Everyone knows you’ve got people tracking Kryzan, videotaping her every move and word. Hopefully Kryzan’s doing the same, except that no one seems to be able to get a hold of where Lee’s going to be.

But when asked, at least be honest about it, rather than coming up with some kind of bullshit “we’re students doing research” line.

It’s happened twice in two days. While claiming to be from UB, doing a “research” project, Chris Lee operatives have been seen in the crowd during two seperate Kryzan events.This picture was taken today at a press conference while interviewing Chairman Len Lenihan

As we were leaving the event, a different Lee supporter pulled out of the parking lot in his Jaguar with Mike Ranzenhofer and Chris Lee bumper stickers plastered to the back of the car. He drove away before we could turn the camera back on.

Jaguar? Really?

Love, BP

The folks out in Genesee County are also a bit perturbed by Chris Lee’s quiet, safe absence from - well, just about anywhere where he might be asked a tough question.

On September 19th - about 9 days after the primary election, I read at TAP that Jon Powers was being offered a job in Washington DC which would not only give him something to do, but also be a way to get his name off the Working Families line.

Evidently, according to the Buffalo News, Powers has “moved out of the state”. Maybe that’s temporary so as to give the WFP line to Kryzan, or maybe it’s permanent. I don’t know. No one has officially heard anything from Jon as far as his future prospects are concerned.

On September 19th, I sent Jon Powers the following email, expressing my hope that he would stay in the area and help make Western New York a better place. I never received a reply. It appears as if some sort of deal was struck because moving out of state was really the only viable option to get Powers off the WFP line.

I hope that, when the dust settles from this election season, Powers considers coming home and making a difference. As we all know, you don’t have to be in government to do that.

———————————————–

I don’t know what you guys are up to, but the rumor is that you’ve been offered a job in DC or something. Either way, people are talking about what your next move will be.

Let me offer you my two cents.

We need you here.

If I was your advisor or campaign manager or whatever, I’d have had you do a joint event with Alice at the latest this past Monday, not only conceding the race, but pledging your support for her, and urging your supporters to get behind her. The race is over. You can’t win on the WFP line, and you’d just potentially spoil Alice’s attempt to defeat Lee and switch the 26th blue. Chances are, after all, that there won’t be a 26th after 2010, so it’s all sort of academic, anyway.

I don’t want you to move to DC because we need people like you here. In WNY. We need you to stay here and keep fighting the good fight. And the “good fight” can be defined in many different ways. It can be as simple as staying here and raising a family. Maybe teaching college students or getting your Master’s or PhD. Whatever it is, I, for one, supported you and believed in you during your campaign because you’re young, energetic, idealistic, smart, and you had come back home to make a real difference.

You can still do that, and you can do it to a great extent and with amazing effect.

We need people with your experience, education, and brains. We need people who are brave and don’t back down from a tough fight - people who will dive in headfirst into an issue. We need Jon Powers to stick around here.

Get a place in Clarence, get involved locally. Maybe run for county leg to replace Ranzenhofer. Maybe run for Assembly in two years’ time. Or not. Maybe just settle down and do something else.

I guess my point is that I really hope you consider staying here as a very real and viable option, and that you stay involved in local politics on some level or another. There aren’t a lot of Democrats in our neck of the woods, and believe me, we need you.

Best, and feel free to call me or email me any time.

Alan

We already know that businessman Chris Lee has canceled debate appearances with Alice Kryzan, and today we read in the Buffalo News and heard on WBEN radio that he has no comment on the economic crisis and bailout. None whatsoever. Complete silence.

Chris Lee’s continued absence when it comes to the financial crisis is mind-boggling. Either he’s for the bailout that was voted on yesterday, he’s opposed to it, or he’s for something different. He is not courageous enough to tell prospective voters where he stands. How ’bout that.

By contrast, Alice Kryzan has consistently stressed the importance of bringing alternative energy industry jobs to the district, releasing a comprehensive plan detailing how we can strengthen our economy and create jobs, while reducing our dependence on foreign oil and keeping our environment clean.

Despite touting his business expertise, Lee has offered no concrete solutions. Instead, he has argued for a continuation of failed Bush policies, making sure that millionaires get a tax break and that government doesn’t “get in the way.” We’ve seen the results of those failed ideas—financial crisis and more hard-earned taxpayer money going to fix the problem.

For his part, Chris Lee says nothing. He has no plan, no vision, and offers no leadership whatsoever. He does, however, recycle Bush talking points and a poor facsimile of Chris Collins’ winning 2007 strategy.

The financial meltdown and the bailout are difficult issues that further threaten an already reeling economy. I like to see that Kryzan is engaged - talking to voters, offering solutions. Lee? After the bailout bill failed yesterday, I called his campaign office yesterday to ask how he’d have voted for it.

The person on the other end said they’d release something about it “in the next few days”.

It’s been brewing for weeks, and the best they can do is the “next few days”?

How unbusinesslike.

Amherst, NY – Today, congressional candidate Alice Kryzan, NY-26, called on her opponent Chris Lee to make good on his pledge to focus on the issues in this race by agreeing to participate in public debates. To date, Kryzan has committed to a number of public debates in order to let the voters hear directly from her, while Chris Lee has become an expert in debate dodging.

Of seven proposed debates, Lee has pulled out of two debates he had previously committed to and seems unwilling or unable to fit another four into his schedule. Lee has dodged debates at SUNY Geneseo, RNews and a candidate forum sponsored by the AARP, which has over 100,000 members in the district.

Lee also appears unwilling to explain his positions to voters who have contacted him directly. Recently a non-partisan group was unable to get answers from Lee on important issues such as trade, health care and jobs despite repeated requests by phone, e-mail and a personal visit to his campaign headquarters.

“For someone who claims to want to make this campaign about the issues, he’s fallen short,” said spokesperson Anne Wadsworth. “Few policy positions, few statements, few debates. It’s hard for voters to have any idea what Chris Lee stands for.”

It’s time for Lee to stop dodging and start debating. Public debates are a crucial chance for voters to understand how candidates plan to address the issues facing their lives. In these turbulent times, voters need to know where candidates stand more than ever.

The Kryzan campaign calls on Lee to commit to a series of public debates so that voters can understand the very real policy differences between the two candidates. The people of this district deserve no less.

The Buffalo Bean writes:

“Sloppy seconds” is a non-FCC friendly idiom that is most accurately defined here. (Warning: NSFW language at the linked page).

It’s offensive per se, and not a term one would use in polite company. But when using it to describe a female candidate for congress, it is, I think, way way way beyond the pale.

Criticize her policies if you want, but to say Alice Kryzan is the democrats’ or netroots’ “sloppy seconds” deserves condemnation and an apology.

UPDATE: Buffalo Bean responds:

Now isn’t this rich… After eight years of liberal bloggers calling President Bush things like “bushitler,” “bushit,” or “chimpy;” calling black Republicans “house slaves” or “Simple Sambo;” or new ones like calling Sarah Palin “Sarah Piglin,” somehow it’s Republican “old method of thinking” for me to refer to Alice Kryzan as the netroots’ sloppy seconds. Yet, for some reason, I am the one that should apologize for using offensive and “beyond the pale” language? Ain’t that a hoot.

And I guess finding humor in Hurricane Gustav is somehow appropriate.

Where to begin?

First of all, I never called Bush any of those names, nor do I refer to black Republicans as - well, as anything. I never called Sarah Palin “Sarah Piglin”, and never used a derogatory name such as any of those against any person - political or otherwise. Therefore, to suggest that I have some sort of duty to apologize for dumb things other liberals say is patently ridiculous. Furthermore, two wrongs don’t make a right. I was taught that in, like, kindergarten.

As to Bean’s second “point”, I didn’t find any humor in Hurrican Gustav. I found irony in the fact that some Republican fringe whacko Christianist asked like-minded folk to pray for “rain of Biblical proportions” during Obama’s speech, when in fact the first day of the Republican convention was overshadowed by…well, by rain of not-quite Biblical proportions.

If one goes back to my Gustav post and reads it, it isn’t “ha ha, a terrible Hurricane hit New Orleans on the first day of the Republican convention”. Instead, it’s “hey, shitheads, if you’re going to pray to God to do something horrible to people because of their political leanings, perhaps God is teaching you a lesson by screwing with your own convention schedule”.

If one were to buy in to the idea that God would make a political statement by raining on Obama’s speech, then it followed that maybe God was teaching a lesson to idiots who would pray for rain on Obama’s speech by screwing up their own party. Maybe cretins like “Focus of the Family” would do better to pray for things God cares about, like world peace and brotherhood among men, rather than torrential downpours on the heads of Obama supporters.

Robert asked me to post this here, since no one on TAP knows or cares who Wrona is, but he wanted to put his 2 cents in. I want to also add one point. I had tried to comment on Wrona’s blog, but it only accepts comments from “team members”. In other words, echo chamber only. I have threatened to take comments down altogether unless people are capable of debating without entering into a Hudson-provoked flamewar. No one wants or cares to read through 140 versions of “screw you, no screw YOU!”.

Responding to Mike Wrona Guest Post by Robert Harding

After Alice Kryzan’s primary victory on Tuesday, I went over to see what Mike Wrona had to say. After all, Wrona is a vocal Kryzan supporter and has criticized me for my support of Jon Powers in the past. What I discovered is that, even with his candidate winning, Mike Wrona still wants to divide us instead of unite us.

Wrona wrote a post that called Kryzan a “big winner” on Tuesday. He also decided to take jabs at myself and my friend Alan Bedenko, a fellow blogger and Jon Powers supporter. He also seemed to question whether or not we are progressive. I don’t know how that does anyone any favors in this situation, but it’s not exactly what you should be doing after your candidate wins a primary. Wrona also said that we fell for the “Iraq War veteran label.” There is no “label” when you are a veteran. If you are a veteran, you ARE a veteran. It’s not a label. It’s an honor. Wrona also asserted in that post that the local party leadership in all seven counties picked Powers because of money and “form over substance.” Actually, Wrona is wrong. The four rural counties backed Powers first and it was because he is genuine, listens to voters, is very approachable and personable and wanted to go to Washington to be our representative. He traveled every corner of this district early on and that didn’t change throughout this campaign. So Wrona clearly does not understand why the party leadership backed Powers.

Wrona wrote another post about Kryzan getting the DCCC’s backing. He started off the post by saying “better late than never.” Better late than never? Why would the DCCC back a candidate who showed virtually no fundraising ability after being in the race since September 2007 (technically) and a candidate that was very quiet in this race until about a few weeks before the primary? I remember seeing Kryzan at an event in June. It was the Wyoming County Flag Day Party. I guess she had a few supporters there and that’s where she stayed. I never saw her walk around the room to introduce herself. Whether it was a pro-Powers crowd or not, people still would have greeted her and treated her with respect.

In that same post, Wrona makes a blatantly false claim. He claims that Charlie Mallow, the current chair of the Genesee County Democrats, said he would be supporting Chris Lee in November. This is not true. What Charlie said is in this post on The Batavian. If you notice, there is an update in that post which reads, “Some will seek other options but, the vast majority will sooner or later support her before Election Day. We are Democrats; we have an ideology that puts us more in line with Kryzan than Lee.”

That was his response after he was asked whether or not the county would run away from Kryzan in November. I guess Mike Wrona didn’t like that answer so he decided to make up his own. That’s unfortunate, especially when he also suggests that Charlie’s county committee should act (Charlie has already said that he’s not going to serve as county chair again) as well as the state party AND even the governor. Wrona sure went to great lengths to spread a lie.

I will always be a fan of Jon Powers and most importantly, a friend of Jon Powers. But I have never, EVER been a sore loser. I reached out to Alice’s campaign Wednesday morning and sent along my congratulations. I have been in contact with them and they seem to be very receptive of rural support and maybe even some netroots support. This is not an easy time for me. I will honestly say that I’m not in Alice’s corner yet, but she is a better option than the Republican and she is better than Jack Davis. I can’t just throw away 14 months of support for Jon Powers in only a few days. It will take time to get over this tough loss and then refocus our attention on the key races in our state and in our area.

My suggestion to Mike Wrona would be to be more of a uniter and less of a divider. This isn’t the first time he had posted fabrications on his blog about myself or someone I know. I usually tell Republicans that we can all have our opinions but we can’t have our own version of the facts. I shouldn’t be saying that to someone who touts himself as a progressive Democrat. If Mike Wrona wants his candidate to win, he needs to help Kryzan embrace others who were Powers supporters and Davis supporters. Kryzan won with 41 percent of the vote. That means a majority of Democrats in the 26th did not vote for her. She needs to appeal to these people. I don’t think she wants one of her supporters saying the things Wrona has said. It does her a great disservice when she and her campaign are working hard to try and contact key people in this area, especially rural chairs like Mallow.

Hey, Alice, thanks for the shout-out today!

I listened to the show today and here are my quick impressions:

1. Kudos to Dr. Hardwick for hosting what I thought was a good, fair, and substantive debate. I also have to praise his unrelenting criticism of Jack Davis’ absence, but also bringing up how uncouth he was to not bother to call Hardwick to let him know he’d skip the debate, but making insane demands through the press.

2. Jon Powers did very well deflecting the War Kids criticism and explaining what the money was spent on and what the purpose of the group was. On substantive issues, there was a bit of fumfering at times and he began answering some questions with talking points, which doesn’t fly in that studio. Time is very tight on that show, and if you’re asked a direct question, a direct answer is necessary. Powers wanted to give explanations or get into more detail with some questions, but that just doesn’t work. I liked the fact that he didn’t return fire when Kryzan was critical of him, and his grasp of the big issues affecting the district was excellent. He was detailed and informative on the state of the wars in the middle east; he made a great point with respect to 9/11 - that the Bush administration had squandered an opportunity to call people to service rather than go out and shop. On energy and trade/immigration, he set forth an overview of the plans he’s already released calling for renewable sources of energy, breaking our addiction to foreign oil, and leveling the playing field for American workers and products.

3. Alice Kryzan also did very well deflecting criticism of her dealings with respect to Love Canal and her referring to the surrounding “hysteria”. She took some shots at Powers, which he was able to respond to, but I thought that her overall tone when talking about or addressing Powers was condescending and arrogant. She came across like a scold, and Powers didn’t take the bait. She was better at answering the short-answer questions than Powers was, being direct and then launching into whatever explanations she wanted to bring up afterwards. There were some puzzling comments of hers, for instance she mentioned how she had signed on to the “Responsible Plan” to end the war in Iraq, and no one else had. That implies that Powers’ plan is somehow off the mark, but she never said that or explained why it might be. When Powers gave a response to a question may have been long-winded, but was responsive nonetheless, she said she didn’t know what Powers was talking about. I did, so either she was trying to be cute or she wasn’t listening.

4. Davis’ absence really underscores the fact that he doesn’t care what people think, and doesn’t think he needs to answer anyone’s questions. His failure to pick up the phone and tell Hardwick that he wouldn’t show up reveals that he’s a rude, petty little man and it calls into question how responsive he might be, if elected, to constituent concerns.

I thought Kryzan and Powers comported themselves quite well, and I’d call it a draw between them.

One thing, though - Powers made it quite clear in many of his answers that they were crafted after soliciting, receiving, and considering input from people throughout the district. When asked about trade policy, he talked about his discussions with Delphi workers. When asked about immigration, he talked about his discussions with farmers. When asked about education, he drew upon his own experience, but also talked about what he had been hearing throughout the district. He isn’t imposing his views on anyone; instead, he’s listening to real concerns and coming up with solutions to them that he pledges to go to Washington to work for. Kryzan, on the other hand, seemed to me to have a need to be the smartest person in the room, an expert on everything. The only time a discussion with a voter was brought up arose during a question about soldiers being redeployed repeatedly to Iraq.

As usual, the big loser today was Jack Davis.

Not only is Jack Davis refusing to debate his primary opponents Alice Kryzan and Jon Powers on Hardline with Hardwick on Sunday (tomorrow), but he’s also refusing to participate in a candidate’s forum in Geneseo. According to the Lockport Union Sun & Journal:

Now Davis says he won’t join them in joint campaign appearances unless they return the donations that they’ve received from those interest groups — as well as sign on with Davis’ self-created “pledge to protect Social Security,” and promise to run “clean” campaigns.

Interesting. Davis had no problems debating PAC-laden Tom Reynolds last season. Indeed, he had no problem accepting PAC money last season. It’s beyond unseemly for a self-funded millionaire candidate to set as a precondition to answering voter questions that his opponents return what he defines as “special interest” money. Naturally, as his own contributor, Jack Davis is his own special interest.

Kevin Hardwick, the WBEN show host who’ll moderate Sunday’s discussion, called Davis’ refusal to participate in candidate forums “disturbing.”

Hardwick, a political science instructor and past candidate for office himself, said the unwritten rule of campaigning is before you ask people for their votes, you’re supposed to make yourself available to answer their questions.

“If you’re too afraid to go into a debate for fear of saying something stupid, how can we expect you to stand up to the special interests in Washington?” Hardwick said. “If (Davis’) handlers don’t trust him … perhaps they ought not run him for office.”

In Geneseo…

The debate at Geneseo will begin at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Organizers said the National Public Radio affiliates in Buffalo and Rochester, wbfo-FM 88.7 and WXXI-AM 1330, will replay the session as regular programming.

According to debate co-organizer Ben DeGeorge, Independence Party nominee Anthony Fumerelle also will participate. Republican candidate Chris Lee declined the invitation.

Jack Davis has some incredible gall, using as an excuse for not debating that his opponents have campaigned negatively against him. Jack Davis created a phony website with a Powers-friendly URL that is not only negative, but meant to confuse and deceive. Advertising it all over the internet, including on Republican blogs, if Davis wants to learn about slimy campaign tactics, all he has to do is look in the mirror.

Jack Davis. Too afraid he’ll say something embarrassing (again) to debate his opponents.
Jack Davis. Hypocrite.
Jack Davis. Is intent on buying an election whether by hook or by crook.
Jack Davis. Unelectable.

This Sunday from 10 - 10:30 on WBEN 930-AM, Dr. Hardwick will speak with the Hamburg Sun’s Dan Meyer, and then at 10:30, the fireworks begin as the Democratic candidates for Congress from NY-26 debate.

Well, two of them will.

Kryzan and Powers are on board.

Jack Davis? His Highness the Duke of Losingham shan’t be bothered to discuss politics with the proles. He isn’t coming, and doesn’t care what you think. He doesn’t need to be bothered with pesky questions from Canisius professors, and can’t be bothered to “compete” in a “political campaign” because he has people to do that, and can pay for lit and ads.

UPDATE: And another thing. Illuzzi runs no ads for NY-26, yet he is running a cartoon that smacks Powers and Davis. Now, Illuzzi does just about nothing for free, and I strongly doubt he runs those shittily drawn cartoons for free. Illuzzi made a big deal about refusing Jack Davis’ money to smack Powers. I don’t suspect Kryzan is paying Illuzzi, either. There’s only one logical explanation.

Domagalski.

The Republicans must be paying Illuzzi to injure the Democrat they’re most afraid of running Chris Lee against, and that’s Jon Powers. Domagalski and Wojtaszek actually held a press conference a week or two ago to say very, very stupid things a couple of weeks ago, demanding that Jon Powers do exactly what he planned to do, and ultimately did.

Republicans sticking their nose in a Democratic primary race? It’s astonishing in its sheer transparent idiocy. But since they have absolutely nothing, evidently, to say or do to promote their own weak candidate, at least it kept them busy.

UPDATE: Professor Hardwick tells me that Davis’ camp isn’t even returning his phone calls, at this point.

UPDATE: To the top for the weekend.

UPDATE: From the Buffalo News in 1998, Alice Kryzan spoke on the 20th anniversary of the Love Canal fiasco. (We just this year remembered its 30th anniversary):

Alice Kryzan, an attorney who represented Hooker and Occidental, said Hooker’s waste-disposal policies in 1978 “were entirely legal and well-ahead of the industry standards of the times.”

And, she said, scientific studies have yet to prove a link between chemical exposure of people living in the area and health effects.

In the case of toxic torts, causation of injury is notoriously difficult to prove, but if you’ve got an entire neighborhood that’s located on top of a toxic site contracting some form of cancer or auto-immune disease, you need to rely on that circumstantial evidence. And although she’s a lifelong Democrat, just eight years ago, she thought Tom Reynolds was doing a bang-up job to the tune of $250.

Oh, and the real victim of Love Canal was Hooker/Occidental. Not the families who lived there and contributed to the “hysteria”.

You know, just so we’re clear.

Coming up this Sunday is a debate between the Democratic candidates for the SD-61; Michele Iannello, Joe Mesi, and Dan Ward.

Coming up the Sunday after that (August 31st) is a debate between the Democratic candidates for the 26th Congressional District.

Well, some of them.

Alice Kryzan‘ll be there. Jon Powers‘ll be there.

But what of His Highness the Duke of Bilosershire, Earl of Winningnot, Viscount of Failingham, Jack Davis? So far, he won’t be there.

Figures. After all, he can’t buy a win on Hardwick’s show.

Jack Davis and the Republican Party, that’s who’s afraid.

Just one week out after peddling a story accusing Jon Powers of running War Kids Relief into the ground and enriching himself in the process, the Jack Davis campaign goes back to its bitter well of desperation and trots out a story that Jon Powers was arrested in Ohio for cursing out a cop. A flat-out lie.

But Powers spokeswoman Victoria Dillon saw the incident differently. She said Powers was with college friends and fellow veterans in the area, and denied at the time and denies now that he ever used obscene language in addressing the officer. She also offered to produce witnesses to back up Powers.

“At a time when he’s under investigation and running from revelations of election fraud and bribery, the Davis campaign is practicing the lowest form of politics by distorting simple facts,” Dillon said. “Jon was written a ticket for jaywalking, never arrested and never showed any disrespect to law enforcement.”

But a spokeswoman for the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court said Powers changed his plea of not guilty to the original Class 4 misdemeanor charge to “no contest” in connection with a minor misdemeanor on Jan. 11, 2005, and that there was no mention of jaywalking in the final disposition of the case.

Dillon disagrees.

“When you look at the full statute, jaywalking is part of that statute,” she said.

A review of the Ohio criminal code defines a number of offenses that would constitute disorderly conduct — but not jaywalking.

Dillon, however, countered that it would refer to a section outlining “hindering or preventing the movement of persons on a public street.”

Powers was fined $25 and assessed $65 in court costs.

Gosh, that’s a lot of paragraphs for a $25 ticket. Powers wasn’t arrested. And he didn’t plead, and wasn’t found, guilty. And he paid a ticket. If Davis wants to paint Powers as being a one-time, one-man jaywalking spree, then that’s fine. But it doesn’t change the fact that Davis has nothing whatsoever to run on as a candidate. Oh, and when the Powers campaign offered to put McCarthy in touch with other people who witnessed the event? McCarthy wasn’t interested. He was all about covering the politics of it - not the facts.

Davis has nothing else to do, really. The two-time loser ran in ‘04 and ‘06 in a fit of ongoing pique against the Republican Party, which couldn’t be bothered with his concerns about free trade and blew him off. Because his message against free trade was so palatable to people whose jobs are threatened with exportation, he had overwhelming support in both races from organized labor and the Democratic Party faithful.

Not so this time, Davis finds himself completely bereft of endorsements. No one is supporting him except the people he can pay off. Whether buying their votes with cheap gas, or by paying off the wives of Independence Party leadership in Monroe and Erie Counties in order to get a leg up, Jack Davis will do and say anything to get elected. The gas giveaway was tantamount to him standing on a street corner handing out lit with $50 bills attached, yet he bleats on about being a “patriot” who isn’t trying to buy an election. Monroe’s IP chair was fired for accepting what the party called Davis’ bribes. Erie’s chair is such damaged goods that even his friend Joe Illuzzi has called for his replacement.

So, Davis is left sitting at his corporate/campaign HQ, getting his spokesguy to release absolute and utter falsities. Memo to Jack: it won’t get you any more traction to tear down Powers, and no one - no one is going to change their minds and back you again. As Genesee County Democratic Chair Charlie Mallow put it,

As many other letter writers have shown, Jack Davis doesn’t know what issues matter to Democrats because….he doesn’t care to know them. During the last two elections, Jack didn’t go out and meet anyone because he wouldn’t campaign. Jack is above all that. Jack thinks that he can just buy an election with fancy two sided color mailers. I already received five of them in the mail. Rip off musical ads and buying people off with cheap gas are more of his most recent techniques. Those things don’t constitute reasons to vote for someone. Ideology and platform do.

And Davis isn’t the only one.

The Republicans also hit Powers yesterday on the War Kids Vet non-scandal.

Erie County Republican Chairman James P. Domagalski [said] “We need leaders in Congress who believe in transparency and accountability.”

Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it? For the Republican Party to interject itself into a Democratic Primary? Fascinating indeed to trot out various and sundry Chairmen of the Republican Party to comment on - well, the frontrunner in the Democratic primary.

Domagalski wasn’t such a loud proponent of transparency and accountability when it came time for Tom Reynolds to answer questions about Mark Foley. Instead, the Republican version of “transparency” and “accountability” was to issue limp denials surrounded by innocent children.

And all of this short-term-attention-span-disorder points to only one thing - the Republicans are petrified of running Chris Lee against Jon Powers.

Career politician Tom Reynolds has been suckling on the public teat since 1974, and Lee is his hand-picked suckle-cessor. Are you better off now than you were in 1989? 2000? 2004? 2006?

Alice Kryzan? She supported Reynolds monetarily and defended Hooker Chemical, the polluter/murderer of Love Canal. Jack Davis? He’s a horrible campaigner and is, frankly, easy as hell to beat (see Tom Reynolds ca. 2006). Chris “Tabula Rasa” Lee would have no problem bloodying either of these two.

The Republican Party is scared of Powers because they know their brand is tainted, they know they are bereft of ideas, and they know that they are partly to blame for the decline of the 26th District. Who has represented this district in the past few decades? Tom Reynolds? Bill Paxon? Jack Kemp? And in that time, the population loss for New York has been so stark as a result of a failure of vision and leadership that Kemp went from representing the 39th district to the 36th district, and now we only have 29. We lost 30 and 31 in the 2000 census. We lost 32 - 35 in the 1990 census.

Chris Lee has nothing to run on. Apart from his stellar maxing out of local Republican donors, I haven’t seen one story - one fresh idea come out of that campaign. I haven’t seen one positive proposal put forth that would reverse years’ worth of benign-but-pork-laden-neglect from the likes of Tom Reynolds. And what could Lee possibly know of the problems facing the average voter in NY-26? I don’t know a lot of multimillionaires for whom the price of a gallon of gas dents the family budget to the point that “staycation” has entered the vernacular. I don’t know a lot of multimillionaire scions who can really relate to the notion that New York is in a recession, the federal government can’t even get cross-border stuff with Canada right, and whose only real solution is to drill s’more.

It’s no wonder that the Republicans are petrified of Powers. That’s why, when the Form 990 for War Kids Relief -

- War Kids Relief which, incidentally, Jon Powers started up after his tour of duty in the Iraq war, and saw that Iraqi kids were ripe for the picking by jihadists to be slaughtered through attacks on American troops, decided that if the US wasn’t going to pay any attention to trying to give them hope for a future, he would try to do something. And he did. And War Kids is an ongoing concern from which he did not pay himself $66,000, contrary to the lies put forth by the 26th’s own Montgomery Burns and his stenographer, Bob McCarthy, and continues to do outreach to Iraqi kids to underscore the fact that America isn’t their enemy, but wants to help them. The effort was not only a success, but it was a noble success, at that.

- that’s why, when the Form 990 for War Kids Relief is posted, I hope that Jon Powers marches down to Republican Headquarters at the Statler Building and delivers it in-hand. And I hope that he then challenges the Republican chairs to come close to matching what Powers has done to fight for his country, to honor his home, and to try to do something - anything - to ensure that Iraq’s next generation remembers America and Americans as being their friends, their friends who helped them and cared for them, and gave them an example of what life could be, without war and oppression.

Erie County Democratic Chairman Leonard R. Lenihan issued his own response:

“I wonder how many people at that press conference put their lives on the line in Iraq. How can they criticize someone who braved the horrors of that war and then willingly returned to help the many children from families that were killed or displaced by the war?

“The fact that Republicans are intervening in a Democratic primary indicates their desire to avoid facing Jon Powers in November,” he added. “Haven’t we had enough of this swift boat sleaze?”

Why, someone might almost suspect that Davis colluded with the Republicans to hit Powers from two fronts.

UPDATE: Buffalo Bean has an image of the citation itself. Note the right margin: where it says “Defendant’s signature (If minor misdemeanor)”, at the scene, Powers refused to sign the ticket because he adamantly stated he never cursed the cop out. When he was faced with the choice of being arrested or signing the ticket, he signed it with the words “I never said that.” I never said that.

For the uninitiated and dumb, a ticket is an allegation - it is the officer’s claim that Powers said these things in a crowd. Powers denied it then, denies it now. This is why we have trials. This is why Powers pleaded no contest. Since Buffalo Bean has the ticket, I trust he also has the documents showing its disposition.

UPDATE: Here are two guys in suits calling on Jon Powers to release the Form 990 that was due today and has been filed, and will answer all of their questions. Fucking cheap stunt from two guys who probably never gave two thoughts for kids in Iraq before yesterday when the cameras were rolling.

UPDATE: Robert Harding says Davis had three attacks against Powers - youth, disorderly conduct, and War Kids money. He’s out of ammo. All that stands between Jack Davis and obscurity now is a couple weeks’ time.

Cartoon by Adam Zyglis

Some of the Republican bloggers talking about the 26th race, (who evidently have little to write about when it comes to Chris Lee), have linked to me with respect to the “Jack Davis is a former Republican” post. They thrillingly write what can be summed up as: aha! Jon Powers was a Republican too! Alice Kryzan gave money to Tom Reynolds!

Well, no shit sherlock(s). Reeding komprehenshun. Not yours.

As I wrote yesterday, I, too, am a former Republican. The point of the post had little to do with former Republicanism and more to do with…

Jack Davis is now saying that other candidates are flawed because they accept PAC funds. Yet he himself proves his charge to be untrue. After all, even after giving all those thousands to conservative candidates and PACs, Dick Cheney still refused to give Jack Davis the time of day when he came to Buffalo in 2002. Davis’ first run for congress was an anti-Cheney temper tantrum.

In the end, it’s all about the money to Jack Davis. If his money can’t get conservatives to listen to him, he’ll use it on himself. His misguided anti-Powers temper tantrum has everything to do with the fact that Powers is trying to take what Jack things is rightfully his. After all, he bought and paid for it.

Just like Jack Davis tried to buy himself the IP line by basically paying off Tony Orsini’s wife’s do-nothing Florida corporation or the resigned-in-disgrace Blanca Semidey-Colon.

But there is something to point out to my Republican blogging friends that’s also pretty interesting. They’re all former Republicans. I wonder why?

Eight years of what amounts to a pathetic attempt by government-despising Republicans to govern has turned loads of people off to that particular political party. They’ve taken borrowing and spending to new, hitherto-unseen heights. They have divided and conquered. They have lined up American troops at the border of a sovereign nation and invaded and occupied it based on a flimsy-at-best and false-at-worse pretext. They have sanctioned and approved the use of torture against people locked up without charge (so we can’t really determine just how bad they are or might be) so as to obtain oftentimes useless information given more in an effort to make it stop than actual truthiness. Those are just a few reasons why there are loads of ex-Republicans out there. It’s become a fundamentally un-conservative party. Except maybe when it comes to letting gay people marry.

Oh, and yesterday it was revealed that the Justice Department, which is supposed to - above all - uphold the law and, one hopes, be a meritocracy, promoted and demoted people based on a political purity test rather than experience and merit. It is American tradition that loyalty is not due the head of state, rather to our flag and constitution.

So, yes, Virginia, there are many ex-Republicans out there, and chances are many of them live in the NY-26. Maybe they haven’t switched affiliation yet, but I’d be willing to bet that, at a bare minimum, the foundering economy makes their zeal for the GOP somewhat diminished. Which means that no matter who is the Democratic nominee come September, they will more likely identify with and support the young vet and teacher from Clarence, or the doddering old industrialist from Akron rather than the unemployed millionaire heir who helped sell out the company to out-of-towners. I’m sure Lee will do well in with his base. The Democrat, too, will have his or her base. But the enrollment advantage that a generic Republican might otherwise have in the 26th is, I think, a mirage.

While this blogger characterizes voters in two blocs - liberal and conservative - I think the average American can’t be pigeonholed like that. Most regular general election voters don’t fit perfectly into either box. They’re a little of both. And that’s where the Republicans, and their pseudo-Collins choice, have, I think, made an error.

Say what you want about Tom Reynolds, he comes across as a regular guy who speaks plainly and matter-of-factly. There’s nothing flashy about him, and he’s a guy who was a Realtor and insurance agent before he started his long political ascent. Chris Lee?

I think that a fitting image next to the phrase “cheap political stunt” in the proverbial dictionary would be Jack Davis’ gimmicky vote-buying effort at a Greece, NY gas station yesterday.

The gas was subsidized by Democratic Congressional candidate and multimillionaire Jack Davis, and the campaign expected to pay for all of the 10,000 gallons that were stored in underground tanks at the Sunoco station at Long Pond Road and Ridgeway Avenue.

“We are here because I believe gasoline should help America run; gas prices should not be running America,” Davis said. “This (day) exceeded my expectations.”

About 700 customers, who waited about two hours in line, were charged $1.50 a gallon, and Davis picked up the difference between that price and Thursday’s regular price of $4.29 per gallon, or about $27,900, from noon to 4 p.m.

The 26th District has 654,360 residents. Why doesn’t Jack Davis just send us all a check in exchange for our votes? We know the guy refuses to go out and meet with or speak with average people, and instead campaigns via direct mail, so it’s only fitting that he’d basically buy people off with this idiotic gas stunt. Here, he made the voters come to him. How convenient.

Davis said gas prices are high because of special interests and lobbyists for oil companies. Davis is self-financing his campaign and is committed to spending $3 million on the race.

Davis’ opponents on both sides of the aisle attacked Thursday’s event.

“Like all western New Yorkers, Chris believes record-high gas prices are a serious issue that demands real bipartisan solutions, not slogans or political gimmicks,” said Nick Langworthy, campaign manager for Lee.

Kryzan said a national energy policy is needed. “It’s going to take more than a publicity stunt to solve the real problems that every day people are facing in western New York as a result of high gas prices,” she said in a statement.

Powers’ campaign manager, John Gerken, said Davis was “trying to buy votes.”

“He claims he has no intention of buying this election, but today proved he is a hypocrite,” Gerken said.

Rochester’s WHAM reveals why Davis doesn’t like being asked questions:

Just two days ago, Jack Davis (D) said, “Some will say I’m trying to buy a congressional seat. Not so, not so, not so.”

From noon to 4 p.m., Davis paid about $2.70 per gallon out of his pocket, while drivers paid only $1.50.

When asked if buying someone’s gas is the same as buying their vote, Davis replied, “No, I’m a patriot.”

No one asked him if he was a patriot or not. The question was whether it was buying a vote. The answer is - of course it is. It’s one thing to spend $30k on a mailing, it’s another to hand a potential voter a direct monetary benefit such as Davis did yesterday. Why not just hand them each a check for $50? I mean, sure it’d be effective, but is it legal?

The Niagara Falls Reporter breaks the news that State Senator George Maziarz will not be running for the seat now occupied by scandal magnet Tom Reynolds.

After a weekend mulling what he called a “historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” state Sen. George Maziarz told the Niagara Falls Reporter on Monday that he will not seek the Republican nomination for the seat representing New York’s 26th Congressional District. Reynolds held the seat for almost 10 years before announcing on March 20 that he will not seek a sixth term.

By choosing to stay put, the six-term Republican state senator made it more likely that a prominent Democrat, Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, will join a field that already includes three announced or highly probable candidates from her party alone.

Maziarz, who stood a few feet from Reynolds during last week’s news conference, said his decision had nothing to do with leaving his post in the Republican-controlled state Senate, or with the prospect of serving as a freshman member of what figures to be a shrinking GOP minority in Washington, D.C.

Instead, Maziarz said it was a family choice, made after long discussion with his wife, Beverly.

“Beverly and I were up all night Saturday and into Sunday talking about it,” Maziarz said. “Her heart’s not in it, and if her heart’s not in it, mine’s not in it, either.”

While Reynolds acknowledged the shifting political climate in announcing he would leave the House at the end of the year, Maziarz said another comment by the congressman had a greater impact on his own choice.

“When Tom, at his press conference, said he hardly knew his grandchildren, that brought home how difficult that lifestyle is,” Maziarz said.

Discuss.

1: The rural counties of the 26th district - Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming - are hitherto referred to as “GLOW”.

2: The Democratic committees of those counties have endorsed Jon Powers.

3: Jack Davis, who has yet to formally announce his candidacy, has tried to cajole the GLOW committees into changing their minds and endorsing his candidacy.

4: In so doing, Davis has affirmatively insulted Jon Powers (pretty face with no real job) and disregarded Alice Kryzan by omission.

5: The GLOW chairs issued this statement last night:

This is a press release from the 4 Democratic chairs of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming Counties regarding the NY 26th Congressional race. Jack Davis seems to feel the rural counties can be cajoled into rescinding their endorsements of Jon Powers, and the chairs wanted to make it clear that there are no intentions to do so.

6: Now that Tom Reynolds is out, there has been talk of Kathy Hochul possibly running for the seat on the Democratic side. I like Hochul, but wonder why she’d run for an open seat, but was never mentioned until that moment?

7: It’s sort of nice to have a congressional race locally that̵