John Faso with John Ciampoli after the hearing in Albany
An important ruling just came down today from the Appellate Division, Third Department, which smacks down GOP hatchetmen attorneys John Ciampoli and Jim Walsh in their annual effort to deny people the right to vote:
The alleged theft from Walsh's PAC occurred when it was largely dormant. The committee didn't raise a cent in 2007 while only spending a total of $32,000. The revised accounting after the addition of Ward's misappropriation meant the committee ended the year in the red, reporting a cash balance of negative $1,400. Last month, Walsh donated $5,000 from his regular campaign committee to his PAC to cover the loss. Walsh's office did not return a call seeking comment before this item was posted*, and Ward's attorney declined to comment (as he has since the scandal broke).
While COLDPAC has not reported spending any money on lawyers or accountants as a result of Ward's actions, the NRCC hasn't been so lucky. The committee's latest FEC report shows that it has now spent upwards of $140,000 dealing with the scandal, including $28,500 to the law firm Covington & Burling and another $116,000 to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
*UPDATE 2:36 PM: Walsh's office has responded. "Obviously Mr. Walsh is very angry. He feels he and his supporters were taken advantage of by this guy," said spokesman Dan Gage, adding that the information about COLDPAC had been forwarded to "law enforcement authorities."
Walsh's PAC,according to a chart provided by the Washington Post, was taken for $20,000. The amount that Ward is said to have stolen could be well over $1 million.
NY-25 Democratic candidate Dan Maffei was going to be challenged by Republican Peter Cappuccilli. That was until Cappuccilli went to the doctor's office.
Peter Cappuccilli Jr., the Republican candidate seeking Rep. Jim Walsh's seat in Congress, withdrew from the race today.
The decision came after doctors warned Cappuccilli, 57, about his health, said his campaign spokesman, Kurt Stroman. Cappuccilli recently experienced medical symptons similar to those that accompany a transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke, Stroman said.
"I do not think that it is fair to my family, my friends and supporters, the party or the residents of this district who are about to make a very important decision about their future representative in Congress, for me to continue this campaign while distracted by health concerns," Cappuccilli said in a statement released tonight. "As difficult as it is for me to accept that health concerns have caused me to formally withdraw my name from this race, I hope that people will understand that I need to take care of my health at this time."
Cappuccilli suffered a mini-stroke last year, according to the statement. He is undergoing testing at a hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he was visiting family.
All campaign events, including any scheduled fundraisers, have been cancelled and all contributions will be returned in accordance with Federal Election Law, according to his campaign.
This is huge news. Cappuccilli was the only challenger thus far to step up to the plate and challenge Maffei. Maffei could, realistically, run unopposed. Unopposed for an open seat... no kidding.
While I hope Cappuccilli is okay healthwise, this is huge news for NY-25. Maffei no longer has a challenger and finding that one challenger was a huge obstacle for Republicans.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick announced today that he will not seek the Republican nomination for the 25th Congressional District.
Republican Congressman Jim Walsh announced in January that he will not seek re-election this year.
In a written statement, Fitzpatrick said he has been living the dream of a lifetime.
"I actually get to wake up in the morning knowing that the people in the county I love depend on me to help secure their safety and their quality of life," Fitzpatrick said.
This is a huge announcement because Fitzpatrick was seen as the front-runner for this seat on the Republican side. I'm sure Fitzpatrick was scared away because of Dan Maffei and Maffei's momentum in the 25th. Plus, as evidenced by Super Tuesday, Democrats have the momentum virtually everywhere - including in rural (and Republican) upstate New York. So this might be a wise move by Fitzpatrick.
The DCCC announced today that Dan Maffei (NY-25) will immediately be added to the Red to Blue program for open seats following Congressman Jim Walsh's announcement that he would not seek reelection. Democratic congressional candidates running in open seats earned a spot in the competitive program by surpassing demanding fundraising goals and by skillfully showing voters that they stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to Congress. Maffei is one of only 11 candidates in the first round of the Red to Blue program for open seats and special elections.
"Dan Maffei is widely supported in Central New York, has a strong organization, and a compelling message of change for middle class families. The Red to Blue Program will give Dan the financial and structural edge to be even more competitive this year," said DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen. "Congressman Walsh's retirement makes the district an even stronger pick up opportunity for Democrats."
Rep. Jim Walsh said today he plans to retire from Congress at the end of his term in January 2009, ending a 20-year career in the House of Representatives.
"It's time to go," Walsh said in an interview this morning with The Post-Standard.
Walsh plans to make a formal announcement at a news conference in his Syracuse office at 2:30 p.m. today.
...
Several names have circulated as potential candidates to run for Walsh's seat. On the Republican side, prospective candidates include Monroe County executive Maggie Brooks, Onondaga Count District Attorney William FitzPatrick, uformer Onondaga County legislator and candidate for Onondaga County Executive Dale Sweetland, Walsh's Chief of Staff Dan Gage, Onondaga County Legislator Kathleen Rapp and former Onondaga County Legislator Jim DiBlasi.
Among Democrats, prospective candidates include Dan Maffei, former NFL player Tim Green, state Senator Dave Valesky and former U.S. Attorney and current Washington D.C. lobbyist Dan French.
...
"After nearly 20 years in Washington and over 30 years of public service to my community, the time has come for me to step away from elective office. I have always said that politics is not my life, it is just a part of my life and now at the end of this term of Congress that part will be over. I will not be a candidate for United States Congress in 2008.
As for other potential Dem challengers, one of Liz' readers says this:
You better put Matt Driscoll, Mayor of Syracuse, up on your list for potential candidates for the Walsh seat. He's term limited and passed up running for Onondaga County Exec. The Dems owe him (for being a team player and not running when there was a split in the party) and they aren't going to let Maffei run for an open seat. Driscoll is the front runner.
I had a feeling this was going to happen. Walsh's heart just hasn't been in it in the past 6 months or so. And here we are. The Politico is reporting that Jim Walsh is indeed set to retire.
Republican Rep. Jim Walsh of New York is expected to announce his retirement soon, according to a GOP aide familiar with the decision, giving Democrats another pick-up opportunity following a wave of Republican retirements this cycle.
The veteran appropriator had a tough reelection fight in 2006 and was expected to face another challenge in the fall.
It marks another surprise retirement for the GOP. Moderates Republicans have been particularly depleted in recent years, both through retirements and losses in the 2006 midterm. As a result, House Republicans have adopted a more conservative thrust during the 110th Congress.
Dan Maffei gave Walsh a hell of a run in '06. Now he's running for an open seat in D+3 district.
NY-25 is about to get a serious upgrade in the quality of their congressional representation. Maffei is a strong progressive and very much the real deal. Now he's going to Washington.
Looks like Walsh's change of heart on the Iraq war is about to cost him the Conservative Party line. The Conservative Party folks in Monroe and Wayne Counties are none too pleased.
Rep. James Walsh has lost the endorsement of the Conservative Party in Monroe and Wayne counties for the 2008 election - the first major political fallout from his decision to stop supporting the war in Iraq.
If other county parties and the state party ultimately agree, Walsh stands to lose the Conservative line in the 25th Congressional District. He has run on the Conservative line each of his 10 terms in Congress.
Walsh, R-Onondaga, has always received the vast majority of his votes on the Republican line. But the 11,634 votes he received on Conservative lines last November was enough to make the difference in the closest election of his congressional career. Walsh defeated Democrat Dan Maffei, of DeWitt, in 2006 by about 3,000 votes; the Iraq war was the dominant issue.
Thomas Cook, chairman of the Monroe County Conservative Party, said Walsh's changing position on the war was one of many reasons why the party decided Tuesday night to withhold its endorsement.
"I was shocked when I began analyzing his record," said Cook, the Monroe County chair for 28 years. "It's only when he did the anti-war thing that I began looking into it."
Cook, a Vietnam veteran, said the party's executive committee voted 29-0 to withhold its endorsement from Walsh because most believe he does not represent conservative ideals. Walsh sealed his fate in an angry letter replying to Cook's criticism of his new position on Iraq, Cook said.
...
"We've always had a cool relationship with him regarding his voting record," Quinn said. "The flip-flop on the war in Iraq was the straw that broke the camel's back."
The geniuses in the Conservative party are about to Mau Mau Walsh right out of Congress and replace him with a strong progressive, Dan Maffei.
I have no real reason to believe this, but there’s an interesting rumor I’m hearing from NY-25. The rumor is that Walsh will retire and Onondaga County DA William Fitzpatrick will run in his stead. There’s a precedent for this: in 1986, Wortley (the Republican who held the seat then) was almost beaten by Rosemary Pooler, then ran for a year (as Walsh has done) before dropping out of the race in 87. Then Walsh ran and ended up winning.
For most of the day Monday, as I listened to one republican Congressman after another pepper General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker with questions like "In your opinion, General, is the 'surge' totally awesome or merely very, very awesome?", I felt that the nation had been punk'd once again. September was supposed to the time when a number of dutiful republican rubber stampers, especially those in the House, were supposed to take the opportunity to distance themselves from the tragic debacle of their party's Iraq policy, lest they find themselves unemployed after January 2009. Yet all I was hearing seemed to sound like the same head in the sand, full speed ahead drivel that has propelled this bloody fiasco for five years now.
One can say many things about Walsh, but he's certainly not stupid. Not only can he see the writing on the wall (about 4 years too late, IMHO) but he can feel the breath on his neck. Jim has already found himself "disappointed" by the voters in his district. Chances are that if he had stuck with this disastrous policy for another year, the voters of New York's 25th CD would have "disappointed" him out on his ass next November.
How should a loyal supporter of the war explain his change of heart? Well, he should publish an account of his eye opening trip to the war zone in a local paper, apparently. The Syracuse Post-Standard is carrying Walsh's "Iraq Journal" this morning and it is is quite instructive of how the mind of a republican back bencher's mind works as it seeks a diplomatic way to back away from the war that threatens to end their career in public service. It's full of contradictions and reveals a typically republican obliviousness to the actual dynamics and shape of the myriad of conflicts that have turned Iraq into what he calls "one of the most dangerous places on Earth." In that sense, it also probably reflects the journey of disenchantment many Americans have traveled over the past few years. As NYCO says over at DailyKos:
Walsh, of course, is facing a second serious challenge for his seat from Dan Maffei in NY-25, so his political reasons for doing this are pretty transparent. The guy desperately wants to keep his job. However, this article is worth reading only because it shows how the mind of a rank-and-file Republican works, and also probably reflects the attitudes of many Americans who initially supported the war.
Walsh's journal is an interesting read and is excerpted extensively on the flip...
As reported last night, Rep Jim Walsh (NY-25) has indeed decided to support withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and will oppose further funding of the occupation. This change of heart is confirmed by two upstate newspapers this morning.
Rep. Jim Walsh, in a dramatic break with the White House, returned Monday from a trip to Iraq saying it's time to bring troops home and stop funding the war.
The moderate Republican from Onondaga has struggled for months with conflicting emotions about the war.
"Before I went, I was not prepared to say it's time to start bringing our troops home," Walsh said. "I am prepared to say that now. It's time."
Walsh's announcement came as Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, told House members that the troop "surge" has made progress.
But Walsh said he saw little evidence that much has changed in Iraq since he last visited four years ago. He said he hopes to meet with President Bush to convey his change of heart.
After months of wavering in his support for the war in Iraq, Rep. James Walsh said Monday he now favors a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and will support votes in Congress to force the issue.
Walsh, R-Onondaga, said he made his decision to part ways with President Bush and other Republicans after visiting troops in Iraq over the weekend, his first trip since 2003.
"Things have not changed substantially in Iraq," Walsh said after returning to Washington Monday. "It's a very, very dangerous place, if not the most dangerous place on Earth. Governance is a serious issue. They are stumbling toward democracy."
Walsh said he saw some progress, but too little, while visiting Baghdad and an American military hospital in Balad, about 60 miles to the north. He was part of a five-member congressional delegation that visited the country Saturday and Sunday.
"What occurred to me while I was in Iraq is that it's time," Walsh said. "We've done enough. No country has done more than we have for Iraq. The question I kept coming up with is how much do we have to give Iraq to make things work? I think we have given enough."
...
"I think we need to let the president know that if he doesn't start taking troops out, then Congress will use the power of the purse to do it," Walsh said Monday, adding he hoped to sign on to a bipartisan bill that would set a date for a gradual draw down.
I guess we'll see a flood of "Republicans divided over Iraq" stories now, right?
Via our friends at Rochester Turning, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle is reporting that GOP Rep Jim Walsh is bailing on the so called "surge", will support withdrawal from Iraq and will no longer support funding for the war. This is big news, folks.
This just in:
Just received an email from our Washington reporter, Erin Kelly, who just got off the phone with Rep. Jim Walsh. She's writing a story for tomorrow's paper that reports the moderate Republican is switching gears and is now calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Not only that but Walsh, who visited Iraq during the weekend, says he will no longer support funding the war.
2008 is shaping up as a rematch-palooza for upstate congressional seats. First we had Eric Massa step up for another swing at Randy Kuhl in NY-29 and now we have Dan Maffei stepping up for another shot at my dear friend and utter failure Jim Walsh in NY-25.
Maffei announced his intention to run at Walsh again yesterday according to the Syracuse Post Standard and, ya gotta love this, promised to "stay in his grill."
Democrat Dan Maffei on Thursday formally announced he was ready for a rematch against Republican Rep. Jim Walsh by filing paperwork needed to raise money for an election that's more than a year and a half away.
Maffei, whose bruising, expensive and nearly successful challenge to the 18-year incumbent ended just five months ago, filed a statement of candidacy Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. That's early for a Central New York congressional challenge, which normally begins within a year of Election Day.
"One of the reasons we believe the incumbent was able to prevail last time was he had a $500,000 head start in the bank from previous campaigns," Maffei said. "The reality of politics today is we need to make sure we'll have the resources to truly be competitive."
...
"I must say, I don't think the congressman handled the pressure the last time around with much grace, and if I were running against him, I'd stay in his grill," McClure said.
I like that. A spokesman for Walsh then goes on to say that Walsh's stance on the war has "moved towards the political center" since the election, which, let's face it, is utter BS. Walsh sits on the House Appropriations Committee which not only voted unanimously against all the provisions for ensuring that troops are well equipped, trained and rested before deployment to Iraq, but also tried to strip billions from the supplemental bill for veteran's health care. He's attached to the hip with Bush and Cheney on this war and, try as he might, he ain't gonna be able to wiggle away this time. And do you think that Walsh's folks aren't a wee bit scared of a rematch with Maffei? Then read this classless pre-emptive attack on young Dan from that same spokesman:
Dan Gage, Walsh's spokesman, said he was not impressed by Maffei's early challenge.
"Mr. Maffei offers nothing other than blind ambition," Gage said. "Clearly, the premature timing of his announcement suggests he is motivated purely by his own self-interest, not Central New York's. People are sick and tired of campaigning, and nobody likes a rerun."
Methinks Dan Maffei damn sure got their attention last time out.
Jim Gerlach, Pennsylvania
Vern Buchanan, Florida
Robin Hayes, North Carolina
Heather Wilson, New Mexico
Marilyn Musgrave, Colorado
Peter Roskam, Illinois
Chris Shays, Connecticut
Jean Schmidt, Ohio
Thelma Drake, Virginia
Barbara Cubin, Wyoming (Note: Rove also says that Cubin might not seek re-election.)
John Doolittle, California
Jon Porter, Nevada Jim Walsh, New York
Deborah Pryce, Ohio Randy Kuhl, New York
Mike Ferguson, New Jersey
Joe Knollenberg, Michigan
"2008 House Targets: Top 20"
Nick Lampson, Texas
Tim Mahoney, Florida
Jerry McNerney, California
Zack Space, Ohio
Baron Hill, Indiana
Chris Carney, Pennsylvania
Patrick Murphy, Pennsylvania
Nancy Boyda, Kansas
Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania
Brad Ellsworth, Indiana
Heath Shuler, North Carolina
Ciro Rodriguez, Texas
Steve Kagen, Wisconsin
Jim Marshall, Georgia
Joe Donnelly, Indiana
John Barrow, Georgia
Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania John Hall, New York Kirsten Gillibrand, New York
Stephanie Herseth, South Dakota
My prediction: We hold both our own and take one or both of theirs.
It appears that Rep Jim Walsh (NY-25) will again choose loyalty to our miserable failure of a president and his disastrous management of a horrific war over the welfare of the troops. TPM Cafe Reports:
GOP Rep. James Walsh, who's being hammered relentlessly by MoveOn-sponsored ads and blog attacks, is nonetheless going to vote No on the bill tomorrow, his spokesman tells Election Central. The spokesman, Dan Gage, says: "Unless there's some major change, he's a No vote. He's not uncommitted. He's not undecided."
Anyone who would vote to send our young men and women into harm's way without proper equipment, training and rest is simply unfit to represent anyone. His actions this week in the Appropriations Committee will GET PEOPLE KILLED. It's that simple. I wonder how he sleeps at night. Walsh's blind support of the failed policies of a failed president should make his seat a prime pickup opportunity in '08.
At best, Jim Walsh (R-Bushland) doesn't believe that sending our troops into battle in Iraq without being properly equipped, properly trained and without being properly rested will get many of those troops killed. At worst, he simply doesn't care. He'd rather continue to allow our president to simply continue to feed our brave men and women in uniform into the meatgrinder that our tragic adventure in Iraq has become as we enter our fifth year of quagmire there. There really is no other explanation for this:
In a recent vote, the Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee unanimously opposed requiring that the troops sent to Iraq be properly prepared for their mission and protected with armor. Again.
James Walsh, NY-25, also voted to send unrested, unprepared troops into combat without armor or adequate weaponry. James Walsh believes that American soldiers should be sent into combat unready, unarmored, unfit to fight. James Walsh does not realize, or does not care, that his ass-kissing of his White House overlord will cost American lives.
It appears that Walsh, a 1970-72 veteran of the Peace Corps, believes his judgement is superior to that of Jack Murtha, lifelong Marine. Here's Mr Murtha explaining all too forcefully exactly what is at stake here:
What can YOU do? You can call, write or visit Jim Walsh's offices and let him know that the notion that anyone who would support sending our troops to Iraq or anywhere else without being properly trained, equipped and rested, without being fully prepared for the task we have sent them to accomplish, is simply unfit to serve as our representative. "Support the troops." It really is the least we can do.
My district offices are located in Syracuse and Palmyra. Both are staffed full-time for your convenience. For directions or to schedule an appointment, call:
Syracuse District Office
(315) 423-5657
Palmyra District Office
(315) 597-6138
1 (877) 230-7532 toll-free
Washington, DC Office
(202) 225-4042
Email
Please feel free to e-mail my office with your concerns at rep.james.walsh@mail.house.gov
It appears that Rep Jim Walsh (NY-25) will again choose loyalty to our miserable failure of a president and his disastrous management of a horrific war over the welfare of the troops. 
