray is the better choice."

There's another western New York district the DCCC thought unwinnable, NY-23, the district that Trump won 54.5-39.7% and stretches across the Southern Tier from the exurbs west of Binghampton to Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region, through Emira, Corning, Hornell, Olean, and Jamestown all the way to Lake Erie. The PVI is R+6 and the incumbent is Republican Tom Reed, who tries to portray himself as a "moderate" though his voting record is that of a pure Trump rubber-stamp. In the 2016 primaries, Hillary lost every county; this was pure Bernie country, making it even more unpalatable to the DCCC.

Tracy Mitrano narrowly won her primary and didn't seem to be making any noise, at least not nationally, until the last couple of weeks when she started gaining on Reed. As of the September 30 FEC reporting deadline, Reed had raised $3,219,777 to Mitrano's $1,037,942, not too much of a disparity for a Democrat to win in an anti-red wave cycle. Although No Labels spent $144,162 bolstering Reed, there has been no other significant outside money spent in the race so far. If Mitrano wins, it will be one of those, "who could have guessed?" results.

The only public poll shows Reed beating Mitrano 49-47%, though FiveThirtyEight has decided she only has a 1 in 6 chance of winning (17.3%).

Closer to the ground, the Buffalo News is less certain. The paper endorsed Reed but reports that he's less of a sure thing than was once thought. "Recent signs," wrote News reporter Sandra Tan, "suggest the eight-year Republican incumbent has a more serious fight on his hands from Democratic challenger Tracy Mitrano, who counts on support from Democratic and unaffiliated voters to unseat him. The Cook Political Report has added the Reed-Mitrano race to its list of competitive races, changing its position from 'solid' Republican to 'likely' Republican. 'It can't be ignored that Democrat Tracy Mitrano, former Director of IT Policy at Cornell University, raised $855,000 in the third quarter and is on air attacking Reed for voting for a $1.9 trillion tax giveaway for the wealthy,' wrote David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report."

Reed has opted to spend heavily on TV advertising, including a wave of negative campaign ads against his opponent. And, Reed received another Twitter endorsement Monday from President Trump, who tweeted Reed "has done a great job."

Reed remains the favorite to win, though his campaign appears to be taking nothing for granted.

"At the end of the day, Reed can probably count on Trump's popularity and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's unpopularity to keep him secure," Wasserman wrote. "But it's worth watching."

Reed, a Trump supporter, has touted his co-chairmanship of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus to reform the House of Representatives. He has referred to his desire to address the national debt, immigration reform and improvements in district infrastructure, among other issues.

"The job is not done," Reed told the Buffalo News Editorial Board earlier this month. "There’s a lot more work to do."

Reed's TV commercials typically show the smiling congressman touting his family and down-home values, but he has opted to run negative campaign pieces calling Mitrano a "liberal Ithaca extremist" who supports government-controlled health care and "heroin injection sites."

Mitrano called the negative ads by Reed misleading. And the Cook Political Report understated her third quarter fundraising by roughly $100,000, she said.

Mitrano said three-fourths of her contributions come from within the district, which extends across the Southern Tier from Jamestown to Ithaca.

"I think the message is out that Tom Reed has turned his back on this district and neglected his duties," she said.

Aside from enthusiastic Democrats, Mitrano added, she's also gaining support from politically unaffiliated voters who like her focus on education, affordable health care and student debt.

"He’s grasping at straws," she said. "He tries to paint me as someone who’s an extremist, who’s out of touch, and a risky choice. If there’s any extremist in this race, it’s him. He's the one who's out of touch."

Republican Congressmembers Are Meeting Their Angry Constituents-- Or Hiding From Them

Friday, the editorial board of the NY Times asserted that "What America has seen so far is an inept White House led by a celebrity apprentice", pointing out that Señor Trumpanzee "did not inherit 'a mess' from Barack Obama, as he likes to say, but a nation recovered from recession and with strong alliances abroad. Mr. Trump is well on his way to creating a mess of his own, weakening national security and even risking the delivery of basic government services. Most of the top thousand jobs in the administration remain vacant. Career public servants are clashing with inexperienced 'beachhead' teams appointed by the White House to run federal agencies until permanent staff members arrive."

That same night, filmmaker Jon Favreau tweeted that he doesn't get angry at Trump when he sees these tweets; "I get angry at Republicans in Congress. Their cowardice is why we're dealing with this." I think there are a lot of people-- an increasing number of people-- feeling that way across the country. Trump isn't up for reelection until 2020-- if he makes it that long-- but Paul Ryan and every single member of the House will face the voters in 2018. Right now there are 5 special elections for open House seats coming up-- starting in about 2 months-- in Los Angeles, Montana, South Carolina, Kansas and the suburbs north of Atlanta. These will be opportunities for American voters to send a message. Trump did worse than Romney in 3 and slightly better than Romney in two.

• CA-34- Romney- 14.1%, Trump- 10.7%
• GA-06- Romney- 60.8%, Trump- 48.3%
• KS-04- Romney- 61.6%, Trump- 60.2%
• MT-AL- Romney- 55.4%, Trump- 56.5%
• SC-05- Romney- 55.1%, Trump- 57.3%

The potential for the biggest headlines would come from the race in GA-06-- to replace the new Medicare slashing Health Secretary, Tom Price-- a district which Trump barely managed to keep red and where Democrat Jon Ossoff could well displace whichever Republican manages to make it into the June 20th runoff after the April 18th jungle primary. The GOP establishment is praying for ex-state Sen Judson Hill but may get stuck with anti-Choice kook and controversial ex-Secretary of State Karen Handel or one of the two unhinged Trumpists, businessman Bruce LeVell or Johns Creek ex-Councilman Bob Gray. (Price's wife, state Rep. Betty Price, dropped out at the last minute.)

Or, perhaps, Trump and his cohorts in Congress haven't gone far enough yet, haven't convinced enough voters-- including Republican votes, who, after all, dominate 4 of the 5 districts-- that a loud, ringing message is necessary or even desirable. (Polls indicate most Americans are ready though, Trump's approval rating sinking by the day.

Yesterday Lisa Mascaro, in an article picked up by NationalMemo, noted that the relationship between Trump and GOP leaders in Congress started as a marriage of convenience, "thrown together by necessity and sustained on the promise of pushing a Republican agenda into law." Ryan and McConnell "tolerated Trump's turbulent debut because they agreed with the direction the White House was heading-- or were confident they could nudge it in the desired one... But the newfound partnership is showing signs of serious strain. Growing discomfort about the Trump team's ties to Russia, daily dramas at the White House and the increasing unrest at town hall meetings with constituents back home have prompted many in Congress to express second thoughts about the alliance." Mark Sanford (R-SC) went out of his way to savage Trump and separate himself from the White House sociopath the day before and the day after he visited Sanford's district in Charleston, a city (and county) Trump lost in both the primary and against Hillary.

As the first 100 days tick away, and rank-and-file Republicans head home for a weeklong recess, there is a growing worry that Congress will face a drip-drip-drip of new revelations about the Trump White House that will overshadow the rest of the Republican agenda, such as repealing Obamacare, enacting tax reform and cutting government spending.

"That's what the fear is," said one Republican senator, granted anonymity to frankly discuss the outlook. "It's not a good situation. You can't let this go and not look at it."

...One former GOP leadership aide said "there's not a single Republican anywhere" who's not stunned by some of Trump's comments. But they focus instead on the GOP priorities they see taking shape, he said.

"In the end, we're still talking about tax reform, Supreme Court-- all the stuff is getting done," the aide said. "Most of the stuff is sort of within the lines of what Republicans want anyway. People by and large think progress has been made."

Trump has already started signing into law bills sent by Congress to roll back President Barack Obama's regulatory clampdown on coal pollution and overseas corporate bribes. More are on the way to his desk.

Republicans have put their trust in Vice President Mike Pence, the Cabinet secretaries and a legislative team culled from the halls of Congress-- even though it is unclear how much sway those voices ultimately have with the occupant of the Oval Office.

And areas of significant disagreement with Trump lie ahead, such as his $1-trillion infrastructure plan, having Congress pony up funds for the border wall with Mexico, and a massive military buildup.

But the questions about Russia are threatening to overshadow Republican goals. Emboldened Democrats are calling for independent inquiries into alleged contacts between Trump's campaign team and Russian intelligence officials, and demanding the release of a transcript of a wiretapped conversation between Flynn and a Russian diplomat.

The Republican leadership has tried to contain the congressional investigations to the House and Senate intelligence committees, where hearings are often conducted in secret because of the classified nature.

...But a growing number of top Republicans, including Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, are calling for a deeper and more transparent dive into Russia's role in the November election. That could take weeks, or more likely months.

"What the hell went on? That's what's on my mind," McCain said. "We know they tried to affect the outcome of the election... Now we've got all these other issues."

And, with lack of cohesive-- let alone coherent-- leadership from the White House, naturally-fractious House Republicans from the party's various wings have been fighting each other. One top-ranking Republican staffer told me that "the only thing everyone agrees on is dismantling Dodd-Frank... The rest is completely up in the air and the parameters shift with every one of his early morning tweet storms." Sail Kapur, reporting this week for Bloomberg, pointed out that "some conservative House Republicans are objecting to a major part of the Obamacare replacement outline presented to them by party leaders, underscoring the party’s continuing inability to agree on an alternative health plan."

The proposal would allow Americans who lack insurance to buy coverage with refundable tax credits they can receive before the end of a tax year. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said he and other leaders presented the idea during Thursday’s private conference of the House GOP.

Some conservatives say they oppose the idea because it could amount to a new government subsidy by allowing people to receive a larger credit than they pay in taxes. They prefer a mechanism that would preclude people from getting any more money than they paid in taxes.

"I don’t like the refundable tax credit," says Representative Ted Yoho of Florida. "I don’t want people getting money back."

"This is Obamacare light," Yoho said, adding that he told Brady about his views.

Representative Trent Franks of Arizona said tax credits "should be predicated on those taxes paid in, not a refundable tax credit, because it can so easily become a major and unstoppable entitlement."

The dispute over tax credits is one of many issues facing Republican leaders as they seek agreement on how to fulfill their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. Also discussed Thursday were a proposal to cap the tax break for employer-provided health insurance, and efforts to restructure Medicaid. Republicans are set to face their constituents during a week-long congressional recess next week.

Saturday, Tom Reed's town halls in Ashville and Cherry Creek, New York-- he was way too scared to accept an invitation from Mayor Svante Myrick to hold one in Ithaca, the biggest city in NY-23-- drew large raucous crowds. When Reed tried selling the crowds on Ryan's health care replacement (bogus health savings accounts) people were furious and started yelling "We want your health care! We want your health care!" Reed was also peppered with uncomfortable questions about Trump's embrace of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and about Trump's failure to pay income taxes-- Reed was sounded boo-ed for voting in committee against a proposal that would have forced Trump to release his tax returns-- and the crowd wound up chanting "What are you covering up?"

When Reed tried to avoid fighting about Putin, he pivoted back to Medicare, that had his constituents yelling at him that they like it the way it is and weren't going to accept Ryan's tax credits and voucher bullshit instead of actual health care. People in Cherry Creek, where he held his second town hall of the day, were shouting that rather than repeal Obamacare, Congress should turn it into a single-payer system (as Bernie Sanders has been advocating).

In 2012, the DCCC viciously sabotaged progressive Democrat Nate Shinagawa when he ran against Reed. Because of DCCC hostility Reed managed to eke out a 52-48% win and never faced a serious competitor again. In the 2018 cycle it will be the responsibility of Joe Kennedy III, the new DCCC vice-chair for the region to make sure a progressive like Shinagawa is the recruit and that he gets support, not shade.

Next door in Syracuse-based NY-24, where, once again DCCC incompetence and a craving for an inoffensive, unelectable Republican-lite crap-candidate-- and fear and loathing for the Berniecrat-- resulted in the inevitable, reelection of John Katko in a solidly blue district Obama won with 57% and even Hillary managed to win against Trump 48.9% to 45.3%. Katko announced Friday that he won’t attend any town hall meetings with his constituents and won’t let outside groups "hijack service to my district or disrupt meaningful engagement with my constituents." If Joe Kennedy recruits a real Democrat and not another vapid New Dem or Blue Dog, Katko will be wiped off the face of the political map in 2018, along with Reed.

The NY Times also noted how angry grassroots constituents are at Republican members of Congress right now. Regardless of what fools like Katko try to say "national organizers concede they are playing catch-up to a 'dam-bursting level' of grass-roots activism that has bubbled up from street protests and the small groups that have swelled into crowds outside local congressional offices."

Several Republicans, including Mr. Trump, have dismissed the pro-health care act crowds as “paid protesters,” not constituents. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, without offering evidence, called the protests a “very paid, AstroTurf-type movement,” unlike the Tea Party demonstrations against the drafting of the health care law in 2009, which he characterized as “very organic.”

In fact, some of the most formidable and well-established organizing groups on the left have found themselves scrambling to track all of the local groups sprouting up through social media channels like Facebook and Slack, or in local “huddles” that grew out of the women’s marches across the country the day after the inauguration.

...The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is keeping track of Republican lawmakers who do not hold town-hall-style meetings. Some events have been canceled, and Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey said he had done so because the meetings have been “hijacked” by groups hostile to Mr. Trump. The committee plans to run internet ads trying to shame lawmakers for not facing their constituents in public since voting last month on a procedural motion aimed at repealing the health law.

Some of the most creative activity is coming from people who are new to political activism. In Plymouth, Minn., Kelly Guncheon, a financial planner who described himself as an independent, has organized a “With Him or Without Him” meeting for Representative Erik Paulsen, a Republican who has not scheduled any of his own. A volunteer offered to make 400 cupcakes decorated with a “Where’s Waldo?” picture of Mr. Paulsen’s face, and Mr. Guncheon said he planned to project onto screens legislation that Mr. Paulsen had supported. Participants will be asked to write down questions, which will be delivered, along with a recording of the event, to Mr. Paulsen’s congressional office after the recess.

Mr. Guncheon, like other new activists, said he was not looking to traditional political groups for guidance.

“In this new culture, this new era, we have to figure out new ways to do things,” he said. “There’s certainly no leadership at the head of the Democratic Party, or the state party. Not that I’m a Democrat anyway, but that seems to be the opposition party.”

Other new groups organizing on Facebook have arranged similar events, calling them “no-show” or “empty-chair” meetings, for Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, as well as for Republican lawmakers from California, New Jersey and New York.

In response to Mr. Gardner’s complaints that the people showing up at his office to request town-hall-style meetings were paid protesters from other states, one group showed up at his office with a banner on which members had written their Colorado ZIP codes.

Crackpot wing nut Dana Rohrabacher-- whose Orange County district Trump lost to Hillary-- claimed that constituents asking for town hall meetings are "enemies" of democracy and political "thugs." He's literally talking about the voters in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo. He's one of scores of aloof, unaccountable Republican congressmembers hiding from their own voters (unlike less dishonest Members like Justin Amash and Jim Sensenbrenner who have scheduled and gone to numerous town halls). Among the shadiest and most dismissive congressmembers have been Peter Roskam (R-IL), Chris Collins (R-NY), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ed Royce (R-CA), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Roger Williams (R-TX), Paul Cook (R-CA), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Mike McCaul (R-TX), Bill Flores (R-TX), Steve Knight (R-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), David Valadao (R-CA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL).

Nick Kristoff Times column this weekend dealt with how to get rid of Trump and his Nazi regime before they do some existential damage to America. "[F]or now," he wrote, "it’s hard to imagine a majority of the House voting to impeach, and even less conceivable that two-thirds of the Senate would vote to convict so that Trump would be removed. Moreover, impeachment and trial in the Senate would drag on for months, paralyzing America and leaving Trump in office with his finger on the nuclear trigger... [I]t’ll be up to Republicans to decide whether to force Trump out. And that won’t happen unless they see him as ruining their party as well as the nation."

“The only incentive for Republicans to act-- with or without the cabinet-- is the same incentive Republicans had in 1974 to insist on Nixon’s resignation,” Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia told me. “The incentive is survival.”

Trump does have one weakness, and it’s parallel to Nixon’s. Republicans in Congress were willing to oust Nixon partly because they vastly preferred his vice president, Gerald Ford-- just as congressional Republicans prefer Mike Pence today.

If I were betting, I’d say we’re stuck with Trump for four years. But as Sabato says: “Lots of things about Donald Trump’s election and early presidency have been shocking. Why should it stop now?”

And what does it say about a presidency that, just one month into it, we’re already discussing whether it can be ended early?

Wednesday there'll be a big rally in front of Paul Ryan's house in Janesville, Wisconsin, since he adamantly refuses to meet with his constituents. They'll meet at Parker Park at the corner of Harrison Street and East Court Street (53545) at 10:30 AM.

Tom Reed Takes Legalistic Bribes From Big Oil & Gas But Lies To His Constituents About It

Although Nate Shinagawa didn't get any help from Steve Israel's DCCC in his fight against corrupt Republican medical debt collector Tom Reed, Shinagawa came close enough to winning-- 126,519 (52%) to 117,055 (48%)-- to make it obvious that if Israel hadn't been wasting all his efforts and resources trying unsuccessfully to reinvigorate the reactionary Blue Dog wing of the Democratic Party (all but one Blue Dog endorsed non-incumbent was defeated), Shinagawa would be sitting in Congress today instead of Reed. Where Shinagawa had the resources he needed-- like in blue-leaning Tompkins County-- he thrashed Reed thoroughly, beating him 24,264 (70%) to 10,201 (30%).

Yesterday Zaid Jilani exposed Reed's corruption in a video (above) he posted at the PCCC blog. Zaid's been on Reed's trail for a long time and last August we looked at how Big Oil & Gas bribes Big Tom. He's one of the most avid proponents of fracking in New York State, despite the dangers to his own constituents. And he's paid well for that. This past weekend he was fending off concerned constituents again.

After defending the exemption of fracking from the Clean Water and Clean Air acts, one constituent asked him about the over $100,000 he’s gotten from the oil and gas industries. He responded that he has “no idea” where that money came from:

CONSTITUENT QUESTION: Do you think the fracking industry should remain exempt from the Clean Air and Drinking Water Acts? [...]

REED: [...] I am not a believer in expanding federal government, I believe we have to downsize federal government. What we’re on a path here by doing that I think is expanding government. [...] I would defer to the state and defer to the local bodies on that.

(Audience hissing)

CONSTITUENT 1: Water and air are across state borders!

CONSTITUENT 2: Where did your $126,000 from gas companies come from? Which lobbyists? Which companies besides Chesapeake and the other lobbyists?

REED: No idea. No idea. We don’t keep track of that. I don’t keep track of that.

Reed should know that he is actually legally required to “keep track of that”-- and that it’s actually public information. The oil and gas industry was his third-largest donor in 2012. Here’s some of the biggest backers:

• Chesapeake Energy: $10,000 to Reed. Chesapeake, one of America’s largest fracking companies, has angered homeowners nationwide with its excessive use of legal maneuvers to gain access to land to drill on.

• National Fuel Gas Corporation: $10,000 to Reed. This fracking company is based in Western Pennsylvania and New York.

• America’s Natural Gas Alliance: $4,400 to Reed. This is one of the main advocacy coalitions for natural gas drillers pushing for fracking.

Another Paid Off Fracking Proponent-- Tom Reed (R-NY)

When Eric Massa first took the economically depressed 29th CD in New York's Southern Tier, there was a longtime Republican incumbent and the district had a history of voting for Republicans. Bush won it with 53% in 2000 and 56% in 2004. But in 2006 Eric Massa came very close and in 2008, even with Obama losing to McCain 48-51, Massa took the district 51-49%, ousting the incumbent. The 29th has been redrawn and is now NY-23, a far bluer district. In fact, under the current boundaries, instead of that 48-51% loss Obama experienced, it would have been a 50-49% win for the president. It doesn't take much to figure out this might be a good target for the DCCC.

But there's a problem. The conservative corporate shill the DCCC favored lost the primary. Instead, a county legislator-- and one of New York's most dynamic and progressive young elected officials-- won, Nate Shinagawa. Suddenly Steve Israel lost all interest in the district and decided to abandon it to Tom Reed, the freshman teabagger. THIS Tom Reed? The one who investigative journalist Zaid Jilani found to be a corrupt pile of excrement who has been paid off to push a fracking agenda?

In August of 2011, Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) faced a town hall packed full of his constituents who opposed the controversial gas drilling process of fracking. Here’s an excerpt of a local news article at the time detailing how Reed defended the practice to his angry constituents:

Reed made no bones about his view on the subject-- he’s in favor of fracking the Marcellus Shale if it can be done cleanly and responsibly, which he believes it can. “I am a supporter of the industry, natural gas,” Reed said.

His view drew ire from those in attendance. “Our town in Troy, Pa., is ruined” because of gas drilling, one woman said. “I could tell you horror stories. The things we live every day … They call it Gastown now. It doesn’t even have its name anymore.”

Reed’s constituents were enraged at his defense of fracking in their backyards. But maybe it wasn’t his constituents he was trying to appeal to. In the weeks and months following that town hall, gas lobbyists showered Reed with sizable donations from their political action committees (PACs):

• The National Fuel Gas Political Action Committee: This group gave Reed $2,000 on September 8th, approximately a week and a half after the town hall. This is the PAC of the National Fuel company, which not surprisingly has been operating in the Marcellus Shale area that Reed wants to expand drilling in.

• The American Gas Association Political Action Committee: This power-house D.C.-based group for gas companies and their lobbyists wrote Reed a $1,000 check exactly two weeks after the Natural Fuel Gas PAC donated to him.

• America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) Political Action Committee: This PAC gave Reed a $2,400 check on October 1st, 2011. ANGA is financed by a variety of natural gas drillers.

• Interstate Natural Gas Association of America Political Action Committee: This natural gas group gave $1,000 to Reed on November 15th, 2011.

Reed was no doubt feeling the heat from his constituents last August on this issue. But was not reported until now is that he may have had a reason to take this unpopular stand in favor of fracking. The $6,400 he received in a matter of weeks from various natural gas interests gave him an incentive to rebuke his own constituents in favor of campaign contributions.

And then there's Nate Shinagawa, a fracking opponent who's been endorsed by environmental experts Sandra Steingraber and Bob Howarth.

“As a hospital administrator, Nate has seen how drilling and fracking undermine the health of communities,” said Steingraber. “Better than anyone, he knows you can’t have a good economy without a healthy population. Nate has been a long-time advocate for moratoria, bans, and home rule to protect our water, food, and air from ruinous fossil fuel extraction. His ideas for truly sustainable economic development are needed in Congress,” she added...

“Nate has a record informed opposition to practices such as fracking that harm our environment and agricultural industry,” said Howarth. “As an active member of his community, a county legislator, and future Congressman, he is committed to engaging all sides in respectful, solutions-oriented conversations about fracking and alternative paths to economic growth and job creation,” he said.

Nate's compelling personal story is quintessentially the All American story. Like every last one of us, his antecedents had come to America, struggled, persevered and come to love and become part of their new homeland. His Japanese ancestors were interned in concentration camps while his grandfather joined the U.S. Marine Corps to fight for the country they loved. That story helped to define how Nate saw himself as grew into the best America has to offer itself. And that story led him to explain his campaign to me as one "about being brave and fighting for a government that provides for its senior citizens, creates opportunities for its young people, and protects the pristine lands and waters of this great country."

Tom "I got mine" Reed is a self-entitled freshman who insists he's both a teabagger and a multimillionaire. Before running for office, he was a medical debt collector who profited off of the misfortune of sick people and once he did manage to get into office-- as a result of the Eric Massa scandal-- he, in quick succession hired a former health insurance company lobbyist as his legislative director and voted to repeal mandatory funding for school-based health center construction. Reed, a huge supporter of Paul Ryan's plans to radically redraw America in an Ayn Rand image, proudly supports raising the Medicare eligibility age (rather than bring down costs by expanding coverage the way Nate is suggesting) and has publicly said that Social Security had to be "on the table" for cuts.

Nate is enthusiastically campaigning on a Prosperity Economics agenda, while Reed pursues the failed Austerity precepts that have been so catastrophic for the European countries that have adopted them. "I support the Prosperity Economics plan," Nate told us, "because it lays out a clear set of bold and thoughtful policies that will keep the American Dream alive. The austerity measures championed by Republican Congressional leadership goes beyond cutting the fat out of the federal budget-- it cuts the muscle we need to rebuild the American middle class. We need to invest in our infrastructure, focus on renewable energy, make education affordable, and fight to save our economy from outsourcing and Democracy from corruption in the Citizens United era. Prosperity Economics should be the way forward for our next Congress, and I strongly urge others to support these ideas."

But even more than being reactionary and into voodoo economics, Reed is plain old corrupt. Despite the congressional earmark ban, he's introduced earmark tariff bills that would only benefit individual companies that contribute to his campaign, exactly what less hypocritical and idealistic Tea Partiers said the ban was meant to put a stop to. In other ways, though, Reed, is more in line with kneejerk GOP dogma. He insists that the Bush tax cuts did not need to be paid for or offset in order to be extended and he has opposed every attempt President Obama has made to make the tax system fairer and to bring jobs back to America. If Nate's story is quintessentially the All American story, Tom Reed's is quintessentially the All Greed story. Last fall when Tropical Storm Lee devastated much of his own district with floods and FEMA funding was running out, he stood with Boehner and Cantor and not with his own voters, a standoff that brought us to the brink of a government shutdown. While Reed was playing obstructionist games and posturing about his extremist ideology, people's lives and safety were in danger. Ironically, Nate was Incident Commander at his hospital, coordinating the emergency response in communities affected by the flooding from the same storm, even buying $3,000 worth of water with his own credit card when the hospital sewer system went down!

Nate couldn't be more different from Reed. "We need leadership committed to building up the middle class again," he told us, "and making government work again for all Americans. Voters have seen the Republican Congress give more advantages to the already advantaged at the expense of their own communities where working families continue to struggle as our economy slowly recovers from recession. It's time to prove once and for all that the American Dream is our future, not our past." It must make Reed's skin crawl to hear Nate drawing attention to the profound differences the two of them have:

"I believe that the job creators in this country are everyday Americans. They are our teachers, nurses, firefighters, construction workers who work hard every day. They are our small businesses and our entrepreneurs. They are our farmers, our students and our senior citizens."

If you'd like to help replace Tom Reed with Nate Shinagawa, you can do that right here on the Blue America page.

Blue America Welcomes Nate Shinagawa (D-NY)

Today Blue America is proud to endorse Nate Shinagawa for Congress in NY-23, the old Eric Massa district composed of the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York. It was a district Democrats lost after Eric Massa's breakdown and resignation. The GOP extremist who took over, Tom Reed, is a backbencher who has an unblemished record as a proponent of greed and selfishness. But it's not some deep red Confederate-leaning district. Mostly the old NY-29, NY-23 has been redrawn as a swing district. Under the new boundaries Obama would have beaten McCain 50-49%, instead of losing to him 48-51% as he did under the old lines. Reed has been so invisible that new polling shows only about a third of the district has even heard of him. And when voters are made aware of Nate's positions and Reed's votes, they prefer Nate. At 2pm (EST) Nate will be our guest for a free-ranging question and answer session at Crooks and Liars. Please try to stop by and meet him. And, if you can please consider contributing to his grassroots campaign here on the Blue America page.

As we mentioned yesterday, Nate's compelling personal story is quintessentially the All American story. Like every last one of us, his antecedents had come to America, struggled, persevered and come to love and become part of their new homeland. His Japanese ancestors were interned in concentration camps while his grandfather joined the U.S. Marine Corps to fight for the country they loved. That story helped to define how Nate saw himself as grew into the best America has to offer itself. And that story led him to explain his campaign to me as one "about being brave and fighting for a government that provides for its senior citizens, creates opportunities for its young people, and protects the pristine lands and waters of this great country."

As American as apple pie? Of course. But that's not the way the apostles of greed and selfishness who have taken over the Republican Party see it. And Nate happens to be running against one of the most radical and contrary Republicans of all, Tom "I got mine" Reed, a self-entitled freshman who insists he's both a teabagger and a multimillionaire. Before running for office, Reed was a medical debt collector who profited off of the misfortune of sick people and once he did manage to get into office-- as a result of the Eric Massa scandal-- he, in quick succession hired a former health insurance company lobbyist as his legislative director and voted to repeal mandatory funding for school-based health center construction. Reed, a huge supporter of Paul Ryan's plans to radically redrawn America in an Ayn Rand image, proudly supports raising the Medicare eligibility age (rather than bring down costs by expanding coverage the way Nate is suggesting) and has publicly said that Social Security had to be "on the table" for cuts.

Despite the congressional earmark ban, Reed has introduced earmark tariff bills that would only benefit individual companies that contribute to his campaign, exactly what less hypocritical and idealistic Tea Partiers said the ban was meant to put a stop to. In other ways, though, Reed, is more in line with kneejerk GOP dogma. He insists that the Bush tax cuts did not need to be paid for or offset in order to be extended and he has opposed every attempt President Obama has made to make the tax system fairer and to bring jobs back to America. If Nate's story is quintessentially the All American story, Tom Reed's is quintessentially the All Greed story. Last fall when Tropical Storm Lee devastated much of his own district with floods and FEMA funding was running out, he stood with Boehner and Cantor and not with his own voters, a standoff that brought us to the brink of a government shutdown. While Reed was playing obstructionist games and posturing about his extremist ideology, people's lives and safety were in danger. Ironically, Nate was Incident Commander at his hospital, coordinating the emergency response in communities affected by the flooding from the same storm, even buying $3,000 worth of water with his own credit card when the hospital sewer system went down!

Nate couldn't be more different from Reed. "We need leadership committed to building up the middle class again," he told us, "and making government work again for all Americans. Voters have seen the Republican Congress give more advantages to the already advantaged at the expense of their own communities where working families continue to struggle as our economy slowly recovers from recession. It's time to prove once and for all that the American Dream is our future, not our past." It must make Reed's skin crawl to hear Nate drawing attention to the profound differences the two of them have:

"I believe that the job creators in this country are everyday Americans. They are our teachers, nurses, firefighters, construction workers who work hard every day. They are our small businesses and our entrepreneurs. They are our farmers, our students and our senior citizens."

If you'd like to help a smart, effective young progressive replace Reed in Congress, please consider making a contribution at the Blue America ActBlue page.

Blue America's Newest Candidate-- Nate Shinagawa (D-NY)

In June, just before his strong primary victory over a conservative Democrat, Nate Shinagawa introduced himself to DWT readers with a guest post about the role of young leaders in our democracy. Tomorrow, he's being formally endorsed by Blue America and he'll be joining us for a live blogging session at Crooks and Liars (2pm, EST). To set the mood, I want to give everyone an opportunity to get to know Nate a little better by watching the video he recorded for us over the weekend (above).

His compelling personal story is quintessentially the All American story-- like every last one of us, his antecedents had come to America, struggled, persevered and quickly begun to love and cherish their new homeland and the opporunities it offered. His Japanese ancestors were interred in concentration camps while his grandfather joined the U.S. Marine Corps to fight for the country that was the only home they had ever known. That story helped to define how Nate saw himself as he grew into the best America has to offer itself. This week he is the latest candidate endorsed by Blue America, the third energetic progressive we have endorsed who has gone through the training of People For the American Way's Young Elected Officials network (YEOs). Nate's story led him to explain his campaign to me as one "about being brave and fighting for a government that provides for its senior citizens, creates opportunities for its young people, and protects the pristine lands and waters of this great country."

Please come by the live chat at Crooks and Liars tomorrow-- I'll remember you-- and please, if you can, consider making a contribution to Nate's grassroots campaign against a corporately funded teabagger, Tom Reed.

Upstate NY Progressive Nate Shinagawa Remembers Special Days... And The Importance Of Education To America's Future

Rep. Tom Reed Has His... Don't Even Try To Touch It!

Last month, dedicated progressive county legislator Nate Shinagawa won a tough primary-- and won it very convincingly-- to take on portly freshman teabagger Tom Reed in New York's newly configured 23rd CD-- most of what was Eric Massa's old district-- except the new district is slightly less Republican and slightly more independent... perfect for Nate.

Like every politician I've ever exchanged an e-mail with, yesterday Nate sent me Independence Day greetings... and they're below but they're not the real point of this post:

Two hundred and thirty-six years ago today, our nation boldly proclaimed its independence. For the first time, our founding fathers pioneered the idea that government should be responsible to its people, that all people are endowed with the same rights, and that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules should have an opportunity to succeed.
 
These are not partisan values-- they belong to no politician, no party, and no special interest. These are values we ALL cherish and defend. They are the ideals that forged the middle class and made the American Dream a reality for millions of working families across the country. And these are the principles I will campaign on throughout the Southern Tier. 

Especially on this Independence Day, with all the fighting and gridlock in Washington, let’s come together and remember what really matters: our friends and family, community, and our country.
 
And of course, let’s be thankful for all the brave men and women who have fought to defend and preserve this great nation. It is because of their dedication and sacrifice that we can enjoy this day.

Happy Independence Day, and I hope you are able to celebrate it with those who mean the most to you.

Just a couple days before Nate had sent a more unique e-mail making a less celebrated occasion, the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln signing the Morrill Act. This will tell you more about Nate and more about why Blue America has just endorsed him.

Today marks the 150th anniversary of a transformative moment in American education. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law on July 2nd 1862, granting federally owned lands to the states to fund and develop universities like the world had never before seen. The Morrill Act showed that Congress had the foresight to move American universities firmly towards agricultural and engineering sciences. 

The land-grant colleges that followed blossomed into some our nation’s leading institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of California at Berkeley, and right here in our own district, Cornell University. Land-grant universities such as these have developed extensive outreach programs, emphasized regionally important research, and engaged agriculture and manufacturing industries. We owe so much of the technology that we take for granted-- from the computers we use to the cars we drive — to these incredible universities. 

The Morrill Act was a bold idea that transformed our higher education system. What bold ideas do you have to transform our country?

This ambitious legislation passed by a forward-looking Congress made advanced education accessible to more young Americans than ever before. By creating a vast network of universities focused on practical education as well as industry outreach, our nation’s leaders spurred the United States to become the world’s agricultural and manufacturing leader.

Congress needs to once again act boldly to jumpstart our economy and keep America's world class universities accessible to all Americans. By supporting our universities so they can be leading centers of research, development, and innovation, we will ensure that the next 150 years are even more productive than the last.

Instead, Congress has been captured by a destructive band of greed-obsessed reactionaries with zero interest in the future of this country-- parasites whose only motivation is holding onto their material wealth and their privileges and positions. They are hellbent on destroying public education. Tom Reed, the extremist Nate is contesting the 23rd with, has scored ZERO on every measurement of support for education since getting into Congress. Look at this insane record of anti-education votes. Reed's stance on education has been clear-- if you're rich enough for private schools, your child deserves an education. Otherwise-- too bad. He seems animated by a reactionary, dystopian point of view that rich people shouldn't be asked to pay for poor people's children to be educated. That leads one place-- direct to the Dark Ages... like almost every aspect of right-wing Republican dogma. What Republican today would have backed Abraham Lincoln's Morrill Act? Not Tom Reed... and not Mitt Romney.

Guest Post By Nate Shinagawa (D-NY)

Tomorrow is primary day in New York and there's a YEO running. A YEO? Sure, a member of People For the American Way's Young Elected Officials program. Check this out if this is the first you're hearing about it. One of the best congressional candidates running anywhere, Nate Shinagawa, is who I'm talking about and I asked him how he was drawn to public service. His guest post follows but I just wanted to tell you a little about him first.

At 28, Nate is younger than most people who run for Congress-- right there with Blue America-backed Trevor Thomas in Grand Rapids. And don’t think for a second that his youth means inexperience-- Nate is no stranger to elected office, having served for the last six years on the Tompkins County Legislature; he's now Vice Chair. In fact, Nate has spent more time in elected office than all of his primary and general election opponents in New York’s 23rd District… combined.

Elected to the Tompkins County Legislature shortly after graduating from Cornell University, Nate quickly established himself as a leading progressive voice in the community, having fought for better access to healthcare, environmental protection, and investment in sustainable jobs. And he's done more than just fight for progressive ideals-- he's also worked tirelessly to raise up young progressives and help them get into elected office. Like I said, he's been a member of the Young Elected Officials network for over 6 years, brainstorming with other YEOs around the country on mutual concerns and on how to apply effective progressive solutions to the problems that plague working families and American communities. He's served on the YEO steering committee and has worked for two years as a faculty member of the Frontline Leadership Academy, a program offered through YEO which trains young candidates on how to run a successful campaign. In this way, Nate is more than just a progressive candidate-- he represents the next generation of progressive leaders.

Nate's district is New York's newly formed 23rd (much of the old Eric Massa district) where he will face freshman Tea Party Republican Tom Reed. Defeating an incumbent is never easy, but Reed is vulnerable: He’s running in a new district, which now includes the more liberal Tompkins County, and counts more independents and fewer Republicans than his previous district. Polls show Nate, an independent-minded progressive Democrat who is also the endorsed candidate of New York's Working Families Party, beating his two Democratic opponents handily tomorrow. And then we take on Reed.

Today's Youth Can Be Today's Leaders

by Nate Shinagawa

During my senior year of college, there was a labor dispute at a local pizza parlor. The workers there complained that they hadn’t received all of their paychecks, and that they hadn’t been properly paid for overtime. The shop had taken particular advantage of undocumented workers, paying them even less than minimum wage. At the time, I had been involved with a group of student labor activists that frequently worked for workers’ rights in the community. So when I heard of the dispute, my friends and I decided to do everything we could to help.

We quickly became heavily involved in their protest. Hearing about the management’s abusive labor practices only bolstered my resolve to fix the situation. We argued and demonstrated until finally, the pizza place granted the workers all of their back pay, and compensated them for the overtime they should have received. Fighting for their rights was more fulfilling than anything I had done before-- I could see the results of our hard work, and I was glad to have made a real difference in my community. I knew then that I wanted to commit myself to service.

In a way, my desire to enter public service actually began long before this incident. My grandfather, a Japanese American in California, had been put in an internment camp with his family during World War II. After the war, despite the injustice he suffered, he decided to enlist in the Marines and later in the Air Force. He did so because he still believed strongly in the ideals of America, and because he wanted to prove his loyalty to the country he loved. My grandfather instilled the value of service in my father, who in turn instilled it in me.

When I was thirteen, a former student of my father named Kuanchung Kao was murdered in a case of racially motivated police brutality. Local officials covered everything up, and only a tiny settlement was given to the dead man’s wife and three children. My father refused to allow government, which is supposed to protect us, to fail at such a basic level. He decided to get involved in the case, and helped win a fair settlement for the family-- even as my own family faced intimidation from local officials and the KKK. This incident deeply affected me, and compelled me to pursue a career of service.

Still, as a college student, I figured my aspirations for public service were a long ways off. But after the ordeal with the pizza shop had concluded, a man with whom I had worked suggested something I hadn’t previously considered: that I run for a seat on the county legislature.

Running for office at the age of 21 seemed almost absurd to me-- I hadn’t even graduated from college yet; how was I going to convince people to support me in a bid to lead an entire county? I was hesitant, but at the same time, I felt strongly that running for office might give me a great opportunity to continue a difference in my community. So I stuck to my convictions, and decided to make the leap.

That decision proved to be one of the best I ever made. Six years ago, I was elected to be a county legislator, and I have felt so fortunate to serve my community in that role. When the Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance faced huge funding cuts, I was able to work with the organization to find alternative sources of funding. In 2006, when Governor Pataki attempted to close a local nursing home, I successfully stood up to the Governor to save it. And for the last four years, I’ve been outspoken critic of hydraulic fracturing, voting consistently for bans, moratoria, home rule, and further study of the practice.

I’ve worked hard to fight for progressive values in my community, but I’ve also had another mission: to get more young people involved in the political process. Young adults have the potential to make such a significant impact in politics: we’re energetic, passionate, and thanks to social media, more connected than ever. Yet voter turnout among young people remains dismally low, and many feel as though they don’t have a stake in what goes on in the halls of government.

That line of thinking couldn’t be more misguided, which is why I’ve spent a lot of time and effort both working with other young politicians and encouraging more young adults to run for office. After all, young people have every reason to be invested in government-- we’re the ones that have to inherit the problems that get left behind. So for the last six years, I’ve been a part of the Young Elected Officials network, and have also served on their steering committee. Through this organization I’ve had the opportunity to meet with other young elected officials from all around the country. At our conferences I’m able to discuss the common and issues we face, and think of new, innovative solutions to tackling them.

Perhaps the most important test of my work with other young politicians came when my friend, Svante Myrick, decided to run for mayor of Ithaca, NY. Svante was young-- only 24-- and faced a number of older, more experienced candidates. But Svante stuck to his principles and launched an inspiring grassroots campaign, ultimately earning him significant majorities in both the primary and general elections. Svante now proudly serves as mayor, and as I see the wonderful things he’s been able to do for the city, I know that he was absolutely the best candidate for the job.

Our country faces so many problems that appear at times to be utterly intractable. There’s a lot of cynicism and discontentment-- now, more than ever, people feel as though government isn’t listening and isn’t leading. That feeling, in a way, is quite justified. Many of our leaders seem to be more preoccupied with handing out tax breaks to corporations and millionaires than with actually helping people in this country become more prosperous. They’ve forgotten the importance of building up communities and investing in people, and our country has suffered as a consequence.

But these problems are not intractable. We can fix them. That’s why I’m running for Congress-- to bring principled leaders who’ll stand up for all members of our community. That’s why I’ve worked so hard to get other young progressives into politics, so they too can be outspoken defenders of our shared values.

Government is supposed to empower people and invest in communities so that all can realize their highest potential. When we return government to that purpose, I’m confident we’ll get this country to thrive again.

What Happened Last Night? Short Answer: Mixed Bag

Last night's biggest losers

Although younger voters and African-Americans didn't bother voting yesterday-- and Republicans did well in Virginia and New Jersey-- the most recent polls show that Obama is still as popular today as he was when he was elected. 54% of Americans approve of his job performance, one percent higher than his winning total a year ago. And even Southerners agree he's been doing a better job than Bush did. (True that is an exceedingly low bar... but still... Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee...)

With GOP factions arming themselves for a bloody civil war, and N.Y. Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava talking about how all the hyperbolic right-wing hate and lies wore her down, the Republicans are celebrating their expected victory in Virginia and their surprise one in New Jersey. Democrats who went for that whole Hope and Change thing a year ago just didn't feel all that inspired and didn't bother turning out. Deeds basically lost the Virginia governor's race when he declared in a debate that if he was elected, he would opt out of the public option. But Republicans already had a candidate they liked; all Deeds did was give Democrats a reason to stay home; a good one. And the results were disastrous-- not just for Deeds who deserved to lose, but for the whole ticket. Most tragic of all, progressive Delegate Margi Vanderhye was defeated by lunatic fringe GOP nutjob Barbara Comstock. Margi lost by about 300 votes, thanks to Deeds' stupidly-run, conservative campaign.

An even bigger disappointment came in Maine where bigots took away the right of marriage equality for gays and lesbians, 53-47%. It was close all night but what I just couldn't understand is how medical marijuana legalization won in Maine while same sex marriage lost. Stoners voted against gay marriage? And although Maine passed its medical marijuana referendum by a hefty vote (59-41%), in Breckenridge, Colorado it was a 3 to 1 landslide, not for medical marijuana but for full on pot decriminalization. Only 27% of voters opposed de facto legalization.

"This vote demonstrates that Breckenridge citizens overwhelmingly believe that adults should not be punished for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol," said Sean McAllister, a Breckenridge attorney who proposed the ordinance.

The measure's victory is considered symbolic because it conflicts with state and federal laws. However, supporters of the measure say it inches the whole state closer to full legalization.

And at least the pro-gay ordinances won in Kalamazoo, Michigan and in Washington state. And openly gay Mark Kleinschmidt won the mayoral race in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Detroit elected an openly gay City Council president, Charles Pugh.

California Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher was a socially liberal, fiscally conservative Democrat is suburbs north of San Francisco, in a district that was Republican just over a decade ago. She often voted with them on crucial issues like bankruptcy and other bills that empowered banksters and Wall Street thugs. She was appointed to a minor job in the State Department and last night she was replaced in Congress by John Garamendi, a hard working progressive. He beat Republican David Harmer 56-40%.

But the big race, of course-- the one the media had hyped beyond recognition-- was in NY-23, where Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Darrell Issa, Jim DeMint, Tim Pawlenty and the teabaggers slimed the mainstream Republican candidate so badly that she withdrew, leaving a confused Republican Party in complete disarray. They switched en masse to the teabagger third party candidate, Doug Hoffman, who then proceeded to lose to conservative barely-Democrat Bill Owens, 49-45%. It was the night's biggest shocker-- or at least one that was tied with Corzine's loss in New Jersey and Bloomberg's near loss in NYC (after dumping $100 million of his own money into the race against someone who no one has ever heard of). The biggest losers were Palin and Beck-- and the GOP has so much egg on its face that it'll never figure out how to clean itself off. Does this mean Marco Rubio should throw in the tea-towel down in Florida?

I'll be on the radio this afternoon (1-2pm, PT) with Nicole Sandler, who's sitting in for Randy Rhodes, and we'll be talking about the election results and about how screwed up the GOP is with their deadly teabagger problem. The call in number is 866-87-RANDI.

You, Me, Dede, And NY-23... Oh, Yeah, And Newt And Issa

I don't know about you, but if I were Rep. Steve Israel, Senator Chuck Schumer or general all-around sleaze bucket Rahm Emanuel and I had just cut a deal with Dede Scozzafava to toss a lifetime of Republicanness away for some as yet undelineated bribe, one of the last people I would feed that info to would be anyone whose Rolodex even contained the phone number of weepy Republican blabbermouth Darrell Issa. But Issa claimed on TV yesterday that "top Democrats... promised her favors in return for her endorsement of the remaining Democratic candidate."

Issa also called on Republicans to donate promptly to Hoffman's war chest so that the party writ large could "send a message to Barack Obama that he can't buy this election."

Right-wing front organizations and hate groups have pumped over $4 million dollars into this race so far. Issa himself, who had originally endorsed Scozzafava, became frightened with Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the other pipers wishy-washy Republicans like Issa dance to and switched his allegiance to Hoffman late in the game.

Issa and other right-wing extremists keep referring to "Democrat" Bill Owens as a "leftist." If only! On many issues-- primarily social-- he is significantly to the right of Scozzafava. Overall, though, his kind of cautious and turgid reactionary bent puts him closer to Scozzafava than Hoffman is. Except for her lifelong fealty to the Republican Party, her endorsement of Owens yesterday shouldn't come as a surprise. And if she winds up switching parties, no doubt Sheldon Silver and Andrew Cuomo are going to be delighted to welcome her onboard.

Since announcing the suspension of my campaign, I have thought long and hard about what is best for the people of this District, and how to answer your questions. This is not a decision that I have made lightly.

You know me, and throughout my career, I have been always been an independent voice for the people I represent. I have stood for our honest principles, and a truthful discussion of the issues, even when it cost me personally and politically. Since beginning my campaign, I have told you that this election is not about me; it's about the people of this District.

It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same.

It's not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh's lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress. John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum, and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support to Drum Country just as John did during his tenure in Congress.

In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York. Bill understands this district and its people, and when he represents us in Congress he will put our interests first.

Please join me in voting for Bill Owens on Tuesday. To address the tough challenges ahead, we must rise above partisanship and politics and work together. There's too much at stake in this election to do otherwise.

When Lieberman endorsed McCain over Obama last year, viciously smearing his younger Senate protege during the campaign, it was widely rumored that McCain had promised to make him Secretary of State or Defense. Perhaps that's where Issa came up with the idea of a quid pro quo. Maybe, though, Scozzafava endorsed him for the precise reasons she laid out. Hoffman's extreme teabagger approach to politics is antithetic to everything a mainstream politician like Scozzafava has always stood for. The fact that he couldn't answer a single question the Watertown Times editorial board asked him about local issues certainly made her cringe. And it made her-- and plenty of others-- realize he's just the candidate of the hate-filled angry cable TV viewers who get their opinions from Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity.

Scozzafava's late nod to Owens could spell trouble for Hoffman, who is statistically deadlocked with his Democratic opponent in recent polls. The New York assemblywoman is considerably more moderate than Hoffman -- and presumably, some of her supporters are too -- so the possibility that many of her prospective voters could gravitate toward Owens on Tuesday is not totally unfathomable.

Nevertheless, Scozzafava's decision on Sunday is bound to infuriate Republicans, many of whom announced within hours of her suspension that they backed Hoffman and hoped soon to welcome him into their caucus. The Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and a host of party leaders urged their members to do the same, in part to defeat the growing meme that Republicans were warring among themselves about the NY-23 race.

Scozzafava, however, stressed on Sunday that her endorsement was about her district's well being, not her party's appearance. She urged supporters to head to the polls on Tuesday to support Owens because he, more than Hoffman, could best represent Watertown's interests.

Fox, of course, has been lying for two days, assuring all the sheeple that Scozzafava had endorsed Hoffman or was withdrawing to make sure he'd win. And the sheeple insist Fox is a legitimate news source rather than a belief system for the emotionally unbalanced. Tomorrow's the day for NY-23. But the Republican Party problem with their obstreperous extreme right will haunt them for the next several years. Fox isn't going away-- nor is all the hatred and bigotry they spew all day and all night. The teabaggers feel empowered, and the Republican "leadership" feels cowed.

The next scalp they're looking for is Florida Governor Charlie Crist-- and they're likely to get it, as his campaign falters and Marco Rubio's surges, at least among teabagger activists and the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party. That same lunatic fringe is likely to push mainstream conservatives out of primaries in Ohio (Steve Stivers), Kentucky (Trey Grayson), Virginia (Bob Hurt), and Alabama (Martha Roby) in favor of right-wing ideologues (David Ryon, Rand Paul, Bradley Rees and Rob John) who will find it far more difficult to appeal to mainstream voters than to the deranaged Republican Party base. Stock up on the popcorn; there'll be a lot more funny tapdancing like this Fox/Newt Gingrich hilarity below:

Official GOP Nominee Backs Out Of Congressional Race In NY-23-- Shockwaves Across America

The Republicans haven't lost a congressional race in the northeastern corner of New York State since around the time of the Civil War. But after polling showed their mainstream candidate, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, coming in third after conservative Democrat Bill Owens and the teabagger candidate, ultra right extremist Doug Hoffman, Scozzafava pulled out 3 days before election day! A Siena poll released this morning shows her campaign sinking rapidly-- with the support of only 20% of the voters.

In "suspending" her campaign, she pointedly did not endorse the right-wing extremist who has thwarted her bid to win a congressional seat. Democrats are reaching out to her to endorse Owens. The NRCC has now officially jumped on the Hoffman bandwagon but Scozzafava's name will still be on the ballot Tuesday and many of her most ardent supporters will vote for her as a protest against Hoffman's extremism and against the party being taken over by deranged, hate-filled radicals. Her complete statement is here. Many observers saw this coming when ostensible mainstream Republican ex-Governor George Pataki endorsed the teabagger candidate last night. His vicious blast must have felt like a ton of bricks falling on the head of the faltering Scozzafava:

“Simply put, we cannot afford to give another vote to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, we cannot afford another vote for higher taxes, we cannot afford another vote for government-run health care, and we absolutely cannot afford another vote to take away from hard-working men and women the right to secret ballot.”

It was more significant than, say, the meaningless switch of a parade of extremist congressional clowns like Darrell Issa (R-CA), who have in recent days run to the microphones to kick their own party's candidate to the curb while endorsing the teabagger.

Interestingly, more than a few Republicans fear that the teabagger surge could swamp them as well. Already several extreme right candidates with teabagger support are dooming establishment Republicans. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, with a once insurmountable lead of a little known extremist pip-squeak, Marco Rubio, is now-- despite all the Establishment support and all the big money-- an underdog in the race for the GOP Senate nomination. Teabaggers in South Carolina are in the process of taking over the party from mainstream conservatives and look likely to defeat regular Republican incumbents. Yesterday The Hill started talking about the Hoffman Effect in terms of primaries in other states:

In Virginia’s 5th district, state Sen. Robert Hurt’s entry into the GOP primary has spurred little-known candidate Bradley Rees to switch to the Virginia Conservative Party. And in Ohio, another GOP primary contender said this week that he’ll run as a Constitution Party candidate.

Both will go at the GOP nominees from their right flanks and try to expose some unhappiness in conservative ranks. They might not be as well-funded as Hoffman or be filling quite as big a vacuum as the one left by Republican Dede Scozzafava’s left-leaning politics, but they could steal valuable votes.

Rees isn’t afraid of playing spoiler to the establishment-favorite Hurt. He even suggested his third-party candidacy could help freshman Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) stay in Congress.

“It may amount to only drawing enough votes from the Republican candidate to ensure Tom Perriello a second term,” Rees told the Lynchburg News and Advance.

“If so, so be it. Maybe then the party will understand that we are trying to save the GOP from its worst enemy-- not the Democrats, but themselves.”

A similar situation occurred in Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy’s (D-Ohio) district last year, when Republican Steve Stivers lost enough of the vote to conservative third-party candidates to allow Kilroy to win.

And now Stivers, who supports abortion rights, could again be ceding support to his right, in the form of Ron Paul supporter David Ryon. Ryon switched from the GOP to the Constitution Party this week.

Bill Owens isn't even a Democrat-- he registered as one a few weeks ago when the DCCC said they would back him despite having been a GOP financial donor for years-- and he's far too conservative for progressives to support. But Perriello and Kilroy are real Democrats who will be heavily supported by the Democratic grassroots. That isn't the case in Alabama, where one of the most reactionary and hated faux-Democrats in Congress, Blue Dog Bobby Bright is going to watch as teabagger Rob John battles it out with official GOP nominee, Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby. Progressives will be rooting for either to defeat the Blue Dog, a Boehner Boy who has voted far more frequently with the Republicans on substantive matters than with the Democrats and routinely opposes the Democrats on the most fundamental issues. Glenn Beck takes it a step further: Palin will run as a third party teabagger candidate in 2012. Rahm Emanuel must have all his fingers-- all 9 of them-- and toes crossed!

This sad, last minute, disjointed plea to Republicans didn't save Dede Scozzafava:




UPDATE: Scozzafava Pressured To Withdraw But She Refuses To Endorse Teabagger

Elizabeth Benjamin at the NY Daily News interviewed Scozzafava, who refuses to endorse Hoffman. It doesn't sound like she's going to dump the party that dumped on her either though. Watch the video.

Another late development: one of Scozzafava's key backers, the New York State Independence Party chairman has switched... to Owens! Frank MacKay says he wishes he had endorsed the quasi-Democrat from day one. Meanwhile, the NRCC changed it's mind and has now endorsed Hoffman, the teabagger. I guess they decided to overlook the small differences like when they said he "lacked the integrity and qualities needed to be elected to anything-- let alone Congress."

SUNDAY UPDATE: Bad News For Teabagger

The Watertown Times has now switched its endorsement from Scozzafava to Owens and Scozzafava is urging her supporters to vote for Owens as well. Last night her husband, Ron McDougall, president of the Jefferson/Lewis/St. Lawrence Central Labor Council issued a statement through the AFL-CIO that he is endorsing Owens against teabagger Hoffman.

"This has been a difficult day for my family. But the needs and concerns of the men and women of the 23rd Congressional District remain paramount," McDougall said. "As such, I wholeheartedly and without reservation endorse the candidacy of Bill Owens."