Chuck Schumer To NY "Drop Dead I want a Promotion"

Thirty-Five years ago the President of the United States was accused of telling NY to Drop Dead. Today a Senator from the almost bankrupt state of New York, is giving his home turf the same message.

Rather than listen to the will of the people of NY (and the entire country for that matter) and vote against the Obamacare bill, Schumer the most hack of political hacks is supporting a bill which will add more than a billion dollars of Medicare burden to the almost bankrupt Empire state and its local governments.

But Schumer, who can described as Al D'Amato without the class is bucking for a promotion, he wants Harry Reid's job. In his sad quest for political glory, Schumer is abandoning his primary responsibility, representing the interests of the voters who put him in office.

In Today NY Post John Faso makes a similar point.

Despite his reliably liberal voting record in his almost 30 years in Congress, Schumer has cast himself as the defender of the middle class on economic and tax issues. And he aggressively advocated for his constituents, be they dairy or fruit farmers, manufacturers or local governments.

He also protects Wall Street from the more populist impulses of his party -- albeit while shaking down campaign contributions from the barons of banking, finance and insurance. Indeed, he used those contacts to great success as head of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee in 2006 and 2008, helping his party win a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Even those of us who never much liked Schumer's policy positions had to admire his political skill. But something has changed: In his quest to replace Reid after his likely loss in Nevada this November, Schumer has abandoned the interests of his state.

When President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder decided to bring al Qaeda terrorists to New York City for federal court trial, exposing the city anew as a terrorist target and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, Schumer didn't utter a word of objection. Imagine his outrage if President George W. Bush had made that decision.

And this despite the fact that Schumer rejected the possibility of trying the al Qaeda terrorists in NY after 9/11. As reported by Kerry Picket of the Washington Times back in November: Immediately following the attacks of September 11th, in December of that year, the Senate Judiciary Committee met to discuss the idea of prosecuting terrorists in military tribunals. According to the hearing's transcript (PDF), Schumer was in favor of military tribunals to try terrorist suspects.:

There are also those prisoners of war who we have captured and will capture in Afghanistan and other countries who will receive a trial of some sort. It is clear we need to try those suspects in a forum that achieves two primary goals—two goals, I might add, that may not conflict. First, the Government must have the power to use even the most sensitive classified evidence against these suspects without compromising national security in any way, shape, or form. In addition, those who commit acts of war against the United States, particularly those who have no color of citizenship, don’t deserve the same panoply of due process rights that American citizens receive. Should Osama bin Laden be captured alive—and I imagine most Americans hope he won’t be captured alive. But if he is, it is ludicrous to suggest he should be tried in a Federal court on Center Street in Lower Manhattan.

Faso feels that Schumer's biggest abandonment of his home state is Obamacare:

But there is no greater example of Schumer abandoning New Yorkers' interests than his actions over the health-care legislation. Both Gov. Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg have called the Senate-passed bill a disaster for our financially strapped state: It would add more than $1 billion in Medicaid costs to state and local governments.

Schumer testily disputes this critique but offers no substantive defense of the bill that he supports. For example, when newly elected Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino warned that higher Medicaid costs would be borne by property-tax payers, Schumer airily dismissed him as being "wrong."

Who are we to believe: the state and local officials who've studied the bill and who'll be responsible for finding the money to pay for it -- or Schumer?

Then there are the legislative bribes that Reid and Schumer arranged to buy votes to pass the Senate bill: Nebraska is exempted from higher Medicaid costs; Louisiana gets a special $300 million kiss; Florida seniors won't be subjected to cuts in popular Medicare Advantage programs. For New York, Schumer delivered bupkis.

And, as the Empire State gets hosed under Senate and House health bills with higher taxes to pay for goodies for other states, Schumer does his utmost to protect his servile counterpart, appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, from political competition -- elbowing out at least five serious contenders away from a primary challenge. Last week, news accounts had him warning a new potential rival, former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford, away from a race.

Not that Harold Ford should be elected senator either. Were he to be elected we would have to change our name to the Carpetbagger State.

All this activity actually holds risk for Schumer: He has to run for re-election this year. And if New Yorkers wise up to what their senior senator has been doing to them, they won't be pleased.

Blinded by ambition and arrogance, he has left himself vulnerable to a serious challenge -- if only the GOP and Conservative Party establishments will open their eyes. Indeed, Schumer's image of invincibility has been fed by the failure of Republicans in New York and Washington to aggressively attack his vulnerabilities.

But the old expression holds: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." His higher -- and increasingly negative -- national profile could generate substantial contributions from across the country for a promising challenger.

So, despite his huge campaign war chest, Schumer is actually ripe for the taking -- if some enterprising and fearless Republican candidate decides to take on this mission. New Yorkers don't like to be sold a bill of goods, and they especially don't like being sold down the river.

Hopefully NYers will find a way to send Chuck Schumer into retirement, and replace him with a Senator who actually care about NY.

FYI ...This coming Thursday 1/14 @12 Noon, John Faso will be Joining George Phillips at the Holiday Inn in Kingston (503 Washington Ave), as Phillips announces his bid for Congress. For more about the announcement and about George Phillips Click Here and go to his website.


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