NY-24: O-D Debate

The Candidates for NY's 24th Congressional District met with the Utica O-D editorial board to have a debate of sorts.

Link HERE


Since you all probably know that I'm an Mike Arcuri guy, I can hardly be an impartial judge of this debate, I think that Arcuri showed that he does deserve to be sent back to Washington. However, I do think Hanna held his own.

So to you, my readers:
1. Who Did you support BEFORE you saw the debate?
2. Who do you think won the debate?
3. Did the debate change your outlook on the two candidates?

(Aside: Is it just me, or does that debate page just look like a mess?)

SD-51: Seward trying to coast?

I don't know about anyone else following the State Senate district 51 race, but to me it seems a lot like Seward thinks that this time around he'll be able to coast to a victory using the same old techniques he's used the past 20+ years.  I think Seward is in for a rude awakening if he thinks that this election year is not any different from the others that he coasted to victory in.  This year he has a very formidable opponent, Don Barber, and the people of New York are thirsty to shake up Albany.

Seward has already backed out from a couple of debates, and he has remained mostly quiet on the issues that are affecting the pocketbooks of the people of New York,

From the Barber Release:

State Senate candidate Don Barber (D-Caroline) continued to press Sen. Jim Seward (R-Milford) yesterday on his refusal to answer questions about the $85 billion taxpayer bailout of A.I.G., the New York incorporated insurance conglomerate. Seward, who heads the Senate's Insurance Committee, has refused to reply to a series of questions Barber posed about the collapse of the insurance giant.

"Seward's silence speaks volumes. Not only are taxpayers on the hook for $85 billion. The Wall Street Journal reports that A.I.G. has lost more than $170 billion in value, including losses to retirement plans and employee stockholders. These are working people, and that's who I'm concerned about."

Sen. Seward has long been a supporter of deregulation policies, Barber explained. "Since the beginning of this campaign I have pointed out how much money Sen. Seward's actions have cost New Yorkers. He refused to regulate health insurance premiums, and they've gone up exponentially in a five year period. He pushed for weakening oversight of auto insurance rates. Now he won't say a word about the biggest bailout of the biggest insurance company in history. He's even cozier with the insurance industry than we first thought. Only New York State has oversight responsibilities over A.I.G, which is incorporated in New York. Shouldn't Sen. Seward, as Chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee, be demanding answers and calling for stricter oversight?"

Barber pointed to one obvious reason Sen. Seward has refused to explain the A.I.G bailout to the public. Seward is president of the National Conference of Insurance  Legislators (NCOIL) whose stated mission is to prevent federal oversight of the insurance industry. Robert Hunter, Consumer Federation of America's Insurance Director, said NCOIL "has taken a series of recent positions on high-profile insurance issues that are favorable, if not identical, to insurance interests. Too often, NCOIL's advocacy is virtually indistinguishable from those of insurance interests. Perhaps because so many of their members are affiliated with the insurance industry, NCOIL consistently promotes industry self-regulation and weak oversight of insurance abuses. I'm issuing a consumer alert to federal and state lawmakers that they cannot count on NCOIL as an unbiased source of information on pressing insurance issues."

"You can draw a straight line from the hundreds of thousands of dollars Seward has taken from insurance companies and lobbyists, to the policies that his organization advocates, to the collapse of A.I.G.," Barber said. "Strong oversight could have prevented A.I.G. from dealing in risky securities, and the people's money would have been protected. That's why Sen. Seward doesn't have a single answer to the questions I posed last week."

Barber pressed Seward again to answer a series of simple questions. Why did A.I.G. fail? Why didn't you advocate stronger government oversight of its risky practices before it was too late? How do you justify the use of taxpayer money to bail out the largest insurance company in the country? How can you explain to the citizens of our district taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from insurance companies?

Seward is keeping silent when pressed about his insurance company ties, he is keeping silent of the big bailout that these companies are getting.  If Seward wants to be silent, that's fine, but let's show Seward that we want a State Senator who will give us answers, not the cold shoulder. 

Still alive

Don't worry, I'm still alive...

With school and everything expect updates to be pretty slow for a while, I'm trying to manage time best as I can.



Thanks for your patience,

Jeff

Clinton endorses Barber, Barber speaks out for Universal Healthcare

Sorry about the infrequent updates, alot going on with school and such. It appears though that the Barber campaign has been even more busy than me, releasing two statements.

The first is in regards to Barber's campaign receiving the endorsement of Former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

From the Release:

Sen. Hillary Clinton Endorses Don Barber

Hails Barber’s Fight for Health Care Reform

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) threw her support behind Don Barber (D-Caroline) in his run for a seat in the New York State Senate (51stD). Clinton praised Barber’s campaign for taking on the special interests and battling for the middle class.

In her statement, Clinton said, “Don Barber is a farmer who knows how to protect our precious environment. He’s a businessman who knows how to revitalize the upstate economy. He’s running a vibrant, grassroots campaign and taking on the special interests that have blocked health care reform. I know Don Barber will put the interests of middle class, working families first. His voice is sorely needed in the New York State Senate. He has my full support.”

Barber thanked Sen. Clinton.” I deeply appreciate this support and recognition from Senator Clinton. I am honored to add her endorsement to our list of supporters. This shows the depth and breadth of the excitement our campaign is generating.”

Last week Barber added The League of Conservation Voters’ endorsement to a sheaf of endorsements that includes Citizen Action, Democracy for America, The Working Families Party, The United Auto Workers, The Communication Workers of America, The Sierra Club, as well as numerous office holders and other unions.

and, the Barber camp has also realeased a statement in support of a Universal Healthcare bill, and slamming Seward on his ties to healthcare companies, and the American Cancer Society's letter to Seward.

From the release:

Cancer Society Decries Seward's 'False Insurance Promise'
September 10, 2008

State Senate candidate Don Barber (D-Caroline) threw his support yesterday behind a "uniquely American" universal health care plan currently before Congress. Speaking at a SUNY Cortland forum, Barber praised the publicly financed, privately delivered "Medicare for All" legislation, HR676, saying "quality, affordable universal health care is a human right, not a commodity."

Barber outlined how the health care crisis hurts small businesses and highlighted the growing problems created by "stripped-down" insurance policies whose coverage falls short in a health care crisis.

Small businesses and their owners are suffering under the weight of double-digit HMO premium increases, Barber said. "My neighbor had a small business growing and selling flowers and plants. His business didn't do enough sales to allow him to afford health insurance. His wife was diagnosed with cancer. To care for her, he closed his business. Now he is selling his assets. It's enough to make you cry. These stories are reality for many hard-working families every day."

Barber pointed to the inadequacies of "stripped down" health insurance plans. "For many who have health insurance, they are surprised to find out it has conditions and those conditions are used to deny them coverage. These 'stripped down' policies make us just one critical illness away from bankruptcy."

Later, at a press conference in downtown Cortland, Barber read from an American Cancer Society letter condemning Sen. Jim Seward's recent "stripped down coverage" bill, S-6385-A. In its letter, the ACA says that Seward's legislation "offers a false health insurance promise, particularly to people with serious chronic illness, such as cancer." The letter also asks, "Does New York wish to encourage an insurance plan that denies cancer patients the ability to complete the prescribed course of life-saving chemotherapy?"

While his supporters unrolled a thirty-foot long print-out detailing over $312,000 in insurance company contributions to Seward's campaign committee from 1999-2008, Barber said, "There is a reason my opponent is proposing legislation that will improve the insurance industry's bottom line while offering consumers little in return. The reason is campaign contributions."

Barber asked, "Why did my opponent need all that money from insurance interests when he was running without opposition all these years? Because that's the way they do business in Albany and Jim Seward doesn't know any other way. But I do. I'm running to reform health care and to reform the way they do business in Albany. I'll put the interests of the middle class and working families first. That's why I'm in this fight."

"Jim Seward's just too cozy with the insurance business," Barber's Campaign Manager Tarah Rowse said. "And Don Barber just proved it."

This isn't just all campaign rhetoric, talking about Seward's ties with big insurance companies. The Barber campaign has done a great job of putting forth a 26 page document detailing the contributions to Seward's campaign from insurance companies and PAC's. If you think, like most New Yorker's do, that we need a change in direction of healthcare policies, then you can not in good faith support Jim Seward. Don Barber is the candidate for the future of New York.

This is great news as a whole for the Barber campaign. There are only 55 days until election day, and in order to beat the corporately funded longtime incumbent Seward, they are going to need to be hard at work.

The Barber campaign won't be able to do it alone though. They need the help of people across district 51, and across the state.

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Don Barber lays out plan for Upstate Economy

The current local economy is, as Barber puts it, in shambles.  We can not afford to continue to send the status quo back to Albany time and time again. The people of district 51 have a choice this time.

From the release:

Barber Says His Plan Will Reverse Economy's Decline

'Economy in Shambles,' Seward 'Too Cozy with Big Business,' Barber Charges

Speaking in Cortland today, State Senate candidate Don Barber (D-Caroline) presented his vision for a new upstate economy built on alternative energy industries and a small business revival. Barber hit hard at Sen. Jim Seward's policy of giving tax breaks to big businesses that take taxpayer dollars and fail to produce jobs.

Barber is optimistic that his plan will turn back decades of economic decline. The six-term Town of Caroline Supervisor sees opportunities for an economic comeback in upstate New York if the region builds on its agricultural base and develops solar, wind and biomass industries. A proponent of the "buy local" movement, he also advocates rolling back unfunded mandates to lower property taxes. Driving down property taxes will help residents and small businesses thrive, Barber said.

"A new, vibrant economy is within our grasp. We must buy local and innovate to build the new economy. The real economy isn't a bunch of graphs and numbers. It's our quality of life. It's families and our children," Barber said.

Barber decried Sen. Seward's failed policies, charging the 22-year incumbent is "too cozy with big business." Referring to Sen. Seward's corporate giveaways, Barber added, "Just this year, he and the Republican leadership rejected a proposal to require companies that get tax breaks and then outsource jobs to return that money. It's our hard-earned dollars that he gave away without demanding accountability."

The sky-rocketing cost of health insurance is also depressing the local economy, Barber argued, laying the blame squarely at Sen. Seward's feet. "Jim Seward heads up the Senate Insurance Committee. Since 2001 he has blocked a bill to cap HMO premium increases at 5%. The result? HMO premiums have risen 79% and insurance company profits increased a stunning 93%. The lack of affordable health care is the main reason that small businesses can't start up and farmers are forced to find jobs off the farm."

"Jim Seward's out of touch," Barber's Campaign Manager Tarah Rowse said. "Gas prices are crushing working families, and he gives the insurance companies a big present, pushing through a bill that lets them raise rates on auto insurance up to 5% a year without any oversight. At the worst possible time, Seward made driving more expensive. Permanently."

SD-51:League of C onservation Voters makes their choice

It is clear who enviornmentalists believe will be best suited to serve SD-51: Don Barber


From the Release:

Don Barber Receives Ringing Endorsement from League of Conservation Voters

'He'll work for us because he's one of us,' Campaign Manager says

Citing Don Barber's "impressive profile on environmental issues," the League of Conservation Voters enthusiastically endorsed his state Senate (SD-51) candidacy today. The League of Conservation Voters, the environmental movement's political voice, noted Barber's many achievements in protecting our valuable resources and developing clean alternative energy.

"I'm honored to accept the League's endorsement," Barber said. "Preserving our abundant environment for future generations is our most important task. I learned about the importance of protecting our precious environment as a child on our family farm. Advancing this value is the great work of the New York League of Conservation Voters."

"On the environment, as on every other crucial issue, Don Barber will work for us because he's one of us," said Tarah Rowse, Barber's campaign manager. "As a farmer and Town Supervisor, Don Barber stayed close to the land, conserving resources, keeping our water pure, and working on ways to build a new alternative energy economy. Meanwhile, Sen. Seward has been out of touch in Albany the last 22 years."

Under Don Barber's leadership, the League said, "Caroline was the first town in Tompkins County to conduct an aquifer study. He has made stormwater and erosion control a high priority, and oversaw construction of a state-of-the-art stream bank stabilization project. One of Don Barber's most significant environmental achievements was the establishment of Energy Independent Caroline, an organization that initiates renewable energy projects and educates residents about energy issues. In 2005, the town became the second in New York State to purchase all of its electricity from wind power."

Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, characterized Barber as "an intelligent and forward-thinking champion of the environment, both as the owner of an organic farm and the Town Supervisor of Caroline. Don Barber epitomizes the kind of environmental leadership we need in Albany, and that is why the New York League of Conservation Voters enthusiastically endorses him as the next State Senator from the 51st District."

Reader E-mail

Going through my inbox, I stumbled upon an email from one of my readers asking me why I wrote so much about issues without running for office.

From the Letter:

Dear Jeffrey,

I have been a reader of your site for a couple of months, and in that time I've began to respect your opinions. I however, do not like how you continue to just rant and rave about Republicans in office, and don't try to unseat one yourself. Why is it that YOU don't run for office, are you afraid to be in a position of power, instead of just sitting back and criticizing those who are in power?!?!

Well, that is certainly a good question, Why is it that I don't run for an office?  I most definitely am not afraid of being in a position of power, or making decisions, why is it that I'm not running for office?

oh wait...


I'm 16 years old.