The politics of investing

A few weeks ago NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer made a big deal about getting the City Employees Retirement Fund to dump stocks from firearm retailers.

How did that work out?

“After earning only 1.5% on its pension funds for the 2017 fiscal year ended June 30, the city will have to contribute an additional $732 million to the plans over the next three fiscal years … This is the second consecutive year that the city has fallen well short of its investment return target …”

That is what happens when you make investment decisions based upon politics and divest from an industry which has been on a roll.

Cuomo a loser at DNC convention

Governor Cuomo jumped on the gun control bandwaggon with last night’s speech at the DNC convention:

“… “We fought the NRA and we won, and we outlawed assault weapons to keep them from the hands of mad men who are killing innocents.” …”

According to the Washington Post the speech was a stinker:

“… The New York governor will forever be compared to his father — legendary liberal New York governor Mario Cuomo. That’s a tough legacy to follow, especially when it comes to big speeches at Democratic conventions … But, Andrew Cuomo is simply not the orator that his father was and his speech never reached the heights some had hoped for him …”

Perhaps if he had chosen a more popular topic it would have gone over better:

The Governor forgets that the price of his “win” was the end of his own presidential aspirations.

Full retard

The DNC has gone full retard with gun control at their convention.

From a political standpoint we know the issue isn’t going to motivate voter turnout.  Why do it then?

“… “This is about conviction more than calculation,” said strategist Paul Begala, who advises a pro-Clinton super PAC. “This is just one of those things that has moved Hillary’s heart. You could see on the campaign trail how this was affecting her.” …”

Maybe it really is.  However, Hillary is nothing if not calculating.  There has to be another reason.

“… The Clinton team points to data suggesting that women in suburban parts of battleground states such as North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia can be persuaded to back Clinton because of her stance on guns …”

Ok.  I’ll accept this, plus a possible cash infusion from Mike Bloomberg.

Bloomberg to endorse Hillary

The Times reports that Mike Bloomberg will endorse Hillary Clinton:

Michael R. Bloomberg, who bypassed his own run for the presidency this election cycle, will endorse Hillary Clinton in a prime-time address at the Democratic convention and make the case for Mrs. Clinton as the best choice for moderate voters in 2016, an adviser to Mr. Bloomberg said … “Mr. Wolfson also said Mr. Bloomberg was pleased by the selection of Senator Tim Kaine, a former mayor of Richmond, Va., and a strong supporter of gun control, as Mrs. Clinton’s running mate …”

Unless the Da Maya plans on opening his wallet to the Clinton/Kaine campaign I don’t see this as being that big of a deal.

Clinton/Kaine

Hillary has chosen Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate.

While he is a bit of a disappointment to some “progressives”, he shouyld be warmly received by the antigunners.

From the NY Times:

“… Mr. Kaine, a gun owner himself, is a consistent supporter of gun control measures and has backed broad background checks and restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. The 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech inspired Mr. Kaine, then the governor, to close loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some people to buy guns despite failing background checks. In the Senate, he supported the Manchin-Toomey bill, which would have expanded background checks to cover gun shows and weapons sold over the internet. He also backed banning gun sales to terrorism suspects on the government’s “no-fly” list …”

And here is a longer story from CNN, “Clinton’s new VP pick could be point man on guns.

Here’s Kaine at 0:45 during last months phony filibuster in Congress:

Martins working across the aisle

Whenever a Republican says they can “work across the aisle” it usually means they’ve totally caved and adopted the positions of the far Left.

Case in point:

“Both Republican Jack Martins and Democrat Tom Suozzi last Wednesday said the North Shore needs a congressman who can work across the aisle to create change in the increasingly polarized Congress … Both candidates agreed on a need for gun control … Martins, a state senator and former Mineola mayor, touted his work in Albany to pass laws with bipartisan support, such as the “common sense” SAFE Act gun control bill … “We need people who are willing to work across the aisle, people who don’t see the world in Rs and Ds, people who are willing to find common ground to get things done,” said Martins …”

Chris Cox’s RNC speech

Here is Chris Cox’s speech from last night:

His 40 years remarks are a GOP talking point. See this interview by Mike Gallagher of Reince Priebus for more.

I would not have gone that way. Instead, I would have highlighted Mike Pence’s 2A record.

Not seeing it

According to Newt Gingrich:

“… “If we carry New York by the margin we should, we will have changed American history,” Gingrich said at a breakfast gathering of the New York Republican delegation in downtown Cleveland …”

I’m not seeing New York turning red.  There are about 5.8 million registered Democrats in the state compared with 2.7 million Republicans, 2.4 million unaffiliated and another half million or so registered in minor parties.

“… “New York is in play,” said Rep. Chris Collins, who has a speaking slot on Tuesday at the convention’s main stage. “New York would be one of the tougher states to win. It comes down to the four boroughs, because he’s going to win Staten Island.” …”

Back that statement up.  I have not seen any evidence of this.  Even with relatively high turnout in the Nassau special election, the Republicans blew it.

The state GOP is in shambles.  Where is their GOTV organization?  Western NY?  The political center of gravity is New York City and the suburbs, not Buffalo.

Opting out of opting out

Monroe County government in action.