Upstate farm team better than Blakeman

I took in some speeches this afternoon at the state Conservative Party conference in Colonie, and a trio of upstate Republican-Conservative county executives, Chris Collins of Erie, Maggie Brooks of Monroe and Joanie Mahoney of Onondaga, came across well. Collins was touted as a gubernatorial candidate until a couple of gaffes caused him to withdraw, and when I'd heard him on Fred Dicker's Talk 1300 radio show he put me off with constant references to the cult-like Six Sigma business management b.s. (at least I assume it's b.s., and have no interest in investigating the matter). But Collins gave an entertaining recital of his county's battle with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding alleged civil rights violations at the jail, and Brooks had some OK stuff about Albany's "sense of entitlement" and "toxic culture that favors patronage and partisanship" over ordinary people.

The star of the show, however, was Mahoney. Following Brooks, who had read a speech too fast, Mahoney spoke directly to the almost 300 people in the room, gathering confidence as she described her battles with the CSEA and other efforts to restrain spending. She is also relatively young (born in 1965), a married lawyer with four children and not afraid of a kiss, who was introduced as "from a pro-life family" and seems like a breath of fresh air in New York politics.

But when an actual potential statewide candidate, Long Island Republican Bruce Blakeman (who aims to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand) started speaking, he was so bad he drove me out of the room. One thundering cliche followed another, about "out of control spending" and how the Democrats say they'll just tax the rich but there aren't enough rich people to pay for their programs so they'll tax the middle class, too, and "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem." Every stale line was presented as if we'd never heard it before, and he was promising to "focus laser-like" on something or other when I made it through the door.

Comments

[Jeremy Sellis]

re: Blakeman

He promised a balanced budget-- I guess a $35 million dollar budget over run is ok with him. Especially with his shady background? sleazy deals? If Mr. Blakeman isn't corrupt, then Barack is the savior- hah- right? He is a PUPPET of D'Amato. He does not have a successful history - Is he the type of person WE want representing US in Washington?? I think not. If people would do the SLIGHTEST amount of research on Blakeman, they would be APPALLED at what they find. Take the time guys- the information is out there.

[Stevethepatriot]

Speaking of being driven out of the room hearing Blakeman: If you recall Blakeman said that the best way to solve the health care problem is “to give people jobs with good wages and decent benefits.” In the meantime you hear large companies like Bank of America, Capitol One, and Xerox continue to cut jobs. This guy does not know what he is talking about. How do you give jobs and have a cap on a budget cut all at the same time? This guy is a nut and should not be running for office.

[Sam H.]

Are you surprised that Blakeman isn't as good speaker? His message is bogus, the budget he resided over went down the tubes, and thats just for a county. How do you think he can maintain a balanced budget in this whole state? Oh yeah, hios ties to the Mafia as well... he's no pol, he's a puppet, and he has no place in office. For the love of God don't vote for this guy.