Did Governor Cuomo really broker a deal to unite the Democratic Party and bring the rebel Independent Democratic Caucus back from their alliance with the GOP?
Maybe not.
I just got this appeal from the Working Families Party:
“Well, that was quick.
“Just days after announcing they would “dissolve” their conference, the Independent Democratic Conference is inviting big-money donors to a $5000-a-plate NYC fundraiser for the IDC campaign committee, according to the Buffalo News.1
“Despite promising to immediately return to the Democratic fold, Senator Jeff Klein and the IDC are still raising money from real estate developers and hedge fund billionaires to their own separate campaign committee.
“This is exactly why need to defeat the IDC at the polls and replace them with progressives who we can count on to ALWAYS support a Democratic-Working Families majority in New York’s State Senate.
“Let’s defeat the IDC and Republicans for good and elect Working Families Democrats who we can count on to be part of a durable progressive majority. Chip in $20 to fight back against the hedge fund and real estate billionaires who continue to fund the IDC.
“For years, the Working Families Party has laid it all on the line to elect a Democratic-Working Families majority in the State Senate — and progressive Democrats to Congress — across NY state. But every step of the way, we’ve been stopped by the IDC-Republican alliance.
“We need to make absolutely sure not only that we win this year, but that we do it with candidates who will stand unequivocally with working families, not millionaires and billionaires.
“That’s why we’re proud to be working to elect courageous Working Families Democrats like Alessandra Biaggi, Robert Jackson, Jessica Ramos, Zellnor Myrie, Rachel May, Jasmine Robinson, and John Duane who are running energetic grassroots campaigns challenging IDC incumbents in their home districts.2 These are candidates who would never even THINK of supporting Trump Republicans.
“We need to win these races and others if we want to win a durable Democratic-Working Families majority in Albany. But with IDC members still collecting huge checks from their corporate donors, it’s going to take all of us pitching in to do it.
“Fight back against the hedge fund and real estate billionaires who continue to fund the IDC and Republicans. Chip in $20 to help us elect Working Families Democrats across New York:”
Cynthia Nixon got Governor Cuomo to put on a show of unity.
But once again, like four years ago, his promise did not last.
Who will Cuomo support in the Democratic primaries? The unfaithful IDC or the Democrats supported by the WFP?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Did anyone pay attention to the trumped up “scandal” a couple years ago in which we were all supposed to believe Bill de Blasio runs a pay for play operation because he is the most corrupt Mayor ever?
Bill de Blasio was raising money to elect progressive politicians STATEWIDE. That is exactly what the Campaign for One New York — de Blasio’s PAC — was all about. Albany was forcing charter schools down NYC’s throat and enacting all kinds of other anti-progressive ideas and de Blasio wanted to help elect state assemblymen and senators who were REAL progressives and REAL democrats.
de Blasio started a PAC, and people donated. People who were rich donated. Just like rich Republicans do all the time. There was far less evidence that any donors got lucrative city contracts and business than the enormous evidence of all the favors that the billionaires who donate to right wing Republican PACs got from the politicians whose campaigns they funded.
Do you know what one of the biggest scandals was about that the donor got? “Meetings”. They got to meet with city officials and plead their case and be listened to. That was it. No laws were changed because they wanted the law changed. The city didn’t turn over city property to them and say “no need to pay rent it’s free” and save them millions of dollars because they were now a favorite of the Mayor. Horse and carriages are still in Central Park despite the Campaign
However, because progressives are held to an impossible to meet standard, asking for someone to simply meet with a donor when it is done by a progressive Democrat is treated as if it is a crime. Even if the meeting leads to the donor not getting what he wants, it doesn’t matter. As long as it is a Democrat having the meeting, that is supposedly far worse than if a Republican actually gives away the farm to one of his donors. It is truly shocking.
So remember, the big “scandal” of the de Blasio administration came because he had the chutzpah to try to elect progressive candidates statewide. And the powers that did not want that to happen sent a message that they would use the full power and resources to destroy anyone who tried that.
It is to the credit of Preet Bharara’s office that his successor, that he actually realized how trumped up the charges against de Blasio were. Raising money for a PAC to elect progressive politicians to go to Albany and replace all those co-opted politicians who SHOULD be defeated but had the power of incumbancy. That had to stop and the person doing it needed to be characterized as one of the most corrupt and co-opted Mayors ever.
Needless to say, Campaign for One New York got shut down.
Maybe someone can start a new PAC that works to do exactly what de Blasio tried and failed to do. Elect progressive politicians to go to Albany.
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So, DeBlasio did faithfully try to do the right thing. He tried to raise property and income taxes in NYC to pay for universal Pre-K. Albany stopped him completely.
But does that mean he’s going to now be a good little boy and do what THEY want just to save his existence ? Or should he speed ahead and be himself at the risk of his job?
Where is his integrity? How do YOU define integrity?
Can he use the public bully pulpit and the power of press conferences to at least get his “true” message out there and educate people as to how things really work and why it’s hard for him to do what he wants to do according to his true political orientation, as opposed to the politicized one?
Make up your mind, NYCPSP, as to where the line gets drawn between politicking things and saying to the public the way things really are and ought to be . . .
And he gave a beyond Sh&&#*&y contract to the teachers, where he colluded with Mulgrew to cheat and de-professionalize the teachers based on paltry gains in their contact, all for teachers who live in the one of the three most expensive regions in the country and among the 7 most expensive cities in the world, teachers who work in one of the most overcrowded systems in the country as well.
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deBlasio “colluded” with Mulgrew???!!
Why are you posting to me? If you are telling me that the teachers in NYC have elected a corrupt person to represent them because the union is a corrupt organization and needs to go, I will do my best to support the people who are saying to abandon the union, period.
Given what you claim, I don’t see any reason for parents like me to support the union. Why should I? You just informed me in no uncertain terms that NYC teachers are unable to elect anyone but corrupt people to represent them. If that is so, why should any parent want a union?
How do you define integrity? I’m still waiting for Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders to start fighting against charters instead of given charters their progressive credibility by claiming that there are “good” charters that are perfectly fine without actually calling out any but the for-profit ones and implying that the rest are perfectly fine.
Is integrity sitting next to Andrew Cuomo and talking about how he is so great for education? Because that’s what I saw Bernie Sanders doing.
You are such a hypocrite. I wonder sometimes if you are a right wing troll with your attacks on any Democrat that actually has the power to do something other than talk big.
Keep up your good work fighting against the NYC teachers union you believe is led by a corrupt leader who colludes with the corrupt progressive Mayor.
With “frenemies” like Norwegian Filmmaker looking to undermine every progressive with any power at every turn, how can we lose?
Just waiting until you start repeating the nasty attacks on Cynthia Nixon that you read about how she is really a fake progressive.
I don’t need hypocrites like you telling me me that every progressive I support is really an evil sell-out.
I suggest you return to your own polluting country which helps its own citizens by destroying the environment and oceans for the rest of the world. And then sends their smug citizens to other countries to tell them their progressives are really evil – unlike their own politicians who pollute the world but hey, white people in Norway are happy so it’s all good.
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^^here is a little article to read so you can go back and clean your own house, Norwegian Filmmaker.
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/norwegian-court-dismisses-offshore-drilling-lawsuit#gs.8hwC2gE
Hey, someone has to pay for the white people in Norway to have the “progressive” lifestyle they expect to have – paid for by destroying the environment.
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You do know what they say about people who flip out. They flip out because there’s some truth to the criticisms levied upon them. Feeling badly about something that you don’t care to tell me, something within yourself and your politics?
All my posts have done nothing but support Nixon, and I will continue to support her unless she turns against public education and favors privatization.
As for Norway, I don’t know if you know this, but this blog is about politics in public education. It’s not about the sins of Norway.
You may want to focus on the theme that will most affect you and your life, unless you choose to immigrate elsewhere.
No trolling here. That’s laughable. My leftist views and experiences would make yours and you practically look like Paul Ryan. I can out-leftist you anytime, hands tied and blindfolded.
But that’d not the point because it would not be a fair fight . . . .
Grow up, and either stop flipping out on me, or at least attack all your American counterparts who ALSO criticize Democrats and who, like me, also hate the GOP.
I do agree with you about this notion of supporting whose who want to get more true progressive elected into office. You’re right about that.
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And why NOT post to you? Are you immune to posts? You should know by now who much we’re in love with each other . . . .
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Norwegian Filmmaker says:
“…And he gave a beyond Sh&&#*&y contract to the teachers, where he COLLUDED WITH MULGREW to cheat and de-professionalize the teachers based on paltry gains in their contact….” (CAPS mine)
“COLLUDED”???!!!! Talk about using smear words
You aren’t “criticizing”. Here is an example of real criticism:
I wish Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders would start supporting the NAACP’s moratorium on charters. It bothers me that two of the most progressive Democrats in the Senate have not thought teachers or public schools were important enough of a progressive issue to step up to the plate to support the NAACP. I don’t know why they haven’t seen the light yet, but I hope they will eventually support the NAACP’s moratorium on charters instead of claiming it is a bad idea or just not important enough to support.
Here is an example of the smears and attacks you make and the way I would criticize Sanders and Warren if I were Norwegian Filmmaker:
Sen Warren and Sen Sanders have colluded with the reform movement to sell out public schools. Sen. Warren and Sen Sanders are fake progressives too scared to stand up for public schools or more likely are just greedy politicians who found it to be far more lucrative to make sure never to acknowledge any evils in the charter movement. Sen. Sanders colluded with the reformers to try to take over the governorship of Virginia and change it from a pro-public school state into a pro-charter state by fighting very hard to make sure the “Ed Reformer of the Year” won the Dem. nomination for Governor. That is because Bernie Sanders is a sell out and never believed in public schools anyway because rich billionaire reformers don’t like them and he secretly wants to do their bidding now. If Bernie Sanders had his evil way, Bernie’s handpicked pro-charter candidate Tom Perriello would now be Virginia Governoor and the state would be pro-charter just like he and Sen. Warren like.
See the difference?
If my goal was to try my hardest to make progressives think that one of their politicians who might gain power was really a corrupt sell-out, I’d post the second paragraph so I could sound just like Norwegian Filmmaker when he wants to convince progressives that their politicians have sold them out.
And I feel certain that if Cynthia Nixon has any chance of winning the primary you will be out here posting non-stop nasty things a bout how she is just as much of a sell-out as her good friend Bill de Blasio in an attempt to undermine her. I find your over the top smears of progressives to make you sound far more like a right wing troll than someone who actually has a rational viewpoint to add.
What I get from this post is that you want all NYC parents to know that Mulgrew and de Blasio are “colluding” to do evil things and sell out our children so we should definitely hate the teacher’s union and support every politician who wants to ban it in NYC. After all, the union does bad things for good teachers, so let’s end it now.
I’m sure the NYC public school teachers thank you very much for your help in undermining their corrupt and co-opted union. Colluding with the corrupt Mulgrew to sell them out. Where can I sign up to get rid of the union now?
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Hey, NYCPSP
If you want to be getting rid of Mulgrew, I’ll be right there along side of you to help you do it. It is a worthwhile pursuit.
I’m in!
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Norwegian Filmmaker,
I am a parent, so in order to get rid of Mulgrew I’d have to support getting rid of the union. Is that your intention? Sure seems like it from your posts.
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You don’t have to get rid of a union to get rid of Mulgrew, although that is ONE way to reinvent the union.
Please stop putting words in my mouth, assigning me to actions I have never espoused or taken, and attributing motivations and characteristics that I simply don’t and will never have.
And while you’re at it, grow up. Growing older without growing up is not a happy state of being . . .
I don’t smear progressives when they are real progressives. I do smear people who flip out and can’t keep calm. Who might that be?
Why not let Cynthia be the judge of whether or not I am supporting her or smearing her?
Your distractions are lame and just don’t work. Your rhetoric is like an expensive Hollywood set. Looks great and authentic until you see that it’s all face and frontal and no interior . . . .
Why not take up macramé?
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