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Dems Running All Over Buerkle’s Votes
Apr 21st - 11:59 am
Here’s the sound and text of House Majority PAC’s new radio ad targeting GOP freshman Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25) for her vote in favor of Rep. Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget plan, which Democrats insist will “end Medicare as we know it.”
Jimmy V. points out on CapCon that the Republicans are questioning the veracity of this spot and also noting that Ryan’s proposal wouldn’t impact any seniors currently on Medicare.
Interesting aside for inside baseball types: I received this information from Ryan Rudominer, a former DCCC staffer who worked on ex-Rep. Scott Murphy’s successful campaign against Assemblyman Jim Tedisco in the 2009 special election in NY-20.
Rudominer and several others from the DCCC are now working on this PAC, one of several independent expenditure operations the Democrats launched to counter the wave of GOP-supporting outfits that dominated the 2010 cycle.
VO: “Ann Marie Buerkle says her favorite hobby is running. But she’s been running way too fast in the wrong direction.”
“Because Buerkle just voted for the Republican budget that raises the share of the tax burden on the middle class. And Buerkle’s plan threatens to end Medicare as we know it. That’s right, end Medicare as we know it. It even increases seniors’ prescription drug costs.”
“We’re not done yet. Buerkle’s budget cuts taxes by trillions for big corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Congresswoman Buerkle even said:
BUERKLE: “I have a real problem with taxing the rich because they make a certain amount of money.”
VO: “Ann Marie Buerkle. She likes to run. But come election time…look out! She won’t be able to outrun her record.”
“Paid for House Majority PAC. thehousemarjoritypac.com Not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee. House Majority PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising.”
Piling On Buerkle
Apr 20th - 1:54 pm
The House Majority PAC, one of the Democratic Party’s new independent expenditure operations, has included NY Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle on the list of 10 targeted Republicans who voted “yes” last week on Rep. Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget.
The PAC is launching a six-figure radio ad campaign tomorrow that features the sound of pigs snorting and an accusation that the Ryan plan will “end Medicare as we know it,” and “have the wealthiest Americans lining up at the trough” while putting “the squeeze” on middle-class families.
Buerkle is the lone New Yorker being targeted by the PAC and also in the latest round of ads launched yesterday by the DCCC.
The Republicans insisted the buy was so small as to be inconsequential, but it’s worth noting the freshman Central NYer appears to be atop the list of Empire State freshmen on the Democrats’ 2012 hit list.
The House Majority PAC ads are targeting: AZ-01 Paul Gosar; AR-01 Rick Crawford; FL-22 Allen West; MN-08 Chip Cravaack; NH-02 Charlie Bass; NY-25 Ann Marie Buerkle; NV-03 Joe Heck; TX-23 Francisco Canseco; TX-27 Blake Farenthold; and WI-07 Sean Duffy. A sample ad (the one running against Duffy) appears below.
DCCC Includes Buerkle On Medicare Target List (Updated)
Apr 19th - 11:15 am
The DCCC is again targeting Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle as it takes some two dozen “vulnerable” House Republicans to task for their “yes” vote on the 2012 budget proposal that would, as the Democrats put it, “end Medicare rather than end taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil making record profits or tax breaks for the ultra rich.”
In 25 districts around the country – including NY-25 – the DCCC today launched a spate of news-weather-traffic radio ads, Web ads, automated and live phone calls, and also plans to send out close to 4.5 million “action alert” emails throughout the next two weeks.
The Web ad, which appears below, is generic (and also rather hilarious). Here’s the radio ad script:
“Did you know Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle voted to end Medicare forcing seniors to pay $12,500 for private health insurance, without guaranteed coverage? Tell Buerkle to keep her hands off our Medicare.”
Buerkle, who had an anemic first quarter of fundraising (she said she was focused on doing her job and not, unlike her freshman GOP colleague, Rep. Nan Hayworth, raking in political cash), has been on the DCCC’s 2012 hit list pretty much since she walked in the door.
Constituents of the Central NY congresswoman have already been treated to several rounds of anti-Buerkle robocalls and radio ads, compliments of the DCCC, so far this year.
I imagine that trend will only continue as the 2012 elections draw near.
Update: Sources tell us the ad buy is actually not that big. Only about $6000 for the total ad buy, and actually less than $100 in NY-25.
Also, NRCC Spokesman issued this comment in response:
“This attack pushed by Washington Democrats is a phony ploy designed to mislead Central New Yorkers. The reality is that the Republican budget blueprint saves and protects Medicare for future generations with no disruption for those in and near retirement, while the Democrats’ plan cuts Medicare benefits and raises taxes on every person who receives a paycheck.”
Political Recycling
Apr 15th - 4:30 pm
DCCC Chairman Steve Israel was in full-throated campaign mode during an appearance on ABC News’ “Topline” earlier today, smacking around Republicans who voted in favor of the 2012 budget drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan.
The proposal passed without any Democratic support and sets up the next big battle between Congress and the White House.
Israel, a Long Island Democrat, accused Republicans who pledged in 2010 to protect Medicare of “hypocrisy”, adding: “We’re going to hold them accountable for that hypocrisy.” Asked to come up with a hypothetical 2012 campaign ad the DCCC might run against a targeted Republican member, Israel replied:
“Well, all we have to do is use the ads the Republicans ran against Democrats. They ran these ads saying: I’m going to come to Washington and protect Medicare. And we’re going to remind the American people.”
“They lied about us. All we have to do is tell the truth about them. And the truth is in today’s vote to terminate the guaranteed Medicare benefit. And if we tell the truth, we’ll win the House back.”
Maloney To Host Hochul
Apr 15th - 9:00 am
A reader forwarded this invite to an April 26 fundraiser Rep. Carolyn Maloney will be hosting at her Upper East Side home for her would-be Democratic colleague, Erie County Clerk Cathy Hochul.
There was a lot of speculation before the NY-26 Democratic leaders settled on Hochul as their candidate in the May 24 special election about her ability to raise campaign cash, particularly in light of the fact that her GOP opponent, Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, pledged to spend her own money to win the seat Chris Lee gave up after his Craigslist scandal.
In addition, businessman Jack Davis has said he’ll drop some $3 million of his own cash on his independent bid.
Hotline On Call reported this week that Hochul has raised more than $350,000 so far. The DCCC has yet to commit to assisting Hochul in her quest for a seat that 1) is in a GOP-dominated district, and 2) might not exist after the next round of redistricting.
The willingness of Maloney to help Hochul is a good sign for the candidate, perhaps signaling that Democrats outside the district are starting to take an interest in the race. Although, it would be better for her, of course, if DCCC Chairman Steve Israel, a Long Island congressman, was hosting this event.
Also on the host committee is former Congresswoman/NYC Comptroller Liz Holtzman and feminist/activist/author Gloria Steinem.
NY Republicans Stick With Boehner On Budget (Updated)
Apr 14th - 4:06 pm
The 11th-hour budget deal that will keep the government funded through the end of September passed the House 260-167, with 59 Republicans breaking ranks with Speaker John Boehner to reject the agreement.
The defections by members who thought the $38 billion worth of spending cuts weren’t sufficient forced Boehner to rely on Democrats to pass the measure and prevent a government shutdown.
The entire seven-member (they’re down one since former Rep. Chris Lee’s Craigslist scandal) New York GOP delegation voted “yes” on the budget.
Twelve Thirteen New York Democrats joined Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in voting “no”, including: Gary Ackerman, Yvette Clarke, Joe Crowley, Eliot Engel, Maurice Hinchey, Brian Higgins, Carolyn Maloney, Charlie Rangel, Louise Slaughter, Jose Serrano, Nydia Velazquez and Anthony Weiner.
UPDATE: Somehow, I left Rep. Jerry Nadler, who’s probably about the biggest lefty in the delegation, off the “no” list. Mea culpa. So sorry.
An Unfortunate Connection
Apr 14th - 1:44 pm
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s office sent out this video of a press conference in Washington this week where the fiancee of one of the Tucson shooting victims endorsed the congresswoman’s proposed ban on high-capacity magazines.
Kelly O’Brien was engaged to marry Gabe Zimmerman, an aide to Rep. Gabby Giffords who was one of six people killed at the Jan. 8 “Congress on Your Corner” event where Jared Loughner opened fire.
McCarthy has noted on numerous occasions that the magazine Loughner used was similar to the one employed by Colin Ferguson in the 1993 LIRR massacre in which the congresswoman’s husband was killed and her son seriously injured.
This tragedy is not the only similiarity McCarthy and O’Brien share. As the congresswoman’s spokesman, Shams Tarek, wrote:
“Kelly and Rep. McCarthy have a lot in common – both women, both nurses, both lost their partners in mass shootings involving high-capacity magazines, and both went to Washington as activists trying to reduce gun violence. Rep. McCarthy sees a lot of herself in Kelly, and a lot of Kelly in herself.”
Hochul vs. Tolls, Redux
Apr 14th - 8:25 am
Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul’s latest NY-26 TV ad focuses on her long battle against Thruway tolls – a sort of cause celebre for WNY.
NOTE: This is Hochul’s third spot of the campaign for the vacated seat of former Rep. Chris Lee. I said yesterday that she only had two. I stand corrected. You can see all of her ads here.
This ad, entitled “The Fighter”, features two truckers praising Hochul and the Democratic candidate herself speaking straight to camera about her eight-year crusade of fighting Albany to get the tolls removed. (They were set to expire in 1996 when the bonds sold to refinance the road’s construction were repaid).
She makes a particular point of saying she took on leaders “in both parties” – a clear play for those independent voters and conservative Democrats who might be more inclined to vote Republican in this GOP-dominated district.
Also, I’m not up to speed on all the nuances of this hyper-local WNY issue, but I’m pretty certain a number of people were instrumental in the demise of the tolls at the Odgen Street and Breckenridge barriers where the Thruway stopped collecting in October 2006.
For example: Developer and failed gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino and former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra teamed up to sue in February 2006 to get the toll barriers removed. They were finally demolished in August 2007.
Tonko: Budget Taking ‘Trillions’ From Middle Class
Apr 11th - 1:55 pm
U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, a Democrat from the Albany area, said on Fox News today that the federal government’s spending cuts have come out of the middle class.
Tonko, a former assemblyman and chief of NYSERDA, said entitlement programs should be reduced, particularly in areas of fraud.
“Of course we’re always looking for efficiencies and cut waste and abuse. But suffice it to say if we’re taking trillions from the middle class, you’ve cut spending, but it’s coming out of the hide of the middle class.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta of New Hampshire, said the country can’t afford to continue spending at a rate that keeps in heavily in the red, adding: “This is about reducing the debt deficit. No one in country believes a $1.6 trillion deficit is good public policy.”
Here’s the exchange:
Slaughter Likens Republicans To Nazis (Updated)
Apr 8th - 2:21 pm
Rep. Louise Slaughter, who has never been one for mincing words, particularly when it comes to women’s issues, likened Republican efforts to limit access to abortion in the budget battle to “an old German Nazi move,” and accused her colleagues across the aisle of wanting to “kill women.”
The Rochester-area Democrat’s comments came during a women’s health rally held on the mall yesterday. Slaughter takes the stage at roughly the 45-minute mark on this CSPAN video. (H/T to The American Pundit for spotting this one first).
“I went through this as co-chair of the Arts Caucus,” the congresswoman said. “In ’94 people were elected simply to come here to kill the National Endowment for the Arts. Now they’re here to kill women.”
“…There is nothing in any of their bills that has anything to do about the health of the woman. You are allowed to have an abortion if you have been raped or it’s a matter of incest. However you have to keep a receipt.”
“Did you know that? It’s sort of like an old German Nazi movie – show me your papers. What happens is you have to prove if you have been raped, of if it has been incest, you have to prove with police documents or whatever else you’ve got to prove to the IRS that it was all right to have your abortion covered. And in many cases you have to be able to prove that you paid for it yourself.”
“This is one of the biggest setbacks I’ve ever seen. Do they do that with vasectomies?”
UPDATE: A Slaughter aide informed me the congresswoman said “movie” and not “move,” so I have made that change, although I found it difficult to hear. In addition, the rally yesterday was not about the looming government shutdown, but rather a stand-alone bill that was scheduled to receive a hearing in the Rules Committee (on which Slaughter sits), but was considered “so extreme” that the hearing was canceled.
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