National politics wins ...

The American people made an overwhelming statement against the war in Iraq and the Bush administration on election day. While I can't blame people for making that choice, I think it is unfortunate that we lost some great representatives yesterday. Ray Meier was one of them.

The results of the 24th race were no real surprise, but I am shocked by one bad decision that New York voters made. We have elected a soon-to-be criminal into the Comptroller's office. This is the office that manages money for the entire state, and we elected someone who stole some of that money. Maybe we want scandal? Do we prefer to be 'entertained' by politicians as if we are watching a drama series?

Possible, but the more likely answer is that the message sent to Washington was so strong that it overcame reason in many races that really shouldn't have been influenced by national politics. The ripple effects of this reached down to the county level, where the strong anti-republican message shifted many local races.

VOTE MEIER, and my predictions...

FIRST, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE FOR RAY MEIER! If you haven't yet, don't read any further. Stop now, and go vote.

My election predictions...

Governor: Spitzer - By a landslide. The guy has had an outstanding campaign that really motivates people, although I do think he is full of crap with most of his "day one" promises.

Attorney General: Cuomo - riding the Spitzer train

Comptroller: Callaghan - surprise victory? I bet I miss this one, but if people vote Hevesi into office they are endorsing corruption.

US Senator: Clinton - Not even close. But... I think it is the last election she wins if she runs for president.

24th Congressional: Goes to overtime, Meier's solid record evens up with people voting just to remove all republicans. Too close to call, so make sure you tell EVERYONE you know to go vote for Meier. If the overall turnout is big, it goes to Arcuri. If it goes to absentee ballots, this goes to Meier.

47th Senate: Griffo - by a good margin

115th Assembly: Townsend - no contest

Oneida County Sheriff: Labella - His face is everywhere! I see him in my sleep, and it scares the hell out of me.

Oneida County Clerk: Foley - is anyone else campaigning?

Sorry, I am not familiar enough with the other races to make predictions.

This is about Meier, Arcuri, and us - not about the national parties

I saw the news coverage of both the Bill Clinton and George Pataki visits today. There was one major difference between the two. Bill Clinton is campaigning to put a Democrat, any Democrat, in office. He has campaigned all over the country for this, regardless of how experienced or qualified the candidate is. Bill Clinton doesn't know Mike Arcuri, and has never worked with him on anything.

George Pataki was campaigning for Ray Meier. His speech was about Ray Meier, what he has accomplished, and his dedication to this area. It wasn't about putting just any Republican in office. It was about putting Ray Meier in office because he is a great choice for the people. Pataki has worked with Ray Meier in Albany, and knows what he is like.

So, while Clinton may have been the bigger headliner, the message was wrong. We should be voting for our best representative in congress, not to just push one party into office.

A quote from George Pataki:
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There has never been anyone, not just in the Mohawk Valley, but in my view from New York State, who has worked harder, has delivered more, or cared more about the people he represents than your State Senator Ray Meier.
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Vote for experience!

I cannot overemphasize how important experience is to being an effective representative. The people of the 24th district are at a significant disadvantage if we elect a representative that doesn't know how to do the job.

Even if you don't believe ANY of the accusations against Arcuri for improper conduct, and Mike Arcuri truly is a nice guy, he still does not have the qualifications required for Congress.

Arcuri really should have started out at the local or county level to get some experience first. Meier did that. He worked up through the ranks, and was continually 'promoted' by his constituents for doing an excellent job representing them.

Meier has repeatedly proven that experience and connections get things done for us. He stepped up to make the argument against the BRACC to keep jobs at the the air base in Rome, NY - even though it was not a state issue. He fought for legislation against powerful downstate interests to cut of the NYRI from putting power lines through the district. He has bailed out the Utica school system countless times with additional state money. He has secured money for several volunteer fire departments. The list goes on and on...

Meier deserves to be elected to congress. His experience and performance is unmatched by any of his opponents. He will be able to help us out right from the start, just as he always has.

What about Mike Sylvia?

Many voters probably do not even know that Mike Sylvia is running for congress. The media hasn't exactly covered his campaign. Sylvia has some good ideas, and doesn't have the questionable ethical past that Mike Arcuri has. However, Sylvia falls short in the same area that Mike Arcuri falls short - he has no legislative experience.

If you want to make a strong anti-war statement or are passionately again the Military Commissions Act, then Mike Sylvia is your man.

If you want an experienced legislator with a solid record and integrity, Ray Meier is your man.

If Sylvia were elected, he would have no strong allies in congress. That is a big deal when you consider that when the money for individual districts is disbursed, or when our district needs a decision to go our way, there is nobody in his corner.

Auburn Citizen Endorses Meier

In a very well written piece, the Auburn Citizen has endorsed Ray Meier. I think their analysis is something that voters really need to consider.

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This race boils down to one of experience. And while state office is not a prerequisite for moving on to a position in Washington, we believe Albany's cut-throat Legislature is as good a proving ground as any, and Meier has that experience under his belt.

Arcuri says he's a good alternative to putting another Republican in the 24th Congressional District seat, but his work as Oneida County's district attorney may not have prepared him well enough for the job.

More endorsements from Auburn Citizen ...
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The double standard...

Democrats were calling on Republicans to return all money associated with anyone who might have known about the Mark Foley scandal. Democrats are now having Bill Clinton in the area to support their candidates.

Isn't this a double standard? Mark Foley sent text messages, but Bill Clinton actually had sexual relations with an intern. I am not defending Foley's actions in any way, but I don't understand why Clinton is regarded as a hero who brings votes to Democratic candidates. What Bill Clinton did was worse than what Mark Foley did. Why should the Democrats raise money and support through him?

The irony...

I receive many mailings from the Working Families party and New Yorkers for Better Communities, encouraging people to vote for Mike Arcuri. I was wondering how they get so much money, so I did a little investigating. It turns out that New Yorkers for Better Communities has the Oneida Indian Nation is pushing money into the mailings!

The mailings are about the fact that it is too hard to do business in New York. Well, if the Oneida Indian Nation was paying property taxes and taxes on the MILLIONS of dollars they take in at their casino, then maybe that would offset the tax burden for the rest of us!

Another important question... is Michael Arcuri now indebted to the Oneidas the next time land claim issues come up?

Show the "New Yorkers for Better Communities" you are not fooled, and cast a vote for Ray Meier.

This guy is running for Congress?

You can tell a lot about people by who they associate themselves with on a daily basis.

I was at the New Hartford high school debate last week, and observed the staff and "posse" of both candidates. Ray Meier's press person was dressed in a business suit. She looked very professional as she interacted with the media. Mike Arcuri's press person was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Isn't this a congressional run? The highest legislative body in the U.S.?

Now, you might think I am being a little critical over a minor issue. Well, this observation got me thinking about who the two candidates really are - outside of their well-polished media presentation.

Early in the campaign season WKTV covered a press conference where Mike Arcuri received an endorsement from a labor union. Standing right next to Mike were two shady individuals - one with multiple DWIs, and another liberal activist with a questionable past. I was surprised to see Arcuri associating himself with these people. Now, I see some of the same people following him around to debates and events.

Ray Meier, on the other hand, chooses to associate himself with professional people. In the 10+ years that Meier has served this area have you heard of a single time when he was involved in a scandal? Not one. He's clean. And that, people of the 24th, is what we need in Washington.

Does Arcuri know what he is running for?

Mike Arcuri has been running his ad about the Rome PBA endorsement quite heavily on local television. When I watch the ad I start to wonder if he even knows what he is running for. Is he running for Sheriff?

The PBA officer talks about how Arcuri has stood for safety and can be trusted to protect us. Um... what does this have to do with congress? If Arcuri wants to run for county sheriff, this is a great ad.

Ray Meier talks about creating policies to make it more attractive to do business in New York, cutting taxes, and other federal issues. Mike Arcuri is going to fight crime?

It is clear to me that Ray Meier knows what the job is about, and he deserves to get it.

The negative ad myth - who is the negative one?

I hear a lot of people mentioning that they don't like "Ray Meier's negative ads", and will be voting for Mike Arcuri instead. If you look at the situation closely, it is Mike Arcuri - not Ray Meier - that is putting out negative ads.

It has been clearly stated by the Observer-Dispatch, Syracuse Post Standard, and several other major media outlets that neither of these two candidates are involved in the ads that have been put out by the major national political parties (RNC and DCCC).

So, let's step back and look at just the ads that are put out by the individual campaigns.

Meier has his "donut" ad, an ad about jobs, and an ad about being an agent for change. Arcuri has some positive ads, but the ones that are running heavily on local television are the ones that combine semi-truthful statements about Meier's voting record with a positive message.

Are voters fooled by this? Jab in some negative stuff, and then put a positive message at the end? Meier raised the sales tax in Oneida County? No, he didn't. The county government raised the sales tax. Meier voted to raise taxes 9 times? What about the 222 times he voted to lower them?

So, now who is putting out the negative ads with cheap shots? Mike Arcuri, that's who. So when people tell you that they are not voting for Meier because of his negative ads, be sure to set the record straight!

Double-edged Sword

A couple weeks ago Democrats all over the country were calling for Republicans to give back any money received from groups that Mark Foley had any sort of connection to. Mike Arcuri called on Ray Meier to return the money, even though there is no direct connection between Meier and Foley. Even the connections that could loosely be made were only to people who MIGHT have known that something was going on. It is quite a stretch.

So, now that John Kerry has made comments that essentially say that stupid people and dropouts
get sent to Iraq, is Mike Arcuri going to give all of the money back that came from anyone remotely related to John Kerry? C'mon Mike, how about it?

Make no mistake, what John Kerry did is nowhere near as bad as what Mark Foley did. My point is not about what the person did, though. It's about the unfairness of grouping Ray Meier with someone like Mark Foley just based on the fact that they are both in the same political party. If you follow the logic that Meier should return his money just because of a loose relation to someone who did or said something bad, then you have to follow the logic that Mike Arcuri should give any money back from action groups that John Kerry is involved with. After all, ---sarcasm--- Mike Arcuri must also think the troops fighting overseas are just a bunch of our reject citizens who couldn't make it through school ---end sarcasm---.

So, is Mike going to give the money back?

Here we are...

In the absence of Biggus Dickus, there don't seem to be any local blogs in CNY that bring up issues regarding the 24th congressional race from an independent point of view. The intent of this blog is to bring up issues that prove that Ray Meier is the better candidate to support us in congress. I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat. I am a supporter of Ray Meier.

I am not trying to be a replacement for Biggus. I'm not that funny, and there is only one of me. However, I will be posting at least one post per day right up until election day.