What's going on around here?

by: furiousdee

Thu Sep 24, 2009 at 14:57:38 PM EDT

I thought this sight was a progressive one? Lately it seems that if a politician, member of the press, or private citizen disagrees with the TAP party line, they are villified ala Limbaugh and Beck, by ceratin contributing authors.

(Full disclosure: I was called a "fool" by one contributor because I disagreed with their assessment of press coverage for Senator Gillenbrand, a view I thought was legitamite, it may not have been - but a fool?)

TAP's love affair with Kirsten Gillibrand and now its cry for Paterson's head are incongruous with the progressive model.

Why can't someone primary against Gillibrand? Some on TAP thinks that is an absurd (see NY-Sen: Meet Jon Cooper: Still Pondering Run Against Gillibrand ) road to travel - why, someone might challenge the Senator on her inconsistent record?? - party heresy!

The cries for a sitting governor to NOT run more than a year out from the election is also an absurd notion. If he is as terrible as TAP has been saying (unfortunately it seems he is), then isn't a primary the logical place to have an open and honest debate about policy and government, instead of running him out of town with pitch forks and torches?

In both cases, the irrational demands made by some on this page betray the reason the page was created in the first place - intelligent, logical, and reasoned debate to help take back what is rightfully ours.

All viewpoints should be welcome to that debate; only then will progress be reached.

I met Jon Cooper this weekend

by: davesnyd

Mon Sep 21, 2009 at 13:05:10 PM EDT

This site is more or less pro-Gillibrand. Me, personally, as only a reader of the site, I am neutral on her, as I've mentioned in the past.

I liked Jon Cooper but I'm still in the neutral category. More below.

Four challengers for Gillibrand

by: simonstl

Mon Jun 29, 2009 at 12:23:25 PM EDT

This morning's Ithaca Journal looks beyond the Gillibrand-Maloney conversation about next year's Senate primary. They've heard of four likely candidates. I chopped out a lot on Maloney and Tasini because I think people here have heard of them, but there's a lot more in the article:

• Carolyn Maloney. The chairwoman of the Joint Economic Committee and a nine-term House member is within days of announcing she's running...

• Jonathan Tasini. He captured 16 percent of the vote in a 2006 Democratic primary against Clinton and has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission....

• Suffolk County legislator Jon Cooper. He has formed an exploratory committee and is reaching out to the gay and lesbian community for national financial support in his bid to become the Senate's first openly gay member.

  Cooper said in a telephone interview he raised about $20,000 from two fundraisers this past week. He plans to use his ties as a former member of Obama's national campaign finance committee to raise money. Cooper was the first elected official in the state to endorse Obama.

• Ithaca oral surgeon Scott Noren. He announced his candidacy at the National Press Club in Washington. Noren, a former major in the Army, has never run for elected office.

  A fiscal conservative, Noren said he's a Democratic version of Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, whom he described as "a very intelligent guy." Noren's campaign issues include health care and campaign finance reform.

Why don't a few of these folks peel off to challenge Schumer?

Let's see if we can keep the cross-candidate shooting to a minimum today.