I was just alerted to a new poll, sponsored by the DCCC and EMILY’s List, that claims that Alice Kryzan has a 10-point lead over Chris Lee

A Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies poll of 400 likely voters shows that Alice Kryzan holds a 10-point lead over Republican candidate for Congress Chris Lee with 39 percent to 29 percent and 32 percent undecided. The poll, which was commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and EMILY’s List, was conducted September 15-17 with a 4.9 percent margin of error. Attached is a polling memo from pollster Cornell Belcher.

“This poll shows that just 42 days before Election Day, Alice Kryzan is in good position to win,” said Carrie James, regional press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “With a weakened economy, Chris Lee’s record of moving jobs to China just doesn’t sell in Western New York. Alice Kryzan has the independence and integrity to represent Western New York in Congress and this poll shows a clear path to victory.”

Now, there are so many things wrong with the poll it’s hard to know where to begin.

Well, let’s start with the obvious: The poll was conducted by Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies which is a liberal group. Based on their own memo, they must know their methods are suspect, because they did not release the poll’s crosstabs and methodology. So, there are two key thing we do not know:

• The sample size of Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
• The wording and order of the exact questions asked.

The reason the sample size for each party affiliation is important is because in the 26th district, the Republican Party has an undeniable advantage. The district went 51-44 for Bush in 200, and 55-43 for Bush in 2004. The Republican Party has more registered voters than the Democratic Party in the district as well. I am willing to bet that the poll under-sampled Republicans significantly.

Some might argue that the political climate for Republicans is not considered to be great. That’s only partially true. I would argue the Democrats had a greater advantage in 2006, and Tom Reynolds still managed to win reelection.

Yes, this year Republicans did have a significant deficit on the generic congressional ballot… but that was only until recently:

A potential shift in fortunes for the Republicans in Congress is seen in the latestUSA Today/Gallup survey, with the Democrats now leading the Republicans by just 3 percentage points, 48% to 45%, in voters’ “generic ballot” preferences for Congress. This is down from consistent double-digit Democratic leads seen on this measure over the past year.

If that’s the case in voters’ “generic ballot” then one could easily conclude that Chris Lee, already enjoying an advantage with party registration, would have an even bigger advantage as a result of that shift. That shift, of course, is largely attributed to a surge in enthusiasm amongst Republicans following John McCain’s selection of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Months prior to the Palin Effect, two nonpartisan groups had already seen a pro-Republican shift in the district.

And then we have to wonder why the memo did not release the exact wording and order of the questions asked in the poll. The idiolect of the memo from Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies is by no means objective. Which leads me to believe that the wording of the questions were not objective and crafted in such a way for the poll to achieve a desired result. In other words, this was likely a push poll.

Now it’s not surprising that several liberal bloggers in WNY are eating this poll up. Robert Harding at The Albany Project calls the poll exciting even though he usually takes such polls with a grain of salt.

Rochester Turning is not nearly as pumped by the poll, but believes it shows the race should be competitive.

But, neither asked the same questions about the poll as I have. Why not? Because the poll tells them what they want to hear, and that’s good enough to motivate them into thinking Kryzan can pull it off.

Considering all the money that was donated to Jon Powers’ failed campaign by the netroots, a poll like this is more useful as a fundraising tool for Alice Kryzan than as a legitimate snapshot of the state of the congressional race.

UPDATE: I have to say that I’m disappointed that friend Scott Leffler seems to take the poll at face value:

A 10 point lead has got to be nice for Kryzan. But 32 percent undecided in a Republican district has got to be a concern for her. Of course, she would only need slightly more than a third of the undecideds to win.

UPDATE: Roll Call has a story that backs up my assessment of the poll:

Republicans are sure to cry foul when they see the poll results. The Western New York district has more enrolled Republicans than Democrats — as of March 1, there were 178,000 Republicans and 141,000 Democrats, while 121,000 voters were registered with minor parties or unaffiliated.

Yet the pollsters, while acknowledging that the district has more enrolled Republicans than Democrats, said 33 percent of the voters surveyed identified themselves as Democrats, compared with 32 percent Republicans and 25 percent independents.

I also said that the poll was more likely a fundraising tool for Kryzan… this part seems to support that to:

Despite the district’s leanings, Democrats have been bullish about their chances of winning Reynolds’ seat. But the DCCC backed a candidate other than Kryzan — Iraq War veteran Jon Powers, who remains on the general election ballot as the nominee of the Working Families Party — and Democrats have been scrambling to shore her up since her primary win. Through Aug. 20, Lee, who is personally wealthy, was sitting on $751,000 in his campaign account, while Kryzan had just $95,000.

And one can’t help laughing at the irony of the last paragraph of the story:

The DCCC began airing an ad in the district over the weekend accusing Lee of sending some of his company’s business to China. Ironically, in a clerical error in its Federal Election Commission filing for the independent expenditure, the DCCC said it was placing the ad on behalf of Powers.

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The DCCC (which has added Alice Kryzan to their Red To Blue program following Jon Powers’ defeat in the primary) is attacking Chris Lee in a new television ad that I just caught the other day.

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.

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Looks like Jack Davis has reached the end of the line for his latest congressional bid:

A State Supreme Court justice Thursday rejected congressional candidate Jack Davis’ attempt to remain on the November ballot, ending his third attempt to win the job.

Davis said Thursday he left a voice mail with Democratic primary winner Alice J. Kryzan to congratulate her on her victory but would not commit to helping her in her campaign against Republican Christopher J. Lee.

Davis said he would help Kryzan in the campaign if he thought she accepted his anti-free trade message but expressed his doubts. “I don’t think she understands my message,” he said.

Justice Richard M. Platkin of Albany disagreed with Davis’ contention that his petition to form a minor party line called Save Jobs and Farms should have been accepted even though he failed to file a certificate of acceptance on time, as required by state election law. 

Davis argued that the state Board of Elections should have provided him an opportunity to submit the late application anyway and that the board acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in not allowing him to file. 

The judge ruled otherwise. 

Of course, while that settles that, we’re still waiting to hear what Jon Powers is planning to do.

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It’s now over week. 

We’re all still waiting…

Leadership by example?

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The netroots who are keeping an eye on the congressional race in the 26th district clearly are lost in the wilderness. Their golden boy Jon Powers lost in the primary after being dogged by the War Kids scandal and after getting caught up in a nasty battle of attack ads with Jack Davis.

So, now they have to settle for Sloppy Seconds Alice Kryzan… and from the looks of things, the enthusiasm they had for the substitute teacher was far greater than they have for the trial lawyer.

So, they’ve predictably chosen to attack Chris Lee. And can you imagine, with the economic slowdown we’re experiencing right now that this blogger at Rochester Turning not only finds fault in Chris Lee’s background in business, but his opposition to regulation?

You don’t have to be an economics major to understand that regulation hurts businesses. But, who would think that a left-wing blogger would understand something as simple as that?

The WNY netroots is really grasping at straws in their lame attacks against Chris Lee. This blogger predictably chose to play the Bush card by saying “Christopher Lee is more George Bush.” It’s the same line of attack Democrats are using all over the country. Democrats like Barack Obama have no record to run on, so it’s easier to blame the world’s problems on President Bush and couple Bush with their opponent. 

That strategy hasn’t exactly worked all that well for Barack Obama, and it certainly isn’t going to work in the 26th district, a Republican-leaning district that went for Bush in 2000 and 2004, and reelected Tom Reynolds despite a rather toxic political environment for Republicans in 2006.

Playing the Bush Card is a weak strategy for the netroots. It is indicative of a major strategic problem they have in an election year where the economy is a top issue. Chris Lee’s background in business gives him a huge advantage over Sloppy Seconds Kryan’s experience as a trial lawyer.

UPDATE: Now isn’t this rich… After eight years of liberal bloggers calling President Bush things like “bushitler,” “bushit,” or “chimpy;” calling black Republicans “house slaves” or “Simple Sambo;” or new ones like calling Sarah Palin “Sarah Piglin,” somehow it’s Republican “old method of thinking” for me to refer to Alice Kryzan as the netroots’ sloppy seconds. Yet, for some reason, I am the one that should apologize for using offensive and “beyond the pale” language?  Ain’t that a hoot.

And I guess finding humor in Hurricane Gustav is somehow appropriate.

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It has now been a week since Jon Powers lost the Democratic primary to Alice Kryzan, and we still have no official word about what he plans to do with campaign. As we know, he will be on the November ballot on the Working Families Party line, but he has not declared whether he plans to continue campaigning, or endorse Alice Kryzan.

I’ve repeatedly tried instant messaging and emailing Powers’ campaign manager, John Gerken, to no avail. I don’t know what this all means, but I’m inclined to believe that the longer Powers is silent on his plans, the more likely it is that he will eventually choose to keep his campaign going. Truthfully, I think the odds are against Powers continuing his campaign, as Alice Kryzan now has the backing of the Working Families Party and the DCCC. But, Powers is reportedly taking his defeat pretty hard… and that makes me think he’s not ready to give it up.

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Rochester Turning reportedly heard that meetings will be held today on whether or not Powers will continue his campaign, and appears to be concerned that Powers might continue his campaign, since he’ll be on the ballot in November.

Now it is about practicality. The DCCC just pulled support from Powers. The WFP party of NY supports Alice Kryzan even though Powers is on the ballot. Powers failed to win the large populous counties. He still is smarting from Jack Davis’ negative attacks. There is this solid post from swingstate project (which gave me the WFP link above). On the positive side, Powers has a bunch of money in the bank.

Even thinking about running on the WFP party is quite similar to Jack Davis attempting to form his own party just in case he lost the election. Is this, any party in a political storm? I should think not.

I believe the netroots has little to worry about. I don’t see Jon Powers moving forward with his campaign at this point.  If he has any desire for a future in WNY politics, he should concede, and move on with his life. I don’t see Powers actively campaign for Kryzan if he does end his campaign. What he really needs now is a new job so he can pay his rent.

Kryzan of course, is now starting to get the attention of various left wing groups.

But Democrats moved quickly to hail her victory, and the DCCC on Wednesday added Kryzan to its “Red to Blue” program for promising candidates running for Republican-held seats. She may also soon be endorsed by EMILY’s List, a Democratic fundraising powerhouse that supports abortion rights.

Something tells me that EMILY’s List isn’t exactly going to be extraordinarily helpful to Kryzan in the 26th District. Her association with Planned Parenthood certainly won’t resonate well with the voters of a Republican-leaning district. Of course, I don’t see abortion being a big issue in this particular campaign, but there are other issues that will be, and she’s on wrong side of them.

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26th District Blog talks about why Jon Powers failed.

When asked about making a prediction last night I said continually “Logic would be on the side of Powers but… I don’t know.” He had money, he had biography but most importantly he had the support of the local Democratic Party establishment and the bloggers. In terms of building up manpower, he should have won, they should have turned out, the phone banking should have worked, the money should have been spent on important resources. None of it panned out.

There’s a lot more worth reading.

The Albany Project notes that the DCCC has made Alice Kryzan their sloppy seconds:

This didn’t take long.

The DCCC announced today that Alice Kryzan has been immediately named to the “Red to Blue” list. 

Buffalo 14228 criticizes left-wing blogs that were drawn to Powers for being an Iraq War veteran, while ignoring his thin resumé.

She was also routinely hammered by alleged progressive political blogs like Alan Bedenko’s “The Buffalo Pundit” and Robert Harding of “The Albany Project.” Each fell in love with the “Iraq War veteran label” discounting the resume.

Scott Leffler says if Powers doesn’t complete drop out of the race, it be for spite.

If he proceeds in any manner other than dropping out, it will simply be out of spite, because everyone knows you don’t win a congressional election from the Working Families Party line … and he would simply be siphoning off votes from Alice Kryzan - assuring a Chris Lee victory.

Cincinnatus at Monroe Rising writes a letter to the Democratic leadership in the 26th District.

I can only imagine how you folks feel. Jon Powers spent over a year running for office, raised over a million dollars, had the support of all of the “progressive” bloggers and lost to a lady none of you know.

He goes on to give them some free advice.

Buffalo Pundit says Kryzan’s game winning shot came with an assist from Powers and Davis.

Because Powers and Davis spent so much time bashing each other, 2/3 of Kryzan’s job was done for her without her having to spend a dime. She needed one thing to stand out, and the “boys, take it somewhere else” ad was just the ticket.

And I see Chris Lee winning in November.

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Earlier I posted an email Jon Powers sent to supporters where he said “as we are still on the ballot as the nominee for the Working Families Party, my family and team are currently deciding how best to proceed.” Well, it appears that the Working Families Party, which was so extraordinarily effective in getting out the vote for Jon Powers yesterday, will be backing Kryzan, even though Jon Powers name will be on the ballot on the WFP line.

A spokesman for the Working Families Party in New York said the party will work to elect Democratic nominee Alice Kryzan in the 26th congressional district, despite the fact that Iraq veteran Jon Powers will be the Working Families nominee.

Kryzan stunned Powers and 2006 nominee Jack Davis in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, winning with 42 percent of the vote. But Powers, who received national Democratic backing for his run, was unopposed for the Working Families nomination.

That creates a troubling situation for Democrats, with two of their candidates on the general-election ballot and potentially splitting votes in a swing district.

A Working Families official said Wednesday that the party could not legally remove Powers from the ballot, but that it would back Kryzan.

“I’m sure we’ll support Alice’s campaign,” the official said. “I don’t think there was ever any talk of doing the third-party thing. We play to win.”

So, it appears that the Working Families Party has made the decision for Powers. He’ll be on the ballot no matter what, so I don’t think we’ll see him continue to campaign if the pro-union Working Families Party has jumped off the Jon Powers ship.

In other words, Jon Powers needs to go to Kinkos, make a few dozen copies of his resumé, and start looking for a job.

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According to this email sent from the Powers campaign, Jon Powers has not yet decided whether to continue his campaign, since he is still on the ballot in November under the Working Familes Party line:

Erin and I would like to thank each of you for the opportunity and honor to campaign for New York’s 26th Congressional District. I decided to run for Congress because the America that you and I believe in lost its voice in Washington. That is why we built a grassroots campaign that is based on the voices of the hard working men and women of Western New York.

With your help we started a conversation in your living rooms that began with holding 30 house parties in 30 days or last week visiting all 7 counties in 7 days. Thank you for sharing with me your challenges, concerns, and ideas on how we can make Western New York and this nation a better place.

Our conversation continued at roundtables talking with teachers about education, farmers about agriculture, Generals and veterans about the war, small business owners about the rising cost of health care and students about the rising costs of higher education.

This conversation really instilled in me the belief that together we have the power to change Washington.

None of this would have been possible without the unbelievable support and help of you, the Powers Platoon. One of the wonderful Platoon Leaders sent me an email this morning that I believe says it best,

This was way more than a campaign — it was a movement. A movement that must continue in some way or another. We built a coalition of people from the bottom up that joined together like I have never, ever seen here before.

She is absolutely right! I was honored to be a part of this effort as we stared down millionaires whose only line of defense was false political attacks and smears. Millions of dollars were spent in lies attacking our efforts because they were afraid of the power of this movement.

I am proud of serving our nation in Iraq, I am proud of the groundbreaking work of War Kids Relief that continues to this day to help the forgotten children of Iraq despite the lies of my opponents, and I am tremendously proud of this campaign that you and I put together.

As we are still on the ballot as the nominee for the Working Families Party, my family and team are currently deciding how best to proceed.

We want to thank each of you for your hard work and dedication. This campaign was never about an individual, it was about this community. If you believe that together we have the power to change Washington, this campaign is about you.

Thank you,

Jon

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There’s certainly a lot to talk about following the results of Tuesday night’s primary. I’m only going to talk about two things.

First, Sam Hoyt. Are you freaking kidding me!?!? Really, are you freaking kidding me?

Okay, now, I’ve got to talk about NY-26.

Alice Kryzan won. Jon Powers lost.

Rochester Turning asks what happened? I’m gonna give my thoughts and answer the question.

Anyone would agree this campaign was Jon Powers’ to lose, and he lost it big time. He had the support of local party leaders. He had the support of the unions. He had the support of the netroots and the Democrat establishment in Washington. He should have won easily.

But, instead, Jon Powers got sucked into a brutal battle with Jack Davis. They hit each other constantly with negatives ads, leaving Alice Kryzan on the sidelines. Powers and Davis thought the race was between the two them. To a degree that is still true.

I don’t think Alice Kryzan won as much as Jon Powers (and I suppose Jack Davis) lost.

Alice Kryzan did run an incredibly effective ad. Personally, I thought she ran it too late in the campaign to move the race enough in her favor to win. One cannot ignore the significance of the Democrats of NY-26 rejecting the candidate their party leaders chose for them. They not only rejected the recommendation of their party leaders, but they rejected the netroots candidate. Powers touted his so-called grassroots campaign… but clearly it helps to have a grassroots campaign in your own district and not in Washington D.C. and everyone else but your own district.

Politico notes that the Democrat establishment had banked on Powers winning, and Kryzan’s upset victory certainly casts more doubt on the Democrats being able to win the seat.

But, there’s a potential wrench to be thrown in this race by Jon Powers. He did receive the endorsement of the Working Families Party, and is guaranteed a spot on the ballot in November on the Working Families Party line.

The question is, will he continue his campaign until November or not?

According to Monroe Rising, Jon Powers refused to concede, even when the outcome of the race was pretty much settled. What does that mean? We’ll have to wait and see. As of this post, Chris Lee has issued a congratulatory statement to Alice Kryzan. Lee said, “I want to congratulate Alice Kryzan on succeeding in the Democratic primary and invite Alice to join me in discussing the real issues that are important to Western New York.”

Alice Kryzan has emailed her supporters with her declaration of victory. “I am honored that the Democrats of this District have chosen me to represent them in the upcoming general election to be their next representative in Congress.”

I didn’t expect to hear from Davis, but the silence from Jon Powers is deafening. I suspect he is, at this very moment, deciding whether to pack it in, or to fight on as the Working Families Party candidate.

The news of Kryzan’s upset victory has caught some national attention from Politico:

Without their favored candidate, Democrats are a little more circumspect of their chances of picking up this Rochester and Buffalo-area district in November. Even though New York has become a reliable Democratic stronghold, this is one of the most solid GOP districts in the Empire State, giving President Bush 55 percent of the vote in 2004. 

Well, it’s past 1:00 AM and I have to go to work in the morning, so I’ll post this now and give more thoughts on the results of this race and a number of others…I assume I’ll also get to react to Powers’ decision to either continue his campaign  on the WFP line or to start looking for a new job.

In any case, congrats to Alice Kryzan. She’s going to lose in November, but I can’t help appreciating the upset victory she achieved tonight.

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This afternoon, a reader informed me that Jon Powers used Post-It note advertising with the Democrat and Chronicle today.

After seeing a xerox of the paper, there’s an interesting omission from the advertisement… no federal disclaimer.  So, the question is, who actually paid for the advertising?

UPDATE: A reader informs me, “I [...] just got off the phone with the FEC, confirming that disclaimer law also applies to primary campaigns.”

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I’ve been asked to predict the outcome of the Democratic primary between Jack Davis, Jon Powers, and Alice Kryzan by quite a few people now. And the more I think about it, the various factors that can contribute to the outcome, and recent events, I think this race could be a 3-way toss-up.

I don’t live in the district, and I’m not a Democrat. So, I can only make an educated guess, but there are, I believe, three key factors that benefit each of the candidates in the primary race.

1. Name Recognition. Local sources tell me that when it comes to name recognition, Jack Davis (still) has the advantage. He is a known quantity because of his past congressional runs, and that means that many of the primary voters have voted for him before. Considering this is a presidential election year, people are more focused on that race than they are on local races (including congressional races) name recognition might be enough for Jack Davis to win the primary.  
2. Union influence. Jon Powers has the backing of the powerful unions, and of course, has the local Democratic Party endorsements. They will undoubtedly launch an aggressive get out the vote effort on behalf of their golden boy.
3. Negative backlash. While people may be more more focused on the presidential election, it’s hard to avoid political ads, and Jack Davis and Jon Powers have been hitting each other hard. Alice Kryzan’s first television was brilliant in highlighting this back and forth negativity between the two and casting herself as a reasonable alternative. I suspect her ad has proven very effective, and I am lead to believe that Democratic polling shows Kryzan is now competitive in the race, since Jon Powers has recently released another attack ad on the radio against Kryzan. The question I cannot answer is who does Kryzan take the most support away from? My guess would be Jon Powers, which would be supported by the fact that Powers has gone negative against her.

I think the first two are stronger influencers on the primary than the last one, but, then again, there are obviously many more than three factors that will contribute to the outcome. If this is going to be a close race (which I suspect it will be) I don’t think I can make a confident guess at who will end up the winner. Pundits are always concluding that a close race is decided by the GOTV effort. If this is a close race according to party and campaign polls that would give Powers the overall advantage, given his union support.

In the end, I’ve decided not to make a public prediction. I cannot pretend to understand how Democrats respond to the various things things that have happened on this campaign. This is the same party that reelects such gems as Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), who was caught with $90,000 in bribe money in his freezer. Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA), who had a sexual relationship with an underage congressional page, Rep. Mel Reynolds (D-IL), who had an affair with an underage campaign worker and caught with child porn… So, all the scandals that have come out against Davis and Powers might not had any impact at all, or very little.

I guess the moral of the story is, we’ll just have to wait and see. 

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Jerry Zremski has a very thorough piece on the incredibly negative Democratic primary in the 26th district.. but the one thing that really caught my eye was this:

The recent flier calls Powers “a teacher challenging parents to turn off the TV and video games and read to their kids.” On another page, it shows Powers in a classroom with elementary school students above the headline: “Soldier. Teacher. Democrat for Change.”

But Powers let his teaching certification expire last week, state Education Department records show. That followed a personal financial disclosure form showing he earned $640 last year, meaning he worked less than three weeks.

Combined with the money he made for his War Kids efforts in 2007, he had a combined income of $17,774, according to financial disclosure forms. No wonder he was caught using campaign funds to pay his rent. Currently, he is unemployed, and according to his campaign expenditures, he is not receiving a salary from his campaign funds…

How can he afford to live when he clearly isn’t working a job or earning an income? How is he paying rent now that he can’t use campaign funds since he’s already been caught? 

Powers even admited on Scott Leffler’s show last month that he’s had a very challenging year financially:

CALLER: Good thanks. I know you already talked about War Kids this morning and I hope we find out more on Friday when you file your financial forms but I have a question about a different subject, I’m just wondering what you’ve been doing in the area for a paid occupation.

POWERS: What I’ve been doing in the area for a paid occupation?

CALLER: Yea

POWERS: Well first of all I have to say when I had to give up War Kids last May when I decided to run for Congress, so as of last May I was no longer associated with the organization and came home and decided to run, you know, I’ve had to do some teaching this fall and this spring I was using savings that I had as a soldier from serving in combat, where we took our combat pay and I was able to save some of the money I made over 15 months in Baghdad, this has been an incredibly challenging year for me, but I’m doing this because I believe in this country and I believe in getting this country back on track.

So, he’s dipping into his savings, has no current income, and despite the hefty salary he earned for his War Kids effort, he’s had a very challenging year?

Obviously, the very challenging year he’s had financially explains why he used campaign funds to pay his apartment rent for nearly a year, but that doesn’t explain how he’s getting by now.

Something just doesn’t add up.

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The Albany Project reports that Jon Powers, an Iraq war veteran, has been endorsed by Iraq war veteran, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA).

Meanwhile, Buffalo 14228 reports that the National Organization for Women PAC has endorsed Alice Kryzan.

I don’t find either of these endorsements all that surprising. Kryzan being endorsed by a liberal women’s organization (which hardly needs to deliberate on whether or not to support a woman candidate who is pro-abortion) just doesn’t wow me… Nor does Powers being endorsed by a congressman who is also a fellow liberal Iraq war veteran. Powers was also endorsed by longtime Bush critic, Major General Paul Eaton.

More significant, in my opinion, was the endorsement Kryzan received the other day from former Rep. John J. LaFalce.

“I couldn’t stay silent any longer with such an exceptional candidate in the field,” LaFalce said.

Saying he is convinced Kryzan, a longtime environmental lawyer from Amherst, can win next Tuesday’s primary, LaFalce added: “You have to look at intellect, judgment, knowledge and character, and on any of these criteria, she is head and shoulders above the other candidates.”

LaFalce praised Jon Powers, the Iraq War veteran who has party and union backing in the race, but only to a point.

“I think Jon Powers is a fine young man, but I think Alice is 100 times better qualified to be the congressman from this district,” he said. 

Granted, from the times I’ve heard Jon Powers speak I can say that it doesn’t take much to be better qualified to be a congressman than him… still, this endorsement Kryzan has received comes at a time when she is undeniably the underdog in the primary, and is particularly significant given the fact that Powers has the support of the Democrat establishment. 

I still don’t think it’ll be enough for Kryzan, since experience and qualifications are not exactly prerequisites for Democrats this campaign season.

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The New York Times has now reported on Charles Rangel’s ethical lapse in failing to report income he earned on the rental property he owns in the Dominican Republic.

In the aftermath of the 2005-2006 mad rush by members of Congress to square all their travel reports and other required filings, one would think that Charles Rangel, even after his party returned to the majority, would have kept his financial filings on the level instead of trying to hide sources of income.

His ethical lapses are one thing, for sure, but what really got me about this article was his lack of ability to take responsibility for his actions, and instead threw his wife and his accountant under the bus:

[Rangel's lawyer Lanny] Davis said the congressman did not realize he had to declare the money as income, and was unaware of the semiannual payments from the resort because his wife, Alma, handled the family finances and conferred with their accountant, John Viardi, on tax matters. 

Pathetic.

But even more pathetic is that Mr. Jon Powers, who claims he wants to change Washington, has yet to return the dirty money he’s received from Charles Rangel. The DNC returned $100,000 they received from Rangel, shouldn’t Jon Powers do the same?

UPDATE: The Associated Press also reports that Charles Rangel paid no mortgage interest on his Dominican Republic villa for over a decade.

The New York congressman’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, told The Associated Press that Rangel got his no-interest deal for the villa in the Dominican Republic because he was an original buyer in the resort development, and in the early days after Rangel’s 1987 purchase the rental income it generated failed to meet expectations.

Punta Cana Yacht Club director Jose Oliva issued a letter stating that they initially charged interest on the loans to Rangel and a small group of fellow investors called “Pioneers,” but after two years the company stopped charging interest because of the lower-than-expected rental income. The removal of interest charges was extended only to the foreign investors, Oliva said.

Earlier in the day, the congressman’s lawyer said Rangel paid no interest at all on the mortgage, but later said company records show there was interest paid in the first two years.

Davis said Rangel did not know until very recently he had not been charged interest for more than a decade.

“Mr. Rangel received no special preference,” said Davis.

The Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means tax-writing committee has come under scrutiny for his vacation property and apartments he rents in his home district of Harlem. 

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