Posted on 07/06/2004 7:59:03 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
WASHINGTON — A storm is brewing in the 29th Congressional District in New York, a region that has generally enjoyed political calm for 18 years under the stewardship of Republican Rep. Amo Houghton, who is retiring this year at the age of 78.
While Republican state Sen. John "Randy" Kuhl has been called the "heir apparent" to the Houghton seat, Monroe County Legislator Mark Assini has emerged as a thorn in his side, and considering that the primary isn’t until September, forecasters predict a long, hot summer in this southwest region of upstate New York.
"Right now, the primary is where the competition is," said Nathan Gonzales, analyst for the Rothenberg Political report.
Houghton, who formed the Main Street Partnership, a coalition of moderate GOP members and organizations, has nonetheless endorsed Kuhl, who has been in the New York State Assembly for 24 years, and already represents many of the residents of the 29th district.
"Randy has the experience and stamina to stand up well here in the restless atmosphere in Washington," Houghton said in April. "He has a sense about loyalties, about issues, about what is significant for this part of upstate New York."
The 29th District has been called "one of the nation’s forgotten stretches of territory," by the Almanac of American Politics, bringing this upstate area mixed blessings over the decades. Miles of dairy farms, wine vineyards and even Indian reservations, plus its proximity to the Great Lakes, offers tranquility and beauty not found closer to the urban centers.
But this region has been isolated by poor interstate access, making it unattractive for new business. More recently, the Internet bust hit this district, which hadn’t kept up with the rest of the country on the economic upswing, particularly hard. Thousands of jobs were lost from Corning, Houghton’s family business and one of the world’s leading providers of high technology components.
Each candidate in this race frequently raises the specter of job and population loss, the state’s high tax rates and high Medicaid burden, one of the highest in the nation.
For Assini, current leadership is to blame.
"Amo is a very nice man, if you meet him he is a very charming man and a kind man, but we will disagree as much as two human beings can disagree," particularly on tax cuts, he said. "It’s the same type of scenario with my opponent Randy Kuhl. We represent two different types of the Republican Party. I am from the Republican wing of the Republican Party, and he is from the land of bigger government."
Assini beat out three other hopefuls for the Monroe County GOP Committee endorsement in May, and they agreed to drop their bids. Now, Assini is going on the offensive, hoping to diminish what many perceive to be Kuhl’s lead, particularly in the influential southern tier counties in the district.
"If we get into a pure issue debate, he will lose because he is part of the problem," said Assini, who blamed Kuhl for a controversial vote to raise state tax rates to pay for the state budget shortfall in 2003.
Kuhl dismissed these claims, and told FOXNews.com that his record bears out that he has voted for tax cuts most of his career, and that the 2003 state tax hike will be phased out at the end of the fiscal year. He said Assini had raised taxes, too, as recently as last year in Monroe County. As far as experience goes, he added, Assini is sorely lacking.
"I won’t go into negative campaigning," he said, pointing to a score of pro-business and tax relief measures he has supported over the years. "I have actually been the people’s servant here for the last 24 years. What do I bring to the race? Experience."
The competition between Kuhl and Assini, however, has escalated to the point where Washington organizations are looking to jump in to assist. The conservative Club for Growth, a wealthy donor organization, is polling right now to see if Assini needs their help.
"[Kuhl] is completely unacceptable," President Stephen Moore told FOXNews.com. If the Club jumps in, than the Main Street Partnership, which has endorsed Kuhl, will be there to help, said executive director Sarah Chamberlain Resnick.
"We would clearly prefer it to be a clean race," she said. "The Club, they love to go in and muck it up. If that happens, then we will have to go in."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Kuhl is a tax and spender who actually gave a "woman of distinction" award to an Ithaca College professor who:
proclaimed that people like Osama bin Laden, as well as all sorts of "moderates" hate America because America's foreign policy since World War II has been one that "seeks control over the entire world by any means necessary." Furthermore, Barlas said, "people everywhere are sick and tired" of our "political economy based on their systematic abuse, exploitation, expropriation, and degradation."
This is a small, rural, district that would gladly vote in a true conservative over a RINO,if given the chance. I hope the "Club for Growth" gets involved.
Upstate NY ping
I have never forgotten this.
bump to the top
Kuhl should have more than enough ammo to throw at Assini. Wait and see.
It is noteworthy that a region of such beauty and academic infrastructure can become a backwater despite the ramping up of communications ease.
I thought the article was going to call Kuhl the conservative because it said "Houghton [is a RINO], nevertheless, he is endorsing Kuhl." It's the word, "nevertheless" that fooled me. OF COURSE he's endorsing Kuhl if they are both RINOs.
What makes me thinks that Bush will be too busy pulling strings for Kuhl to campaign for Thune? Damned RINOs.
>>Kuhl should have more than enough ammo to throw at Assini.<<
We should all by now realize who runs the ammo depot for the Relublican Left by now, right?
(Hint: Who made sure that Chris Cannon, Arlen Specter and Arnold Socialnegger won?)
I've been able to collect approx 60% of the names on my registration list for petition signatures. The county chair reassures me this is happening everywhere for our nominated candidates. Challenge proof numbers are a necessity. With Houghton gone, if we can keep Kuhl out and defeat Boehlert this would be a great start on de-Liberalizing upstate NY.
The Main Street Partnership is a slimy group of Democrats dedicated to the destruction (from within) of the Republican Party. These scumbags are financially supported by the likes of George Soros.
The Main Street Partnership jumped into the Pennsylvania primary a couple of months ago to try to help Arlen Specter defeat conservative Pat Toomey for the Republican Senatorial nomination. When Specter was informed about the Soros connection, he ran away from the Main Street Partnership like it was the plague. Specter ultimately defeated the virtually unknown Toomey by a slim margin.
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