Long Island Congressman Steve Israel, last seen facing off with Rep. Jerry Nadler over whose Jewish deli was superior, has expanded his competitive food interests to pizza. And at a New York event this weekend for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Mr. Israel presented a chocolate-covered pizza to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to argue the Empire State’s pizza is, in fact, better than her native California’s. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo spent the day in Washington yesterday lobbying for the approximately $40 billion in federal aid he is asking for to help the state recover from Hurricane Sandy. Politicker spoke with sources familiar with the governor’s schedule to get details on how he spent his time and who he met with on his first trip to Washington since taking office.
“The governor hit the trifecta; the White House, the Majority Leader and the speaker,” an administration official said. Read More
Earlier today, President Barack Obama gathered with the majority and minority leaders of both houses of Congress to move forward in avoiding automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set to occur at the end of the year. Although Democrats and Republicans have, at times, seemed to have irreconcilable differences in the process, the various elected officials walked out of the Roosevelt Room with an optimistic outlook that a compromise would be reached.
“I can only echo the observations of the other leaders that it was a constructive meeting. We all understand where we are….We are prepared to put revenue on the table provided we fix the real problem,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, according to a White House pool report. “Most of my members, I think without exception, believe that we’re in the dilemma we’re in not because we taxed too little but because we spent too much.” Read More
One of the most powerful women in Washington politics and one of the most powerful women in New York City politics took a spin on the dancefloor together last night. A tipster sent this shot of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn boogie-ing together at a gala fundraising reception for Congressman Jerry Nadler. Read More
Congressman Jerry Nadler might not even have an opponent, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still coming to town to help Mr. Nadler raise money and celebrate his upcoming 20th year in Congress. Mr. Nadler was first elected by hopping out of his Upper West Side Assembly District in a 1992 election (he was replaced in the State Assembly by a certain Scott Stringer).
It’s not exactly surprising that Mr. Nadler has a big name attending one of his fundraisers, in recent years he’s had multiple New York governors and senators, Bill and Hillary Clinton, most members of NYC congressional delegation, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, as well a good portion of the 2013 mayoral contender field all attend his galas. And that’s without evening mentioning celebrities like Julianne Moore, Cynthia Nixon, Alec and Billy Baldwin, etc. Read More
Maggie Haberman takes a look at a possible Clinton-Cuomo primary in 2016.
The federal government rejected the Cuomo administration’s plans for transit-less Tappan Zee Bridge.
Carlo Scissura is dropping out of the Brooklyn BP’s race to lead the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
Carl Kruger was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
The Hill takes a look at all of N Read More
Governor Cuomo’s trip to the North Country included coffee runs and a Price Chopper shopping spree.
Former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich predicts an Obama/Clinton ticket in ’12.
Protesters are setting up camp outside Mayor Bloomberg’s house (again). Read More
Representative Jerry Nadler thinks there’s a “high likelihood” of a complete breakdown in negotiations between House Republicans and the president over the debt ceiling, and he thinks the Democrats’ best option at this point is to push the president to solve the problem unilaterally, since Speaker John Boehner is still trying to rustle the votes for a debt ceiling deal that the president and Senate have already declared a non-starter.
“I really think there’s a very high likelihood of a total impasse here, which would be catastrophic,” Nadler told me this morning. “And so we have to push the 14th Amendment, and make room for the 14th Amendment.” Read More
After a nationally watched campaign in upstate New York, Kathy Hochul made her New York City debut Monday morning at the stately University Club on West 54th Street.Hundreds of guests attending the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Breakfast milled around a breakfast buffet of muffins and fruit salad, while their host, Nora Brenes, introduced Mrs. Hochul as the winner of a special election “that came about as a result of our male New York congress members who keep taking their shirts off,” according to one attendee.
The crowd laughed, because an Anthony Weiner joke at a Democratic political function is one that needs no explanation. He is, much to the chagrin of his New York colleagues, everywhere: overshadowing their message, imperiling a safe congressional seat, and affecting their redistricting plans. Read More
The head of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and the Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman, Rep. Steve Israel, have called on Anthony Weiner to resign.
The demands come one day after Weiner confirmed he contacted a 17-year-old girl in Delaware online. The girl’s mother told the New York Post the conversation was brief, and not graphic. The call from Schultz and Israel, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, come one day before the Sunday talk shows, where Weiner’s fate is obviously one of the topics that will be discussed. Read More
