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BREAKING: New York Governor Paterson Ends Reelection Bid Amid Scandal

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After fending off a recently-reported bombshell rumor, New York’s Governor David Paterson, the man who succeeded Eliot Spitzer after a sex-scandal resignation, has decided to not seek reelection, amid reports of his own scandal.

Via The New York Times:

“[M]any had said publicly this week that Mr. Paterson’s chances had been damaged, perhaps irreparably, by the disclosures that the governor himself had stepped in on behalf of David W. Johnson, 37, a close confidant who rose from being a young intern to being Mr. Paterson’s driver and scheduler and, later, to a wider role in Mr. Paterson’s operation.

“Last fall Mr. Johnson’s longtime companion accused him of brutally assaulting her, telling the police that he had choked her and thrown her against a dresser. She also said that Mr. Johnson had kept her from calling for help.

“Twice, the woman was granted a temporary order of protection against Mr. Johnson. But she complained in court that the State Police had pressed her to drop the allegations.

“Then, on Feb. 7, the day before a court hearing about a final protective order, Mr. Paterson spoke to her on the phone. She did not show up for the hearing the next day, and the judge dismissed the case.”

Paterson’s rise to New York’s chief executive came amid shock. Spitzer was a highly-respected attorney general who handily won the Governorship with 69% of the vote. But Spitzer’s tenure as governor was rocky, and months before his resignation his popularity quickly diminished, especially over “Troopergate.” Spitzer resigned from office on March 12, 2008, two days after the New York Times reported Spitzer had repeatedly patronized prostitutes.

Paterson, the day after his own inauguration as governor, confessed his own marital infidelities, as did his wife. But the people and the press, tired of the Spitzer sex scandal, were willing to ignore Paterson’s indiscretions and he received wide support.

However, Paterson quickly lost that support. His leadership stumbled several times, and when the time came to appoint a replacement for the senate seat held by Hillary Clinton, who accepted the position of Secretary of State in Barack Obama’s White House, Paterson’s performance was called into question as his office was slow to respond to rumor. Several candidates were rumored but not announced. Then, when Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, announced her interest in the seat, but was publicly rebuffed by Paterson’s office, Paterson quickly lost whatever support he had left. To this day, he has been reported to be the governor with the least support in New York State history.

Both Paterson and Spitzer, early in their tenure as governors, announced they would pursue enacting marriage equality. Paterson ensured New York State offices recognized same-sex marriages from any other jurisdiction, and in April, 2009, Paterson announced his intent to sign a gay marriage bill. He labeled Prop 8 an “unfortunate accident,” and described lack of marriage equality as “not a crisis of issues but a crisis of leadership.” Sadly, Paterson’s tenure has been plagued by just such a crisis of leadership.

Similarly, in April 2007, then-Governor Spitzer announced his support for a same-sex marriage bill, but was rebuffed by a no vote under New York State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.

Paterson’s position as Governor Spitzer’s Lieutenant remained vacant until he appointment of Richard Ravitch, as New York has no formal process to replace the lost of a lieutenant governor.

Despite his low popularity, Paterson announced he would seek to retain his position in the fall, 2010 election, and began unofficially campaigning several months ago. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the man many thought Paterson should have appointed Senator, instead of Kirsten Gillibrand, has always polled to be far ahead of Paterson.

Senator Gillibrand, a state senator from the north, and thought to lean conservative, was skeptically received in the southern, more progressive half of the the state. But she quickly amended her position on gun control and gay rights, and has been an ardent supporter of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and same-sex marriage.

(On a personal note, I attended a meeting Senator Gillibrand held last fall in New York City with the LGBTQ community, including gay leaders like Dan Choi, and I fully believe she has our interests at heart. She has worked tirelessly for our interests and has earned the right to be elected to the seat this fall.)

Of course, we all know what happened this week when Harold Ford tried to squeeze into New York politics…

At this point, Paterson will be even more of a lame duck through the end of his embattled governorship, leaving the New York State Legislature with no powerful peer, which will no doubt lead the state into insolvency, both financially and morally, for years to come.

More than ever, it’s time for the people to throw the bums out.

(UPDATE) Although it is assumed Cuomo supports same-sex marriage, his stance is not exactly known, and he has been cautious to lend an opinion only on the legality of specific state issues. Recently, however, it was reported (via Lez Get Real) that Cuomo would “be headlining a fundraiser for State Senator Carl Kruger.” Kruger is one of the “Hate 38,” and one of eight New York State Democratic senators who voted down the marriage equality bill in December.

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‘Couldn’t Care Less if He’s Upset’: GOP Senator Slamming Trump’s Budget Bill Has Company

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U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is blasting President Donald Trump’s budget reconciliation legislation that passed the House early Thursday morning. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune will need to cobble together at least 50 votes to pass the massive bill that experts say will add trillions to the deficit, kick eight to thirteen million Americans off health care, gut Medicaid by $800 billion and Medicare by $500 billion, along with many other controversial provisions.

Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram reports that one MAGA Republican Senator, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, may be bucking the President and his “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

“Johnson calls the Big Beautiful Bill ‘completely unacceptable.’ When asked if he thought that would upset the President, Johnson replied ‘I couldn’t care less if he’s upset. I’m concerned about my children. My grandchildren,'” Pergram wrote.

READ MORE: ‘Didn’t You Say That?’: Democratic Senator Decimates FDA Chief

Senator Johnson’s issue appears to be not the millions who will lose health care, but the deficit. In other words, the bill, he believes, does not cut spending enough.

Ten days ago Johnson wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed, and commented, “At a bare minimum, the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ shouldn’t INCREASE the annual deficit. With the meager spending reductions being discussed, I’m afraid it actually will.”

“In the House, President Trump can threaten a primary, and those guys want to keep their seats. I understand the pressure,” Johnson said, according to The Daily Beast. “Can’t pressure me that way.”

“I know everybody wants to go to Disney World, but we just can’t afford it,” he added.

Politico reported on Thursday that Senator Johnson “said there are sufficient votes to block the bill if his party doesn’t bend in his direction on spending reductions, including setting up a bicameral process for going ‘line by line’ to find a total of roughly $6.5 trillion in cuts over the coming decade.”

Johnson appears to have company.

RELATED: ‘Cut, Rip, Gut, Kill, Cruel’: Top Republican Lashes Out Over Dems Using These Words

Several other Republican Senators have voiced distress over the House bill: Lisa Murkowski, Rick Scott, and Rand Paul, among others. Four “no” votes would mean the end of the bill, but it’s not clear that any of them will end up voting against the bill.

“I think there’s nothing conservative about having deficits of $2 trillion a year,” said Senator Paul.

“Most Republicans view Paul as a hard ‘no’ and acknowledge Johnson might be, as well,” Politico also reported.

“We have to get our fiscal house in order. We have no choice,” complained Senator Scott.

The concerns of some may be easily fixed. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn opposes a provision of the bill that bans states from imposing regulations on artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, CNN notes that more than half a dozen Senate Republicans have voiced concerns, and NCRM currently counts even more who have expressed varying degrees of unease—yet this is still far from signaling they will oppose the bill.

Last week Senator Johnson explained his concerns on Trump’s bill.

Watch below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Sovereignly Appointed’: Trump Praised in Pentagon Prayer Event Led by Hegseth and Pastor

 

Image via Shutterstock

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‘Didn’t You Say That?’: Democratic Senator Decimates FDA Chief

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The Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Marty Makary, came under strong criticism for his inconsistent remarks before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee after the accuracy of his claims related to terminated scientists and others was called into question by U.S. Senator John Ossoff (D-GA).

“You were asked on April 17th whether any of the personnel reductions had included personnel responsible for food safety or infant formula safety,” Senator Ossoff told Commissioner Makary. “You said, quote, ‘There were no cuts to scientists or reviewers or inspectors—absolutely none’. You were asked on April 23rd on CNN, and said, quote, ‘Again, there were no cuts to scientists or inspectors’.”

“But then just two days later, an HHS spokesperson confirmed that in fact, scientists had been fired, and that you were scrambling to rehire them,” Ossoff continued. “Did you, in fact, say on April 23d, there were no cuts to scientists or inspectors? Just before we get into the details, is that an accurate quote?”

“No scientific reviewer was cut as part of the reduction in force,” replied Commissioner Makary.

READ MORE: ‘Cut, Rip, Gut, Kill, Cruel’: Top Republican Lashes Out Over Dems Using These Words

“You said there were no cuts to scientists or inspectors. Didn’t you say that?” Ossoff pressed.

“My understanding,” Makary replied, “was that there were no cuts to the scientific staff, but specifically the scientific reviewers is what I was referring to.”

“But you said there were,” Ossoff responded.

A similar back and forth continued for several minutes, then, Senator Ossoff asked, “Had, in fact, scientists who study outbreaks of food related illnesses and the safety of infant formula been fired?”

“The reason it’s not accurate, Senator, is that people were not fired, they were scheduled for the reduction in force, and when that was before I got there. When I got there, we did an assessment, and so some of those individuals out of the 19,000 were restored,” Makary replied.

“Have all scientists responsible for food safety and infant formula safety, been rehired or reinstated?” Ossoff asked.

“Look, we have not reduced in force the scientific review staff. I know where you’re going with this,” Makary replied.

READ MORE: ‘Sovereignly Appointed’: Trump Praised in Pentagon Prayer Event Led by Hegseth and Pastor

“You said there were no cuts to scientists, and then the HHS spokesperson said, actually, there were cuts to scientists, and now we’re trying to rehire them. I mean, so it gives the impression you’re not sure about the personnel actions ongoing in your own agency,” said Ossoff.

After more back-and-forth, Ossoff wrapped it up: “You were very specific. You said there were no cuts to scientists. And then five days later, there were no cuts to scientists. Those are your direct quotes. There were no cuts to scientists, but there were cuts to scientists.”

Again, more back-and-forth and then Makary appeared to grow frustrated.

“I mean, this is the problem in government. Somebody has a fancy sounding name like, ‘Infant Formula Safety,’ and no one can ever touch them, even if they’re not doing their job.”

During his testimony, Dr. Makary also declared to another Senator, “By the way, America doesn’t want COVID boosters.”

And a third chastised him, saying: “You’re prepared for a question that I didn’t ask … I’m asking you what are you doing about bird flu! Just answer that. Please. Don’t give me a runaround about other stuff.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Get Out of Here’: Trump Erupts, Calls for NBC Probe After Reporter Asks About Qatari Jet

 

 

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‘Cut, Rip, Gut, Kill, Cruel’: Top Republican Lashes Out Over Dems Using These Words

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During the House’s marathon markup of President Donald Trump’s historic budget bill, the Chairwoman of the powerful Rules Committee lashed out at Democrats for plainly describing the legislation’s sweeping consequences. Officially dubbed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” the measure narrowly passed in the early hours of Thursday by a 215–214 vote. It removes $800 billion in funding from Medicaid, would lead to $535 billion in cuts to Medicare, and is projected to cause an estimated 8.6 to 13.7 million Americans to lose their health care. It will also add $3 trillion to the federal deficit—fueled by tax breaks heavily tilted toward the wealthy and the nation’s first-ever $1 trillion defense budget.

“I am concerned about what has been said about this bill and what it’s going to do,” Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) told the members of her committee Wednesday night. “The extreme comments that have been made about it, and how I believe that it is scaring people out there in the country unnecessarily.”

“The words I’ve heard, particularly today, are ‘cut,’ ‘rip,’ ‘gut,’ ‘kill,’ ‘cruel,’ ‘stealing food,’ ‘losing coverage,’ ‘jammed through,’ ‘biggest transfer of wealth from vulnerable to wealthy people,’ ‘irresponsible’.”

“That is not the way we ought to be talking about this bill.”

READ MORE: ‘Sovereignly Appointed’: Trump Praised in Pentagon Prayer Event Led by Hegseth and Pastor

Many appear to disagree.

MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen, just after the bill passed Thursday morning, wrote:  “What we do know about the legislation the GOP is calling the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ is genuinely terrifying.”

“What makes this situation even worse is that Republicans, from the president on down, are consistently lying about what the bill would do,” Cohen charged.

“The House Republican budget plan would eviscerate Medicaid and food assistance and shift resources toward the wealthiest Americans,” the Center for American Progress (CAP) warned ten days ago, adding that it “would implement the largest cuts to both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in history—kicking millions of Americans off their health insurance and taking food away from hungry children.”

“It would raise household electricity costs while trapping most middle-class and poor students in greater student loan debt to afford a higher education,” CAP’s Bobby Kogan, Senior Director for Federal Budget Policy wrote. “And it would make all these changes as a means to partially offset tax breaks that disproportionately go to the richest Americans, giving households in the top 0.1 percent a multihundred-thousand-dollar tax break on average while increasing deficits by trillions of dollars. Taken as a whole, the bill would add trillions of dollars to structural deficits despite these enormous cuts to critical services.”

“If enacted,” Kogan warned, “this would be the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in a single law in U.S. history.”

READ MORE: ‘Get Out of Here’: Trump Erupts, Calls for NBC Probe After Reporter Asks About Qatari Jet

“Taken as a whole, this bill would harm Americans—particularly the most vulnerable people—and leave the country worse off. It would lead to preventable deaths by taking health care away from millions of people. It would worsen food insecurity by taking food away from the hungry, particularly kids.”

“Budgets showcase our morality because they force governments to decide how to prioritize limited resources. The House Republican budget plan would shift funding away from the sick and hungry and, instead, toward the wealthiest Americans.”

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) responded to Foxx, saying, “In other words, ‘please don’t call this bill what it is or say what it does’.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Full MAGA Lobotomy’: Rubio Rebuked by Senate Dem — ‘I Regret Voting for You’

 

Image via Reuters

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