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Senate

By David Freedlander 5/31 10:06am

Senate

Special Election Held For Rep. Anthony Weiner's Vacant Seat

Bob Turner Goes On The Air

U.S. Senate candidate Bob Turner released his first television ad of the 2012 campaign cycle, one which plays heavily on what has been his chief calling card: his 2011 upset victory over David Weprin for a Congressional seat in Queens and Brooklyn.

The ad begins with TV news coverage of Mr. Turner on a podium surrounded by supporters like Rep. Peter King and former mayor Ed Koch as he celebrates the victory for the seat held by Democrats since 1922.

The ad then pivots to his race against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who the spot dubs “the most liberal senator” in the nation and addresses Mr. Turner’s priorities, among them cutting spending and opening up the Keystone Pipeline. Read More

By David Freedlander 5/30 9:06am

Senate

Special Election Held For Rep. Anthony Weiner's Vacant Seat

Grover Norquist Hits Bob Turner On ‘Tax Compromise’–UPDATE

Americans for Tax Reform, the anti-tax crusading group headed by Grover Norquist, sent out a press release last night slamming U.S. Senate candidate Bob Turner for pushing a “compromise” on taxes, a move they said was reminiscent on President Barack Obama.

“In an unfortunate twist to the New York U.S. Senate Republican primary, Bob Turner admits that he supports higher taxes. To date, fellow Republican primary candidate Wendy Long is the only candidate to make a written commitment to New York  taxpayers that she will not raise taxes if elected in November,” reads the release.

At issue is an interview Mr. Turner did with Liz Benjamin in which he said that Republicans “can’t continue to uniformly oppose tax increases in order to solve the debt issue.” and that “there will certainly be compromises.”

Asked by Ms. Benjamin if that included tax increases, he responded, “Whatever has to be done.” Read More

By David Freedlander 5/29 1:02pm

Senate

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John Bolton Endorses Wendy Long For U.S. Senate

The Wendy Long campaign for U.S Senate announced today they have secured the endorsement of John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations who remains a hero in Republican foreign policy circles.

“Wendy Long is superbly qualified to represent New York as a U.S. Senator and is the only candidate who can defeat Kirsten Gillibrand in November,” Mr. Bolton said. “Wendy is a fiscal conservative who understands the urgent need to cut taxes, cut spending, and reduce the size of our federal government so that businesses can grow, creating jobs and opportunity for all Americans. She also understands that a prime obligation of a U.S. Senator – particularly one from New York – is to defend the security and sovereignty of America, and that nothing, including political correctness, can stand in the way of that obligation. “ Read More

By David Freedlander 5/25 1:21pm

Senate

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Turner Sides Up To Cardinal Dolan, Hits Obama On ‘Religious Liberty’

Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Bob Turner ventured up to Buffalo today to knock the Obama administration over a mandate that requires religious institutions to provide insurance for birth control.

The mandate is the subject of a lawsuit by Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the Buffalo Diocese.

“As we are about to celebrate Memorial Day and honor the service men and women who have fought to protect our freedoms, New Yorkers should rally behind the more than 40 religious organizations across the country who have been forced to sue the Obama Administration over infringement of their First Amendment rights,” said Mr. Turner.  ”President Obama has made a reckless and unconstitutional expansion of the federal government the primary focus of his administration and this latest threat to religious liberty is yet another example. Trampling over the First Amendment is a bridge too far and Mr. Obama will have to account for his actions with the millions of voters who support a fundamental American right of freedom of religion.” Read More

By David Freedlander 5/07 12:36pm

Senate

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Maragos Says Turner’s Obama Comments Will ‘Incite Racial Strife’ [Update]

Earlier today, Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Bob Turner told President Barack Obama to “call off the dogs” and cease a lawsuit meant to desegregate Westchester County.

The comments brought a swift condemnation from George Maragos, Mr. Turner’s opponent–along with lawyer Wendy Long–in the GOP primary for the right to take on U.S. Sen Kirsten Gillibrand.

‘”Bob Turner’s stunt today calling for Obama to ‘call off the dogs’ has done a grave disservice to Westchester residents by injecting potentially racially divisive language into a sensitive local issue,” Mr. Maragos said.  ”I support Westchester in its fight with HUD, however, I fear that Mr. Turner’s ill-advised statement will set back any resolution to the issue, incite racial strife and may negatively impact Westchester residents. By inflaming the housing issue with crude and potentially racially insensitive language, Mr. Turner will give Obama reason to dig in his heals and reject any compromise with Westchester and consequently harm all Westchester residents.” Read More

By David Freedlander 5/07 12:12pm

Senate

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Long: Obama Reversal On Gay Marriage Would Be An ‘Assault On Our Constitution’

Following up on Joe Biden’s pronouncement yesterday that he “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriage, Wendy Long, a GOP contender for the U.S. Senate, sent out a statement urging President Barack Obama to hold the line on traditional marriage and send the matter back to the states.

“As a practicing Catholic, I believe what President Obama says he believes, that marriage is between a man and woman,” she said in a statement. “I also believe that, from a constitutional perspective, marriage is and always has been the province of state law.   Yesterday’s comments by Vice President Biden raise the specter that the Obama administration is preparing yet another assault on our Constitution and another radical intrusion by the federal government into our everyday lives.” Read More

By David Freedlander 4/24 11:08am

Senate

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Wendy Long Challenges Turner, Maragos To Debate

Manhattan attorney Wendy Long wrote to her two rivals for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate today challenging them to a series of debates in advance of the June 26 primary.

“This is one of the shortest primary schedules in modern New York electoral history,” Ms. Long writes. “It’s important to hold a series of debates across the Empire State, so that Republican primary voters can make an educated decision as to which one of us they prefer to face the U.S. Senate’s number one liberal, Senator Gillibrand, on the GOP line in the November election.” Read More

By David Freedlander 4/11 12:30pm

Senate

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Citing ‘Buffett Rule,’ Long Calls On Gillibrand To Release Taxes

Citing Barack Obama’s effort to raise taxes on the wealthiest, today Wendy Long called on Kirsten Gillibrand to release her taxes for the period of time she has been in the U.S. Senate.”

“What New Yorkers need is a simpler, fairer tax code that strips away loopholes and doesn’t require a battery of tax attorneys to prepare,” said Ms. Long, who is herself an attorney. “The Buffet Rule will simply raise taxes on hard working innovators and job creators, on investors and small family businesses, leaving in place all the complicated loopholes that benefit D.C. connected special interests who are expert in tax avoidance.” Read More

By David Freedlander 3/19 11:53am

Senate

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Turner Keeps Pumping On Gas Prices

Yesterday Bob Turner  held his first public event of his Senate campaign at a gas station, placing the blame at rising fuel prices directly at the feet of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and her Democratic allies.

Today, Mr. Turner kept on pressing on the issue, sending out a press release slamming the junior senator for voting in “lock-step” with President Obama to make high gas prices even worse.

“At every turn Senator Gillibrand is voting against increasing domestic oil production and those votes result in higher prices at the pump,” said Turner campaign spokeswoman Jessica Proud. “When New Yorkers think about their crazy gas bills, they should think about Kirsten Gillibrand.”  Read More

By David Freedlander 1/25 12:29pm

Senate

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Dems Dub Cenedella ‘Carl Paladino, Jr.’ GOP Sees A Smear

The Mark Cenedella blogging controversy is entering its day of life today with state Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs issuing a statement comparing the CEO of TheLadders.com and the likely challenger to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand with another recent statewide Republican nominee.

“Marc Cenedella has taken a page out of the Carl Paladino playbook, ” Mr. Jacobs says. “This kind of behavior wasn’t acceptable for New York last year, and it’s not acceptable now. After 24 hours of excuses that were more confusing than a Hitchcock movie, he finally took responsibility for publishing this filth while trying to hide behind the ‘someone else wrote them’ defense.” Read More