Is Steve Levy really considering a switch to the GOP?

by: cliffweathers

Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 16:28:00 PM EST

They're now just short of predicting that Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy will be switching parties in his run for the Governor's seat come November.  

SD-21: Primary Debate gets Racial

by: Amherst Guy

Fri Aug 22, 2008 at 01:51:39 AM EDT

Each candidate is representative of one of three major demographic voting blocs in the district--Felder is an Orthodox Jew, Stewart is a Caribbean immigrant and Parker is African-American

Stewart went on: "What promises did the Republican Mayor Mike Bloomberg make to you [Felder], a supposed Democrat, to get into this race? And do you think Caribbean people can be bought?"

Felder responded by criticizing Stewart for being born in the Caribbean, earning a high-five from Parker.

Parker also accused Stewart of "having a slush fund where your staff is stealing the money".

One of the rarely discussed elements of the Republican Senate gerrymandering of 2002 was their decision to take racial groups and put them into safe Democratic districts in relatively even numbers. This was not an accident. SD-21 is 11-1 Democratic, however it is fairly evenly split between Orthodox Jews, African Americans, and Caribbeans. SD-60 is 6-1 Democratic and majority White, but was carefully drawn to ensure that Blacks and Whites would turn out in nearly equal numbers in a Democratic primary, thus exacerbating racial tensions in an area that still in many ways has not moved past the 1950s. These are just two examples.

These moves have been brilliant from the Republican perspective. From Buffalo to New York, resources are tied up cycle after cycle in primary races intentionally caused by the Republican districting plan. These resources are therefore not being used to defeat Republicans.

In 2012, Democrats will have the opportunity to redraw the State Senate lines across the state. Priority number one should be to redraw districts to avoid racial primaries. The divisivenesses only serves to hurt the Party, the Candidates, and New York.

"Democracy broke out"

by: simonstl

Sat Feb 09, 2008 at 13:31:51 PM EST

I have to love this AP story on the New York Primary: First there's the title: "Analysis: Despite bosses' plans, voters won in NY primary". Then, in the details, we get to remember why the primary moved up, and what the unexpected result was:

Thank New York party bosses and the state Legislature for giving New York voters a chance of mattering in the presidential primary season this year.

And voters responded - loudly.

More than 33 percent of Democrats voted and 20 percent of Republicans voted. Most New York primaries have had turnouts in the teens, and were too late to make much of a difference in the national race. Even in 2000, just 19 percent of New York Democrats and 22.5 percent of Republicans came out in what would become the historically close George Bush-Al Gore election.

But democracy wasn't the first thought on party leaders' minds a year ago when they moved up New York's primary by a month to be part of the 24-state Super Tuesday, before any candidate had a lock on a nomination.

Eleven months ago, the Legislature overwhelmingly voted to move the 2008 primary with just two people in mind: Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton. Lawmakers figured the sure New York win for the pair of New Yorkers would give them a boost to the White House when they needed it most - early.

I can't help smiling about this. The leaders of both parties hoped to deliver New York State to their preferred candidates at a time when it would matter more. Instead, the much larger effect was an awakening of voters suddenly given a choice that mattered.

I'd really like to imagine that voters will stay this interested in other primaries, but know it's unlikely. I know that this seems to be the season of national discontent for New York voters, and I'm hoping that much of that discontent is eased over the next few years.

Still, it's worth pausing to consider what New York State's own politics might look like if we had a vibrant culture of contested primaries and contested races, showing voters again and again that their votes matter. I don't think it's impossible to get there - but it will take some change, not all of which is likely to happen, as this did, because party leaders mistakenly think it's in their interest.

(Crossposted at Living in Dryden.)

On Obama and Race in America

by: Andrew C. White

Fri Jan 04, 2008 at 11:05:48 AM EST

Republicans are ugly.

From freeperville:

Is Hussein Obama the weakest Dem for the General election?
Iowa Caucus ^ | January 3, 2008 | nwrep

Posted on 01/03/2008 9:07:11 PM PST by nwrep

Did the weakest Dem candidate for the general election won tonight? I think so.

By sending forth Hussein Osama out of Iowa, Democrats have unwittingly weakened their general election prospects.

Hussein's exotic mixture of radical liberalism, Kwanzaa Socialism, antipathy towards the unborn, and weakness against his jihadi brethren will all come back to destroy him against almost any Republican opponent, even the snake-grope from Hope.

I think we as Republicans should be celebrating tonight at the coronation of Hussein, in whose presence millions of Democrat women, from elementary school teachers to journalism majors to law school grads to dykes on bikes will go weak in their knees.

As defenders of this great Republic, and of the pinnacle of Western civilization that it represents, we should all come together tonight and agree on a common strategy that will keep the White House from becoming a madrassa.

God Bless America, Land of the Free.

NYC: Home to the Most Marijuana Arrests in the World (don't worry, white people, it won't be you)

by: ElanaDMIBlog

Tue Oct 02, 2007 at 11:50:12 AM EDT

With the NYPD facing difficult challenges such as combating terrorism and stopping the flow of illegal handguns into the city, what are the police arresting people for at a rate ten times greater than before 1997? Marijuana.

But they aren't arresting everyone who possesses marijuana; only poor people of color.

When confronted with statistics demonstrating the grossly disproportionate arrest rates of African Americans, often conservatives are quick to respond that African Americans commit more crimes.

But then how would they explain the epidemic of marijuana arrests in New York City over the past ten years, a plague of over-policing that has swept up poor people of color, sending Blacks and Hispanics to jail for misdemeanor marijuana offenses at rates far greater than those of whites, even though, according to the U.S. government, whites use more marijuana per capita than Blacks and Hispanics? If you don't think such arrests ever happen, you might be surprised to learn that in the last ten years, New York City has arrested more people for marijuana than any city, not just in New York State, not just in the Northeast, not just in America, but in the entire world.

How would conservatives respond to Professor Harry Levine's testimony in May 2007 before the New York State Assembly Committees on Codes and on Corrections (regarding proposed legislation to expand the DNA databank by requiring anyone convicted of a misdemeanor marijuana offense to give a DNA sample)?

For two years. Professor Levine has researched marijuana arrests and convictions in New York City. Here is some of what he found:

Between 1997 and 2006, 360,000 people were arrested and jailed for marijuana offenses in NYC ,  ten times more than had been arrested the decade previous. That means 100 people a day in NYC are handcuffed and thrown in jail, where they sit, for at least 24 hours, sometimes 36, sometimes 48, waiting to appear before a judge to answer for their "crime".

To figure out who is getting arrested most frequently for marijuana offenses, you might just figure out who possesses and uses marijuana most often, right? Among high school students and young adults, for instance,a higher percentage of white people use marijuana than Blacks and Hispanics.

(READ MORE- MORE SHOCKING GRAPHS IN EXTENDED ENTRY)

On Gov. Spitzer's Proposed DNA Databank

by: ElanaDMIBlog

Tue May 29, 2007 at 10:51:53 AM EDT

Governor Spitzer's proposed DNA bill calling for New York to collect DNA samples from every person convicted of a crime (including all misdemeanors), and everyone on probation and parole, is problematic for many reasons.

Before examining the DNA strand of the bill, the sample is contaminated first and foremost because of a separate illogical and offensively punitive provision that sets a one-year deadline for prisoners challenging their convictions on grounds other than newly discovered evidence (which would bar such common and occasionally meritorious claims as ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, perjured testimony, admission of unconstitutionally obtained evidence, etc., after 365 days). Such an arbitrary rule has little appeal (or appeals). As the Times noted, "if Mr. Spitzer wants to reduce the number of convicted criminals who challenge their convictions, he should start by addressing the serious problems with the state's public defender system that give rise to many of the legitimate complaints."

Even doing away with this draconian deal-breaker, dissecting the collection-happy DNA provision of the draft leads to the discovery of other detriments.

Appreciating the Economic Contributions of Hispanic Long Islanders

by: ElanaDMIBlog

Thu May 10, 2007 at 10:22:24 AM EDT

Some of the nation's most virulent anti-immigrant proposals have erupted from Long Island's elected officials, from Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy to local Congressional Representative Peter King, co-sponsor of the harsh and unworkable immigration bill H.R. 4437. At the same time, vicious hate crimes against Hispanics on Long Island have repeatedly made headlines.

Bridging the ethnic divide is a long process, but a new report published by the Horace Hagedorn Foundation may help Long Islanders begin to appreciate their Hispanic neighbors -- and their important contribution to the Long Island economy -- a bit more.

More on the flip...