NY-20: RepubliCorp to Endorse Gibson!

Massive Mutant Combination of Right-Wing Pols and Greedy CEOs to Drop Huge Checks at Dinner, Continues Eating Working American's Finances for Breakfast

There's a lot of creative progressive activists in the Capital Region, concentrated in the Saratoga MoveOn chapter, and these good folks have been instrumental in getting Scott Murphy to Congress. To help keep him there, they've devised an ingenious mock press conference where they will endorse Republican Chris Gibson in the spirit of the approaching holiday: by dressing up as corporate fat cats and highlighting how corporate interests and the Republian party have become indistinguishable.

Here's the official announcement, complete with clickable social network links for you to rsvp:

Please join us at a Press Conference where RepubliCorp will officially endorse Chris Gibson - Please sign up to attend: on MoveOn.org also Facebook

Join Protesters posing as representatives of fictitious new merged entity—RepubliCorp—outside the Saratoga Republican Dinner, Tues. 5:30pm, at the Holiday Inn, Broadway and Circular St, Saratoga Springs.

We will stage a mock press conference and present Chris Gibson with the official RepubliCorp endorsement, to highlight how he stands for the interests of the largest multi-national corporations, and against the interests of middle-class families in New York.

The RepubliCorp theme emphasizes the close allegiance between corporate interests and their Republican allies who together plan to spend at least $400 million this election cycle to try to take back control of Congress. We will present also Gibson an -sized checks from RepubliCorp intended to reward service to corporate interests/pay for future votes. Come dressed as a CEO or Lobbyist, or dress casual & come to take photos & video.

Any questions – please call (518)583-4326.
Please pass this on to your friends & lists.

Emphasis mine - SP

Sad to say I won't be able to attend. It's going to be my first day back to work in nearly two years, so I doubt I'll be asking the boss for any time off. But I absolutley love the concept because laughter is, after, the best medicine, and the Republican/Corporate alliance is worth taking seriously enough to make a public mockery of it. This also reminds me of what Stephen Colbert and John Stewart will be doing down in Washington later this week, and tomorrow you can get even more into the spirit of Halloween.

Because at the end of the day, the thought of Chris Gibson serving in Congress is very, very scary.

Oh, and did I forget to point out that they will be doing all of this just outside the Republican's real-life fat cat dinner? MoveOn's totally punking these freeloading lobbyists and executives tomorrow! Here's hoping you can make it if you're in the area. Go show your support for Scott Murphy while having a guaranteed blast doing so.

SD-46: Breslin Debates Republican, Independent Challengers on Gay Rights

After Close Call in Primary, Breslin Will Cruise to Victory Against Lackluster Conservatives

After fending off the toughest inner-party challenge of his 14 years in the legislature, Sen. Neil Breslin faced off against his two general election challengers in what will likely be the campaign's only debate. The Republicans have nominated an army guy who is, of course, a small business man by the name of Bob Domenici. Michael Carey, a mental health reform advocate has started his own party to seek the seat after he discovered he wasn't a Republican after all.

I had meant to attend the debate, but determined that not much that was said there could affect the outcome of the race. It might have had humorous value, as have other recent major debates in New York state politics. The Times Union's headline and lead in to the story confirmed this:

Candidates talk morality

Thursday, October 21, 2010

COLONIE -- In a state in which the rising property tax burden is supposedly prodding voters toward revolt, the three candidates vying for Albany County's state Senate seat spent a lot of time Wednesday talking about morality.

Breslin will of course win the debate now that his third party opponent has proven to be an ultra-religious nut despite his good intentions. And Albany County's Democratic registration advantage is 2-1 over the Republicans, so he's had the general in the bag since winning the primary challenge mounted by Luke Martland last month.

But by surprise, this usually stomach-turning issue of religion and morality in politics lead this anti-Breslin partisan to actual decide to do the unthinkable and -pull the level- fill in the oval for Breslin this year. The candidates' discussion on the issue of same-sex marriage detailed below the fold leaves me no choice...


(Cross-Posted on The Albany Project)


The Tu Local Politics live debate tweets summarized the race as well. The debate wasn't carried live and I don't understand why. The Rent Too Damn High Show did pretty well with viewers earlier this week...

But getting back to the point. Here's the exchange from the debate that finally made me determine that I'd support Breslin for re-election in the general:

While Domenici, a South Colonie school board member and businessman, tried to keep the exchange focused on the economy and the state's fiscal woes, Carey repeatedly steered the discussion back to religion and faith -- at one point appearing to question how Breslin, as a Catholic, could be pro-choice and support same-sex marriage.

"You don't teach young children ... that it's OK to have sex with whoever you want," said Carey, 48, of Bethlehem. "It goes against the holy Scriptures and the written word of God."

::

All the chatter about faith prompted Breslin to remark that he "didn't expect to come to a debate on religion."

"I'm not elected to serve Catholics," said Breslin, 68, of Bethlehem, who is seeking an eighth term in the 46th state Senate District. "I'm elected to make judgments for the entire population."

Domenici, also a Catholic, said he opposed same-sex marriage on religious grounds. But the retired Army lieutenant colonel called the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents gays from serving openly the "dumbest policy."

Empahsis added - SP

I like that quote, a lot. And of all the complains one could make against Neil Breslin, lack of support on the issue of gay rights is not one of them. He's voted for civil rights for homosexuals before without any question for his entire career, and it's the one of the only truly important social issues of our time.

Too bad the independent candidate's reasoning is so out of line with American values. He might have won an election in Salem in the late 1600s, but not Albany in the early 2000s. And the Domenici is even more confusing. Let me get this straight: if you wouldn't ask your soldiers to lie about the fact that they are gay, why would you want two gay people who've made a lifelong commitment to each other to lie and say they are in a "civil union" when they are just as married to each other as you are to your wife?

My guess is that Domenici is a good guy, but he just can't say what he believes because he has to try and get Republicans to vote for him. Talk about a rock and a hard place. Carey problem is simple: he's gone to too much church. That's what I have to say about morality and politics.

So I'm going to suck it up and support the party this year. I'm a notorious ticket splitter who would otherwise never vote for somebody who've I've spent hours canvassing against. But the thought of two ignorant "morals" politicians representing me at a time when gay marriage has to be enacted (and when the Democratic majority of the Senate is in question) I have to put myself above my own convictions and do my part to make sure the Senate stays blue.

See you at the polls on November 2nd.

NY-Gov: Libs Continue the Smack Down on Crazy Carl

Redlich and Paladino Continue Battle of Wits Before Big Debate

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

Is everybody excited for the big gubernatorial debate coming up on Monday? I know I am, because I have a weird affinity for third party candidates. As the Wall Street Journal observed earlier this week (ew, I hate linking to that paper) all the third-party candidates have been invited at Crazy Carl Paladino's insistence.

And probably to his detriment. His borderline insanity becoming more apparent with each passing day, he's apparently too foolish to concede defeat in the battle of wits currently being instigated by Libertarian candidate Warren Redlich. Last week, Redlich went for the jugular with this YouTube parody of Paladino's infamous encounter with New York Post reporter Fred Dicker. It was the funniest thing I've seen all season.

Could the debate on Monday be even funnier? If Paladino continues taking the bait the way he did in the Journal...

Mr. Redlich said he is "the only real choice for anyone who is toward the right of center," asserting that Mr. Paladino "has made himself difficult to vote for." (A spokesman for Mr. Paladino, Michael Caputo, said Mr. Redlich is "so busy leering at teen girls and pushing for legalized narcotics that Carl wouldn't want his vote anyway.")

...which gave Redlich the in to release this response today...

Mr. Redlich admits to reading Mr. Paladino's e-mails. However, he does not "leer" at them and more importantly, he doesn't forward them.

On the drug issue, Mr. Paladino should be among the first to recognize the problems with our current policy. It failed to prevent his own son Patrick from "struggling with an addiction to drugs and alcohol," as reported by the New York Times.

Mr. Paladino might want to learn that well-known saying: "People who own taxpayer-funded glass office buildings shouldn't throw stones."

...then we could have quite the LIB vs. GOP smack-down on Monday.

This is what I like about Warren Redlich. He knows how to deal with Paladino in a way Cuomo doesn't want to. Redlich's strategy appears to be to instigate Crazy Carl into even more public mudslinging, and so far it's working. The Paladino campaign is bleeding votes thanks to it's candidates lunacy, and Redlich's libertarianism is probably the most attractive alternative.

How does this help the Democratic Party? By syphoning votes away from the Paladino Party (or whatever he's calling his new for-sale party line), Redlich is giving us some extra help by making sure the Tea Party dies a quick death in New York State. If Redlich's campaign ends up leaving Carl's for-sale Tea Party line short of the 50,000 votes it needs to rear it's ugly head again, he will have done much better by us Democrats than most of us are currently giving him credit for.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. And stay tuned to see if anything like this goes down at the debate.

NY-Gov: Libertarians Make A Laughing Stock of Paladino

Libertarian Gubernatorial CandidateUses Dino-Dicker Confrontation to Hilariously Frame His Issues

Remember a few weeks ago when Carl Paladino flew off the handle in a confrontation with New York Post political guru Fred Dicker? And do you recall the observations earlier this week that it might be the Libertarian's year thanks to the alienation of 'Dino supporters as a result?

Libertarian Gubernatorial candidate Warren Redlich has just posted what I consider to be the most hilarious political satire video of the year to take advantage of the fallout.



Just for the record, that's not really Fred Dicker in the video. Redlich confirmed that it's a fellow LP activist. But I still think this is a classy dig at Paladino.

Even more classier, Redlich did what Paladino should have done in real life by issueing a public "apology" to Mr. Dicker for the fictitious indcident:

In light of the recent confrontation between journalist Fred Dicker and Governor candidate Warren Redlich, the Redlich campaign today issued the following statement:

We regret that the incident turned ugly. "I apologize for losing my temper, and for my colorful language," Mr. Redlich said.

Honestly, I was laughing my ass off. Finally, I thought, a candidate willing to stick it to Paladino the way it should be done: with humor. Paladino is not worth taking seriously, and many of his antics, while patently offensive, are also laugh-out-loud stich-worthy.

I also like the way Redlich uses the dig to frame his two main sticking points agianst his two strongest opponents, Paladino himself and our guy, Andrew Cuomo. I had the pleasure of eating lunch with Mr. Redlich earlier this week. My main intention was to simply get face time with another Albany area attorney who might need my services as a paralegal. But he's glad enough to have a firm that's shrinking, and was even more proud to say, and I quote: "I'm the only candidate who's not full of crap."

I like how he ran with this so much, that I'm even going to give you the rest of the release below the fold; he ties the joke into some serious questions for both major party candidates.

(Cross Posted on The Albany Project)

Despite the negative nature of the moment, the Redlich campaign continues to support its statements about Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino.

Andrew Cuomo has received over $51 million in special interest contributions over the course of his political career. In this election cycle Cuomo has taken nearly 900 separate contributions of $10,000 or more. This includes a $55K contribution from a small parking lot at 318 West 37th Street in Manhattan. The parking lot is owned by West 37th Street Parking LLC, a Delaware corporation of unknown ownership. If Mr. Cuomo really wants to promote transparency in campaign finance, he should start by telling the voters of New York who's behind the parking lot.

The evidence is available at:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us/ContributionSearchA.html

Meanwhile, the supposedly conservative Carl Paladino has given thousands of dollars to liberals including Al Gore, John Kerry, and David Paterson.

When the 2008 presidential primary season was heating up, when Warren Redlich was giving money to conservative Ron Paul, and when other conservatives were supporting Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, Carl Paladino gave the maximum contribution to that well-known conservative, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When the health care debate was brewing, Carl Paladino gave $1000 to another well-known conservative, Chuck Schumer, five days after Schumer announced his support for "public option."

The evidence is available at:
http://fec.gov/finance/disclosure/norindsea.shtml

Finally, we have the evidence that Warren Redlich is the only candidate in the Governor's race who is not full of "it".

Feel free to confirm or deny any Mr. Redlich's accusations in the comments. Personally, I was leaning towards Cuomo...but I'm now probably voting for Warren. I'm a weirdo, here: I always split my ticket. But only if it doesn't hurt my own party. I don't see Cuomo really needing my help this year. I am confident he will not noly be the next Governor, but that he will be one of the best the state has ever seen.

But I also care about the health of third parties in New York, and while I'm a Democrat I do feel that the Green and the Libertarian parties both have better stances on a few of my pet issues better than the more centrist-dominated Democratic party does. This year, I think it's Redlich who needs my help. With Paladino bleeding support from the very people apt to support Redlich as well, this could be the year that the Libertarian Party gets some clout in New York. And for me, that's a good thing.

To get the same reasoning right from Redlich's mouth, check out his candid interview earlier this week on Captiol Tonight. And then, stay tuned...I've a hunch the Redlich is going to do something this year, and the lead-up is already interesting and entertaining thanks to his good humor. Enjoy!