North Country Republican Convention?

According to the Watertown Daily Times (link), Oswego County's own Honorable Will Barclay (link) has proposed a North Country Republican Convention for New York's 23rd Congressional District.

According to the article, Barclay

"...has proposed inviting the 1,300 county committee members from the 23rd Congressional District to a central location this summer to mingle with the party’s three prospective candidates, hear their pitches and then pick a favorite."

The suggestion doesn't demonstrate a full-tilt rift in the party, but it does demonstrate a difference of opinion among Party Chairmen.

The article states that Jefferson and Franklin Counties' chairmen are opposed to the idea, citing the possibility of backlash for another back room deal to annoint the candidate. Alternately, Oswego County's chairman is in favor of the convention idea as a way to involve the committee members more in the decision making process.

NCN calls it: Mr. Barclay, a North Country Republican Convention is a fantastic idea. The average party member is disaffected and feels misrepresented by their party leadership. Unfortunately, that includes the committee members as well as more well known party leaders. Beyond that, the logistics of inviting 1,300 committee members from 11 counties with full-time jobs, families, and schedules to one central location would be overwhelming.

NY-23 is 14,739 square miles of God's favorite country (link). That's the land area of Washington D.C., American Samoa, The US Virgin Islands, Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, Rhode island, Delaware, Connecticut, and Hawaii combined (link). Geographically, the center of the district has got to be someplace southwest of Tupper Lake (link). Good luck trucking everyone in.

But as I said, it's a fantastic idea... if you scale it back. Right now the Republican Party is at a crossroads. The TEA Party people say they're fed up with misrepresentation. Can we reach them and bring them back into the fold? Probably some, but not the most virulent. What we can do is make the party more appealing to rank-and-file members. Let's stem the tide and momentum away from the TEA Party movement, and bring them back into good relationship with the Party.

Mr. Barclay, let's have a Senate District Barbecue. Oswego, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence Counties have much in common, but we're separated by lines on a map. You name the place - your family's estate in Oswego County, Fort Oswego (hurry, before it closes!), Jefferson County's many lovely parks (Southwick, Westcott, Thompson Park, Grass Point, Keewaydin... a field in St. Lawerence County... Just name the place, send out the invitations, and make sure you bring extra ketchup.

In fact, why don't you open it up to rank-and-file members? They're already feeling disillusioned, what better way to bring them back into the fold than to let them mingle with their party bosses, see their neighbors from the north and/or south. Let's put up a united front and rally the troops. It'll do wonders for our Senate candidates (Go Ritchie!), our Assembly candidates (Go Barclay! ... and others to be named officially later).

Mr. Barclay, I urge you to unite the Party with a party.

Republican Kegger, anyone?

TEA Party - Friend or Foe?

According to a recent poll (link), New York's 23rd Congressional District is still as Republican as ever. When given the opportunity to vote for two candidates, the Republican wins. Throw a third party (TEA Party) candidate in there and what happens? The Democrats win.

Why is that?

As Sun Tzu said, "We can form a single united body, while the enemy must split up into fractions. Hence there will be a whole pitted against separate parts of a whole, which means that we shall be many to the enemy's few." VI:14 (link)

Think it over, TEA Partiers. What is more important - standing up for Glenn Beck's 9/12 principles and losing completely, or finding common ground behind a Republican candidate? Res ipsa loquitur.
 
That is what is so dangerous about Doug Hoffman resolving to run on the Conservative ticket Republican Primary or not.
 
YNN has an excellent piece about a North Country native who's seeking the nomination from the Republican Party (link).
 
Rain or shine, sink or swim, win or lose - the Republican Party cannot afford to be splintered for this race.
 
If Hoffman wins it, let's get behind him. If Doheny wins it, let's come together and kick some donkey.

2010: The most important election of your life?

Voting is a fundamental right here in America. More than 44 million Americans have shed their blood at home and on foreign soil to secure that right (link). Yet time and time again, abysmal voter turnout decides who represents us in Washington and Albany.

More after the jump.

Owens: "Aye" on Health Care and Bankrupting America

It's official!

Congressman Bill Owens voted for the single worst piece of legislation since Prohibition. Maybe he should add an interactive section to his Kids' Website showing them how long they'll need to work to pay for such a program.

The Watertown Daily Times' own Jude 'The Body' Seymour reports, "Mr. Owens' deliberations included reading and studying the Senate legislation, the reconciliation bill, the CBO report, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report on the cost of inaction." (link)

That bill is 2,409 pages. That's 100 pages PER HOUR for an entire DAY. Just to get through the bill!

There are 506 Amendments to that bill.

The CBO report is another 28 pages (link). In case you never got around to reading the Congressional Budget Office report on this bill, please note two things:

1. 
   
   The report repeatedly says that the report "Does not include effects on spending subject to future appropriation." No freaking duh. Is this bill a prime example of the "thin end of the wedge" or what?
2. 
   
   Page 12 of the report details the total cost of the bill without "future appropriation" - $875,000,000,000 - the better part of one TRILLION DOLLARS over 9 years. They hope to pay for it with taxes on "premium health insurance policies" to the tune of $150 billion dollars between 2010 and 2019. The rest of the money will be made up by fining you for not buying health care (link) and vast changes to Medicare. Don't believe me? Read the CBO report - Table 4.

Oh, and that Robert Wood Johnson (*juvenile snicker*) Foundation Report (link) he consulted operates under the assumption that absolutely nothing would change between now and 2020. Their "worst-case scenario" showed the group most likely to be uninsured would be those in excellent health. Why? Because they're in excellent health.

The local blogosphere has been split over the news:

Hizzoner posted an uncharacteristically brief news item (link) with just the facts, ma'am.

Oswego Tea Party hoisted the Jolly Roger and declared "the will of the people will be done." (link)

Buggs Buddy at totally-in-the-tank-for-Hoffman What's Up NY 23 called it yesterday, but had nothing to say as of the time of this printing. (link)

Nothing from Jefferson Democrat (link), pseudo-newspaper Gouverneur Times (link), and since Christmas, there's been nothing but the sound of wind rustling through the turbines over at Political IV (link).

So the question I pose to you, local freedom lovers - Has Congressman Owens driven the first and final nail into his 2010 campaign?

All this and more after your late, local news.