The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

At today's telephone conference with the media, Randy Kuhl said that he's decided how he will vote on tomorrow's non-binding resolution on Iraq, but he's not going to reveal his vote in advance. He also called the debate a "charade" and said that he hasn't decided whether he'll make a floor statement.

I'm not buying what Kuhl's selling. If the vote was really just "political posturing", as Kuhl claims, then why is he keeping his vote under wraps? Why is he robo-calling constituents to ask them about Iraq?

I think Kuhl is under tremendous pressure from his constituents and from his party. This vote is the first in a string of votes about Iraq. Unless some miracle occurs and Iraq is stabilized in the next 18 months, each of his Iraq votes will become an issue in the campaign. Kuhl's vote tomorrow will have a major impact on his political career. Despite his protestations to the contrary, he and his staff are sweating it.

Update: Here's a sound bite from today's conference, thanks to reader Rich.

Rochesterturning reports that a new Draft Massa site has appeared. It includes a message board where supporters can urge Massa to run.

In comments on yesterday's post, reader Rich details a Kuhl robo-call to his brother, which asked him to engage in a live discussion with Rep. Kuhl. This is just one more indication that Kuhl is having a hard time making up his mind on this issue. Even if he votes with the minority on this resolution, he will face more hard choices in the coming months.

The current resolution is just the first in a number of Iraq-related votes. The next vote, which is currently being crafted by Jack Murtha (D-Pa), concerns appropriation for the war. Like the non-binding resolution being debated today, Murtha's proposal will be carefully authored to get full Democratic support as well as some crossover Republicans, perhaps including Randy Kuhl.

Murtha's proposal is simple: Troops should not be re-deployed before the service guidelines for re-deployment (two years for the Army, 7-14 months for Marines), and troops must have the appropriate training and equipment before deployment.

These are sensible proposals that, in practice, will lead to an end to the war, since the Army and Marines don't have enough troops to strictly follow their deployment regulations, and they can't deploy fully equipped troops. These proposals are also politically astute, because they put meat on the bones of the "support the troops" argument.

Speaker Pelosi has indicated that she will consider the passage of this week's resolution as an event that sets the stage for adding conditions to appropriation bills. Each of these bills will increase the pressure on Kuhl to vote with the Democrats, whether or not he votes with his own party tomorrow.

Randy Kuhl is one of the two remaining members of the New York delegation who is undecided about this vote on the House resolution opposing escalation in Iraq.

Yesterday, Kuhl voted against the two procedural moves required to bring the resolution up for consideration. Both of those were standard party-line votes and don't provide any insight into Kuhl's final vote.

Today's New York Times reports that lobbyists recently paid for Randy Kuhl to attend a Bob Seger concert. To skirt the new House rules on lobbyist-funded gifts, Kuhl held a "fundraiser" at the concert and charged $2,500 for two tickets.

According to the Times, these types of fundraisers are usually held by the lawmaker's leadership PAC, which has fewer restrictions on accepting gifts for personal use. I wasn't aware that Kuhl had a leadership PAC, and FEC disclosure rules make finding leadership PACs difficult. I'll be on the hunt for the disclosure for this expenditure as well as for Kuhl's leadership PAC, if it exists.

Obviously, these kind of fundraisers are political dynamite, and Kuhl's judgment in holding it is suspect.

Eric Massa has started a new site, 29united.com. He'll use this site, and the associated mailing list, as platform to keep in touch with supporters in the district. The most recent post outlines his goals for the site, and it also details a door-to-door canvass that Massa conducted with a candidate for the Pittsford Village Board.

I've added a link to 29united under the "Candidate Sites" link list at right, using the principle that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

One of the complaints voiced by Republicans, including Randy Kuhl, is that the House is conducting its business on a fast track, limiting amendments and debate. This was true for the first set of votes of the 100 hour agenda, but the last vote on meaningful legislation, HR 547, looks more like business as usual for the House.

HR 547 is a narrowly drawn bill that seeks to increase markets for alternative fuels. Of the 10 amendments offered to the bill, 7 were from Republicans. All passed, including one amendment offered by Charlie Dent (R-PA-15) which was opposed by a majority of Democrats.

Like every other major piece of legislation in the House, the vote was preceded by a Republican motion to refer the legislation back to committee for further consideration. As usual, that vote failed on party lines (with a few crossovers).

HR 547 is a tiny bill - two pages of text - on a generally agreed-upon topic, so it's probably hasty to draw too many conclusions about the way the Democrats intend to run the House. Nevertheless, it's an example of a bi-partisan legislative process, which was pretty rare in the last few sessions of Congress.

President Bush's new budget isn't sitting well with Randy Kuhl. He's concerned about cuts in the funding to the West Valley Demonstration Project and a reduction to the rate of increase of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

Both of these spending reductions have serious impact in the 29th. The West Valley project is an old nuclear site that has been on the cleanup list for years. Hospitals in smaller towns with large elderly populations live and die based on Medicare reimbursements.

Kuhl's concern is focused in the right place. But, as with many other issues in the 29th, we need look at the big picture. Kuhl's position in the 2006 campaign was that the Bush tax cuts are a good thing. Laura Bush endorsed his position, and one of the cornerstones of his ad campaign was that Massa would raise taxes. If Kuhl wants more money for West Valley and Medicare/Medicaid, he needs to tell us where it's coming from. Does he want to raise taxes to get it? Or does he want to cut spending somewhere else? Those are the tough choices that don't make the press releases.

Update: The Hornell Evening Tribune's coverage includes a sentence that sums it up:

Among the parts of the budget Kuhl like were a $550 increase in Pell Grants for college students, as well as the president's desire to balance the budget.

Desire doesn't become reality without hard choices.

Randy Kuhl has been writing letters on a number of topics. His most recent letter was sent to the House leadership, asking them to increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

A previous letter to the Federal Rail Administration after two major derailments in the 29th has led to them sending a high-tech track inspection vehicle. This vehicle will be used to perform safety reviews of the area's freight track.

At a Democracy for America (DFA) meeting at Jay's Diner in Henrietta, Eric Massa said that he's still making up his mind about the run. His current timeframe is the next 3-4 days, but he says his main focus for 2007 will be attempting to get more Democrats elected to local offices. Rochesterturning's video of his talk after the break: