When Nicholas A. Langworthy leads the Erie County delegation to the Republican State Convention in Manhattan next month, some grizzled old pol might just bar him from entering the smoke-filled backrooms.

With a kidlike mug and only 29 years old, Langworthy hardly looks old enough to smoke, let alone lead the Erie County Republican Party.

Yet that’s exactly the position he assumes after the GOP County Committee meeting Wednesday. He becomes the youngest person to lead a local political party in any-one’s memory.

To almost everyone who knows him, however, the son of a Chautauqua County tavern owner appears as a rising star in political circles, with more experience than many of his elders.

“He’s where he is because of a combination of intelligence, political intuition and flat-out hard work,” said former Niagara County Republican Chairman Henry F. Wojtaszek. “The fact that he’s chairman at 29 does not surprise me in the slightest, and I could have told you that a long time ago.”

I met Nick soon after I moved to Western New York two years ago when he was running Chris Lee’s successful campaign for Congress. So, once again I offer my congratulations to Nick. I hope his leadership at the ECGOP will lead to a stronger relationship between the local party and local blogs.

The ad accuses Chris Lee of “employing labor in China.”

This, of course, is a blatant lie. No jobs form Chris Lee’s company were transferred overseas. The company expanded to international markets, but no jobs were lost here in Western New York, no jobs were ever exported to China. The company employees over 350 people in Western New York. If Alice Kryzan and the DCCC think it’s a bad thing that when a local company is successful enough to be able to compete internationally, then I think they are the ones who have some explaining to do.

After the ad came out, ECGOP Chairman Jim Domagalski issued a statement:

“Kryzan should be ashamed of herself for this blatant hypocrisy,” said Erie County Republican Chairman Jim Domagalski.  ”Kryzan needs to denounce these ads as a complete and utter distortion of Chris’s record as a successful business leader who has actually created good paying jobs here in Western New York.  I dare ask the question, how many jobs has Alice Kryzan created?

“Alice Kryzan has said that Washington insiders shouldn’t select the person Western New Yorkers are going to send to Congress. Alice Kryzan needs to stand up and denounce these negative attack ads and live by her promise to turn away this outside liberal, special interest help.”

If Alice Kryzan wants to make job creation an issue of this campaign, I think that’s a debate the Chris Lee campaign will want to have. Only one candidate in this race has a record of creating jobs in Western New York…

…and it ain’t Alice Kryzan.

Erie County Republican Chairman Jim Domagalski will be addressing John McCain selection of Sarah Palin at a 2pm press conference at Erie County Republican Headquarters.

UPDATE: It’s funny when supporters of Barack Obama, the most inexperienced major party candidate for president in history, try to play the experience card with Palin.

UPDATE: It looks like Buffalo Pundit on his Democrat blog took issue with a comment I made in this thread.Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have any DNC talking points handy and needed to ask his readers to help him respond. And from the looks of things, he hasn’t gotten any good talking points to counter my statement.

The Democratic National Committee is returning a $100,000 donation from embattled Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel made at his birthday fundraiser, saying it goes against a Team Obama ban on PAC money, The Post has learned.

Rangel presented the donation to DNC chairman Howard Dean at the gala at Tavern on the Green a few weeks ago.

But the DNC is returning it because it stopped taking PAC money once Sen. Barack Obama, who has a rule against taking most PAC money, became the presumptive nominee, officials said.

The idea that this has anything to do with PAC money is absurd, of course, so, one has to wonder, why, in a presidential election year, would the Democrats really choose to wash their hands of that much needed cash? Are Charlie Rangel’s troubles soon to be getting worse, and is the DNC preemptively avoiding any issues by dumping the cash now? 

Now, it’s been over a month since Jim Domagalski and Henry Wojtaszek called on Jon Powers to return the tainted contributions he received from Charlie Rangel… Now that the DNC has returned the tainted cash they received, isn’t it about time Jon Powers did the same?

UPDATE: Davis, GOP go after Powers

For Immediate Release: Jim Domagalski
Tuesday, August 13, 2008

MEDIA ADVISORY

GOP Chairs Address Recent Questions Surrounding Congressional
Candidate Jon Powers’ Nonprofit Organization, War Kids Relief

When: Thursday, August 14, 2008 4:00 pm

Where: Erie County Republican Headquarters
107 Delaware Avenue, Suite 17
Buffalo, NY 14202

Who: Western New York Republican Chairman

Confirmed Participants:
Erie County Republican Chairman Jim Domagalski
Niagara County Republican Chairman Henry Wojtaszek
Orleans County Republican Chairman Ed Morgan

What: Press Conference

More on this later…

UPDATE: Video posted.