Uncle Sam Inc.

A good money manager might call it a diversified investment portfolio.

Some banks.

An insurance company (AIG).

And automaker General Motors!

Uncle Sam must be feeling good.

For that's what he's holdings as a result of President Obama's shopping spree of the last few months -- actual businesses in which the US federal government has taken controlling interest.

The feds look to be holding some 70 percent of a restructured General Motors once an anticipated bankruptcy petition is filed -- this coming not 60 days after Obama canned CEO Rick Wagoner.

Meanwhile, Edward Liddy of government-supervised AIG recently announced that he was quitting.

No surprise: Why take a salary of $1 a year -- which Liddy was doing -- when his every decision is subject to governmental second-guessing?

Now even a columnist for the Russian newspaper Pravda is happily mocking the United States.

"It must be said that, like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breathtaking speed, against the backdrop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people," writes Stanislav Mishin.

He adds: "[Obama's] spending and money-printing has been record-setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year . . . America at best will resemble the Weimar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe."

That's over the top, but not by much.

And the further the US goes down this path -- owning private companies, if not entire industries -- the harder it becomes to return to the entrepreneurial system that has kept the nation prosperous for more than two centuries.

Time to turn about, Mr. President.

From today's New York Post.

I had no illusions that much would change after Democrats recently took total control of Albany. There is not much difference between the parties when it comes to spending our money in rage-inducing ways. Still, I am not happy that my exceedingly low expectations again have been met.

The latest backhand across taxpayers’ faces came with the $90,000 patronage job handed to ex-Amherst supervisor Susan Grelick. She started Monday as counsel to the State Senate’s Local Government Committee.

If you were not aware that the State Senate had a Local Government Committee, you are not alone. Like other legislative committees, it does little, meets seldom and exists mainly as a way to pad legislators’ paychecks.

Grelick’s early Christmas gift comes on the heels of the $70,000 plum handed to “Baby Joe” Mesi. The ex-boxer will run the field office that Senate Democrats soon will open in Buffalo, the creation of which I know was high on everyone’s wish list.

The stated purpose of the office is to convey the party’s message, as if we did not get the gist of it with the $8 billion of new budget-filling taxes and fees we just got slammed with. The actual purpose of the office is to reward Mesi for his recent, failed State Senate run—and to keep him rested and well-fed for his next go-round.

Patronage is nothing new. But this is different in one way: It obliterates any speck of hope that anyone in Albany is interested in reform. Newly empowered Democrats had a chance to show us they could be different. They had an opportunity to, in a show of taxpayer empathy, turn away from the dessert tray. Instead, they helped themselves to more.

Democrats—who hold the governor’s office and run the Assembly—last November completed the trifecta by capturing the Senate by a one-seat majority. With victory comes the spoils of extra jobs and newly sprouted “field offices.”

Democrats say they are not—by handing out jobs to Mesi, Grelick and other loyal soldiers—doing anything that Republicans did not do when they held power. The rationale underlines the depth of their disdain and the scope of their cluelessness.

No one in the real world believes it is OK to waste our money just because somebody else did. We are desperate for someone in Albany to, just once, put our plight ahead of their perks.

For Democrats to hand out patronage jobs, weeks after adding an $8 billion brick to upstate’s load, borders on the criminal. These people—starting with new Senate boss Malcolm Smith (masmith@senate.state.ny.us)—should be ashamed of themselves. But shame is not a detectable emotion in the State Capitol. Albany’s control by the notorious “three men in a room”—the governor and the Senate and Assembly majority leaders—makes the 212-member State Legislature about as useful as an extra pinky finger. Yet the care and feeding of state lawmakers—18 of them from Western New York—annually costs us $228 million in salaries, staff and perks. The bill runs from each part-time legislator’s $79,500 base salary, to paychecks padded by “work” on useless committees, to a legion of gratuitous staff jobs— cases in point, Mesi and Grelick.

Jobs are disappearing, people are fleeing upstate as if it were on fire and the national recession is tightening the screws. These people in Albany act like nothing is wrong.

A reporter recently questioned Smith, the Senate majority leader, about plans by Democratic Senators for international trips at a time “when Rome is burning.”

“First of all, who says Rome is burning?” Smith cluelessly replied.

Perhaps Mr. Smith should come to Buffalo.

By Donn Esmonde

News Columnist, The Buffalo News double click on picture to enlarge

Tedisco leads by 97 votes as of April 6

The New York State Bard of Elections' vote tally as of the end of business on April 6 is Jim Tedisco up by 97 votes. Given the number of military absentee ballots and the heavy Republican enrollment in the district, it is unlikely that Scott Murphy will prevail.

Murphy Wins Indy Line Battle

From the New York Daily News

Murphy Wins Indy Line Battle (Updated)

March 1, 2009

In a setback to Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco's congressional bid, Democratic newcomer Scott Murphy has landed the Independence Party line in the 20th CD battle after furious lobbying by both sides, Indy insiders said.

Both Murphy and Tedisco interviewed for the line (Row C), but state party officials, who control the endorsement because the district crosses multiple county lines, voted unanimously to back Murphy.

UPDATE: Adding to the significance of this decision: It's the first time the line has gone to a Democrat in the 20th CD.

State Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay said what swayed things for Murphy was the fact that he is "really from outside the political landscape," adding: "He's an entrepreneur, and someone who I think will bring a lot to Washington if he gets there."

"It's certainly not a slight to Jim Tedisco," MacKay said. "We like him. He's a friend. But we're really excited and proud to be supporting Scott Murphy."

Tedisco has run with the Independence Party line in every assembly election since the party's creation (it received official ballot status after Tom Golisano's first gubernatorial bid in 1994).

The endorsement decision, which was made yesterday, is the culmination of a fiercely fought lobbying battle that took place largely behind the scenes.

Gov. David Paterson and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith pushed hard for Murphy, party insiders said, while the Republican case was made by everyone from RNC Chairman Michael Steele to former Rep. Tom Reynolds, who used to head the NRCC.

The Independence line could be a make-or-break factor in the district, where there are 196,118 enrolled Republicans, 125,486 Democrats and 118,364 "blanks."

In 2006, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand and then-GOP Rep. John Sweeney fought in court over the Indy line, with Sweeney coming out the victor. Even with Row C, he still lost in the general election.

In 2008, the Indy line went to Gillibrand's GOP challenger, Sandy Treadwell, who received 8,024 votes on it. Despite the fact that Treadwell had three lines (GOP, Indy and Conservative) to Gillibrand's two (Democrat and WFP), she won handily - 193,651 to 118,013. Barack Obama carried the district, too. (This paragraph is corrected).

The full court press by both the Democrats and Republicans for the Independence line this year is yet another sign of the importance of the 20th CD race.

National GOP leaders view the March 31 special election as a must-win that will signal a turnaround for their beleaguered party.

On the other side of the aisle, it's in Paterson's best interest to help Murphy after angering House Democratic leaders by plucking former Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand from relative obscurity to fill Hillary Clinton's US Senate seat and creating a vacancy in a difficult-to-defend GOP-dominated district.

Last week, the Siena NY poll showed Tedisco leading Murphy, 46-34, with 45 percent of independent voters saying they would be willing to vote for Tedisco on the GOP line.

Clawback political contributions

There has been a lot of talk about clawbacks for people who received money from Bernard Madoff. I think that we should clawback some of his political contributions. Specifically the $25,000 contribution to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Scroll through his list of contributions.... you'll see Chuckie Schumer's name A LOT. About 90% of Madoff's political buddies are Dems. This guy was handing out political contributions like Mike Hein hands out $100,000 Deputy County Executive positions. Must be nice to be a Dem.

Contributor	Candidate or PAC	Amount	Date	FEC Filing
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L. MADOFF INVEST.-SEC./CHAI	DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)	$25,000 primary	09/12/08
Madoff, Bernard L. Mr. New York, NY 10021 Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securi	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$5,000 primary	08/20/08
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022 SELF EMPLOYED/INVESTOR	MERKLEY, JEFFREY ALAN (D) Senate - OR JEFF MERKLEY FOR OREGON	$2,300 primary	04/24/08
Madoff, Bernard L. New York, NY 10021	SAUL, ANDREW MARSHALL (R) House (NY 19) SAUL FOR CONGRESS INC	$-2,300 primary	12/05/07
Madoff, Bernard L New York, NY 10021 Bernard Madoff Investment/Chairman	LAUTENBERG, FRANK R (D) Senate - NJ LAUTENBERG NJ VICTORY COMMITTEE	$5,000 primary	07/20/07
Madoff, Bernard L New York, NY 10021 Bernard Madoff Investment/Chairman	LAUTENBERG, FRANK R (D) Senate - NJ LAUTENBERG NJ VICTORY COMMITTEE	$2,300 primary	07/20/07
Madoff, Bernard L New York, NY 10021 Bernard Madoff Investment/Chairman	LAUTENBERG, FRANK R (D) Senate - NJ LAUTENBERG NJ VICTORY COMMITTEE	$300 primary	07/20/07
Madoff, Bernard L. New York, NY 10021 Bernard L. Madoff Investment/Chairm	SAUL, ANDREW MARSHALL (R) House (NY 19) SAUL FOR CONGRESS INC	$2,300 primary	07/10/07
Madoff, Bernard L Mr. New York, NY 10021 Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securi	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$5,000 primary	05/24/07
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L. MADOFF INVEST.-SEC./CHAI	DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)	$25,000 primary	05/04/07
Madoff, Bernard L Mr. New York, NY 10021 Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securi	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION FUND A	$5,000 primary	10/17/06
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L. MADOFF INVEST. SEC./CHAI	DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)	$25,000 primary	09/30/06
Madoff, Bernard L Mr. New York, NY 10021 Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securi	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION FUND A	$5,000 primary	09/22/05
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD L MADOFF INVEST SEC	DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)	$25,000 primary	05/09/05
Madoff, Bernard New York, NY 10021 Madoff Investments/Chairman	MATHESON, JAMES (D) House (UT 02) MATHESON FOR CONGRESS	$250 general	10/18/04
Madoff, Bernard New York, NY 10021 Self-employed/Banker	HOOLEY, DARLENE (D) House (OR 05) HOOLEY FOR CONGRESS	$250 general	10/15/04
Madoff, Bernard L New York, NY 10021	FROST, MARTIN (D) House (TX 32) MARTIN FROST CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE	$250 general	10/15/04
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENTS	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF SCHUMER	$1,000 general	08/18/04
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENTS	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF SCHUMER	$1,000 primary	08/18/04
Madoff, Bernard L Mr. New York, NY 10021 Madoff (Bernard L.) Investment Secu	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION FUND A	$5,000 primary	07/08/04
Madoff, Bernard L New York, NY 10021 Madoff Investments/Chairman	MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D) House (MA 07) MARKEY COMMITTEE, THE	$2,000 primary	06/17/04
Madoff, Bernard L New York, NY 10021 Madoff Investments/Chairman	MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D) House (MA 07) MARKEY COMMITTEE, THE	$2,000 general	06/17/04
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD MADOFF INVESTMENTS	LAUTENBERG, FRANK R (D) Senate - NJ LAUTENBERG FOR SENATE	$1,000	02/18/04
Madoff, Bernard L New York, NY 10021 Bernard L Madoff/Chairman	GEPHARDT, RICHARD A (D) President GEPHARDT FOR PRESIDENT INC.	$2,000 primary	09/23/03
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD MADOFF INVESTMENTS	WYDEN, RONALD LEE (D) Senate - OR WYDEN FOR SENATE	$2,000 primary	03/25/03
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD MADOFF INVESTMENTS	WYDEN, RONALD LEE (D) Senate - OR WYDEN FOR SENATE	$2,000 general	03/25/03
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENTS	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF SCHUMER	$1,000 general	04/08/02
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENTS	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF SCHUMER	$1,000 primary	04/08/02
Madoff, Bernard L. New York, NY 10022 Bernard L. Madoff P.C./Chairman	RANGEL, CHARLES B (D) House (NY 15) RANGEL FOR CONGRESS	$1,000 primary	08/30/01
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURIT	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION FUND A	$2,000 primary	11/03/00
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD MADOFF INVESTMENT SEC	FOSSELLA, VITO (R) House (NY 13) COMMITTEE TO RE-ELECT VITO FOSSELLA	$1,000 primary	04/20/00
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD MADOFF INC	OBEY, DAVID R (D) House (WI 07) A LOT OF PEOPLE FOR DAVE OBEY	$1,000 primary	03/10/00
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022 CHAIRMAN	CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D) Senate - NY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON FOR US SENATE COMMITTEE INC	$1,000 primary	01/13/00
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURIT	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION FUND A	$2,000 primary	12/20/99
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURIT	SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION FUND A	$2,000 primary	12/20/99
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10021 MADOFF SECURITIES	CORZINE, JON S (D) Senate - NJ CORZINE 2000 INC	$1,000 primary	08/24/99
Madoff, Bernard Mr. New York, NY 10021 Bernard Madoff Investment Securitie	BRADLEY, BILL (D) President BILL BRADLEY FOR PRESIDENT INC	$1,000 primary	04/26/99
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURIT	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY VICTORY IN NEW YORK	$1,000 primary	10/30/98
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF PC	RANGEL, CHARLES B (D) House (NY 15) RANGEL FOR CONGRESS	$1,000 general	10/23/98
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 SELF-EMPLOYED	D'AMATO, ALFONSE M (R) Senate - NY FRIENDS OF SENATOR D'AMATO (1998 COMMITTEE)	$1,000 general	09/21/98
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022	CROWLEY, JOSEPH (D) House (NY 07) CROWLEY FOR CONGRESS	$-500 primary	08/26/98
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022 BOND BROKER	CROWLEY, JOSEPH (D) House (NY 07) CROWLEY FOR CONGRESS	$500 primary	08/04/98
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10021	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY SCHUMER '98	$-300 primary	06/29/98
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURIT	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY SCHUMER '98	$1,000 primary	05/22/98
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURIT	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY SCHUMER '98	$1,000 general	05/22/98
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 MADOFF INVESTMENTS	MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D) House (MA 07) MARKEY COMMITTEE, THE	$1,000 primary	05/15/98
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT	TAUZIN, WILBERT J II (R) House (LA 03) BILLY TAUZIN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE THE	$1,000 primary	05/05/98
MADOFF, BERNARD NEW YORK, NY 10022 BERNARD L MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURIT	SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D) Senate - NY SCHUMER '98	$300 primary	03/31/98
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 BERNARD L MADOFF CO	FRISA, DANIEL (R) House (NY 04) DAN FRISA FOR CONGRESS	$1,000 general	09/17/96
MADOFF, BERNARD L NEW YORK, NY 10021 MADOFF SECURITIES	MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D) House (MA 07) MARKEY COMMITTEE, THE	$1,000 primary	08/04/96