Franklin GOP Supports Candidate Who Dresses Like a Terrorist?

File this one under ugly political optics.

Franklin County Republican Committee Chairman James Ellis is supporting Democrat Executive Steve Levy for New York State Governor. Levy was a Democrat until just a few weeks ago when he decided he wanted to run for Governor. One could argue that Levy is worse than Dede Scozzafava in more ways than one. After all, Scozzafava may have dressed up in weird pink outfits, but at least she didn't dress up as a terrorist!

It is repulsive to think that Chairman James Ellis would abandon the voters of Franklin county who believe in a free and strong America so he can cozy up with liberal Democrats. Who supports candidates that dress up as terrorists anyways? Now rumors are circulating that Ellis is planning on supporting Mr. Wall Street Banker-Lawyer Matt Doheny for NY-23 over Conservative - Republican Doug Hoffman.

Several other Republican county chairs in NY-23 are also supporting Levy and Doheny over Republican Rick Lazio. The questions one has to ask is: are Ellis and some of the other county chairs trying to fracture the Republican Party on purpose? Why can't the county committees just do their job and then endorse the winner of the Republican Party once the fight is over? Does Doheny also support Steve Levy for Governor over Rick Lazio?

The county committees were never originally set up to tear the party apart before the primary happened. The county committees exist to be a support network to recruit candidates, help organize events, educate the public on Republican ideals, push Republican policies, and help fund candidates once they earn the right to be the Republican nominee for political office.

Now these committees function to give credibility and cover to Democrats who dress up like Osama Bin Ladin and carpetbaggers from New York City who traded stocks and dividends on Wall Street. In a sense, the county committees are losing credibility because of their ulterior motives, failure to communicate with the grassroots, uncanny inability to win local races, a capacity to fundamentally tear the GOP apart, and weak leadership.

Update, 4/14/10: Several individuals have e-mailed and said that you can go back 20+ years into anyone's history and find something that disqualifies them for public office. However, it should be pointed out that when Levy dressed up as an unrepentant terrorist on October 31, 1983, it was only 8 days after 241 American Servicemen had died serving our country in Beirut, Lebanon as Islamic terrorists bombed the Marine barracks on October 23, 1983. What sort of a person would show that kind of rash humor just days after the biggest death toll of American service members the US experienced since Vietnam. Levy is not just a bad comedian. He is bad for New York and the Republican Party.

Matt Doheny Uses Scozzafava's Insider Tactics and Buys Supporters

If you thought the backroom deals and insider political maneuvers that were exposed in the aftermath of the NY-23 GOP Special Election last summer were over, think again!

The Republican Party has just launched another major offensive against the Conservative-Republican candidate, Doug Hoffman, in retaliation for his entering the NY-23 congressional race last fall as an alternative candidate to liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens. Tonight, just days after George Joseph resigned from his position as Chairman of the Oneida County Republican Party, the local Republican party quickly organized a Monday night meeting to offer its endorsement to rival candidate Matt Doheny. The county endorsement is perplexing to those who will remember that Hoffman ran up the score in Oneida County with 3,225 votes to Owens' 2,243 and Scozzafava's paltry 459. But apparently the Oneida Republicans want to give it away in exchange for something else.

And so again, it appears the fix may in with the establishment good old boys club in NY-23. The news came to us from a local Republican activist who just called and said he heard that the whole meeting was set without even giving Doug Hoffman a hearing, and that he overheard a conversation where it was discussed how Hoffman was purposely not even invited or made aware of the meeting with the county committee so he wouldn’t be able to make his case to the members.

The local activist went on to say that, "the endorsement proceedings I just witnessed over here in Oneida County were the least transparent I have ever seen on the local level. I knew that backroom deals and shady political operations like this existed, but never have I seen something quite like this happen within our own committee. The whole affair tonight wasn't even an honest attempt to be fair. What were the local Republican leaders thinking? It was like some of them were acting like Democrats trying to write a health care bill behind closed doors in the dead of night. Why were the local county officials so afraid of inviting Doug Hoffman so he could make his case? There is obviously something else behind the endorsement that people didn’t know about yet, and it has got to be exposed."

In fairness, the Oneida County Republican insiders weren’t the first Republican leaders to prematurely throw their hat in Doheny’s corner. Just this past week, right as Doheny officially announced his candidacy, he took the endorsements of three other county chairmen in the district, Ron Jackson of Essex County, Donald Lee of Clinton County, and Donald Coon of Jefferson County, who were part of the Scozzafava crowning last fall.

And the local ring-leader of the 2009 Special Election Circus, James Ellis of Franklin County who set up the process for Scozzafava's victory last summer, just so happens to be publicly supporting a registered Democrat, Steve Levy, for the New York Gubernatorial race. Ellis is always doing his best to throw Hoffman under the bus each and every chance he gets near a reporter. So it is clear there is an organized effort by the county Republican leadership to block Hoffman organizationally and in the media.

The public support of inside party leaders is a function of at least two things that we can identify at the moment: 1) a resentment of conservatism in general and Doug Hoffman in particular, a man who utterly embarrassed and exposed the shady backroom dealings of the local Republican establishment, and 2) money.

Not only have Republican leaders been looking for an alternative to Hoffman in 2010, but they have now found an alternative who is willing and able to float large checks to local candidates and party leaders in exchange for public support. Public records show that Doheny has written nearly $30,000 in checks to county chairs, local elected officials, and the state party to gain influence and early momentum in his bid to beat Hoffman for the Republican nomination.

Another source told me that, "Doheny is willing to hand out money to anyone who is willing to help him, a sort of political quid pro quo. He likes to give money to candidate he thinks will help him down the line. And by looking at his records it shows he doesn't have any principles. Why else would he give Dede Scozzafava $2,400 for her election bid?" In other words, some are making the subtle claim that Doheny is aiming to win a congressional seat the old fashioned way – he is going to buy his seat.

But there are clear disadvantages to running a campaign on the inside lane. First off, the local Republican Party has failed miserably to win the 48th State Senate seat and the 118th Assembly seat. And the Oneida County Coup tonight is really a stunning example of what voters rejected last year and what helped propel Doug Hoffman into the national conservative spotlight. For a local county party like Oneida's, that can only boast nearly 7,000 Republican voters, to quickly circle the wagons make a public endorsement on behalf of all its members for Doheny's campaign shows a remarkable ability to throw the rules out the window and forget their 2009 debacle.

For those political animals who want to look to the history books on how we ended up with Scozzafava it started the same way. One report of the cussed up nomination process last year stated that it was, “orchestrated by two powerful liberal members of the local Republican Party organization, and was aided and abetted by several politically inexperienced local county leaders who failed to grasp the tactical significance of shunning the Conservative Party and did not fully understand the details of their nominee’s record, or her potential vulnerabilities…”

Unfortunately, those who forget history are often times bound to repeat it. And this post is just barely scratching the surface on how some local Republican leaders in NY-23 are up to their old antics again this year. The real significance of the Oneida County Coup is that now voters and Republican party activists are willing to speak out against the county leaders who got us into this similar mess with Scozzafava in 2009. And I’m being told that those Republican activists are not willing to go down without making a stink about the sausage making factories that are the local Republican County Committees. These kinds of strong arm tactics and secret endorsement meetings are not the way for Republicans to win elections in 2010.

Bill Owens' Silence Will be Broken Soon

You just can't pin some people down for whatever reason. Congressman Bill Owens is considered a major swing vote on the huge health care bill that will result in a government take-over of almost 1/5th of the American economy, and he won't say where he stands. If you are wondering why Owens hasn't made a decision yet we might have an answer for you - politics.

A campaign organized by national Republicans called Code Red that is tallying the votes says our congressman is going to vote yes, but there is no public record anywhere that shows Owens as a committed yes vote for Obamacare, yet. The real reason why Owens doesn't have a public statement on Obamacare: he doesn't want to go on record either way, he thinks he can keep all sides happy.

A commentator at National Review quotes John Fund from the Wall Street Journal who wrote, "Rounding up the votes for health care has also proven difficult. House Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn told McClatchy Newspapers that final consideration of the bill may not occur until Easter (April 4) or later. He is dealing with dozens of members who refuse to commit to a firm position in hopes their silence will force the leadership to pull the bill and move on to other issues. 'Just say nothing,' is how one Democratic staffer explained the strategy being taken by many members. 'Maybe it will just go away, and we can avoid a tough vote this close to the election.'"

Initially, the deadline for passage was March 18th. Now it looks like we might see a vote on Sunday or early next week. How is that for courage? It makes you wonder why Bill Owens voted for health care last year. Could it be that the Obama administration offered him a quid pro quo? Promise to vote for health care and we will raise you some money and campaign in NY-23. Promise to vote for health care and we will get you Dede Scozzafava's endorsement by offering her a cozy job in the administration or in the state government when Cuomo becomes Governor.

Bill Owens has gone radio silent on the biggest domestic issue in a generation. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal summed it up nicely here. The writer, Fred Barnes, believes, "America will be in a constant health-care war if ObamaCare is enacted. Passage wouldn't end the health-care debate. Rather, it would perpetuate ObamaCare as the dominant issue for decades to come, reshape politics, create an annual funding crisis in Congress, and generate a spate of angry lawsuits. Yet few in Washington seem aware of what lies ahead." You can run, but you can't do it well with flip-flops.

For those who don't think the health care debate is a big issue have been missing the forest for the trees. The people of NY-23 know that you can't put deodorant on cow manure and call it dirt, and they also know that you can't be silent on this critical issue forever. Holding out and waiting to commit on health care, and potentially coming out to be the deciding vote on either side of this very public debate, may only end up adding greater insult to a great, great injury.

Ambassador Scozzafava to the Rescue?

Like a cold and wet blanket, conservative bunnies everywhere were sickened by the neverending Dede Scozzafava junk that comes across our desk. In her latest interview she labeled Conservatives as Sexist, a zinger that would make Keith Olbermann proud. It is about par for the Dede course, but is she talking about the same sexist who drives a thousand miles and waits 15 hours in the cold outside a bookstore just to get a glimpse of the former GOP VP candidate, Sarah Palin? (I never thought I would have to remind my readers that Palin is a female who also happens to be beloved by Conservatives.)

I'm predicting that the next line out of Scozzafava's mouth after she reads this post will read something as incredulous as "all Republican Rabbits are Racist."

You can read about it all in this stellar profile piece, "Dede Scozzafava's View, From a Small Office on the Fifth Floor: Lonelier, frustrated and still a bit bitter, the woman whose name became a verb reflects," by Chris Bragg at the Capitol.

Poor Dede is so far in the dumps that she is begging the President through the media to make her the next Ambassador to Haiti. Of course Dede doesn't think she will get the assignment because, "people in this business have short memories" and she now seems to be questioning whether the national Democrats even remember her endorsement of Bill Owens in the critical final hours of the NY-23 special election last year.

But the problem isn't really the short memory of the current administration. It is that the President is actually smart enough to not put a person of such colossal incompetence in such an important diplomatic position. Being an ambassador requires something called loyalty, which hasn't exactly been Dede's strong suit of late. And if you think Haiti is messed up now just imagine if Dede were there running things. For crying out loud, I can see Dede's solution to the problems in Haiti right now: more government spending and abortion on-demand services in every working telephone booth around the country. This woman has already proven she can't deliver anything short of a pepperoni pizza or an embarrassing press conference under pressure.

And because I am so sick and tired of Scozzafava's rants I am going to say something that someone should have said a long, long time ago. Dede should just stop playing footsies with the Democrats already. Everyone is sick and tired of it. As a rabbit concerned with the future direction of our country, I am asking politely that she just leave the Republican Party and stop pretending to be something she clearly is not. Dede should just leave the GOP and spare us her paranoid delusions. When she is done with that, conservatives everywhere are ready to hear her apology. Addressing controversy is about all Scozzafava is good for these days, besides a good laugh.

Dede Scozzafava’s Gay Pride Agenda

In an effort to use her national notoriety to further damage the Republican brand, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava has begun yet another crusade for change. It wasn’t enough for Scozzafava that the voters of NY-23 rejected her to be the Republican nominee for Congress last year. She wants the media spotlight back on her, and if history tells us anything it is that Dede will become, yet again, the focus of the mainstream media’s adulation (and ours).

Today it was reported in the Watertown Daily Times that Scozzafava will be the keynote speaker at a gay rights rally being held at SUNY Potsdam, sponsored by the Standing on the Side of Love campaign. The college’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Association (LGBTA) is helping to organize it. But don’t let the name fool you – LGBT may sound like a yummy sandwich, but their tactics are right out of the textbook of Michael Moore – make blanket generalizations and accusations about our country’s intolerance and bigotry to promote an extremist political agenda.

Here is some advice for Scozzafava as she prepares for her talk this week to the LGBT group. First, your call to action must go beyond President Barack Obama’s. Our President believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman – you need to go further to the left than the President who voted on June 7th of 2006 against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Second, on the issue of “don’t ask, don’t tell” you need to make yourself clear that the gay community is in favor of punishing military leaders if they try to discourage men from dressing in drag as they go into the foxholes of the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan as they fight radical Islamic terrorists.

Third, you need to oppose any attempt by the citizens to vote for this issue by referendum because we know that in almost every instance when the issue of gay marriage comes before the voters they are against it and the measure fails. In the year 2010, we cannot allow democracy to rule the day. The voters should not be given the choice to continue policies that so blatantly discriminate against men who leave their wives for other men and women who love other women, or transgendered persons. If you make a clear statement in opposition of allowing voters to decide for themselves on the issue of redefining marriage then we will know how pink your swastika really is.

Fourth, those in the homosexual movement do not want to leave out our brothers and sisters who have had sex changes. Don’t exclude the transsexuals and she-men. Make a clear statement – that these people should receive support from the federal government to pay for their sex changes and breast augmentations so that we do not hurt the transgendered people’s feelings or show our intolerance. They have every right to the same quality of health care as the rest of our citizens.

Finally, to build a credible rainbow coalition you need to be on the frontlines of promoting tolerance in our schools for LGBT people. We need to support groups like the North American Association of Men and Boys Love Association (NAMBLA), that seeks to promote the legalization of sex with young boys by older men. In addition, we should promote the queer agenda in schools throughout the country. If we aren’t willing to teach the same-sex marriage agenda to our children in public schools, then we aren’t really telling the truth about homosexuality to the next generation. Not teaching same-sex marriage in our schools would be like ignoring the history of slavery in our country.

If you care about the values of America you will follow through on these points. But if you can’t commit to these basic principles based on justice and equality then you have no place to lecture us about equal rights and human rights for all people. Is your swastika for gay marriage pinker than your infamous jacket? Only you can fight the lies and the bigotry of proponents of traditional marriage between one man and one woman.

Valentine's Day is coming quickly! Show your love and teach your children it is okay to come out of the closet because Dede says so.

Matt Doheny's Special Ties to Wall Street Money is a Double-Edged Sword

The Politico has an interesting top page story about New York Insurgents Standing up for Wall Street. It's an interesting read and needless to say, there are clear political advantages and disadvantages to being on the side of Wall Street in 2010. If you are on the side of big bankers and powerful Wall Street attorney's you can pretty much count on some $2,400 checks to your campaign committee. Ben Smith of the Politico goes to say that, "The warm words for Wall Street have one clear political benefit: Money." Conversely, if you are against the big banks you can use that message to fight for the middle class and win populist support.

And in the race for NY-23 there has certainly been some discussion about campaign contributions coming in from Wall Street to candidate Matthew Doheny, who announced his 600K war chest on NewzJunky.com this week. In fairness, I can't say how much of that 600K is from Wall Street because it has been written that Doheny loaned his campaign at least 650K so far. But it is true that Doheny has only listed only three reportable donors on his FEC report with an address within the boundaries of NY-23 -- all of them were from Jefferson County.

What I do know is that in the summer of 2009 Dohey raised about $190,000 from individuals for the Republican primary. However, he returned all the donations he sought in July of 2009 after Dede Scozzafava won the nod from the GOP county chairs. Now having spent $175,000, Doheny has garnered roughly 2% name recognition across the district and is going through an incredible financial burn-rate that is usually reserved for the final weeks of a campaign.

A Doheny insider who is close to the action and asked not to be named for this report wrote to me that the campaign's goal is to intimidate Assemblyman Will Barclay out of the race with big name consultants, endorsements, and heavy financial backing out of New York City. But the aide said that some within the campaign are worried that Barclay won't fold if he sees Doheny's cash on hand number dwindle before the race even starts, ruining Doheny's strategy to take Barclay out of the race by mid-to-late spring. Hence the reason for Doheny's statement last week on funding. The source stated that Doheny hopes to have his cash-on-hand number above $1 million by the end of June in time for the second FEC report of 2010. And the campaign is working under the assumption that Doheny will have to loan himself another 400-600K to get there, putting his total personal investment in the race at over $1 million. In other words, he is trying to force Barclay out by buying the race early.

The unnamed source said that Doheny's willingness to loan more money to his campaign is dependent on how much Barclay raises next quarter. The source also said that many on the campaign were excited at the prospect of bringing on Cary Brick, Congressman McHugh's former Chief of Staff, but were also nervous that his high price tag might hurt their chances of keeping the cash-on-hand high enough to scare away young Mr. Barclay. But the all-in strategy is what Doheny is banking on because he recognizes his weak support among the grassroots across NY-23, even in his own backyard. Rumor has it that a dozen plus prominent Jefferson County Republican Committee members are set to announce their endorsement for Barclay in the next few weeks.

But still Doheny's communications team is pushing their candidate's image as a young man who pulled himself up from his bootstraps to make something of himself in the big city and who returned home because of his desire to enter public service. They frequently cite that the young attorney/finance guru drives a old beat up 94 Ford Explorer named "Bessie." It's a strategy meant to distract voters from his connection to Wall Street, an image the campaign is fearful may hurt at the polls. The Doheny source mentioned a Quinnipiac University poll from 2009 that found 79% of all New York voters backed taxes against those who earn more than $1 million a year. Worried that in 2010 voter sentiment against Wall Street is even higher now as people on main street remain frustrated with the current recession and double digit unemployment numbers, Doheny's team has sought to distance their candidate from his past.

However, Doheny's Wall Street connects will likely bring him some easy campaign cash, which will help in catching up in the name ID game. A quick glance at the FEC website shows that Doheny collected over 20K from Deutsche Bank last summer. Of the 120 individuals who have given to Doheny, over a quarter were finance lawyers, half of Doheny's donors listed addresses among the richest zip codes of New York City and an overwhelming majority were involved in the financial sector and private investments. But one of the most interesting highlights is that most of the donors on Doheny's report were consistent donors for Democrat backed organizations and powerful liberal members of the Democratic Party.

For example, Raj Bhattacharyya, who gave the maximum contribution allowed by law to Doheny also gave to Senators Gillibrand, Casey, Obama, Clinton, Specter, Feingold, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and several liberal Democratic house members from New York. Another donor, Michael Curreri gave to Representative Maffei and Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Chris Dodd. Josh Easterly of Goldman Sachs who donated to the DNC and President Obama also gave to Doheny. Doheny donor Mayar Lakhani, another Deutsche Bank employee, gave to Obama, Clinton, Menendez, Gillibrand, Specter, and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recruiter, Representative Steve Israel. Doheny even took money from two employees at the Blackstone Group whose CEO, Steven Schwarzman, recently lashed out at US Government officials and threatened to tie up credit and loans unless they get their way politically.

In addition, Doheny found almost 10% of his donors from the law firm, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhard LLP. That law firm happens to represent funds and fund managers before the US Security and Exchange Commission, as well as other government bodies in the US and abroad. According to their website, "Quinn Emanuel's White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations Practice Group represents prominent domestic and foreign corporations, special committees and boards of directors, as well as individuals, in high profile criminal investigations, administrative enforcement hearings, trials and appeals... attorneys in this practice group are regularly retained to represent witnesses, subjects and targets of grand jury investigations, enforcement actions and criminal proceedings in industries ranging from securities, defense, and banking, to health care, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, and technology." Some might question after getting almost $16,000 from the law firm's attorneys that should Doheny win a seat in Congress, he might use his political influence to help QEU's clients as they come before the SEC. Other notable donors listed TARP recipients, and big financial firms like Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Bank of America as their employers. The list of big money makers from the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut goes on and on.

The real question for Doheny then becomes two-fold. First, is Doheny beholden to Wall Street interests and will he use his political influence, if elected, to benefit his donors and their clients? Second, why are so many of Doheny's close friends, associates and campaign donors so fond of the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, Obama, Feingold, Clinton, Gillibrand, Dodd, Specter, Israel, Richardson, Perriello, Menendez, Kerry, Casey, Arcuri, Maffei and others of the same ilk? Is it because Doheny has promised to be a strong voice for Wall Street over Main Street interests?

Can Doheny continue to file FEC reports without donors from NY-23 and remain relevant in a district that is suffering from the excesses of big bankers on Wall Street using TARP money to pay mega-bonuses to their corporate and financial heads? Will Doheny make a statement on his position on earmarks, the stimulus, TARP, bonuses on Wall Street and Obama's TARP tax proposal?

Why doesn't Doheny have a campaign website that lists his position on critical issues of importance to people across NY-23? Will Doheny continue to self-finance his race in an effort to scare Will Barclay back into his assembly seat? Will anyone in the mainstream media look at where Doheny's money is coming from and ask the tough questions?

The only answer we do know right now is that Doheny's Wall Street connections are a double-edged sword in his bid to become the Repubilcan nominee for NY-23.

Jessica, for the Love of Ray J Please Clean Up Ya Bookshelf

Could Jessica Crawford's 49th District State Senate campaign possibly be as disorganized as the bookshelf behind her? In her web videos I can't take my eyes off Webster's dictionary up top, the green thesaurus, a skinny biology text, and another half dozen used books scrambled horizontally and vertically, in an cluster mess of a shelf.

When I look at these videos come from the campaign I keep asking myself whether Jessica is trying to prove to me that she knows how to read or whether the whole display is made to look like the Mesozoic age on purpose. But alas, I keep coming to the same conclusion -- if Jessica Crawford organizes her campaign like her bookshelf, it is a safe bet that she is going to have a tough time at winning the nomination. As Mayor Graham would say, "the optics aren't good here."

In other Crawford news, word was leaked that the candidate was in our nation's capital visiting with her US Senate Offices. An aide from Senator Schumer's office e-mailed me to say that a close friend in the office took a private meeting and greeted Ms. Crawford and her small group from Central New York yesterday afternoon. The young staffer suggested that she didn't think Jessica was smart enough to try and pull a Scozzafava in the 49th district, but then again you never know. My readers like when I use Scozzafava as a verb, but I will withhold that kind of language until we find out more about the candidate. But for the love of Ray-Jay please clean up ya bookshelves.

Did Martha Coakley Just "Scozzafava" Her Race?

Right now, with only 60% of the vote reported in, I am calling the Massachusetts Senate race for Scott Brown.

Clearly, Martha Coakley just "Scozzafava'd" the race for the US Senate, a seat held by the late liberal lion, Senator Teddy Kennedy. Coakley relied on the establishment, underestimated her opponent and took liberal positions on key issues, thus causing her to completely blow it. The key word tonight is arrogance. Scozzafava and Coakley shared the same attitude toward voters. Both politicians thought they were smarter, wiser and entitled to their seats in Congress.

Tonight, the American people in Massachusetts have spoken! Tomorrow the pundits will recognize that the political landscape, as we known it today, will be forever changed.

Scozzafava Scores Earmarks for Local Universities

News was announced, and actually reported favorably in the Watertown Daily Times, today that several colleges were awarded funding for campus improvements through the state Higher Education Capital Matching Grant program. Two universities in NY-23, St. Lawrence University and Paul Smith's College, were recipients of the state government money for renovations.

And how were these two universities, along with only 20 others, awarded grant money among all of New York's other post-secondary education institutions? Without knowing all the details on how the state Dormitory Authority determines its winners and administers these grants, it seems reasonable to ask whether Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, a proponent who sought assistance for the projects and whose district includes St. Lawrence University, used her influence and political capital to make the money available. It is also worth speculating whether Scozzafava's support for the earmarks was a direct political kickback to a university of which she is currently financially liable. Call me a skpetic, but I keep asking myself if there is more than meets the eye between St. Lawrence University and Dede Scozzafava.

It's no secret that Scozzafava's public image has suffered a tremendous amount in the last few months. Just today she announced she may decide to run for re-election to her 122nd district assembly seat, and that she is working under the assumption that she will run again for that seat. There are at least five different Republicans interested in taking over the seat though, which has to causing some anxiety among Dede's closest supporters. So what next -- if you are trying to remake your political image and right the biggest political train wreck of 2009, where do you go for help? Step one: damage control on a pending lawsuit. Step two: rebuild a strained relationship with one of the biggest employers in your district. Step three: use your political influence to win earmarks for people you have upset and shift the debate back in a favorable light.

When we filed a story about the pending St. Lawrence University lawsuit against Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava and some of her associates we inquired to the university whether they had any statement on the timing of their lawsuit against Scozzafava. They responded that they do not comment on matters of litigation. But today, less than a week later, St. Lawrence University President William L. Fox says he is, "very grateful for the support of our New York state representatives, Senator Darrel Aubertine, Assemblywoman Addie Jenne Russel and Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, for supporting the university in seeking assistance for these projects, which will benefit our students and the community."

With that statement and its publication in the biggest newspaper in her district, Scozzafava may have completed her three step program to begin the process of re-branding herself as an effective legislator for the North Country, a key go-to person who can shake down the trees in Albany for more and more government money. Can I get a check from the government too? Please!

Hoffman Still the Favorite Son Among NYS Conservatives

Today I am very pleased to be able to bring you a short interview with the Chairman of the New York State Conservative Party, Mike Long. You can see their party website, www.cpnys.org, for additional information on the NYS Conservative Party. Chairman Long's answers to our questions provide a good sense of what his party is about and where they are moving.

I was really excited to do this interview because I had heard some political spectators and insiders say they believed that Mike Long was done supporting Doug Hoffman for whatever reason late last month. Those Republican insiders argued to me on multiple occasions that the Conservatives and Mike Long would likely abandon Hoffman and dangle the Conservative line out for the highest Republican bidder. Not knowing who to trust I went to the find out from the horse's mouth myself and it sounds pretty obvious to me now, based on my interview documented below, that Mike Long is serious about his continued support for Doug Hoffman. He says the Conservative line in NY-23 is Hoffman's for the taking if he wants it, which really forces Will Barclay, Matt Doheny and other potential candidates into a corner to compete for a more narrow demographic of Republican voters and certainly whatever conservative defectors they can pinch off.

Remember Doheny said back in mid-December that, "I'm absolutely going to actively seek the Republican and Independence and Conservative party lines and we'll be working diligently to maximize my chances of getting those lines." There is no doubt that this is big news that might further entice Hoffman to closely consider another run for NY-23. If Hoffman enters the race the Conservative line will be taken. And for now we have to assume that Congressman Bill Owens will maintain the Independence line. So now it looks like Doheny's strategy to aggressively reach out to moderates will have to be very focused and successful in order for him to have a shot at the Republican nomination this year. While I am the first to admit that this news doesn't fall into the same category as the national "Game Change" news, it is still quite relevant and interesting news for local politicos as well as all other fans of NY-23 politics like me. Beyond the explicit statements of support for Hoffman, Chairman Long also talks about Scozzafava, the Republican Party and his own party's goals, specifically mentioning plans to spearhead a campaign to cap state spending and tax cuts. Now onto the juice of the interview!

Buggs Buddy Question: Chairman Long, thank you very much for agreeing to taking the time to participate in our interview. Now Chairman, I don't mean to say you didn't have a great deal of influence over New York politics before 2009, but your influence has expanded greatly in upstate New York after recruiting and supporting Doug Hoffman in NY-23 this past fall. Can you tell us a little bit about your start in politics and why you decided to become a conservative rather than a Republican?

NYS Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long Response: I started in politics in 1964, in the Barry Goldwater Presidential Campaign. I initially was a registered republican when I witnessed the lack of support for then Senator Goldwater by the New York Republican Party. Both my wife and I registered conservative and became active in the NYS Conservative Party.

BB: It seems like the Republican Party in NY-23 has some real problems it needs to work out if it wants to be successful in 2010. What direction do you think the local Republican establishment and the county chairs should take in managing the competing interests between moderates and conservatives? Can the Scozzafava's and the Hoffman's of the GOP coexist? And if you want to answer this -- is the New York State Conservative Party committed to supporting Hoffman in 2010 if he decides to run, or would you be open to supporting a different candidate?

ML: I think the republican establishment has to understand that truly moderates and conservatives can work together and co-exist. The problem that the republican establishment has to understand is that their republican membership, namely the rank-and-file, are moderate to conservative, not liberals. If Doug Hoffman decides to run in 2010 you can rest assure the NYS Conservative Party believes he deserves the opportunity to run again and will support him.

BB: Very interesting to hear that commitment from you. What are the top three issues for your party in 2010? What do you hope to accomplish - your goals - in 2010? Is it to move Republicans towards the Conservative line or winning with conservative candidates outright or something else?

ML: To win four to five congressional districts with conservative republicans including and especially Doug Hoffman in the 23rd CD if he chooses to run. To regain control of the NYS Senate with conservative republicans. Third, to spearhead a campaign to cap state spending and tax cuts.

BB: Has the Conservative Party changed since Hoffman beat Scozzafava and came close to winning in NY-23? If so, in what ways? And how do you respond to critics who say that the Conservative Party often plays a spoiler role in many New York elections?

ML: Doug Hoffman's campaign in the 23rd CD re-energized the conservative party statewide and clearly energized the conservative movement throughout the nation. In regards to the critics who claim that the conservative party often plays a spoiler role in New York elections, this couldn't be further from the truth. In last year's election the republican candidate, Dede Scozzafaza, was totally out of step philosophically with the rank-and-file members of her own party, therefore, playing the role of not only being the spoiler but after the republican congressional committee spent $1 million on her campaign she endorsed the democrat. She was the true spoiler in the race.

BB: What candidates or local leaders are you most excited about and who do you see as rising stars of the Conservative and Republican Parties in Upstate New York?

ML: There are many local leaders and activists in the conservative and republican parties and members of the tea party that will become the next wave of leaders. Too many to name any individuals.

BB: What is the best political advice you have ever been given?

ML: The best political advice I was ever given was by my wife who advised me to run for State Chairman of the New York State Conservative Party.

BB: What do you predict in Dede Scozzafava's future? And do you think the Republican Assembly leadership have done anything different once she endorsed Bill Owens for Congress?

ML: I'm not in the business of predicting any individuals future, nor do I want to involve myself in giving advice to the Republican Assembly leadership.

BB: Thank you for your time. Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you or the Republican Party in NY-23 that might be of interest to our readers?

ML: Thank you for the opportunity for this online interview.

BB: Best of luck to you Chairman Long, and thanks again! It has been a real pleasure and I am proud we had the rare opportunity to interview you. You can learn more about the New York State Conservative Party through their website, www.cpnys.org.

Local University Files Lawsuit Against Scozzafava

The Gouverneur Times is up with an interesting story today about Dede Scozzafava being sued by St. Lawrence University over back payments on the Wisebuys loan. They report that the university is seeking $75,000 that is remaining on a loan of $200,000 that has been due since last February. It appears that Dede, her brother Thomas and Joseph LaChausse personally guaranteed a loan and now things are quickly going south. St. Lawrence University indicates that the trio had signed a personal guarantee that if Wise Buys/Hacketts defaulted, they would pay the note.

But why did St. Lawrence University wait until after the election to file their lawsuit? They have been owed money since February. I guess it could just be that the SLU lawyers are finally getting around to it. But alumni and Dede supporters deserve to know whether there was ever any quid pro quo involved here and whether SLU was holding back on the Dede lawsuit so they could use their leverage to get them some colorful earmarks and green grants? Did the university play politics with its endowment fund? It may be hard to determine, but the timing is awful suspect. Certainly Dede could have paid back her share of the $75,000 owed to SLU by now had she not put so much of her own money into her congressional campaign account. Someone has some explaining to do here.

Update 1: Macreena Doyle, SLU's Coordinator of News Services, responded to our request for a statement on the timing of the lawsuit through e-mail saying that, "No -- we do not comment on matters of litigation."

Update 2: But has SLU ever commented on matters of litigation? This isn't SLU's first lawsuit. SLU filed a lawsuit against owners of a failed Mexican restaurant to regain more than $35,000.