It's time to ReBoot New York

Agree-- it is time (4.00 / 1)

...and you are surely the man for the hour.  Best of luck, we will be there supporting you with those "reBoots on the ground."

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by: robinia @ Wed Dec 02, 2009 at 21:00:13 PM CST

The last straw.... (4.00 / 1)

I've been resistant to the "throw the bums out" sentiment, but today was the last straw. Sign me up.

--- Mike Jones

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by: mike.jones @ Wed Dec 02, 2009 at 21:12:17 PM CST

Im a bit confused (0.00 / 0)

Your original post made it seem like reBoot Ny was non-partisan (or at least bi-partisan).  More specifically, in the section that you quote above you say that the organization to elect "not necessarily more Democrats or Republicans, but to elect BETTER SENATORS who have had enough of the crap and are willing to actually do their job."  

This post makes the organization seem more partisan ("We need to rid ourselves of as many of the incumbent Republicans as possible").  So which one is it?

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by: sabachi @ Wed Dec 02, 2009 at 22:14:56 PM CST

We are non-partisan in that (4.00 / 3)

we are not allied with either party and we will have no hesitation in replacing a bad Democratic Senator as quickly as a bad Republican Senator.

We are non-partisan in that, theoretically at least, we would support a good Republican challenger to a bad Senator of either party.

However, we are reformists. We believe in open, transparent government of, by and for the People and not the Corporation or monied interests.

We do not believe in the incumbency protection plan.

While we will challenge Republicans and Democrats alike, and while it is theoretically possible that we would back a Republican challenger, in today's political climate I will be personally amazed and shocked, amazed and shocked I say, if we find a Republican candidate coming to us with the proper set of credentials, positions, and commitment to our progressive reform agenda.

The problem in the State Senate is not Republican or Democratic. It is the State Senate itself. It needs to be remade. If all 62 have to go to do it then gone they are as far as we are concerned. Even the ones that voted correctly today... unless they very seriously get on the band wagon of reforming the institution, its rules, its practices and the rules governing how one gets elected and re-elected for a lifetime to it.

I hope that helps answer your question.

Peace,

Andrew

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by: Andrew C. White @ Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 08:36:20 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Not better Dems... (4.00 / 2)

The best Dems. At the time, Pedro Espada was better than Efrain Gonzalez. At the time, Hiram Monserrate was considered better (or at least a threat to) John Sabini. We don't need better Democrats.

I take these surveys all the time where the choices are excellent, good, average, poor or bad. A better Democrat, to use the survey responses, could be a poor one over a bad one. Is it a "better" Dem? Yes. But the best Democrat? No.

We need excellent Democrats. Not bad ones. Not poor ones. Not average ones or even good ones. The best Democrats are needed. Those are the true "more and better" Democrats.

Support our troops, not the war.

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by: robert.harding @ Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 01:29:23 AM CST

Here's the thing (0.00 / 0)

I wish you luck with Reboot, and I congratulate you, Brian, on your new post.  

But electing better or different or the best democrats isn't what's needed.

What I need is someone to give me a really good, strong explanation as to why our fiscally hurting state - a state that is hemorrhaging people - needs two parliamentary  houses.

I think we need radical change in Albany that goes beyond anti-incumbency and gets to the root of the problem.  Ultimately, the legislature serves the people, and the people are being poorly served, period.  Partisan redistricting is part of the problem.  The very notion that we pay among the highest taxes in the country to support in part a dysfunctional joke of a government is getting on a lot of peoples' last nerves.  

Nebraska's non-partisan unicameral part-time legislature serves as a perfect model and example of what is possible when people get their act together and realize that state legislatures have a pretty damn narrow focus.

And to those of you who say that power would be too concentrated and representation would be diminished if that were to happen, I remind you of our current three-men-in-a-room troika system, which concentrates power in three people, none of whom I have any confidence or trust in.  

New York is screwed, and the areas of the state west of the Hudson and north of the 90 are particularly screwed indeed.  

It's time that we had a legislature and a government that didn't act out of individual legislators' self-preservation and desire for re-election, and instead acted for the benefit of all New Yorkers.  

Yesterday's vote convinced me that Albany's failure transcends partisanship and geography.  It is a statewide failure that threatens to do further economic harm to all of us.  

Buffalopundit  blog at WNYMedia.net

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by: buffalopundit @ Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 05:36:22 AM CST

IN order to do that... (4.00 / 1)

...the constitution needs to change. THAT is a huge hurdle. I'm looking at what is possible in the next 11 months.

My Best,
b

We've got some work ahead of us.

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by: NYBri @ Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 13:48:28 PM CST

[ Parent ]

In order to change the state Constitution (0.00 / 0)

We need to pass a bill in both houses of the state legislature.  Which means we need to fix the damn Senate first.

Yes, there is an alternative, but it's only been resorted to in cases of truly dire nonfunctionality and when the KKK decided to overthrow legitimate governments after the Civil War.  We're not quite bad enough off to call for an 'extralegal' Constitutional convention; when the governor starts talking about that then maybe we'll be that bad off.  

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by: neroden @ Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 18:52:15 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I honestly don't see our elected (0.00 / 0)

reps voting away their own jobs, by abolishing our two house system. I don't mean to be a naysayer, but I just cannot imagine ever getting anywhere close to a majority to vote that way.

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by: Clarknt67 @ Fri Dec 04, 2009 at 18:21:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Don't get mad... Get organized (4.00 / 1)

Brian - this is exactly what we need to do. I'm signed up.  

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by: westchesterdem @ Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 09:28:35 AM CST

Anything we can do to toss Bruno's gang (0.00 / 0)

would be worthwhile.  I'd like to see the back of Winner and Libous in particular, though there are a lot of others who qualify as "Bruno's gang".

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by: neroden @ Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 18:59:40 PM CST