The Politicker
Towns Thinks Powell Should Rehabilitate Himself Elsewhere
During an interview with New York 1 News, Representative Ed Towns seized on his Democratic opponent Kevin Powell's admitted past problem with violence towards women. When asked about it, Towns, a 13-term incumbent, said it disqualifies Powell - who refers to himself as a "recovering misogynist" -- from serving in office, and said, "Congress is not a place to be rehabilitated."
Towns said he was eager to campaign, but balked at accepting an invitation to debate Powell on the show.
Events for July 19 to 21, 2008
SATURDAY
10 a.m. C-SPAN airs a senate committee meeting hosted by Chuck Schumer and Chris Dodd on the monetary policy report.
11:30 a.m. Nydia Velazquez attends a health fair at the corner of Wyckoff Avenue and Stockholm Street, in Brooklyn.
Noon. Local residents discuss waterfront development on the Lower East Side, at the East River Park Dance Oval, between Delancey and Houston.
1 p.m. Betsy Gotbaum and health officials offer free child health screenings, in Orchard Beach, at Bruckner Boulevard and Middletown Road, in the Bronx.
4 p.m. The Long Island Progressive Coalition protests John McCain for his support of offshore oil drilling, at Corwith Windmill on Montauk Highway [contact number: (516) 749-5074. read more »
Elsewhere: Bruno's Goodbye, Obama on Gore
On the day he retires, Joe Bruno unveiled $6 million for the city of Troy.
Barack Obama said he admires Al Gore's environmental goals, but didn't quite commit to going for them.
The New York Times calls the agreement reached today between the U.S. and Iraq as "a tacit admission that the United States’ military presence in Iraq is not endless"
Marc Ambinder has some ideas about what the Obama camp wants out of the trip overseas.
For the first time, Dean Skelos will be one of the "three men in a room" when he meets with David Paterson and Sheldon Silver next week. read more »
Skelos on 'Joe Bruno's Day'
Here’s a clip from last night's Captiol Tonight, with Albany television reporter Josh Robin, who hosted the relatively new State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.
It was Skelos first extended television interview since assuming the position of majority leader, and it didn’t start with a softball question.
Referring to an event that took place earlier in the week, Robins said to Skelos, “Probably the biggest announcement upstate since the end of the [legislative] session was that I.B.M. deal, $1.6 billion investment in upstate. You weren’t there. Tell me why. Where were you?”
“You know what? That was Joe Bruno’s day,” Skelos replies.
Hiltzik's Middle East Advice for Obama
Den Dekker Replacing Lafayette on Ballot
Democrats in Queens this morning picked district leader Michael Den Dekker to replace Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette on the ballot in September.
“I am honored to be asked to replace such an esteemed member of the assembly,” Den Dekker told me in a brief interview. “I was amazed that this process even happened, and I was lucky enough to even be asked.”
“No one thought he would step down,” he went on, adding, “We just follow the rules on how to fill a vacancy.”
The vacancy was created when Lafayette submitted petitions to get on the ballot for reelection this fall and then declined the nomination to instead take a job with the governor. read more »
HRC2012, Legit Netroots
John McCain warns of "spectacular" terrorist attacks in Iraq around the U.S. election. [Ben Smith]
The people who bought the internet domain name HRC2012.com have done work for Hillary Clinton. [Marc Ambinder]
Tomasky does some ciphering to determine the limits of what increasing black turnout can do for Barack Obama. [Guardian]
Asked about the Republican running for his seat, Vito Fossella talks about the importance of the voters. [S.I. Advance]
Chris Beam thinks that the Conference Formerly Known as Yearly Kos is “about the netroots going legit.” [Trailhead]
Parker, Felder Both to Speak at Brooklyn Breakfast
A legislative breakfast for a Brooklyn-based educational group, Shema Kolainu, on August 5 will be something of a who’s who of New York politicians.
Amusingly, attendees will hear both “remarks” from State Senator Kevin Parker, and “greetings” from one of the Democrats looking to unseat him, Simcha Felder.
The chairman of the event is possible mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, whose company, Gristedes, is the sponsor.
(Honorary chair status is given to Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, which may help sell a few more tickets.)
The event is paying tribute to, among others, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the State Senate minority leader, Malcolm Smith, comptroller candidate and City Councilman David Weprin, and City Councilman Bill de Blasio, who is also a candidate for Brooklyn borough president.
Paterson on Jesse Jackson and Obama's 'Higher Plane of Thinking'
Intern extraordinaire Bharat Ayyar listened to NPR's Michael Martin interview David Paterson,who waxed poetic on NPR about his speech to the N.A.A.C.P. yesterday (where he was uncharacteristically outspoken about that New Yorker cover).
Today, Paterson talked about African-American leadership. Of the civil rights leaders, he said, “These people had to invest their energy on the abolition of slavery, preempting of segregation and the establishment of civil rights when they should have been spending their God-given talents finding new inventions for manufacturing, creating new transportation ideas, medical and scientific research, and perhaps nuclear physics.
"We have just wasted so much of our talent forcing African-Americans, Hispanics and women to invest their great ability in trying to make the Constitution valid and the Declaration of Independence read true," he said. read more »
Bruno's Last Day, Michelle Obama Blogs
Joe Bruno is spending his last day in office on a bus tour of his contributions to the Capitol Region. [Cap Conf]
Michelle Obama has joined the BlogHer network. [Barack Obama]
Another consequence of high oil prices? Expensive asphalt. [Times Herald-Record]
Apparently cell phones don't actually skew poll results. [Political Wire]
A New Jersey Hillraiser is considering switching to support John McCain. [PolitickerNJ]
Barack Obama disinvited Max Cleland to a fund-raiser in Atlanta. [Ben Smith]
McCain says he doesn't know if Obama is a socialist. [CNN]
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- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
- Spread
- RCP Average
- 45.8
- 41.6
- Obama +4.2
- Candidate
- Favorable
- Unfavorable
- Spread
- Obama
- 55.6
- 33.0
- +22.6
- McCain
- 52.6
- 34.3
- +18.3
