The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

Exile at Rochesterturning points to a Massa YouTube ad.  He also has some on-point comment about it.

Reader Vincent sent in a fascinating link to C-SPAN, which has correlated Congressional Record statements with C-SPAN video. This means, for example, that the text and video of everything Randy Kuhl has said on the House floor is available for instant retrieval. 

The raw footage of Randy Kuhl's interview with Rochester's WHAM-13 has been posted (and embedded below).

Highlights:

• "Taking every step to become a candidate in the next election" (0:45).
• He's never had any pressure from his party to vote for a bill (5:00).
• The Iguazu Falls trip was to study drug interdiction (7:15) and it built a relationship with Brazilian legislators (8:00).
• S-CHIP extension that he supported (and was the subject of the mailer) is "actually an expansion" (10:40)
• Mailings aren't confusing, they tell people that he "supported S-CHIP for poor children first" (12:10)
• Why didn't Kuhl speak out against earmarks in 2005 when he said that "earmarks are an important tool" (12:50).  Answer:  He has, "internally in the system".  Also, we should be taking federal money however it comes (14:45).
• Iraq. (17:00)  The point of the surge was a political solution.  Is it working?  Answer:  Surge has stabilized the country, need security for a government.  Governmental reconciliation is not going as fast as Kuhl would like, but "firmly convinced we are on the right course". 
• How long can Iraq fail without us getting out? (19:15). "All I know is what I'm fed." If we hadn't seen success in the last surge, we wouldn't be in a position to continue our support.  Our next timeline is March.  "General Petreus, you're the leader, tell us what's going on."  
• What about McCain's 100 years comment (21:00)?  "In many cases countries don't want us to leave...that may very well be what happens and what Sen. McCain was talking about."

In the accompanying blog entry, Reporter Evan Dawson talks about the importance of government transparency.  Amen, brother.

Rochester's WHAM (Channel 13) has a story about Kuhl's Brazil trip that highlights the run-around they've been getting from the different committees and offices that are supposed to be releasing information about the trip.  The story illustrates all the tricks of non-disclosure disclosure.  These include unclear responsibility, releasing documents in Washington DC on paper instead of via email or over the Internet, and refusal of the main actors to acknowledge a problem.

WHAM should feel good about the hard work they're doing to track down this story.  Even better, they let bloggers embed their stories, which I've done after the break:
DayPortPlayer.newPlayer({articleID:"190145",bannerAdObjectID:"5",videoAdObjectID:"4",videoAdConDefID:"2",playerInstanceID:"27574A89-06D1-CD92-4444-22719C5099EC",domain:"video.wokr13.com"});

Today's Buffalo News has two editorial items that are directly or peripherally related to S-CHIP.  The first is an editorial column about the President's decision to veto the bill.

The second item is an op-ed by an American Lung Association official, and though it's not specifically about S-CHIP, it's interesting in light of the charge that Kuhl opposes S-CHIP because of donations from the tobacco lobby.  The op-ed challenges Kuhl to support HR 1108, which would put the Food and Drug Administration in charge of regulating the sale of cigarettes.  The bill is co-sponsored by 204 House members, including 24 from New York.

The Democrat and Chronicle Political Blog posted yet another Americans United anti-Kuhl S-CHIP ad.  The theme of the ad is "What if it was your child, Congressman Kuhl?" Video after the break:

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.

Buffalo public radio station WBFO reports that the SEIU S-CHIP ad campaign against Randy Kuhl and Tom Reynolds will cost "six figures".  And SEIU has posted the personalized versions of their ads in a recent press release.  The Kuhl ad is here [3 MB quicktime].

The Albany Project reports that a coalition of unions, under the auspices of America United for Change, have announced that they will sponsor a targeted ad campaign. Though the details of the ad buy are not clear, it appears that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) will both sponsor targeted ads in the 29th.

I've included a sample ad after the break, though this is a generic ad and it's not clear what, exactly, will air in local media markets.

Reader Rich sends a CNN video report which includes Randy Kuhl's view of the S-CHIP dust-up (at about 1:15). The CNN reporter says: "Kuhl calls the ads 'crass politics' and says his constituents won't buy it." Then Kuhl says:

It's not affecting me now, and I don't think it will. I believe in basic things, and one of them is a private health care plan where people have a choice. That is one thing this bill will not do.

Reader Elmer sends Randy Kuhl's S-CHIP op-ed [pdf] from the Corning Leader. Kuhl calls S-CHIP "backdoor socialization". Kuhl also made the Bloomberg article about S-CHIP this morning.

In the red-meat-for-the-base department, reader Vincent sends a video of Eric Massa "calling out" Rush Limbaugh. You can see it after the break:

The DCCC has begun running radio ads and robo-calls to publicize Randy Kuhl's vote against S-CHIP. Here's the audio [wmv] of the ad. The DCCC press release says the ads will run for a week, but it doesn't include the size of the ad buy.

The ad says that S-CHIP is "funded by a 61 cent increase in the tobacco tax." It should say partially funded, because that tax increase isn't enough to pay for the entire expansion. Kuhl seems to think that this increase is a negative: one of his blog postings links to an AP article titled "Poor Smokers Would Pay for Health Bill".

Finally, Kuhl's office also posted a short video of Randy's one-minute floor speech last Wednesday. The topic is New York State drivers licenses for illegal immigrants (a topic I covered here). Kuhl made this speech during the "one minute speech" portion of the House's daily calendar. Video after the break: