Standing United for New York State.

On Election Day this year the people of the North Country have a chance to reject the politics of division and fear. Republicans have desperately clung to power by exploiting the historical divisions in our state, to our great detriment.

If New York is to succeed as a state we must find common ground to develop solutions that will benefit the entire state. The Republican State Senate has shown itself unable or unwilling to do that. Their only goal is to cling to the reigns of power and block efforts to reform the dysfunctional system in Albany. Their most effective tool in that struggle has been to hand out pork and hope people won't notice the bloated pig of a State budget they are forced to buy with it.

Certainly Governor Pataki and the Assembly are not blameless in this shell game, but it is the sole lifeline holding the Republicans in power in the State Senate. As shown in the most recent report on NY State government by the Brennan Center, the Assembly has made the first few steps toward reform, while the State Senate has gotten worse.

If we really want Eliot Spitzer to be successful, the best way to ensure that is by electing people that will work with him to change the process. A Republican State Senate will have no interest in Spitzer being successful, since his success would only likely increase Democratic votes in future elections.

Locally, Tim Merrick is the best possible candidate to represent us in the new Spitzer era. He shares the goals of socially progressive and fiscally responsible reform New York needs to move our state forward. Much like the body in which she serves, Betty Little has shown herself to be counter-productive to the process of reform and she needs to be fired on election day. Regardless of whether the State Senate goes to the Democrats this year or 2008, Tim Merrick is the only candidate on the ballot for the 45th State Sentate district this year who will offer the North Country REAL representation.

Andrew Brockway is another representative we need. There will certainly be some points of friction between Speaker Silver and Governor Spitzer and I am confident Andy will advance the Spitzer agenda for reform. Janet Duprey has shown herself to be a typical Republican politician. The only things she has to run on is smearing and distorting Andy's past with personal attacks and spreading false fears about a New York City takeover.

The time has come to stand united for reform - it is not upstate vs. downstate - we are all in this together. Spitzer, Merrick, and Brockway are a team that will stand united for the people of New York State, let's stand with them on November 7.

Our Time is Now.

Election day is fast approaching and John McHugh is still unable to face reality.

In Iraq, John McHugh has said we will "have to begin to face reality" at some time in an unspecified future. McHugh continues to support the "Stay the Course" occupation of Iraq (H. RES. 861) despite the almost 3000 dead soldiers and untold scores of Iraqi dead with no real plan for victory.

In his most recent debate with Bob Johnson, McHugh tried desperately to distance himself from Bush and the National Republican Party, but the facts show McHugh voted the GOP party line 91% of the time in Congress (GOPAuctionHouse.org). Despite claiming to support the troops in his advertising McHugh again is simply out of touch with his own record:

• Rep. McHugh voted to continue awarding contracts to Halliburton even if the Pentagon's own audit processes found that more than $100 million of their contractor's costs in Iraq were unreasonable.
• Rep. McHugh opposed expanding access to the military's TRICARE health insurance program to thousands of Reservist and National Guard members, even though 20 percent of all Reservists do not have health insurance, and 40 percent of Reservists aged 19 to 35 lack health coverage.
• Rep. McHugh voted against granting a bonus to grant a $1,500 bonus to every American service member serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, including National Guard and Reserve forces. (GOPAuctionHouse.org)

Much like his neighboring Republican Rep, John Sweeney, John McHugh voted to increase the pay for Congress, while voting against increasing health care for our troops. In a simple yet devastating ad for VoteVets.org, Tomas Young - a disabled Iraq war veteran, blasts Sweeney for his votes. The ad's ending comment on Sweeney could correctly applied to McHugh as well. "John MCHUGH voted against the troops. Now vote against him."

As a veteran and a doctor Bob Johnson understands everyone needs better health care, but our troops deserve the best health care possible. These heroes, like my cousin Jim Stewart, put their lives on the line for this nation every day, and we must do everything possible to make sure they are taken care of.

"Looking at the reality of a situation should not be an afterthought, and it shouldn't be a last resort. When I take office in January, facing reality in Iraq will be the first job on my list." - Bob Johnson

In the first part of Bob Johnson's Agenda for Renewing America he will:

Create a Select Committee to investigate corruption and war profiteering in Iraq and Afghanistan: Untold billions of our tax dollars have been wasted through rampant corruption and war profiteering in Iraq. Drivers have been sent to their deaths driving empty trucks into war zones because the contracting company was being paid by the convoy instead of by the amount of cargo delivered. Our troops have bathed in water containing raw sewage because the company contracted to purify the water never did so but was paid anyway. All of this needs to stop. It's wasting our tax dollars, it's harming our foreign policy, and, worst of all, it'’s costing lives. This bill would create a committee empanelled to hold the corrupt accountable and create a contracting system in line with our American values. Incumbent Representative John McHugh, with a seat on the Armed Services Committee, was in a position to do something about this. He did nothing, in fact voting three times against the creation of a committee like this one. We must get a handle on the situation in Iraq; this bill on the first day begins that process. (JohnsonforCongress.org)

We will win on November 7 if we all work together to make sure everyone knows that Bob Johnson will provide the representation we desperately need in Washington. Though some have written off the 23rd district, the fact remains we are not being served by "our" congressman, and the time for new leadership is now. The field of competitive races expands everyday, and there is no reason we should not be added to it. With recent support from Eliot Spitzer, Senator Schumer, and President Clinton the momentum is ours.

"Once pessimistic about making gains in the Republican bastion of upstate New York, Democrats have now made the region a focal point in their campaign to retake Congress..."

"...even some Republicans privately acknowledge that the overwhelming leads held by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton may dampen spirits among Republican voters and boost Democratic turnout across the state."

"Democratic leaders in Washington say they see an opportunity to provide additional momentum to candidates in New York who had once been considered long shots." (New York Times)

As Bob Johnson states in his TV ad "A New Direction," "You won't get new ideas from the same old crew." I strongly encourage all North Country voters to join me in supporting New Ideas, New Solutions, and a New Direction for America by sending Bob Johnson to Washington.

Update from the Campaign Trail

I've been fairly busy of late helping with the campaigns of Tim Merrick for State Senate, Bob Johnson for Congress, Andy Brockway for Assembly, Eliot Spitzer for Governor, Kevin Duniho for Mayor of Plattsburgh, and other local Democrats. Things are looking good right now for all the great Democratic candidates this year, but we've got to keep pushing hard to election day. I'll try to get more time to update this blog soon.

Bob Johnson sent out an important message recently on his campaign for Congress:

Hello, friends

We're in the last month! We are seeing the culmination of a two and a half years struggle from a totally unknown member of the public deciding to step forward and do something, to a coalition of like minded people working to change the course of our nation. I have been recognized by both media and the public as a credible opponent in the race. I did not do this alone and I am absolutely indebted to, and dependent on, my incredible team of volunteers. From my senior team with their specialized fields of expertise, to the coordinators in the different counties, to the individual person who talks to a friend, hands out a piece of literature, calls a friend to vote, displays a sign or gets out the message in a myriad of ways. We are the people!

Mary and I had a great time traveling around our huge district visiting each county. We were struck again by the size and variety of the constituency - from the dairy land here in Jefferson County to the pastoral hills of Madison County to the peaks of the Adirondacks. Everywhere people were enthusiastic about our message and we especially enjoyed meeting with small groups of Democrats who are standing firm. Everywhere I go, I learn about the local concerns. In my political journey from the issue of healthcare, that got me into politics in the first place, I have had to learn about issues that I never even knew existed! And I'm still learning everyday. In my enthusiasm to meet people and introduce myself I am still amazed that I learn as much, if not more, about them as they do about me.

While the local concerns are so varied, there are common concerns that span the entire district. The number one concern is indeed our foreign policy and the war in Iraq. I will confess that I am somewhat surprised. Being such a blighted district economically – we are the poorest district in all of upstate New York – one would still think that it is the lack of jobs and opportunity. But people, almost instinctively understand that our foreign policy IS a local issue. Money and resources are being diverted from our communities to a war that we should not be in – and people are angry about it. They are even more angry and sickened by the smoke and mirrors that continually come out of Washington. They want a change.

Jobs and opportunity for our young people is still the greatest economic concern of everybody with healthcare coming into the mix because of its unaffordability. People are beginning to understand the smoke and mirrors about "tax cuts" when they have less and less in their pockets. As Lou Dobbs puts it - "there is a war on the middle class by Bush and his enablers of which our opponent is one of many."


DEBATE ALERT!

So far, there are going to be two live debates with an audience, and a taped television debate on November 1st to be aired soon thereafter. Both public debates are on friendly ground to McHugh – Massena and Watertown. He was "too busy" to debate live at Oswego, Colgate or St Lawrence Universities. So we need every one to come and me on. Our opponent needs to know how seriously we take this race. He's depending on the machine to sweep him back in. He needs a little reality check.

• Massena. Wednesday, October 25th, 7:00 PM at Massena Town Hall, meeting room 30, 60 Main Street


• Watertown. Friday, November 3rd, 7:00 PM, Jefferson Community College, Jules Amphitheater

• Plattsburgh. Debate, Mountain Lake Public TV, Plattsburgh. No audience, but debate will be rebroadcast on WCNY on Nov 3rd at 11 pm and Nov.5th at 1 pm.

MONEY ALERT!

• These are the last two weeks and our funds are low! Our TV and newpaper ads are hitting the mark. Our opponent is going to flood the airwaves the next two weeks. He may have a lot of ads but we have the best. Ours are memorable. We need to be able to keep up the pressure. Can I ask you to please go to the website http://www.johnsonforcongress.org/donate.asp and donate as much as you can. Everything now goes to get our message out!

Thank you very much for all your hard work.

-- Bob