Joe Biden at City Hall. (photo: nyc.gov)

As the U.S. Congress debates gun control legislation, two of the countries' leading advocates on the issue--Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Michael Bloomberg--held a City Hall press conference today to pressure federal lawmakers to have enough "courage" to vote in favor of the bill when it hits the floor. Standing behind victims' family members from last year's massacre at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, Mr. Biden and Mr. Bloomberg argued the measures being proposed are neither controversial or unconstitutional.

"There's not one single thing being proposed--not one, not one , not one, not one--that infringes on anyone's Second Amendment constitutional right. Not one," Mr. Biden said. "Three months ago, a deranged man walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School with a weapon of war. That's what he walked in with--a weapon of war. That weapon of war has no place on American streets and taking it off American streets has no impact on one's constitutional right to own a weapon."

"There’s no doubt that requiring background checks for all gun sales saves lives and there’s no doubt that the American people support it," Mr. Bloomberg said. " The only question is whether Congress will have the courage to do the same thing or if they will allow more innocent people, including innocent children, to be gunned down. It has been 97 days since Newtown, in that time, we estimate that more than 3,000 Americans have been murdered with guns. Almost none of the victims generated national headlines, but each murder was a tragedy for the victim’s family and for the community. If Congress does nothing, another 12,000 people will be murdered with guns this year alone. We just cannot allow that to happen.”

The pair also praised each other's advocacy on the gun control issue.

"There's been no better person to be leading this effort in Washington than Vice President Biden," Mr. Bloomberg said, labeling Mr. Biden "a stand-up guy."

For his part, Mr. Biden extolled Mr. Bloomberg's organized lobbying efforts, declaring, "There has been no support that has been more consequential than the support coming from Mayor Bloomberg. It has been immense. It is organized, it is committed and it is consequential."

(Photo: Getty)

Earlier this afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden attended a gun violence conference a few miles from the location of last year's infamous Newtown school shooting massacre. And Mr. Biden, who has led the White House's push for stricter policies on guns in the shooting's wake, passionately argued that gun control is no longer the untouchable "third rail" in our political system. Indeed, Mr. Biden took his contention in the opposite direction and said politicians are now compelled to engage the issue.

"Our understanding assumption is--in American politics today--[is] that this is kind of a third rail of politics," Mr. Biden declared. "That if you take this on, somehow there will be a severe political price to pay for doing it because that's what happened in the past. That's what happened in the past. People say--and you read, and people write about--the political risk and why they're unacceptable to take on. I say it's unacceptable to not take these on. It's simply unacceptable."

Mr. Biden took his case further and told his former congressional colleagues that, in addition to the "political price," there is a "moral price" for those failing to act on gun violence.

"I say to my colleagues who will watch this and listen to this, I say to you, 'If you're concerned about your political survival you should be concerned about the survival of our children,'" he said. "And guess what? I believe the price to be paid politically will be to those who refuse to act, who refuse to step forward. Because America's changed on this issue. You should know that the American people are with us, you should know! You all should know, there's a moral price to be paid for inaction."

(Photo: Getty)

At the inaugural reception earlier this afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden proved he still has the ability to go off script.

As various speakers--including President Barack Obama--stood behind the room's podium to offer toasts, Mr. Biden offered a heap of praise on Mr. Obama before quickly announcing his toast would instead go to one of his former colleagues in the U.S. Senate, New York's Chuck Schumer.

"I'm proud to be Vice President of the United States, serving as Barack Obama's vice president," Mr. Biden said. "It's one of the great privileges of my life. As a matter of fact, if the president will forgive me, as we were walking out--and as he said, savoring the moment--looking out at the crowd and all those Americans assembled. I ... turned him and said, 'Thank you. Thanks. Thanks for the chance. Thanks for the chance to continue to serve.'"

Mr. Biden then veered off course.

"So folks, I raise my glass to a man who never, never, never operates out of fear. [He] only operates out of confidence,"  he continued. "I'm toasting you Chuck. A guy who I plan on working on working with. You can't get rid of me, man. Remember, I'm still part of the Senate! God bless you, Chuck."

Mr. Schumer, who chaired the committee on the inaugural events, next took to the podium as the crowd chuckled with laughter.

"The best parts of these events are unscripted," he quipped.

Another one of Mr. Biden's fans from a few days ago. (Photo: Getty)

Vice President Joe Biden, fresh off voting for himself in Delaware, returned to the pivotal battleground state of Ohio this afternoon to do a final round of campaign stops before polls close. And, true to form, Mr. Biden seemed to be having fun.

Approaching a booth at a Greek diner in Cleveland, Mr. Biden apologized for causing a commotion, jesting diners just came to get some spaghetti, "and Joe Biden shows up."

Next, the vice president met, according to a pool report, "the number one Biden superfan." The supporter, "struggling to contain excitement," offered Mr. Biden her food before chanting, “Biden! Biden!"

Another women walked up to him to inquire if he might run for the White House himself in four years, a possibility Mr. Biden seemingly hinted at after voting in Delaware earlier today when he said he didn't expect it would be the last time he cast a ballot for himself.

"I'm going to ask you one question, Mr. Biden. After Obama wins this election, are you going to run?" she asked.

This time, Mr. Biden downplayed speculation he might mount a presidential bid in 2016.

"Oh, I'm going to go back home and run for county council or something," he quipped.

(Photo: Getty)

After Vice President Joe Biden infamously told an audience that Mitt Romney is "going to unchain Wall Street," and concluded they are "going to put y'all back in chains," Mr. Romney's campaign cried foul. This was an obvious and unfair allusion to slavery, Mr. Romney's surrogates argued.

Well, count veteran Congressman Charlie Rangel among Mr. Biden's critics on the Democratic side of the aisle.

"The Vice President said he's going to put "y'all in chains,'" Mr. Rangel told The Perez Notes in a recent free-wheeling interview. "Was he talking about slavery? You bet your ass he was. Was he using the vernacular? Yes, he was. Did he think it was cute? Yes, he did. Was it something stupid to say? You bet your life it was stupid."

"It was something that if a black had said it, we would have been laughing, because we would know deep down, they may be beating the hell out of us but they ain't thinking about putting us into any chains," he added.

Republicans have called on Mr. Biden to apologize, but that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.

“Let’s look at what the vice president said: Speaker Boehner and even Paul Ryan have been traveling this country talking about the need to unshackle the private sector, to unshackle the financial industry,” Mr. Obama's deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, argued earlier this week. “And the vice president was just taking that metaphor a step further and talking about wanting to put other people in shackles. And the word that he used, chains, is a distraction from the larger argument.”

Watch below: (skip to 3:00)

Simcha Felder (Photo: Facebook)

Although Democrats carpet bombed reporters' inboxes yesterday with press releases slamming Mitt Romney's vice presidential selection, it turns out that there isn't complete unanimity among the party's candidates when it comes to Paul Ryan. To wit, former Councilman Simcha Felder, a Democrat running for the State Senate in a heavily Orthodox Jewish district in southern Brooklyn, sent out a press release this afternoon embracing Mr. Ryan.

“Paul Ryan is a terrific pick for Vice President," Mr. Felder said in the statement. "As Chairman of the Budget Committee he brings tremendous knowledge of fiscal policy and will be an asset to a Romney administration."

He also stressed that Mr. Ryan is sufficiently hawkish on the topic of U.S.-Israeli relations.

“Congressman Ryan is a staunch supporter of Israel," Mr. Felder continued. "His addition to the ticket will help put America back to work and keep The United States and Israel safe. I am encouraged by the support is he is receiving across the country and have even more confidence that Mitt Romney will be the next president of the United States.”

Mr. Felder's embrace of Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan makes a certain amount of tactical sense, as the district he's running in is destined to support Mr. Romney over President Barack Obama by a high margin. His Republican opponent, incumbent State Senator David Storobin, is also sure to repeatedly remind voters that Mr. Felder supported Mr. Obama's election in 2008 while he unsuccessfully campaigned for a far more Democratic State Senate district.

Mr. Felder faces off against Avraham Tischler in the September 13th Democratic primary. Should he be elected to the chambers of the New York State Senate in November, there is some confusion as to whether he'll ultimately caucus with the Democrats or the Republicans, but on the national level at least, it's clear he's fully with the GOP.

(Photo: RedState.com)

Congressman Paul Ryan isn't entirely new to New York's political scene. Congresswoman Kathy Hochul won a ruby red Western New York district in a special election based on blasting Mr. Ryan's budget and her GOP opponent's support for it last year. Now, with Mr. Ryan named as Mitt Romney's number two man as he faces off against President Obama, Democrats around the state are ready to fully embrace him as well, and their press releases have been pouring in.

Campaigning for a Staten Island-based district, Democrat Mark Murphy said the following about his Republican opponent, Congressman Michael Grimm:

“This shows that more than anything, Congressman Grimm and the national Republican Party are committed to the extreme policies of ending Medicare as we know it,  privatizing Social Security, cutting public education, and giving massive tax breaks to executives making over a million dollars a year. At a time when we need real solutions, Grimm and his cohorts are locking into radical Tea Party positions that put the health and economic security of America’s seniors and middle class at risk. The Romney-Ryan-Grimm team are three strikes against America’s middle class families, and yet another reason why Grimm is unfit to serve as our Congressman.”

From Ms. Hochul herself as she competes in an even more conservative district against Republican Chris Collins:

“Americans deserve new ideas for how we can reduce the debt and protect our seniors and the middle class.  Just one year ago, Western New York voters rejected the Ryan-Collins policies that would end Medicare as we know it and hurt middle class families while giving more tax cuts to the rich. Our country needs to move forward, not re-hash failed ideas.  Given Chris Collins’ ongoing support for tax cuts for the rich that add nearly $1 trillion to the deficit and his willingness to send his business to China to line his pockets, it is clear my opponent is going to continue to pursue policies and priorities that have already been rejected.”

In Syracuse, from Democrat Dan Maffei running against incumbent Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle:

“Last week Congresswoman Buerkle said, ‘We have two competing visions for this nation.’ With Mitt Romney’s selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential candidate that could not be more clear,” said Maffei. “In my vision for America the middle class is strong, in the Ryan-Buerkle vision they pay higher taxes and don't have Medicare as we know it, and women don't have the right to life saving health care.”

In the Hudson Valley, Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney is running against Rep. Nan Hayworth and sent out a statement entitled, "RELEASE: Romney/Ryan/Hayworth Plan: End Medicare to pay for even more tax cuts for themselves":

Congresswoman Hayworth described the plan as “courageous”, and voted repeatedly for Paul Ryan’s devastating budget. Hayworth, who has complained about Medicare’s reimbursement rate for doctors like herself, went so far as to call the provisions to end Medicare “compassionate”.

In May, 2011, Congresswoman Hayworth even attacked Romney’s then-opponent Newt Gingrich, calling his criticisms of Congressman Ryan’s budget “unwise”.

“Romney, Ryan, and Hayworth are trying to end Medicare and pass the costs on to seniors -- all to pay for huge new tax giveaways for millionaires like themselves,” said Democratic Candidate Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18). “Now that Paul Ryan has been added to the ticket, Nan Hayworth’s Tea Party ideology has officially taken over the Republican Party.”

For his part, North Country Democratic Congressman Bill Owens, in one of the most competitive races in the state, wondered if his opponent supports Mr. Ryan's  budget:

“The Ryan plan guts Medicare, plain and simple. It means higher prescription drug costs for seniors, higher retirement ages, and a reopened prescription drug donut hole,” said James Hannaway, Owens Campaign Manager.  “With Paul Ryan as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Doheny is going to have to answer the question- does he stand with the Paul Ryan, or does he want to gut Medicare even more?”

And in the Albany area, GOP Rep. Chris Gibson's opponent Julian Schreibman sent out this statement:

“Mitt Romney’s selection of Tea Party favorite Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate is proof that the Tea Party agenda has taken hold in Washington. Congressman Chris Gibson’s embrace of that agenda – including supporting Ryan’s budget plan to end Medicare as we know it and turn it into an under-funded coupon program while pushing for massive tax breaks for the super wealthy – has been a key part of Congress’ failure to address the concerns of working men and women in places like upstate New York. Romney’s VP choice clearly signals that gambling with the health care of our seniors while forcing middle class tax payers to bear an even greater burden would be a priority for Congressman Gibson and his Republican allies in Congress next year.

“We must send Congressman Gibson, Mitt Romney, and Paul Ryan a clear message that we will not play politics with the future of Medicare. If elected, I will fight against the extreme Tea Party agenda, and defend our seniors’ access to quality care.”

While in Rochester, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter sent out a fundraising appeal to her supporters based on Mr. Romney's pick:

Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan shows just how committed Republicans are about gutting Medicare all so they can give millionaires yet another tax break. I have said it once and I say it again, my Republican opponent has shown whose side she will stand on when it comes to choosing millionaires over the middle class.

Even worse, Maggie Brooks has already said she thinks Ryan’s plan to gut Medicare actually doesn’t go far enough, which has fueled her campaign with tens of thousands of dollars. I want to fuel my campaign with people who want to protect Medicare and people who agree members of Congress should be fighting for the middle class not millionaires. Let's deliver a powerful message about Romney and Ryan's plan to try to gut Medicare.

All eyes will be on Democrat's fundraising totals - please contribute whatever you can to make sure we deliver a powerful message to Romney and Ryan and their chosen candidate Maggie Brooks that we won't stand for it.

There is too much at stake not to get involved.

And on the end of Long Island, Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop did the same:

With Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, the choice could not be any clearer, and the stakes could not be any higher. Congressman Ryan is the architect of the Republicans' radical plan to end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher program in order to reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans by an average of $260,000. That same plan would put a greater tax burden on middle-class families, which would see an average tax increase of $2,700. This is a vital moment to inform Suffolk County families about the Ryan-Altschuler plan to put millionaire tax cuts over Medicare for seniors and middle-class families. Contribute $10, $25, or $50 today.

While I have consistently opposed the Ryan Budget, millionaire outsourcer Randy Altschuler has embraced this plan. He has said that he "loves Paul Ryan" and agrees with him that "we can't afford Medicare."

I have long said that a budget is a country’s values represented by numbers. If you agree that Paul Ryan’s Randy Altschuler-approved budget doesn’t represent the values of Suffolk County then this is THE critical moment to step forward and make your voice heard. Contribute $10, $25, or $50 today.

As you may have heard, Randy Altschuler has spent the past several weeks attacking my family. Today, his motivation for doing so couldn't be any clearer. He understands that if this election is about his vision for tax cuts for millionaires at the expense of seniors and working families, then he doesn't have a chance. With your support, we will have the resources to talk to Suffolk County voters about the issues and the importance of the choice before them. I know you care about Suffolk County and our nation, this is the critical moment to join me and fight for Suffolk County's values.

Vying for a district straddling Central and Western New York, Dan Lamb blasted out the following about his opponent, Congressman Richard Hanna:

“Congressman Paul Ryan is the architect of the plan that would eliminate the guaranteed benefit of Medicare to pay for tax cuts for millionaires. This is not the vision New Yorkers across the Southern Tier and Central New York have for America, but it is the plan that Congressman Richard Hanna enthusiastically voted for. He called it ‘a responsible and optimistic budget that our great nation deserves.’

“Hanna’s plan would cost seniors over $6,000 every year while cutting taxes for the average millionaire by $187,100. The plan slashes our investments in clean energy technology, while maintaining massive subsidies for the oil and gas industry. It cuts Pell Grants for 1 million students, and would cause the loss of over 4 million jobs.

“Hanna’s support for Paul Ryan’s radical proposals shows a stunning disregard for seniors and the Middle Class. It should give every voter pause. Richard Hanna and Paul Ryan’s vision for America is out of touch with the needs of the middle class voters I’m fighting to represent.”

Finally, in the Southern Tier, Democratic congressional hopeful Nate Shinagawa critiqued GOP Rep. Tom Reed's support of Mr. Ryan's budget:

"My opponent Congressman Tom Reed has voted twice now for the Ryan Budget - a radical set of proposals to give away Medicare to private insurance companies, cut infrastructure spending, slash Medicaid and, to make it even more against the middle class, give another massive tax cut to millionaires. It now looks like Congressman Ryan, Tom Reed's friend, will be Mitt Romney's VP pick. If you care about building up the middle class again in this country, it's clear that Romney/Ryan/Reed are not the choice."

Update: Democratic congressional nominee Hakeem Jeffries, all-but-certain to win his election in a heavily Democratic Brooklyn district in November, adds on his disapproval as well:

"Mitt Romney has chosen a running mate who is the architect of plan that gives tax cuts to the super-rich and slashes services for working families. Paul Ryan supports decimating education funding, dismantling Medicare and burdening the unemployed. Given the chance, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will weaken our nation's economy instead of helping to move it forward. This decision further confirms that New Yorkers and the country should re-elect Barack Obama as our president."

Update 2x: Assemblywoman Grace Meng, the Democratic nominee in a Democratic-leaning congressional district in northeastern Queens, sends in her own statement:

"The Republican Party has officially derailed and fallen completely out of touch with middle class families, senior citizens and the everyday struggles facing Queens’ voters. Radical, Tea Party Republicans like Dan Halloran believe that the Ryan Budget, which includes privatizing Social Security and ending Medicare as we know it, would be a "marvelous" solution to our nation's budgetary woes. Instead of ensuring that the wealthiest one percent of Americans pay their fair share, the Halloran/Romney/Ryan plan seeks to balance the federal budget on the backs of middle class families and senior citizens."

And there you go.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan moments before today's speech. (Photo: Garrett Jackson/Twitter)

Mitt Romney rolled out his running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, at an event at the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia this morning, but he made a slight mistake when introducing the man he hopes will serve as his vice president next year.

"Join me in welcoming the next President of the United States, Paul Ryan," Mr. Romney said as his running mate took the stage.

Mr. Ryan began speaking and, a few moments later, Mr. Romney jogged back to the podium to acknowledge his slip of the tongue.

"Every now and then I'm known to make a mistake," said Mr. Romney as the crowed cheered and laughed. "I did not make a mistake with this guy, but I can tell you that he's going to be the next Vice President of the United States."

After Mr. Romney corrected his mistake, Mr. Ryan continued his speech saying he's "thrilled to be a part of America's Comeback Team."