How Could Trump Possibly Get Re-Elected?

The new Quinnipiac poll looks fairly dire for Republicans preparing for the 2020 election cycle, especially the bozo at the top of the ticket. Most Americans now consider Trump a criminal and less than a third of voters think he's honest. Here are some highlights:

• 38% of voters (34% of independents) approval of the way Trump is handling his job while 55% disapproval (57% of independents)

• 27% of voters (24% of independents) approval of the way congressional Republicans are handling their jobs while 66% disapprove.

• 30% of voters think Trump is honest. 26% of independents do. 65% of voters think Trump is not honest (including 26% of Republicans and 69% of independents). His dishonest numbers are the worst since Quinnipiac started polling that question.

• Just 39% of voters think Trump has good leadership skills, while 58% think he doesn't.

• Asked if Trump is a good role model for children, 22% of voters-- may they rot in hell-- say Trump is, including 54% of Republicans, 3% of Democrats and 17% of independents. 71% of Americans say he is NOT a good role model, including 37% of Republicans, 97% of Democrats and 75% of independents.

• Asked who they believe more, Trump or Michael Cohen, 35% of Americans say Trump (79% of Republicans, 4% of Dems and 31% of independents) and 50% say Cohen (11% of Republicans, 86% of Dems and 51% of independents).

• 64% of Americans think Trump committed crimes before he was elected and just 24% don't.

• 45% of Americans think Trump has committed crimes as president and 43% don't. Significantly, just 38% of independent voters say Trump hasn't been committing crimes while in office.

Early this morning, a poll of Florida voters was released by Bendixen & Amandi International showing that just 40% of Sunshine State voters think Trump deserves to be reelected. 53% oppose a second term for him. This is no path to reelection for Trump that doesn't include Florida. And, by the way, Florida voters identified Climate Change as the number one issue facing the country, an issue Trump still calls a "Chinese hoax."

Tim Wu is a law professor at Columbia University who ran for Lieutenant Governor New York with Zephyr Teachout a few years ago. Yesterday he wrote an OpEd for the New York Times, The Oppression Of The Supermajority which makes the important point that, on many of the big issues of the day, Americans are not nearly as divided as a "divide and conquer" establishment would have us believe. In fact, he wrote "The defining political fact of our time is not polarization. It’s the inability of even large bipartisan majorities to get what they want on issues like these. Call it the oppression of the supermajority. Ignoring what most of the country wants-- as much as demagogy and political divisiveness-- is what is making the public so angry.

• higher taxes for the ultra-wealthy- 75%
• guaranteed paid maternity leave- 67%
• strong net neutrality laws- 83%
• stronger privacy laws- 60%
• Medicare should be able to negotiate lower drug prices- 92%
• consumers should be able to import cheaper drugs from Canada- 71%

Thwarting the will of the American public is a long anti-democratic tradition that the establishment has honed into a science. Wu wrote that "During the first decades of the 20th century, the American public voted for politicians who supported economic reforms like maximum-hour work laws and bans on child labor. But the Supreme Court struck down most of Congress’s economic legislation, deeming it unconstitutional. In our era, it is primarily Congress that prevents popular laws from being passed or getting serious consideration. (Holding an occasional hearing does not count as 'doing something.') Entire categories of public policy options are effectively off-limits because of the combined influence of industry groups and donor interests. There is no principled defense of this state of affairs-- and indeed, no one attempts to offer such a justification. Instead, legislative stagnation is cynically defended by those who benefit from it with an unconvincing invocation of the rigors of our system of checks and balances." And that brings us to why it is so crucial to elect Bernie president, not Status Quo Joe or Bloomberg or any of the other corporate candidates being dubbed "moderates" by the corporate media.

The president, because he is representative of more voters, might be thought an important remedy to this problem. And when running for office, Mr. Trump did gesture at his support for popular policies, promising to control drug prices, build public infrastructure and change trade policy to favor dispossessed workers. Yet since coming to power, Mr. Trump, with a few exceptions, like trade, has seemed to lose interest in what the broader public wants, focusing instead on polarizing issues like immigration that are not the public’s main concerns but the obsessions of a loud minority faction.

As the United States begins the process of choosing the next president and Congress, we need to talk more openly about which candidates are most likely to deliver the economic policies that the supermajority wants. Yes, the people can be wrong about things, but so too can experts, embedded industry groups and divisive political factions. It is not a concession to populism, but rather a respect for democracy, to suggest that two-thirds of the population should usually get what they ask for.

The Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer above will help guarantee that if a progressive president is elected-- whether Bernie or Elizabeth Warren or anyone else with a plan to enact real change-- there will be more members of Congress ready to back them up. That's crucial. Please consider contributing what you can to any or all of the candidates.

The Moreland Commission Re-opens With A New Mandate

As corrupt as Chris Christie, Rick Perry, Scott Walker and Bob McDonnell

Our friends at the Accountability Project are about to launch an investigative news site looking into criminals that run rampant inside of our political system. Any day now. But, a staffer there, Cara Dee, put together a pre-launch satirical piece that, in the light of today's primary in New York, seems a complete match for DWT.

ALBANY, NY-- The independent commission that Gov Cuomo created to investigate and root out corruption reopened today with a new mandate to focus on the activities of 1011 named political actors. The list was pre approved by the Governor's office and excluded anyone who the Governor liked or who did business with any of the Governor's friends.

The Commission named former New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi as Chair. Former Governor Eliot Spitzer immediately tweeted that he was very disappointed that he was not chosen.

In a statement issued this morning, Chairman Hevesi said, “This makes our work much easier. By being able to focus only on individuals we know the Governor doesn't care about, we can ensure that we will do something meaningful about corruption and not get slowed down wasting time and resources by incorrectly focusing on the Governors friends, who are obviously not corrupt.”

23 members of the state legislature questioned why a number of indicted politicians and business people known widely for corrupt activities were not included on the list.

As a result, the list of 1,011 was expanded immediately to 1,034.

Governor Mario Cuomo remarked to TAP reporters, “While this new list might simplify things, it was really unnecessary. My son is always right. Which is exactly how I raised him.”

Many were surprised to find the names of former President Bill Clinton and Former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the list. Gov. Cuomo, when asked why they had been selected, replied, “That’s obvious.”

Commission members were selected on a number of independent criteria, including: 1) their support for Governor 2) their support for former Governor Mario Cuomo 3) their opposition of anyone named “Kennedy,” ever, regardless of whether persons named “Kennedy” were actually related to the Kennedy family or whether “Kennedy” was their first or last name.

Candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Kathleen Hochul, replied to press inquiries indicating that she had not yet received her statement from the Governor’s office but promised it would be forthcoming.

Hochul’s challenger, Tim Wu, called the Moreland list a sham and said that he and running mate, Zephyr Teachout had already compiled their own list with the unofficial help of the Working Families Party. The Working Families Party, through their for profit consulting arm, billed Teachout and Wu $1,379 for assembling the list.

One insider close to the activities of the former Moreland Commission complained that, “Everything was off to a good start until Commission members began having sex with members of the Governors office. Not that there’s anything wrong with sex.”

Editorial staff of the New York Times had prepared to comment on the newly formed Moreland Commission but decided that since their opinion was completely irrelevant to what the Governor actually chooses to do, decided instead to re-issue their endorsement of Tim Wu.

The Commission will be given an 18 month timeframe to complete its work by which time Cuomo figures that most New Yorkers will be too high to care or too impoverished from the loss of their life savings from the new casinos slated for development throughout New York State.

Cuomo continued, “My efforts to integrate drug dealers and legalize gambling are clear proof of my crusade against corruption.”

UPDATE: Cuomo/Hochul, Badly Damaged, Win In New York

Low-info Democrats renominated Andrew Cuomo with 62% of the vote. He spent $60.62 per vote he received-- and spent over 40 times more than his opponent, Zephyr Teachout, who took 35%. Cuomo's hand-picked conservative ex-lobbyist Lt Gov. pick, Kathy Hochul fared even worse against Tim Wu, beating him 60-40%. The corporate shill running for governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, won with 42%, Clay Pell spoiling progressive Angel Taveras' chance to win.

Although Cuomo won all the big Machine counties, where men in back rooms decide on the totals in advance, Teachout won 30 of New York's 62 counties, some in absolute wipeouts:

• Putnam- 53.5%
• Dutchess- 57.5%
• Ulster- 70.0%
• Sullivan- 67.6%
• Delaware- 63.3%
• Greene- 62.1%
• Columbia- 77.9%
• Rensselaer- 63.4%
• Albany- 61.9%
• Schoharie- 71.7%
• Washington- 63.8%
• Saratoga- 67.3%
• Fulton- 54.3%
• Montgomery- 54.5%
• Otsego- 72.7%
• Chenango- 49.9%
• Madison- 46.8%
• Cortland- 60.6%
• Tompkins- 70.9%
• Tioga- 49.7%
• Schuyler- 60.7%
• Yates- 61.5%
• Ontario- 50.8%
• Seneca- 56.3%
• Wayne- 49.1%
• Warren- 56.7%
• Hamilton- 51.7%
• Essex- 48.6%
• Clinton- 49.4%
• St Lawrence- 54.6%

Is Tomorrow's Primary In New York Important At All?

Tomorrow is election day in New York. Reform-minded Democrats are threatening to do the impossible: upend the career of a very powerful conservative Governor, Andrew Cuomo but defeating him and his handpicked right-wing candidate for Lieutenant Gov., banking lobbyist Kathy Hochul. Cuomo-Hochul represent all the worst of an Establishment that has treated the public with disdain and contempt. Predictably, Hillary Clinton is campaigning on their behalf-- making it clear once again that she's, first and foremost every bit as much a servant of Wall Street and Big Business as any Republican hack. It's remarkable that Cuomo/Hochul can hope to get any votes beyond the 1% who they represent and serve. Not even the NY Times could muster the intestinal fortitude and hubris it would have taken to endorse either of them.

Over the weekend, distinguished MIT Economist and Elizabeth Warren economic advisor Simon Johnson, a member of the FDIC’s Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee, and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, endorsed Zephyr Teachout, the progressive alternative to Cuomo. "Zephyr Teachout," he wrote, "is a compelling candidate for governor of New York. She understands how corporate capture has taken over too many of our political institutions-- and she has a very real and sensible agenda that would make a difference. She represents for New York exactly the same kind of opportunity that Elizabeth Warren offered-- and was taken up on by-- Massachusetts. Stop complaining and vote for Zephyr Teachout."

This past week, economics Nobel laureate and the former chairman of Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers, Joe Stiglitz explained, once again, how capitalism as a system has been gamed, perverted and twisted out of shape for the benefit of an out-of-control plutocracy. Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Picketty has done so well-- and aroused the hysterical and impassioned animus of the far right so quickly-- because, he claims, it "lends further weight to the already overwhelming body of evidence concerning the soaring share of income and wealth at the very top." Much to the chagrin of the pet intellectuals employed by the plutocrats, Picketty's book "sheds new light on the 'reforms' sold by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s as growth enhancers from which all would benefit. Their reforms were followed by slower growth and heightened global instability, and what growth did occur benefited mostly those at the top."

[T]he increase in measured wealth does not correspond to an increase in productive capital-- and the data seem consistent with this interpretation. Much of the increase in wealth stemmed from an increase in the value of real estate. Before the 2008 financial crisis, a real-estate bubble was evident in many countries; even now, there may not have been a full "correction." The rise in value also can represent competition among the rich for "positional" goods-- a house on the beach or an apartment on New York City’s Fifth Avenue.

Sometimes an increase in measured financial wealth corresponds to little more than a shift from "unmeasured" wealth to measured wealth-- shifts that can actually reflect deterioration in overall economic performance. If monopoly power increases, or firms (like banks) develop better methods of exploiting ordinary consumers, it will show up as higher profits and, when capitalized, as an increase in financial wealth.

But when this happens, of course, societal wellbeing and economic efficiency fall, even as officially measured wealth rises. We simply do not take into account the corresponding diminution of the value of human capital-- the wealth of workers.

Moreover, if banks succeed in using their political influence to socialize losses and retain more and more of their ill-gotten gains, the measured wealth in the financial sector increases. We do not measure the corresponding diminution of taxpayers’ wealth. Likewise, if corporations convince the government to overpay for their products (as the major drug companies have succeeded in doing), or are given access to public resources at below-market prices (as mining companies have succeeded in doing), reported financial wealth increases, though the wealth of ordinary citizens does not.

What we have been observing-- wage stagnation and rising inequality, even as wealth increases-- does not reflect the workings of a normal market economy, but of what I call “ersatz capitalism.” The problem may not be with how markets should or do work, but with our political system, which has failed to ensure that markets are competitive, and has designed rules that sustain distorted markets in which corporations and the rich can (and unfortunately do) exploit everyone else.

Markets, of course, do not exist in a vacuum. There have to be rules of the game, and these are established through political processes. High levels of economic inequality in countries like the US and, increasingly, those that have followed its economic model, lead to political inequality. In such a system, opportunities for economic advancement become unequal as well, reinforcing low levels of social mobility.

Thus, Piketty’s forecast of still higher levels of inequality does not reflect the inexorable laws of economics. Simple changes-- including higher capital-gains and inheritance taxes, greater spending to broaden access to education, rigorous enforcement of anti-trust laws, corporate-governance reforms that circumscribe executive pay, and financial regulations that rein in banks’ ability to exploit the rest of society-- would reduce inequality and increase equality of opportunity markedly.

If we get the rules of the game right, we might even be able to restore the rapid and shared economic growth that characterized the middle-class societies of the mid-twentieth century. The main question confronting us today is not really about capital in the twenty-first century. It is about democracy in the twenty-first century.

There's a lot more at stake in Tuesday's New York primary than the mass media deigns to cover. And, clearly, Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul are not on the side of the voters who are being asked to promote the careers each has developed in service to the hedge fund managers and financial manipulators of the ersatz capitalism Stiglitz is warning us about. Blue America endorsed Teachout/Wu because they will not be serving the special interests behind Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, special interests once traditionally assumed to be associated with the Republican Party, rather than the Democratic Party. It's why we talk so much here about the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, the Andrew Cuomo/Kathy Hochul wing. If you're a New York Democrat planning to vote tomorrow, just remember that the $87,000 legalistic bribe David Koch, of the notorious Koch brothers, gave Andrew Cuomo in 2011 did not come without strings attached-- strings around the necks of your children and grandchildren.

Progressive Frauds Unmasked-- Hochul Raises from Democrats Against Education

When Clinton was president, my industry's trade association contributed $50,000 to the DNC in my name. I've been plagued by ravenous, contribution-hungry Democratic candidates ever since then-- and almost never good ones. Yes, it's how I came to meet Howard Dean and make him a raw vegan brunch at my house once, but other than Dean, it's been one monstrosity after another, from Dick Gephardt, the author of the legislation allowing Bush to invade Iraq, to wheeler-dealers like Terry McAuliffe. This week I got an invitation in the mail from the most unlikely of Democratic corporate shills sniffing around for cash: Cuomo's handpicked conservative, Kathy Hochul. I guess they don't google their guest list.

The invitation requested $19,700 per person for a reception for Hochul, the anti-immigrant, conservative bank lobbyist running for Lt. Governor as a typical EMILY's List conservative make-believe Democrat. No mention anywhere of her strong relationship with New York's Conservative Party... which Hochul discusses in the video up top. There are a few things you'd expect to see on such an invitation, and a few surprises.

It's not surprising that Hochul is raising money at the home of John Petry, a sleazy hedge fund crook who wants to destroy public education through his work with charter schools. That's Andrew Cuomo's policy too, of course. It's not surprising that Chuck Schumer, Charlie Rangel, Joe Crowley, and Carolyn Maloney are co-hosts. They are Wall Street Democrats, as corrupt and pay to play as you'd hope only Republicans would ever be.

But it is surprising that progressive Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler is a co-host for this event. Nadler? Jerry Nadler, the political heir to Upper West Side reform Dem icon Bill Ryan? Nadler, who is apparently the civil liberties champion of New York? Nadler the stalwart of the Progressive Caucus… that Nadler?

But this move is what Democrats need to see, to understand that their progressive leaders are frauds and hacks. Nadler, remember, pledged to vote against any health care plan that did not include a public option before doing just that. Nadler voted for the fraud of a USA Freedom Act which legalizes bulk surveillance. And now Nadler is raising money for Kathy Hochul, making the label "progressive" as valuable as the toilet paper used to wipe Andrew Cuomo's ass.

Nadler joins Bill De Blasio in the progressive fraud club. De Blasio, of course, is the disgraceful machine politician who captured the hearts of undiscerning establishment liberals by saying the kinds of things that made them want to do the heavy lifting of saying he's a progressive, something that has been repeated so many times that De Blasio's fake progressivism is now a political truism. He's backing Hochul as well… of course.

What matters is that Democratic voters see who is on their side when it matters. Zephyr Teachout's campaign is such a moment. After this is done, Nadler and De Blasio will return to their fake posture of pretending to want a more just social order. But today, we see who they really are. Today at 5:30 PM if you gave over $5,000 and were invited to the VIP reception and at 6:15 PM if all you gave was $2,500 or less... at the San Remo, 145 Central Park West, between 74th and 75th Streets… Apt 17C. Hosts include Victor and Sarah Kovner, Marie McKellar, Trudy Mason, John Zaccaro, the slum lord who ruined the vice-presidential campaign of his wife, Geraldine Ferraro and a bunch of random rich people from Buffalo. (Oops, it may be Zaccaro's son, the former coke dealer who's hosting Hochul's fundraiser. My bad.)

If you want to RSVP, call Wally at Dynamic SRG-- 212-531-2858-- a firm that bills itself as "a boutique fundraising firm comprised of experienced professionals who provide fundraising and strategic services for progressive candidates and organizations." Watch the Hochul video up top again.

Want another surprise? "Friends for Kathy Hochul" is listed with an address on Malcolm X Blvd. I'm sure that's just as Malcolm X would have wanted it.

If Cuomo Is The Next Governor Convicted On Corruption Charges After McDonnell, Would You Want Hochul Or Wu To Take Over?

Yes, this afternoon, a federal jury found Virginia's crooked former governor, Bob McDonnell guilty of 11 of the 13 charges against him-- all that public corruption stuff. The crooked wife was found guilty on 8 charges. They were selling the prerogatives of his office for a couple hundred thousand dollars in trinkets and vacations. McDonnell wept like the woman he will soon be behind bars as the guilty verdicts were read out one after the other. He won't be sentenced until January 6. This is not in defense of McDonnell, who deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison, but he isn't any worse than other gubernatorial criminals like Chris Christie (R-NJ), Rick Perry (R-TX), Scott Walker (R-WI), Andrew Cuomo, (D-NY), Nathan Deal (R-GA) and Rick Scott (R-FL). Maybe it's time to stop electing and, especially, reelecting crooked politicians-- even if they are from the political party you identify with.

Severe Establishment Disruption Among New York's Grubby Ruling Elite?

The DCCC usually makes mediocre ads-- or worse. They hire over-paid, overly-cautious consultants who only care about one thing: the next job they can get. The video above, however… that's a decent ad. And the DCCC started running it today-- part of a $950,000 investment in anti-Grimm broadcast ads on Staten Island and the parts of south Brooklyn that are part of NY-11 (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, right up to the border of Midwood). I grew exactly 2 blocks from the far corner of Grimm's district-- Avenue P and East 15th Street-- and this area is nothing like the parts of the district on Staten Island and in Bay Ridge where people see the Mafia as folk heroes who will protect them from the coloreds. My sister lives on Staten Island. She told me that among her neighbors, Grimm's multiple indictments have made him more popular!

In 2012, it was the new NY-11 precincts in the northwest part of the district, my old neighborhood, that swung the congressional district in a very blue direction-- from a district that supported McCain 51-48% to a district that supported Obama 52-47%, one of the biggest pro-Obama swings anywhere in the country.

Grimm's campaign, though, is flailing. The GOP Establishment has cut him off as an embarrassment. He can't raise money, can't respond to DCCC attacks and is getting no help at all from the NRCC, which has written off the seat.

Mr. Grimm has been unable to respond with television advertisements of his own, after his indictments ended the flow of cash to his campaign from national Republicans. He has few paid campaign staffers-- though Mr. Molinari, 85, who helped launch Mr. Grimm’s first campaign, has said they meet regularly to discuss the race. In the last monthly filing period that campaign contributions were available to the public, Mr. Recchia raised 11 times more than Mr. Grimm, who had pulled in just $23,430, most of it from just 18 donors.

Still, the congressman is a skilled retail politician who has been shaking hands and taking selfies a slew of local events all summer long, and he remains popular with many in his district. He has dismissed the charges against him as a plot by Democrats and President Barack Obama to rid the city of its lone Republican in Congress, and has offered a refrain in his social media messages to his supporters: “I’ve got your back.” That could resonate in a district that often feels at worst targeted for unfair policies like high tolls, and at best forgotten by government.

So far the DCCC has spent $332,076-- not counting the money to run the ad up top. The NRCC has spent zero. Since it's Labor Day, let me just mention that the Mafia-controlled building trades unions in NY haven't given up on Grimm this year. The NRCC is embarrassed. The building trades bosses aren't. They've given him $199,000 so far-- $10,000 each, for example, from the Plumbers/Pipefitters Union, the Painters & Allied Trades Union, the Operating Engineers Union, the Carpenters & Joiners Union. Normal, non-Mafia affiliated unions have given Democrat Domenic Recchia $59,500.

My favorite possible outcome of the NY-11 race would be for Grimm to win-- from a prison cell. He's likely to go to jail on the charges but Staten Island definitely deserves to go down in history for having reelected a Mafia stooge who was already in prison. Recchia is as worthless as Grimm and there's no reason on earth for anyone to vote for him. But NY-11 isn't the only place where New York's grotesquely corrupt political Establishment is suffering from paroxysms of discontent and dislocation. This morning Fred Dicker reported in the Post that Cuomo is weighing dumping his handpicked right-wing running mate, Kathy Hochul. First watch this video:



The NY Times endorsed Tim Wu, which not even someone as remote from the street as Cuomo can ignore. Dicker isn't some kind of ridiculous Post scandal monger. He's the paper's state political editor and is very well-connected and knows what he's talking about. This is what he's talking about:

Gov. Cuomo’s political operatives are eyeing a "painful scenario" to dump Kathy Hochul, a moderate upstater, as the governor’s running mate for lieutenant governor amid growing signs that leftist law professor Tim Wu is picking up momentum in the Sept. 9 Democratic primary.

Such an action could be needed because a Wu victory would result in a Cuomo/Wu ticket on the Democratic line in the November election but potentially disastrous Cuomo/Hochul tickets on the Working Families, Independence, and Women’s Equality lines, where no primaries are slated.

Under the state Election Law, votes for a Cuomo/Hochul ticket in November would not be added to the tally for the Cuomo/Wu ticket, potentially costing Cuomo hundreds of thousands of votes.

Cuomo would have until Sept. 16 under the election law to swap Wu for Hochul, using a technique that would allow the former Buffalo-area congresswoman and lawyer to be nominated instead for a judgeship, according to an expert on legislative election law.

"This is the painful scenario being reviewed by the Cuomo people, who realize that there is an outside possibility that Wu could win the primary," said a source close to the Cuomo campaign.

Wu won the surprise endorsement of the New York Times as well as other left-of-center groups last week as they criticized Hochul’s past opposition to state aid for illegal aliens and her 100 percent rating from the National Rifle Association.

…Cuomo campaign operatives, nervous about the Sept. 9 primary, privately concede that he would suffer considerable national political damage if Fordham University Professor Zephyr Teachout, the governor’s hard-charging "progressive" challenger and Wu’s running mate, gets more than about 30 percent of the vote.

"About 30 percent will be a huge embarrassment to Cuomo on the national scene and would reinforce the sense that progressives don’t like or trust him," said a prominent Democratic activist.

Several activists told The Post they believed that Teachout, who has been endorsed by the state’s second-largest public employee union, would hit 30 percent.

UPDATE: No Prison Time For Grimm Before Nov.

My dream of seeing Staten Island reelect a Mafia hoodlum while he's in prison was shattered today when U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen announced that jury selection in the first of Grimm's many trials will begin Dec. 1. This trial is for the 20 indictments on all the baby-charges-- tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy… that kind of stuff. The more intense criminal stuff is still being investigated by the FBI.

New York Times Endorses Tim Wu Over Cuomo's Handpicked Conservative Nightmare, Kathy Hochul

Two days ago, the NY Times editorial board wrote that they could not bring themselves to endorse Andrew Cuomo for another term, citing his grotesque record of corruption. I guess Cuomo doesn't have the kind of dirt on them that he has on the pathetic creeps who control the Working Families Party, which endorsed not just Cuomo, but confessed conservative Kathy Hochul (watch the astounding video up top), 3 of the very worst corporate whores in the entire U.S. Congress-- Steve Israel, Joe Crowley and Sean Patrick Maloney-- and handpicked Wall Street shills running for Congress like Kathleen Rice and Domenic Recchia. Unlike the Liberal Party which took 45 years to turn into a useless sack of garbage, it took the WFP just 15 years to devolve from an idealistic progressive hope for working families into a corrupt, backroom bunch of transactional hacks. They were too scared to back Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu. They endorsed Cuomo and Hochul-- yes Hochul!-- instead.

I don't know for sure if the Times editors watched the Hochul videos, but reading their editorial last night, one sure gets the idea that they did, which went into their astounding decision to back Tim Wu instead. Please give it a read and consider giving Teachout and Wu a hand at the Blue America governors page.

The office of lieutenant governor in New York is a feeble one. The current occupant-- Robert Duffy, a former mayor of Rochester-- was handpicked by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2010 and spent the last four years promoting the governor’s agenda around the state. In May, Mr. Duffy decided he had had enough of traveling in the governor’s shadow, and is not seeking re-election.

On Sept. 9, Democratic primary voters can choose between Governor Cuomo’s new choice for lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, a former congresswoman, and Timothy Wu, a law professor at Columbia University who is running as an independent-minded Democrat.

Mr. Wu, a political newcomer, offers a fresh perspective and a new voice to counter Albany’s entrenched players. Ms. Hochul does not, and she has a deeply troubling record on health reform, gun control and environmental deregulation. For these reasons, we recommend Mr. Wu in the Democratic primary.


 In an editorial on Wednesday, we did not endorse Zephyr Teachout for governor in the Democratic primary, citing her lack of experience. Mr. Wu, who is her running mate, also lacks political experience, but he is seeking a very different job, with far less responsibility for running a big and diverse state.

Mr. Wu recognizes this difference, and he says he wants to use the lieutenant governor’s job as a pulpit, to become the state’s de facto public advocate, particularly in support of consumer issues, Internet access and economic development zones.

Mr. Cuomo chose Ms. Hochul this spring to balance his ticket with a conservative woman from upstate. Ms. Hochul now supports his gun control bill, but when she ran unsuccessfully for re-election to Congress in 2012, her campaign featured the endorsement from the National Rifle Association. The N.R.A. said at the time that she had “a proven record of defending the Second Amendment.”

She also boasted repeatedly that she had voted many times against “Obamacare.” She strongly opposed allowing undocumented immigrants to have drivers’ licenses. And during her short time in Congress, environmentalists criticized many of her votes, including those to repeal emission standards for cement manufacturers and to allow fewer controls on open pit mines and other polluting industries.

She undoubtedly embraced those views to try to win re-election in a district that had become a stronghold for Republicans. But her willingness to shift politically does not suggest she would offer any kind of independent judgment. Nor does her record give any real clue about what would happen if she took over as governor. In the meantime, she has promised to “support the administration.”

Although he lacks time in politics, Mr. Wu has an impressive record in the legal field, particularly in Internet law and policy. Widely known for coining the phrase “net neutrality,” he has been an adviser to the Federal Trade Commission as part of his efforts on behalf of consumers to keep the Internet from “becoming too corporatized.”

As lieutenant governor, he wants to speak out on complicated issues that are too often ignored in Albany like immigrant rights and broadband access needed by more than a million New Yorkers. Those would be worthy pursuits, but he will also have to learn quickly how to navigate Albany’s difficult politics to make his views heard.

Ms. Hochul, who has been a banker in the Buffalo area, has worked to develop jobs upstate. A former county clerk before her stint in Congress, she has helped veterans in her area and supported Mr. Cuomo’s push for economic development in western New York.

Whoever wins in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor will run as part of the governor’s Democratic ticket in November against the Republican slate. Albany needs an independent voice, someone who can bring fresh ideas to a very stale and often corrupt political culture. Timothy Wu is the one who best fits that bill.

Meanwhile, yesterday was a good day for Teachout as well, as the editors of The Nation endorsed her and gave her a rousing vote of confidence. They wrote that "circumstances-- some of her own creation, many resulting from Cuomo’s missteps and misdeeds-- have conspired to create what the New York Times calls a 'Teachout Moment.' A savvy, trust-busting progressive, Teachout has injected some much-needed debate into the election, earning endorsements from the Public Employees Federation as well as the New York chapters of the National Organization for Women and the Sierra Club. She has also begun to impress New Yorkers. By framing her campaign as part of the fight for 'the democratic wing of the Democratic Party'… she has reminded voters that they need not settle for the austerity policies embraced by Cuomo." It is a powerful and persuasive endorsement.

We believe New Yorkers who want a more progressive government should vote for Teachout on September 9. The Nation makes this endorsement with the understanding that Teachout may not be able to overcome the political barriers that have been erected, in the state and nationally, to a grassroots, idea-driven campaign. But we believe her candidacy holds out the potential for forging the bold, people-led politics we seek in 2014 and beyond.

A vote for Teachout sends two critical signals. First, it objects to Cuomo’s approach to electioneering and governing, which is too heavy-handed, too top-down, and too prone to cutting ethical corners. While the governor has done some good on issues like marriage equality, his rightward tilt on education and economic issues has crippled New York’s fight against inequality. And Cuomo has stumbled badly when it comes to addressing corruption, as evidenced by the recent revelations that he meddled with the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption, which he created in 2013.

But there’s more to this challenge than legitimate criticism of Cuomo and corruption. Teachout offers an example of what it means to be a progressive Democrat in the twenty-first century. A distinguished academic and activist, she has been in the forefront of advancing progressive reform for nearly two decades. As a professor at Fordham Law School, the author of important books on political and economic policy, a key figure in Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign, and a visionary organizer on behalf of banking and business reforms, she understands that the Democratic Party must move toward progressive populism in order to become more than a tepid alternative to Republican extremism.

Thus, the second signal that a vote for Teachout will send is a demand for change in the Democratic establishment, which cannot continue to dance around the issue of income inequality. It must reject austerity cuts and embrace investment in infrastructure, education and communities, as Teachout and others in the party’s populist wing have. It must recognize the political appeal of battling crony capitalism and corruption. And in the midst of a digital revolution every bit as disruptive as the Industrial Revolution before it, the party’s leadership must recognize the necessity of supporting Net neutrality, ending the digital divide and expanding broadband Internet access-- issues that Teachout and her running mate for lieutenant governor, Tim Wu, have highlighted.

A victory by Teachout and Wu would be a dramatic upset-- one with the potential to overturn political calculations nationwide. But even a respectable finish could illustrate the strength of the progressive base and keep the proposals that Teachout and Wu have been fighting for alive.

At this point Teachout and Wu have a significantly better chance of beating Cuomo and Hochul than Dave Brat did of beating Eric Cantor. It won't be easy-- but it can be done and the ramifications, as The Nation explains, would be transformative. Election day is September 9. Teachout and Wu need every dollar they can get for a get out the vote effort. If you can, please consider making a contribution.

Kathy Hochul-- Unmasked

As you probably know, Blue America endorsed Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu for Governor and Lt. Governor of New York. They are both extraordinary candidates, not politicians per se, but values-driven leaders. When we decided to back them, it wasn't only because of how amazing-- even, dare I say, transformative-- a Teachout/Wu administration would be. I've been growing increasingly concerned about Cuomo's tendency towards corruption, his increasingly conservative posture on every important issue and on his lack of judgment.

One instance of his lack of judgment was his selection of reactionary Democrat Kathy Hochul as his running mate. As you can hear from her own lips in the video up top, she is beyond horrible, bragging about getting the Conservative Party endorsement "every time I've run for office," boasting how she opposed Obamacare and voted "many times to repeal it," and still campaigning against immigrants.

And what makes Hochul so scary is that Cuomo is likely to be indicted and, if he's reelected, may well be forced out of office, making her governor-- not of Mississippi or Idaho, but of New York State. "I voted with Speaker Boehner against the President's policy on Libya… I support the Keystone Pipeline, unlike the President and his administration. I'm one of the few Democrats to receive the NRA endorsement. I've become very conservative in my voting record." This is what Cuomo want to foist on the voters of New York, who have no idea what Hochul stands for and just how horrible her record is.

The contrast with Tim Wu couldn't be greater. While Hochul and Cuomo are doing all they can to hide her positions from New York voters. Tim's are all up on his website. "Aside from corruption, which is a critical issue in New York, I believe that inequality and the excessive concentration of private power are the main issues facing our state and the nation," he wrote. "The two issues are actually linked, because too much concentration yields excessively high prices, which disproportionately affects those who are less well off." When asked to name the policies that have motivated him to run, it is just unimaginable not to CRAVE a debate between him and Hochul, who is afraid to even speak, let alone debate:

• Radical shakeup of Albany Corruption

• Immigration policies that attract the best and the brightest to New York

• Open internet and increased broadband deployment

• Protection for small businesses

• New approaches to upstate economic development

• Scrutiny of big business and uncompetitive utilities

• Enforcement of the antitrust laws

I don't get the idea that Hochul can even relate to what makes Tim tick and why he and Zephyr are running. "I'm a progressive Democrat," he told us last night, "who is truly concerned that inequality and the concentration of private power is doing real damage to the fabric of our society. As an Albany outsider who doesn't owe anyone anything, I look forward to challenging the power of big corporations and the corrupt culture of our state government."

Here's the Blue America page where you can support the Zephyr Teachout/Tim Wu very grassroots campaign.