All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
CD-19 Candidate Zephyr Teachout has released this ad:
I like this a lot, not for her politics (which are to the left of Bernie Sanders), but the attitude. When attacked, Teachout simply laughs off her opponent’s charges.
Republicans could learn a lot from this.
Anna Throne-Holst is going all-in for gun control. Her campaign held a “forum on gun violence” over the weekend:
We must work together to end gun violence @SteveBellone @KHLeg @NYAGV1 #VocalMajority pic.twitter.com/9ELXM2NTaC
— Anna Throne-Holst (@AnnaThroneHolst) October 1, 2016
I don’t think her tactic is very effective. I doubt Lee Zeldin does either as he has been ignoring her for the past few months on the issue. If it was a fundraiser or voter registration drive Throne-Holst might have accomplished something, but this forum looks like it was an opportunity for people who weren’t going to vote for Zeldin in the first place to vent their displeasure at him for not supporting their agenda.
According to RollCall, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy’s gun control project is backing Anna Throne-Holst:
“… Murphy’s Fund to End Gun Violence will also be backing … Anna Throne-Holst, the former Southampton town supervisor challenging GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin in New York’s 1st District on Long Island. “I’m proud to support … Anna Throne-Holst because they’ve made ending gun violence cornerstones of their campaigns. By electing more people like them, Congress can finally listen to the will of the people, not the gun lobby,” Murphy said …”
“… Murphy and Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have established the “Fund to End Gun Violence,” an effort to “bundle” contributions to U.S. House and Senate candidates who would support gun control bills …”
I can’t find any committee or website with the name so I’m going with the Fund being more antigun astroturf.
Last week Colleen Deacon received the endorsement of ARS.
This week her political standing dropped:
“… Cook Political Report moved its rating Thursday to “leans Republican.” While the publication said Colleen Deacon, the Democratic challenger in the race, is an “appealing nominee,” they view [John] Katko, R-Camillus, as the front-runner in the contest … Cook is the first major political forecaster to move the race from “toss up” to a rating favoring either party …”
From last night’s debate, Hillary believes gun control promotes racial healing:
The Donald was not much better on the issue:
“… Clinton, in a tense exchange over criminal justice issues, reiterated her support for what Democrats and gun control advocates have called a “no fly, no buy” policy to restrict individuals on the airline terrorist watch list from being able to purchase guns. Trump’s response: “We have to look very strongly at no-fly lists. … I tend to agree with that.” …”
We deserve better than this.
Guns were a topic in a debate between Adam Haber and Elaine Phillips for the open SD-7 seat:
“… Phillips, the Flower Hill Village mayor, said she “absolutely” supported “common sense gun legislation.” She said that she grew up in western Pennsylvania, where hunting was popular in her community, and was well-educated on gun safety. “What we need to do in New York State is make sure we give the resources to those individuals, our law enforcement, so we don’t have illegal guns brought into New York State,” Phillips said. “So criminals on the street can be apprehended, so we can clean up our streets, we can enforce, but it is law enforcement that needs the resources.” Haber, a former commodities trader and Roslyn school board trustee, said the two may have differing ideas of what “common sense” means. He said he understands that citizens have rights to own or carry a firearm, but he believes “gun control is an important part of keeping our community safe.” …”
Translation: Both candidates stink.
Right now, I’d give Haber the edge in winning the seat, giving a +1 to the mainline Democrat caucus.
Gun control astroturf Americans for Responsible Solutions has endorsed challenger Colleen Deacon in CD-24:
“… Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, a gun control group co-founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, endorsed Deacon, D-Syracuse, in the 24th Congressional District race … Kelly, who held a conference call with reporters to announce the endorsements, said the candidates and incumbents they’re supporting are “champions of the vocal majority” who want to address gun violence …”
This endorsement is all we need to know about Deacon’s stance on our issues.
“… Kelly said he and Giffords will be embarking on a bus tour throughout the country to campaign for candidates in key races. It wasn’t revealed whether the pair will visit central New York for an event with Deacon …”
Nobody cares about this.
The real question is will ARS cough up some cash for Deacon. Their PAC is what separates them from the run-of-the-mill antigun astroturf.
Governor Cuomo has endorsed Anna Throne-Holst:
“… The governor also said Throne-Holst will work to address “common-sense gun control laws” … Cuomo noted that Zeldin opposed the SAFE Act when he was a member of the Senate Republican conference, and has voted against gun control measures since arriving in Congress. “Senseless acts of violence continue to claim the lives of too many citizens across our state and country, and this issue is critical to the people of Suffolk County,” the governor said. “Lee Zeldin has allowed the grip of the NRA to persuade his positions, forgoing the needs of his constituents for the deep pockets of the gun lobby.” …”
What is his endorsement actually worth? Probably not a lot and even less when it is based upon an unpopular issue. Cuomo gets a lot of criticism for not helping to elect fellow Democrats. This is an easy way for him to appear to be doing something for them, while not really putting a lot of effort into it.
Zeldin is one of the few bright spots in the NY Republican conference. I don’t think he is going to waffle on the issue because of this.
A couple of new campaign ads are out, the first by the NRA:
Doesn’t look bad, but I question how effective it will be as it is a bit vague. It doesn’t specifically say not to vote for Hillary or vote for The Donald.
I like this one. Good imagery and narration. Only downside is Uncle Ted who is an asshole. If he presented himself like this all the time I’d have more respect for him. Nevertheless, I think it is an effective ad.