Albany Democrat

Been way too long since posting

2010-11-11T11:26:00.001-05:00

... and I missed out on way too many opportunities to mock this year's crop of Republican wackjobs. Now that they're going to pretend to govern, I feel obliged to return.

What Oliver said

2008-06-07T07:55:00.001-04:00

They'll never take this moment away from us

They lied in making the case for war?

2008-06-07T07:50:00.001-04:00

No. Really? Who could have imagined?

What Matthew Yglesias said.

Staten Island Republican troubles? Understatement

2008-06-06T08:18:00.001-04:00

Not Albany. Not national. But priceless.

Seems the Republicans who already lost their incumbent Staten Island Congressman Vito Fossella to a sex, two-families, drunk-driving story are still having trouble.

After a struggle, they found a replacement, Frank Powers.

Now Powers's son is running against him.

You couldn't make this story up.

What went wrong with Hilary's campaign?

2008-06-06T07:51:00.003-04:00

Yes, I grew tired, then bitter about Hilary and her campaign. But it's still worth thinking about how she went from the presumed dominant candidate with all the advantages of name recognition, favorable ratings, good will, lots of money, her husband's immense political skills, connections, and popularity the support of a great many party leaders to second place behind a comparative rookie, and a black man at that.

Some of it has been campaign strategy and management. And some of it has been that Obama's and his team played the game quite well. In the end though, it was the wrong time. The War in Iraq and Hilary's choice made regarding the decision to go to war revealed more than she intended. Obama is going to beat McCain, but Obama's beating Hilary marks the passing of an era.

Hilary ran a less than stellar campaign

Remember when Hilary's campaign mantra was "ready on day one"? Despite all the appearances, she wasn't.

She figured it would be over on Super Tuesday in early February. It wasn't. And when it wasn't over in February, she didn't change course.

Hilary ran a slice and dice campaign. Mark Penn was not only key to the operational aspects of Hilary's campaign, he represented the type of campaign that poll at the microscopic level and tailor policy positions and demographic and cultural symbols to appeal to enough microscopic groups to add up to more than half the voters. Of course, when the appeals to two different groups contradict one another, it's difficult, if not impossible to resolve.

And it wasn't just campaign staffing. Hilary couldn't change course because her campaign was like a supertanker. Hilary's campaign was emblematic of the past 30 years, big, strong, tough, domineering, extraordinarily arrogant, and failed much like the Bush Presidency. What it was not was smart, subtle, supple, and clear-headed.

Obama ran a very good campaign

It wasn't just that Hilary ran the wrong campaign. Obama ran a smart, flexible, clear-headed campaign. It was bottom-up rather than top-down. Despite the huge amounts of money they raised, they were lean; they controlled their spending. They not only used new technology. In taking advantage of the social networking tools on the web, they advanced its use way beyond what Howard Dean did a mere four years ago. They also built on Dean's 50-state strategy at the DNC, by looking for stray delegates wherever they could find them and by working effectively to expand the base.

What they needed was delegates. That's what they got. His unification message was quite contrary to the Mark Penn slice and dice messaging and tactics.

The War

Hilary's voting for the resolution that enabled George W. Bush to take us into the strategic blunder and moral failure and her inability or unwillingness to come to grips with her own decision was fatal. That decision may not always have been in the forefront of the public face of the contest. But it was always there. For many, the decision itself was enough to permanently alienate them from Hilary. The decision to go to war was bad enough in its own right. But the war vote by Democrats also symbolized something else. Many Congressional Democrats, and Hilary may have been one of them, voted for the war because they were fearful of the political consequences if they did not. Trying to appear tough, they revealed their inner weakness. It took time, but their own fearfulness revealed itself and turned back on them.

The passing of an era

Hilary's campaign was right for her. It was wrong for the time.

Hilary and her campaign misread the time, because they are from a different political era. Only the recent past, but the past nevertheless. One of the things I found both distressing and curious during the campaign was how careful some of the candidates were (and still some Democratic members of Congress are) way too careful about offending Republican sensibilities and fearful of the wingnut right. Why? Old habits die hard I guess, but the Republicans are going to be crushed this fall. Take it from the Smirking Chimp. Because damn little is going right and the American public is rightly fed up. The Republican brand is like one of those companies that sold poisonous pet food not too long ago.

From the beginning I've thought all we had to do was choose somebody reasonably competent and we'd win. And we started with a large group of very competent candidates. The field narrowed rather quickly, but pretty much all of them were plainly preferable to pretty much any of the Republicans.

One of the funny things about Democratic politics the past couple decades is how fearful it has been. National Democrats have been fearful of being perceived as "weak," especially on issues of national defense, but also in terms of campaign tactics. Part of Hilary's argument was that the "Republican attack machine" had already gone after her, she had withstood it, and Obama wasn't ready for it. But the psychology of that message is one of being defensive, undermining its own premise. Obama essentially ignored it. In doing so, he not only showed he was tough enough, he showed the self-confidence and temperament that changed the terms of engagement.

Negotiate with our enemies? Those fearful that they will be perceived as weak, make tough statements that they won't. Those who support a war out of fear of appearing weak are weak. It just take some time to be revealed.

Those confident of themselves are not afraid to be on the same field with the bad guys because they have inner strength. They set their own terms of engagement.

The conventional wisdom was not only wrong. It was delusional. Yet, it persisted even as its victims began falling by the wayside. Remember Fred Thompson, a Reagan wannabe? The best part of his campaign ended the day he announced. Remember when the chattering classes were hyped on a Rudy-Hilary race? All 9/11, all the time. When Rudy vanished, did any of the analysts, or did any of Hilary's strategists stop and wonder what the hell was going on? Apparently not.

Let's not forget Bill Clinton role here. Despite his prodigious talents, he cost Hilary in four ways. First, his comments about race during the South Carolina primary campaign were a turn off. They were bad enough by themselves, but because he and Hilary had always had strong support in the Black community, they were interpreted as Clintonian willingness to say anything for advantage. From that point on, Black voters went from being split to overwhelming support of Obama. But they caused movement by White voters as well, who were disgusted by the comments themselves and by what they revealed. Second, Bill's constant presence was a reminder that the era we are leaving has been Bush/Clinton all the time. We link these two families and we're tired of them. Lastly, Bill's a wild card. We love him, but we're tired of worrying what he's going to do next. Enough of that. Lastly, his presence undermined the message of Hilary's being the ground breaking woman candidate and more experienced than Obama. It was too easy to think that had she not spent eight years as first lady she would not be a candidate and that her "experience" was not really hers.

It's useful to think about John Edwards here. Edwards was the leading candidate who presented an aggressive agenda and demeanor. He apologized for being wrong on the war, but he did not apologize for being a Democrat and believing that we have obligations to one another, especially those less advantaged. Democrats, including myself who were tired of seeing National Democrats in a defensive crouch, fearful of what the Republicans might do and Democrats, like myself who believed that it was our time, moved toward Edwards and Obama. When Edwards dropped out, it was an easy move for many who wanted a more aggressive stance, to move to Obama.

Hilary came close. But she came in second.

Obama ran a better campaign. He had a better message. And he's much more representative of the time we're hoping for and of our desire to leave the past three decades behind.

_____________________

Some other opinions:

Washington Post

The Carpetbagger Report

The Wall Street Journal

Larry Beinhart

Time Magazine (on how Obama won)

Well, maybe not

2008-06-05T21:50:00.001-04:00

So a day after I picked Tom Daschle as the sleeper VP selection, National Journal reports he's not interested, but would be much interested in heading HHS.

Back to the drawing board?

God, I love Charlie Rangel

2008-06-04T23:54:00.001-04:00

Loyal to the end, but when was that?

We pledged to support her to the end,” Representative Charles B. Rangel, a New York Democrat who has been a patron of Mrs. Clinton since she first ran for the Senate, said in an interview “Our problem is not being able to determine when the hell the end is.

Rangel is the guy who first got Hilary to run for the Senate. And he's supported her for President all the way through.

And BTW I've loved this guy for a long time.

Contrarian Veep predictions

2008-06-04T23:47:00.001-04:00

In countdown order, here are my predictions regarding who Obama will pick as a running mate.

Right weird, huh? As you go through the list, they are increasingly less likely and less talked about. My bet? Obama will be a contrarian and pick a surprise. Real doubts about what they bring in terms of the campaign. But none of them a lightweight. All capable of putting a coherent sentence together. And all are capable of being President.

Enough of the Clintons. Just go away.

2008-05-24T09:13:00.001-04:00

It was bad enough when Mike Huckabee made a joke about Obama's being assassinated. But at least he had the moral courage to apologize in a straightforward way, resisting the passive, conditional, "if someone was offended" construction.

After Hilary Clinton offered the possibility of Obama's assassination as a reason to stay in the race (listen to Rachel Maddow and Gene Robinson), she apologized to the Kennedy's. No, she did not directly say that her opponent might be assassinated as her explanation. She instead referred to Bobby Kennedy's murder as toward the end of the 1968 campaign, literally minutes after he won the California primary and thus seemed to have broken through to capture the nomination.

And as Eugene Robinson pointed out, she apologized to the Kennedys, but to the Obamas. Well, at least she seems to know that it's over now. This is her at the time of her apology.

It's not as if many whites and damn near all blacks haven't been worried about the possibility. And it's not as if they don't have a reason to assume that somebody will take a shot at him. The talk may have been out of the media, but there's been plenty of it. Are Hilary and her campaign going to claim they haven't been aware of it? Or sensitive to it?

I'm not the only one reacting this way. Check here too (the volume of comments has been huge).

Despite her slogan, Hilary Clinton was not and is not "ready on day one." It's not about experience. It's about temperament, judgement, and discipline. And it's about a moral core that remains strong in the face of temptation. It's about a moral core that resists excessive compromise on the path to power. One can go only so far in seeking power to "do good" before whatever good that might be accomplished is not only diluted, it is drowned.

How ironic that Hilary Clinton made these remarks just as the rumor mill began chattering that she might be willing (read wanted) to be Obama's running mate. Her remarks disqualified her. Even more, they disqualified her to continue in Bobby Kennedy's Senate seat.

Mark Kleinman on breaking the power of lobbyist money

2008-05-19T07:43:00.001-04:00

Mark Kleinman goes the next step and begins to speculate on policy changes that might be possible if Obama's changing the fundraising dynamic begins to take hold and breaks the stranglehold that lobbyists have due to their campaign fundraising the past few decades. Now that's hopeful. What else good might we be able to do? What else bad might we be able to undo?

McCain and lobbyists

2008-05-19T07:38:00.002-04:00

John McCain's campaign is not only tied to lobbyists, it is lobbyists. Or at least it will be until all the lobbyists quit. Then he won't have a campaign.

For a while I thought that a McCain administration would be pretty much the same as the Bush administration. Now it seems it will be even more of the same.

This pattern of interchangeability of lobbyists, campaign staff, and administration officials is part of the problem in Washington. (The lobbyists raise the campaign funds.) It works OK for a while, but the narrow interests are ultimately too narrow and the lobbyist-driven campaign's and government's ability to understand the mood and reality of the country gets weaker and weaker. Polls help, but are really not a substitute. Hilary may have been the best of the lot among the the candidates who represented these practices the past 30 years or so. Thus the centrality of Mark Penn to her campaign and its failure. But ultimately her campaign didn't read the country's reality and mood well enough and respond fast enough because the old style was part of its DNA.

Obama's organizing and fund raising was different. Obama's fund raising from many - in small amounts - may be one of the foundations for an administration that really is different. More on that later.

Cutting off a potential challenge?

2008-05-15T06:29:00.001-04:00

Helen DesFosses held a fundraiser for David Soares. Mike Breslin attends and offers praise. Now there's a suburban hint to Paul Clyne that a primary challenge won't be welcome.

21st Congressional District Debate

2008-05-15T00:51:00.002-04:00

Eight candidates to replace Mike McNulty showed up for the debate sponsored by Democracy for the Mohawk-Hudson Region and the RFK Democratic Club:

John Aretakis,

Tracey Brooks.

Craig Burridge.

Lester Freeman.

Darius Shahinfar.

Paul Tonko.

Phil Steck.

Arthur Welser.

Pretty good event with a big crowd. Folks in the audience that wouldn't typically show up in these meetings, McNulty the elder, McEneny.

Number of the candidates that are former Republicans of fairly recent vintage surprised me. Only two have held elective office (Tonko and Steck). Given that it's a Congressional seat we're talking about, most of the candidates here are pretty green.

Lots of discussion of energy policy, maybe even more than health care. Also energy discussion had more variety than that on health care which except for a couple seemed pretty pro forma support of HR 676, the single-payer proposal.

Lots of opposition to the war, but far from unanimous on how to get out. All opposed restoring the draft, but Freeman mentioned Cong. Charlie Rangel's proposal to start it up again. Tonko made a point about the racial and ethnic mix of the current army, suggesting that it's minorities that are bearing more than their share of the cost of the war. True and proper that he noticed. But opposing the draft and having raised the mix issue, he didn't propose any response.

When you've lost SNL ...

2008-05-12T07:24:00.001-04:00

Ouch

End of an era

2008-05-10T10:38:00.001-04:00

Despite Drezner's generous analysis, Hilary Clinton is done. Yes, she ended the campaign stronger than she started. But she also ended it ugly. If I chose to dwell on her comments about "hard-working whites," I'd be really pissed.

And for all her talk about "ready on day one," she wasn't. She and her campaign took the nomination for granted and when challenged, did not respond near quickly enough. For her experience, Bill's experience, her team's experience, they weren't really very good technically. And they seriously mis-read the country's mood. She was still running a campaign of the 1980s and 90s because she was a candidate of the 80s and 90s.

The Clintons are done. The Bushes are done.

Sigh of relief.

Goings on in the DAs office

2008-05-07T19:55:00.001-04:00

So Soares fired some ADA. Wonder what that was about.

And what the hell the guy was doing buying a machine gun?

Yes, but we're not Republicans

2008-05-07T19:46:00.001-04:00

I've deliberately avoided writing about the Democratic Presidential primaries the past couple months. Too busy and too troubled by much that happened.

But despite the loyalty of the local folks it's real close to the end now and maybe time to tone things down a bit.

This is not toning it down. It is annoying. Would Hilary prefer that we act like Republicans?

Good enough for the old folks but ...

2008-05-07T19:39:00.001-04:00

Bill Lambdin at News Channel 13 has a story about the Albany County Elections Commissioners complaining that the County has given them the now empty Ann Lee Home to store their new voting machines. Ann Lee is out near the airport and was closed sometime earlier this year after it was targeted by the State's Berger Commission.

Albany County Commissioners wish they had the Schenectady set-up.

So why is Albany County making its change-over so differently than Schenectady County? There's no clear answer. Cost is definitely an issue for Albany County. The Ann Lee Home is here and just sitting empty. There is a conscious disregard of the election commissioners. And there is a different political atmosphere. In theory, the Ann Lee Home is a temporary choice. We'll see.

I want to know whether Lampdin would still be complaining about Albany spending extra money on a new building while the old one sat empty if the County had made a different decision.

And if the building was good enough for a bunch of sick, elderly people why isn't it good enough for a bunch of machines?

Hilary Clinton, a regular gal

2008-05-01T07:50:00.001-04:00

So maybe Hilary can trade shots with the guys, but coffee? Where regular folks buy it from a convenience store? Pure campaign fakery that backfires.

Reminds me of Bush I and the grocery store scanner. Out of touch.

What mission? What's accomplished?

2008-05-01T07:30:00.001-04:00

Five years since "Mission Accomplished" and "Major Combat Operations in Iraq have Ended."

And now Dana Perino at the White House tells us that "the banner should have been much more specific." Yeah, some of those specifics should have been 4,000 American dead, uncountable thousands of Iraqis dead, uncountable Americans and Iraqis suffering from PTSD, depletion of the American military, the squandering of the moral high ground in virtually every international debate, justifications of torture that Saddam himself would have enjoyed, creating a training and testing ground for terrorists (how much better have IEDs gotten), draining of the American economy, and no end in sight.

The worse foreign policy decision in at least a generation. Based on lies and self-deception. Repeatedly made worse by even more bad decisions (dismantling the Iraqi Army).

Shameful.

Ann Coulter on the Gettysburg Address

2008-03-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

Pretty funny.

Eliot Spitzer is an idiot

2008-03-11T06:45:00.001-04:00

And a self-destructive one at that.

The conspiracy theories are already ramping up, but he gave the corporate types, the bankers, and the re-thugs are ready-made target.

He doesn't need jail. He needs years of therapy.

David Paterson will be a fine Governor.

Yes, we can

2008-03-02T12:26:00.001-05:00

Now take a look here and tell me whether you would have seen these faces so engaged anytime in years.

We're back

2008-03-02T12:22:00.001-05:00

After months off due to the press of work and other immediate distractions, we're back. Lots has happened on the national level. We'll get into it.

The past seven years could have been so different ...

2007-10-12T07:43:00.001-04:00

... had Al Gore been President.

Al Gore's sharing in the Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change creating an unlikely combination with an Oscar and an Emmy wouldn't have happened had the Supreme Court made a different decision in Bush v. Gore.

But think of how the world would have been different.

Think of the contrast between Gore's moral leadership and the Bush's assertion of near-dictatorial powers.

Savor the moment. ~~Hope~~ Work to ensure that we get back on course.

A Promotion for Berlin; Self-Promotion for Conners

2007-09-27T06:20:00.001-04:00

Elizabeth Berlin, Albany's Commissioner of Social Services is heading off to be the #2 at the State's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. All but a few would consider this a promotion for a real pro. Along with Joe Pennisi to head Workers' Compensation, and Sheila Poole, who's now an Associate Commission at the Office of Children and Family Services, this is the third high level Breslin staff person, the Governor has recruited.

Some Conners' clone - or, more likely, Conners himself calling himself Joe Albany - claims Berlin resigns due to pressure of a Conners investigation. Gee, the State Police must have missed that part when they did the background check. More likely they considered the source and either discounted it entirely or considered it some sort of perverse recommendation.

The gallant Tom Monjeau defends Berlin, at which point "Joe Albany" grants that is "probably why she is leaving." The guy's incoherent.

How many of Conners' folks have been recruited by the Guv? Zero.

Breslin. Three. And that's not about loyalty. It's about hiring and grooming competence and leadership.

That's why you vote

2007-09-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

Lucy McKnight reportedly pulls it off with absentee ballots and wins by five. Official tally not yet up at Board of Elections.

Where's Waldo?

2007-09-26T07:42:00.001-04:00

Where's Roger?

So this guy Roger Cusick, who lost to Soares for DA is running against Mike Breslin for County Executive. Or so we're told.

But even Google can't find his campaign. Anybody know where his web site is? If he has one? Does he even have a campaign?

Let's get this over with so we can go on to Presidential politics and Mike Conners' campaign for County Executive.

For the Political Junkies in the Crowd

2007-09-26T07:28:00.001-04:00

Here's an online copy of Campaigns and Elections magazine.

Late Night

2007-09-25T23:11:00.001-04:00

Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fortunate Son.

Or if you prefer, Pearl Jam.

Would George Bush get it?

Patricia Slavick is a Democrat

2007-09-25T08:18:00.001-04:00

After losing the Democratic primary for County Comptroller, Patricia Slavick withdraws from the race and supports the Party's nominee.

That's what she said she'd do. She's a Democrat.

John Grisham on George Bush

2007-09-25T07:57:00.001-04:00

It's no mystery. Lawyer/writer Grisham unloads on GW Bush and the "bad people with evil intent" who surround him.

And he takes his shots in Iowa, currently caught up in Presidential primary campaigning. He also says something nice about Hillary. Read it all here in the Des Moines Register.

I always liked his page-turners. Guess he's a good writer because he's observant. Probably won't help sales among the wingnuts however.

50 Years of Struggle and Progress

2007-09-24T08:33:00.001-04:00

Fifty years ago today President Eisenhower mobilized troops to enforce the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision ending racial segregation in schools. The immediate conflict was with then Governor Faubus of Arkansas who had ordered the National Guard to surround the Little Rock High School and prevent the entry of nine black students.

Eisenhower who knew something about leading armies and had an even bigger one that Faubus, sent the 101st Airborne.

The fight goes on.

Hilary, the Quasi-Incumbent

2007-09-24T08:25:00.001-04:00

I only watched Hilary on one and a half of the five Sunday talkfests yesterday. She was on all five. She was fine on Stephanopoulos. She seemed a bit tight with Timmy Russert, but he's pretty annoying anyway so I turned him (not her) off.

With Bush increasingly irrelevant as a political force or a political drag outside of DC, with the Republican candidates trying to out-do one another being idiot flip-floppers, and with Hilary's firm plurality support in the Democratic party, she's increasingly the one to beat, i.e., the incumbent. Except she isn't the incumbent. So we'll count her as a quasi-incumbent.

If several of the Democrats dropped out, those not supporting Clinton might coalesce around one of those remaining. But since they all think they'll be the one to take advantage of that, it's not likely to happen.

So she's running an incumbent's race.

Can't Find the White Boys at Black Sponsored Debates

2007-09-24T07:58:00.001-04:00

Seems that the Republican Presidential candidates are having trouble finding their way to debates sponsored by African-American organizations.

The four Black Republicans are split on why that might be. Maybe they really buy the "scheduling conflict" BS.

Others, like Jonathan Zasloff, have a more sinister view.

Just so long as nobody's surprised.

White Boys on Milk Cartons

2007-09-24T07:40:00.001-04:00

Thomas Schaller says the white male voter, especially the Southern white male voter is missing:

I'm talking about the white male voter, or at least a certain long-coveted variety thereof. He is variously known as "NASCAR dad" -- that shirt-sleeved, straight-talkin', these-colors-don't-run fella who votes his cultural values above all else -- or "Bubba," as Steve Jarding and Dave "Mudcat" Saunders affectionately call him in their book, "Foxes in the Henhouse." Start looking on milk cartons for Bubba because he has vanished, and not a moment too soon: The Democratic obsession with the down-home, blue-collar, white male voter, that heartbreaker who crossed the aisle to the Republicans many decades ago, may finally be coming to a merciful end.

And the reason is the their share of the national vote is dropping about one percent per year. This trend started with the enfranchisement of the "increased enfranchisement of African-Americans in the civil rights era" and it's now accelerating with the expansion of the Hispanic population. As the base of the Republican Party continues its obsession on forcing out "illegal aliens," it forces Hispanics who may be culturally conservative to look for a more welcoming political home.

Interestingly, Schaller uses John Edwards, a white Southerner as evidence:

At first blush, Edwards, the Southern populist nonpareil, seems ideally situated to corner the market on working-class, white male voters. But aside from his homegrown accent, Edwards displays none of the affectations or semiotics that might once have signaled his intent to woo them. There are no Lamar Alexander-style flannel shirts; there is no sponsorship, à la Florida Sen. Bob Graham four years ago, of a NASCAR racing team. Instead, Edwards -- whose father worked in a textile mill -- hammers the issue of economic justice largely, if not completely, without overt cultural appeals. If he were a character from Southern literature, the former trial lawyer would be Atticus Finch of "To Kill a Mockingbird," not Henry Drummond of "Inherit the Wind."

Schaller reviews the past several Presidential elections and finds the Southern white vote to be of less and less importance. Take a look.

Rudy riding the coattails of dead people

2007-09-23T10:51:00.001-04:00

Giuliani's self-absorbtion ...

I'm probably one of the four or five best known Americans in the world

... is well described by John Aravois.

Even if correct which is doubtful being famous, whatever the reason, does not qualify one to be President. Hell, Paris Hilton and OJ are famous.

This is independent?

2007-09-23T07:59:00.001-04:00

So Mike Conners is the Jerry Lewis to Jerry's Dean Martin? Should we really be laughing? Of course, anything Conners does to weaken the Breslins will serve Jerry, but how long 'til Mike does something obviously of Jerry's bidding?

Jena Six

2007-09-23T01:44:00.001-04:00

Late night reminder by Billie Holiday of why the noose is not a symbol to be messed with.

Still don't get it? Need a picture?

Thanks to Democracy in Albany

2007-09-22T08:16:00.001-04:00

DIA has noticed and sent a few folks over. Welcome.

Winner Trivia

2007-09-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

George Winner, the Senator still hot on Eliot Spitzer's trail for Troopergate was the last lawyer admitted to New York's Bar without going to law school.

Winner did it the really old-fashioned way, clerking in a law office.

Don't visions of an old movie come to mind? Modest local boy who clerked in old Mr. Haseltine's office taking on the city slickers from back east. Or is it the courthouse insider protecting the local vigilantes led by Sheriff Bruno?

White House or Nut House? Part 1

2007-09-22T07:41:00.001-04:00

Couple weeks back, there was a spate of stories about Rudy Guiliani as just plain nuts. In fact, go Google "Rudy Giuliani" and "nuts" and see how many hits you get. This morning, I got 493,000. Hell, they're even debating it on Motor Trend Magazine's Forum.

Sidebar: Hmmmm. Maybe we can use Google to track political memes. We'll return to that topic later.

So does Rudy's campaign support the charge or exonerate him? The envelope please.

On the charge of economic craziness? Nuts. Here's Rudy proposing to pay for a tax cut with a tax cut. "Giuliani's remarks prompted a bewildered response from his audience of technology executives." (No fools, they.) "Both Republicans and Democrats said they assumed that the candidate must have misspoken as he responded to a question about the tax and its affect the middle class." But they turned out to be incorrect. Rudy's campaign confirmed what he said, namely the same, old supply-side BS that Reagan and Bush used to generate massive deficits.

The jury will return later to report its verdicts on other charges.

So what does Party support mean?

2007-09-20T08:16:00.001-04:00

Around here, being a Democrat still means something. In the general election. That was true even before the guilt-by-association effects of GW Bush, John Sweeney, and all the DC Re-thugs.

But what difference does Party Committee support mean in a primary? Not what it used to mean. And that's even with the City Mouse/Suburban Mouse Co-Chairs we have in Frank Commisso and Dave Bosworth which was supposed to give us some kind of unity.

Eleven of the County Legislative races had primaries. That's nearly a third of the Democratic seats. Only five of the 11 incumbents won.

And Patricia Slavick, endorsed by the Party Committee did not pull off her race against incumbent Mike Conners. Commisso didn't pull the City votes and Bosworth didn't generate turnout. What's up with that?

Just as well that the County Committee isn't what it was during the Dan O'Connell/Mayor Corning days. Just so long as the Republicans don't gain a foothold larger than the one that Conners and Jennings give them with their Republican endorsements, money, and sometime enrollments.

Cell Phones in Subways

2007-09-20T07:56:00.001-04:00

Is this a good thing?

This Smells. And Smells of Desperation

2007-09-20T07:52:00.001-04:00

Remember the constant TV presence of Joe diGenova and his harpy wife, Victoria Toensing during Republican "investigations" of Bill Clinton? Well the Senate Republicans have hired him to trash Spitzer (oops sorry, investigate).

And Bruno and George Winner have one-upped their DC Re-thug counterparts by using your hard-earned tax dollars to do it.

Count on everything to grind to a halt in the State Senate.

Yah know, the Guv's people really blew it in Troopergate. But then Joe and his folks started working hard to top them. They succeeded right away when they hired Roger Stone. He blew it when he called the Guv's father and threatened him. And he blew it again with his "dog ate my homework" explanations of how it must have been a Democratic plant.

So now the Republicans hire diGenova. He's smarter than Stone. He won't blow it right away with some amazingly over-the-top move like Stone's. But he will annoy the public over and over and over, just like he did with the Clintons.

And we remember how that turned out, right?

Republicans Win!

2007-09-19T08:17:00.001-04:00

By an overwhelming margin. (18-3). Those are the numbers.

Here's the storyline.

Primary Results

2007-09-19T00:55:00.001-04:00

It appears that Mike Conners has beaten Patricia Slavick for the Democratic nomination for Comptroller (9,227-7,600).

Another poorly designed ballot?

There was some confusion on the ballot where there was also an election in State Legislative District 104 for judicial nominating. Slavick got the second highest total there (4,521) and there were some reports that people voted on that line believing they were voting in the Comptroller's race.

Legislative highlights?

Alexander Gordon beat Kevin Crosier in Berne.

Howard Shafer beat Leo Dorsey

Doug Bullock won. That will be fun.

How did Tom Monjeau lose to Brian Scavo?

Lucile McKnight lost by 4 votes.

And finally
In the Watervliet Mayoral vote, Michael Manning beat Robert Carlson 1,281 to 822.

County Legislative Races

2007-09-16T18:27:00.001-04:00

On the Democratic side, there are 11 primary races for the Albany County Legislature, several of them involving an incumbent.

As always, there are some classical local political stories out there. We'll comment on three:

In the 2nd District, Lucille McKnight, the incumbent is being challenged by Lester Freeman. McKnight cares about her neighborhood and works well with others. She's the new President of the State Association of Counties.

In the 8th District, there's a three way race and it's already gotten nasty between two of the candidates, Ken Barnes and Jennifer Muthig. The third candidate, Doug Bullock is a hard-core progressive. He has boundless energy and is devoted to labor and worker issues. If you live in the 8th, ignore the fight and support Bullock. If nothing else, he'll be entertaining to watch.

The 39th District is in Berne, up in the hills. The fight there is between Alexander, "Sandy" Gordon and Kevin Crosier. Gordon, the incumbent is a local farmer. Crozier is the Berne Town Supervisor. They had an earlier fight when Crosier tried to merge the Town highway department into the County's so that both the Town and County could save a bunch of dough. He lost and Gordon was one of the reasons.

If you're enough of a political junkie to be reading this, we probably don't have to tell you to be sure to vote.

Selling Surge

2007-09-16T17:56:00.001-04:00

Remember Andy Card referring to the beginning of the War in Iraq? "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August."

This about covers selling the "Surge".

It doesn't make any difference that even a conservative like George Will knows that it's already failed.

How many primaries?

2007-09-15T18:23:00.001-04:00

We wondered back here how many Legislative primaries are on tap for the Albany County Legislature. Here they are, fresh from the Board of Election site:

District 2

Lester Freeman

Lucille M. McKnight

District 3

Ronald E. Bailey
Wanda Willingham

District 4

Virginia Maffia Tobler

Clifton M. Dixon

Jacqueline E. Jones

Opportunity to Ballot

District 5

Norma Chapman

Kory V. Hogan

District 6

Christopher T. Higgins

Christopher Burke

District 7

Brian Scavo

Thomas R. Monjeau

District 8

Kenneth A. Barnes, Sr

Douglas A. Bullock

Jennifer R. Muthig

District 18

Shawn M. Morse

Bill Ricard

District 27

Michael J. Aidala

Richard P. Jacobson

District 36

Howard A. Shafer

Leo E. Dorsey, Jr.

District 39

Alexander E. Gordon

Kevin G. Crosier

Eleven out of 39. Seems like a lot.

Here are the district maps. We'll be back later with more info and maybe an endorsement or two.

Another Housing Disaster in Albany

2007-09-15T18:03:00.001-04:00

Housing blight usually doesn't spread to decent places as fast as this.

Tragic events on Albany's Alexander Street.

More Republican Money?

2007-09-15T17:56:00.001-04:00

Hudson Wave's site, Just Facts About Mike Conners, is clearly an anti-Conners site and not much more. But the postings seem to be limited to published reports.

But there was a post this afternoon referring to Conners's campaign contribution reports which said he's still taking Republican money. And it hinted that there might have been some mis-reporting.

I don't know the campaign rules so can't judge whether taking a check from Colonie Republican Committee, but reporting it as being from Harold Dagostino, the chairman of the Republican Committee is a mistake or a mistake.

But you'd think the guy would be smarter than that. His independence of the Republican Party while running in a Democratic primary is zero. After all the promises to remain a Republican and flip-flopping, what's he get other than a measly $250? Is he desperate for money? Is there something else going on?

I don't understand all this. What I do understand is that he ain't no Democrat. He says he's independent. Fine. Run as one.

This'd be a snoozer

2007-09-15T17:40:00.001-04:00

Mike Conners wants to debate Patricia Slavick before the primary this coming Tuesday. Nothing like to last minute debate challenge to build cred. Why didn't we hear about this a month ago?

Because it's BS. Even Mike Conners has to know that a debate about accounting and auditing might be viewed as scintillating entertainment for the green eye shade crowd, but a real eye-roller for the public.

He probably really wants to talk about issues that belong to other jobs, like one of those other jobs he lusts after.

Wrong Answer, Wrong Question

2007-09-15T09:57:00.001-04:00

After a week filled with BS from General Petraeus, Ambassador Crocker, and most of all George W. Bush the refrain from the NY Times, along with most everyone else opposed to continuing the war in Iraq remains critical:

Mr. Bush has no strategy to end his disastrous war and no strategy for containing the chaos he unleashed.

After all this time, we need to consider another possibility. George Bush, and certainly Dick Cheyney are not merely kicking the war down the road for the next President so solve, they are actively, consciously and deliberately creating enough chaos to require a permanent presence.

Why else would we be building the largest US embassy anywhere in the world (at $600 million bucks)?

Why else would the current chaos be the argument for continued American presence but that Iraqi stabilization would make it safe enough for a continued American presence?

Why else do George Bush and the other war supporters not discuss any time beyond the next six months?

Bush has succeeded in framing the debate as stay or retreat and fail. His recent flawed reference to Korea was no accident. We've been there more than a half-century.

The far better frame is permanent or limited presence. The far better frame is that the Bush Administration has so screwed things up that there are no good options. But what we do know for certain two things.

First, the majority of Americans and Iraqis want the US to leave Iraq soon. An even larger majority want the US to leave Iraq. Period.

Second, and more important, whichever of the bad options we now choose, we cannot leave the choice to those whose judgment and intents are so flawed, so malign so get us into the dangerous, damaging debacle we're now in.

Another reason to avoid Republican websites

2007-09-15T08:52:00.001-04:00

We knew they were diseased but ...

"Hacked GOP site infects visitors with notorious bot-making malware."

More seriously, this is pretty crappy behavior. And since there's no controlling who gets infected, it's germ warfare, electronic version. High risk of blowback and foolish.

And tonight ...

2007-09-14T21:47:00.001-04:00

The rest of Slavick's signs were gone.

Classy move Mike.

Conners's Campaign

2007-09-13T22:11:00.000-04:00

PS

On the way home tonight, I noticed that most of the Slavick signs that had been up along my route are gone. They've been replaced by Conners's signs.

Thug.

He must have learned that as a Republican.

Comptroller's Race

2007-09-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

Got my first mailer from Mike Conners today. Pretty conventional stuff. Would someone please explain how he's saved the millions he claims to have saved?

Since he doesn't get along with Breslin or the Legislature, they don't pay any attention to him or his recommendations.

And the job doesn't have any authority to do anything on his own.

And he can't show us any audits. He still hasn't listed his audits in response to a FOIL request, now very much overdue.

So where are the savings? Where are those millions?

Farm subsidies in Albany?

2007-08-30T01:34:00.000-04:00

Brilliant presentation of lousy policy. Click here to see where recipients of farm subsides live in Albany.

Of course, we don't have as many recipients as Manhattan.

Don't you wonder how many of them are pork farmers?

Thanks to Matthew Yglesias for the link.

Katrina, Karl Rove, Racism, Republicans

2007-08-28T03:03:00.000-04:00

What's the connection between the Bush Administration's disengaged or incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina and Louisiana's Treasurer switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican?

As Sojourner wrote in the comments:

Landrieu's voter base (New Orleans) has been shattered due to Katrina, and Bush's failure to carry through on his promises.

All you really need to know is that:

Republicans said Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, was in charge of the reconstruction effort ...

So the Rove recruit, John Kennedy (painful to use that name here) flips parties in preparation for a Senate run against Mary Landrieu.

What did Karl Rove see? The chance to isolate the poor, especially blacks who were bedrock Democratic voters. What was the result? Poor blacks streaming out of a disaster zone.

What do we see now? Thousands of those poor have not been able to return. If they're anywhere it's stranded in FEMA refugee camps in Texas. No threat of their voting there, huh Karl?

It goes all the way back to Richard Nixon and the Southern strategy. Ugly ugly stuff.

Pithy

2007-08-28T02:40:00.000-04:00

John Edwards on the resignation of Alberto Gonzales as US Attorney-General:

Better late than never.

But only barely.

Audits?

2007-08-28T02:13:00.000-04:00

It's been 52 days since Patricia Slavick's campaign manager filed a Freedom of Information (FOIL) request for Mike Conners's audits -- 52 days and counting. And still no audits.

So if it takes this long to find his own work, how long does it take to find someone else's? Or longer still, something complex? Or still longer, something that someone's trying to hide?

Smarmy

2007-08-28T01:48:00.000-04:00

Who is or was Albany Eye?

Mike Conners is "Smarmy"

The smarmy Albany County Comptroller has been all over TV lately in these gas tax stories. Now he announces he's switching back to the Dems. According to a TU story, Sen. Neil Breslin compared Conners to Benedict Arnold, saying, "At least Benedict Arnold only switched once." Good luck with the party swap, champ.

Now who's "independent"

2007-08-22T07:09:00.000-04:00

Patricia Slavick, criticized Albany County and its Comptroller, Mike Conners yesterday for delays and overspending on the project to rehab the County Court House. Conners's response was lame. If he'd pointed at Mike Breslin as responsible for the project, he would have been highlighting Slavick's independence of Breslin.

Here's part of the News Channel 9 account:

ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. -- With five weeks until primary night, the race for Albany County Comptroller is heating up with a back and forth exchange between an endorsed candidate and the incumbent she hopes to replace.

Guilderland Town Board member Patricia Slavick says County Comptroller Mike Conners isn't doing enough to alert taxpayers of construction delays and overspending in an ongoing county court house renovation project. Conners says his challenger is pointing the finger in the wrong direction. He says he's been outspoken on the project's lagging status and he's voicing his concerns to the appropriate people.

"These typical negative attacks are not only inaccurate, but illustrates a lack of familiarity about how the project is managed in the county," Conners said.

Conners never has trouble getting press. It's how he communicates. So when "he's been outspoken on the project's lagging status," where was the coverage? "Voicing his concerns to the appropriate people"? Like who? Yeah, right. And why didn't a reporter ask, "like who?"

Slavick beat Conners badly here. And caught with his pants down, he faked it on his response.

Troopergate and Roger Stone

2007-08-22T06:53:00.001-04:00

Josh Marshall does the background research on Republican operative and dirty-trickster, Roger Stone. Stone's been hired by New York Republicans to attack Governor Spitzer. Take a look.

Stone apparently decided to start by making an unhinged threatening phone call to the Governor's father. When caught, his denial sounded like a little kid, blaming his invisible friend.

Marshall also found what an upright character Stone is.

Man, you just can't make this stuff up.

Leftover Campaign Funds

2007-08-21T04:34:00.001-04:00

Sunday's Times-Union had a story on leftover campaign funds and what former candidates do with them. They even wrote about the still active funds of former candidates who have died, Ron Stafford for example. Probably fair to say they won't run again. Vote perhaps, but not run.

After a specified time or the candidate's death, why doesn't the State treat such funds as abandoned, like abandoned bank accounts? The State could take the funds unless candidates prove they're still alive and running again. Use them instead of tax money.

When candidates switch parties, all their funds should be treated as abandoned as well.

2007-08-21T04:31:00.000-04:00

This is rich. Somebody sent me this image from an old Times-Union headline of Mike Conners criticizing his opponent for switching parties to run against him.

Guess he didn't think it was such a bad idea after all.

Breslin's Number 2 leaving

2007-08-19T07:39:00.000-04:00

Joe Pennisi is leaving Albany County government to be E.D. of the State Workers' Compensation Board.

Of course, a new rumor (speculation would be a better description) starts immediately that Breslin himself will leave, this time for Veterans Affairs. Nah. Don't bet on it.

How many primaries for the County Legislature?

2007-08-19T07:30:00.000-04:00

Howard Shafer has a primary, against a guy he says doesn't live in the district. Judge Devine says Leo Dorsey does.

Tom Monjeau has a challenger in Brian Scavo.

Doug Bullock, a labor activist is running for Nancy Wiley's seat.

How many others have a primary? It seems like a lot.

Do your homework and don't forget to turn it in

2007-08-16T06:57:00.000-04:00

A couple of days ago, we pointed to a Cheney video with him talking about why an invasion of Iraq was a really bad idea.

Martin Lewis writes here on what this reveals about the failure of Democrats since to do decent opposition research. After all, the Cheyney video was from 1994 and it wasn't used in 2004 or any other time.

Good point. Do your homework. And never let the Rethugs off the hook.

Albany Scene

2007-08-14T07:31:00.001-04:00

Where's this?

Conners's Republican Money

2007-08-14T07:22:00.001-04:00

Just in case you've forgotten as Mike Conners runs in the Democratic primary for Albany County Comptroller, follow this link to the NYS Senate Republican Campaign Committee just a couple years ago. Click on Schedule R Expense Allocation Section and you'll find that they gave him $508,000 to run against a Democrat.

The history is that he couldn't or wouldn't come up with his own money that the Democratic Assembly campaign committee asks potential candidates to put up for polling before committing their own resources.

So Mike Conners switched to the Republican Party which did promise money to run against an incumbent Democratic Senator. Conners lost and switched back. But he still made financial contributions to the Albany County Republican Committee in June of 2006.

Is this the behavior of an independent? No. It's an opportunist willing to take money without principle in order to further his own career. Neither loyal nor independent.

If he loses the Democratic primary, will he switch back to the Republicans again?

Village Voice on Rudy

2007-08-14T06:07:00.000-04:00

Wayne Barrett's reporting Rudy Giuliani's Five Big Lies About 9/11 is brutal.
He describes the "illusory cloud emanating from the former mayor's campaign ..."

'I think the thing that distinguishes me on terrorism is, I have more experience dealing with it.'

'I don't think there was anyplace in the country, including the federal government, that was as well prepared for that attack as New York City was in 2001.'

Don't blame me for 7 WTC, Rudy says

'Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.'

'Every effort was made by Mayor Giuliani and his staff to ensure the safety of all workers at Ground Zero.'

All false.

State funds housing revitalization in South End

2007-08-14T05:46:00.000-04:00

Albany to receive $1.6 million as a grant and tax credits over 10 years for a total of $11.4 million. The money will be used for developing 44 apartments along Morton Avenue along with Clinton Street and Broad.

Quote of the Day, 1994 Archive Edition

2007-08-14T05:38:00.000-04:00

Cheyney on the going to war with Iraq: Quagmire.

Quote of the Day

2007-08-14T05:34:00.000-04:00

John Edwards on Rove's departure sounds about right.

Hey Mike, wanna toaster with that?

2007-08-09T06:43:00.001-04:00

Over at Democracy in Albany, there've been a few comments back and forth on Conners and the audit (or lack of audit) FOIL story. Mailer Daemon, is a Conners fan:

This race is all about getting rid of a man who has pointed out the inadequacies of those in the County who ... [snip] ... generally make stupid decisions like ... [snip] ... not utilizing FREE banking services that prevent people from Middle Eastern countries from stealing County checks and trying to use them for who knows what.

"FREE banking services"? How gullible is this Conners groupie? How gullible is Conners? NOTHING from banks is free. There's ALWAYS a price, usually hidden in the tiny print. What was the price for the County?

And "prevent people from Middle Eastern countries from stealing County checks..." What I saw on the tube was Conners pointing to the differences between the fake checks and the real ones and giving lessons to crooks on how to do a better job stealing next time. How dumb is that?

What these stories have in common is not protecting the County. What they have in common is Mike Conners getting press coverage. That was the point, wasn't it?

The Guv at the Chautauqua Institution

2007-08-08T00:26:00.000-04:00

On "The Need for Both Passion and Humility in Politics."

Hey Mike

2007-08-07T23:10:00.000-04:00

Find those audits yet?

So sue me. It's not like I get paid for this

2007-08-05T21:45:00.000-04:00

OK. OK. It's been a while. And today's posts missed a lot that's been going on:

The Guv's little contretemps with Senator Joe. Pretty dumb, huh?
Andrew's role in that debacle and what folks are saying about what he's up to.
Soares role (still emerging).

But there's more to come. Hell, even Mike Breslin has a challenger. Now that should be a real humdinger, right?

So I'll be back

Bonus quote of the day

2007-08-05T21:34:00.001-04:00

From the LA Times, by way of Washington Monthly:

The good news, as seen by [Rich Toscano, a financial advisor with Pacific Capital Associates]: "I don't envision a 'Grapes of Wrath' scenario where we all have to pile in the family car and look for harvesting work."

Oh, I feel so much better to hear this ...

Who's careful with taxpayer money?

2007-08-05T21:19:00.001-04:00

It's been a while Republicans could at least pretend that they were fiscally responsible. Say, back in the 50's or something like that. Since then, it's all been BS. Nationally, Democrats are more careful with your money.

And now they're running out of dough.

From the Times-Union in their story about the downgrading of Colonie's debt by Moody's to barely above junk bond status:

Comptroller Ronald Caponera and Supervisor Mary Brizzell attribute the town’s $8.5 million general fund deficit, in part, to unfunded state mandates, like new laws governing storm water run-off and and dramatic spike several years ago in contributions to the state pension system.

The Democrats, namely town Chairman Phillip Steck, argue that’s a hollow explanation because those mandates apply to towns and cities across the region and state — many of whom maintain strong bond ratings.

The Colonie crew must have been emulating Bush & the DC crazies.

Quote of the Day

2007-08-05T20:51:00.001-04:00

“The Bush administration is waging a ‘phony war’ on terrorism”, and “there is no evidence that we are winning this war”.

Newt Gingrich

Go figure.

DB's Suggestion

2007-08-05T20:11:00.001-04:00

Sounds like a good idea.

Oh. I guess we already tried it before.

Did it work out? Aljazeera seems like a good source to find out.

So where are those audits?

2007-08-05T16:20:00.000-04:00

After this morning's news, I figured it'd be some kind of (sick) fun to go look at Conners's official website. You'll find it here.

Pretty thin, huh?

No audits.
No news since 2004 though that's surprising considering what a newshound he is.
Couple of reports, only one of which was done in the past two years.

And a couple of reports he labels "State of the Fisc."

Hmmm. Time to go poke around in those.

Somebody needs to audit the auditor

2007-08-05T11:38:00.000-04:00

This is choice. The Times-Union reports today that the Slavick campaign filed a FOIL request for Mike Conners's audits. It's been three weeks and he hasn't and hasn't been able to deliver. Conners can't even deliver list of audits. Pathetic.

Mike Conners has staff searching through boxes to find his audits? It will take a month? His office needs an audit.

Contrast the State Comptroller’s Office – and this has been true for years – all the audits are filed and indexed by year and agency. And they’re all readily available to the public. In fact, they're all online here.

Tom Monjeau gets in a nice zinger too, pointing out the need for a CPA, which Slavick is, but Conners is not.

How can Mike Conners audit anyone else when his own work is so sloppy?

Albany County Democratic Picnic

2007-07-23T07:38:00.000-04:00

County Democratic picnic was pretty damn good ... even if it was held in Saratoga. You could see Albany so maybe that counted for something.

Wasn't like the old days at the Altamont Fairgrounds where everyone who lived in the the entire County showed up. But you could sit, chat or whatever.

Never saw Jennings. Of course, it was Betty B, the last County Chair and one of Jerry's that let the picnic fail and canceled it last year.

And even if he did rent a bus and do his street dance with his campaign sign, never saw Mike Conners at the picnic itself. Maybe he took off for some Republican fundraiser.

Well anyway, good job by Frank & Dave, the new Co-Chairmen

Correction: Evidently Jerry did show up. Late. Somebody must have called him, told him the party (both meanings) was going on without him and that he needed to get up there.

Thanks Mike!

2007-05-31T22:46:00.001-04:00

Not only is using ethanol questionable for your car, it's raising the price of milk.

Corn, the primary feed for cows, is being diverted to make ethanol, raising the price of milk. Milk prices have increased about 3 percent, or roughly a dime a gallon, this year. The average American grocery bill has gone up $47 as a result.

Per usual, our Comptroller, Mike Conners has jumped on a Republican bandwagon because he thought it would get him headlines. Forget about thinking past the headline. Nevermind what it might mean for Albany County residents.

What a schmuck!

Maybe not such good advice after all

2007-05-29T22:41:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, the news (News Channel 9) included a bit about Comptroller Mike Conners shilling ethanol. You'd think he was running in the Iowa Presidential primary rather than trying to keep his job in an Albany primary for a job he doesn't seem to have much interest in actually doing.

Today's news (News 10) is that maybe it's not such a good idea to add it indiscriminately as he suggested.

More interest sparked Sunday when Albany County Comptroller Mike Conners urged the driving public to blend E-85 with gas no matter what they drive - though he did add they should check with the car maker and local dealer.

Still, the advice left some car shoppers confused.

"I would hate to try and save a few pennies using ethanol versus gasoline, and end up costing me three to four-hundred dollars to fix it," Mike Schell says, who is shopping for a new car.

DePaula says she would not recommend experimenting on your car.

That sounds about right. Superficial thought, quick decision, media coverage, and leave somebody else to take the risk or clean up the mess.

Update: Now News Channel 9, which did the original story is backing off and raising questions about what Conners is pushing. Their story, "Ethanol/gas mixture stirs controversy," is quite different from yesterday's:

Albany Radiator & Car Care Manager John Oliver had a different take on the mixture. "My professional recommendation is don't do it," he said. Oliver says many people will not only get fewer miles per gallon if they use such a mixture, they'll simply ruin their cars. Put in too much of the stuff that comes from the yellow pump and most vehicles could have big problems, he says. "It's probably going to skip, buck, misfire," said Oliver. He also says you might want to think twice about adding ethanol to your car's gas tank because doing so could void your car manufacturer's warranty.

They end their story by saying, "But with some accidental bad math and no flex-fuel vehicle, you could end up causing yourself some real pain at the pump."

I hope Conners is putting that stuff into his own car and not a county car.

And finally, on Memorial Day

2007-05-28T10:42:00.001-04:00

From Digby, Arlington West.

RIP

More Republican Family Values

2007-05-28T10:25:00.001-04:00

Ain't it a kick? Here's more on Rudy's.

Buffalo Pundit on Public Authority Reform in New York

2007-05-28T10:17:00.001-04:00

Buffalo Pundit takes on public authority reform, described here by the New York Times, and describes is as "perestroika."

Interesting take. And once again, we're amazed at the sheer number of governments in NY.

And here's NYCO's Blog on the same topic, disgust with the status quo.

And on the wingnut front

2007-05-28T08:31:00.001-04:00

Rudy Giuliani's ability to gain the support of lots of Republicans despite his positions on social issues like abortion and homosexuality has baffled many in the Commentariat. But it should not be so surprising because it's not about positions.

It's about authoritarianism and the bully's fearfulness. Same as the Bushies.

Of course, Michael Wolfe's theory that Rudy is just nuts is also believable.

So it's especially entertaining when one of the right-wing web sites goes on an anti-Giuliani jihad. They deserve one another.

Anything for news coverage

2007-05-28T07:58:00.001-04:00

Mike Conners is in the news again. This time it's about adding ethanol to your gas tank.

Sure we need to do something about gasoline use, but what the hell does this have to do with being County Comptroller?

The more you think about it, the more it's clear that Mike Conners does not like being Comptroller. He wishes he had another job. He's already tried for the State Assembly and State Senate. Those are jobs where you can talk a lot and get your picture in the paper for it.

But being Comptroller requires attention to detail and charming tho he may be that is not Mike Conners.

You wonder what he's missed that he should have caught while he was grandstanding.

Monica Goodling testifies

2007-05-28T07:12:00.001-04:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, a thousand I don't recalls.

Another case of hope over experience?

2007-05-27T08:10:00.001-04:00

The Governor's got this thing going about consolidating local government services. He appointed former Lt. Governor Stan Lundine to head a Commission to figure out how not how to get less government, but fewer governments.

They're giving shared services a try out in Chemung County.

Archy the Cockroach describes the same problem in the "Heartland" and gives a good example.

Let's hope they do better than last time.

'Nuff said on Justice Department hiring practices

2007-05-27T07:48:00.001-04:00

This past week featured Monica Goodling testifying before Congress (with immunity and three big-time attorneys) on the Justice Department's hiring and firing practices.

This is from the Washington Post:

Goodling quickly established that she had little preparation for the senior job she held at the Justice Department. Asked about her previous experience making personnel decisions, Goodling began her answer by noting that she was student body president in college.

Of course, she went from college to Pat Robertson's Law school where she and her fellow students learned how to infiltrate and distort the American legal system. And then of course, she worked for the Republican National Committee.

Did she screen applicants for career prosecutor jobs so that Republicans landed in those positions? "I think that I probably did." How many times? "I don't think that I could have done it more than 50 times, but I don't know." She further admitted that she "occasionally" researched career applicants' political affiliations and checked their political donations.

We need a purge. The next President needs to be a Democrat. And the next President needs to root these people out.

County Committee Endorsements

2007-05-25T07:20:00.000-04:00

The Albany County Democratic Committee endorsed Patricia Slavick over Mike Conners. More technically, he "withdrew" to avoid a floor fight and said he'd win the nomination in the primary. BS. He withdrew because he was going to lose. Something tells me this is going to be a tougher fight for Conners than last time.

And the same night the County Committee passed on long-time Coronor Phil Furie, endorsing John Keegan of Guilderland, who operates Magin & Keegan Funeral Home. Furie was an insurance guy. The Committee endorsed the three other incumbents for Coronor. Isn't it creepy to have Coronors will a built-in conflict-of-interest? A funeral director? Give me a break.

Why does Albany have Coronors? What exactly do they do? They're not doctors and can't determine the cause of death. Legend has it that one of these guys called someone dead at the scene a while back. You can guess the rest ...

Was. Not. Dead.

And here's some chit-chat on Tom Clingan and others on being multi-termers.

DC Dems & Defense: Political Paradox

2007-05-23T23:47:00.000-04:00

It pains me to say so, but tonight Keith Olbermann is right about the Democratic leadership in Washington.

The painfully funny thing is that throughout this entire Iraq debacle and, come to think of it for years before, the fear shared by many DC Democrats of appearing "weak on defense" has made them appear plain weak.

The more the DC Dems try to look strong, the weaker they look and are. The politics are not about policy positions across the entire spectrum (though they are for some). Instead, it's the Gestalt of the thing. The public perceives weakness of character. Hell, if the DC Dems will cave to a petulant child with 30% approval ratings, why should anyone believer they won't cave in to a real threat.

Act strong. The appearance will take care of the rest.

Patricia Slavick's Website

2007-05-23T07:32:00.000-04:00

Here's the link to Patricia Slavick's web site. She's already gotten the endorsements of a number of local officials. They include Neil Breslin who beat Conners badly in the State Senate race.