Letter Writer Takes Whack at Schmitt and Belesi

From Newsday:

Patronage seen in GOP hiring

Just when the people of Nassau County made it crystal clear that they don't want Republican Joe Belesi to speak for them in Nassau County government, minority leader Peter Schmitt hires him for a salaried position as a part-time adviser in the Nassau County Legislature ["All not lost for Mejias' ex-rival," Spin Cycle, Dec. 22].

The Republicans have got to be kidding! This is patronage at its absolute worst. I guess that the will of the voters means absolutely nothing. Even more suspicious is their decision to slip him in over the holiday season, hoping that no one will notice.

Barbara Falcone
West Babylon

Babs Donno Loss Re-Cap: Rubbing Salt Edition

Looks like Donno lost in her own village. That doesn't bode well for any re-election bid she might have.

Plandome Manor
Johnson - 362 .......51.42%
Donno - 342......48.58%

Mondello Calls Caroline Kennedy a "Glamour Selection"; Doesn't Remember What He Said Before

Joe Mondello is the gift that keeps on giving.
Newsday's Spin Cycle quotes Mondello saying of Caroline Kennedy "She simply has no experience, and her appointment would be a glamour selection when what New Yorkers really need is a fighter who knows first hand the challenges facing working families today."

Back on December 3rd the Albany Bureau Chief Jay Gallagher from Press & Sun-Bulletin, asked Mondello about future "stars" of the party and said "... that the party might have a "surprise candidate, from the entertainment industry" for the 2010 elections."

Now how much experience will this candidate from the "entertainment industry" have?

Mondello and Skelos: the Democrats Dream Team

Bill Hammond from the NY Daily News writes "Joe Mondello is vowing to serve out his full term as state GOP chairman, and party members across the state are cheering.
Democratic Party members, that is.
After all, what's not to like about Mondello's record, if you're a Democrat?
He just quarterbacked New York's Republicans to a historic drubbing on Election Day.
His team forfeited majority control of the state Senate for the first time in 43 years. It also gave up another three of New York's congressional seats, leaving them with just three of 29 in the House delegation.
Mondello has brought the same Midas touch to his 25 years as Nassau County GOP chairman. The once-dominant Nassau machine self-destructed on his watch, losing both the county executive's office and the Legislature after generations of dominance. This year, for the first time in modern history, Democrats outnumber Republicans in Mondello's home county.
Best of all, from the Democratic perspective, Mondello remains deep in denial about why his party keeps losing elections.
Mondello tries to blame this year's devastating setbacks on the "Obama tsunami." In fact, New York Republicans have sunk their own chances by completely abandoning the fiscally conservative principles that once defined their party.
"Mondello refuses even to acknowledge this ideological drift, much less showing any signs of reversing the trend.
A statement last week exemplified his cluelessness.
"You know those new, young voters who came out to the polls for the first time to find the name Barack Obama and then voted Democratic?" he began. "They are Republican voters. They don't know it yet, but they will find themselves looking at the Republican line in due time."
Now there's a strategy for you: Don't bother coming up with fresh ideas. Just sit on your hands and wait for the legions of young, idealistic voters to grow old and start voting Republican out of spite.
He went on to assert, "Democratic ideology is, and always has been, the creation of big government, requiring an ever increasing percentage of your personal disposable income."
Maybe he hasn't been following the headlines out of Albany lately - because that description fits the Senate's outgoing Republican majority to a T.
Under Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Mondello's Nassau ally, Senate Republicans have shown again and again that they can spend every bit as recklessly as, if not more recklessly than, Albany Democrats. And that's saying a lot.
"Mondello, under pressure, has agreed to appoint a task force to conduct a "strategic review" of the party, which is a start.
But it's hard - in fact, impossible - to imagine a veteran like Mondello suddenly changing his stripes and leading New York's GOP where it needs to go.
And unless that happens, the Democrats can look forward to dominating New York politics for years to come."

GOP Disdain for Young Voters Continues

As lawyers for embattled State Senator Frank Padavan (R-Queens) were serving subpeonas on college voters to prove they are eligible to vote, GOP Chairman Mondello rants on about young voters.
To him, the young voters who came out for Barack Obama and the Democrats nation-wide are just too stupid to realize that they are republicans. The Village Voice reports Mondello saying "You know those new young voters who came out to the polls for the first time to find the name Barak [sic] Obama and then voted Democratic? They are Republican voters. They don't know it yet, but they will find themselves looking at the Republican line in due time and voting for candidates who reflect their values and work ethic."

So the young voters who believe in a woman's right to choose, gay rights and a host of other center-left ideals are really republicans?
Note to Mondello: Young voters ARE voting their values and work ethic. They voted for a candidate who overcame great odds to win the presidency. They voted for Barack Obama who shares their values.
Mondello is trying to find ANY excuse for the decline in republican voter registration and losing elections.

What's great is Mondello is doing everything he can to avoid blame for election debacle after election debacle. In the Voice article, he just doesn't want teh republican party to think about what happend November 4th. Nothing to see there. Move along. "We need to push past any recriminations about who did, or didn't do what during the last election cycle."

The Peanut Gallery Speaks: Skelos Suggests AG Cuomo for Clinton's Senate Seat

Methinks Dean is eyeing a run for Attorney General since his days as Majority Leader are just about over as is his senate career.
Getting a winner like Cuomo out of the way could make the race for Attorney General more even.
Just saying.

From Long Island Business News "Responding to a question at a meeting of the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island Tuesday, state Sen. Dean Skelos said Gov. David Paterson should pick Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton."

Republicans Go After College Student Voters in Queens to Save Padavan

Chris Puntarelli from the St. John's University Democrats reports:
"Here in SD-11 the Republican party has it out for the students of St. John’s University. After challenging the votes of some voters in the district (as is usual for elections) the Republican party is challenging the votes of students here.

Senator Frank (the tank) Padavan has subpoenaed a handful of students at St. John’s.

The New York Times reports:

“Republican lawyers have challenged the votes of students, mostly from St. John’s University, saying that they filled out affidavit ballots with addresses that were not their permanent residences. In the paper ballot count, Mr. Padavan is leading by about 600 votes, but about 1,000 more ballots remained to be counted and the validity of an additional 2,000 must still be reviewed.

While the challenges and subpoenas have angered students, who are being forced to appear during exams, they underscore the high stakes attached to winning the Senate seat in Queens.”

The Republican party has gone out of its way to hassle students who were excited to vote in an election for the first time in decades.

Yesterday, I spoke with a classmate of mine who was recently featured in the Times article who was incensed that the Republican party has challenged her vote in court not only forcing her to prove she voted legally, but the fact that it’s during the final exams.

I’m glad this race is finally getting the attention from bigger media outlets it deserves. From what I know, students are upset but will show in court. I ask you, don’t let this discourage you from voting in the future. Do not let anyone take away your right to vote. I leave you with a quote from Lyndon B. Johnson.

“The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

Lets break down this wall of injustice."

UPDATE: According to Daily Politics, "Supreme Court Justice Kevin Kerrigan stated that the subpoenas issued to several St. John's college students by the Republicans were little more than a nuisance and should be dismissed.

The judge told the students to return to their studies, but due to the fact that the subpoenas had listed the wrong time for the hearing, they had already burned several hours hanging around the courthouse and weren't happy about it."

Proposition 8: The Musical!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Skelos Loses No Matter How You Cut it

A Fred Dicker article in the NYPost today suggests that the three dissident State Senate Dems who Skelos is trying to woo so he can keep his job a Majority Leader aren't fans of him.
In fact, they would rather have another republican if they voted with the republicans for the senate leadership.
"Tough-talking Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger, in a private meeting with Skelos (R-Nassau), declared: "I'm not going to put my balls on the table to buy into a Republican coalition with you as the leader," a source close to Kruger told The Post.

The source said Kruger's salty declaration came after a private meeting with Gov. Paterson, who made it clear that he "hates Skelos and won't tolerate him as the new leader.

"Skelos has been offering gang members a variety of inducements, including lucrative committee assignments if they vote for a "coalition" with the GOP in January.

A source close to Paterson confirmed the governor's antipathy toward Skelos, and said it was rooted in his belief that the longtime Nassau GOP activist "is mean, can't be trusted and is not someone you can work with as a colleague."

The source also confirmed the widespread belief that Paterson "could live" with another Republican as the majority leader if gang members back someone other than Skelos.

"It's anybody but Dean, anybody but Dean," the source said."