Primary School

Class, please take your seats, and open your textbooks to Chapter 2006.

What I want know is why in the world Chris Ortloff and Janet Duprey are trying to get on the Working Families Party line?

The members will certainly be very interested to see the political back flips they will do to get around their consistent anti-Working Families stance on the issues, but they obviously must be desperate to think the members will be fooled.

What I want to know is why is Kevin Nichols wasting his limited political capital in a futile Primary challenge to Andy Brockway?

He has no real reason that I can see. Andy obviously has a bedrock solid base of support in Clinton County, there were over 100 of the Clinton County Democratic Party committee members at the endorsement meeting, not a single one of them had any interest in Nichols. Andy is also has a significant base of support in Franklin County. Even with reportedly 11-12 hand picked proxies on hand Mr. Nichols managed only a 9 vote margin in his home County.

I was happy to talk to Mr. Nichols at Drinking Liberally on Tuesday, maybe in a couple years you can build up a base of support in Clinton County to run for some office. It still wouldn't be the Assembly since Andy will be seeking his second term in 2008.

What I want to know is how Mr. Nichols intends to build any base of support in Clinton County by insulting the party committee members?

In an email faux pas reminiscent of Ortloff sending out an email encouraging his supporters to cheat in an online poll, Nichols equated Clinton County with the Soviet Union in a testy email to a Brockway supporter!

What I want to know is why doesn't Tom Suozzi save himself a lost of wasted effort and step aside for the next Governor of New York, Elliot Spitzer?

While any candidate has the right to make a primary challenge that doesn't mean it is a good idea. Much like Nichols quixotic challenge to Andy Brockway, Suozzi's dubious chances and lack of a valid criticism of the favored candidate put him on a dirt road to nowhere. Fortunately Suozzi's futile challenge will likely only damage his own political future. Unfortunately in Nichols case he will likely erase all chance of getting the substantial funds from the NY Democratic Party that helped the Bernie Bassett campaign in 2004. The NY Democratic Party seems likely to be a huge help to local campaigns this year due to the 50-State Strategy of DNC Chairman Howard Dean, but Nichols and Suozzi seem intent on unnecessarily expending the Party's efforts.

What I want to know is why in the world DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer and DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel are trying to undermine Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean?

Howard's 50-State Strategy is building the Democratic Party from the ground up. Despite Schumer and Emanuel's childish critiquing of Howard's plan the 50-State Strategy will not ONLY get us a huge victory in 2006 but is also setting up a Democratic win in 2008 and beyond. Chuck Schumer is especially bad and has shown a remarkable disdain for the local party structure. He persuaded Paul Hackett to run for Senate in Ohio then forced him out of the race! Schumer is also supporting Suozzi for Governor of NY over the clear choice of most New Yorkers, Elliot Spitzer.

The stench of the Republican Culture of Corruption only continues to grow in Washington. Alphonso Jackson, the Republican Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has admitted to awarding contracts based on political affiliation.

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. Democracy for America has set out a petition to call on Congress to investigate, and the Senate will soon be hearing the nomination of General Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director.

With the strong Democratic party being built up by Chairman Dean we will capitalize the Republican's mistakes and bring common sense effective solutions to the American people.

"My political career is about change, and this campaign is about change. And what we're going to do here is we're first going to change this party, because this party needs to look in the mirror and ask itself, is this party about the next election or is it about changing America, about changing America?

This party needs to be about changing America, because only by changing America will we win back the White House.

I want a party that stands unashamedly for equal rights for all Americans.

I want a party that stands unashamedly for health care for every single American.

I want a party that stands unashamedly for balanced budgets and taking care of poor kids and voting together and healing the divides instead of expressing the divides and exploiting them the way the Republican party has so shamelessly done since 1968."
- Remarks By Gov. Howard Dean - Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting - Washington, DC - February 21, 2003

Some in the Democratic Party need a remedial session in primary school, and learn to follow the lead of great Democrats like Howard Dean, Elliot Spitzer, Dr. Bob Johnson, Dr. Tim Merrick, and Andrew Brockway.

If we can work together as Democrats, Working Families, Independents, and others for the best candidates we can take this country back from the one-party rule of the Republican Culture of Corruption.

Together, America can do better.