2010 is upon us and New York has a chance to clean the slate. The Governor’s Mansion and both Senate seats are up for grabs. Not only do the three seats have challenges from opposing parties but there seems to be trouble in paradise in the New York Democratic Party as well.
Chuck Schumer
Not much noise has been made from any of the opposition parties in regards to taking on New York’s top Democrat but there is a rumbling from within the party. In enter Randy Credico a comedian turn political activist. Credico comparing Schumer and the state party to Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine in New York City that ran the show from 1790 to 1960. Credico as far as I know is the only Democrat in New York to call Schumer for what he really is a Neocon in disguise. Credico’s positions range from being Anti-Patriot Act, War on Drugs to Pro-Second Amendment and Fiscal Sanity. Positions like this put him the Blue Dog category, and in my opinion possibly a Ron Paul Democrat. One has to wonder; this guy is a politician? Unofficial rumors circulating among the New York Libertarian Party is that Credico may seek the Libertarian Party and possibly Independence Party lines due to New York’s electoral fusion system.
Kristen Gillibrand
Gillibrand was never a favorite among NY Democratic leadership with her positions on guns, taxes and illegal immigration. The day Governor Paterson appointed her to the Senate the jeers began from liberal leaders contesting that she’s a Republican in disguise. Gillibrand won her election against John Sweeney in the 20th congressional district due to her Blue Dog views. Not too long after the appointment Carolyn McCarthy became heavily speculated in challenging her but decided ultimately to drop out and support her election instead. My personal guess would because Gillibrand has voted for the debacle that is being touted as a “health care” bill.
Two Democratic challengers have stepped up to the plate though; Populist Dr Scott Noren from Ithaca and Liberal Jonathan Tasini who was one Hillary Clinton’s primary opponents in the 2006 election. A third possible challenge in the name of Harold Ford Jr a Blue Dog Democrat may come into the Democratic bag. Ford’s positions currently put him to the right of Gillibrand. Ford is currently being accused of being a carpetbagger and rightfully so. Republicans at this time do not have any official declared candidates while many speculating that Former Governor George Pataki may give it a go. Currently the Libertarian, Conservative, Green, nor Independence Parties have announced any challenges to Gillibrand.
David Paterson
After taking the reigns when Eliot Spitzer decided to have some happy time and get caught the budget crisis reared its ugly head. It seemed that early on Paterson made a turn to the right in regards to fiscal policy but even the well intentioned Paterson couldn’t overcome the schoolyard fighting that is Albany. As it stands now we were able to stay afloat after Christmas when reports came out that the state would’ve been broke by then. Due to fears from National and Local Democrats that Paterson running for a full term would end up losing the Governor’s Mansion many have urged Paterson not to run including President Obama. In addition when he appointed Gillibrand to the Senate many Democratic feathers were ruffled as well.
Currently the only speculated primary challenge Paterson may face would be Attorney General Andrew Cuomo who is also the son of Former NY Governor Mario Cuomo. On the Republican side Rick Lazio is only one who has officially entered his hat into the ring. His website doesn’t state much on the issues, fellow Libertarians have told me that he is just a male version of Clinton. Eric County Executive Chris Collins is considering a run and is believed to make his decision this month. The Libertarian Party currently has two candidates vying for the nomination Criminal Defense and Personal Injury Attorney Warren Redlich and DVD and Book publisher Sam Sloan. Alison Duncan who ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2006 as a Green recently lashed out at Paterson for being tied to corporate interests and doing nothing he and Eliot Spitzer campaigned for back in the 2006 election. It is unknown if she will try to run for the top spot this time around.
It’s early in the election season so anything can happen I will try to keep everyone posted on who does what in what race. Hopefully 2010 will be year New York can start cleaning up the mess that is Albany.
Once again when it looks like to be a promising season the Jets once again disappoint. Last nights loss to the Patriots pretty much crushed the hopes of getting into the AFC wild card game. It seemed that the Jets had a chance to pull an upset in the fourth quarter since they did have possession at the start of the fourth but with the two interceptions Sanchez threw all hopes were lost. After the second interception I turned off the TV in disgust. The remaining games in the season won't be a cake walk with the last two being with the currently undefeated Colts and the currently hot Bengals. As I see it now, the season will end with a loss as opposed to a 9 and 7 as some were predicting and will follow the path of the Mets (who have their own host of problems), starting out hot in the beginning but crash and burn from midway point to the end. Coach Ryan needs to stop making excuses, stop the taunting and just start coaching. Ryan was brought into the Jets because of his great work when he was defensive coordinator for the Ravens. Of course not all the blame can be on Coach Ryan, Sanchez deserves a nice healthy part as well, especially after last night. In the NFL you have to get your sea legs quick or your going to bomb. Sanchez himself needs to stop making excuses and quit showing so much emotion after a bad play. He may not realize it but it does have an affect on other players.
However my entire 2009 sports season isn't all that bad with the Giants picking up a win last night and the Devils are in second place but right behind the Penns.
According to the New York Times, sources close to Giuliani say that he will not seek the Republican primary for New York Governor. While there is somethings I like about Rudy, there is plenty I disagree with him on. During the 2008 Presidental campaign Rudy's authoritarian/neoconservative streak was too much for my taste. When he implied during the debates that Ron Paul was on the side of the terrorists for his pointing out the fatal flaws in our foreign policy it was the last straw. Granted it didn't surprise me one bit since that is the typical M.O. of the neoconservatives and their supporters when you try to have a "debate" about our foreign policy. However in the same article he has not ruled out if he will run against Gillibrand for the Senate seat or not.
Some may translate this as support for Paterson and I will tell you right now it's not. Paterson as well as Schumer and Gillibrand need to go as well, granted Paterson seemed to have taken his job more seriously than the two that represent New York in the Senate. The fact that Obama and New York Democrats tried to urge him to not to run for a full term makes him look more respectable compared to some of other so-called leaders. Nevertheless Albany is broken and has been for quite a long time but replacing a liberal-moderate statist with a conservative-moderate statist is not the answer.
One would think with the economic hardships felt by many, that starting a new sports franchise would be suicide but some have dared to dream. In enter the United Football League (UFL) with their tag-line "Where the future stars come to play". Contradicting sources state that the UFL wishes to be a development league to the NFL or that it wishes to be a competitor to the NFL although the UFL has officially stated that it doesn't have any plans to develop any relationship with the NFL at this time.
Whenever the question of independent football leagues comes into play, the common response one will hear will be the XFL, the failed brainchild of Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and NBC. Granted the fact that yes the XFL was the last independent football league to be on the scene but lets remember that the league was tainted from the start. With Vince McMahon being 50% owner, majority (if not all) of the sports media regarded as a joke and too close to pro-wrestling. It was reported that even XFL cities didn't have any post game coverage in their newspapers and news shows. In addition some of the rule changes in which some were changed mid-season just made your average fan go "what?". XFL's model of more flare (in order to attract a bigger base) over actual football also didn't help either. If you start a independent sports league, you want them to be playing the sport and then you add the flare not the other way around. For these reasons among others XFL (as a whole) shouldn't be considered the last independent league. Personally the last league that deserves that honor is still USFL (United States Football League). Which has it's own plans to make a return in 2010.
So I watched the October 14th game between the Florida Tusks and the Las Vegas Locomotives. My boss was telling me not to expect much that it's going to be like AFL (Arena Football League), it's going to be nothing but has-bens and never-wases. I think a mistake people make when viewing a new league is to expect superstar talent from the get go. The game on the 14th was pretty decent, it was pretty much of a shutout for the Tusks with the Locomotives finally scoring early in the fourth quarter. I was happy because I saw football, not flare with sprinkles of football. The UFL is also playing it smart by not having a large league from the start. The entire league is four teams over a seven week season with the eighth week being their championship game. Although with the Championship game being on Black Friday might have been a mistake but of course only time will tell. UFL has potential to grow and pick up where the XFL failed, there is a market out there for people that want alternatives to the NFL and/College or just want more football in general I believe the UFL has the potential to give fans what they want more football.
Just when you think that the liberty bug would be on the rise, the Republican establishment is at it again. Apparently according to the establishment, Ron Paul doesn't believe in freedom enough. So in enter Gerald Wall. the one who wishes to unseat Dr. Paul. His reasons site that Ron Paul doesn't believe in a law banning flag burning and apparently doesn't support the troops among other things. One jab he delivers is that Washington doesn't need anymore lawyers and doctors. He is half right, we don't need more lawyers (especially ones who don't follow the law) but I have more faith in a doctor as opposed to a statist like Mr Wall.
Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman has received the endorsement of former Presidential candidate Fred Thompson (R-TN) and the conservative group Club for Growth. With my personal disdain for social conservatism aside this is certainly big for third parties. If a third party can gain a seat in a national election, it will certainly be a shot to the current two-party oligarchy occupying Washington.
The Conservative Party of New York was formed because of the view of the state Republican Party that they were too liberal and to be a counter to the Liberal Party of New York.
Downsize DC a nonpartisan small government advocacy group has come out today in support the Justice Act. What the Justice Act entails is to put safeguards to prevent the Government from abusing the Patriot Act against it's own citizens. The Justice Act was introduced by Democratic Senator Russ Feingold who some remember is one of the few who came out against the PATRIOT Act when it wasn't politically popular. Downsize DC has stated that they support the complete destruction of the PATRIOT Act but baby steps like this are better than nothing.
A link to Downsize DC's campaign is support of the Justice Act is found here
