New NY 23rd

Candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric included criticizing Obamacare. He repeated the core republican ACA talking point often. For example told the a rally in Dallas, “Obamacare. We’re going to repeal it, we’re going to replace it, get something great. Repeal it, replace it, get something great!”and the crowd loved it.

Let’s look at the bare-bones history of the Affordable Care Act and the GOP’s opposition to it.

• 1989–The conservative Heritage Foundation discussed proposing individual mandates coupled with subsidies for private insurance as a means for universal healthcare.

• 2006–Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney signed the “Health Connector” law, which included an individual mandate and a health insurances exchange. It was praised by Republicans. Why wouldn’t an industry love to have a law saying that everybody would have to buy their produce (health insurance) and people would have continue to pay for it year after year.  (It is not like buying a car, which has defined price that once it is reached the owner stops paying).

• January 20, 2009. President Obama’s first inauguration. More importantly the day that Republican Congressional leaders, including representatives Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Pete Sessions and Senators Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn and Bob Corker and others  met and “literally plotted to sabotage and undermine U.S. Economy” by opposing “everything Obama”.

• December 24, 2009–The Senate passed the Affordable Care Act, 60 to 39.

• March 23, 2010, the House voted 219 to 212 to approve of the ACA.

• March 30, 2010, President Obama signed it into law.

• November, 2010, Using the Obamacare as a campaign battle cry, the House of Representatives enjoyed a 63 seat swing with the GOP ending up with a 49 seat advantage.

• Since January, 2010, the Republican lead House, instead of working with Democrats to “fix” the Affordable Care Act, voted 63 times to weaken it. They kept their promise to oppose  President Obama’s proposals.

President-elect Trump, who campaigned vigorously against the Affordable Care Act, is now having second thoughts about repealing it. Rep. Tom Reed, strong Trump supporter, says that his top priority is to repeal Obamacare. He is probably not alone.

Has congress and the 62-some million Americans who voted for Trump been bamboozled? Will the Paul Ryan-controlled House of Representatives continue to vote to weaken the ACA only to be over-ridden by the Senate and the President? Will Trump change his mind again? Will Trump actually have a Honeymoon Period with Congress?

Here is a list of the first 54 times the House voted to weaken the ACA.

 Congressman Tom Reed this morning called for pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to be voted on within a month. “Getting people back to work is something we talk about repeatedly,” Reed said. “These free trade agreements can actually do that – they are job creators for Upstate New York.” “The trade agreements eliminate most tariffs,” Reed explained. “That will create opportunities for local agriculture, manufacturers and service providers.” –-June 27, 2011

Recently, according to an article by Bob Clark in the Olean Times Herald, Tom Reed said this:

• U.S. Rep Tom Reed said President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imported metals could help in negotiations to open markets outside the United States to Southern Tier goods, including dairy products, if negotiations are successful.
• Reed said Trump is aiming at battling a trade imbalance with China. “That type of unfair playing field has to come to an end,” Reed said, adding new trade agreements “are better than any short-term consequences this action might bring.”
• By affecting Canada, Reed said the tariffs could help kickstart negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, and open up markets for other area industry, like dairy production.

If negotiations are successful, better than any short-term consequences, kickstart negotiations–How could Tom Reed know that?

Reed said he has heard from a number of manufacturers based in the district who are not pleased with the tariff proposals.

That local manufacturers are displeased is no surprise. What is a surprise is that Tom Reed would take a position opposite to that of Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader McConnell , and his own less recent opinions.

https://reed.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspxDocumentTypeID=27&Year=2011&Month=6

http://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/reed-backing-trump-on-steel-aluminum-tariffs/article_a0e294e4-21bb-11e8-ba3c-ff49819fddeb.html

For the second time in history, the House passed legislation Thursday to make the District of Columbia the nation’s 51st state. H.R. 51 would shrink the federal district to a two-mile-square enclave — including federal buildings such as the Capitol and the White House. The rest of the residential and commercial areas would become the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, to honor abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Republican senators from less populous states have worried that D.C. statehood would “dilute” their states’ power, as Sen. Steve Daines (Mont.) put it this week. Some Republicans, such as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), have said they would prefer having D.C. retroceded to Maryland, which Maryland has not supported. Other Republicans dismiss statehood as a Democratic power grab, since it is likely the new state would be “Blue”.

Some facts:

Wyoming has 2 senators, 1 congressman, population 578,759.

Vermont has 2 senators, 1 congressman, population 623,989.

DC has 0 senators, 1 congressman with limited voting privileges, population 705749 which, if the staff mathemetician is correct, is more than either Vermont or Wyoming.

Should Washington, D.C. Become the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth?

As a longtime small business owner, I understand that family businesses and farms are the lifeblood of our Upstate economy.–Rep. Tenney The bills: S. 1617 — “To modify the requirements for the Administrator of the Small Business Administration relating to declaring … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, Economics, Political, Uncategorized Tagged Rep. Claudia Tenney, Small Business

Bills introduced by Rep. Tenney since June 2022. All will die at the end of the year. 1. H.Res.1436 — 117th Congress (2021-2022)Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that New York State’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act is unconstitutional.Sponsor:Tenney, Claudia [Rep.-R-NY-22] (Introduced … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, Political Tagged 2022, bills, Rep. Claudia Tenney, vote

Senate Minority Leader McConnell “The substance of this bill is common sense,” said Mr. McConnell, a member of the Rules Committee, about the legislation negotiated in recent months by a bipartisan group led by Senators Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, … Continue reading

Posted in Political, Congress Tagged Election Law, Elections, Rep. Claudia Tenney, Rep. Joe Sempolinski, Election reform, Senator McConnell

Colonel Vindman once believed an American could tell the truth without being punished. We showed him he was wrong about that. On Sept. 15, the House voted on two bills to protect and defend The Constitution. Rep. Tenney voted against … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, Political Tagged Census, Rep. Claudia Tenney, The Constitution, whistleblower

We have nothing to fear but fear itself. — FDR Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY-22) tells New Yorkers what to think spreading fear with insinuations. Here are some examples from September 2022: Lowering the farm worker OT threshold will hurt farmers, … Continue reading

Posted in Campaigning, Uncategorized Tagged politics of fear, Rep. Claudia Tenney

There is something so deeply hypocritical about praying for a problem you refuse to resolve. — Miroslav Volf,  Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture May 24 “We are absolutely devastated … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, Political Tagged 2022, firearm violence, Miroslav Volf, Rep. Claudia Tenney

Rep. Tenney responds to mass murder with a fundraising message. She writes: According to the president, the MAGA crowd is the most extreme group in history. More extreme than Nazis. Worse than the KKK, even! Those groups (MAGA, Nazis, KKK) … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, Gun Violence, Political, Uncategorized Tagged 2022, Rep. Claudia Tenney

The Rest of the Story was a radio program hosted by Paul Harvey. Paul Harvey understood that the rest of the story is often vital to understanding the news. Journalists I. F. Stone and Molly Ivens also often reported the rest … Continue reading

Posted in Campaigning, Congress, Political, Veterans Tagged H.R. 7637, I. F. Stone, Molly Ivens, Paul Harvey, Rep. Claudia Tenney, Rep. Tom Reed, The rest of the story, Veterans First Act

On April 28,2022, Heather Cox Richardson discussed  “two right-wing, antidemocratic ideologies.” About the first she wrote: One is pushed by Texas governor Greg Abbott, who is embracing a traditional American states’ rights approach to attack the active federal government that … Continue reading

Posted in Impeachment, Political Tagged Heather Cox Richardson, Insurrection, Public Health, Regulations, Rep. Claudia Tenney, Rep. Tom Reed

Caucus — A conference of members of a legislative body who belong to a particular party or faction. In the 117th Congress, there are 381 caucuses, one conference (Hispanic Conference), six task forces, six working groups, and one team (Values … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, Political Tagged Caucuses, Congressional Member Organizations, Rep. Brian Fitzgerald, Rep. Claudia Tenney, Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Tom Reed

The North Koreans want a definitive declaration of peace, not just a truce, as reassurance that they won’t be attacked and as recognition by the United States, South Korea and the rest of the world that their country is a sovereign state and legitimate power.–James Dobbins and Jeffrey Hornung, NY Times, June 8, 2017

That may be what the North Koreans want, but what does the United States want, what might the North Koreans offer, and what might the United States accept?

• Both sides are heavily armed, and that is unlikely to change.
• North Korea was recently labeled the “Axis of Evil,” said to be governed by a despot.
• Efforts to deal with North Korea in the past haven’t been notably successful.

How the two sides might agree on a peace treaty which would recognize the legitimacy of both governments, give trustworthy assurances to both countries against renewed war, and satisfy conditions long  maintained as necessary by past American administrations is anything but clear.  If an essential American condition is denuclearization, would the United States agree to remove nuclear weapons from Japan and the oceans in the vicinity of Korea in exchange for a parallel commitment from North Korea? Would the US military leave South Korea? Might the unfair maritime boundary imposed on North Korea be renegotiated? What else might the United States offer?

What we have seen recently is theater; we have heard nothing about the basis for agreement other than vague assurances from North Korea and boasting from our President.

(I don’t even want to think about John Bolton’s reported claim that he hopes negotiations fail so he can get on with preventative war.)

This entry was posted in Defense, Trump, War and tagged John Bolton, Korea. Bookmark the permalink.

Steve Vladeck proposes a good government reform–more members in the House. At first glance this idea seemed inconsequential to me; a legislative body with 435 members is large enough already that members may never learn each others names,  but after reading Vladeck’s reasons, I see his point.

Vladeck gives three reasons for a larger House:

• First, and most obviously, it is difficult — if not impossible — for any one person adequately to represent the interests of three-quarters of a million people.
• Second, the size of contemporary congressional districts leads to massive over-representation of some states and under-representation of others, since each district must be entirely within the same state, and every state must have at least one representative.
• Third, and perhaps most importantly, a smaller House undercuts the representativeness of the Electoral College and, with it, presidential elections.

Vladeck’s first reason is weak–a representative can little more effectively represent a half million than three-quarter million in my opinion. The second seems stronger–states with small populations are over represented in House and Senate, so improving this in at least one body could be worthwhile. The third reason is important as Vladeck notes–too often the electoral college vote hasn’t reflected the popular vote, which does weaken the legitimacy of presidential elections.

Vladeck notes that the size of the House is set by law, so no Constitutional Amendment would be needed to change it. However, it is unlikely that a majority in Congress would vote for this reform, if the leadership did bring it to a vote.

Yet another proposal  is to create more states. Vladeck mentions adding Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. This would increase the number of Senators thus weakening the influence of less populated states. There is also the possibility of dividing large, populous states–California for example.

An alternative proposal for reforming presidential elections is the National Popular Vote movement. Unlike Vladeck’s proposal, NPV would be implemented by agreement among the States of the Union. No congressional action would be needed.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/democracy-rigged-debate-over-senate-representation-ignores-more-plausible-reform-ncna920286

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. –Mark Twain

…

Do we believe this? Can you add to my list?

• I will build a wonderful wall, which won’t cost as much as they say.
• Obama is the enemy; Putin could be our friend.
• In a half hour, I can learn all I need to know about nuclear weapons.
• We can negotiate deals which put America first; we just need to hang tough.
• DJT is a good choice for President because he is disruptive.
• Rescinding regulations, no matter which, will “make America great again.”
• It’s not about religion; we only want to keep America safe.
• The best guide to the Constitution is “original intent;” clearly the authors intended us to own machine guns.
• Federal spending is bad, unless spent in my district
• Government is better left to the States, but not if they seek to regulate firearms, fracking, or to protect residents from deportation.
• Some scientists say “climate change is a hoax,” so that must be right.
• Scalia was a model Supreme Court Justice; the Constitution told him to stop counting votes in Florida.
• A few more American soldiers and a little more time will bring freedom and prosperity to other countries.
• Mexicans are bad; make them pay.
• Reporters are dishonest; you can’t believe what you read in the New York Times.
• We don’t distrust public education, we only want to give students a choice.
• We have a superior plan for health care; we will explain it real soon now.
• We want to protect the environment; we only want to prevent EPA overreach.
• We want to protect families; we only want to deport dangerous criminals.
• We aren’t trying to keep people from voting; we only want to prevent fraud.
• We want to “make it here, sell it there;” taxes on imported goods won’t be a problem.
• Medicare and Social Security are unsustainable; cutting benefits is the only answer.
• We want to protect women’s health, but we don’t want Planned Parenthood to do it.
• Inexperienced administrators are the key to good government.

Are we a gullible people? It sure looks that way.

  Press Release from Tracy Mitrano for Congress

PENN YAN—Today, Democratic Congressional candidate Tracy Mitrano (NY-23) announced that her campaign has undergone an energetic relaunch after being certified as the official Democratic nominee for New York’s 23rd District by the New York State Board of Election Commissioners (BOE) and raising over $175,000 in the month of July.

“I am thrilled that our message of economic opportunity has inspired this district into action. July was a record-setting month for fundraising, and our volunteer base is growing rapidly—clear evidence of the grassroots energy in this district and an appetite for real solutions to the problems facing our citizens,” Mitrano said.

“The truth is clear: our message of providing high-quality affordable health care, guaranteeing a good education, investing in physical and digital infrastructure, and protecting our natural resources is resonating with the people of the 23rd District. There is no stopping the momentum of this campaign.”   

On Wednesday, August 8, 2018 the BOE convened to tally the results from each county within the 23rd District and declared Mitrano the winner of a hard-fought five-way primary election.

After Mitrano won the primary election last month, the campaign employed a robust fundraising effort that broke previous records. Additionally, the campaign surpassed 1,100 active volunteers.

Even though the April 28 New York State Presidential Primary Election seems far off,  at least two Presidential Campaigns have contacted chairs of the NY 23rd Democratic Committees seeking democrats to pass petitions to get their candidate on the Ballot. Each candidate needs to get 5000 signatures state-wide. Passing the petitions can start on Tuesday, December 31. Only registered NYS Democrats can sign them; a person can only sign one candidate’s petition.  The campaigns will tell you when they need the signed petitions back to them. You can get a list of democrats who live near you from your County Board of Elections. There is no cost if they send the lists to you digitally.

Early Voting Dates are Saturday April 18 to Sunday, April 26. Each county will determine their times for voting.

Not only will you help the candidate to get on our ballot, you are promoting him or her, and informing the voters about the Presidential Primary.

If you are supporting Bernie Sanders, and are willing to pass petitions for him contact Emily Adans at [email protected]

If you are supporting Amy Klobuchar, and are willing to pass petitions for mer contact  Bruce Levine at [email protected].

If any one has information about who to contact for other candidates, please leave that information as a comment.

More information about the Presidential Primary will be coming soon.

This entry was posted in 2020, Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

It is easy to see fascism in violent demonstrations, but what about more mundane examples?

• Attacks on Muslims and other minority groups.
• Organized attacks on public education.
• Proposals for a mercenary army.
• Private prisons.
• Border walls.
• Militant militias.
• Personal arsenals.
• KKK
• Attacks on reporters and publishers.
• Racism.
• Nativism.
• Anti-semitism.
• Militarism.
• America first.
• Legislation intended to restrict voting rights.
• Right to work legislation.
• Excuses for police brutality.
• Tax loopholes for corporations particularly in light of unlimited money in politics.

Fascism unites big business and government against the people. Even in its less virulent forms, it is dangerous and endemic among us–as American as apple pie.

https://www.arcamax.com/politics/fromtheleft/leonardpittsjr/s-1988027

This entry was posted in Campaign Finance, Campaign Finances, Defense, Economics, Education, gay rights, Gun Violence, Immigration, Media, Racism, Taxes, Terrorism. Bookmark the permalink.