TAP has a post up from Friday (thank you devtob) regarding a NYT story examining the relationship between NY mayor, Michael Bloomberg and our junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand. Being closer to the source, they were able to pick up nuances that I had missed.  Apparently, the potential contenders for Kirsten’s seat have all been encouraged by Bloomberg’s people.

Check this out:

The Times has always been close to Bloomberg, as is evident again in the story’s lede:

He gripes about her in private conversations with his aides and her colleagues on Capitol Hill. He has yet to take up her invitation to sit down for dinner. And his political team is constantly shopping for potential candidates to oust her.As New York experiences a tumultuous election season, one question is captivating political insiders: Why does Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg so dislike Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand?

The story never really answers that question, because to do so would mean bringing up the issue of Caroline Kennedy’s maladroit candidacy for the appointment.

The story recounts how Bloomberg and his minions have been advising/encouraging several potential Gillibrand challengers — former Bush/Cheney war-flack Dan Senor most lately, but also Long Island Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Harold Ford, and fellow Manhattan billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman. (Manhattan Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s short-lived, but nasty, challenge is oddly unmentioned, though Bloomberg types worked on that, too.)

So, is this all because of Caroline Kennedy’s failed bid for the senate seat?  Is it really all about who the Mayor can keep under his thumb?  Is it all about controlling the vote of one senator from NY? I hate to think so, but, politics being what it is, it makes perfect sense.

Just saw this in an email.  Shawn Hogan has decided DC is not for him, per Hornell’s Evening Tribune:

“After much consultation with family, friends and friendly political allies and prayerful contemplation, I have decided not to pursue the 29th District Congressional seat that will become vacant with the resignation of Congressman Eric Massa at p.m. this day,” said Hogan in a prepared news release.

“I choose not to run, not because I am afraid of the challenge, I still have a great desire to serve. However, the atmosphere in politics today is toxic, fueled by extremism on both sides of the isle.  Americans deserve and want leadership from our elected officials not 30 second sound bites and destructive behavior. We need honor and common sense in Washington and Albany,” said Hogan.

Looks like Hogan will not be our Hero.

The search goes on for a likely candidate to replace Eric Massa.  Any takers?

The Corning Leader reports this morning that David Koon has stepped up to the plate in lieu of Eric Massa’s run for a second term as NY’s 29th.

Assemblyman David Koon, D-Perinton, said Thursday he would be willing to run for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning.

[snip]

Koon said the decision whether he runs ultimately lies with the Democratic chairmen of the eight counties in the 29th Congressional District. Cindy Emmer, Chemung County Democratic chairman, said the county chairmen will discuss possible candidates in a conference call today.

“I want to run,” Koon said. “I’ve told them, if you want me to run, I’m your man.”

Also in the running is Hornell Mayor Shawn Hogan, who was personally asked by Massa to succeed him. Hogan serves as the Steuben County Democratic Chairman and was unavailable Thursday for comment.

Although an admirer of David’s, I would be ignoring the truth to believe that a Democrat from Monroe County could pull this off.  If we must lose Eric, then another candidate from the Southern Tier must take his place.

Eric chose wisely.  I’m behind Shawn

Well,  Just dialed into the Press Conference - there are 78 callers on and that was 5 mins ago  - just waiting for it to start.  I’m doing this live so forgive the typos I’ll try to correct them later.  hit refresh a lot.

Going on 10 mins late…

The Communications director (Jared Smith) just popped on and said they are running a little late- Massa will read a brief statement - No questions.

It starts - Massa’s statement (hurried typed summary)

Last December I had my 3rd cancer reoccurance scare.  Intense and personal experience.  Doctors said I can’t run at 100 miles an hour any longer -

There have been questions about harassment against staff.  Yes, I use salty language - but harassment?  No - those accusations are a symptom of what is wrong with Washington.  I can’t fight all the battles on what is wrong with Washington.

I remain fully committed to help the families of the 29th through my term.

The statement was certainly more elegant than my summary.  He also said that he is announcing now so others can run.    I’m sure I’ll get it via email and will post it.

Bottom line - Per Massa, this is a health issue.

He took no questions - Press Conference over.

After reading an article in the New York Times about Harold Ford Jr.’s most recent poll on himself and Gillibrand,  I want to ask Mr. Ford Jr. what he is waiting for.

Last Thursday, while in Rochester, Harold Ford Jr. had meetings with Mayor Bob Duffy and Assemblyman Joe Morelle.  As the D&C reported:

“Ford, 39, is not yet a candidate but he acted like one, meeting with Mayor Robert Duffy, shaking hands at Nick Tahou Hots and talking to reporters about the economy and taxes.

Following an afternoon meeting at City Hall, Ford said he supports Duffy’s effort to take control of the City School District. (snip) ‘The reason I’ve always been a supporter of reform efforts and alternative education models is that oftentimes kids find themselves trapped in settings that don’t work,’ he said.”

On Thursday night, he delivered the keynote address for the Black Students’ Union’s Black History Month celebration at the University of Rochester.  Despite how the event was advertised, Mr. Ford Jr. did more that just speak on civil rights, volunteerism, and students in leadership.  He sounded like a candidate running for office while talking about how to strengthen the American image and what he could potentially do for the state of New York.  He would not confirm a run for office but did say “I have to do what is right for New Yorkers.”  He discussed problems with education, health care, green jobs, medicare/medicaid, state spending and the fact that he would vote in favor of gay marriage if he were in a position where that may come up.  (Note: this is a change from his prior views and voting record.   For more, see his interview with the New York Times on Jan. 13, 2010.)

As a non-candidate, Harold Ford Jr. appears to be building support, taking sides on local political issues, and certainly speaking as if he were a candidate.  (For more see Stlo7’s post on “Harold Ford Visit to Rochester“)

I have a profound respect for most of those who choose to run for office.  It is a decision that requires a good deal of time, personal sacrifice, and courage to come before the public (and their scrutiny).  If Mr. Ford Jr. is truly passionate about representing the interests of New Yorkers as they need and deserve,  then it’s admirable that he would come here and run.  But as he remains non-committal, continues to spend money on polling and maintaining both homes in Memphis, TN, and New York City this feels more like a back- up career decision after he couldn’t win in his own state.

It would appear that New York State is lousy with wannabe senate candidates.  Call me wet behind the ears, but I had never heard of Mort Zuckerman until I read this New York Post article.

The Senate seat in question is now held by David Paterson protégé — and Chuck Schumer hand puppet — Kirsten Gillibrand. She’s an upstate cipher whose sole qualification for the job is that Paterson appointed her to it when Hillary Rodham Clinton gave it up to join the Obama administration.

Zuckerman, on the other hand, is a heavyweight — an internationalist with a firm grasp on the challenges facing the nation in that realm, a fierce supporter of Israel at a time of grave peril for that embattled nation and an experienced businessman with a clear appreciation of how much damage anti-growth fiscal policies can do to America.

According to Wikipedia, although Mort is a Democrat, if he runs he may run as an independent or Republican in order to avoid a primary fight. (Not to mention, we could run out of room on the primary ballot)

Challenges-they’re not just for junior senators anymore.  Not only does Kirsten face a likely challenger in Harold Ford Jr, now Chuck has a left field challenger in the name of Phillip S Krone, a political consultant from Illinois.  from Swing State Project:

• NY-Sen: Speaking of random primary challenges, now Chuck Schumer is facing one too, from Phil Krone, an Illinois and/or Florida political consultant who was just involved in Dan Hynes’ unsuccessful campaign. Krone says he’ll dive in only if he can raise $10K in contributions before April 1; given the strangeness of his bid, even that seems kind of a high bar to reach.

Out of state candidates taking on sitting New York senators in primaries seems to be the trendy thing to do.  The way this guy is trying to raise campaign funds,

I am seriously thinking of embarking on this project. But only if I get at least $10,000 in contributions by April 1. 2010 (April Fool’s Day appropriately). Checks or money orders from individuals can be no more than $25 or they will be returned. Corporate of labor checks can be of any size. I don’t have an internet site yet, so please send them to:

Philip S. Krone

180 N. LaSalle Street

Suite 3000

Chicago, Illinois 60601

If I don’t run, all the checks will be returned with a mass produced thank you, but no phony ‘personalized’ salutation or signature.

I can’t imagine anyone actually contributing.  So,what is this guys motivation?  I read the whole announcement in the Chicago Daily Observer, and I still don’t get it.  Will a primary force Schumer to address issues that he wouldn’t normally have to?  I could buy that if he were from NY.

My guess is he doesn’t even show up as a blip on Schumer’s radar screen.

Possible side effects of this combination include, but are not limited to (according to SwingStateProject):

• NY-Sen-B: One other Research 2000 poll to talk about: they looked at the Democratic primary in New York, and find about what everyone else has found. Kirsten Gillibrand leads ex-Rep. Harold Ford Jr. by a 41-27 margin (with 3 for Jonathan Tasini), looking solid but still with a ton of undecideds. This also exists merely at the level of rumor, but with the potential presence of Ford scrambling things for the ever-so-briefly-thought-to-be-safe Gillibrand, sources say that Democratic Rep. Steve Israel (who got dissuaded from a primary challenge) and Republican ex-Gov. George Pataki (who hasn’t sounded interested until now) are both giving the race a little more consideration.

As Adrain pointed out in the comments to my last post, Ford cannot present as a populist, but George Pataki sure could.  This bears being watched closely.

The Observer followed Harold Ford throughout his day, on his first stop in Buffalo, Sunday.  I don’t think that anyone believes that he is not running against Senator Gillibrand , but he has yet to announce.  He’s making the rounds, stopping in the “Mom and Pop” places with a gold buffalo lapel pin, trying to look like “one of the guys”

… with appointed incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand stuck in the polls and seemingly unable to do anything about it, Mr. Ford’s early maneuvering has been taken very seriously by a number of high-profile donors and party officials and, perhaps most crucially, the press. And so here he was in Buffalo, embarking on a listening tour.

Maybe, not too excited about the Observer’s presence, this interchange was noted:

Waiting for his ride in the concourse, Mr. Ford told The Observer he had been to Buffalo before, and met the mayor, but this was just a first stop like any other.

“There was no conspiracy behind it, where to start,” he said.

“They drove up yesterday, from New York City,” Mr. Goldin told his boss of The Observer. “Six hours.”

“I know how long it is,” Mr. Ford quickly replied.

To be perfectly blunt, I don’t like him running.  We’ve got wayyyy too many Blue Dogs in the Senate already.  Although I agree with Stlo7 who says primaries are good for the party, as it forces issues that might not ordinarily make it to the table to be discussed and debated-this guy is far too smooth.  I don’t believe he can win in New York State, but I wouldn’t have believed that Scott Brown could have won in Massachusetts.

Though Mr. Ford is winning the daily news cycle—and, perhaps, doing real damage to Ms. Gillibrand—he has a long way to go before establishing himself with New York’s voters in his own right. In the week before his Buffalo trip, two polls had him trailing Ms. Gillibrand by 20 points. So while the sitting senator’s approval rating remains at an enticingly low 31 percent, the bad news for Mr. Ford is that he’s still more effective as a troublemaker than as a candidate, and that he’s more likely to cost Ms. Gillibrand the seat than he is to win it himself. One gets the feeling that if he so much as fails to be in the press for a couple of days, the ground could shift under his feet, and that someone else—maybe one of the Democrats who had previously taken a pass on the race—might find it too tempting not to take advantage of the cover now provided by Mr. Ford to declare his or her own challenge to Ms. Gillibrand. Mr. Ford’s very presence, if he sticks around for a bit, could also entice new Republicans into the race, too, throwing the general election into doubt for whichever Democrat emerges. It will be easier for him to turn her into Martha Coakley than to transform himself into Scott Brown.

The message here is for Kirsten: Run as if your life depended on it.  Talk to your liberal base.  Let them know that you will represent them and then continue to follow through with those commitments.  Don’t vacation while on the campaign trail.  Don’t cloister yourself.  Make the people your priority and that means Universal Health Care.

Yes, you have Schumer as your protector, but that is no longer enough.

After spending a crazy few days in Boston and catching up on much-needed sleep, the question I woke up asking is,“What happened in Massachusetts?!”

While there have been numerous commentaries throughout the week and  a number of factors to point to, some are more pertinent than others.

Key Democratic voters stayed home.  Why?  Maybe they were disgruntled by the lack of fulfilled promises in Washington that originally inspired them to vote in 2008 (Politico).  Or, maybe it was the lack of any real ground strategy or “get out the vote” effort by the Coakley campaign itself.  Before I was walking door to door on Monday and Tuesday, in prime Democratic areas, there had been no walk sheets or any canvass plan just a few days prior.  (Thank you OFA for coming; albeit too late)  With an anticipated turnout of 2 million voters, it’s not easy to mobilize such a large number of people 30 hours before the polls close.

The Democratic campaign literature being distributed also did not help.  Apparently Scott Brown was such a popular centerfold for Cosmo that the Democrats thought he would help sell their literature as well.  Ok, warn the public that he wants to ship jobs overseas– but is it really necessary to put him all over the literature that voters are reading for a mere 30 seconds?

Fear over liberal health care reform is another reason being cited for the increase of Republican votes.  Although, even this may not be the main reason to have elected Scott Brown.   Let’s also not forget that the state of Massachusetts already passed its own health care reform legislation under Governor Romney (and with Brown’s support) in 2006.

As for other contributing factors, Coakley was up nearly 30 points just a month before the election and, unfortunately, her campaign took this for granted while also making several blunders such as calling Curt Schilling a “Yankee Fan”.  Fortunately, we had Scott Brown looking out for “the people’s seat”?

Scott Brown ran a good campaign and it is important to note that neither side is ever entitled to a position of power, but that power is derived from the people themselves and what they think is best.

In the wake of the Democratic defeat this past Tuesday, the viability of the current health care reform bill is in serious question, and, well it should be.  MoveOn polled Massachusetts voters , of those Obama voters who voted for Scott Brown, or just stayed home, the majority believes that the current health care reform does not go far enough.

At FDL, letsgetitdone writes that reconciliation can work,

… I also want to propose that progressives not support sidecar reconciliation, at all, but, instead go back further, and use the strategy I outlined in this earlier post, and push for passing HR 676, enhanced Medicare for All, under reconciliation. This will be met by extreme opposition, of course, and will be impossible to pass. Nevertheless, it is better to negotiate a compromise downgrading HR 676, as outlined in my earlier post, than it is to negotiate an upgrade to the Senate’s current terrible bill.

As long as reconciliation will be used anyway, Progressives, and even Harry Reid, keeping the coming electoral blood bath in mind, need to get tough and fight for legislation that the public will definitely like, and the health insurance and Pharma industries will hate. That is the way to begin to persuade people that real Democrats are back, and that Wall Street no longer controls them.

And, at OpEdNews, Steven Leser says,

Democrats and Independents who voted for Obama and turned to Brown or stayed home didn’t like the current Health Care Reform bill because it didn’t go far enough. Speaking of not going far enough, the consensus of this group is that they are not getting enough change from President Obama.

One of the suggestions I wrote about yesterday is that we ditch the current Health Care bill and go with Medicare for all through reconciliation. One of my friends was concerned about that because we are beginning an election year and there is a very small window for completing any work on Health Care Reform before election season begins. Here is the solution, H.R. 676.

This bill is ready to go, it is only 20 pages long and everyone knows and understands what Medicare is. Representative Weiner offered Republicans in congress the chance to privatize Medicare via a bill a few months ago and they declined. Congressional Republicans must like Medicare. The idea of government run Health Care Reform isn’t THAT upsetting to them. That is an argument that is easy to make. The whole bill is an argument that is easy to make. The bill should be sent to the CBO for immediate scoring and then rushed through the reconciliation process. Game, set, and 51 Democratic senators later (no need for Republicans, Lieberman, Nelson or any other blue dogs. If they want to vote for it, they are of course welcome to do so) match.

What an opportunity!  If only the executive and legislative branches are listening.  The pulse of the people is for MORE change, not less.  Listen to your people, Mr President.  The people who voted you in want affordable health care and affordable medication.  Show us that you are listening. You’re in charge, the house and the senate will follow your lead.  Take that bold step and become the president who you promised to be.

I believe HOPE was the word.

from an OpEdNews piece of yesterday, titled, “I Got Your Stimulus Package Right Here, Baby” comes this mini-summary of the guy who just got elected:

Who would have imagined that a State Senator, who voted against providing assistance to the Massachusetts 9-11 workers, staunchly opposed gay marriage, posed naked in a woman’s magazine, (Damn those pesky staples!) doesn’t provide health insurance for his own staff and vows to torpedo health care reform for all Americans, would even be considered a viable substitute for Ted Kennedy in the Senate? What was unimaginable a few weeks ago has become a thundering possibility.

Sadly, the unthinkable has come to pass.

Time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, examine the ruins, and start all over again.

I am embarrassed to admit, but I am not usually proactive when it comes to special elections, especially in other states. The senate seat in Massachusetts, however, is a different story entirely.

It seems that the life or death of health care reform lies within the results of this election. If Coakley wins, Democrats will hold on to their 60-vote. If Brown comes out on top (as predicted 3:1) Dems loose that leverage and it will be up to Pelosi to convince the senate of what’s right. Might be a difficult task.  Remember, it will be at least 10 to 15 days until MA certifies its vote and only after that will the Senate seat the winner.

The other option is to hustle the health care bill through before Brown gets seated if he does indeed win the election (again the House and Senate have 10-15 days regardless of the winner).  I know that this has been a battle we have been waiting out for months now, but I don’t know if rushing it to the finish is the answer, either.

So tune in later to find out the results. It seems to be a pretty close race, and voter turn out will be crucial. Here’s hoping that the majority will come out and exercise their right to vote.

How does Health Care come down to a single vote in a special election?  What do you think?

As democraticwedgie pointed out in the comments from my last post, the race in Massachusetts is way too close for comfort.  The opponant to Martha Coakley, Scott Brown is supported by the “Baggers”  and Townhall.com is all over it, soliciting donations for this race which they report has turned, “negative”.  Interesting what the “Dark Side” believes is negative.  Things like:

_Democrat Martha Coakley, who had been heavily favored, unleashed a TV ad attacking her GOP opponent, Scott Brown, as “in lockstep with Washington Republicans.”

Ooh, say not so!

And then there’s this ugly, negative tactic:

_The national committee charged with electing Senate Democrats rolled out an ad claiming Massachusetts voters know little about Brown and imploring them not to let him “take them for a ride.”

Ouch!  How can the Democrats of Massachusetts stoop so low?  Maybe they had better clean up their act and follow the lead of the Republicans.  Their campaign practices are so much kinder and gentler like, umm, I don’t know, how about swift boating John Kerry, or attacking Max (triple amputee) Cleland’s military record, or push polling against one of their own, John McCain?  Remember:

“Would you support John McCain if you knew that he had an illegitimate black child?”

So, in lieu of letting a conservative tea-bagger occupy the seat of the late Senator Kennedy, check out the opportunity to help Martha Coakley in our Turning Points column.  Get involved.  Make a difference.

We can make a difference here, making sure that a bagger/birther is not voted into Ted Kennedy’s seat.  That would be adding great insult to injury.

The race is getting closer.

I’ve heard from a good friend who knows Martha personally, that she’s a class act and would serve us well.  Here’s the link for taking action.

From the email plea:

We are 10 short days from the polls closing on Tuesday, January 19th, and the stakes could not be higher.  We know this race will be close, and that we will only be successful if we all work to connect with voters about Martha’s track record of results and progress for Massachusetts.

We need your help now more than ever.  Martha is under attack from national right-wing and anti-progress forces.  Can you spare a couple hours this week to help us share Martha’s positive message with voters?

Our team is making telephone calls all across the state, reminding people about Election Day and asking if they need rides to the polls. We need your help to make these important calls.

We have 53 locations across Massachusetts where supporters are gathering to make calls. Can you commit to a two-hour shift this week? Please click here to sign up for this important effort.

These calls are quick and easy. Even if you can’t make it to one of these locations, you can easily make calls from the comfort of your own home through our Neighbor-to-Neighbor program.

Whether you can spare one two-hour shift, or volunteer on Election Day, or more, Martha needs your help in these final days.

If you are not able to make calls, we have many other volunteer opportunities and will plug you in right away.  Learn more by emailing volunteer@marthacoakley.com, or by signing up as a volunteer on our website.