Legislative Report #16
Legislative Report #16 is now online.
Raising eyebrows and lowering the bar
Buffalo-area Assemblyman David DiPietro is holding a fundraiser raffle with guns as prizes.
Let the whining and teeth-gnashing begin:
“… DiPietro, a fierce critic of Gov. Cuomo’s gun control law that passed last year, said he knew “it’s red meat for a lot of people downstate.” “There is such a disconnect between the New York City people and the rest of the state,” he said.”The upper crust in Manhattan and on the Upper East Side, they have no clue.” …”
Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal then proves DiPietro right by responding:
“… “After learning about this event, I must admit that my upper West Side eyebrows were raised,” she said. “I would hope that elected officials would set the bar, not lower it.” …”
Really? Considering the sheer volume of disreputable and corrupt politicians this state has produced in recent memory, the overwhelming majority of which were her fellow NYC Democrats who she lacked the courage to speak out against, her statement perfectly demonstrates the point DiPietro is trying to make.
Antigun astroturf rally in Albany
Divestment campaign
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is pushing to get people to divest their retirement accounts of gun company stocks. They are part of a non-Bloomberg coalition of leftist astroturf. They haven’t even bothered to update Bill de Blasio’s title.
SAFE claims another business
Another company is leaving New York because of SAFE:
“Defenshield Inc., a maker of ballistic shields for the military and law enforcement agencies, is moving to Florida … company executives told the chamber of commerce they were moving to St. Augustine because of Florida’s lower taxes and better climate … There may have been one other factor in the company’s decision. A story in the St. Augustine Record on Saturday said Defenshield founder William Collins White III is a “self-professed gun enthusiast” and was a fan of Florida’s less-stringent firearms laws. It was not immediately clear whether New York’s SAFE Act restrictions on military-style assault weapons interferes with the company’s operations …”
Good thing New York is Open for Business.
They think we forget
MotherJones must think we have short memories with their article, “The NRA Meets Its Potent New Foe: Moms“:
“For years, advocates of stricter gun laws have rallied at the barricades of the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting. But this year, as the gun lobby convenes in Indianapolis, there’s a new posse in town. They’re mothers … And they’re dead set on disarming the NRA of its outsize political power …”
Oh shit, Moms!
If they ever get involved with gun politics we could be in real trouble. Nobody has ever tried to mobilize that force before ….
Astorino looking for gun money
Rob Astorino is looking to raise campaign cash off the Journal News decision to publish an interactive map of gun owners in the lower Hudson Valley.
So far Astorino is doing a good job reaching out for the gun vote. This big fuck you to the Journal News should help him with more than just money. It sets the tone of how his campaign will deal with an unfriendly downstate media.
Leftist Cuomo hatefest
Fred Dicker kicks off the latest Cuomo hatefest, “Dems won’t support Cuomo for president in 2016: sources“:
“Gov. Cuomo, long known for his presidential aspirations, won’t enjoy the support of his own Democratic Party if Hillary Rodham Clinton decides not to run for president in 2016, top state Democrats have told The Post. The Democrats said Cuomo’s worsening relations with his party have led many to look elsewhere for a presidential standard bearer, should Clinton not run … “People don’t like Andrew Cuomo, and if you ask about the presidency, there’s no support there,’’ a prominent Democratic activist and party official told The Post …”
Then Teri Weaver makes it worse, “A liberal candidate could draw votes away from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, poll finds“:
“About one quarter of New York voters would vote for a liberal, union-backed candidate over Gov. Andrew Cuomo in this fall’s election, according to a new poll out from Siena College Research Institute. Cuomo, a Democrat expected to run for a second term, still holds a 2-to-1 lead over Republican challenger Rob Astorino, the Siena poll found. But if a Working Families Party candidate enters the race, 24 percent of voters polled said they’d back the third-party candidate over the current governor …”
As I said previous, only ones who like Andrew are the Senate Republicans and GOP party hacks on Long Island.
Unlikely
The Daily News continues to try and pump up gun control, claiming Democrats are happy with Bloomberg’s money dump:
“Anxious Senate Democrats quietly celebrated former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s announcement this week that he plans to spend $50 million this year to build a grass-roots network pushing for new gun controls. “If he is successful, the people he will motivate to vote are extremely likely to vote for Democrats, period, end of story,” said one senior Senate Democratic aide. “It could help drive Democratic turnout,” said another national Democratic strategist …”
Nobody believes this which is why all the sources do not want their names used. Are Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid and Dick Durbin dancing a jig over this? No.
“… The goal is to attract 2.5 million supporters, many of them women, who would then be motivated to go to the polls. Those pro-gun control voters are sure to be overwhelmingly Democratic, political strategists and aides said, boosting all Democratic candidates …”
If Democrats really believed the antis could motivate people to vote based on their issues they would not have blocked legislation in the Senate last year.
“… Democrats say the new spending effort will help far more than it might hurt …”
And this is based upon what? Past history proves gun control is not a winning issue.
“… Another reason Democrats are pleased: Bloomberg’s effort dovetails with their goal of focusing on female voters …”
This is more of the bogus “war on women” crap leftists have been pushing as of late.
“… Shannon Watts, who heads Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, said she hopes to make gun control as potent an issue as abortion rights among female voters …”
Why? Because women are dumber than men?
“… Gun groups quickly ripped Bloomberg’s move …”
More like laughed out loud. We’ve seen all this before. It is just another astroturfing effort.