So, as a civic-minded upstate patriot, we want to know what our upstate reps are REALLY up to. And as bloggers, our responsibilty is to pass anything we learn on to you, the discerning upstate patriot blog-reader. And not just regurgitate what we learn, but add a healthy dose of context, comment, and snark.

I already have a good picture of what’s going on with “Wishy Washy” Walsh, thanks to Obi-wan Kenoblogger The Walsh Watcher’s most excellent blog. So I decided to look at another local rep, Randy Kuhl. His district runs along the Southern Tier then makes an abrupt left turn, staggering northward to Monroe County like a drunken shotgun-brandishing congressman.

Along the way, comprises some of the prettiest country in New York, from the rough-and-tumble wooded hills and river valleys along the PA border, though the beautiful finger lakes country, finally ending at Rochester, a “diamond in the rough” kind of city, practically oozing potential to be a vibrant hub of sustainable industry and the arts.

 Because this district has been gerrymandered like crazy to ensure that no incumbent is left behind, there’s quite a mix of folks along the way. Considered by some to be the most conservative district in New York, it also contains some of the most progressive areas, in Rochester’s southern suburbs. That’s another reason that Eric Massa would be a great rep for this district– he cuts through the BS smokescreens the Republican leadership throws up and focuses on values that apply and appeal to everyone, progressive or conservative: keeping people safe from poisons in our air, land, and water; improving healthcare for everyone; ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to get a decent, living wage job.

But back to the current, temporary occupant of NY-29’s congressional seat. What kind of a job is he doing to meet the needs of the good people of this district, which contains some of the poorest counties in the state?

Well, inspired by The Walsh Watcher, I took a look at the House voting records. And, oh my god. What a mess. There are sometimes a dozen votes on a single bill, and of course the bills all have names like “Providing for Ensuring that Everyone’s Life Is Completely AWESOME”. And then in the small print of the bill, it says “and by ‘Everyone’, we really mean lobbyists, CEOs, Saudi Arabia, and China. Oh, and Wal-Mart.”

This is intentional– the Republican-led Congress of the last few years is dedicated to muddying the waters and hiding behind pretty language and photo-ops, then screwing the American people in the details. So people like you and me get all confused, throw up our hands and just go watch more American Idol.

So, in the face of a friggin ton of data, I decided, like any good engineer or scientist worth their salt, to put up a hypothesis, and then test the data against my hypothesis. We’ll see how it stands– I suspect it’s going to be pretty damning.

I call my hypothesis “The Kuhl Rule“. The rule is, if Randy voted for it, it’s fundamentally destructive to the people of NY-29. After all, he’s a freshman in Congress, so he’s vulnerable to the strongarming of supercorrupt kingpin Tom Delay, and subservient to the wishes of President Bush. I mean, he has to have the nickname “Rubberstamp Randy” for a reason, right?Â

Plus, I can leverage The Walsh Watcher’s great body of research on Jim Walsh, using Walsh’s votes as a jumping off point, since Republicans in Congress have been largely in lock-step with the president’s wishes. So Rubberstamp Randy should follow suite as well.

So, I’m going to start digging, and reporting back to you what I find. We’ll keep a tally. And I’d like you, fellow patriots, to post suggestions on votes or issues that are of interest to you, in the comments below.Â

[Updated: nequals1 got me hip to a great site via the comments...

Here’s public citicizens report on him. As a member of NY-29, just looking at that record alone is enough to cause me to get up off of my chair and start working for Massa. I suspect what you uncover will be even uglier.

...and, jinkies, Scooby-- Kuhl's got an 8% out of 100% rating. Looks like the Kuhl Rule is gonna hold. I love the Public Citizen site since it cuts through the BS titles of the bills to reveal their rotten underbellies. At a glance, even. Nice find, nequals1.]

Related posts:

1. Local blog round-up, Part II
2. Randy Kuhl to introduce a Bill to Nowhere
3. New ad targets Kuhl and Walsh
4. Kuhl meets with the D&C Ed Board
5. 2006 Gas Prices Were Lowest During Election Week - updated