Sen. Dean Skelos Accepted a Bribe, Lobbyist Admits.

Rent Stabilization Association President Joe Strasburgspoke to a crowd in Brooklyn and was unaware he was being recorded. Capital Tonight has the video...
"…So, in the last 48 hours [of the elections last year], RSA – and we’re not ashamed of it – we gave and donated and supported all the Republicans. We basically emptied our piggy bank in order to make sure they recaptured the Senate.”

“And Dean Skelos, who understands how important you are as an industry – and it’s selfish – but he understands clearly that if he doesn’t hurt us or he tries to avoid hurting us, we will be there for him next time around, and next time around is two years from now, and you need resources in order to achieve and maintain being in power.”

Sen.Dean Skelos: Not A Well-Liked Guy

ZOINKS!
Some people poll low but jeebus, this is low..
Sienna Poll for New York State:
Favorable Ratings:
President Obama: 62%
Governor Cuomo: 77%
Sen. Gillibrand: 57%
NYS Assembly Speaker Silver: 19%
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos: 11%

New GOP Senator Jack Martins Needs a History Lesson

Jack Martins who barely defeated Sen. Craig Johnson has teamed up with Lee Zeldin the newest Senator from Suffolk (and possibly the NYS Senate's very own Ted Baxter) to complain that money that was set aside before the election for community projects have been cut.
Martins and Zeldin write "...the former Democrat Majority in the Senate was directing state authorities to de-fund these very same programs worth over $12 million for the two districts."

Perhaps they should talk to their boss Dean Skelos who defunded projects for the 7th SD when Craig Johnson won the special election.
Not only that, after all Skelos' talk about "fair share" for school funding for Long Island, schools in the 7th SD got short-changed while republican districts made out very well.
Then take the case of Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins, a Democrat that defeated a sitting republican. School aid for her district was cut after that election. Skelos said about that "This would never have happened if Senator Nick Spano was still there.” Classy.
Skelos didn't even try to hide that he was playing politics with education money.
I hope Martins and Zeldin feel that Skelos is also "... grossly irresponsible, devoid of integrity," and is "causing significant harm to the recipients including towns, villages, school districts, fire districts and not-for-profits who have been deceived by their actions."
'Cause otherwise, they would be huge hypocrites.

The next bit is one that really irks me because it is such a lie perpetuated by republicans to scare voters. "Once again, the New York City based Senate Democratic leadership have looked to Long Island as their ATM machine."
The FACT is that NYC gets $11billion LESS in money than they send to Albany.
NYC does not and never has taken money from Long Island. Martins and Zeldin need to look to upstate for that.

Donno: A Big Fat Liar; Making Things Up to Attack Craig Johnson

The ever-desperate campaign of Babs Donno trips over itself again and again. This time Donno comes out swinging at the wind attacking Craig Johnson over Assembly Speaker Silver talking about bringing back the communter tax. Never mind that Johnson opposes the commuter tax. Donno never lets a fact get in her way.
Here is Johnson in 2007 "Cutting and controlling spending, not raising taxes, is what is needed to help New York out of this current fiscal crisis. As I have said before, I am opposed to levying extra taxes on commuters under this, or any other, name. Some very tough choices will have to be made to combat this difficult economic climate. What we should be doing is going back to Albany in order to work today to fix what will be an even larger problem tomorrow."
Donno who apparantly is no longer "fed up" with "outright character assassination" jumps all over Johnson last week "And local commuters should make no mistake – a vote for Craig Johnson is a vote to bring back the commuter tax."
So Johnson opposes a commuter tax but Donno says he'll bring it back. Hmmm....
She continues "The fact that Craig Johnson and his Democratic leaders in New York City are now talking about bringing it back, is a stunning and stark reminder of just what’s at stake in this election.”
Ummm.... Babs, that's just an outright lie. Johnson isn't talking about bringing it back. At all.
The only person who brought it up was ASSEMBLY Speaker Silver. No one else wants it back.
Oh wait, there is one more person who supports it.....
NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg "New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city’s finances are so dire that he needs help from the suburbs. That’s right, he wants to bring back the commuter tax."

That would be the same Bloomberg who ENDORSED Donno and said " I look forward to working with her when she is elected this November.”

Donno loved the endorsement very much "The Mayor and I also share the same strong commitment to improving our schools and enhancing the quality of life for hardworking families, so I am truly honored to have his support for my campaign.”

What really gets me is the Donno feels it is okay to lie. And this isn't the first time.
I know her campaign is being run by her Svengali Dean Skelos and Skelos has no ethics to speak of but why allow lies be said in your name?
Skelos has an unhealthy obsession with Craig Johnson and in any other context would lead to an arrest or at least a restraining order.
The recent Siena poll shows Donno getting destroyed by Johnson so Donno will say anything and do anything between now and election day.
A desperate campaign resorting to desperate measures and making the candidates' own words unreliable in the process.