you have to have a party
when you’re in a state like this
you can really move it all
you have to vote and change
you have to get right out of it
like out of all this mess
you’ll say yeah to anything
if you believe all this but
don’t cry, don’t do anything
no lies, back in the government
no tears, party time is here again
president gas is up for president

I just got off the phone with Eric Massa, retired Navy Commander who is challenging Randy Kuhl, and the Psychedelic Furs’ “President Gas” kept coming to mind. Why? Here’s Massa on the reason we’re soon to be facing gas over $4 a gallon:

I don’t like being partisan but we must understand how we got here. The president stood in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers and committed us to war without [authorizing anyone] to pay for it. He has mitigated that debt by devaluing the dollar, which has been devalued the past two years by 50-60%. OPEC countries largely have moved away from using the dollar as their trade currency and use the euro instead.

This morning Shell and BP (British Petroleum) announced record earnings. This is unheard of. It is profiteering at the pump. They are given tax incentives to drill for new oil. Petro is at $110 a barrel. They don’t need our tax money. The economic policies of George Bush and his rubberstampers are very directly responsible for the increase in the price of gasoline.

I asked Massa if he had pumped his own gas recently and he said:

Yes. I just filled up my mini-van, which has an [extended tank] and $75 did not fill it up.

Massa went on to discuss the devaluing of the dollar and Kuhl’s practice of blaming Speaker Pelosi via the “Pelosi Premium”:

[President Bush has] devalued the dollar by unrestricted borrowing and spending. He has made sure that we import everything. We imported more food than we grew ourselves [last year] for the first time in history. Blaming our economy on Nancy Pelosi while providing tax subsidies for oil companies [is wrong]. This is just a Karl Rove-contracted campaign. George Bush and his majority have been in charge for seven years.

Massa makes a good point: blaming Pelosi for the price of gas given that we’ve had nearly eight years of Bush and his policies is convenient scapegoating. Americans may buy the high gasoline out of necessity but I doubt they will buy the Republicans’ excuses.

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With the announcement that Erie County Democrats have endorsed Jon Powers for Congress, Powers’ campaign released the following statement today (emphasis mine):

“I am thrilled to have the endorsement of Erie County Democrats and look forward to bringing real leadership and real solutions to the problems facing working families in Western New York,” said Jon Powers, former captain in the U.S. Army, Iraq war veteran and Democratic candidate for Congress. Powers earned the support of all seven counties solidifying his position as the endorsed Democratic candidate. He has also gained a great deal of support from organization labor in the area.

“Jon Powers is running an incredibly effective grassroots campaign and he represents a new generation of leadership that people are hoping for in this country” stated Len Lenihan, Erie County Democratic Chairman.

This endorsement gives Powers all seven counties and points to the strength of his campaign, which is based on conversations with voters and their interests as opposed to money.

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This means that all the Democratic county parties in NY-26 have endorsed Jon Powers:

Democrats in Erie County are standing behind an Iraq war veteran who’s running for the congressional seat that is currently held by retiring Republican Tom Reynolds.

The Erie County Democratic Committee is endorsing Jon Powers.

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Rich-man, Poor-man, Beggar-man, Thief… 

No, I’m not tripping on some ’70’s nostalgia, I’ve just finished reading this piece by Historical Pessimist about the dangers of Jack Davis’ Millionaire Complaint:

About a month ago, Kos wrote a front page entry entitled “Crazy Jack Davis and the woes of the millionaire.” In it he, described how 2-time loser Jack Davis, who ran against Tom Reynolds twice for the NY26th Congressional seat, was taking his lawsuit against the “Millionaire’s Amendment” section of BCRA (otherwise known as McCain-Feingold) all the way to the Supreme Court. Talk about bad optics: here was a supposed Democrat arguing that it should be easier for wealthy quacks like him to buy a seat in the people’s House.

Historical Pessimist’s diary :: ::
The Supreme Court heard the case a week ago and the tea leaf readers in the press suggest that the oral arguments indicate Davis is probably going to win. That’s bad enough, but now it appears the case contains a Trojan Horse which could end up invalidating the public financing systems of states like Maine and Arizona which have adopted them with great success.

The entire piece is definitely worth your time. 

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Despite the fact that Rick Lewis was endorsed by the Conservative party in NY-26, seven counties in the district endorsed another Republican candidate Christopher Lee:

Seven Republican county chairmen from across western New York agreed this evening to back Erie County businessman Christopher Lee for Congress.

The chairmen met in Geneseo to cast ballots, and said they considered all the candidates, including Rick Lewis, another Erie County businessman, and Iraq war veteran and author David Bellavia.

“We felt he was the most qualified candidate,” said Gordon Brown, chairman of the Republican committee in Wyoming County.

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From the Buffalo News:

Western New York’s Conservative Party handed a huge boost to Republican Rick Lewis’ congressional hopes Friday by granting its often crucial backing — just when he needed it most.

Erie County Conservative Chairman Ralph C. Lorigo said he and other party leaders of the 26th Congressional District will back the Talking Phone Book president for the seat of the retiring Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence.

That means Republicans, who are prepared to back rival Christopher J. Lee at a meeting set for Monday night in Geneseo, now face the real possibility of a split ticket against one Democrat in the November general election. It also provides Lewis with powerful leverage with Republican leaders for Monday’s meeting, as well as added incentive for him to wage a rare GOP primary in an effort to provide united opposition against the winner of the expected Democratic primary.

Recall that Minarik and the Monroe County GOP already endorsed Lee.

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…I would buy you a House [seat in Congress]?

Somehow The Barenaked Ladies‘ song just seems fitting after reading this article in The Nation about Jack Davis’ Millionaire Complaint:

Mr. Davis’s improbable claim is that the additional contributions allowed for his non-millionaire opponent are a burden on his own speech under the First Amendment.

Predictably, more progressive judges were concerned about fairness while Scalia resorted to the old boys’ club mentality:

In the argument Tuesday, a few opening inquiries from the Chief Justice and some questions from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested they may doubt whether Mr. Davis’s speech is at all burdened by relaxed limits for his opponent.

(snip)

Justice Antonin Scalia seized upon the argument that changing the contribution limits to accommodate this situation made them constitutionally suspect…

(snip)

The clear low point in the argument was when, in a through-the-looking-glass exchange, it became clear that the Court’s increasingly simplistic equation of money with speech may even make some Justices willing to defend the rights of the ultra-wealthy to purchase an election.

Justice Scalia threw Davis’s counsel a softball question concerning the state’s interest: “Who is more incorruptible than the millionaire, right?”

Indeed, who is more incorruptible than the millionaire? (Insert haughty laughter here.) This question from Scalia insults all people who are not millionaires, implying that everyone can be bought unless they already have riches. It also assumes that money somehow makes you immune from corruption. Wonder what Enron executives would have to say about that? What a gem we have in Mr. Scalia.

The matching funds set up by the current system are designed to ensure an election can’t be bought. If elections are for sale, which is possible if matching funds are not allowed, then if you had a million dollars, you could buy yourself a House [seat]. It’s all the rage. According to Jon Powers for Congress:

The Center for Responsive Politics estimates that 44% of the members in the House of Representatives and 58% of the members in the Senate are millionaires while only 1% of adult Americans have a net worth of $1 million.

So you see, millionaires are already buying the House. Let’s hope the Supreme Court doesn’t give in to the trend.  (Read more here in this excellent article from SignOnSanDiego.com.)

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Randy Kuhl's popular predecessor Amo Houghton, who retired after nine terms, has once again endorsed Kuhl for Congress, according to WETM-TV.  Hougton's take on Kuhl's tenure:  "outstanding".

If you want to know the difference between the more affluent and suburban Northern 29th, and the less affluent and more rural Southern Tier, look no further than this story in today's Corning Leader.  The town of Bath, located a few miles from Randy Kuhl's home in Hammondsport, is reeling after Wal-Mart decided not to build a superstore there.

Two years ago, Wal-Mart was interested in building a superstore in Lima, just over the district border.  Residents in nearby Mendon, a Rochester exurb full of sprawling homes and horse paddocks, began a campaign against Wal-Mart that has been successful.

Today, there's no superstore in Lima, and Muffy and Biff are happy that they can still drive their Volvo to the local hardware store in Mendon to buy fencing wire for their stable.  There's no superstore in Bath, and the town's deputy supervisor is "disappointed, very disappointed."

According to The Buffalo News, Jack Davis’ court case about The Millionaire’s Amendment is to be heard this Tuesday. What I find perplexing is his lawyer’s argument (bold mine):

Andrew D. Herman, Davis’ lawyer, argues that the amendment — part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act of 2002 — unfairly tips the scales in favor of candidates running against self-funded candidates such as his client.

“It should be up to the voters to decide whether they like this guy because he’s independent or they don’t because he’s crazy and squandering his money,” Herman said.

I agree. It should be up to the voters to decide. Nothing about The Millionaire’s Amendment prevents the voters from deciding. In fact, the amendment only allows the voters a chance to vote with their pocketbooks by freeing them up to give more of their money to the candidate they choose. This amendment effectively makes the campaign about voter choice instead of about the candidate with the most money. If Davis is secure in his desire to let the voters decide, then why is he trying to prevent them from being able to donate money to the candidate they choose?

From the article:

The court will decide the constitutionality of requiring millionaires like Davis to quickly report every dime they drop into their campaigns — and allowing those running against such candidates to tap donors for three times as much as permitted for candidates running against non-millionaires.

This is just a way to level the playing field so that money doesn’t trump a fair fight. Nothing is preventing Davis from spending his own money here.

Maybe the money won’t matter that much though. Davis already lost twice, despite spending over $3 million of his own money in 2004 and 2006 combined. His lawyer’s argument sounds like he is afraid of equal competition, preferring to let his money advantage silence competition. That’s not very democratic.

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