Friday, August 20, 2010

Crowley actually in a competitive race for once!

From the NY Post:

The race is on between Democrat Reps. Joe Crowley and Steve Israel to be the next chairman of the House Democrats' campaign arm -- testing the longtime friendship of the two ambitious New York politicians.

"They are both looking to move up," a Democratic insider on Capitol Hill said. "They are both very well connected over there" at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

Crowley (D-Queens/Bronx) and Israel (D-LI) are angling for the job in the usual way: showing off their fund-raising prowess.

As vice chairman for finance, Crowley has raked in $7.3 million for the committee so far in the 2010 election cycle, according to a recent DCCC report.

The only members to collect more campaign cash for the committee are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with $27 million, and the current DCCC chairman, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), with $9.4 million. Israel, who heads up the committee's recruitment drive, raised $1.6 million.

Israel -- outranked and out-fund-raised by Crowley -- has built a reputation for aggressive fund-raising inside members' districts. And he has showered about $85,000 from his personal campaign account on a host of Democratic candidates.

He also has an ace in the hole: The top staff position at the DCCC, executive director, is held by John Vogel, who early in his political career served as Israel's campaign finance director.

Of course, Crowley didn't get to be one of four DCCC vice chairmen without getting close to Pelosi and Van Hollen. As one Crowley ally put it: "He talks to the speaker often."

Unlike other leadership posts, which are filled by caucus votes, the next DCCC chairman will be handpicked by the speaker.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please dump this creep like he was yesterday's garbage. (He is). Take a chance on the other guy. Remember in November!

Anonymous said...

They don't mention the possibility of Israel getting knocked off in the election.

Anonymous said...

If Crowley can arrange to knock Israel off the ballot, he will. He doesn't want any competition and feels entitled to his job. Another career politician who does nothing for the people he represents. Make sure to vote him out. Let's flush the toilet and start fresh.

Anonymous said...

are you happy that i got rid of my dumb looking undersized straw hat?