The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

Eric Massa was a guest on Coleman & Company show last Sunday, which airs on cable channel 11 in Elmira, Corning and Watkins Glen. His campaign has posted the video to YouTube. Massa discusses the "packing" comment, Nachbar's withdrawal, and Kuhl's effectiveness after the break:

Rochesterturning has video of David Nachbar claiming that he was encouraged by the DCCC to run for office, and they also have a categorical denial of that claim from the DCCC.

Rochesterturning has posted video of and commentary about David Nachbar's appearance at last month's Brighton Democratic Committee meeting here and here. The video from those reports is embedded after the jump.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has an editorial about earmark disclosure that points out that Randy Kuhl is one of the Members of Congress who's refused to disclose earmarks to CNN. The D&C documents how the whole earmark disclosure process has been grudging at best, and obstructionist at worst.

Rochesterturning has video from this afternoon's town hall meeting in Penfield. This clip shows Kuhl's non-response to a constituent's comment about the Iraq war. I assume from the clip that Kuhl is continuing his policy of treating these meetings as "listening opportunities".

Update: Not really. After the break, I've embedded another video from Rochesterturning's reporter that shows Kuhl giving a long answer to a constituent's question about what's next in Iraq. Also, don't miss Rochesterturning's coverage of the Raging Grannies, who serenaded Kuhl on a number of issues.

By the way, though I don't agree that "the support of the troops is being undermined" as Kuhl says, I do think the latter part of Kuhl's response presents a pretty clear-eyed view of the legislative terrain. The Democratic bill (and note his use of the word "Democratic" rather than "Democrat") was a careful compromise that met the needs of a broad swath of party members. The evidence of how difficult it was to make the compromise is shown by the members who didn't vote for the bill. On the left, you have members like John Lewis (GA-5), who say that they won't vote for any more funding for Iraq. On the right, you have members like the one Kuhl mentioned, Dan Boren (OK-2), who won't vote for measures that might limit funding for troops. To get a veto-proof majority, Pelosi has nowhere to move but right. The votes on the left will never be there, and they wouldn't be enough to stop a veto if they were.

The question is whether there is some language that includes limitations that will be acceptable to enough Republicans to get a veto-proof majority, yet is objectionable enough for Bush to veto. I doubt it, but if such a day comes, then we'll know that we've truly arrived at the beginning of the end of the war.

Americans United for Change, the same group that financed anti-Kuhl radio spots last month, has produced a new ad attacking Kuhl for his Iraq War voting record. The 30-second spot, which will begin airing this week, details the number of dead and wounded in Iraq, shows a picture of Kuhl and President Bush, and ends with the tagline "Tell Randy Kuhl: after four years, it's time to end the war."

Kuhl is one of six Republicans targeted by the ad campaign. The others are Mary Bono (CA-45), Dean Heller (NV-2), Tim Johnson (IL-15), Jim Walsh (NY-25), and Heather Wilson (NM-1).

Video after the break:

The House Government Reform committee held hearings today on a presentation given to GSA managers about the 2008 election. Because it was about partisan politics and contained phrases like "target list", it may have been a violation of the Hatch Act, which bars certain forms of partisan activity by government employees. Reader Anne writes to point out that the presentation [pdf] puts the 29th in the category of "priority defense" for 2008 (see page 28).

That's not a surprise, but the video of the head of the GSA being grilled is a classic. See her invoke the Sgt. Schultz defense after the break:

Following up on yesterday's video, reader Anne sends "another campy 70's throwback that appeals to Generation X'ers". You can watch it after the break:

Randy Kuhl today introduced HR 1382 yesterday. This bill calls for an "assured adequate level of funding for veterans' health care." According to an article in Slate, the VA budget has been the subject of tricks for years. Not only does the VA underestimate the number of vets who will apply for benefits, they've also tried to shift costs to vets by raising deductibles and enrollment fees.

The VA budget also makes no provisions for a rising caseload in the next couple of years, and it also predicts zero increase in costs in the years 2009-12. In other words, the Bush Administration has gamed the VA budget to make it appear smaller. This makes the deficit appear smaller, and it also makes tax cuts seem more fiscally responsible.

The text of Kuhl's bill hasn't been posted yet, so it's not clear how deep it digs into the morass of VA funding. Since the bill is brand-new, Kuhl is the only co-sponsor. Success will depend on his ability to gather co-sponsors and push the bill through committee.

In other troop-supporting news, Kuhl wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, asking him to review the DOD's policy on the simultaneous deployment of two parents to military zones. This policy came up during his Henrietta meeting, probably due to recent media coverage of the plight of some kids in the 29th who have two parents in the military.

HR 1382 is the first significant piece of legislation introduced by Kuhl in the 110th Congress. In honor of that milestone, here's a little educational entertainment:

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:

Reader Rich writes to remind us that the documentary "Taking the Hill", which followed five veteran/candidates, including Eric Massa, airs tonight from 9-11 on the Discovery Times channel. On Time/Warner Cable, this is channel 512. Discovery Times (not Discovery) is also available on satellite services. You can watch a preview here.