I've been a swing voter between the Democrats and the Greens for years, but voting for Democrats keeps getting more difficult. This latest incident of morally repugnant racism from New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Anthony Weiner.

From CBS News New York 5/19/11 where Gillibrand attacked Obama for calling on Israel to accept its internationally recognized borders.

“Steps toward a lasting peace, with real security, cannot start with pre-existing conditions on Israel, said New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Of course, a vicious bigot like Gillibrand would say that Israel cannot be forced to stop illegally occupying Palestinian land. She actually thinks that the US is obligated to support territorial claims of a racist government that is guilty, guilty, guilty of ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian people in Palestine and which systematically oppresses and discriminates against Palestinians living in their native lands in Israel. Obviously, she thinks that it is perfectly OK for Israel to have nuclear weapons that were obtained by a terrorist attack against the USS Liberty, yet she pretends that it faces a real security threat to its actual, legitimate borders.

I can't say I'm surprised. Nothing a bloodthirsty, NRA/KKK gun extremist like Kirsten Gillibrand could do would ever disappoint me. A pro robbery, rape, and murder politician like her is completely beneath contempt.

Anthony Weiner couldn't help but join in on the racismfest either.

“The Palestinians have said in 1967 and every year since that they want Israel not to even exist. That’s the problem,” added Rep. Anthony Weiner.

“I think the fundamental philosophy of the United States should be trying to help our ally in the region, to help democracy and freedom. That means being an ally of Israel. The Palestinians have made it clear again and again they prefer violence to peace.”

Never mind that Israel has never recognized the right of Palestinians to exist either.

Israel cannot be represented as a democracy when its political system blocks participation by Palestinian parties in governing the country. Most land in Israel is owned by a foundation that openly excludes rentals to anyone who isn't Jewish. So much for "freedom."

Weiner also is perfectly aware of the absolute fact that Israel regularly commits far more and far deadlier acts of violence against the Palestinians. Weiner also is perfectly aware of the absolute fact that Israel's political and military leaders are guilty of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza. He also knows that Israel is guilty of a military siege against Gaza, which is another crime against humanity.

Horror of horrors that Obama even pay lip service to getting Israel to accept its internationally established borders. No decent, honorable, moral person supports Israel keeping on square inch of territory it has stolen. Yet, Weiner's venomous racism against Arabs won't tolerate keeping Israel within its own borders.

Of course, this isn't the only example of slimy, dishonest behavior from that rightist Phonycrat. He pretended to champion the Public Option only to gleefully throw middle class and poor people under the bus and vote for Barack Bush's wealthcare plan for the HMOs, health insurers, and Big Pharma. The man has absolutely no personal or public integrity whatsoever. Weiner is the epitome of a bought politician. He's as much of a habitual liar as he is a venomous racist.

Incredibly rightist and bigoted politicians like Gillibrand and Weiner are far from exceptional in the Democratic Party. Heinous bullshit like this is why I'm finding it more and more difficult to support any Democrat ever again. These two de facto teabaggers are incredibly strong arguments for the Green Party.

 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's opposition to my inalienable right as a crime victim to gun control is one of the most important reasons why I will never vote for her for any public office. New York deserves a Democratic Senator who supports the policies of New York's Democratic voters.



I encourage you to learn more about Jonathan Tasini's primary challenge against Ms. Gillibrand.

 

Photo: WDPG_Share

New York Democrats have every reason to be frustrated with Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand's refusal to take on the Wall St. banksters and brokesters who are destroying New York and destroying America.

One of the reasons why she is doing this is that she is part of the exact same Republican political machine as former Sen. Al D'Amato and Joe Bruno. The latter is a convicted felon and the former GOP Majority Leader back when they had a majority in the state Senate.

The other reason for Gillibrand's pandering to Wall St. sleaze is that she gets a lot of money in campaign contributions from those sleazebags. Her Democratic primary opponent, Jonathan Tasini, has called for her to return that money. (Note: I'm not sure why a rightist Republican like Gillibrand is allowed by the state party to get away with pretending she's a Democrat.) Here's the text of Tasini's press release:

Today, my opponent, Kirsten Gillibrand, did what New Yorkers find increasingly troubling: she claimed she stands for one thing, while her actions contradict her public relations talking points. On WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show, referring to yesterday’s Supreme Court decision that allows unlimited corporate spending on elections, my opponent said, “I think it’s terrible.”

I agree—the Supreme Court decision hands over to corporations control over our democracy. It reinforces the notion in the voters’ minds that our system is dysfunctional and is not helping average people.

But, by her actions, not words, my opponent stands side-by-side with the conservative Supreme Court majority (as she did when she supported the National Rifle Association-backed overturning of the D.C. ban on handguns) by continuing to pocket huge amounts of corporate-influenced cash, particularly from the elite bankers and financial mainpluators who engineered the collapse of our economy, robbing Americans of their jobs, savings and retirement.

Yesterday, at a rally in front of Goldman Sachs, I called on my opponent to stop taking the massive amounts of money she is receiving from Wall Street and the very corporate interests that are blocking real change and to give back every dollar she has taken from the Wall Street bankers who destroyed our economy. That money is legalized corruption and is hurting every New Yorker and the American people. (The specific demand can be seen on this video at the 4:40 mark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9y8I9qFsRU)

I renew that call today. A majority of New Yorkers, and a majority of Democrats, do not support the election of the appointed Senator because they believe that she has no core principles. By rejecting Wall Street money—and, thereby, showing that she, in fact, does not support corporate control over our elections—my opponent will actually show voters that her words are not merely talking points to win over voters simply to get elected.

Democrats can respond to the Supreme Court in a forceful manner—and stand with the people. The Democratic Party can declare that it will cease accepting corporate cash today, immediately, as a signal to the American people that our party stands with the people, not with the corporate interests who have done great harm to the economy and the lives of millions of Americans.

It's no secret that Gillibrand is an NRA loving, bloodthirsty gun extremist. However, more people need to realize she is completely beholden to the banksters.

 

It is becoming glaringly obvious that the politicians that misrepresent me in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, hold all poor and middle class New Yorkers in utter contempt. They showed how much more they love the HMOs than their victims by voting for a wealthcare bill masquerading as a healthcare bill which would have slashed Medicare, fined people for not being able to afford wildly overpriced health insurance, restricted abortion, and shoveled money at a set of corporations who already get enough money to provide quality healthcare to the entire US population.

Now, they have shown themselves to be economically reckless and contemptuous of the vast majority of New York voters by voting to confirm Ben Bernanke to another term of misrule at the Federal Reserve Board.

Bernanke was and is a corrupt bankster who nearly destroyed our nation's economy through his anti regulatory policy stance and his refusal to live up to the regulatory responsibilities he had at the Federal Reserve. He also botched the Fed's bailout horribly. Instead of rescuing homeowners who were the victims of fraudulent and predatory loans (which also would have indirectly rescued the banks), Bernanke made a point of rescuing the mortgage paper which was based on those fraudulent and predatory loans.

That was a great deal for Bernanke's fellow banksters who eventually will be able to sell the stolen homes at a profit, but it sucked for their victims while hurting the country in general. The length and depth of this recession are largely due to the approach that the Fed and the Treasury took to the bailout.

Ben Bernanke has been a "walking disaster," "a Demolition Man" to snatch phrases from that old Police song. Ben Bernanke is the "heck of a job Brownie" of the economy, and the two Senators from my state have joined President Obama in rewarding Bernanke's unconscionable conduct. A vote for Bernanke is an act of economic terrorism against America.

I will definitely vote for Jonathan Tasini and against Gillibrand in the primary. If she wins, I will vote Green in November. (I will vote for a Green any day over a Republican like her.)

I've asked this before, and I'll ask it again. Will somebody please, please, please run a primary challenge against the corrupt Phonycrat in the other New York Senate race, Chuck Schumer?

The New York Times doesn't want you to know who this man is.



Jonathan Tasini is running a primary challenge against the de facto Republican incumbent, Kirstin Gillibrand. I'm supporting Tasini. Tasini is a Real Democrat, supporting the party's positions on most issues, which is a refreshing change from both Ms. Gillibrand and Chuck "Loves Torture" Schumer.

The New York Times has been censoring coverage of his campaign, just as they did when he ran a primary challenge against Hillary Clinton. It's difficult to tell whether the far right bias of the Times or the fact that Tasini sued the paper years ago is playing a bigger role in the Times' censorship of his campaign.

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR at www.fair.org) has been calling attention to this act of media censorship. Here are two articles on their website addressing the issue.

'Considering' a Campaign More Newsworthy Than Conducting One? (1/12/10)

Corporate Media Love a Horserace--but They Love Gatekeeping Even More (1/13/10)

The first article points out that the Times is covering Harold Ford's possible run against Gillibrand, while pointedly excluding Tasini's actual campaign. The second article makes an important point on how the Times is keeping its readers from knowing even how Tasini's campaign might effect the race.

The Times has lately run two extensive stories (1/11/11, 1/13/10) on whether Harold Ford, a former representative from Tennessee, would also run against Gillibrand--both of which ignored the fact that it was already a two-person race. Tasini, a writer and labor organizer, ran once before for the same seat, and got 17 percent of the vote against Hillary Clinton--a politician with greater name recognition than either Gillibrand or Ford.

You don't have to be Nate Silver to realize that a candidate who has the possibility to get 17 percent of the vote could have a major impact in a three-person race; even if you have a crystal ball that tells you that Tasini won't get more than that this time, it's impossible to handicap the primary without having some sense of who those voters are and what they are likely to do faced with three choices.

It is so important to have media watchdogs like FAIR to remind us just how censored and unreliable corporate media outlets are. The New York Times resembles the Soviet Pravda more with each passing day, with corporations replacing commissars as the totalitarians who control people's access to information.

 

When Gov. Paterson chose Kirsten Gillibrand, of all people, to fill the Senate seat left vacant when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State, I was stunned. In a previous post, I chose Ms. Gillibrand as one of the top 5 Democrats most deserving of a primary challenge. Here's the argumentation from that post:

Gillibrand "represents" one of the most liberal states in the country, yet she has provided absolutely no leadership on liberal concerns or any other matters. In fact, on lgbt issues, she has been downright vicious. She pushed for a temporary moratorium on the military ban, which may sound nice. But, look at the history. The elected Bush administration temporarily suspended most enforcement of the ban during the first US/Iraq War, only to kick out the queers who fought in the war after it was over. The Gillibrand approach is another cannon fodder approach to queers in the military. Aside from that, she mostly has been sitting on the sidelines and collecting a hefty paycheck.

But, what would you expect from Gillibrand, who is part of the same corrupt GOP political machine as Al D'Amato and convicted criminal Joe Bruno. New York deserves way, way better than this.

Here are some of my other posts illustrating my strong objections to the nomination in a Democratic primary of a gun nut Republican like Kirsten Gillibrand.

I Will Never Vote for Kirsten Gillibrand

Gillibrand's GOP Crony Set to Face Trial in November

My Email to Democratic Party Organizations About Kirsten "Gun Nut" Gillibrand

Paterson to Gun Crime Victims: Drop Dead

Fortunately, Jonathan Tasini is running against Senator Gillibrand. He ran a primary challenge against Hillary Clinton. He got 17% of the vote despite the facts that Ms. Clinton had far more money and name recognition, a huge political machine, and a corporate media that was heavily censoring his campaign.

Tasini is the only candidate standing up to the banksters and brokesters. You can read the prepared statement of his speech at last Thursday's protest in front of the infamous Goldman Sachs or watch the YouTube video below.



Tasini also has asked Ms. Gillibrand to give back the dirty Wall St. money her campaign has received.

There are rumors that Harold Ford, a de facto Republican, is thinking of trying to win the Democratic nomination against Ms. Gillibrand. I hope he runs. He will split the money of wealthy and corporate interests and the votes of conservative Phonycrats, which increases Tasini's chances of winning. One thing is clear, though. I won't vote for Gillibrand or Ford in the general election. I always prefer Greens over Republicans like them.

Now, will somebody please, please, please launch a primary challenge against Chuck Schumer so I can vote against him in the primary too.

 

Remember when the Democrats told us that things would change if they got the magic 60 votes? It sounds like a cruel joke now.

Core Democratic constituencies like queers, women, people of color, unions, environmentalists, seniors, the middle class and the poor have been repeatedly ignored and betrayed while wealthy donors have been given blank checks made out of government funds. The culture of corruption in the Senate and the House goes way beyond politicians who admit to being Republicans.

What do we do about it? 2010 needs to be the year of primary challenges. Here are my current top candidates for them. (Note: a lot of really shitty Phonycrats aren't running in 2010.)

1) Harry Reid
Why hasn't Reid taken away Lieberbush's committee chair? Why hasn't Reid pushed through the public option via budget reconciliation? The answer is quite simple. Reid opposes the public option because he is bought and paid for by the HMOs and health insurers, yet he knows that openly pushing that agenda would get him the wrath of real Democrats who are sick and tired of being screwed over by corrupt politicians. So, he insists on going the regular legislative route which can be filibustered by 41 votes. He knows there aren't 60 votes for the public option, but there easily are 51.

Reid is just as much of a Gopper as any other Gopper in the Senate. It is disgraceful that this right wing extremist is allowed to be leader of the Senate Democrats. Nevada voters should primary his corrupt ass right out of office.

2) Evan Bayh
Bayh is, was, and always will be a sleazebag. He is a leader in the so called Democratic Leadership Council, which should really be called the Democratic Liquidation Council. The DLC has worked tirelessly to pressure Democrats into acting like racist, sexist, heterosexist, corrupt, war mongering Republicans.

Bayh has voted for unconscionable restrictions on government funding for abortions and has cast a reprehensible vote against late term abortions. He just joined other Phonycrats in trying to make it illegal for insurance to cover abortion. This Gopper in disguise has worked to block the public option when he really should be fighting for single payer healthcare. He has done nothing to fight climate change or to support any other issue Democrats care about. He needs to be turned out of office.

3) Blanche Lincoln
Tell me again why she says she's a Democrat. I can't figure it out. She has done nothing to support the Democratic Party's agenda in the Senate. She spends all her time trying to out Republican the Republicans. Bah!

4) Byron Dorgan
This bought politician wants to weaken already horribly weak climate change legislation in the Senate. To make things even worse, he wants to use climate change in order to shovel government money at Big Coal. Dorgan has refused to support the Public Option and has supported draconian abortion restrictions pushed by ultra misogynist "Democrat" Ben Nelson.

5) Kirsten Gillibrand
Gillibrand "represents" one of the most liberal states in the country, yet she has provided absolutely no leadership on liberal concerns or any other matters. In fact, on lgbt issues, she has been downright vicious. She pushed for a temporary moratorium on the military ban, which may sound nice. But, look at the history. The elected Bush administration temporarily suspended most enforcement of the ban during the first US/Iraq War, only to kick out the queers who fought in the war after it was over. The Gillibrand approach is another cannon fodder approach to queers in the military. Aside from that, she mostly has been sitting on the sidelines and collecting a hefty paycheck.

But, what would you expect from Gillibrand, who is part of the same corrupt GOP political machine as Al D'Amato and convicted criminal Joe Bruno. New York deserves way, way better than this.

On Primary Challenges and Democracy
In a fully functioning democracy, every primary in every party would be contested. We are far from there, but the least we can do is to promote primary challenges against the worst of the DINOs.

Photo: SanFranAnnie

 

Jonathon Tasini is running a primary challenge against gun nut Phonycrat Kirsten Gillibrand. In addition to giving us a Real Democrat to vote for in the primary, he also is using his candidacy as a platform to support a lot of important issues, including abortion rights.

As you may know, the House passed a misogynist amendment forbidding abortion coverage in healthcare available from employers and through private insurance companies covered in the healthcare plan. Although Viagra and Cialis are covered, abortion is not covered even though it is a perfectly legitimate medical procedure. This sex discrimination is unacceptable.

Tasini is doing something about it. Please sign his petition to Harry Reid demanding that this hate be stripped out of the final healthcare bill. From the petition text:

The health care legislation passed by the House of Representatives contains an unacceptable and immoral attack on the rights of women. We, the undersigned, call on Democrats in the U.S. Senate to block any attempt to include language that undermines a woman’s right to privacy and a right to health coverage. We also call on Senate Democrats to commit to removing the Stupak-Pitts amendment in any conference committee negotiations over the final health care legislation.

I couldn't agree more.

Please Sign the Petition!

 

If my Phonycrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand votes for a fake "healthcare reform" plan without at least a public option, I will make a donation to her primary challenger, Jonathan Tasini in honor of the occasion. I know how to fight back against politicians that tell me to shut up and die without healthcare by not insisting on an opportunity for myself and others to get away from the deadly HMOs and health insurers.

You can't be on the same side of middle class and poor Americans and still be on the side of the HMOs. Every politician will have to show where her or his loyalties lie.

 

From a 9/2/09 email from the Tasini for Senate Campaign in New York:

I just had a meeting with some very brave and energized citizens who are trying to save their communities in the Finger Lakes region in New York from something called “hydrofracking.”

Sounds obscene, doesn’t it?

Well, it is: hydrofracking is a process in which water is injected at high pressure to break up rocks and release gas for commercial exploitation.

Did you know that hydrofracking uses 2 to 9 million gallons of water EACH TIME a “frack” is done and that the process injects 140,000 pounds of toxic substances into our groundwater and leaves communities with air and water pollution?

Did you know that the oil and gas corporate interests are pushing to create 40,000 ponds to hold the waste from hydrofracking all across New York, which means that the health of tens of thousands of New Yorkers will be at risk, for the sake of Big Oil and Big Gas profits?

Did you know that Dick Cheney pushed through, with bi-partisan support, an exemption that allows hydrofracking to happen without any of the protections of our clean water laws? And that our state politicians, in league with corporate special interests, took away the rights of local communities to regulate hydrofracking?

I wonder how many other parts of the country will have their water contaminated with deadly chemicals when they get "fracked." Being downstream from Upstate, I will be one of the "lucky" people who will get to shower in this toxic water and drink from it if I can't find an uncontaminated source of bottled water.

WBAI had a show on this kind of environmental degradation. I hope more people learn about it.

Jonathon Tasini is a liberal Democrat who is running a primary challenge to far right "Democrat" Kristen Gillibrand, who is part of the same Republican political machine as indicted former NY Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. Tasini got 17% of the vote in his 2006 primary campaign against Hillary Clinton, despite being enormously outspent by Ms. Clinton and despite Ms. Clinton's huge name recognition.

 

To say that David Paterson has been a disappointing governor for this state is an understatement. He has abandoned most of his liberal values on becoming governor in order to pander to wealthy donors. The worst example of this so far has been when he appointed Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. Gillibrand's involvement in the same corrupt, Republican political machine as indicted, former Sen. Joe Bruno should have automatically disqualified her for the seat. Gillibrand's opposition to gun control and her extremely irresponsible gun ownership should have made her appointment unthinkable.

Gun control opponents share in personal responsibility for all crimes committed with guns, including but not limited to, robberies, gay bashings, rapes, and murders. There are absolutely no legitimate reasons for private gun ownership. Any honest person who takes the trouble to actually read the Second Amendment is perfectly aware of the fact that it only applies to government sponsored militias defending the country from foreign threats. All claims to the contrary are NRA terrorist propaganda with no basis in fact.

Guns kill roughly 30,000 Americans every year. That's ten 911s every year. Gillibrand's opposition to gun control makes her as bad as ten Osama bin Laden's every year, no ifs, no ands, no buts, and no excuses.

As someone who has been held up at gunpoint three times, at least one of which was in a homophobic hate crime, I have an inalienable right to a gun free society. I also have a right to punish the responsible, including the pro gay bashing, robbery, rape, and murder politicians who oppose gun control.

I will punish Kirstin Gilllibrand for what she has done to me by voting against her and giving money to her opponents for the rest of her political career.

I also object to her homophobia. She tried to pull a time honored GOP trick and temporarily stop enforcing the military ban during a time of war. GOP politicians have been happy to use queers in the military as cannon fodder, only to kick them out of the armed forces when the war is over.

Gillibrand's delaying tactics on lifting the ban also are offensive. There is no need for any hearings. The military ban has been publicly debated for over 30 years. All that is necessary is legislation to end it to pass already. Gillibrand's efforts to fillibuster lifting the ban into perpetuity are offensive and absolutely unacceptable.

 

From an email I received from Progressive Democrats of America:

Immediate calls to Senator Charles Schumer (D) N.Y. requesting that he invite a single payer advocate to participate in the upcoming May 5 and May 14 Senate Finance Committee roundtable discussions on healthcare reform scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C.

Please call Senator Schumer right away at his D.C. office: 202-224-6542 and let him know that a representative from Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) or other single payer advocacy organization should be included if the Finance Committee is to make a full and honest assessment of the financing of reforming our health care system.

To reach National PNHP, Senator Schumer's office can call: 312-782-6006.

When single payer representatives were left out of the White House Summit on Health Care Reform, calls made to the White House prompted them to extend invitations to both Dr. Oliver Fein (President, National PNHP) and Congressman John Conyers.

Let's do it again!

There is broad national support among people and physicians in the U.S. for a single payer system and while the powers that be in Congress have declared single payer off the table - let's make sure they know we will not quietly and passively accept that decision.

Single payer advocates do not have enormous sums of money to influence elected representatives as do the special interests - our most valuable asset is our vote, our voice and the fact that we tell the truth about the only effective fair method of delivering medical care in our country.

So, please join thousands of people across the country and make the call to your New York State Senator: 202-224-6542

Schumer's support of Gillibrand, the Iraq War, torture, and de facto Republicans over real Democrats in the primaries gives people plenty of reason to be alienated by him. Let's hope Schumer acts like a Democrat and supports single payer healthcare.

Learn more about single payer healthcare.

 

You may or may not be aware of the legal troubles facing Joe Bruno, who once was the most powerful Gopper in Albany. (Capital News 9 2/12/09)

It appears former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno will stand trial this fall on federal corruption charges. A U.S. District Court judge has set a trial date of Nov. 2.

Bruno was indicted last month on eight counts of fraud. The US Attorney's Office said he took advantage of his position to collect millions of dollars from private consulting firms in exchange for his influence and support.

You may not know that he is strongly tied to Sen. Kirsten "Gun Nut" Gillibrand. From TPM Muckraker 1/27/09:

What's the connection? It turns out that, though Bruno and Gillibrand are from different parties, that indictment could end up bringing some unwanted publicity to New York's new senator. That's because, though it's remained largely under the press's radar, a business deal between Bruno and Gillibrand's father, Doug Rutnik, was a partial focus of the federal probe that culminated with Friday's indictment.

Let's back up:

By most accounts, Rutnik, a well-connected Albany Republican lobbyist and power-broker, has been the prime architect and fund-raiser for Gillibrand's political career.

Rutnik is tight with just about every powerful Republican in the state, including former governor George Pataki, and former senator Al D'Amato -- in whose office Gillibrand got her start as an intern, before running for Congress as a Democrat.

Rutnik is also close with Bruno. In fact, as the Albany Times-Union (via Nexis) has reported, in the 1990s, Rutnik and another lobbyist, James Featherstonhaugh, bought hundreds of acres of isolated swampland in New York's Rensselaer County, which they planned to develop. Bruno and his brother ultimately invested in the venture, known as the First Grafton Corporation.

Tom Robbins of the Village Voice wrote an excellent expose back in January on Ms. Gillbrand's father's political machine.

Kirsten Gillibrand has all of two years in elective office. Like Kennedy, she also hails from Democratic royalty. In her case, it's the Albany branch, where self-service precedes public service. Her father is a veteran political fixer and lobbyist. His connections stem from his fabulous mother-in-law, Polly Noonan, longtime "confidante" and presumed mistress to one of the most corrupt mayors in state history. Erastus Corning 2nd ruled Albany for more than 40 years, most of the time enhancing his family's fortunes while dodging grand juries. In 1972, when the state investigation commission looked at how graft and cost-plus contracts had inflated city expenses hundreds of times over, it called Corning's Albany "the worst-run county in America."

"Rastus" Corning loved Douglas Rutnik, Gillibrand's dad, so much that when the mayor died in 1983, he left him a politician's most sentimental and precious assets: his insurance company and his shotgun. "There's no question I was like a substitute son for him," Rutnik told Paul Grondahl, Corning's biographer. The shotgun was from the hours the two spent together shooting small birds. The insurance firm was the result of a lifetime of favor collection: Its clients included all the saloon owners, contractors, and manufacturers who understood that the way to thrive in Albany was to buy your coverage from Corning. When Corning helped Nelson Rockefeller build the capitol's vast South Mall, every tradesman made sure the mayor's firm wrote his insurance. Corning's own wife and children were so outraged when he left the company to Rutnik and the Noonans that they sued to win it back. They lost.

The substitute son embraced the surrogate father's lessons: His law firm became the faithful instrument of the city's political leaders, rising to the occasion for electoral challenges, foreclosures, and any needed influence-peddling. Democrat or Republican, he did not discriminate. He grew close to the GOP's rising star, Alfonse D'Amato, and even closer to D'Amato's tough-talking aide, Zenia Mucha. After D'Amato successfully steered George Pataki into the governor's mansion, Mucha went along as part of the deal. She and Rutnik bought a lovely home together in Colonie, the Albany suburb.

His lobbying clients quickly prospered: Defense giant Lockheed Martin won a $50 million state contract, and another $95 million deal from the MTA. Morgan Stanley paid $10,000 a month for his wisdom on state bond sales. Altria—née Philip Morris—kept him on a $100,000-a-year retainer to help ward off curbs on its cancer-spawning business.

Gillibrand isn't just a bloodthirsty, warmongering gun nut. She is part of a corrupt political machine.

 

People are in denial about what the gun extremists are doing by arming our country to the teeth. In a news story on the Boston Herald website 6/30/08, 31,000 deaths resulted from guns in 2005 alone.

Just under 3000 people were killed in the 911 attacks. It's not even close.

When are people going to realize that gun extremists like Kirstin Gillibrand pose an even greater threat to our country than Islamic religious extremists?

Opposing gun control is terrorism.

 

After finding out on From the Left that Kirsten Gillibrand keeps two guns in her home, a home with children, I realized that more must be done to stop this monster. So, I've sent an email to various Democratic Party organizations making my uncompromising opposition to this dangerous gun extremist clear. Here is the text of that email.

As a victim of gun crimes, I find Kirsten Gillibrand's opposition to gun control to be personally insulting and to personally endanger me. Like all opponents of gun control, she shares in personal responsibility for every crime committed by the guns she supports, including the three times I was robbed at gunpoint.

Our political and legal systems are so corrupted by the gun lobby that I cannot have Ms. Gillbrand prosecuted for what she has done to me in a criminal court. I cannot even successfully sue her in civil court due to that same corruption.

The only recourse I have to punish Gillibrand for her actions is to work in the political system to stop her political career. I will do just that. I will vote against that gun nut every chance I get. I will be giving campaign contributions to her opponents. I will vote against Phonycrats who support her in the 2010 primary. A politician who works to arm muggers, gay bashers, rapists, and murderers is unfit to hold public office.

The Democratic Party has been shitting on gun crime victims for far too long. I'm not going to passively take it any more. If you want me to loyally support the Democratic Party then you damn well better start showing some loyalty in return.

 

Gov. Paterson's decision to select the notorious gun extremist, Kirsten Gillibrand, to be my state's newest Senator, is both dangerous and irresponsible. As a victim of gun crimes, I find gun nuts like Gillibrand morally reprehensible.

Gillibrand, like all opponents of gun control, is personally responsible for putting guns in the hands of the crooks who robbed me at gunpoint three times. Being in the same near death situation three times completely needlessly gives one a sense of real clarity. There is no excuse for supporting private gun ownership. Hunting with guns is too one sided to honestly be referred to as a "sport." Gun ownership increases the likelihood for death and injury for the gun owner. The Second Amendment only applies to government sanctioned militias, contrary to the propaganda of the nation's largest terrorist group, the National Rifle Association.

Opposing my basic right to live in a gun free society is something I take very personally, because I have experienced the consequences of gun extremism like Gillibrand's very personally. I am not obligated to passively go along with politicians who put guns in the hands of muggers, rapists, and murderers.

If this monster runs in the 2010 Democratic primary, I will vote for a primary challenger. If she wins the primary, I will vote for the Green Party candidate. I don't care which of two Republican gun nuts wins.

I seriously doubt I could vote for David Paterson after this horrifying betrayal either. Why did he vote for an inexperienced, Republican, gun extremist like Gillibrand over so many capable and qualified people who actually are Democrats and who are decent human beings?