Going negative
Tracy Mitrano
One might think Tom Reed would run on his record; evidently he can’t or thinks it better to attack his opponent with false and misleading claims and unflattering images. Is “Tracy Mitrano a risky gamble for our families?” That’s what Tom Reed’s campaign propaganda claims. His recent mailing claims Tracy Mitrano
- Tried to hide support for a national gun registry, (1)
- Supports healthcare plan that will bankrupt Medicare. (2)
- Stated that our manufacturing jobs are not worth saving. (3)
- Won’t take a position about outsourcing our jobs. (3)
- Took campaign funding from Andrew Cuomo. (4)
Tom gives these references in support of his claims:
- “Tracy Mitrano, who is running against Republican congressman Tom Reed, said she had supported the registration of all guns and licensing of gun users during her primary campaign but claimed it was not her official position during a voter forum on Aug. 18 in Waterloo, N.Y.” https://freebeacon.com/issues/new-york-dem-flip-flops-support-national-gun-registry-primary-win/
- Mitrano advocated for a single-payer system, also known as “Medicare-for-all,” saying that it would drive healthcare costs down. “Repeat after me,” Mitrano told the crowd. “A single payer system is not socialism.” https://cornellsun.com/2018/09/30/tracy-mitrano-j-d-95-emphasizes-her-appeal-to-college-students-at-town-hall-in-ithaca/
- “The question posed in the video on outsourcing did not deserve a simple yes or no answer given the complexities of our global economy,” the (Mitrano) campaign said. “The reality is, we have companies in this region that are foundational to our local economy with workers in other parts of the world. It would be irresponsible and disingenuous for a Democratic front-runner to blindly pledge without specifics. Tracy understands the complexities our local economy and knows what it takes to bring jobs to NY-23.” https://www.ithaca.com/news/democratic-leader-calls-mitrano-disqualified-to-represent-ny–she/article_15039148-7009-11e8-94b5-476052ef4796.html
- “Gov. Andrew Cuomo has formed a political action committee meant to aid Democrats in New York running in key congressional races.” http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/
If Tracy Mitrano changed her position on firearms, voters may approve of that. Changing her mind isn’t reprehensible. Tom Reed’s ambivalence on VAWA was recently documented here. Tom is not one who should complain; has Tom learned anything since kindergarten?
Mitrano supports universal, single-payer health insurance, which is not a plan which will bankrupt Medicare. Tom’s intent to defund Medicare is far more dangerous.
Mitrano did not refuse to take a position on outsourcing jobs. She does not believe any jobs are “not worth saving.” Her views are more nuanced than Toms, which is good. Every issue can’t be reduced to a sound bite.
Mitrano has collected far less from political action committees than Tom Reed. Reed criticism is blatantly unfair; it is his campaign that is awash in dark money.
Do Tom Reed’s citations justify his claims? You decide.
Notes:
- The Washington Free Beacon is an American conservative political journalism website.
- nystateofpolitics is “Spectrum News,” which is biased against Governor Cuomo and perhaps other Democrats.
- There is nothing new about negative campaigning for Tom Reed. He has consistently relied on negative ads and dirty tricks.
New NY 23rd 
I have always thought that if the thing I loathe most about Reed is his naked self-interest, the thing I next most loathe is his utter lack of imagination. He travels around shouting “Manufacturing!” on endless feedback loop, as if bringing back manufacturing is going to magically solve the 23rd’s woes. But alas! The jobs he likes to claim are all lost to outsourcing are in fact being lost to automation, and that is the new reality. Manufacturing just isn’t coming back in any meaningful way, and certainly not in ways that will enhance paychecks, strengthen local economies and communities, do all the things that you could once count on manufacturing to do. What we need now is someone who has both an imagination and the understanding of the modern world to help devise the new opportunities the world of work will be able to utilize. (At the moment what that looks like is the gig economy, the Uber-ization of people and services which is only a race to the bottom; hardly what we hope for and certainly not sustainable.) Reed has never shown one iota of originality in his approach to the economy. What do we expect from him, really, though? The best use of his legal education that he could apparently come up with was to go into business suing his neighbors over debts they can’t pay. I can’t think of a single area of his life in which he is anything more than a hack. Mr. Mediocrity.
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While there is much not to like about Tom Reed, my number one is the racism and misogyny used in his campaign mailings. Altered images of his opponents, false claims, oh my!
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Kathleen Parker…Today’s WAPO
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cocktail-hour-at-the-kanye-trump-speakeasy/2018/10/12/6a965ce2-ce57-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html?utm_term=.7e4de9de0f1d
“We’ve had enough scolding from Democrats lately, which is another point of cognitive dissonance. In our topsy-turvy world, the Democratic Party, once a haven for working-class Americans, has become a green room of shaggy intellectuals who lecture the nation about the decline in morality and civility.”
–Although I often disagree with Parker, she is on point with this.
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I am telling you folks, you need to get Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez up in CD-23 to help Tracy Mitrano campaign across the district. This would help get huge crowds out to see Tracy Mitrano and hear her message.
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While many have opinions on what Democrats should or shouldn’t do, here is a current question. Assuming control of the House, should Democrats make nice with the GOP or treat Republicans with disdain as they were treated?
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Assuming………….??? LOL. I used to wonder why democrats are a mess. I don’t any longer.
One would have thought that people would have learned their lesson after “assuming” Clinton’s 2016 win. An experience that traumatic should have burned a lesson about “assuming” into people’s brains that would last a lifetime. Apparently more lessons are needed.
I used to be surprised at things like this. Sadly, no longer.
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Tracy had her Yates County Town Hall Sunday. A few people had Reed’s ad with them, and asked Tracy about the claims. They didn’t ask abut all of them, but her answers were pretty close to what you reported. She claims she never said that “jobs weren’t worth saving”. She pointed out that the Reed authored the Tax Cut plank that puts puts an extra tax burden on those who pay $10,000 or more in Property Taxes is the reasons business won’t move in to New York. Allegany County knows that well because of the Dresser-Rand’s lay-offs. Who is really saying that “jobs aren’t worth saving”? Who is really gambling with our Tax Money? She pointed out that we we pay taxes, we expect to get some benefits back from our investment–not tax cuts for the donor class.
Reed knows which hot button words to out in the political ads to rile up his base– Cuomo and Socialism are ones that pop out quickly. (Some of his wanna-bees still use Hillary, Pelosi, Benghazi, and Obama in their Facebook comments) Many successful politicians donate to up and coming politicians. It happened to Reed in his early years. Many Republicans are tired of Reed’s campaign team using the divide & conquer techniques instead promoting their successes.
You are right, Reed’s criticism is blatantly unfair.
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Trump, referring to truth, reportedly said: “It doesn’t matter, we won.” Tom, like Trump, often smears his opponents with claims that apply as well or better to him–truth doesn’t matter. Tom’s ad is effective–the doctored images of Tracy, the false claims, and the phony citations leave one with an unfavorable impression.
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Tom’s unfair, bends the truth, lies openly. Who could have guessed this after only ten years of Tom Reed? Thank goodness we have pundits to inform us!
How about a reality check on our local election?
Sabato’s Crystal Ball NY 23 – Likely Republican
538 NY 23 Solid Republican
CNN NY 23 likely Republican
Mitrano Internal Poll – Reed leads by 15 points.
Politico NY 23 Likely Republican
Cook NY 23 – Solid Republican
NY 23’s coming result is so obvious that Siena refuses to even conduct a poll in NY23.
If Mitrano loses (as appears increasingly likely), she will be the fifth(!) Democrat to fail to unseat Tom Reed, whose faults continue to be documented redundantly and ad nauseam in this blog.
Assuming Mitrano loses (as appears increasingly likely), does the NY 23 Democratic leadership plan to do anything different in the future? Or is the plan to be, as it has been for ten years — more of the same?
Ten years of Reed! Ten years of futility! I am really, really, really tired of their failures.
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Another one….
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/09/more-signs-tracy-mitranos-challenge-to-tom-reed-is-going-nowhere-ny23/
“Donating to Mitrano, at this point, seems like throwing cash down the drain.”
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