Cuomo/Senate GOP deal still intact

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The deal the Senate Republicans have with Governor Cuomo is still intact as Fred Dicker reports:

“Republican Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan is close to a “Faustian pact’’ with Democratic Gov. Cuomo to raise the state’s minimum wage to a national high of $15 an hour … A source close to Flanagan (R-Suffolk) said the deal would involve Cuomo agreeing to do “little if anything’’ to help Senate Democrats, now just one vote shy of a majority, win the upcoming April 19 special election to replace former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau), who was ousted in December after being convicted on corruption charges …”

The writing on the wall was evident a couple weeks ago when Republican Senators didn’t attend the state GOP convention in Buffalo.

Let’s see if this boosts chances of Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick or someone else primarying Flanagan this fall.

SAFE Act and ethics reform

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Due to the non-stop parade of state legislators behaving badly, ethics “reform” is being discussed in Albany.  Not only because of the sleaze and corruption, but with the secretive legislative process that hides how bills are written and prevents public discussion.  Dick Dadey of Citizens Union mentioned how the SAFE Act was passed as an example of this:

“… Dadey said Cuomo’s SAFE Act gun law was an example of the typically rushed law-making on important issues. “The public not just benefits knowing what’s happening, but laws are written in a way that they can enforce and make sense,” he said. The SAFE Act, which was pushed through by Cuomo with no advance notice in 2013, was found to have numerous problems, including an inadvertent ban on police weapons and illegal requirements that healthcare providers report mentally ill people to the police …”

There is no way to know if we could have stopped SAFE from becoming law had the legislature allowed time for public comment, but at least we would have had a chance.

SCOTUS fight brewing

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A fight is brewing over a replacement for Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

President Obama is reportedly working on a list of candidates.  Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has joined with Democrat AGs from other states in an attempt to pressure the Republican-controlled Senate to hold confirmation hearings on potential candidates.

This needs to be a total non-starter for the GOP.  Any candidate Obama puts up would likely be as bad if not worse than Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.  There is no requirement the Senate hold hearings and the Republicans need to stick to that line.

Trump’s unfavorability ratings

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Despite claims to the contrary, The Donald has been constantly hovering around 1/3 of the GOP primary vote. He is not gaining. Worse, his unfavorability ratings are sky high:

This cannot continue.

Watch this stuff

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There are rumblings of discontent on Long Island.  See:

The Long Island RINOs are the ones responsible for the Pataki/Cuomo gun control schemes.  If they’re getting pressure back home over their Leftward tilt, hopefully it will keep them from cutting any more backroom deals.

Mandatory storage push begins

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Liz Krueger has made a Motion for Committee Consideration on her mandatory firearms storage bill S-2491.

Don’t be surprised if there are one or two other similar actions on Senate bills.  This is an annual event in the legislature.

What passes for serious policy discussion

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You can’t make this stuff up:

“… Chris McGrath, the GOP candidate for the Republican ex-Majority Leader’s Long Island seat, is drawing heat from women’s rights groups and others for bankrolling two R-rated sex comedies that include gratuitous nude scenes — “Surf School” and “Death to the Supermodels.” …”

So? McGrath likes boobs. Even Vladimir Putin likes boobs.

“… Feminists were not amused …”

They never are.

Trump’s dick

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Donald Trump’s dick is now a serious topic of discussion among the candidates.

Owned by Cuomo

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It is no secret that Republican State Senators screwed over Rob Astorino back in ’14 when he ran against Governor Cuomo.

Looks like they’re still in bed with him:

Millennial Strategies

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Here is an article on Millennial Strategies, a company which does political work for among others, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence:

“… Millennial Strategies has also worked closely with New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, producing the organization’s annual NYC gala in November, which was headlined by comic and social critic Lewis Black …”