The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

Reader Elmer sends links to coverage of yesterday's Dresser-Rand strike rally in the Elmira Star-Gazette and Corning Leader. Eric Massa was one of the speakers at that rally.

Granolabox has photos and video of an anti-war protest by ministers in Watkins Glen on Thursday. The protest announcement was an item in the Star-Gazette, but is protest itself didn't get any mainstream media coverage that I saw.

Nine-year-old Alison Kimball of Big Flats went to Washington to lobby Senators Schumer and Clinton, and Representative Kuhl. Alison is an insulin-dependent diabetic and she wants Congress to re-authorize the Special Diabetes program, which provides $150 million a year in research funding. The reauthorization would increase that amount to $200 million per year.

For those of you who want to check up on Alison's bill, it's HR 2762 in the House and S 1494 in the Senate. It's in committee in both houses.

Reader Elmer sends an Iraq story [pdf] from today's Corning Leader, based on Kuhl's meeting at the Leader on Wednesday. This is the most in-depth coverage of Kuhl's views on the war that I've seen to date. He sets out three factors that he's considering: the Petraeus report, progress toward an Iraqi government, and the economic condition of the country.

Rochesterturning found some in-depth coverage of Kuhl's "packing" comment on the Sleuth blog at the Washington Post.

Reader Elmer sends a link to the Star-Gazette, which reports that Eric Massa will appear at a rally for striking Dresser-Rand employees Saturday. The Massa campaign has also announced that he'll be featured on Air America radio tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.

In Kuhl coverage, I missed a story in today's Democrat and Chronicle by one of their editorial board members.

Reader Elmer sends the Elmira Star-Gazette coverage of Randy Kuhl's visit with its editorial board yesterday. Kuhl's take on the surge comes off as a bit more lukewarm in this round of questioning.

"I'm very skeptical of the surge. I know that sooner or later, we have to bring our men and women home," said Kuhl, R-Hammondsport.

"Don't we owe it a chance to be successful?" Kuhl asked of the surge.

"Is there a price? Yes, a price none of us wants to pay. But where do we end this assault on the free world? As far as the immediate issue, this report in September will tell us if this strategy is working."

In other news, Kuhl and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20) reportedly share the front cover of the Farm Bureau newspaper in tribute for their work on this year's farm bill.

Update: Elmer also sent the front page [pdf] of today's Corning Leader. Here's the jump [pdf]. That story all about upgrades to security at Kuhl's office in Bath.

First a sit in, now the preachers: Kuhl will be getting the word from a set of ministers at a protest in Watkins Glen tomorrow.

Also, the D&C editorial blog is backpedaling furiously about Kuhl's "packing" comments. (Thanks to Rochesterturning for bothering to read that blog, which has no feed.)

Is Eric Massa packing? That and other questions were answered at today's Massa press conference.

The first question I asked at today's press conference was simple: Are you packing? Massa's short answer: no. The long answer:

I'm embarrassed by a Member of Congress telling the press he was [considering] packing, which is gansta rap terminology for carrying a gun. At no time did a citizen threaten anyone. They presented a petition and waited for Kuhl to come back. To say that the was threatened and he was [considering] packing is the height of irresponsibility in the use of firearms. I spent 24 years in the military training young Sailors and Marines in the use of firearms. [Our policy was] to never allow the use of deadly force without due cause, and [that it could be used] only if threatened to that degree.

Massa made two other points about Kuhl's visit with the Democrat and Chronicle editorial board (see here and here for more information):

• Massa is "embarrassed" by Kuhl's joke about impeaching Governor Spitzer. "He needs to apologize to Governor Spitzer, who is doing everything possible to correct a situation in a public and transparent manner."
• Massa contrasted Kuhl's position on talks with Syria and Iran with his comments earlier this year when Louise Slaughter accompanied Nancy Pelosi on a trip to Syria. Massa characterized this as another "flip-flop".

In addition to his critique of Kuhl's comments at the D&C editorial board, he also criticized Kuhl's vote against the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act, and repeated his criticism of Kuhl's habit of voting against bills in which he has earmarks. "On the one hand, he issues press releases celebrating pork earmarks, on the other hand he votes against those bills, saying they're riddled with Democratic party excesses in taxes and spending." Massa cited this as one reason that voters reject "business as usual" in Congress. He said that voters want "some integrity, honesty and straight talk." He believes that voters will support someone who they might disagree with, as long as they have some integrity.

I asked Massa whether he would have supported S 1927, which extended and broadened the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Massa said he wouldn't have voted for it:

The war against fundamentalists who would do us harm is not about destroying our civil liberties. We fought World War I, II and Korea, and we did not fight the Constitution. We can bring our enemies to justice, protect the American people, and we can make sure that those who can do us harm are unable to do so without destroying the Constitution.

Massa said that his overall philosophy about the Patriot Act and corollary bills (like S 1927) was that they have "not gone far enough in protecting the country, and they go too far in destroying the Constitution and Bill of Rights." Massa believes that the President had all the authority he needed to have to protect the country, yet he refused to require inspection of 100% of incoming cargo vessels. "We require 100% search of those getting on an airplane, but hundreds of tons of imports aren't inspected." Massa related this back to the corporate donations by companies like Wal-Mart that require imports to survive.

Today's Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has a story and an editorial based on Randy Kuhl's editorial board visit yesterday. The story details Kuhl's plan to increase security at his offices in the wake of Monday's sit-ins. The editorial is so tepid that I can't even discern the real point of it: sit-ins might be bad? but maybe not?

Anyway, one interesting part of the Kuhl story is the low bar he sets for the Petraeus report due next month:

I have talked to some of my colleagues and we have said, 'You know, if it's not going well in September and it doesn't look like there is any movement whatsoever, that's probably it,' he said.

We're close to saying, 'That's it.' We give it our last chance and if it doesn't work, I'm not locked to staying there forever.

Most observers think that the Petraeus report will indicate some tactical progress due to the surge, but it's clear that there has been little strategic progress toward the ultimate goal of a self-sufficient Iraqi government (probably strategic regression, considering the recent Sunni walkout). Kuhl's answer seems to indicate that any progress will be judged as acceptable progress.

Update: In today's Messenger-Post, Kuhl says that the protesters were "out of towners...many of whom had rap sheets."

Rochesterturning has a story on Randy Kuhl's meeting with the D&C editorial board. Their blog has three posts (here, here and here) concerning the meeting, which will be covered in tomorrow's edition of the paper.