Free Republic

Just one day after learning that he will face a House Ethics Committee trial on multiple ethics allegations, it looks like Rep. Charlie Rangel is starting to turn toxic for fellow Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer -- who've been among Rangel's staunchest defenders during the committee's two-year probe -- issued terse statements conspicuously lacking in political support. "The independent, bipartisan Ethics Committee is moving forward," said Pelosi through a spokesman. Added Hoyer -- as he dodged questions about the scandal's impact on congressional elections: "The ethics process is working." And two of New York's leading...

Republican decision-makers in New York missed the boat – big time. The U.S. Senate junior position currently held by a one-time “conservative” Democrat turned mouth-piece for Sen. Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, is probably the weakest seat in the state. According to a June 14 Sienna College poll, Gillibrand’s favorability rating is down six points from last month to a dismal 36%. Here is the perfect opportunity to show the rest of the country that even liberal New York is ripe for upheaval. New York State Conservative Party got it right when they chose former Congressman Joe DioGuardi as their designated...

- New York Republicans have given Bruce Blakeman the party's official designation to take on Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The three-day GOP convention came to a fractious end with the Republican delegates split on their choice of Senate candidate. Bruce Blakeman is the former presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature. He won the endorsement over David Malpass, who earned enough support at Thursday's convention to run in a September 14th GOP primary. Malpass is a former Bear Stearns chief economist. A third candidate, former congressman Joe DioGuardi, didn't get enough votes for a primary line. But he is vowing...

D’Amato has supposedly endorsed Bruce Blakeman for Senate, and has lately been selling his soul to get Conservative and Republican endorsements. Even the most amateur of political observers conclude that good old Al has been desperately seeking the Republican nomination for Blakeman, in order to ensure Gillibrand’s retention of her ill-gotten seat. Two pictures are worth a thousand words; and, remember, they are taken less than 18 months apart. On the left we have Blakeman’s formal announcement of his candidacy for U.S. Senate. And on the right, we have the Gillibrand announcement. Anyone who has already endorsed Bruce Blakeman may...

At the state level, governors like New York’s George Pataki and California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger pandered to government-employee unions and opened the spending spigots, to taxpayers’ ongoing horror. Other culprits include the state-level influence peddlers who seem more interested in cash than in free-market and conservative principles.New York ’s former U.S. senator Alfonse D’Amato is a perfect example of this breed. “Senator Pothole” personally discovered an obscure state senator, George Pataki, from Peekskill, N.Y. After being muscled through the state GOP convention, Pataki scored the party’s nomination and won the governorship in 1994. After some limited first-term tax cutting, Pataki’s spend-o-rama...

The appointment by New York Governor David Paterson of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to the vacant senate seat of Hillary Clinton raises serious questions surrounding the illegal dirty tricks employed to elect Gillibrand to Congress in the first place. In 2006 Governor George Pataki's Chief of Staff Zenia Mucha illegally obtained New York State Police records regarding a domestic dispute between then Congressman John Sweeney and his wife. The records were obtained by former State Police captain Daniel Wiese, who functioned as a dirty tricks operative for Pataki and later Governor Eliot Spitzer. Wiese was also the operative who pressured State...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is taking political swipes from the right AND the left today. The DN's Glenn Blain reports from the State Capitol that GOP Senate candidate David Malpass held the Albany launch of his campaign this morning and continued to attack Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s ties to the Global Strategy Group - one of the firms that reached a settlement yesterday with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over its role in the pension fund scandal. Malpass, in an obvious move to woo New York’s Jewish voters, also broadened the attack to include Gillibrand’s “silence” regarding the Obama administration’s Israel policy, Blain...

Over the past twenty years, Chuck Schumer has received $7.7 million in campaign contributions from the securities and investment sector, more than any other non-presidential politician. So it's no wonder his supportive stance for the Senate's financial regulation bill has many on Wall Street outraged and accusing him of turning against them. But rather than try to appease his big donors, Schumer is taking a publicly defiant position, holding a Washington press conference yesterday to re-affirm his principles, and contributing a firm opinion column to the New York Post — a paper whose own editorial board had criticized his position....

A few weeks before playing a central role in fraud charges against Goldman Sachs, hedge fund titan John Paulson invited colleagues to a fundraiser for Senator Chuck Schumer -- "one of the few members of Congress that has consistently supported the hedge fund industry" -- according to a copy of the invitation obtained by POLITICO. Paulson is not a defendant in the SEC's lawsuit against Goldman Sachs, though he was Goldman's partner in the alleged fraud, and Fortune reports that he may yet be an SEC target. Schumer has been an ally on "important issues such as finantical regulation, carried...

Half of all community districts in Queens lack reliable access to fresh and healthy foods, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The problem has contributed to increasing rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases — the leading cause of death in the United States. In many high-need communities like Jamaica and Far Rockaway, which have been labeled “food deserts” by lawmakers, corner delicatessens or bodegas are the only convenient sources of food, and while most may stock up on canned items, few offer fresh produce and meats. Additionally, the USDA reports that 23.5 million people in the United...

Kirsten Gillibrand, New York's junior senator, doesn't just flip-flop on is sues as convenient -- she also revises her past. Voters, beware: Gillibrand is a chameleon on plaid, a woman who has and will do anything, say anything, forget anything, spin anything to get elected. Her 180-degree reversals on gun control, gay marriage and immigration -- making her one of the most liberal members of the Senate -- are old news. But that's far from the only way she remakes herself, as we discuss in our new book, "2010: Take Back America." Start with her habit of censoring her own...

New legislation proposed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Nuydia Velazquez, both of New York, would invest $1 billion in federal loans and grants to help build 2,100 grocery stores in under-served areas throughout the U.S.

New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand remains in a vulnerable position in her bid for a full Senate term in New York even though no viable Republican running against her. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the Empire State finds Gillibrand earning just 40% support, while an unnamed generic Republican candidate picks up 39%. Seven percent (7%) prefer some other candidate, and 14% are undecided.

The entry of David Malpass into the lists for the Republican nomination for United States Senator from New York is one of those opportunities for which the state has been have been waiting. A former official in the Reagan administration, he is a successful businessman and public intellectual who is short on gimmickry and long on substance. He has thrown his hat into the ring in hopes of gaining the nomination to challenge the Democratic incumbent, Senator Gillibrand. It’s too soon for an endorsement, since the field is not yet complete and the primary is not until September. But it’s...

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is very popular in New York. Governor David Paterson and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are not... and they're both up for re-election. Conventional wisdom has had it that Cuomo will run for one of their jobs: Paterson's. Amidst unsourced press reports that Cuomo would begin his campaign for governor sometime in March, Paterson even announced he would not be seeking re-election. But now March has come and just about gone, and there's no announcement. Cuomo, in fact, keeps insisting he's running for attorney general. But it's hard to believe the heretofore ruthless politician, suddenly lacks any ambition...

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is losing out in the polls to an opponent who hasn't even announced his candidacy yet. "We'll see down the road," said Republican ex-governor George Pataki, when asked if he would vie for the seat. Marist College research shows Pataki beating the former upstate congresswoman by two percentage points, 47-45. As for job approval, a scant 27 percent of the electorate believe Gillibrand, who critics say fails to connect with voters, is doing good work, reports the Post.

A new Siena poll (810 RVs, 3/15-18, MoE +/- 3.4%) is the first in New York to test the potential Republican primary for governor between former Rep. Rick Lazio (R) and Steve Levy, the Suffolk County Executive and soon-to-be-former Democrat. Lazio leads Levy 45-16 in an initial test, with 40 percent undecided. When Republican voters are informed of Levy's political affiliation, Lazio's lead expands to 60-19, with 22 percent undecided. Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, continues to be the early heavy favorite to ultimately win the seat in November.

Attention Ryan Seacrest: This DioGuardi wants to go to Washington – not Hollywood. Former Congressman Joe DioGuardi, better known these days as the father of “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi, launched Tuesday a bid to become the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in New York. Mr. DioGuardi, who represented suburban Westchester County in the House of Representatives for two terms in the 1980s, appears to be getting plenty of media attention

WASHINGTON — He gripes about her in private conversations with his aides and her colleagues on Capitol Hill. He has yet to take up her invitation to sit down for dinner. And his political team is constantly shopping for potential candidates to oust her. As New York experiences a tumultuous election season, one question is captivating political insiders: Why does Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg so dislike Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand? It is more than a passing concern for Ms. Gillibrand, who is still working to win over New York voters, especially downstate. The mayor’s top political advisers, with Mr. Bloomberg’s...

Encouraged by state and national Republican Party leaders, Dan Senor, an author, private equity executive and Defense Department adviser in the last Bush administration, is seriously considering a political challenge against Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, according to three people told of the discussions. Mr. Senor, 38, who is married to the CNN anchorwoman Campbell Brown, is expected to decide in the next month whether to run. The discussions between Mr. Senor and the Republican leaders reflect their dissatisfaction with the existing field of Republican candidates in the state and their consensus that Ms. Gillibrand remains vulnerable to a challenger in...