It wasn’t unanimous, but very close to it. Carlucci was up 150-2 over his three rivals before tired Rockland Democratic Committee members pleaded that they would rather endorse the Clarkstown Town Clerk by acclamation. Candidate Grant Valentine received two votes. Lou Tharp and Tuxedo Town Supervisor Peter Dolan received no votes before the Committee switched to an acclamation vote.

To get the endorsement, a candidate needed 122 votes, just over half of the number of those in attendance plus known proxies being carried.

Although Carlucci won the endorsement of the committee by a decisive landslide, some political leaders in Ramapo are unhappy with the way the evening played out.

County Legislator Bill Darden and Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence led a very small group who sought to block the gathered Democrats from backing any one candidate. Their effort failed when a motion was made on the floor to force the vote to go through with large majority of those present backing it.

Ironically as this drama played out, Rep. Eliot Engel made a passionate speech from the floor, and one of its main themes was Democratic Unity. Engel’s speech received resounding applause, but I think the message was lost to some.

This effort by a small faction of Democrats to change the rules int the middle of the game was disappointing. And after their efforts failed, St. Lawrence and several Ramapo Committee members left the Convention as the votes were tallied. Many Ramapo Democrats, however, stayed to vote for Carlucci.

The Rockland’s convention fast on the heels of the Orange County Democrats’ and Rep. Nina Lowey’s resounding endorsements of Carlucci.

Valentine, Tharp, and Dolan all appear to be remaining in the race.

The next major event on the State Senate contender’s schedule is the Meet the Candidates night at the Nyack Public Library on June 7 at 7 pm.

Rep. Nita Lowey (l) and David Carlucci

In a press release sent by Carlucci’s campaign, Lowey is quoted:

David Carlucci has the experience to deliver for his district, and his attitude and abilities are just what the district and state needs[...]I look forward to working with David to protect taxpayers at every level of government, create jobs in our communities, strengthen our schools, and keep our families and streets safe and secure.

Lowey’s district includes parts of Rockland County and much of Clarkstown. the 38th State Senate district is also served by the 17th and 19th Congressional districts, with Democrats Eliot Engel and John Hall respectively representing these districts.

Lowey’s endorsement is the first major endorsement by a high-ranking elected Democratic official for the State Senate district. Nyack Mayor Richard Kavesh also endorsed Carlucci on the Left of the Hudson webcast on Memorial Day. Part of the village of Nyack is in the town of Clarkstown.

The other State Senate candidates include Ramapo resident Grant Valentine, Tuxedo Town Supervisor Peter Dolan, and Upper Nyack resident Lou Tharp.

Kristia Cavere, from Tuxedo in Orange County, is the Tea Party and a Republican candidate for New York’s 19th Congressional District seat held by Hall. Cavere thinks that the Democrats have co-opted Republican values and claims, among other things, that:

“The Republicans are the ones who liberated Europe in World War II.”

She continued by saying that the Republicans have always initiated “every” advancement of freedom in our history.

“Unfortunately, today there are many Republicans in office who are cowards and who are bad communicators,” she said. “We have the right ideas, the right principles, the right philosophy and history on our side.”

Her comments appeared in the April 23 edition of the Record-Review, a newspaper that serves Pound Ridge and Bedford, NY. The newspaper has not printed an online version of the article.

Ms. Cavere is only 30, but that does not excuse her for having poor grasp of American history. The last thing I would ever want to do is to politicize something as significant as our victory in World War, or at least the European end of it, as she sees it.

Yes, this is the last argument I would ever want to have with anyone, but this is what it’s starting to boil down to: defending our values against lies by the far rightwing when they attempt to discredit and demonize the Democratic Party. There is no honor or logic to making such a partisan claim, no matter what party you’re affiliated with. I would be just as ashamed if someone said the Democrats won World War II because FDR and Truman were the presidents during the war—that’s just wrong!

Thousands of Democrats died in the Battle of the Bulge right next to the thousands of Republicans who also gave their young lives. This is true for all the battles. It was true in World War II, it was true in Vietnam, and it’s true today.

George McGovern was a World War II hero, having won the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and three oak leaf clusters during the war. I guess George McGovern’s heroism doesn’t count in Ms. Cavere’s world, as he’s one of the iconic faces of American liberalism today. To be fair, let me honor a great Republican who fought in World War II. John Paul Hammerscmidt also won the Distinguished Flying Cross and became a Republican Congressman from Arkansas.

No party holds claim to the heroism that Americans showed in that war. In fact, Ms. Cavere dishonors the memory of all those who lost their lives in World War II by cheapening the war as some sort of partisan victory rather than the desperate but noble cause that this country was united under

After trying to discredit those on the left but going way off target, Ms. Cavere then had the audacity to speak of American unity:

“We have to unify and become Americans together and not just identify with a political party,” she said. “America and principles must come before our party. There is common ground that can be found.”

Ms. Cavere, you have no right to talk about unity until you apologize to the families of all those who wore the uniform during WWII. Your comments were an attempt to cheapen the honorable military service hundreds of thousands of men and women who served who did not, or currently do not, share your political values. Shame on you, Ms. Cavere.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) gets today’s Golden Fleece Award for using nearly $14,000 in taxpayer money to fund a November Tea Party event in Washington DC.

Bachmann and other political opportunists fired up a group of teabaggers by railing against high taxes and out of control government spending and all along, they intended for taxpayers to pick up the Tea Party tab.

Expense reports from the November’s Tea Party rally in DC show that congressional money funded the event, with the money going to sound and staging equipment. Money was supplied to Bachmann’s rally by the taxpayer-funded accounts of Rep. Todd Akin (R-Miss), Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga), and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

But the leaders of the Tea Party movement feel just scant remorse for wasting our tax dollars on assisting a bunch of lunatics with their conspiracy theories about death panels and elusive birth certificates:

Learning that taxpayer funds were used did strike a note of discomfort with Twin Cities Tea Party co-founder Deanna Boss, who arranged for more than 100 Minnesotans to attend the rally. Boss said she would have preferred that private donors had financed the event, given her and other activists’ criticism of excessive government spending.

While no laws were broken, sunlight remains the greatest disinfectant when it comes to discretionary spending by our representatives in DC. This was not only a highly partisan event, it was an event with no redeeming values. It was staged only to demean the President, discount the Democratic Party, and to spread vitriol across the country.

And, as a person who’s not a member of the Tea Party movement, I’m demanding that Reps. Bachmann, Akin, Price, and King, pay back the taxpayers their $13,600.

Happy Tax Day!

Political insiders say that Levy was frustrated that he was blocked from running as a Democrat by party leaders who have all but anointed presumptive candidate Andrew Cuomo. It’s reported that Levy thinks that Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio is much easier to pick off.

Levy’s run on the Republican line has been orchestrated by none other than New York GOP Chair Ed Cox, who’s son Chris will likely get the party’s nod to challenge Democratic Congressman Tim Bishop in the 1st Congressional District, which includes much of Suffolk County. The elder Cox is using Levy’s candidacy to create regional coattails for his son, the grandson of disgraced former President Richard M. Nixon. In essence, Cox is using Levy’s power lust and his role as State GOP Chair to promote the career of a family member.

Some Republican leaders are calling for Cox to resign his chairmanship, claiming the backing of Levy is nothing more than a smoke screen for nepotistic machinations. Former Erie County GOP Chair Bob Davis gone as far as accusing Cox of undermining the party’s efforts to elect a real Republican governor in favor of his own self interest.

In an open letter to New York Republicans, Davis said Cox’s real agenda in giving the GOP nomination to a “liberal” Democrat was to boost the younger Cox’s chances of getting the GOP nomination and beating Bishop in the fall.

“If he wants to be his son’s campaign manager he should resign as Chairman and run his son’s campaign,” said Davis.

While this may be a bit messy for the Republicans, it leaves the Suffolk Democratic Party infrastructure in ruins. The popular, titular head of the county party now plays for the other team. Not only is the carpet pulled out from underneath Bishop, other significant reform candidates such as Regina Calcaterra, who is running for State Senate in the 1st District, can no longer depend on the crucial backing of the County Executive in her race.

Once again, these backroom deals remind me that just because politicians have big “D” following their names, it doesn’t make them loyal Democrats and many of political leaders have no problem selling out their party, hard-working Democratic committees, and alienating the party base for their own self interests. Past disloyalty by Levy is not much different than the unfaithfulness we’ve seen from Rockland County political leaders such as Alex Gromack, Christopher St. Lawrence, Ilan Schoenberger, Paul Piperato, and Charlotte Madigan in the past few years—politicians who seemingly cherish their own careers much more than they do Democratic Party core values. Party disloyalty on their part is not just poor judgment, it’s an ethical problem. And as Democrats, can we ever trust the fidelity of any of these politicians going forward? I doubt it.

Like Levy, these regional politicians have unwittingly aligned themselves with the sleazy right-wing political machine. They have been so consumed by their narcissism that they fail to realize the damage they have done—and likely continue to do—to Democratic slates.

Ten months ago, I wrote a diary on this site warning that this blurring of the lines between parties would eventually hurt other Democratic candidates. I said that the actions of Madigan, St. Lawrence, Gromack, et al. might seem harmless while the Democratic Party was enjoying a wave of popularity, but when the national sentiment changes, the Democratic Party would suffer because of a poor political infrastructure. Unfortunately, that time has quickly past and these politicians have continued to support and even mollycoddle the Republican opposition. Now we’re left with a significant Democratic leadership gap in Rockland County with Statewide and regional elections looming.

Last year was no time for our supposed Democratic leaders to abandon their party. I am calling on Rockland County Democratic Party Chairman Vincent Monte to formally censure the ongoing disloyal and harmful actions of St. Lawrence, Schoenberger, Madigan, Piperato, Gromack, and any other local politician who has given aid to the Republican Party over the past year.

This is no time for us to have a Democratic Party leadership crisis in Rockland like they’re now enduring in Suffolk.

Lewis became nationally known during his prominent role in the Selma to Montgomery marches, where he marched side-by-side with martyred Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dr. Martin Luther King. During the first march, Lewis and other peaceful protesters were beaten mercilessly by the notoriously racist Alabama police. Lewis’s skull was fractured and his wounds are still visible today.

In 1986, Lewis was elected to Congress where he serves as a lion of civil liberties. He was the first member of Congress to call for the impeachment of George W. Bush and he is a staunch opponent to the Iraq War. Lewis has been one of the strongest proponents of health-care reform in Congress.

Just yesterday, Lewis made a short, but compelling statement that Congress must act now on healthcare reform. In his speech, Lewis said:

The time is always right to do what is right. And that time is now. The spirit of history is upon us. We must pass healthcare. There are those who have told us to wait. They have told us to be patient. We cannot wait, we cannot be patient.

The American people need health care, and they need it now. Will we stand with the American people? Or will we stand with the big insurance companies? We have a moral obligation to make health care a right and not a privilege. We cannot wait a moment longer. We must pass health care and we must pass it now.

Also honored at the dinner will be several local educators, NAACP mentors and the Haverstraw Town Board. More details to come soon.

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.

In regards to a NY Daily News article where the Albany County Republican Chair, they’re convinced that a party change is in the cards.

The fact that Levy is even considering switching parties to seek the governorship is in part a testament to the weakness of the field. That said, Levy has run with Republican endorsements before – as recently as in 2007, in fact. But he would not be considering this bid if he did not see a golden opportunity to win the highest office in the state.

The Albany Republican Party Chair, John Graziano is impressed with Levy and said he would be willing to support him, as long as he switches parties.

RedState.com, however, is treating this scenario (especially that Levy has been endorsed by the GOP in the past) as somehow unique to New York politics. Little to they know that in the land of fusion politics and Wilson-Pakula, these kind of machinations are common, and while they sometimes bear fruit, they’re more likely some wishful thinking by desperate political insiders.

My thoughts are that this scenario has probably been hatched by new New York GOP Chair Ed Cox, who’s son Chris is hoping for the party’s nod to challenge Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop in the 1st CD.

Perhaps Cox & Co. see the possibility of Levy running as a Republican and to help the Nixon bloodline back into DC [shudder].

But it should also be noted that:

Levy, whose aides have steadfastly refused to confirm or deny reports that he is meeting with GOP leaders, including state Chairman Ed Cox, has run on the GOP and Conservative lines in the past and drawn heated criticism from Latino Democrats for his right-leaning stance on immigration.

All this says to me is that Levy is flattered by the attention. He’s not even considered a strong Democratic Gubernatorial candidate. It’s pretty pitiful if the New York Republicans can’t find a better candidate of they’re own and they feel the need to poach relatively nameless also-rans in hopes of beating Paterson or Cuomo.

Sorry, RedState, rather than seeing this as part of your GOP “growth industry” in the North East, I see this as the state party grasping at straws while hoping that party switching by Levy would help get Tricky Dick’s grandson in Congress.

Political maneuvers are rarely so tidy in New York.

Well, this is good news that the Putnam teabagger, Greg Ball has dropped out of the race. (Although the timing, right after the Republican ballyhooed a poll showing him within striking distance of John Hall, makes the timing slightly suspect.)

Still, this isn’t great news. Westchester Opthamologist Nan Hayworth will not have a Republican primary opponent and Rep. John Hall (D) still has a tough race ahead of him.

Ball announced Saturday that he’s abandoning his campaign for the 19th Congressional District seat held by Hall, and will run instead for State Senate in 2010.

In a press release Saturday afternoon, Ball, who is from Putnam County, said he’ll run for the the 40th District State Senate seat currently held by Republican Vincent Leibell.  The State Senate district includes parts of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties.

John Hall’s congressional district includes a portion of northern Rockland and southern Orange Counties on this side of the river.

Mt. Kisco opthamologist Nan Hayworth later today is expected to unveil a new website and disclose that’s she’s already got more than $300,000 for her congressional run.

Hayworth is said to be well known in the area due to her years working as doctor, and her husband Scott Hayworth is an OB/GYN and CEO of the Mt. Kisco Medical Group.

She has reportedly been talking with Sue Kelly, the former longtime 19th rep, who Hall unseated Kelly in 2006 with 51 percent of the vote.

This candidacy makes for some interesting scenarios.
I’d first like to report that Hayworth is targeting independent and Democratic voters in her initial emails. Yesterday, I got three emails from her, each one sent to a different address. Other progressive voters that like in the 19th (I do not) said that they have already been contacted by her campaign. This early move tells me that Hayworth will be targeting socially liberal but fiscally conservative Republicans, like many of those that you would find in northern Westchester County.

Her campaign Web site is not up yet, but a blog called Hayworth for Congress has already been launched. In it, Hayworth (the woman on the left in the photograph) attacks John Hall mostly for his support of the stimulus bill, although many of the assumptions she makes about the lack of job creation on her Web site are misguided or erroneous. There is no mention of social issues such as gay marriage or abortion that one would typically find from a staunch conservative candidate. So I think it’s safe to say that Hayworth will run to the left of Ball in the primary.

And Hayworth has a lot of cash behind her campaign already. She already has $168,247 in contributions and has loaned herself $150,000. This war chest of nearly $320,000 is substantial.

What little I know about Scott and Nan Hayworth is that they have many connections to money and power in Westchester. They’re on boards and donors lists of many civic and benevolent organizations and are the quintessential Westchester power couple. They’ll have no problems finding friends willing to write them $2,000 checks and names like Pataki, Giuliani, and Bloomberg endorsing Nan.

The good news is that this will be devastating for Greg Ball, as he’ll have to much of his cash on a tough primary battle. As Ball’s primary opponent, Hayworth will also expose his Achilles Heel if not pierce it. The bad news is that I worry that Hayworth can win the primary and she’d be a much stronger candidate against John Hall come November as she doesn’t have the baggage that Ball does. While Hayworth won’t inspire any loyalty from teabaggers as Ball does, she is a moderate and can appeal to independents and moderates.

As many of you know, Hall has two possible Republican opponents for his Congressional seat. One, Assembly member Greg Ball (AD-99), is already campaigning vigorously, but his message is dubious at best. Our friends at Take19 will be setting the record straight over the coming year and the Rockland Progressive Dems is glad to be part of this effort as many of our members live in NY-19.

Please vist Take19′s site and keep in mind that we will have one tough Congressional battle in Rockland County next fall.