Daily News Endorses Obama

by: Roatti

Sun Oct 19, 2008 at 15:37:45 PM EDT

The U.S. is in want of leadership that repairs a damaged economy, restores faith in government as an engine for the common good and returns competence to the White House after the spectacular failures of the Bush administration.

Barack Obama holds the greater promise of accomplishing the mission than does John McCain. The Daily News endorses the 47-year-old Democrat, the first black American to win a major party nomination, for President.

(snip)

McCain's misfortune is that he is the standard-bearer of a party whose leadership, starting at the top, ran the U.S. onto the rocks.

(snip)

Unfortunately, a centerpiece of McCain's economic plan is an extension of Bush tax policy - a bad idea anytime, but horrible in these newly dire circumstances.

As the fates would have it, now is simply not the moment for this fine public servant.

Millions of Americans vest great hope in Barack Obama - and there is good reason why. It has been a long time since many have felt the government was in their corner. And here came an accomplished, fresh figure - a black man, at that - with plans for restoring the faith.

The agenda is sweeping, but the theme is clear. Whether on tax fairness or health care or the cost of college, Obama pushes the balance toward the working and middle classes and those farther down the ladder.

(snip)

At this critical juncture, the nation must elect a President who will renew bipartisanship and hard-headed pragmatism to rescue America's standard of living, secure the country from global threats, whether of arms or of climate, and lay a foundation to meet 21st century challenges.

That is our hope for Barack Obama.

And it's not like the Daily News editorial board is a bunch of lefty partisans- they endorsed W in 2004.  

AD-64: Quality Commentary by Bouldin and Errol Louis

by: Roatti

Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 19:28:11 PM EDT

The single most important political contest in New York this year is the reelection race of Manhattan Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, a Democrat who doubles as speaker of the state Assembly - the second most-powerful post in state government after governor.

I would actually argue that Silver is more powerful than the governor, because the Governor can have his veto overridden by 2/3 of the Legislature, whereas Silver's refusal to bring a bill to a vote can not be overridden by any amount of the other Assemblymembers.  But nonetheless, he continues:

Fewer than 12,000 voters are expected to cast ballots in the 64th District, which covers all or part of the lower East Side, the East Village, Chinatown, Wall Street and Battery Park City.

But their choice will affect New York's 19 million residents.

That's because the screwed-up setup in Albany places vast influence in the hands of three men: governor, Senate majority leader - and Assembly speaker.

Every year, the trio negotiate the state budget in near-total secrecy before dumping a phone-book-size document on the desks of legislators for a vote within minutes of receiving it.

(snip)

They will be voting - for the 19 million of us who can't - on the record of a powerful pol who has, for too long, been accountable to nobody.  

That's essentially Albany in a nutshell for ya.  

And Bouldin puts the length of time Silver has been accountable to nobody in persepctive:

Think about this for a moment: one elected official, with power equal to or greater than that of any statewide elected official, has gone over two decades without a challenge. When Silver was last challenged, Gorbachev was running the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan was President, and a guy named Barack Obama had just moved to Chicago to become a community organizer.

Bouldin also notes how it's amazing how a contested election can get a legislator to... actually give a $#!T about how his constituents percieve him:

This primary has been nothing but salutary for the people of that district. Suddenly, there's a mobile constituent services office - which leads one to wonder why that didn't seem to be a worthy idea in a year when the Speaker isn't getting challenged at the polls - a rumored if unconfirmed campaign web site, and repeated appearances by the incumbent in a district he's all but neglected in favor of the gleaming marble offices of the Albany Capitol.

While despite his 22% approval rating, Silver will probably get re-elected in this election because the opposition is split between two challengers, I don't think there's anything controversial about saying that this challenge has been a good exercise in democracy for a pol who's been unaccountable for far too long.  

And while many people lament that despite the "three men in a room" changing between Pataki, Spitzer, Paterson, Bruno, and Skelos the structure never changes, I would argue that nothing has changed because none of those men have been changed at the ballot box.  If the voters do indeed revolt, it could at least bring the possibility of structural reform.  

Bill Hammond Likes The Brodsky Telecom Bill

by: phillip anderson

Thu Jun 07, 2007 at 08:44:15 AM EDT

For cheaper cable, aim your clicker at Albany

Brodsky's bill would cut to the chase, authorizing state officials to sign a statewide franchise for cable TV service. In areas where the fiberoptic lines have been laid, Verizon could jump into the cable market almost overnight.

But the cable industry, desperate to keep its captive audience, is using all of its considerable influence in Albany to block reform. Unless Gov. Spitzer intervenes, consumers could well lose this battle - and be forced to keep paying through the nose for lousy service.

The bill enjoys strong support from the telephone workers union - eager to preserve 25,000 jobs at Verizon - as well as the major consumer groups.

But it's running into stiff resistance. The cable companies are squawking that the bill is unfair, since they had to negotiate dozens upon dozens of franchises and Verizon won't have to - neglecting to mention that they are free to offer Internet-based phone service that piggybacks on Verizon's network. Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg and other local officials are reluctant to transfer their franchising authority to the state. Even Verizon is objecting to Brodsky's bill because of strings he has attached.

While Albany bickers, New York consumers continue to get shafted. Spitzer must break the logjam and forge a compromise that makes the bill workable for both Verizon and local officials.

I'm just glad this bill is finally beginning to get some ink.

h/t to Pete Sikora