A Warning: The Most Right-Wing Democrat In NYC-- A Trump Supporter, No Less-- May Slip Into Congress

Hasn't the Bronx suffered enough?

If you're new around here, you may have missed our discussions over the years about Rubén Díaz., an ultra-conservative career politician in the South Bronx. As I mentioned last time, the south Bronx congressional district from which Jose Serrano is retiring, doesn't have many white Conservatives. In fact, only 2.5% of the district's population is white. And when Republicans run there, it's just a publicity stunt. NY-15 is the bluest district in America. Obama won it with 95% the first time he ran and with 97% the second time. In 2016, Trump only took 4.9% of the vote, his worst performance anywhere in the country. This cycle, though, conservatives might get lucky. One of their own is running for the open congressional seat... and running as a Democrat. City Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr., New York's most right-wing Democrat, has a chance to slip into the seat. Ironically, NY-15 is right next to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's district and Díaz enjoys telling everyone he's the opposite of her. He sure is. He's a 76-year-old, cowboy hat-wearing Pentecostal minister known for his constituent services and controversial statements on social issues and makes his path to victory clear-- a split among half a dozen progressive and mainstream candidates could leave the crackpot with a primary win.

Díaz was the only Democrat in the state Senate to vote against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in 2011. And he has been sharply criticized in recent months for saying the City Council is "controlled by the homosexual community"; he was subsequently stripped of his chairmanship of the For-Hire Vehicle committee and urged to resign by the City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

There are 15 Democrats competing in the primary-- 11 of whom have raised at least enough money to file an FEC report ($5,000)-- and 7 of the 11 having raised at least 10 times that amount. There are also two full-on progressives in the race-- Tomas Ramos (who has been endorsed by Blue America) and Samelys Lopez.

Yesterday, writing for Newsweek, Adrian Carrasquillo warned that Díaz is poised to win. That's because all the other Democrats are taking a small piece of the non-Díaz vote, leaving Díaz with a good shot to win.

"He would instantly become Donald Trump's favorite New York congressman," strategist Eric Koch of anti-Diaz super PAC Bronx United told Newsweek, adding that Diaz Sr. would be an unreliable Democratic vote in the House caucus.

To complicate matters, he has a son, Ruben Diaz Jr., who is his namesake and a Bronx borough president many call the most popular politician in the borough. Diaz Jr. is regularly asked to comment on his father's actions, as he did disapprovingly when Diaz Sr. invited Senator Ted Cruz to visit the Bronx, but the consensus is that his son is a political plus for the reverend.

..."There's a cruel irony that a Trump Republican could represent the most Democratic district in America," said Ritchie Torres, an opponent who has raised six times more money than Diaz Sr. and has $800,000 more cash on hand, according to the latest public filing.

While outside groups bristle at Diaz Sr.'s place in the modern Democratic Party, they don't get a vote in the community where he has devoted his time and resources for decades.

Diaz Sr., who is Puerto Rican, has a background that still matters in a historically Puerto Rican part of New York, which includes Hispanic evangelicals and seniors who are his base. New York political experts said the pastor, who can be seen wearing a baby blue cowboy hat on the New York City council website, is a master of constituent services.

"He has always had a great constituent service mechanism," said Jennifer Blatus, a political strategist who interned with Diaz Jr. "He's really good at connecting with the community, he knows who his base is, he knows how to reach them, his son is wildly popular, they have the same name and half the people that vote for him might think they're voting for Rubencito."

Diaz, who said he was a victim of anti-black discrimination while in the Army, was addicted to drugs and pleaded guilty to heroin and marijuana possession in 1965 before finding salvation in Jesus Christ, ministering to people who also needed to turn their lives around, and opening senior centers in the Bronx in the 1970s and 1980s.

An analysis of his spending by The City found that Diaz Sr. had spent $31,000 on gifts before the crisis struck New York, including buying Thanksgiving turkeys, Christmas toys, and gift cards from iconic New York standby, Western Beef.

"That is what I have always done," Diaz Sr. said when the legality of such gifts was questioned. "Giving back to the people and trying to help the community. This is nothing new to me."

Blatus said Diaz Sr. has a lot of different tactics to help meet the needs of seniors, like having volunteers give older constituents a ride to the voting booth.

"He's fully bilingual, he's from Puerto Rico, he knows what hardship is, he can relate to these people," she said.

"The Diaz name has value not just because his son is the borough president, but because it has been a fixture in that community both politically and spiritually," said Hank Shienkopf, a veteran of New York politics since 1969, who grew up in the district, and helped elect Diaz Jr. as Bronx borough president.

Shienkopf said it's important to understand that local residents don't judge Diaz Sr.'s controversial statements because they feel they are the ones being discriminated against by a system that has never helped the Bronx. "If there is anything that is true about politics in New York City, it's that change is the only constant," he said. "But this is the one place where there hasn't been a change in their economic status."

That's not enough for his opponents, who believe the election falling during a crisis has helped Diaz Sr.

"You have a homophobe, misogynist, who's anti-choice and could win here but it's been hard to get people to focus on this seat," Melissa Mark-Viverito, a former New York City council speaker also running in the 15th district race to replace retiring Representative Jose Serrano told Newsweek.

His opponents are keeping score of his transgressions.

Diaz, who once compared abortion to the Holocaust, drew widespread condemnation in 1994 when the Gay Games were coming to New York City and he wrote in a column that the 20,000 athletes "are likely to be already infected with AIDS or can return home with the virus."

Diaz Sr. also was strongly criticized for saying the city council was "controlled by the homosexual community" last year and for refusing in 2005 to endorse Michael Bloomberg or Democrat Fernando Ferrer in the mayoral race because their support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage meant "they have nothing to offer me according to the Bible."

Neither Diaz responded to Newsweek's request for comment.

Bronx United released a digital ad highlighting his previous comments that if you dare to sympathize with Trump or wear a MAGA hat you are labeled a racist.

A national coalition launched by Victory Fund last week, which backs LGBTQ candidates and supports Torres, included NARAL Pro-Choice America, Latino Victory Fund, Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Human Rights Campaign to raise the alarm that Diaz Sr. wants to represent a district they argue has politically moved away from him.

But outside efforts over the next month may not matter. Experts said campaigning has been fundamentally changed because of the pandemic and there won't be traditional street or park events in the month before the primary. That means Diaz Sr. could be headed to Congress after all.

"The district has been devastated by the virus, but also devastated by poverty for the last 25 years, so the question is where were these people when the Diaz's were here?" Shienkopf said. "Who is standing up to scream about it? Diaz keeps proving he's the one that can yell the loudest, so that gives him some standing."

Trump To Campaign For Congressional Republicans? Kara Eastman Says "Bring It On!"

Hole-in-One by Nancy Ohanian

During the 2016 election, a putative Democrat from the South Bronx, Rubén Díaz, Sr., backed Ted Cruz for president and invited him to speak in his district. It didn't do Cruz much good. In the Republican primary, Cruz came in third-- with just 1,022 votes, in New York's bluest county. Trump won the county in the primary with 2,702 votes but in the general election, Hillary eviscerated him 318,403 (88.7%) to 34,424 (9.6%). Today, still running as a Democrat (or some kind of Democrat), Díaz Sr. is trying to sneak into the NY-15 congressional district from which progressive icon Jose Serrano is retiring.

NY-15 doesn't have many white conservatives. In fact, only 2.5% of the district's population is white. And when Republicans run there, it's usually just a vanity run or a publicity stunt. NY-15 is the bluest district in America. Obama won it with 95% the first time he ran and with 97% the second time. In 2016, Trump performance in the district was just 4.9%-- his worst results in the Bronx, in New York City, in New York State and in the U.S.A. This cycle, though, conservatives might get lucky. One of their own, Díaz Sr., is running for the open congressional seat... and running as a Democrat.

A a 77-year-old, cowboy hat-wearing Pentecostal minister known for his constituent services and ugly controversial statements on social issues, Díaz Sr. has a clear path to victory-- a split among a dozen progressive and mainstream candidates that could actually leave the crackpot with a primary win. Díaz was the only Democrat in the state Senate to vote against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in 2011. He is vehemently anti-Choice and against stem-cell research. And last year he told New Yorkers that the City Council is "controlled by the homosexual community," which led to him being stripped of his chairmanship of the For-Hire Vehicle committee. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson told him to resign.

The best way of beating Díaz is for progressives and normal Democrats to get behind Tomas Ramos... but that isn't going to happen, especially not with political careerists like Ritchie Torres and Michael Blake. But there's another way to beat Díaz, Sr.-- and Ramos told us about it today. An Alayna Treene post at Axios over the weekend pointed out that "In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections-- buoyed by Republican control of both chambers-- President Trump viewed campaigning for the House as a lower-tier priority and instead poured his energy into rallying for the Senate. But after the GOP reckoning in 2018, and experiencing firsthand how damaging a Democratic-led House has been to him, Trump is now personally invested in helping Republicans regain the majority in November. If Trump wins re-election and Republicans are able to hold the Senate and take back the House, Trump will essentially have free rein to do whatever he wants in his second term." Tomas Ramos, like many Democrats running for Congress, hopes Trump will come to his district to campaign.

It isn't likely to happen, but a Trump-Díaz rally would be an immense GOTV moment for real Democrats in the Bronx. "This," Ramos told me, "would give my campaign a huge boost. My district consists of 98% people of color from all over the world. It would expose Rubén Díaz, Sr. for what he really is, a conservative Republican who has been running as a Democrat in the most Democratic congressional district in the country. Remember, this is the same guy who brought Ted Cruz to the Bronx in 2016."

Omaha, Nebraska is very different from the Bronx and the congressional district there, NE-02, is a quintessential swing district. It went for Obama in 2008 and for Romney in 2012. Last cycle, Hillary lost NE-02 by less than 2 points. But Trump is incredibly unpopular there now. In 2018, progressive Kara Eastman won Douglas County (Omaha convincingly). Like Tomas, she would love to see Trump come to Omaha to campaign with his Nebraska-clone, Don Bacon. "If Trump wants to come to my district-- where polls show him under water by 14 points-- to campaign for Bacon," she told me, "I say bring it on!"

Liam O'Mara is less certain what a Trump visit to Riverside County to bolster endangered Republican Ken Calvert would mean. "Trump being here could energize Calvert's base and mine. Trump won the 42nd by 12 points," Liam continued, "But remember, he was running as a populist and talking about the working class. Yes, the district has a conservative history, but many of its independent voters have a populist streak. And Republicans make up only 38% of the electorate, and falling. The answer to a right-populist is a left-populist who knows how to frame the issues well." O'Mara thinks that if Calvert campaigned in the district with Trump, he could win with a campaign stop by Bernie. "Standing with him would do the most good... and his popularity in the district is growing. His appeal crosses party lines and scoops up the independent populists more easily than Trump. It is worth remembering that about 12% of Bernie's 2016 primary voters went for Trump in the general. These are swing voters that we can only win with the right kind of candidate."

Tom Winter is the progressive Democrat likely to take on Matt Rosendale for the open at-large Montana House seat. He reminded me that in 2018 Trump was in Montana four times campaigning for Rosendale when he was running against Democrat Jon Tester. "One of these campaign rallies was in a state legislative district Trump had won by 11 points the previous election and the one I was running in to replace an incumbent Republican that was seated right behind him as he spoke. While that local GOP lawmaker was enjoying his VIP tickets to that rally, I knocked dozens and dozens of doors that day right across the street. I talked with my neighbors about how politics was failing the working families of Montana. I laid out my progressive policy agenda that I felt would make it more affordable for all of us to live in the place we love. With loud cheers in the background as the president complimented our incumbent Congressman, Greg Gianforte, for body slamming a reporter that had asked him a tough question, I spoke with my neighbors about the need to restore civility in our politics. Gianforte, Rosendale, and that local legislator all laughed as the president praised the assault on journalists, 'Any guy who can do a body slam is my kind of guy.' They laughed and Jon Tester and I won. We won because we had not lost faith in Montanans and laid out our cases for how we would fight for them, each in our own way. Our good Senator won that year by his largest margin ever in his three statewide election victories. So, as I run to replace that body slamming Congressman I welcome the president to stop by our great state for as many times as he'd like. He can find me speaking with my future constituents."





Other districts where Trump visits would likely kill GOP chances include seats currently held by John Katko, Peter King, and Lee Zeldin in New York; Fred Upton in Michigan; And Barr in Kentucky; Jaime Herrera Beutler and Cathy McMorris Rodgers in Washington; Chris Smith in New Jersey; Ann Wagner in Missouri; Brian Fitzpatrick and Scott Perry in Pennsylvania; Denver Riggleman and Rob Wittman in Virginia; Rodney Davis and Mike Bost in Illinois; Bryan Steil in Wisconsin; Pete Stauber and Jim Hagedorn in Minnesota; Devin Nunes and Tom McClintock in California; Mario Diaz-Balart, Ross Spano, Brian Mast and Vern Buchanan in Florida; Dan Crenshaw, Michael McCaul, John Carter, Chip Roy and Roger Williams in Texas; and Steve Chabot, David Joyce and Mike Turner in Ohio.

Will The Bluest District In America Elect New York's Most Bigoted Democrat?

Tomas Ramos and Ruben Diaz, Sr-- NY-15

In a sermon blog post yesterday, If White Conservatives Loved All People The Way They Do Embryos, Rev. John Pavlovitz noted that, for all the tears and showy garment-rending over women's Choice, the conservatives stop caring about embryos who turn into people: "these supposed life-lovers often don’t treat them like they’re at all human. Nine or thirteen or thirty-two or sixty-five years later when they show up in their communities and in their emergency rooms and along their borders, in need of food or refuge or healthcare or compassion-- they’re no longer something sacred or beautiful. Unless these lives conform to the narrowest and most stringent of criteria (usually being white, Republican), they’re more often treated as threats to be neutralized and adversaries to be destroyed."

Embryos that grow into LGBTQ teenagers aren’t worthy of their protection now. In fact, they receive their contempt, bear the brunt of their jokes, and absorb the full damnation of their brimstone sermons. They can’t get married or use a public bathroom or get benefits for their partners without being assailed at every turn by these “lovers of life.”

Embryos that become terrified migrants fleeing crime and poverty and pressed up against the most urgent desperation, don’t merit the passionate defense once within their borders they might have received while inside the womb. Instead they sustain their scorn and suspicion and every bit of their malicious, wall-building bitterness.

Embryos that become sick middle-aged adults fighting metastasizing tumors, facing astronomical chemotherapy bills, and desiring healthcare that will not drive them to bankruptcy-- don’t elicit a shred of the empathy they’d have garnered when they were still microscopic.

Embryos that one day stand in need of Government assistance to keep the lights on or food on the table for their children because they have endured unthinkable adversity along their journey—will not be met with tearful embraces by these so-called life-lovers. They’re derided as lazy and irresponsible, and told to pull themselves up by their boot straps, while never having the benefit of boots.

Embryos that one day worship in Muslim communities around these white Christians, aren’t afforded any passionate defense and aren’t celebrated with effusive social media soliloquies. They’re branded as terrorist sympathizers, their religious freedoms ignored and their very existence resented with checkout line coldness, airport side-eye stares, and travel ban exclusion.

And perhaps most ironically of all, embryos that grow into women who desire the final say regarding their own bodies-- will find their lives and wills are now of little concern. They will be legislatively subjugated by those who’d have once declared them precious.

...I wish white Christian Conservatives had the same passion for migrant children, school shooting victims, sick toddlers, young black men, Muslim families, LGBTQ teens, the environment, and women’s autonomy over their bodies that they have for embryos.

Then they’d actually be pro-life, and then we’d all be able to go about the work together of caring for humanity wherever there is need to do so.

Yes, white Conservatives love embryos.

Disparate human beings who bear little resemblance to them—not so much.

The South Bronx congressional district from which Jose Serrano is retiring, doesn't have many white Conservatives. In fact, only 2.5% of the district's population is white. And when Republicans run there, it's just a publicity stunt. NY-15 is the bluest district in America. Obama won it with 95% the first time he ran and with 97% the second time. In 2016, Trump only took 4.9% of the vote, his worst performance anywhere in the country. This cycle, though, conservatives might get lucky. One of their own is running for the open congressional seat... and running as a Democrat.

Yesterday, Alex Rogers, warned CNN.com readers that City Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr., New York's most right-wing Democrat, has a chance to slip into the seat. Ironically, NY-15 is right next to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's district and Díaz enjoys telling everyone he's the opposite of her. He sure is. Rogers calls him "a 76-year-old, cowboy hat-wearing Pentecostal minister known for his constituent services and controversial statements on social issues" and makes his path to victory clear-- a split among half a dozen progressive and mainstream candidates could leave the crackpot with a primary win.

Councilman Ritchie Torres-- the first out gay person to hold elected office in the borough and a likely competitor in the race-- told CNN, "Rubén Díaz Sr. is the most vicious homophobe in New York State politics."

This is anti-Choice maniac Ruben Diaz, Sr campaigning with anti-Choice maniac Ted Cruz

Díaz, a self-proclaimed "conservative Democrat" is out of step with the national party's views on abortion and same-sex marriage. He was the only Democrat in the state Senate to vote against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in 2011. And he has been sharply criticized in recent months for saying the City Council is "controlled by the homosexual community"; he was subsequently stripped of his chairmanship of the For-Hire Vehicle committee and urged to resign by the City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

...But Díaz, who previously served in the New York State Senate for 15 years, is viewed as a strong contender in the campaign with a proven base of support, especially among senior citizens, ministers through his New York Hispanic Clergy Organization and taxi cab drivers.

"No one should underestimate Rubén Díaz Sr.," said US Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who has not endorsed anyone in the emerging race. "The voters know him."

Díaz is set to face Torres and Assemblyman Michael Blake, a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee who will officially announce his campaign at a rally Sunday, in the primary.

Torres told CNN it is "extremely probable" that he will run for Serrano's seat. He said he would focus on issues like increasing federal investment in public housing, building on his work as the chairman of the relevant committee in the City Council.

In a separate interview, Blake said his record on criminal justice reform issues-- including boosting efforts to raise the age of criminal responsibility, banning commercial bail and helping charitable bail organizations assist poor people-- can't be beat.

Yet, they both turned their sharpest comments for Díaz Sr. In calling out his controversial statements regarding the gay community, Torres said Díaz Sr. should be running in the Republican primary instead. And Blake called Díaz's rhetoric "absolutely unacceptable," "divisive," "hateful" and "not at all becoming of someone that should be running for Congress or quite frankly an elected office."

...Díaz Sr. boasts multiple advantages in a congressional race, from sharing the same name as his son, Rubén Díaz Jr., the Bronx borough president, to having a defined constituency in a multi-candidate race. And more may come besides Torres and Blake: Marlene Cintron, the president of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, told CNN she was considering running and will make her decision in June or July.

"If it's more than two candidates running in the same race that he's in, I'm afraid that he is going to be the next member of Congress from that district," said Gerson Borrero, a NY1 political commentator, told CNN. "He does have a base, which is a problem with this guy."

...All of these factors are on the minds of some of the Democratic members of Congress from New York. In interviews, they generally praised Torres and Blake-- who worked on Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and then in the White House-- while noting others could also join the race. But the conversation turned sour when asked about Díaz Sr.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat said Torres is "one of the good candidates" and Blake is "also a worthy candidate." When asked about Díaz, Espaillat said, "We'll leave that one."

Ocasio-Cortez, who serves the neighboring district, said it was "unfortunate" that Díaz entered the race. "He has a disturbing track record towards the LGBT American community," Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. She said she would "absolutely not" support his candidacy. (Díaz has claimed he is the "opposite" of Ocasio-Cortez.)

...To be sure, there will be other issues in the race besides Díaz's candidacy. Torres called for a congressional investigation into Trump administration's "almost willfully starving" of Puerto Rico. And he has straddled ideological lines, supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary, without embracing that candidate's signature issues like single-payer health care or the Green New Deal. Torres calls himself a "pragmatic progressive" that wants to "maximize" renewable energy and supports "at a minimum" providing a public health insurance option. He notes all the hospitals in the area and says he wants to hear from the unions before considering more sweeping overhaul of the health care sector.

CNN went out of its way to ignore the grassroots progressive candidates who aren't part of the establishment-- several running AOC-type campaigns. Remember, this is a district that has had some of the lowest voter turnout for congressional primaries. People there are going to need a progressive candidate that will inspire voters of all ages to go to the polls. So far the one we see most likely to be able to accomplish that is a local activist Tomas Ramos. Take a look at this introductory video:





Yesterday I asked Ramos which issues are going to motivate voters in the district and get them ti turn out for him. He told me that these are the three big ones that he's running on:

The 1994 omnibus crime bill allocated $30 billion worth of funds that in essence decimated communities of color which in effect accelerated mass incarceration. The bulk of the funds were dedicated to punitive measures and not toward rehabilitative or preventative services. In an effort to turn the tide to adopt and implement therapeutic jurisprudence I currently oversee an alternative to incarceration program. It diverts low-level offenders away from the criminal justice system by offering them a space which is focused on illustrating how crimes affect the community as a whole. This is the type of reform which is needed in the justice criminal justice system.

The Gun-Free Schools Act accelerated the school to prison pipeline. The law mandated yearlong suspensions for students that were caught bringing a weapon to school. When states  started interpreting "weapon" very broadly it lead to zero-tolerance policies which increased suspensions and expulsions. These suspensions have affected a disproportionate number of black and Latino students. This type of ‘broken windows’ policies in schools has lead to an increase in out of school suspensions. With the adoption of such policies, resources are catered toward policing students rather than creating alternative educational career pathways such as an investment in vocational trade institutions.

The Reagan era decimated most of the social safety nets which low-income Americans had come to rely on. With this type of disinvestment on the federal level, HUD was reduced to being a reactive entity. Succeeding administrations have failed to ensure that the agency receives adequate funding. NYCHA, which is the country’s largest public housing entity has felt the effects of this disinvestment. It is estimated that NYCHA will need at least $32 billion over the next five years to repair its crumbling infrastructure. With a myriad of needs HUD requires a higher level of funding to ensure that its housing stock and voucher programs remain intact to serve its most disenfranchised Americans.

Is he for Medicare-For-All, the Green New Deal, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, free public colleges, women's Choice, gender equality...? Of course, all of the above. But he knows his district and he is certain the people who live there want to talk about the issues he's emphasizing, even above and beyond the more national issues. If you'd like to contribute to his campaign-- and help stop Rubén Díaz Sr.-- please click on the DWT ActBlue thermometer above.

Can A Right-Wing, Anti-Choice, Homophobic Maniac Get Elected To Congress From The Single Bluest District In The U.S.? Short Answer: Yes

Diaz says he's "the opposite" of AOC-- and he sure is!

There are 435 congressional districts in the country. VA-10 in the DC suburbs is the wealthiest one-- #1 out of 435, with a median income of $114,566. If there's a #1, there'd also got to be a #435, right? There is and it's NY-15 in the South Bronx. The median income there is $25,213. The ethnic make-up of the district is 65.9% Latino (many from Puerto Rico, but also immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Central America), 28.2% Black, 2.5% White and 1.8% Asian. The PVI is D+44. How does that manifest itself? Mitt Romney got 3.0% of the vote in 2012 and 4 years later Trump got 4.9%.

Last year the long-time Democratic incumbent, José Serrano, beat his Republican opponent, Jason Gonzalez 124,469 (96%) to 5,205 (4%). Earlier this year, Serrano, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, announced he would be retiring at the end of this term. He's a special kind of congressman. In 2008, when every single member of Congress from New York City voted to bail out the banksters, Serrano was the one "no" vote. Criticized by his colleagues-- who he embarrassed-- he shot back that he couldn't see showering taxpayer money on the millionaires and billionaires whose greed and avarice caused the financial collapse. The Bronx machine politicians have never been fans and are certainly happy to see him go.

Everyone has expected a tough primary. The first candidate in was 31 year old City Councilman Ritchie Torres, the first openly gay Bronx elected official and a solid progressive. The second one is another city councilman, New York's most viciously homophobic politician, 75 year old right-wing sociopath and anti-Choice fanatic, Rubén Díaz, Sr. In February the City Council took away Díaz's committee chairmanship after he refused to apologize for telling a radio audience that the Council (he later added the state government in Albany as well) is "controlled by the homosexual community." When he declared for the House seat last week, Díaz made sure to announce that he's "not progressive, I’m a conservative Democrat," that conservative Democrats have no voice and that he's "the opposite" of AOC. Díaz is certainly not a Democrat in the way normal people understand what a Democrat is. Aside from his perverse obsession with homosexuality, he campaigned for Ted Cruz in 2016 and later said he likes Trump too.

Others considering a run for a rare open congressional seat are state Senator Gustavo Rivera, Assemblyman Michael Blake, Tomas Ramos, Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, Jonathan Ortiz and Ocasio-Cortez ally Samelys Lopez, a community activist. A close friend in the Bronx told me today that "If the primary is crowded with progressives, Díaz will absolutely win the Democratic nomination. You don't need a majority-- just the most votes. Let's hope that if that does happen, the Working Families Party will have a good, strong progressive on the general election ballot.

Will The New York Republican Party Save The Day For Plutocracy?

Robert Mercer gave Ted Cruz's campaign $30 million and John Flanagan, who's preventing the overturn of Citizens United, Is NY GOP Senate Leader-- and Mercer's senator

The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision has unleashed unprecedented amounts of legalistic bribery into the political system. When predatory hedge fund billionaires like Robert Mercer spend $30,000,000 on the Ted Cruz campaign or when an agent of foreign governments like Mafia-related billionaire Sheldon Adelson spends even more-- not to mention the $900,000,000 the Koch brothers say they plan to spend in the 2016 election or the billionaires trying to buy the election for Marco Rubio or Hillary Clinton-- do we still even have a democracy? State legislatures are passing resolutions to overturn the Citizens United decision through a constitutional amendment. States that have already taken action include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia and resolutions are pending in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

A couple days ago, the Albany, New York Times Union editorial board said New York is just one vote away. The Assembly already passed a resolution and the Senate is on the verge. "One signature," wrote the editors. "That’s all it would take, from one courageous, unbought politician in the state Senate, to send a message to Congress that New Yorkers-- like most Americans-- are tired of having their system of government hijacked by big money."

Don’t be misled by talk that this is a partisan issue. It isn’t. Whether it’s liberals lamenting the influence of the 1 percent or conservatives decrying crony capitalism, this is the common backlash against the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. A Bloomberg poll this fall found that 78 percent of Americans want the ruling overtuned.

So far, 16 states have called on Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishing that corporations and unions are not entitled to the same rights and protections as natural persons, and that Congress and states can put limits on political spending. America could finally rein in the billions that wealthy individuals and interests are using to skew our political system to their favor.

In New York, more than 20 municipalities, including Albany, Guilderland and Troy, have voiced support for an amendment. The state Assembly has signed on. So have 31 state senators-- one short of a majority.

One more signature, and New York would be the 17th state to respect the will of its citizens, and declare that it is time for the people to reclaim their government.

Here’s who has yet to sign. We urge them to do so, and hope citizens will urge them, too.

Frederick Akshar II: 607-773-8771; akshar@nysenate.gov

George Amedore Jr.: 455-2350; amedore@nysenate.gov

John Bonacic: 845-344-3311; bonacic@nysenate.gov

Thomas Croci: 631-360-3356; croci@nysenate.gov

John DeFrancisco: 315-428-7632; jdefranc@nysenate.gov

Ruben Diaz: 718-991-3161; diaz@nysenate.gov

Hugh Farley: 455-2181; farley@nysenate.gov

John Flanagan: 631-361-2154; flanagan@nysenate.gov

Rich Funke: 585-223-1800; funke@nysenate.gov

Patrick Gallivan: 716-656-8544; gallivan@nysenate.gov

Martin Golden: 718-238-6044; golden@nysenate.gov

Joseph Griffo: 315-793-9072; griffo@nysenate.gov

Andrew Lanza: 718-984-4073; lanza@nysenate.gov

William Larkin Jr.: 845-567-1270; larkin@nysenate.gov

Kenneth LaValle: 631-473-1461; lavalle@nysenate.gov

Elizabeth Little: 743-0968; little@nysenate.gov

Carl Marcellino: 516-922-1811; marcelli@nysenate.gov

Kathleen Marchione: 371-2751; marchione@nysenate.gov

Jack Martins: 516-746-5924; martins@nysenate.gov

Terrence Murphy: 914-962-2624; murphy@nysenate.gov

Michael Nozzolio: 315-568-9816; nozzolio@nysenate.gov

Thomas O’Mara: 607-735-9671; omara@nysenate.gov

Robert Ortt: 716-434-0680; ortt@nysenate.gov

Michael Ranzenhofer: 716-631-8695; ranz@nysenate.gov

Patty Ritchie: 315-782-3418; ritchie@nysenate.gov

Joseph Robach: 585-225-3650; robach@nysenate.gov

Sue Serino: 845-229-0106; serino@nysenate.gov

James Seward: 607-432-5524; seward@nysenate.gov

Michael Venditto: 516-882-0630; venditto@nysenate.gov

Catharine Young: 716-372-4901; cyoung@nysenate.gov

Most of those names belong to right-wing Republicans, although one, Ruben Diaz, is a right-wing Democrat (from the Bronx). Two Long Island Republicans are on board-- Phil Boyle (Suffolk County) and Kemp Hannon (Nassau County). But otherwise the 29 other New York Republican senators refused to sign on. Why? I can't say I know, but perhaps these 3 charts from OpenSecrets.org of some of the biggest industries that bribe Members of Congress (last year only). Look closely at who got the most bribes:

Is David Paterson's Same Sex Marriage Bill Going To Hurt Momentum For Equality?

NYC's most vicious bigot isn't even a Republican!

All my gay friends are delighted because NY Governor David Paterson introduced a bill into the state legislature today that would legalize same sex marriage. They're supposed to be delighted. That's why the desperately unpopular, inept governor decided to announce it. It's a divisive strategy and it's unlikely to change the law in favor of gay people. The bill will sail through the Assembly (again), but it's not going to pass the state Senate-- same as what happened in 2007. And this time, Democrats control the state Senate, so they can't even blame homophobic Republican bigots. They'll have to look in the mirror to find the bigots to blame. What a mess!

Paterson says the momentum is building for same sex marriage and that "We come to this debate with the wind at our back" because of the recent victories in Vermont, Connecticut and Iowa. He makes a good case, an idealistic-sounding one too. But his politics is weak-- if not completely self-serving and gimmicky.

Mr. Paterson, who has been pummeled in public opinion polls over his handling of the state’s fiscal crisis, is taking on a level of involvement unusual for a governor, inserting himself directly into the ongoing campaign in Albany to gather the votes needed to pass the bill. Currently the measure does not have enough support in the State Senate, which Democrats seized last fall and control by a thin margin, 32 to 30.

...Mr. Paterson, who is Catholic, was asked about the Catholic Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage-- a view reiterated on Wednesday by Timothy M. Dolan, the new archbishop of New York.

“He spoke out yesterday at the cathedral at his installation on a number of issues, and we stood for him,” Mr. Paterson said. “We applauded him for speaking out on what he thinks is right and doing it in a gracious and admirable way. But this is a civil government, and he has the opportunity as to a lot of religious leaders of different points of view to advocate in Albany and stand for what he believes.

Asked about the opposition to same-sex marriage that has been expressed by State Senator Rubén Díaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister from the Bronx, Mr. Paterson replied, “I didn’t know that he was inviting Christ’s army, because I thought I was a member of it-- and I’m in favor of gay marriage.”

...Díaz, has stepped up his efforts to defeat the same-sex marriage bill in recent days. As Mr. Paterson was announcing plans to introduce the legislation on Thursday morning, Mr. Díaz gathered with other Hispanic clergy leaders in the Bronx to object to the governor’s proposal. Mr. Díaz has said that he was especially troubled by the timing of the governor’s announcement, which came so close to the installation of the new Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, Timothy M. Dolan.

Díaz was one of the 3 reactionary fake Democrats-- the "Gang of Four" (later the "Gang of Three when Queens crook Hiram Monserrate sold out his fellow wingnuts for the chairmanship of the lucrative Consumer Affairs Committee)-- that refused to caucus with the Democrats when they won the Senate majority for the first time since 1939. Díaz is the only Democrat in the Senate to oppose women's choice and stem cell research. Does this sound like a Democrat? "Abortion is the American Holocaust... The comparison is plain: six million Jews were exterminated by Hitler in Germany; Almost 48 million babies have been exterminated in the abortion clinics of America. We have simply been in the killing for a longer period of time than Hitler... Hitler used the ashes of the Jews to make bars of soap. In America, we are selling fetal tissue to be used in the manufacture of cosmetics as well as for medical research... Do not point your finger at Hitler; we are worse." That was Díaz mouthing off in 2005. He's also a vicious outspoken homophobe who opposes any kind of equality for gay people, not just marriage. He went so far as to personally attack other Hispanic legislators who voted in favor of equality. He opposed NYC hosting the Gay Games and opposes NY's Harvey Milk School which offers gay students who are discriminated against in other schools to get a safe education. You think Paterson, whose record proves that he has always been a sincere champion of gay rights, is going to change his mind?

Not gonna happen. Is he going to change the mind of a single Republican homophobe? Not a chance-- especially not with the split in the Republican gay movement. They relish handing the Democrats an embarrassing defeat. Instead we'll have a situation where the unpopular Paterson will be unable to rally support to the bill and it will fail, screwing up the momentum that has been building in other states. Or, Majority Leader Malcolm Smith won't even let the bill come to a vote, since he's already said he won't bring it up again until he has the votes-- meaning either Díaz or an equally gay-bashing Republican.

C.W. Post political science professor Stanley Klein said Paterson is making a transparent effort to boost dismal approval ratings. Klein predicted the move will backfire.

"Being the flag bearer for gay marriage when you know it can't pass the Senate doesn't do you any good," said Klein, who is also a Republican committeeman in Suffolk. "The Republicans are still stung by the fact that they lost the majority, so they're going to vote unanimously against anything he brings up."

Good speech though: