Free trade, pork, merit pay for teachers and, oh yeah, the war, were the topics of today's Massa press conference. Read on to learn some Latin and to see what Randy Kuhl and Disneyland have in common.
Let's start with a Latin phrase that should be familiar to all politicians: repetito est mater studiorum, or "repetition is the mother of learning". Since a different set of reporters attends Massa's press conferences, a number of the topics tend to be repeated. I'm going to assume that readers have read previous press conference reports, so I'm going to keep the repetition to a minimum and point readers to previous posts if the answers are similar.
Massa's first topic this week was free trade. Bob Recotta of the Corning Leader asked Massa about the relation between free trade and keeping jobs in the US, pointing out that some critics say that the reason jobs are leaving the US is the high wages of union workers.
Massa pointed out that only 20% of the US workforce is unionized, so blaming the destruction of the middle class on union workers makes no sense mathematically. "I spent 24 years in the millitary fighting for the things unions fought for in the United States", Massa said, and listed the principles of dignity in the workplace, job safety, financial security and training the next generation of workers. Massa saw no reason to sacrifice those principles, which have been defended by 10 generations of Americans, for the profits of a few "mega-billionaires".
Massa's second topic was pork, and the "addiction to pork" that Massa believes is the cornerstone of Randy Kuhl's campaign. Massa made a number of the same points as last week to this new audience. In addition to his proposal to link industry, education and young people through a scholarship program and tax breaks, Massa made a new point: excessive pork, like the $43,000 earmark to study economic conditions in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties is "taking money from our own children", since it adds to the deficit.
After Massa's prepared topics came the inevitable question about fundraising. Massa said he doesn't like talking about money:
This election is not about money. It's about optimism, vision and new ideas. To the extent we've been successful, it's because almost 1,000 of my supporters have stepped up to the table.
Massa distinguished between Union PACs and Corporate PACs by noting that Union contributions can be traced back to individuals -- union members -- whereas corporate donations cannot.
Another reporter (whose name I missed) asked whether Massa will push for clean elections if he's elected. Massa said he's a big supporter of the clean elections approach that removes the "often corrupting influence" of money from our electoral system. He pointed to what's been done in Maine, and suggested that a program of that type should be done nationally.
After money came Iraq. The new topic here was readiness. Massa said the military is "overextended and can't complete the many missions they've been given despite heroic efforts". Massa summed up the divergence between the reality in Iraq and the Administration rhetoric with this quip:
George Bush is living in an alternative reality and Randy Kuhl as bought a ticken on that Disneyland ride.
The next question was one I promised Reader Elmer that I'd ask: what's Massa's position on merit pay for teachers?
Massa said that he had just met with a group of teachers and was going over the pros and cons of what had been discussed. He plans to address merit pay in more detail soon, but his "gut feel" is that "as long as an adequate base pay is met, there may be some merit in merit pay." He noted that a lot of professionals receive merit pay, and his main concern with any merit pay proposal is that it becomes a "incentive for the positives" rather than a "tool for the negatives".
Finally, in response to an immigration, Massa went through his "big three": (1) reform can't be conprehensive, but rather should be individual initatives (like a guest worker program); (2) enforce the laws we have, including deportation for criminal illegals, and (3) secure the borders.
Massa emphasized this last point, pointing out that Al Qaeda's reconstitution (as documented in the recently-released National Intelligence Estimate) makes it more important that we make sure our borders are secure. He cited the example of the failure to inspect 100% of cargo coming in on ships as one instance of our failure to completely secure our borders:
We're spending hundreds of millions of dollars to protect the borders between Syria and Iraq, and Iraq and Iran, but we're not spending it on ourselves.
Comments
"Press" call? The "press" could care less about this raving fruitcake! Who cares what an unemployed congressional candidate who fattens his own wallet with labor union money by paying his wife from his campaign account says.
According to this, there were no reporters on the line last week, and maybe one or possibly two this week, and one guy who maybe wishes he was a reporter.
Randy Kuhl, from what I've heard, apparently has 10 to 12 legitimate reporters on his calls every week. Why? Because he's a CONGRESSMAN.
Massa needs to get a real job. Massa seems to love to deal with rumor and heresay. H
Eric Massa wouldn't even qualify for a security clearance today with his shady past. The only way he could get back in the game is to be elected to Congress where anyone can get access to classified documents (Duke Cunningham, Alcee Hastings, Bob Ney, William Jefferson, Jim Traficant... Massa would fit right in there.
This blowhard is wearing out his welcome.
Oh, and what about the libel suit by his former campaign manager... Where'd your donor's money go Eric? To pay legal bills and hush money to Sanford Dickert?
Pul-leeze. We don't need anymore of you in Washington.
"An adequate base pay" would provide a nice vehicle for incompetent or uninterested teachers to do harm to school districts and students. I would still like to see a system where good teachers rewarded and bad teachers are penalized. I really appreciate your asking the question, but I still wonder about tenure. It is a good thing for Massa that congressmen are not rewarded with tenure or else he would have no chance of being elected. Massa and his supporters like to paint him as an energetic newcomer who would add much to our government. How many young energetic teachers who would add so much to our school districts are turned away because the old guard is tenured?
Elmer - I'll raise the tenure issue next time.
Erik - I see you're from Washington, DC. I guess namecalling passes for argument down there. I'll leave the namecalling alone and deal with the few substantive accusations you make.
First, there were two other reporters on the line. Also, no matter how many reporters do call in to Kuhl press calls, they are rarely covered in the print or broadcast media. Results are what counts, not attendance, and Massa's press conferences have yielded roughly as much publicity as Kuhl's in the time that they've been held.
As for Massa paying his wife, she's the person who files his campaign reports, as you saw when you read it. Kuhl pays the person who files his reports also. She's hardly getting rich from the campaign, and, if my recollection is correct, Massa's loaned the campaign more than she's earned.
Massa did settle with Dickert for $40K. Dickert admitted he spent more than that on lawyers. Nobody won that mudfight. I don't know the final disposition of the libel case - the last I heard from Dickert was it was going to court in March, then nothing. Dickert has taken down all mention of the case, so I'm guessing he didn't get anywhere on the libel count, which was a tough slog. The Dickert case was covered ad nauseum here and people can go back and read the documents and make up their own minds about the case.
I have been a Republican since the early 70's and probably will vote for Kuhl. I am so conservative that I couldn't even pull the lever for Amo Houghton and voted for other parties' candidates (no democrats). I did spend an hour or so with Eric Massa in a small group setting (I think there were 7 people total), and I can tell you he is not a "raving lunatic". Did I agree with many of his policy positions? No. But cut the guy some slack - he is not what you try to paint him as. Also, hiring your wife to work for your campaign seems to be the smart thing to do (unless you are John Edwards).
Geez, mean words from Washington... I hardly see how a congressional candidate making himself available to the press is fruit cake-like.
Also I'd hire my wife to run the books if she was a professional accountant, you'd be guaranteed at least one person you could trust, and it would be the one handling money.
As for a candidate "fatten[ing] his own wallet" with labor money... Let's not forget all the PAC money that Kuhl has accepted, including yet another $1000 donation from RJ Reynolds... now that's one smooth, filtered influential donation.
Comments from "Erik" ... Rotten, I'm curious, does "Erik's" ip come from house.gov? If it does, that would be a clear violation of the Hatch Act. Isn't that right Mr. Van Wicklin?
"Press" call? The "press" could care less about this raving fruitcake! Who cares what an unemployed congressional candidate who fattens his own wallet with labor union money by paying his wife from his campaign account says.
-While it is true that Beverly Massa is the accountant of record for the campaign it is also true that she has never been paid any of the salary. Paying for services is a requirement of all staff under FEC guidelines. This is true for all employees including Randy Kuhl's son, who was the campaign manager and who was paid and accepted tens of thousands of dollars.
According to this, there were no reporters on the line last week, and maybe one or possibly two this week, and one guy who maybe wishes he was a reporter.
Eric makes himself available to all reporters on their timeline. if there was no interest then it would be hard to explain the lengthy article in the Corning Leader today that was the result of yesterday press conference. Furthermore, if you think fighting29th doesn't qualify as reporting, then why are you spending your time reading this site?
Randy Kuhl, from what I've heard, apparently has 10 to 12 legitimate reporters on his calls every week. Why? Because he's a CONGRESSMAN.
How have you heard this - most likely because you work for him since the you are logged on from Washington DC. It would be both interesting and informative to share that with the Government oversight investigative commission.
Massa needs to get a real job. Massa seems to love to deal with rumor and hearsay.
-Once again Kuhl supporters degrade and insult Veterans. Eric Massa is retired Naval Officer and if 24 years in the US Navy was not a real job then you sir have some explaining to do.
Eric Massa wouldn't even qualify for a security clearance today with his shady past. The only way he could get back in the game is to be elected to Congress where anyone can get access to classified documents (Duke Cunningham, Alcee Hastings, Bob Ney, William Jefferson, Jim Traficant... Massa would fit right in there.
I asked Massa about his security clearance at a house party, and actually he still retains a TS SI which is a Top Secret Special Intelligence clearance on record.
This blowhard is wearing out his welcome. Oh, and what about the libel suit by his former campaign manager... Where'd your donor's money go Eric? To pay legal bills and hush money to Sanford Dickert?
-Anyone who supports Randy Kuhl should be very careful about attacking someone who is being sued. Public officials are routinely attacked with and/or without basis and that is for courts to decide. I think that Mr. Kuhl has some experience in that environment.
Pul-leeze. We don't need anymore of you in Washington.
You would know - you're in Washington working for one.
At one time I worked for Naval Intelligence and was cleared for Special Intelligence up to the highest level (I even worked on the Glomar Explorer project). I can assure you that once you have no need for the clearence it is pulled. So either Eric is still working for some agency that requires him to have the clearence or someone has their facts confused. Also, even though they have gotten better at it, the kings of degrading veterans have always come from the left side of the aisle.
Monk - His IP resolves to a comcast address in DC. Also, you're right about Massa not paying his wife. He certainly hasn't this cycle. My mistake.
Elmer - I think you have to go way back to identify degradation of Veterans. I agree that some factions of the Democratic party during the Vietnam era used rhetoric that was hurtful to vets. Post-Vietnam, I think the record of Democrats on Veterans' issues is quite good. Carter appointed Max Cleland to supervise a post-Vietnam reform of the VA and since then Democrats have consistently pushed for better VA funding.
(Also, while many remember the slights of anti-war activists, few remember that even "peacenik" candidate McGovern was a highly decorated WWII vet.)
I was in a bar not too long ago, and a friend of mine arrived after I did and ordered the same type beer I was sipping in a cold frosty mug. The cocktail waitress gave him a large plastic cup because she said after 10pm its policy not to serve glass, given the drunkard's pension to smash them into tiny bits.
My friend looked disappointed, and asked me whether or not he should complain (colorfully of course) to the cocktail waitress, and I said "No, you can't blame her for that plastic cup, that's like blaming a soldier for an unjust war."
Bashing vertans for a policy you don't agree with is not only immoral, shameless and rude, it makes you out to be a hollow shell of a person, let alone an American.
That goes for both sides of the aisle. Men and women who sacrifice for our country should be held above petty differences and mud-slinging politics.
If only those in DC knew the value of sacrifice and the respect it deserves, if only.
Monk - you hit the nail right on the head
Good point, Monk. And I'm a veteran, even though you think I'm a Kuhl staffer.
Eric Massa does more petty mudslinging that anyone in this race. Just read the transcripts from his "press calls" on this web site! For everything you see coming from the Kuhl office, it hardly amounts to mudslinging.
"Mudslinging" is an ill-defined term, usually used in pot/kettle type arguments, where both sides are making heavy use of ad hominem arguments. Partisans usually think mudslinging is something done by the other side. In other words, it's a meaningless accusation.
Before you start saying anything about Massa paying his wife a few bucks, how about the thousands that Kuhl has paid to his own son??? Talk about conflicts...don't throw stones in glass houses.
I agree Rottenchester, 'mudslinging' is a loaded statement.
My point would be better expressed with the latin phrase Argumentum ad hominem which means replying to an argument or factual claim by attacking the person who has stated that argument or fact, on a personal level usually intended to divert attention away from the actual argument.
It was displayed in this thread by Erik, and it has recently been used by Eric Edelman when responding to Senator Clinton's inquiry about a Pentagon plan for withdrawal from Iraq.