Saturday, March 18, 2006

Bruce Tytler Has Campaign Web Site Up

Although some Democratic Party insiders from other parts of the country want you to believe that Democrats in the 24th District have already made their minds up about who to vote for in the primary six months from now, the truth is that most Democratic voters in this district don't even know who the Democratic candidates are.

So, instead of trying to rush and push Democrats here to annoint one candidate the winner without a single vote being cast, I'll keep on working to inform the Democratic voters, so that they can make their own decision.

In that spirit, I'm pleased to see that the Bruce Tytler for Congress campaign has its web site up, just in time to get some attention in the wake of the announcement by Congressman Sherwood Boehlert that he will be retiring.

Let me reiterate, for those readers who are not from New York's 24th congressional district, that we have three Democratic candidates running in the Democratic primary here. They are, in the order of their entry into the race:

- Les Roberts
- Bruce Tytler
- Michael Arcuri

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Get serious! Tytler is a joke. Les Roberts will get eaten alive by the Republicans. Arcuri is the only serious candidate in the race. If you really want to take back the 24th, then it's time to get behind Arcuri.

http://www.arcuriforcongress.com/

24thIndependent said...

Oh, really?

What's the empirical evidence you have that Arcuri is the only serious candidate in the race, that Les Roberts will get eaten alive by the Republicans?

You don't have any. There isn't any.

Arcuri hasn't even articulated any detailed policies yet. How does that make Arcuri serious???

Why don't you let the voters decide, and stop trying to tell people that they have no choice but to get behind you?

The Democrats of the 24th District deserve better than to be insulted in this kind of way - with these claims that we don't know well enough how to pick our own candidate.

We don't need Rahm Emanuel to come here from his home in Illinois to pat us on the head and tell us to vote for Arcuri, thanks.

Anonymous said...

anonymous 1:31 - New York State is a very liberal state including upstate. The conservative ideology has ruined our economy and taken us into an unwinnable and infinitely costly war in Iraq. There is no reason for Democrats to be neocon Republican lite. If Mike Arcuri wants Democratic support, he needs to stand up and be a real Democrat, one with courage, not a pandering neocon lite wannabe.

This race isn't about Arcuri or Roberts or Tytler as people. It's about finding a Democratic standardbearer worthy of that title. It's about issues and policies that serve the country. If it's not that, if it's just about the candidate, there will be no real interest, there will be not purpose and it's just a waste of time for all of us.

If I continue to hear "it's about me and my views" from the candidates, then the election is lost. It needs to be about "us" and how a candidate can represent our views. Like the majority of upstaters, I want to hear about how we are quickly exiting Iraq and how abortion will remain safe and legal.

Anonymous said...

"anonymous" claims that "New York State is a very liberal state including upstate."

Yes, it is so liberal that the 24th district went for Bush in 2004. Face it, this will be a tough race for any Democrat and especially for one who can't reach out to moderate and independent voters.

The Republicans are salivating at the prospect of Arcuri having a tough primary or, better yet, running against Les Roberts. You make it sound like a primary would be a good thing. How much money would you like to spend on a primary when that money could be better used to take on the Republicans.

Is this website is a Republican operation, designed to sow discord among Democrats and pump up support for the weakest candidates? If so, how much is the RNC paying you for this?

24thIndependent said...

The writer of the latest comment obviously doesn't know much about the 24th District's politics. The 24th District just went one tiny point more for Bush than the rest of the country, and the rest of the country was very much split right down the middle.

There are a huge number of strong liberals in this district, and fewer moderate Democrats with every passing year.

This is definitely a swing district, and any attempt to characterize it as heavily Republican greatly misjudges the situation on the ground.

24thIndependent said...

Oh - yeah, me.

My name is Jonathan Cook. I live at 21 Cayuga Street, Trumansburg. I'm a raging liberal, and former member of the NYS Democratic Committee.

Look me up. I work for nobody but myself.

Anonymous said...

Hey if you are such a prominent Democrat and so interested in doing what's good for the party, how come you endorsed a non-Democrat for Congress in 2004?

http://www.hawkins4congress.org/archives/000078.html

24thIndependent said...

Good question about Howie Hawkins.

I was on the State Democratic Committee for northern Cayuga County for about a year and a half, largely because no one else wanted the job.

A little over a year ago, I moved, and I'm not on the State Democratic Committee anymore, and boy am I glad of that. It really wasn't for me.

As for being prominent, well, being from a rural district in a county with several Assembly districts criss-crossing it, I got one third of one vote in any State Democratic Committee action. I never said I was prominent. I just was offering this aspect of my history as some sign that I'm not a Republican Party spy or something.

I endorsed Howie Hawkins in 2004 because, in 2004, there was no Democrat in the race to run against James Walsh. No Democrat even tried for the nomination that year.

For the record, I am a Democrat, but I'm not motivated by party loyalty. My loyalty is to the ideals of representative democracy. Those loyalties should overlap more than they do - but I still have hope that Democrats can rise to the occasion.