Eric Cesnik For District 5

Andrew Kling, Eric's Campaign Manager, who I met at my very first Democracy For New York City, DFNYC, MeetUp in the East Village, singled me out to take me to the after MeetUp MeetUp, where DFNYC MeetUp organizers from all over the city gather afterwards. More importantly, he singled me out saying, "I have just the campaign for you." He had Eric in mind. And I met Eric at a Mixer. And it all gelled for me.

Too bad Nepal has been taking all of my time: Democracy For Nepal (DFN). For the first time in 10 years, permanent peace feels possible in Nepal. And I am basically telecommuting into the peace process. There are Nepali democrats also in the city, as the country at large. And we all put in our efforts. Our recent success is the king cancelled his trip to the UN and it was partly because of the huge protest rally we were going to organize on September 16 near the UN building. The rally will still happen, but now the goal is to move and shake world opinion on behalf of Nepal. Andrew, Eric, I also have had to put my business ideas on the backburner for the same reason.

But then yesterday evening I got to watch an Eric Cesnik debate online. Andrew emailed me the clip. And I was reminded all over again why I so strongly support Eric. He is just the man for the job. Google's Blogger was temporarily down at the time. So I have had to wait to post my blog entry. The paragraph below is culled from a comment I left at the campaign blog.

Eric comes across as a sensible candidate, someone who will really look into problems from many angles and work towards common sense, well thought out solutions. That is not your run of the mill, soundbite politician. The other gentleman running, he looks a little too rehearsed, a little too soundbitey. And Jessica gave a wrong, long answer to a yes no question that really matters. A million and a half gone for mail fraud! Taxpayer subsidized snail mail spam, campaign literature? Has her boss heard of email? But then that would qualify for spam, right? Whatever happened to just going out to meet people, like Eric is shown doing on the video? I just want the world, especially my fellow bloggers in the district, to know Eric is a candidate who really excited me and does today.

It is between Jessica and Eric. I think Jessica comes across as personable, and I value her experiences as Chief of Staff to the current officeholder. But I think Eric is more qualified and deserves to get elected: his is the more in-touch approach, he has the vision and the style. Perhaps Eric should rehire Jessica to be his Chief of Staff. I think that would be a great combo. Jessica is qualified, but she is qualified to be Chief of Staff.

Some Suggestions To The Cesnik Campaign (August 19)
Eric Cesnik For City Council (August 19)

Below is a press release I got in an email from Andrew.

For Immediate Release:
Citizens for Cesnik 2005
September 9, 2005

Competitive District 5 Race Takes a Turn
Eric Cesnik Confronts Jessica Lappin on Resume Omission and Miller’s Mailings

The District 5 City Council candidates vying to replace Speaker Gifford Miller sat down Wednesday night for an intense televised debate on NY1’s Road to City Hall.

The eleven-minute discussion turned heated after candidate Eric Cesnik confronted rival Jessica Lappin regarding her misrepresentation of her prior work experience. Lappin’s official campaign website states that she “first began working as an aide to Councilman Miller in 1998, and†served until April 2005” and in the debate she referred to her “seven years” of work in Miller’s office. After listening to Lappin describe her work in Miller’s council office, Cesnik stepped in to “set the record straight” noting that “in 2001, [Lappin] was actually working for Gifford Miller’s...political action committee” where she was “doling out checks to politicians.” Lappin’s campaign literature makes no mention of her experience working for Miller’s PAC.

Questions about Miller’s PAC, Council 2001, have dogged Miller and Lappin since 2002 when The Village Voice published an exposÈ on Miller and the PAC.

Further controversy erupted in the debate when Cesnik asked Lappin if she would join him in calling on Miller to repay New York City for the $1.6 million in taxpayer funds that the Speaker used to mail out thinly veiled campaign literature in June. Lappin conceded that the mailers were “a mistake” but refused to give a yes or no answer despite repeated requests by Cesnik and the NY1 moderator, Dominic Carter, for her to clarify her response.

Today, Cesnik noted, “Jessica should offer us a clear answer regarding whether or not she will join me in calling on Miller to return the taxpayer money. If she won’t call on Miller to return the $1.6 million, how can we expect her to act more ethically than he has acted?”

The full video of the debate is available at www.cesnik2005.com/video.html.

A Step-Up For Barbara Bush

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas."

"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality."

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this is working very well for them."

"Almost everyone I've talked to says 'we're going to move to Houston.'"

Mrs. Bush toured the Astrodome complex with her husband, former President George Bush, as part of an administration campaign throughout the Gulf Coast region to counter criticism of the response to the storm.

The person who reminds so many Republicans of their mothers and grandmothers has stepped up to the plate. She also happens to be the wife of a president who voted against the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s during his days in the Congress. And the mother of a president who is a creationist. (See: Dumb And Dumberer: Creationist Bush)

The Barbara Bush remark puts her in the same category as Trent Lott.

These insensitive to the extreme remarks are the surface of a value system that puts people of certain socio-economic backgrounds down. They have real impact. They have ongoing impact. The remark should not really be making news. You mean you did not know these people have those thoughts all the time?

She also approached Bill Clinton with the offer reportedly to adopt him. Clinton sidestepped it: "I wish I could get them to adopt Hillary."

These poor Kennedy imitators have occupied the national stage for too long anways. JFK takes the country to the moon, so Bush wants to take you to Mars! Flattery? I don't think so. This guy has a very poor grasp of things scientific.

Barbara Bush took her son's request for a PR campaign a little too literally, it seems. There is love, and there is l-o-v-e!

• The Former First Lady Barbara Bush Calls Evacuees Better Off New York Times
• Barbara Bush: It's Good Enough for the Poor Yahoo! News
• Babs: Let Them Eat Cake uruknet.info, Italy
• Barbara Bush makes hurricane gaff TVNZ, New Zealand
• Subject : Underprivileged Anyway - Barbara Bush OhmyNews International, South Korea
• Barbara Bush sees sunny side Chicago Tribune, United States
• Barbara: Refugees used to crummy conditions OCRegister (subscription), CA "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," Barbara Bush said
  
• Anger at poor slur on victims Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
• Bush's mother offends refugees Brisbane Courier Mail, Australia
• Barbara Bush Thinks Refugees See Texas As Move Up The Moderate Voice
  

A Little Siegel Incident

Before I moved to NYC, I had never heard of the term Public Advocate. Of course I had never heard the Norman Siegel name. Then I move to the city, and Siegel is the biggest name the DFNYC is attached to. He is running for the biggest office at stake, and he actually has a good chance of winning.

I am not a voter. I am not much into city politics: I am a total novice. So largely I have stayed away from the fray.

But then I showed up to watch a Public Advocate debate that was a DFNYC event. I just wanted to get a feel for the guy that DFNYC was so behind. And I actually liked most of what I heard. He was easily the most passionate about the job. He came across as someone who really wants to be your attack dog. But primarily because he was endorsed by the DFNYC, I had this tribal feeling of extending my moral support to him.

But then there was this one Rick Lazio moment in the debate that kind of froze me for a little bit. He cornered the woman - I never got her name - who holds the office now and is up for reelection by suggesting because she is complying by the police guidelines in response to a persistent stalker, she is unfit for the office.

It is like in a Hillary, Rick Lazio debate, the guy actually walked over to her, and hovered over her, insisted she sign something to do with campaign finance this or that. Made me so utterly angry.

And then I show up for a DFNYC Research and Advocacy meeting, and you know how there is the main meeting, and then you break into smaller groups, to work on specific issues in a more focused way. And there was this woman sitting next to me. And she mentioned how Siegel had fought for the right of some Nazi group to protest in a neighborhood where many Holocaust survivors lived. And that totally threw me off. I am like, what is this guy up to?

The lady had this air about her that made me feel she had watched the same debate I had, and she had been taken totally aback by that stalker episode, and she could not bring herself to talk about it directly, so she brought up the Nazi episode. Progressives don't instill fear among women.

I don't know much about this guy at all. And I really don't want to rush into conclusions. But in my book that is two strikes.

I have heard he is a damn good civil rights lawyer, and I am glad for that. But I want the option to approach him and be able to confront him on these two issues. Maybe he needs some help seeing things a little differently. Maybe he needs sensitivity training.

Or if he is beyond reform, do I have doubts about him? I sure do. How does this concern me? Sexists tend to have a high chance of also being racists.

And our own leader of DFNYC who had signed up to work for him full time stepped down from it and I see obvious signs of the glass walls and ceilings thing there. A progressive is not one who creates and sustains glass walls and ceilings. Progressivism is about breaking them.

I will skip this particular election cycle locally. I plead ignorance.

But DFNYC is the group that will born the next President of the United States. We sure can afford to pick and choose. We are important. We are very important.

We should be gunning for Mayor and Governor of New York. We should be gunning for Governor of California.

We are out of power in New York City. That is a mystery to me. Lack of power can lead to much infighting. That is why I want to restrain myself on this seagull topic. But if my outspokenness of the issue of glass walls and ceilings might hurt you, you should be extra eager to let me help you reform yourself. Right?

Pragmatism might ask for some restraint on my part. But it is not like my blog has the readership of Wonkette.

It can not be accept me in totality or you are hurting the cause. That is blackmail. It should be more like, I am a progressive, help me become one. And if you think there are chinks in my armor, help me fix the chinks.

A party nationally out of power is in much local disarray. We need to patiently and persistenly think long term.

(Also see: Landscape Talk)