As Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and local papers all over the country are now noticing, the stand that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has taken against the Obama administration and five largest mortgage firms is building drama.

After CBS Marketwatch called the all-too-kind settlement being offered to the mortgage giants “another bank bailout“, the NY Daily News reported Schneiderman got a lift from New York’s Congressional delegation in the form of a letter sent to the Iowa Attorney General Tom Kelly. Kelly removed Schneiderman from the 50-state negotiating panel for objecting to a grant of blanket immunity from state fraud investigations and the NYS Dems did not appreciate this.

Kelly also shared some none-too-kind words about Schneiderman for “undermining” the work of the committee, which he wants to conclude expeditiously with a narrower settlement, focusing only on foreclosures and mortgage servicing practices. Kelly has been criticized in Iowa and elsewhere for serving the big banks who have contributed greatly towards his campaigns.

Schneiderman, elected to enforce the rule of law, wants to use this 50-state panel to immediately investigate the cause of the mortgage backed securities crisis that led the United States into the most debilitating economic tragedy in a lifetime. Attorney General Kelly, along with Obama’s HUD Secretary and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner are noticeably anxious to rush through a settlement that does nothing to confront the dangerous moral hazard of unregulated securitization or hold to account the crooks who designed them to be impossible to detangle, costing taxpayers billions.

Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi was not shy in suggesting Obama may want to cuddle up to these banks in time for election contributions, abandoning the “small individual donor” he prided himself on for the historic 2008 election he won as our economy was crumbling. Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc. are the firms in question, but other toxic debt bundlers are also watching keenly.

The signatories to Jerrold Nadler’s letter included every Democratic Member of Congress in the state – Louise Slaughter, Charlie Rangel, Gary Ackerman, Maurice Hinchey, Eliot Engel, Carolyn Maloney, Carloyn McCarthy, Nita Lowey, Kathy Hochul, Yvette Clark, Nydia Velasquez, Joseph Crowley, José Serrano, Brian Higgins, Yvette Clarke, Bill Owens, Paul Tonko, Edolphus Townes and Steve Israel, Gregory Meeks and Tim Bishop.

This display of party unity begs the question – will Governor Cuomo weigh in on the issue as the grassroots are mobilizing? Last week, a petition was circulated by Citizen Action of New York (sign it here) and late word came today that a group including AIG, the FDIC, and various ripped-off banks, insurers and fund managers are joining Schneiderman and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden in a lawsuit against Bank of America Corp., seeking to block any settlement and move the case to federal court.

If you have not yet written AG Schneiderman to support his investigation, click here. To complain to HUD Secretary Donovan, email to Secretary.Donovan <at> hud.gov or “tell your story” to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau overseeing the negotiations. Email the White House here or send a message to Geithner at the US Treasury on Facebook here.

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.

Engel told Politico: “Without that [public] option there will not be enough votes in the House to pass that bill.”

The Congressman, who represents parts of the Bronx, Westchester, and Rockland, also chastised Senate Democrats, particularly Montana Senator Max Baucus (D) for holding the legislative process hostage:

“The Senate needs to understand that they are one-half of the process, not the entire process,” said Engel. “This is not a matter of [Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max] Baucus or anybody else negotiating a bill, than coming to the House and saying, ‘take it or leave it.’ That’s not how it works.”

While Engel’s words are a strong warning to the Administration and Sen. Baucus, he is not among the 57 House members that sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week and 18 more that took a pledge stating that they would vote against any health care reform bill that didn’t include, at the minimum, a robust public option.

It is not clear whether the White House is shifting away from the public option, but the rhetoric has been softened as of late. President Obama said on Saturday that the public option is just a “sliver” of the overall package, followed by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius commenting that it wasn’t essential. However, administration spokespersons are now backtracking and saying that the alleged shift away from the public option is no shift at all and that President Obama still insists that the public option is the best way to provide needed competition with the insurance industry.

Along with Engel, representatives Nita Lowey (D, NY-18) and John Hall (D, NY-19), who also represent parts of Rockland, support the public option and according to Rockland Business Digest, all three will hold public forums on the health care plan. Spokespersons for Lowey and Engel say they plan to hold town halls sometime in late August, with times and venues to be announced. And although his staff did not confirmed it when talking with Rockland Progressive Democratic Caucus members, it is rumored that Hall will hold four town-hall style events across his widespread district.

This article is cross-posted at the Nyack News and Views Web site.

It has 106 cosponsors in the house. None of our local representatives is on that list!

More at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/24/AR2009062403282.html

and: http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/

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The news and diaries posted on the Rockland Progressive Dems site are the  individual opinions of the members of the Rockland Progressive Democratic Caucus. They appear on this Web site to provide a progressive forum for Rockland County residents. While the Executive Committee of the caucus may edit some of these posts for clarity, length, and accuracy, it does not necessarily endorse the contents of each post. All members of the Rockland County Democratic Caucus are invited to share their viewpoints and comment on those viewpoints on this site.