Many different, but similar collections of political grassroot groups have been working behind the scenes to energize the voters of the NY23rd. I don’t know, or need to know the details of how they evolved from being unhappy constituents to leaders who fire-up hundreds to Town Hall Meetings, and Rep. Reed’s offices. sociologists and political historians may work on that later.
Two of these grassroot collections have organized rallies for this week to celebrate to the recent Democratic Campaign and Primary.
One will be held tomorrow (Tuesday, July 10) at from 5 PM to 6:15 at 89 West Market St in Corning (the park next to Rep. Reed’s Office.) From their Facebook page:
The Democratic Primary for the 23rd Congressional District Seat is over and Tracy Mitrano is now the candidate for the Democratic Party! Citizens for a Better Southern Tier (CFABST) plans to hold a celebratory Unity Rally in Corning on Tuesday July 10th. CFABST has invited all five of the candidates for the Democratic Congressional Primary as well those running for local office to speak.
CFABST will have tables where anyone not yet registered to vote in the November 6 election may do so for any party they choose; a table for the Political Action Committee www.YourNY23.org. (a PAC seeking to have a responsive representative Congress); and a table with campaign literature for the winner of the June 26 primary.
Please come hear what the candidates have to say and how we can elect a Representative in November who will work tirelessly to create good jobs, to repair and build infrastructure, to improve quality of life for ALL of the citizens of the 23rd Congressional District.
Citizens for a Better Southern Tier is a non-partisan, peaceful grassroots organization that provides a voice to ensure all concerns are heard and addressed by their elected officials. Specifically, we are a group of 23rd District Independents, Democrats and disenfranchised Republicans who are seeking a representative who will stand up to injustice and fight for the people of the District. We will NEVER endorse any candidate; but based on his record, we do not think Congressman Reed is a person who represents us now, nor can do so in the future.
The second rally will be on Saturday, July 14 at Lincoln Park, 131 South Union Street in Olean. It starts at 2 PM. This is from the event Facebook page:
Join us as we come together in unity to celebrate the nomination of Democratic candidate Tracy Mitrano who will bring real representation to the 23rd Congressional district. Voters of all parties are encouraged to attend and express their support for the candidate. Sponsored by NY 23 United, a coalition of over 30 grassroots political organizations from across the 23rd district.
The event will include speeches by Tracy Mitrano and most of the other Democratic candidates for Congress. Also included will be tables where attendees can register to vote, pick up an absentee ballot, or sign up to help Tracy Mitrano’s campaign. Attendees should bring their own chairs or blankets if they wish to sit. In case of rain, the event will be moved to the John Ash Community Center, 112 N. Barry St. Olean, NY. Ms. Mitrano has also received the nominations of the Working Families Party and the Women’s Equality Party.
The Cook Political Report considerd the NY-23 as a “Solid Republican”. They look at numbers–number of registered voters from all parties andt the amounts for donations for each candidate. It seems that they are not considering the enthusiasm of the electorate.
This is not the earlier NY23rd elections. We didn’t have rallies after the nominations of John Plumb, Martha Robertson, nor Nate Shinagawa. Things are different in 2018. We can defeat Tom Reed. It is not going to be easy. We will need to have a record voter turnout for a mid-term election.
The Unity Rallies will help. Thank you grassroots groups.
New NY 23rd 
Now that Reed has a candidate to run against, just watch the mud start to fly. Tom cannot run on his record. He never has. This year will be no different.
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Tracy Mitrano took some hits from her primary rivals; Tom Reed will double down on that for sure. While Tom will turn to insult, Tracy must keep the focus on issues, on Tom Reed’s lackluster performance in office. It won’t be easy to reach critical swing voters.
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Tom Reed runs as a caring father. According to G. Lakoff, a caring father can’t be cruel. If Tom is seen as a person who would haul a one-year-old into court without his parents, that should hurt.
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Reed, in his statement after the Primary, complained that the Democrats voted. http://www.chronicle-express.com/news/20180628/reed-attacks-democrats-over-primary-outcome
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The issues can be related to the Washington GOP’s agenda. Connecting Reed to the agenda (and therefore Trump) is not a long stretch.
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Reed says:(della Pia) “tries to distract people and label people”.
Reed’s campaign manager says: “It’s no surprise that with a field of Extreme Ithaca Liberal options to choose from,…”
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I had a discussion with Reed’s manager about his Extreme Ithaca Liberial website. If you have not seen it you missed seeing each candidate in a unflattering photo and hearing short sound bites (one as short as 3 seconds) taken out of context. He justified it by saying that if it is on the web it is public domain and legal to use. Then he said that we can’t use pictures of Reed “before the operation”—meaning when he was fat. A real “the ends justifies the means” sort of guy.
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The extreme Ithaca liberal label seems to have worked for Tom Reed in the past. His use of racial bias, unflattering photos, and dirty tricks hasn’t hurt him. His conflicts of interest have been discounted. Links to DJT, once seen as fatal, may have helped more than hurt. It is difficult to reach NY-23 voters–the district is large, rural, and poor. Tracy needs a message that will work and spread like wildfire; I hope she finds it.
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Reed’s campaign manager claims his opponent can’t use a picture of Reed? I think that is highly doubtful. If a picture of Reed is in the public domain I don’t see how that would be a copyright violation. A photo of a real person, especially a public person, is fair game. Otherwise how could anyone public=sh those photos on the National Enquirer, etc. that show public people in unflattering situations. Sounds like this is a sore spot for Reed and should be further investigated.
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pystew,
I went to the link you provided and read the story.
The Headline was:
“Reed attacks Democrats over Primary outcome”
This is what the Reed campaign stated to this Progressive Liberal leaning Rag.
“The full statement from Reed campaign manager Nicholas Weinstein reads: “It’s no surprise that with a field of Extreme Ithaca Liberal options to choose from, the Democrats couldn’t make a definitive selection in their Primary on Tuesday. With their unanimous support for higher taxes, heroin injection sites in our neighborhoods and government-run socialized medicine, these Extreme Ithaca Liberals have clearly demonstrated to the voters that they are out of touch with our values in the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes and Western New York. We look forward to continuing to highlight how extreme and out of touch they are as they sort through the absentee ballots.”
I don’t see where this is “Attacking Democrats over the Primary Outcome”
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I think the Chronicle Express editor and staff would be surprised that they are a “Progressive Liberal leaning Rag”. But wait, they need to realize that this is from the point of view of a person who tried to run against Reed because he was not conservative enough. I guess evaulating political leanings is in the eye of the beholder.
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Little Nickie Weinstein was up to his juvenile antics again. He brought his minions to the unity rally for Tracy Mitrano in the park next to Reed’s Congressional office in Corning. They thought they could disrupt the speakers by waving Extreme Ithaca Liberal signs. Like I said – juvenile.
For your viewing pleasure.
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Reed’s manager can say we can’t use pictures of Reed when he is fat, but I highly doubt that would hold up in court–especially if used in a transformative way–for example as part of political commentary. I am not a lawyer, but I’ve read quite a bit about copyright law, so give my opinion whatever value you want.
However, as a practical matter, I think using pictures of when he was fat is stupid strategically. It focuses on the superficial–let’s leave that to the Reed campaign. It also gives Reed an opening to accuse his opponents of fat shaming. Or he could say, “Isn’t it remarkable what a bit of self-discipline will do?”
There are so many issues to focus on. Yes, we could use that picture just to spite Reed–and give Reed an opportunity to counterattack on fat shaming. And even though I doubt he would win a lawsuit over copyright infringement it gives him an opening to attack his opponents as lawbreakers. There are so many issues that we could be going after Reed on. For example, Reckless Reed seems to want us to attack North Korea if the North Koreans don’t get rid of all their nukes. It is almost certain that such a war would kill hundreds of thousands–maybe millions. There is also a small, but not a zero percent risk that North Korea could explode a missile above the atmosphere over the U.S. This could cause an electromagnetic pulse that would fry the electric grid and render electronic devices useless for an indefinite period of time. I think focusing more on this, or more on the $1.9 trillion his tax bill will add to the debt would be more productive than using a picture to show that Reed was once fat.
For more on North Korea, electromagnetic pulses, and Tom Reed, see this.
https://themessinglink.com/RecklessReedAndNorthKorea
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I have no issue with Reed being fat. Or thin. But I do have an issue with the health of our representative. Remember how concerned the Russian Bots were about Hillary’s health?
Well, did Reed have an operation because he was unhealthy? Or was it strictly for cosmetic purposes? Have any of his health issues been resolved now that he is carrying less weight? Did he pay for the operation on his own or through government funded health insurance? To my mind it makes a big difference if he used health insurance for a medical necessity or for vanity. After all, we are subsidizing his insurance. As any good conservative knows, we need to watch out for fraud and unnecessary procedures paid for by the taxpayer!
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I have to wonder what Nick Weinstein thinks he is accomplishing by these antics and the gutter politics. He’s just a spoiled rich kid who is devoid of good character. Nick is the son of Corning Inc. executive vice president Kurt Weinstein. Nick’s only accomplishment in life has been to be Tom Reed’s campaign manager. I’m sure Daddy Kurt had something to do with getting that job as well as funding Nick’s unsuccessful run for Corning mayor this past election.
The connection between Reed and Kurt Weinstein is bolstered by the fact that this past election cycle, 36 Corning Inc. executives and managers donated over $48,000 to Reed’s campaign. These donations ranged from $150 from a cheap exec to $5,400 from a very generous exec. No doubt Kurt explained to his subordinates that it would be a good idea to support Tom Reed’s campaign.
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It isn’t surprising that Corning would support the incumbent legislator–Tom Reed. When it is “pay to play,” Corning will pay–it has more to do with business interests than with political views. Corning also paid for a HRC speech when it seemed that she might be elected president. The new thing is to look out for family members–Dean Skelos and Scott Pruit being notorious examples of that.
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I don’t think N. Korea plans war; they have too much to lose and nothing to gain. Emphasis on the possibility of a nuclear attack on the US is misguided–nuclear war anywhere on the planet threatens global disaster. Emphasis on N. Korean nuclear weapons is unreasonable–many countries have these weapons. Our policy should be global arms reduction; our policy toward N. Korea should be patience. Reed’s views on war are inconsequential unless they reflect Trump’s.
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