This Sunday, I wlll be on “Hardline with Kevin Hardwick” on WBEN NewsRadio 930 from 10:30-11am. I will be in-studio discussing national, state and local election results. Buffalo Pundit was also invited but will be calling in.

UPDATE, 11/9/08, 13:37 PM: Well, I am back home from WBEN’s studio. It was a fun segment, though I think we all wish we had more time to duke things out. The good news is you can definitely expect me to be invited back in the future. I would like to thank Kevin Hardwick for inviting me on the show, and I look forward to next time, which I hope will be sooner than later.

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With the election over, I thought I give my post-election thoughts on some local races I covered.

NY-26: Chris Lee

It was a good night for the voters of the 26th district. They saw through Alice Kryzan’s smear campaign and elected Chris Lee to represent them in Congress. The choice was clear: Send another left-wing trial lawyer to congress, or send a businessman who knows how to create jobs. Once again, congratulations to Chris Lee and his campaign for a well deserved landslide victory.

Buffalo Pundit is still under the delusion that Powers put fear in the Republican Party, which explains why they held a press conference about Powers and the War Kids Relief scandal. It is a silly notion. Powers was grossly uninformed on the issues, and was as much “out of his element” as Baby Joe Mesi. Powers’ campaign could be boiled down to “Vote for me, I am an Iraq War veteran.” Considering how the war in Iraq became less of an issue during the campaign season, it would not have been enough for him. Powers’ proved himself to be a lightweight by being MIA after his defeat, by allegedly running away to Virginia, and in his 11th hour endorsement of Alice Kryzan. His post-defeat actions proved his congressional campaign was one of personal ambition, and had little to do with the cause he claimed to have been fighting for.

Now why did the Republican Party go after Powers? The answer is simple and obvious: Powers was the endorsed candidate. He was expected to win the primary. You don’t sit on your hands letting your opponent attack you just because he is still in the middle of a primary battle.

Chris Lee will likely get reelected in 2010. But, if Republicans don’t take back control of the State Senate that year, the 26th district will be gerrymandered into a safe Democrat district, and put Lee at risk. The Republican Party has to start working now to get that majority back — assuming the reported Gang Of Four switch doesn’t happen.

NY-27: Brian Higgins

This was considered a safe Democrat seat, and while Brian Higgins may run to any camera in a 5-mile radius to take undeserved credit for something, he was pretty much MIA in his reelection campaign until the final 2 weeks. The Republicans’ best chance to take the seat now will in 2010, which is likely to be a big year for the Republican Party, since Democrats are destined to make a complete mess out of this country (as they’ve already started since 2007).

My hope is that Dan Humiston will immediately begin his 2010 congressional campaign.

SD-58: Bill Stachowski

If earlier polls showing Delano ahead of Stachowski were accurate, than one thing is certain: the relentless smear campaign waged against Delano in the final weeks worked. Ironically, Buffalo Pundit, who was highly critical of Dale Volker’s politics of personal destruction, was a willing participant in Bill Stachowski’s politics of personal destruction against Delano. Delano’s campaign made some mistakes in not being more active on the campaign trail, but if the polls were right, Delano could have won had he defended himself from Stachowski’s smear campaign. If he did anything to rebut those shameless ads, I never saw or heard any of it.

SD-59: Dale Volker

I am glad Volker won because our government needs checks and balances, and while the State Senate fell to the Democrat Machine this year, it could have been worse. Still, it was downstate that put the Democrats in power, which may help upstate Republicans next time. Let’s hope.

SD-61: Mike Ranzenhofer

Baby Joe Mesi’s strategy was simple. He hoped his celebrity status would win him the election. He focused on playing up his likabilty factor in his commercials, but came across as ridiculously out of his league in the debates. No amount of Responsible New York’s money could fix Mesi’s political flaws or repair the damage done by Mesi’s lousy debate performances.

And I might as well make a comment about the election of Comrade Obama: God help us. 

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Got this email today from Chris Lee to his supporters:

Dear Friend,

 I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all you have done to support this campaign. Whether it was putting up a lawn sign, going door-to-door, participating in phone banks, coming out to our rallies, or investing in the campaign - your grassroots efforts made all the difference.

During this campaign, we traveled through all the seven counties – we’ve been to farms, factories, schools, gas stations, and hospitals – we’ve talked to seniors, veterans, small business owners, police, firefighters, and first responders.   Thank you to all those who were kind enough to open their homes, neighborhoods, and businesses to our campaign.

I’m prepared to work with anyone who is committed to getting our economy back on track, Democrats, Republicans, or otherwise. We are going to make government more accountable to the people of Western New York.

This is a victory worth celebrating – but we certainly have our work cut out for us, and I will need your help in the months ahead.

Again, please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your support.

Thanks,

 

CHRIS LEE

Alice Kryzan also emailed her supporters today

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in an otherwise sad election, it does give me great pleasure to see Chris Lee elected to Congress. Alice Kryzan’s smears didn’t work, and the voters of the 26th District have chosen someone who will look out for their best interests. I also feel honored to have been a part of the fight to hold on the 26th District.

Congratulations to Chris Lee. Fight for us. Give ‘em hell.

Excerpts from Chris Lee’s remarks to supporters at the Buffalo Niagara Marriott after being declared the winner of the 26th district Congressional election:

“Tonight we are one step closer to getting Western New York and our country back on track.

“We are now going to take to Washington our agenda of job creation, lowering taxes and making government more accountable.

“What has brought me here tonight has truly been a team effort – I owe a debt of gratitude to the dedicated group who helped run this campaign, to the incredible number of volunteers and the more than 1,300 supporters who invested their resources into our message. I am grateful to my family for their love and support. They have been incredible.

“My career has been solely in private sector these past 20 years. I will bring a much needed voice to Washington as someone who knows how difficult it is to earn a dollar and will therefore be a much better steward of your hard-earned tax dollars.

“This is a victory worth celebrating – but we certainly have our work cut out for us, and I will need your help and support in the months ahead.”

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WNYMedia is accusing the Chris Lee campaign of  “littering the district with illegal and grossly misleading flyers about Alice Kryzan.”

I have contacted the Lee campaign, and have been told they “had no involvement in the flyers.”

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I voted this morning before heading into work. There was no line at the time.

They didn’t ask for my ID. I asked if they wanted to see it. They said no. I was very annoyed. Is it so hard to make sure someene is who they say they are?

UPDATE: Heard the 11th hour DCCC radio ad smearing Chris Lee that tries to sound like a legitimate news report. Grossly misleading and ought to be a violation of some sort… but Democrats tend to get away with their dirty tricks.

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Official Buffalo Bean 2008 Prediction

I should make a few points to explain certain selections:

• Nevada: I originally did not have Nevada to go for McCain, but my co-author Mark Noonan (who lives in the state) is confident it will. I will trust his opinion on that
• Colorado: I think there is a chance McCain could take it, but I expect it to go for Obama.
• New Mexico: Same as Colorado. McCain could win it, but soures tell me that Bush won New Mexico mostly because he had a superior ground game, an advantage I am not convinced McCain has this year.
• Iowa: I was curious about Obama’s recent stop there, but still think he takes it.
• Minnesota: I hear it is close again in Minnesota.. But McCain pulled out of there and and I wrote it off then too.
• New Hampshire: Another state I believe McCain has a good shot at taking, but still giving no Obama.
• Pennsylvania: This state, I believe is going to be the prize of 2008. And based on various sources I have (and recent events) I think McCain is going to pull off an upset there. 

Buffalo Pundit and Buffalo Geek offer their predictions.. I think predicting an Obama victory is one thing… but I think they’re both being quite over confident about Obama’s chances for a landslide.

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Chris Lee and Alice Kryzan are debating on WBEN right now. It seems to me that Alice only knows how to blame the Bush Administration for all the problems the country is dealing with now, but doesn’t have a single solution. 

Listening to Alice talk she truly earns the nickname “Alice In Liberaland.” She seems to be in her own little world that isn’t based in reality but in Democrat talking points.

Some thoughts and observations on the debate:

• Lee nailed Kryzan for supporting the redistribution of wealth. Kryzan denied, of course, even though it is impossible to cut taxes for 95% of Americans when 40% don’t pay any taxes at all.
• Kryzan called Obama’s redistribution plan her own plan.
• Kryzan accused Lee of not being out in the district… Even though it was actually her who has recently given excuses why she hasn’t been out more. She accused Lee of sitting in his office behind his “bags of money” which is a laugh and a half since their net worths are roughly the same. Lee called her on that and ridiculed her for painting herself as a poor person.
• Kryzan claimed she’s open to working with both parties, but only spoke of working with the Democrats in Congress and with a Democrat administration.
• Kryzan thinks healthcare is a right. Someone hand her a copy of the Constitution, and explain to her why Canadians who have socialized medicine come down to America for treatment.
• If Kryzan was challenged to offer proposals and not blame, she would have been lost for words.
• Lee said small businesses cannot afford to pay employees for a full year of not working under the Family Leave Act. Alice thinks they should be.
• Kryzan danced around an answer about the so-called Fairness Doctrine.
• Kryzan wants your tax dollars to pay for abortions. Lee does not.
• Kryzan supports the Employee Free Choice Act would which would deny employers the right to demand secret-ballot elections before a union can be certified. Lee does not support it, says it is a misnomer that leaves workers open to coercion and intimidation.
• Lee called Kryzan out for flip-flopping on accepting special interest money.
• Kryzan is against “unfettered free markets.” If she sounds like a socialist and looks a socialist she must be a socialist.

UPDATE: Kryzan could do no wrong according to Buffalo Pundit’s bizarre assessment of the debate. Of course, all facts that supported Lee or contradicted Kryzan were “beside the point.” 

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A new Siena poll shows some interesting shifts in some State Senate races. First, in the 58th Senate District Bill Stachowski has retaken the lead over Dennis Delano.

Stachowski now has a 47-43 percent lead over Delano, after trailing 49-36 percent in the previous Siena poll in this district where Democrats have a better than two-to-one enrollment edge. Stachowski has increased his lead among Democrats to 62-30 percent (up from 51-34 percent). Delano maintains a 63-25 percent lead among Republicans (virtually unchanged from 64-23 percent) and has seen his lead among independent voters fall to 54-36 percent, down from 67-19 percent. 

It is clear that Stachowski’s smear campaign against Delano has had an impact.

Also, it appears that in the 61st Senate District Baby Joe Mesi’s boxing metaphors aren’t enough cover for his lack of understanding of the issues:

Ranzenhofer has a 47-42 percent lead over Mesi, who had a slimmer 40-38 percent lead in the previous Siena poll, in this district where Republicans have a very small enrollment edge over Democrats. Ranzenhofer leads among Republicans 69-25 percent, up from 59-21 percent. Mesi leads among Democrats 62-29 percent, closer than the previous 63-19 percent. Mesi leads among independent voters 42-37 percent, although Ranzenhofer closed the gap from 43-28 percent. 

Looks the people of the 61st Senate District are seeing that Baby Joe is indeed “out of his element at this point in his political development.”

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For a while now I’ve heard rumors about Alice Kryzan’s legal career… Apparently she worked at quite a few law firms:

Phillips Lytle, LLC
Whiteman Osterman & Hanna
Kryzan & Kolaga
Buchanan-Ingersoll
Harris Beach & Wilcox

That is a lot firms to have worked over 26 years.. especially when the longest stretch she spent at any of them was 6 years.

So what does this tell us about Alice Kryzan? That she jumped around from law firm to law firm?  Okay. But that really leaves us with a big question: Why? According to rumors I have heard she was fired from a few of these firms… 

Alice is running for congress largely on her experience as a lawyer. But it looks like that experience is hardly something to brag about.

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I’ve just learned that Jon Powers will indeed remain on the WFP line on the ballot on Tuesday. A federal court ruled moments ago…

This reverses the decision earlier today that gave Kryzan the WFP line…

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Looks like things are all set for me to cover the results of the elections on Tuesday at the Republican Party’s Victory Party. My plan is to do some video broadcasting via Mogulus. Lots of candidates will be there, and I should get to speak with all of them throughout the night.

More details to follow. 

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The Buffalo Bean recently had the opportunity to interview Chris Lee, candidate for U.S. Congress in New York’s 26th district. The interview was conducted via email and is posted below:

THE BUFFALO BEAN: You have been the target of some false negative ads put out by the DCCC on behalf of Alice Kryzan. As a newcomer to politics, were you surprised by the tone taken by your opponent and the groups trying to put her in office?

CHRIS LEE: It is unfortunate that Alice Kryzan has run a negative smear campaign against my family and our business. It does not surprise me that she has nothing positive to say about her background or her vision for Western New York.

Unlike my opponent my campaign has focused on the issues. Alice Kryzan has been on record for wanting to raise taxes which would harm our economy and destroy jobs in Western New York.

TBB: A new poll by SurveyUSA has you with a significant lead over your opponent. With the outlook for Republicans nationwide considered bleak even in Republican-leaning districts, why do you think you’re running so strong?

CJL: I don’t take a lot of stock in polls. The only poll I care about is the one on Election Day.  Voters are interested in electing someone who brings solutions and experience.

TBB: According to that same poll, there are still 18% who are undecided. What would you tell those voters to convince them they should support you?

CJL: In these troubling economic times we need a leader in Congress that has the real world experience of creating jobs in Western New York, balancing a budget and meeting a payroll.  Western New Yorkers deserve an independent voice in Washington who won’t accept business as usual.  A leader who will fight to keep taxes low, not raise them - who will fight for affordable health care, not government run health care. We have enough attorneys in Washington it is time to send a businessman to Congress.

TBB: What part of your message has resonated the most with the voters you’ve talked with on the campaign trail?

CJL: People like the fact that I have created jobs in Western New York. I have spent my career growing a family business that helped Western New York’s economy. Out of the 535 members of Congress, 237 members hold a law degree and only 18 members hold an MBA degree. Western New Yorkers understand that we don’t need another lawyer in Congress we need a businessman.

TBB: How do feel your experience as a successful businessman makes you better suited to represent the 26th district than your opponent?

CJL: I am a businessman, not a career politician. I bring real world experience to the job.  I’ve helped build a business and create jobs in Western New York.  I’ve been fortunate enough to sign the front of paychecks as well as the back. I know the challenges job-creating businesses face — and in Congress, I will work to make sure it is easier for them to grow in our communities.  When you are meeting a payroll you understand how difficult it is to earn a dollar. Therefore you are also a better steward of taxpayer’s hard earned tax dollars.

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…of course, if the SurveyUSA poll is at all accurate, the courts forcing her on the WFP line (in spite of legal precedent) won’t exactly make a difference.

Alice Kryzan has won a coveted second ballot line in Tuesday’s election for Congress in the 26th district, thanks to an appellate court decision striking Jon Powers from the Working Families Party line.

The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that a lower court erred in deciding that Powers, Kryzan’s former rival for the Democratic nomination for the seat, must stay on the Working Families line even though he had moved to Washington, D.C., to take a job there.

“In the absence of evidence to the contrary, Powers’s letters to the Board and his concomitant submission of an out-of-state driver’s license and lease agreement conclusively establish his intention to establish residency outside of this state,” the appeals court said.

It in all very silly and really demonstrates the desperation of the Kryzan campaign for an insignificant amount of votes that will have no impact on the outcome.

Isn’t it about time we put an end to this electoral fusion nonsense?

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I just heard that Channel 2 News released a new SurveyUSA Poll during their noon news broadcast with the following results for the congressional race in the 26th district:

Chris Lee 48%
Alice Kryzan 34%
Undecided 18%

Looks like Alice’s smear campaign isn’t working out for her, and Chris Lee’s message is resonating big with the voters.

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