Thursday, March 18, 2010

Governor's race about to get more interesting

From the NY Times:

A governor’s race that seemed all but settled could soon be upended again, by a popular Democrat from Long Island who is planning to switch parties, a move certain to excite Republican leaders pessimistic about their party’s hopes this fall.

Those leaders believe that the official, Steve Levy, a blunt-spoken fiscal hawk and contrarian who collected 96 percent of the vote in his last re-election bid, can tap into the public’s anti-incumbent sentiment and frustration with Albany’s overspending.

“There really seems to be a void out there that I can fit perfectly,” Mr. Levy said, describing Albany’s political culture as a “cesspool.”

“We’ve got to clean house, tear that place down and build it back in a cleaner, more efficient manner,” he added.

There is no question that Mr. Levy would add unpredictability to the race. He is known not only for his Puritan work ethic and stubborn frugality but also for his occasionally incendiary comments, especially on immigration. His detractors say he has stoked the anger of the largely white middle-class residents of Suffolk County, which is grappling with an influx of immigrants who are straining the social service system.

In 2005, Mr. Levy helped orchestrate a highly publicized raid on a house in Brookhaven, where the authorities rounded up dozens of suspected illegal immigrants. He once described foreign women who give birth after moving to the United States as having “anchor babies,” a term often used derisively by anti-immigrant groups. Asked in a recent interview whether he might have chosen his words more carefully, he was unapologetic. “There’s no need to,” he said. “The public is in agreement with me.”

His tendency to say what he believes is what he thinks voters find appealing about him. “I mean, I came out of nowhere for a lot of people,” he said. “And when they started paying attention to what I was saying, it’s like: ‘Wow. This guy is saying what I’ve been thinking for years.’ ”

In the county, he has reduced spending throughout the $2.6 billion budget, through steps like doing away with county vehicles, authorizing fewer hires of county employees and leaving unfilled positions vacant. He has fiercely battled public employee unions, and says he will do the same if he goes to Albany.


Holy shit! Where do I send my check?

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's to a politician who's not afraid to call the spade a spade.

Anonymous said...

He's not going any place....

Anonymous said...

Rick Lazio, please move over, please, be a gentleman and a professional and work with, not against, Mr. Levy.

Anonymous said...

Levy has a good heart and excellent drive, but talks like elmer fudd, drives an ugly car, and wears old suits.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for being skeptical, but all these politicians promise you the world, yet when they get into office, they forget the people who elected them. We need someone in Albany who is tough and will eliminate waste and fraud. I hope Levy is that person. I know Cuomo is not -- remember when he was in charge of HUD? He's partly responsible for the mortgage default problem. Anyone is better than what we have now.

Lino said...

“We’ve got to clean house, tear that place down and build it back in a cleaner, more efficient manner,”

He starts off seeming to have promise...but then:

"He is known not only for his.....occasionally incendiary comments"

Not going anywhere outside of Whitelandia.

"Asked in a recent interview whether he might have chosen his words more carefully, he was unapologetic. “There’s no need to,” he said. “The public is in agreement with me.”"

Again, two-bit suburbia...not viable statewide.

Loosieo Two.

Anonymous said...

Most people in this country have disdain for illegals. I guess not when you hire them, though.

Anonymous said...

The branch of my family that lives in Suffolk County couldn't be happier with this guy's job performance. He fixed the budget by cutting waste and he cracked down on the illegals.

If he stays in to the end he has my vote.

Deke DaSilva said...

Not going anywhere outside of Whitelandia.

Do you really think illegal immigration only hurts whites?

Do you think that the nearly 50% black teenage unemployment rate might possibly be related to illegal immigration?

Ya think, genius?

Hell Gate Kid said...

Damn!

Queens Crapper said...

Let's see, Lino. Your boy Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegals went over quite well statewide, didn't it?

Anonymous said...

What Black Leaders are Saying About Illegal Immigration

"Amnesty for illegal workers is not just a slap in the face to black Americans. It's an economic disaster,... I see illegal immigration and the adverse impact that it has on the political empowerment of African Americans, and the impact it has on the job market."

-- T. Willard Fair, president of the Urban League of Greater Miami, Fla. to the Miami Herald, 4/26/07

"This guest worker program's the closest thing I've ever seen to slavery. I mean, how do you bring people over here and the employer decides how long you're going to stay and God knows what you've got to do if they have a baby. Do we change the Constitution and say that the child's now a citizen? I would hate to believe that this great country of ours in order to free, or rather, to bring cheap labor for entrepreneurs are willing to have a contract with Mexico to do this."

-- Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight; 01/23/2007

"When the illegals walked out and had their rally [called "A Day Without Immigrants" on May 1, 2006], (Senator) Ted Kennedy (D-MA) compared their rallies to the civil rights marches. They're not the same. When we marched during the civil rights marches, we were citizens of this country, fighting for our God-given rights here -- constitutional rights. These folks are coming in illegally and demanding that we do what they want us to do while flying the Mexican flag. I just don't know how anyone can say that you can break the law and come to this country, protest, and insist that we give them rights, and call that civil rights."

-- Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson; founder and president of BOND, the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny in a Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy interview June 27, 2006

"Credibility in immigration policy can be summed up in one sentence: Those who should get in, get in; those who should be kept out, are kept out; and those who should not be here will be required to leave." "...for the system to be credible, people actually have to be deported at the end of the process."

-- Former Rep. Barbara Jordan on what Americans should expect from immigration laws from her testimony to the House Immigration Subcommittee; February 24, 1995

Anonymous said...

70 Legal Construction Workers Lose Jobs To Cheap Illegal Aliens In Alabama

A classic.

Lino said...

Queens Crapper said...
Let's see, Lino. Your boy Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegals went over quite well statewide, didn't it?

"My boy" -Spitzer. Yeah I voted for him (would again against a repub) but he was an egotistical jerk. I was very disappointed with his "Ia'm a f...... steamroller" remark and I know NY politics well enough to know what the outcome would be....didn't expect pussy gate though.

As for driver's licenses...give me a quality break..do you know how easy it -still- is to get them out-of-state? Even in New Jersey, and most have reciprocity.

I have known people with -valid- NYS licenses even before they had legal status. It is a little more difficult now after 9-11 and the so-called Real I.D. Act but it still happens.

What Spitzer proposed might have gotten a few more of these people out of the shadows, but probably not had much effect either way.

A typical example of how the two parties regard the average working person; when Potaki was on his way out he quietly passed rules allowing landlords much greater rent increases and lessened tenant safeguards. Spitzer killed those with hours of taking office.

This Long Island joker may appeal to you on certain issues but, he is just the usual wolf-in-shits clothing republican--out to serve business and the wealthy.

Anonymous said...

Actually, he's more like a wolf in shit's clothing Democrat. Because that's what he's been the whole time, just like Bloomberg. In fact, the Republicans who are not down with this are claiming he's too liberal. So you should like him.

Queens Crapper said...

And I have confidence that "this joker" would fix the budget problem because God knows Cuomo won't be able to.

Anonymous said...

Come november I will throuwn my support behind any fiscal hawk. those are the two words that excite me the most.

Anonymous said...

Come november I will throuwn my support behind any fiscal hawk. those are the two words that excite me the most.

Snake Plissskin said...

Lino is correct.

You can spew racist garbage like Charles Barron, you can dance around a flaming transvestite, you can be an illegal immigrant abuser with a whole household of tweeds, if you are a machine favorite you will always count on a loving treatment in the press.

One of the reasons the bozos in Albany got to this point.

But this guy? They will pick and pick and pick and do everything they can to plant in the public's mind that, like Tony A, there MUST be something wrong somewhere.

The electability of someone like this is far in the future when they can reach out to the public directly without resorting to the machine controlled media.

Crappy is a first small step in that future.

Joe said...

Levy's great
He's been been busting mattress houses and going after employers that hire illegals like an attack dog.
On the North Fork half the parasties
have left
I wish he could win and have a good Senate to work with

Liman said...

Levy is surprisingly good on immigration issues. Other than that, do NOT expect him to be a conservative.

In a choice between Cuomo and Levy, you'd have to take Levy. But that's not saying much.

Lazio would be better, but he can't win.

Sigh. Well, Levy is at least an improvement.

Anonymous said...

RON PAUL FOR...oh am I late for the party

John from Conn said...

Lino said...
"the usual wolf-in-shits clothing republican--out to serve business and the wealthy."

There goes LINO and his greedy "BIG RESTAURANT" buddies raping the public again and getting away with it. His buddies though probably aren't "hypo-critical" and speak out of both sides of their mouth's! They are proud to live off the backs of the working man!

Lino's guilt for his crime's against "the public" must be unbearable!

Lino said...

"Lino's guilt for his crime's against "the public" must be unbearable!"

One good thing about living off the "backs of the working man"
is that I don't have to deal with or live near numbnuts like you.

I pity your family.

Guess Who said...

John you need to take a break and get out into the Sunshine!