Biggest Losers:
Governor David Paterson - Putting Tiger Woods aside, we don't think anyone can deny that this guy wins the gold medal for the biggest loser. Our 55th Governor of the State of New York has racked up a long list of stupidness: pending ethics violations over accepting World Series tickets, covering up sexual abuse scandal with state resources and direct calls to police to save his body man, rumors of various affairs including one with a state employee that he admitted when he first came to office, proposed tax increases on all sorts of goodies, appointing Kirsten Gillibrand to a US Senate seat and a general gross mismanagement of the state's runaway budget deficit. Paterson's story is playing out like a bad scene from the Jersey Shore. Good riddance.
Congressman Eric Massa- Rumors are abound that the House ethics committee will investigate whether Massa had sexually abused a male staffer and will be retiring at the end of 2010. Just wait for the attack dogs and Democratic colleagues alike to call for his resignation. A special election like the one in New York 23 might be just around the corner.
Congressman Charlie Rangel - Rangel is caught up in some compromising ethics violation(s). Politico reported that, "the catalyst for Rangel's removal came last week, when the ethics committee ruled that he had broken House gift rules by accepting corporate-sponsored travel to the Caribbean." He has now lost his chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee that writes tax policy after serving the House for 39 years. Is there anymore to say about that? Owens is counting his lucky starts that he didn't have to vote on removing Rangel of his chairmanship.
New York State Democrats - How many Democratic Governors can New York blow through without looking ridiculous? Spitzer, Paterson, State Senator Monserrate, Massa and Rangel have seriously damaged the party brand in New York. Are these leaders a reflection of the Democratic party as a whole? The budget is a mess, taxes are high, businesses are moving out of state, party leaders getting greedy and Harold Ford said he got out of the primary race because the party in New York State Democrats aren't strong enough to deal with the pressure and still win. All bets are off in 2010.
Congressman Bill Owens - Our new representative is talking about jobs recently, but he is about to lose his own for voting for socialized medicine that includes all sorts of perverse carve-outs for other states, increased taxes and cuts to Medicare. If he flip-flops on the health care vote he will discourage his base of Democrat supporters. If he votes for it he loses the election to whatever candidate(s) that run against him. It is a tough spot to be in, but Pelosi and Obama are the ones who got him to Washington and he owes it to them. Ironically, Pelosi and Obama, the same people who got Owens elected, are the same people who are going to get him run out of office.
Assemblyman Will Barclay - His campaign will not answer our questions and the candidate is not being open with the public. Michael Baucus of the Barclay campaign responded to an e-mail request to get 3-5 of our 20 questions answered with this lame response: "Will Barclay would be more than pleased to answer each of those twenty questions if he becomes a candidate for Congress. If you live in the 23rd Congressional District, all you have to do is attend any scheduled candidates debate, stand up, identify yourself and state your question. Will Barclay would, of course, afford any district voter the same opportunity." So for our readers -- feel free to ask your questions when you see Barclay on the campaign trail. But good luck getting your questions answered.
Mayor Jeff Graham - If Mort Zukerman had given up control of his media empire to run for US Senate, Jeff Graham could have made a quick move to cut into the media mogul's huge national market. Graham is still doing well with his blog and radio show. But had Zukerman officially gotten into the race, Graham could have capitalized and made it big.
USA Men's Olympic Hockey Team - Team USA were the underdogs, no doubt. We played hard but only got the silver medal -- unfortunately, second place is the first loser. And you lost to Canada!
The Watertown Daily Times - The Times falls into the loser category because they are awful almost every week. Any objections?
Winners:
Andrew Cuomo - Love him or hate him or just don't care, this guy is undoubtably going to be the Democratic nominee for Governor. For the sake of our state, lets just pray he is better than Spitzer and Paterson.
Harold Ford Jr. - He got out of the Democratic US Senate primary just in time. The New York Democratic establishment was about to eat the guy up and spit him out. He saved his reputation and now maybe he can make a run for Charlie Rangel's seat.
Bruce Blakeman - Media mogul Mort Zuckerman is pulling out of the US Senate race against Gillibrand and that opening gives Blakeman a clearer shot at the GOP nomination. Gillibrand's negatives are so high that the Lewis county dog-catcher could make it a competitive race in year where Republicans were able to win in Massachusetts.
Ann Marie Buerkle - We haven't talked about our neighbor district to the south-west, but they have a battle brewing for the congressional Republican nomination to challenge Representative Dan Maffei in NY-25. Buerkle is winning Republican and Conservative endorsements for her race at a blistering pace. What's Up NY-23 isn't offering its endorsement yet, but is predicting Buerkle is on the best path to become the GOP nominee for that race.
Darrel Aubertine - Getting beat up by New York City press for opposing a liberal farm workers bill isn't always a bad thing for an upstate Democrat. He is also now a member of the fiscal watch force. Let's see what he does with it.
Mike Long - The Conservative Party Chairman has been gaining credibility across the state and has to be taken seriously by Republicans at every level because of the fusion voting system in the state and the conservative movement's ability to tap into voter discontent.
Patty Ritchie - Even though Ritchie has been attacked on the Lewis and Oswego blogs, she is still the frontrunner for the 48th Senate district race. Whoever gets the nod could make it a race for the ages against Aubertine. There is still a lot of time left, but Ritchie has positioned herself and it doesn't look like Matt Doheny is going to jump races as we move into the spring.
Assemblywoman Janet Duprey - Duprey seems to be handling her competition for the GOP nomination with stride. David Kimmel has yet to make the kind of impact that conservatives had hoped for, which may leave the door open for Paul Maroun or another candidate to jump into the race at this early stage. There is still time for Kimmel to make his case for the nomination, but each day that Kimmel lags is another day Duprey is counting her blessings.
NewzJunky.com - Just because they are better than the Watertown Daily Times.
SU Men's Basketball Team - First time the Orange have been ranked #1 in years. Congrats and Go Orange!
Scozzafava didn't make either list. Buggs- are you okay???
ReplyDeleteGo Cuse
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with almost all of your winners and losers, I am not so sure about your assessment that Mike Long is gaining credibility. I have actually heard the opposite. I have heard that people think he is too hard headed and doesn't listen to anyone.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry Buggs, but your statement doesn't make sense:
ReplyDeleteSo for our readers -- feel free to ask your questions when you see Barclay on the campaign trail. But good luck getting your questions answered.
Barclay said that he'd answer questions and everytime I've seen him he's been fairly open I think. No one knows who you are so, why would any candidate give you any legitimacy by answering some twenty questions? This shows that whoever you are you view Barclay as a real threat whether its Hoffman or Owens that you support.
9:27, Barclay is a loser, face it! Time to wake up and smell the roses, or should I say smell the unsavory air of defeat. Owens is the only candidate who will stand up for the downtrodden up here in the north country who have no affordable health care. We are only as strong as the weakest among us in this country.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that.
Rumor is that Brian Kolb may be running for Congress and it would open the door for Barclay to be the Republican Assembly leader. He should bow out of the Congressional race. He is a proven loser having lost to Aubertine. If Barclay stuck around for a few more years he could easily win the State Senate seat back for Republicans. But now is not the time for him for him to explore this pipe dream.
ReplyDeleteAs for Owens this health care bill is going to be his last hill. He will fall on his sword. As for the rest of these people most of them are a plague on New York State, except Team USA and the Syracuse Orange. I'm hopeful that Andrew Cuomo could be a good governor. But a lot of people said that about Spitzer and Paterson. Maybe it is about time to give the seat to a Republican.
"This shows that whoever you are you view Barclay as a real threat whether its Hoffman or Owens that you support."
ReplyDeleteI think posters 1013 and 1100 all make the above point true.
Buggs, I also notice that you didn't post the findings of your blog poll...didn't go the way you wanted it huh? Such a silly wabbit.
ReplyDeleteSome people say that Will Barclay is more liberal than Dede Scozzafava. He is just another silver-spoon fed, seat warmer in the Assembly.
ReplyDeleteMatt Doheny is a much better candidate! He has more money for the race, he earned his way to the top, he is more conservative, and he has the good business sense that we need in Congress to turn this economic downturn around. What has Barclay ever done to help the economy? He is a big spending, tax hiking Republican in name only type.
What about AJR. Where would you place her in the rankings bugs? Don't wait too long hear there is a new guy coming to take her spot. Do you think she is beatable?
ReplyDeleteA fun post!
ReplyDeleteI can't understand how/why Kimmel is not making a bigger impact.
His campaign needs some serious marketing help.
Buggs - I wonder how many votes Scozzafava gets if you put her in that poll on the right hand side. Anyone interested in a write-in campaign?
ReplyDeleteWill Barclay's people need to understand that Matt Doheny isn't going to run for the 48th Senate district, plain and simple. Matt is going to pile-drive the Barclay campaign in November so they might just as well get out of the way now before things get ugly.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I think someone said it before, but Barclay is a proven loser. Having lost to Darrel Aubertine just recently, Will Barclay gave the Democrats complete control over the State Senate. If Will couldn't beat Aubertine with all the money in the world, he can't win a primary or a general election for Congress. And his "river" ownership issue can't be overcome in the media.
If you think Barclay won't answer questions, try asking Hoffman or Owens any---they were "infamous" for neither answering or comprehending the issues MOST of us care about. The far right and far left spent millions to "protect" us from Dede, and what did we get---a "Pelosi snuggling" left winger who immediately showed his true mettle!
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your assessment of Gillibrand's negatives. Polls showed her with a wide lead over both Zuckerman and Ford.
ReplyDeleteJanet Duprey is a winner? Bugs, are you on her campaign staff? Have you even heard her in her public appearances? Dave Kimmel is lagging behind? It's March!! No one had even heard of Doug Hoffman 'til October ... and we know how that ended for Duprey's buddy, Dede.
ReplyDeleteOn the U.S. hockey team losing to Canada all I have to say is don't embarass yourself on your lack of hockey knowledge.