Author: DavidNYC

The shifty bastard finally comes clean:

It’s no longer a hypothetical question.

Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco just came out against the stimulus package passed last month by Congress after having previously saying only that he supported a package with amendments. The question has been used by his Democratic opponent, Scott Murphy, in their race to succeed Kirsten Gillibrand in Congress.

“My position is: yeah, I worked as hard as I could have to get those amendments in and to get them passed. I realize now that people don’t understand that if they didn’t get passed, I would have voted no,” Tedisco said. “I’m going on the record now to say I would have voted no, because what we should have done was go back to the drawing board, get a stimulus package that truly creates jobs, invests in infrastructure and the economy.”

Shorter Tedisco: I would have voted against the actual stimulus so that I could instead vote for a non-existent stimulus. It seems that national Republicans would rather lose this seat than win with a pro-stimulus platform. Wild. I am sure Scott Murphy will eviscerate him for this nonsense.

We’ve all heard the phrase before – so-and-so couldn’t get elected dogcatcher. I have two questions, though:

     1) When and where did this phrase originate?

     2) Has there ever, ever been a contested election for dogcatcher anywhere?

I really hope the answer to number two is yes.

David Paterson’s mistake gets uglier by the day:

Ten New York House members are warning state Party chairwoman June O’Neill not to use party resources to help promote Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a potential primary next year. …

Sources said this morning that the concern stems from the party sending out emails that included articles about Gillibrand’s re-election bid next year, but nothing about the other candidates considering a run.

The signatories:

     Tim Bishop (NY-01)

     Steve Israel (NY-02)

     Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04)

     Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)

     Yvette Clark (NY-11)

     Nydia Velázquez (NY-12)

     Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)

     Jose Serrano (NY-16)

     Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)

     Eric Massa (NY-29)

Personally, I think the idea of the state party not helping the incumbent is a bit ridiculous, though obviously a few somewhat influential members of Congress (and a passel of backbenchers) disagree. On the other hand, how much help can the New York State Democratic Party actually offer a sitting senator?

I guess perceptions are probably what’s most at stake here – anyone considering a challenge (or worried that the too-conservative Gillibrand might be getting too comfortable) doesn’t want the conventional wisdom to congeal around the idea that she’s untouchable. This seat might be safely blue in a general election, but this intra-party split is unpleasant in the extreme. (And note that it’s not just upstate-vs.-city – Hinchey and Massa signed the letter, too.)

The full letter is available at the link above.

Manhattanville College (PDF, 2/28-3/5, registered voters, no trendlines):

David Paterson (D-inc): 36

Rudy Giuliani (R): 50

Undecided: 14

Andrew Cuomo (D): 51

Rudy Giuliani (R): 36

Undecided: 14

(MoE: ±4.4%)

I still very much doubt that Rudy will run, but these are ugly numbers for Paterson nonetheless. His favorables are 41-46 and his job approval is 29-66, matching what we’ve seen in other polls. I don’t love Andrew Cuomo, but the deep dissatisfaction with Paterson certainly gives him the “argument” he needs to justify a run.

The Manhattanville poll is also interesting because they asked a lot of open-ended questions (something you don’t see in most surveys) trying to pin down exactly why people don’t like Paterson. It’s worth checking out for an in-depth look.

The Daily News:

Gov. David Paterson’s former fundraiser, Cindy Darrison, has officially signed on with the man widely seen as the governor’s top potential rival in 2010: AG Andrew Cuomo. …

Darrison departed after Spitzer was elected in 2006 and was brought back by Paterson soon after he ascended to the governor’s office last spring in the wake of Spitzer’s prostitution scandal.

Darrison said her firm, Darrison Barrett & Associates, will joining Cuomo’s campaign team as a consultant. Cuomo’s finance chair, Amy Dowell, will continue on in her current role.

This could all just be a bunch of inside baseball, but of course it might also be a signal that Cuomo is gearing up to take on the floundering Paterson in the Dem primary next year. Now, even if he doesn’t, Cuomo would still have to seek re-election to the AG post. But a) surely he has fundraisers from his 2006 campaign ready to work for him again and b) it’s doubtful he’d face serious competition. So this suggests to me he’s at least getting the pieces in place in case he does want to go for the brass ring. (Shoulda named him to the Senate, Guvnah.)

The Hill:

Republicans appear to have another repeat candidate in 2010, as former Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) has filed to reclaim the seat he lost in November.

Goode filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) – a move that allows him to raise money for the race – but he has not publicly said what his 2010 plans are. Regardless, the race is sure to be a top GOP target.

Former Reps. Bill Sali (R-Idaho) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) have also filed to run for the seats they lost in 2008. While Chabot is all-in, Sali has not officially stated whether he will follow through with the campaign.

As the article says, filing a statement of candidacy may just be a keeping-the-door-open move. But Goode seems to have at least one foot through the portcullis. Last month, he was seen staging absurd events where he was handing out giant checks to institutions which received earmarks in the most recent omnibus spending bill, even though he’s of course no longer in Congress and didn’t vote on the legislation which disburses this money!

So this makes me feel there are better-than-even odds that Goode will pull the trigger on a rematch. And personally, I think Perriello’s better off going up against a retread rather than a fresh face.

From the Hotline on Call:

The release of ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s text messages earlier this week could threaten to derail MI AG Mike Cox’s (R) GOV campaign before it officially gets underway.

In the messages, Cox reportedly suggested he would clear Kilpatrick of any wrongdoing relating to a party at Manoogian Mansion before a probe into the bash even began.

(The rumored ’02 gathering was grist for the Detroit gossip mill after stripper Tamara Greene reportedly filled out a police report claiming she was assaulted by Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita, during the “out-of-control” party at the mayor’s official residence. Greene later was shot to death, and the killing remains unsolved.)

Former Detroit Corporation Counsel Ruth Carter texted Kilpatrick on 5/19/03: “[Cox] called me and asked who we would rather be cleared by him or (Wayne Co. Prosecutor Mike) Duggan. I said him.”

After an investigation by his office, Cox told reporters 6/24/03: “The party has all the earmarks of an ‘urban legend,’ and it should be treated as such.”

In his defense, Cox does make a good point – why would he bother helping the likes of Kwame Kilpatrick? In the often crazy world of Michigan politics, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some kind of reason. Any ideas?

AP:

A leading Democrat in the New York City mayor’s race says he may not run this year, after all.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, a U.S. congressman who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, said in a letter to supporters Wednesday that the nation’s economic crisis “is a time for problem solving” in Washington.

He says he’ll reassess his plans in a few months.

Assuming Weiner does pass on the race, this clears the field for Comptroller Bill Thompson. I thought both would make good candidates, so as long as Thompson doesn’t bail, too, I think this could be a good move. New York has an extremely late September primary, and given Bloombo’s monstrous resources, Dems need to be united. This is still a very tough race, but quite a bit less so than in 2005.

Roll Call:

According to an HOH tipster who witnessed the scene, the Louisiana Republican arrived Thursday evening at his United Airlines gate 20 minutes before the plane was scheduled to depart, only to find the gate had already been closed. Undeterred, Vitter opened the door, setting off a security alarm and prompting an airline worker to warn him that entering the gate was forbidden.

Vitter, our spy said, gave the airline worker an earful, employing the timeworn “do-you-know-who-I-am” tirade that apparently grew quite heated.

That led to some back and forth, and the worker announced to the irritable Vitter that he was going to summon security.

Vitter, according to the witness, remained defiant, yelling that the employee could call the police if he wanted to and their supervisors, who, presumably, might be more impressed with his Senator’s pin.

But after talking a huffy big game, Vitter apparently thought better of pushing the confrontation any further. When the gate attendant left to find a security guard, Vitter turned tail and simply fled the scene.

Best snark in the comments wins a prize.

(Hat-tip: Taegan)

Quinnipiac (3/3-3/8, registered voters, no trendlines):

Chris Dodd (D-inc): 42

Rob Simmons (R): 43

Undecided: 12

Chris Dodd (D-inc): 47

Sam Caligiuri (R): 34

Undecided: 16

Chris Dodd (D-inc): 46

Larry Kudlow (R): 34

Undecided: 16

(MoE: ±2.8%)

I can’t say I’m surprised to see numbers like this. Over the last few years, Dodd has racked up a number of negatives: moving his family to Iowa only to garner 0% in the caucuses, for a presidential run he never adequately “explained” to his constituents; his iconoclastic stand against FISA which endeared him to liberal activists (myself included) but probably didn’t help him at home; and his seemingly preferential loan treatment from Countrywide which has earned him a lot of bad press.

On top of that, there seems to be a growing “throw the bums out mentality” in the face of the recession. It seems to mostly be afflicting governors for now, but the key thing is that it’s nailing both parties – look at approval ratings for Paterson and Schwarzenegger. Dodd’s vulnerability may well be increased just because he’s getting swept up in that wake.

On the plus-side, Dodd is a prodigious fundraiser with powerful friends in the financial services world who won’t want to see him toppled now that Dems control such a wide majority. (Though I wonder if Simmons will be able to use Dodd’s ties against him in the parts of CT which are anti-bailout.) Also, Simmons hasn’t yet decided to run, and I wonder how much money Big John Cornyn will be able to float him.

The bottom line, though, is that Dodd is at risk and will probably cost us a great deal even if Simmons loses. He needs to get out there early to start re-defining himself – and nuking his opponent if need be.