The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

Randy Kuhl says he's "encouraged" by S-CHIP negotiations in a story in today's Hornell Evening Tribune.  Kuhl says the negotiations are taking place without input from the administration, with the goal of getting a veto-proof majority.  Eric Massa opposes the compromise, which would remove more adults from S-CHIP eligibility, noting that the number of adults covered by S-CHIP is tiny (0.5% of those eligible), most of them are mentally disabled, and Medicaid would end up covering them, which would increase property taxes.

According to a Corning Leader story [pdf] supplied by Reader Elmer, Randy Kuhl is urging President Bush to suspend deposits to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help lower the price of gasoline. 

The Hill newspaper has another item on the machinations behind S-CHIP.  According to this report, the recent Senate vote in favor of the bill was rushed by the Republican leadership to keep the stalemate going.   Randy Kuhl is listed as a member of a group of 38 House Republicans who are ready to support a new S-CHIP compromise if changes are made to the bill.

The Hill newspaper has a story about Sen. Chuck Grassley's efforts to lobby on S-CHIP.  Randy Kuhl was one of the representatives who met with Grassley yesterday.

Kuhl has released an audio statement [asf] about Gov. Spitzer's new plan on drivers' licenses.  He still opposes it.   In the aftermath of the Tuesday night presidential debate, which featured Hillary Clinton working both sides of the issue, Ben Smith quotes a Siena Poll on the plan, which shows 72% opposition in New York State.

There was no Massa press conference yesterday, because he's busy campaigning for candidates in next week's municipal and county elections.

Today's Star-Gazette story on the new Spitzer Drivers' License plan quotes most of Chemung County's elected officials in opposition to the plan.  Randy Kuhl gets a lick in, too:

I am saddened that the Bush administration would agree to this dangerous and potentially destructive plan.

The Spitzer plan is a gift to Kuhl that just keeps on giving:  he can oppose it vehemently to appease those angry with his position on guest workers,  and he can use it so show that he's not a rubber stamp. 

Reader Elmer sends Eric Massa's Letter to the Editor of the Corning Leader [pdf] in support of the current Mayor of Corning, Frank Coccho.   I'm not an expert on Corning politics, but it looks like Coccho, a Democrat, is facing a tough race, mainly because of self-inflicted wounds. 

Governor Eliot Spitzer and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff have announced a new compromise on drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants.  Both Randy Kuhl and Eric Massa are on record opposing the original plan. The new proposal would issue two classes of licenses.  Those who can prove residency will be issued a RealID license, and those who can't will get a license to drive with restrictions on its use for boarding airplanes or crossing borders.  As part of the compromise,  New York will be one of the first states to issue RealID licenses.  

If a successful compromise is one that leaves both sides unhappy, then Spitzer's new plan is a big win.  Immigrant groups are calling the new, second class license a "scarlet letter".    Those who opposed Spitzer's earlier plan point to the extra expense of issuing two kinds of licenses.  And county clerks in Erie and Niagara counties are planning to call the sheriff to arrest anyone they suspect is an illegal immigrant applying for a license.

I didn't have an objection to Spitzer's earlier plan, because I don't think that it's the state's business to become immigration police.  But his endorsement of the intrusive and pointless RealID program now has turned me against it.  Since nobody is happy with issuing illegals second-class licenses, I'll bet that the final outcome will probably be no license for illegals, and RealIDs for the rest of us.   Our highways won't be any safer, but we'll all be packing a big-brother identity card.

In the 29th, this controversy has handed Kuhl and his supporters some easy talking points.  I listened to some of the Bob Lonsberry show twice this week, and this issue had big play in both of the snippets I heard.  Lonsberry's position is that the license will actually attract illegals to New York.   That's consistent with his usual tactic of pushing illegal immigrants as scapegoats for the lackluster Southern Tier economy.  I've shown why this is a fantasy in an earlier post.  In this case, however, Bob has it pretty easy, because there seems to be something inherently wrong about county clerks issuing legal documents to people who are breaking the law.

That perception of a basic injustice is what's going to keep driving this controversy, as it does the whole illegal immigration mess.   The national polling on this issue shows that most folks would be happy with an amnesty program that's coupled to paying fines or back taxes, they want to increase security at the border, and they believe legal immigration benefits our country.    But Congress can't seem to pull the trigger on a compromise containing security, earned amnesty and realistic quotas for Mexico, Central and Latin America.   Until some national compromise is reached, the pressure caused by illegal immigration will be ventilated periodically by dust-ups like the drivers' license controversy.  Why Eliot Spitzer wanted to stick his hand into this barrel of scorpions is beyond me, but he hasn't done his reputation any favors in the 29th.

The Elmira Star-Gazette is doing a series on tolerance, and today's issue covers tolerance in politics.  Both the editorial and story mention the race in the 29th. 

Some items I missed yesterday:

Randy Kuhl has also withdrawn sponsorship of the House Resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide by Turkey.  For those unfamiliar with the history of this resolution, the LA Times has a good timeline.

WETM Channel 18 has a short story on Kuhl's defense of his S-CHIP vote.  The Washington Post's Capitol Briefing blog counts votes on S-CHIP, and concludes that there's little chance for much change in the current position of House members, including Kuhl:  "[N]ow that they've voted three separate times against an SCHIP expansion, it's almost impossible to envision these lawmakers flip-flopping unless the bill is dramatically reshaped."

Reader Elmer sends the Corning Leader's front page [pdf] and jump [pdf] covering Randy Kuhl's S-CHIP vote.

My paper Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has an S-CHIP vote story, but, unlike the Leader, the D&C wasn't able to include the votes of the local Congressional Delegation.   Once again, a newspaper with a tiny fraction of the resources of the D&C puts out a better story.

Speaking of missing stuff, here's a story I missed about last week's S-CHIP protest at Randy Kuhl's office in Fairport.  It appeared in the Fairport-East Rochester Post, a local weekly.

Randy Kuhl was one of four Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee to vote in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which prevents discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation.  The current version of ENDA, HR 3685, is the subject of controversy because it lacks protection for transgendered employees, though it covers gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals.  ENDA is under veto threat from the White House because some of its provisions could be construed to give a federal stamp of approval to gay marriage.  Supporters of the bill say that the provision in question only says that marriage cannot be a condition of employment in states where gays and lesbians can't get married.   The Washington Blade has an in-depth story.

WENY, Channel 36 has a story about Randy Kuhl and Eric Massa's positions on issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.  Both oppose it.  WENY has also posted the story on YouTube, and it can be seen after the break.  It's good to see a local TV station embracing YouTube.  Many stations keep their video in a "walled garden" so they can force viewers to watch an advertisement first.