All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Back in April Alex Crohn took credit for authoring the SAFE bill. Now, Oliver Koppell says he did it:
“… The debate continued with Senator Klein and candidate Koppell upgrading themselves on their accomplishments over their opponent, with candidate Koppell saying that he had drafted up the original Safe Act legislation, not Senator Klein …”
The New York Times just gave a big F.U.A.C. to Governor Cuomo by refusing to endorse him in the primary.
Read their op-ed here.
Who didn’t see this one coming? The Senate GOP conference that’s who:
“Senate Republicans have lost a big weapon in their fight against the Democrats for control of the chamber: former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg was the single largest donor to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee during his three terms in office — but since leaving City Hall, he hasn’t given a dime …”
The short term cash he gave to help pass gun control will do nothing to assuage the long term anger at the Republicans for passing the SAFE Act without so much as a whimper from the “leadership.”
Governor Cuomo’s addition of Kathy Hochul to the ticket in an attempt to appeal to upstate and the FUDDs has failed.
First off, the FUDDs weren’t buying it. Upstate residents weren’t either as their donations to his re-election campaign have dried up. Now the Democrat base is going after Hochul:
“… Now that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout has survived Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s residency challenge and is assured a spot on the Sept. 9 primary ballot, her campaign is turning up the heat on Cuomo’s running mate, Kathy Hochul. Last night, Teachout and her running mate, Columbia Law Prof. Tim Wu, released a video highlighting Hochul’s voting record and statements – both as the Erie County clerk and as a congresswoman … There’s also footage of Hochul touting her backing from the NRA … The video concludes by deeming Hochul the “wrong” kind of Democrat for New York, and highlighting Wu as a “progressive” candidate for LG …”
Teachout and Wu aren’t likely to win, but they could do well enough to embarrass Cuomo. He’s apparently concerned enough about that happening to pay for a mailing:
“… A mailer from the state Democratic Committee touts both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his running mate Kathy Hochul, and urges voters to take part in the Sept. 9 Democratic primary … The flyer also quotes Hochul, a former Democratic House representative from wester New York, praising Cuomo’s record. “In just four years, Governor Cuomo raised the minimum wage, reduced the middle-class income tax rate, put us on the road to universal pre-K, pass commonsense gun regulations and brought marriage equality to New York,” the mailer says …”
He’s kidding himself if he thinks gun control is going to help him, but he can’t back away from it now. NYAGV hasn’t even endorsed him, not that their endorsements carry any weight anyway, nor do I see any effort by Bloomberg’s people to come to his aid.
Another rebuke for Governor Cuomo:
"In a surprising rebuke" of @nygovcuomo, NOW-NYS endorsed @zephyrteachout despite "intense behind-the-scenes lobbying effort" by Team Cuomo.
— Liz Benjamin (@CTLizB) August 24, 2014
And what sunk the “women’s agenda”? The SAFE Act. Andy spent too much political capital pushing his widely unpopular gun control scheme.
Comedian/activist Randy Credico is the other candidate running in the primary against Governor Cuomo. He isn’t going to win, but if you’re going to vote in the primary it might as well be for him:
“… He also wants to put an end to the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law in January 2013. “Even though I’m a liberal, by the far the most liberal person in the race, I’m a strong opponent of the SAFE Act,” the Manhattan resident said. “If I were governor I would repeal the SAFE Act. The way Cuomo put that through was not really necessary. But that’s typical of his style, to just ram things down his way. We deserve a governor who works for all of us, not just a wealthy few. We need a real Democrat in Albany.” …”
Not a single member of the LCA has challenged Gov. Cuomo or any of his spokesmen on all the BS they’ve been putting out for several months regarding jobs at Remington’s Illion plant.
Can these people be anymore in the tank for his re-election?
