Winners and Losers

We felt like it would be fun to point out some of our recent winners and losers in New York State politics over the last several days. We hope many of our readers will concur with our assessments. Feel free to add others to either category in the comments section, or debate why we are wrong in our analysis.

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!

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.