The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

The main topic of this morning's Massa press conference was Iraq, driven by the Batiste endorsement and his appearance at a Massa fundraiser this weekend in Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County. The fundraiser also coincides with the endorsement Massa received yesterday from the CattCo Democratic Committee.

Rick Miller of the Olean Times-Herald (which covers Ellicottville) was on the call, and asked a number of questions. The first was whether Iraq would be an issue in 17 months. Massa responded that it is an issue today, and as long as the President continues with his "failed strategy", we will need leadership on the issue. "Leadership is not flying over Iraq and announcing all is well," Massa said, referring to Kuhl's Iraq trip last summer. Massa said he believed that Iraq will "absolutely" be an issue in 2008.

Miller then mention the September re-evaluation of Iraq policy, and wondered what Massa thought about it. Massa said that it's "obvious that Iraq is not more secure now because of the new troops." He re-iterated his partition strategy: "We need to learn the lessons of Bosnia" by separating the warring factions and then leaving.

As for the war on terrorism, Massa says that "no one is more committed to hunting down terrorists than me" and referenced his combat experience in Lebanon in the early 80's on the USS New Jersey. Massa called the partition strategy the "only strategic shift that will enable us to rapidly depart Iraq and do what we can do" to ensure some stability. He pointed out that partion is already happening, since the country is dividing itself, but it's happening in "the bloodiest way possible".

In response to a follow-up about the kind of planning that's required for an end-game in Iraq, Massa noted that "those plans are already in place." He said that there's ample unclassified evidence of planning, and that he believes that Pentagon planners have also made extensive studies on an exit strategy. The issue, Massa believes, isn't the exit plan, it's the unwillingness of the President to shift to a new strategy.

I asked a more general question about General Batiste's future role in the Massa campaign. Massa said that Batiste is "acting as a trusted advisor and counselor." Batiste understands the "ground game and the lay of the land tactically" because of his experience in Iraq. Massa said he also considered himself fortunate to have Batiste as an advisor because of Batiste's business experience. Massa will look to Batiste to provide advice and counsel on how to bring economic growth to the area.

Batiste's input on economic growth dovetails with Massa's desire to make the issue of a new jobs base in the 29th front-and-center for his 2008 campaign. At the top of the press conference, Massa announced that he is developing a plan similar to one that was successful in the Raleigh-Durham area. This plan brings together business, education and local government, leveraging the strengths of each group to help build an economy that will employ young people in the area. Currently, those young people receive an education at local colleges but must leave the area due to a lack of jobs.

As for the employment of Eric Massa, which was another question asked by Mr. Miller, Massa noted that he curtailed all other activities in April when he becam an active candidate. Massa's noted that he can't take a salary from his campaign, so he's making personal sacrifies, "as do all candidates who aren't beholden to corporate PAC money."