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Chuck Schumer
Berntsen To Announce Against Schumer, Self-Funding Maragos Delays
May 20th - 11:27 am
Retired CIA officer and US Air Force veteran Gary Berntsen will officially announce his candidacy for the US Senate at Federal Plaza’s Foley Square in Manhattan this Sunday, widening the field of GOP challengers against the previously unchallenged Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer to two.
Berntsen had been considering a run for Congress in NY-1 in a crowded GOP field that also included state GOP Chairman Ed Cox’s son, Christopher, as well as businessman Randy Altschuler and George Demos; but recently (and rather inexplicably) switched tracks and decided to join the fray against Schumer.
In a press release, Berntsen said he main focus will be “job creation and promotion of a business-friendly
environment” as well as security and counter-terrorism.
“”It is time to take back this vital seat from the Democratic leadership and return it to the hardworking people of New York State,” Berntsen said.
“For too long, this career politician has used the United States Senate to serve the agenda of his party’s bosses to the detriment of his constituents.”
“The Senator is one of the architects of the failed policies that are being rammed down New Yorker’s throats by the Washington establishment. Senator Schumer must now be held accountable for those failures. It is time for him to go.”
According to his FEC filing, Berntsen has raised $56,506 to date for his congressional campaign, spent $26,896 and had $29,610 on hand. He also has $10,000 worth of debt. Schumer, by contrast, has a whopping $21,837,499 on hand.
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Bloomberg Makes His Case, But Nicely
May 14th - 8:51 am
Mayor Bloomberg is continuing his “catch more flies with honey” approach to fighting for the Obama administration to restore cuts to NYC’s anti-terrorism funding, even as fellow New York elected officials on both sides of the aisle are being sharply – and very publicly – critical of the decision to slash the city’s cash.
“You can yell at them or you can make the case and say, ‘Come on now; we’ve got to work together on this,’ and that’s the strategy,” Bloomberg told WOR’s John Gambling this morning. “…This is one time I think we did get treated unfairly.”
Bloomberg said he and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly personally pleaded their case with Obama yesterday just before the president’s “thank-you” visit to officers who had participated in the failed Times Square bombing case.
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Schumer Calls On White House To Increase Efforts To Stop Pakistani Taliban
May 11th - 2:38 pm
Following last week’s failed Time Square bombing, Senator Charles Schumer is calling for the Pakistani Taliban to be added to the State Department’s list of terror groups.
Over the weekend, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the suspected attacker Faisal Shahzad had connections to the Pakistani Taliban. And today, Schumer and several other Senators wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking for the group to be added to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
If the Obama Administration agreed to the plan, it would make it easier for the US to block money being transported to members of the group. It would also open up members of the Pakistani Taliban, and anyone who aids the group, to criminal prosecution.
There is some speculation that the White House is hesitant to change the distinction, because it would negatively impact relations with the Pakistani government. Schumer addressed the speculation by saying,
“The bottom line is that there is a discussion in the State Department now. They don’t need us to bring this issue to their attention. They know about it. We want to weigh in and make our voices heard. That is not commenting negatively on this administrations fight on Terrrorism. In fact you can argue that this administration’s done more against the Pakistani Taliban with the Drones and UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicle) that the president a year ago authorized to be used. Our view is that he should do this as well.”
Schumer: Kagan Has ‘Possiblility’ of Garnering GOP Votes
May 10th - 11:31 am
At a stop in Rochester this morning, Sen. Chuck Schumer praised President Obama’s nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
Schumer told reporters Kagen is a strong, bipartisan choice for the nation’s highest court. He went on to say that he talked to some of his Republican colleagues and they thought she has the possibility of garnering their vote.
“From her record she appears to be a moderate, not too far left, not too far right and she has a great deal of experience so I think it’s a good pick.”
But, not all Senate republicans are sold on Kagen’s record. Many have said they plan to question Kagan about her lack of judicial experience (she has never been a judge), and whether she will be a rubber stamp for President Barack Obama.
Kagan is also sure to be criticized for her decision to ban military recruiters from the campus of Harvard Law School, when she was Dean of the college.
If confirmed, Kagan would replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who will retire this summer.
As Schumer Criticizes Facebook, Gillibrand Networks There
Apr 26th - 2:14 pm
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s Internet Director Todd Beeton announced today that the junior senator, who has been “pushing the envelope online” since her early days on Capitol Hill, will host her second live video chat on Facebook at 5 p.m. tomorrow.
“As a new member of the House of Representatives, she was the first member of Congress ever to put her earmarks, financial disclosures, and Congressional schedule online,” Beeton wrote in an e-mail to Gillibrand supporters. “Now, earmark disclosure is a requirement of all members of Congress.”
“Since becoming Senator, she has reached out in an unprecedented way to the blogosphere and is very active on Facebook and Twitter. ”
“And back in February, the campaign tried something new – new to us and a first for any sitting Senator – a live video chat on Facebook. It was a huge success. One commenter even called it ‘an FDR fireside chat for the 21st Century.’ We knew from the enthusiastic response that we would definitely be doing it again.”
Long Bullish On Townsend
Apr 26th - 1:44 pm
State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long had some very nice things to say today about GOP consultant Jay Townsend, who is poised to announce a challenge to Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer this coming Saturday.
While cautioning that the party “hasn’t started to contemplate an endorsement yet,” Long said Townsend was very well received when he showed up last week to pitch Conservative leaders on his candidacy.
“Jay Townsend did make a very good presentation and I think won a lot of support among the leaders who were at that interview,” Long told me. “…I think he really got people’s attention in that room.”
Long was careful to say that the fact he is sounding very pro-Townsend doesn’t rule out the possibility that the party might also consider backing Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who also showed up at Conservative Party HQ last week.
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Bloomberg: ‘Schumer Works His A** Off’
Apr 23rd - 9:06 am
Mayor Bloomberg went out of this way this morning to heap praise on the state’s senior US senator, Chuck Schumer, with whom the mayor has reportedly been warring over President Obama’s proposal to reform Wall Street.
“You know Schumer is as good a senator as this state has ever had, I think,” Bloomberg told WOR’s John Gambling during his weekly Friday morning radio show.
“He works his ass off, if you’ll pardon the expression. I guess I shouldn’t say that, but he works very hard. And he’s very smart and he can’t get everything done we’d like but you know you’ve got somebody that’s working hard and they try to do the right things, but there’s the court, there’s everything else.
Schumer: ‘No Evidence’ Of Politics In SEC Goldman Suit
Apr 21st - 11:07 am
In case you missed (or couldn’t watch) my interview with Sen. Chuck Schumer on Tuesday’s “Capitol Tonight,” here it is.
At the 6-minute mark, I asked Schumer about an allegation by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (whom Schumer mulled primarying in the 2006 governor’s race) that there’s “no coincidence” the SEC’s civil lawsuit against Goldman comes just as the Obama administration and congressional Democrats are ramping up efforts to reform Wall Street.
“Let me say, I haven’t seen any evidence to that effect,” Schumer replied. “The SEC is seen as a pretty non-political organization. An investigation like the one they did on Goldman Sachs usually takes years, certainly months.
“And, in fact, as I understand it, they notified Goldman Sachs months ago that they were looking into this. They’re known as nonpolitical, so you’d have to give that the preumption. Now if there’s some evidence to the contrary, it’s serious, and it should be looked at.”
At the end of the interview, which runs just over 10 minutes, the senior senator and I discuss the joys of the Schumwhich, the love of which, he assures me, is not a requirement for those who aspire to work in – or rise up the ladder of – his Senate office.
Nassau Comptroller Eyeing Schumer Challenge
Apr 15th - 4:32 pm
Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos has only been in office – the first elected post he has ever held – for less than four months, but he already has his eye on something bigger.
State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long confirmed Maragos has expressed interest in challenging Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer this fall and will interview with party leaders next Wednesday.
Long said he met Maragos for the first time at a cocktail party/fundraiser hosted last week by his brother, Queens Conservative Party Chairman Tom Long.
Maragos approached the chairman and said he wanted to discuss a challenge to Schumer after he “cleared it up with certain people,” Mike Long said. He followed up with a phone call this week.
The chairman couldn’t say if the “certain people” included Nassau County GOP Chairman Joe Mondello, who would no doubt be none too pleased to lose one of his countywide winners so early in the game. Maragos defeated two-term Democratic incumbent Howard Weitzman last fall in what turned out to be a near-sweep for the GOP (they also took the county executive’s office and control of the legislature, but didn’t dislodge Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice, who is now running for AG).
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Early WFP Nod For Schumer
Apr 12th - 6:36 am
The Working Families Party has issued its first statewide endorsement of the 2010 campaign season, throwing its weight behind incumbent senior Sen. Chuck Schumer.
This was sort of a no-brainer, considering Schumer has just one long-shot primary opponent – comedian and drug law reform advocate Randy Credico – and no GOP challenger yet for the general election.
The WFP’s executive committee voted unanimously last Friday to endorse Schumer after interviewing him at length during a late afternoon sit-down that followed his appearance in the NY1 newsroom (which was about the same time we learned of the decamping of Schumer spokesman Josh Vlasto to AG Andrew Cuomo’s yet-unannounced campaign for governor).
In backing Schumer, the labor-backed party cited his leadership as “key” to passing health care reform in Washington, DC last month.
When the insurance industry was on the brink of killing reform, we needed a hero. Chuck Schumer answered the call. Without his leadership, health care reform might never have succeeded,” said WFP Co-Chair Bob Master.
The WFP has made health care reform its cause celebre this cycle, pulling its support from the two House members who voted “no” – Mike Arcuri (NY-24) and Mike McMahon (NY-13), and even threatening to back primary challengers against them.
That’s actually more of a threat in Arcuri’s case, where the WFP has actually had discussions with a potential challenger, Les Roberts, who dropped out of the 2006 primary to clear the field for Arcuri and improve the party’s chances of winning a long-held GOP seat.
What’s perhaps most significant about this endorsement is the fact that Schumer is willing to accept it.
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