Ranzenhofer's 'Personnel' Problem Is Not Going Away

Last Friday, Howard Owens from The Batavian published proof beyond a doubt that Erie County GOP Chairman, Republican rent-a hack Michael Hook, and congressional primary candidate Chris Collins were righteously pissed about the political activities of Michelle McCulloch.

McCulloch was employed as an outreach worker in State Senator Mike Ranzenhofer's district office until her employment was terminated. The firing came a day after she reported to her boss that she had introduced David Bellavia to possible primary supporters at a meet and greet in Wyoming County where she resides and serves as a GOP Committeewoman. She was fired despite having been a good soldier. She passed Conservative Party petitions for Chris Collins presumably at the behest of Ranzenhofer and reported her outside political activity to her boss as instructed.

Today, Ranzenhofer told the Batavia Daily News that he is remaining neutral in the GOP primary between Collins and Bellavia and that he won't be endorsing a candidate.

That was the point where my bullshit detector exploded. Here's what we know for sure:

Ranzenhofer's office staff, a small army of Republicans who also happen to be notaries public, passed Conservative Party designating petitions for Chris Collins. This is not an act of neutrality and although Ranzenhofer has denied that he directed his staff to pass the petitions, no one with a drop of common sense believes him. Here's a link to all the Conservative Party petitions turned in by Ranz's staff notaries. That's an impressive coordinated effort by a bunch of people who weren't directed to act....

According to Ms. McCulloch's text message records which she shared with The Batavian, Chris Collins' political consultant, Michael Hook, called Ranzenhofer after the Collins campaign found out about McCulloch's membership on the Bellavia Steering Committee. Here is the warning from her friend courtesy of The Batavian:

                                                                           Image Courtesy of The Batavian
That wasn't the only text message she received. ECGOP Chairman Nick Langworthy sent a few rage texts to McCulloch about her support of Bellavia.

                                                             Image Courtesy of The Batavian

After the texts came a warning to McCulloch that she must report any political activity to her boss. She followed orders and a day later she was fired.

Ranzenhofer insists that the firing wasn't politically motivated, but all of the evidence points in the other direction.

Enter the Republican version of the circular firing squad.

Wyoming County GOP Chairman Gordon Brown  told the paper:

“I am not pleased with Sen. Ranzenhofer’s response,” Brown said. “He claims neutrality, but I don’t think that neutrality is accurate.”

For those of you unfamiliar with political language, that statement translates roughly into English as:  "Ranz is a fucking liar. Liar, liar, pants on fire."

He also seemed underwhelmed by Chris Collins' ability to build bridges, saying, “You have to be able to build coalitions and consensus, with Collins, the question is does he have the right personality?”

That one doesn't require any translation, we all know nobody can stand Chris Collins on a personal level.

This congressional campaign is quickly turning into another case of how badly can the ECGOP squander its chances of winning this seat. NY-27 should be a slam dunk for the Republicans after redistricting turned it from an R+6 district to an R+7. Of course, it should have been a slam dunk for them last year as well, but Democrat Kathy Hochul stomped all over them even in some of the reddest parts of the district.

Republican leadership in Erie County has been running the same campaign for years and everyone has finally caught on to the strategy. Pick a wealthy candidate, hide him/her in a bunker somewhere so they don't have to answer policy questions, feed the public talking points, keep the GLOW countys in line, win.

David Bellavia has thrown a serious wrench in their gears these last two election cycles, but Bellavia isn't the man to blame for the ECGOP's woes; Nick Langworthy is. Langworthy paid lip service to Bellavia in 2008 when he asked the Iraq War veteran to step aside for tranny-chaser Christopher Lee. Langworthy then promised Bellavia that when Lee vacated the seat, it would be Bellavia's turn to go to Washington.

Bellavia accepted Langworthy's word and stepped aside for the team, but when the time came for Langworthy to pay up, wealthy dilettante Jane Corwin was called off the bench instead. We all know how that turned out for the Republicans. Bellavia is doing the right thing running this primary. The ECGOP has proved to everyone exactly what their word is worth and Bellavia is providing Republican voters an opportunity to step away from the status quo.


Image and quote sources:

http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/while-ranzenhofer-claims-neutrality-congressional-race-petitions-collins-seem-tell-diff

http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_c4b95608-9f05-11e1-a9c9-0019bb2963f4.html

GLOW Fun With Chris Collins

Thanks to @BuffaloPundit and @HeyRaChaCha, we had a little fun on Twitter today with Chris Collins' clueless attempts at pandering to GLOW region voters. I'll keep this updated with the good ones. The hashtag is #CluelessCollins, enjoy.

Hey Hicks, Chris Collins Is Just Like You

Chris Collins bought some jeans last week and The Buffalo News just had to report on it. I never would have seen the blurb if my friend Alan Bedenko over at Artvoice hadn't picked up on it yesterday.

Since this is stupid is so many ways, I'm not going to launch into a thousand-word diatribe about how Collins is a dick and is wholly incapable of connecting with or understanding anyone outside of his circle of Spaulding Lake dilettantes. Instead, I thought it would just be fun to wonder what Chris Collins thinks of us, the hicks, rubes and hayseeds out here in the GLOW counties.

Without further ado: Overheard on the Collins campaign trail, GLOW region edition:

-- "Jesus, what's that smell? Is that the fertilizer stench they kept telling me about?"
    "No, Chris, we're in downtown Batavia, there aren't any farms here."
    "Hmmm, must just be the poor people. What kind of pants do they wear?"

--"You guys are farmers, huh? So do you have, like, a general store, or do you barter for goods at the fair?"

--"Hi, I'm Chris Collins and I need your vote so I can go to Washington.  Waaawwwww-ssshhhhinnnngggg-ttttuuuuhhhhhnnn."

-- "I just bought a brand new pick-up truck so I can connect on a personal level with Pa Kettle here. Let's fill it with heavy stuff and drive somewhere."

-- "Let's make this one quick. There is no way I'm taking a dump in an outhouse."

-- "Oh, this is your cousin? How many kids do you guys have?"

-- "Haha, look at these straw hat wearing yokels. Hey, Cletus, where's the rodeo? Wait, what? YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A FUCKIN' RODEO?!?!? Oh....My....God....what the fuck is wrong with you people?"

I could do this all day, but I won't because it's stupid. You know what else is stupid? Chris Collins' attempt to be 'folksy' in his hick costume.

President Obama Gets It Right On Gay Marriage

Yesterday, President Obama told the nation that he supports the right of gay couples to get married. Welcome to the 21st century, sir, there's beer in the fridge.

I've never doubted the President's actual beliefs about this issue and I don't believe for a single moment that his point of view has been 'evolving' all this time. The man's central problem has always been that he's a human being in his heart and a politician in fact. He suffers from the same disease that every person whose ife is run by handlers contracts eventually. Waffling on the important stuff is like the common cold for political animals whose progression through the ranks of power depends on public opinion. We're just finally lucky enough that public opinion on this civil rights issue has finally reached 50/50 status and the President possesses that extra percent of guts required for a powerful person to finally take a stand.

Of course it's one thing to come out in favor of equal rights for citizens, Backing it up with legislation is another game entirely, and the President has shown no inclination to do any such thing. Obama continues to insist that gay marriage is an issue for the states and we all know how that's going to go. Individual states are more inclined to stifle the right of gay individuals to marry rather than encourage it and they've proven it with their perfect 32-0 record of shitting all over equal rights when the issue goes to referendum. The only states that have successfully granted equal status to gay citizens have been the ones with governors and legislatures courageous enough to take the issue out of the hands of reactionary and bigoted citizens and do the thing using the old-school method of politics: favor trading, back room deals and maybe a sprinkling of blackmail just to make sure things are properly cinched up.

I'm willing to put aside my usual distaste for the common political method for this issue. If showing State Senator X the never before seen pictures of his 'fact-finding trip' to Thailand is what it takes to ensure that every American  possesses the same rights as his/her neighbor to marry for love or money or social advantage, then I'm OK with it.

However slowly things progress, I'm confident that our society will eventually reach the end of this argument. The bigoted religious sects will continue to marginalize themselves even within the confines of their own theology. The men and women who are opposed to homosexuality because they think the sex is 'icky' will look themselves in the mirror one day and realize how stupid they're being. The generational shift in cultural norms will finally overtake whatever is left of the hesitation of our politicians to do the right thing. My generation and our children will be  the targeted demographic of politicians and we will not tolerate discrimination. When I am an old man, people my age will want our leaders to do the right thing because we know better and our kids will want the same because they never knew any different.

The road to equality has always been long and perilous, demanding sacrifice from those brave enough to travel it. National progress on these issues that seem so simple to some of us is slow and requires a tireless activist base along with that ever elusive creature: The Gutsy Politician. There is a reward at the end, though. SO many Americans, gay and straight, have walked that road in the hope that someday this thing we call 'gay marriage' will just be marriage like abolition became freedom and women's suffrage became voting. That day is coming. Be patient, be strong and be true, your reward is closer than you think.

Collins Gives Order To Fire Mother Of Four, Bellavia Benefits

The Buffalo News reported on Saturday that State Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer fired an office employee and mother of four at the behest of Chris Collins, a Republican candidate for the NY-27 Congressional seat. According to the Buffalo News report, Michelle McCulloch of Attica said her employment at Ranzenhofer's office was terminated because of her support of Collins' primary opponent, David Bellavia.

McCulloch, a mother of four, is a member of the Wyoming County Republican Committee which has officially endorsed Mr. Bellavia in the ongoing primary. The incident that reportedly got her fired was nothing more than a meet and greet in Wyoming County (also attended by Collins) where she introduced David Bellavia around the crowd.

Ms. McCulloch is also a member of Bellavia's campaign steering committee, an extracurricular activity that had previously drawn the ire of her boss. Despite Ranzenhofer's demands that his staff remain neutral in the primary, his state senate office employees were asked to pass designating petitions for Chris Collins. McCulloch told the Buffalo News that she had performed this task despite her support for Bellavia.

New York is an 'at-will' state meaning employees can be terminated at any time for any reason. Companies are not required to provide an explanation for personnel decisions like this one.

Chris Collins has a history of committing acts that force voters to question his ability to respect his fellow human beings. There was the rat thing in Buffalo, then there was the handicapped parking space incident, the reportedly fear-based working environment in the Erie County Executive's office, and any number of other transgressions that constantly lower the public's expectations of Chris Collins ever acting like a person who respects others. Asking a State Senator to fire a mother of four who has served faithfully for years under multiple bosses falls right into the pattern of typical Collins behavior.

David Bellavia is expected to address the allegations against Collins and Ranzenhofer today in multiple appearances around the district.

Bellavia, who has received the endorsement of Republican Committees in every rural county in NY-27 should see this as a windfall for his campaign. Primary elections can be difficult to run because voters often have trouble, for obvious reasons, discerning the differences between two candidates who generally espouse the same ideology. These typically low turnout races will always come down to money and organization unless a clear line can be drawn between candidates. Bellavia has an opportunity now to draw that line using Collins' borderline behavior to ask primary voters to choose the kind of person they want representing them in the upcoming general election. I don't imagine the man who ordered the revenge firing of a working class mother is going to be able to acquit himself well on-stage in a debate with Congresswoman Kathy Hochul.

Image courtesy of Tom Dolina at Tommunisms

Thoughts For Friday: On Love and Fear and Death

Maybe the hardest thing for a human being to do is tell the truth. I used to write this Thoughts for Friday piece every week or so at WNYMedia and it was always a frivolous thing. I'd drink too much beer on a Thursday night and vomit out whatever was on my mind. I tried to make it funny or poignant, but it was really just a letting of the blood, a way to extract the little poisons from the system. The Big Poison, though, that had to stay and a little relief was all I ever allowed myself.

Things are different now. Life is different. The people around me aren't what they were just a few months ago.

Thoughts For Friday was always a silly thing, but now I want it to be about the truth. If you're expecting politics here, you'll probably get it from time to time, but I'm going to indulge myself a bit as well. The Big Poison needs an outlet and once a week or so I'm going to give it one.

I just started writing again. It's been about eight months since I put anything together for public consumption and I'm going to tell you why. Truth. 

There was a brief period when the last site I wrote for was falling apart, but i wasn't in any condition to care. My uncle started his last vacation in October of 2011. That was also the last time I wrote anything of substance. Sometime in that month I spent a night with the Occupy movement in Buffalo. I wrote about the experience and I wrote it well. I was proud of what I did there and I think I deserved to be.

At the end of October my uncle came home from his vacation with what we thought was a bad case of pneumonia. He couldn't finish a sentence without coughing uncontrollably, but we all thought he'd get better with some medicine and a bit of rest. A week or so later he was diagnosed with stage four non-small cell carcinoma. Lung Cancer. FUCK cancer. Just FUCK IT! I'm crying now. Truth.

About a week after that he had an episode that landed him in Strong Memorial Hospital. Truth.

Two days after that, my grandmother, his mother, had an internal bleed that put her in the same hospital. Truth

Two days after that, she was diagnosed with mother-fucking stage four non-small cell carcinoma. Lung Cancer. Truth.

The cancer had spread to the spine and the kidneys in both of them. Truth.

My family spent the next two weeks riding the elevators at Strong Memorial upanddownandupanddownandupandown. Truth.

My grandfather would go from one room to the other, sit in a chair and hold their hands. I took a picture of his hand and my grandmother's hand locked together, but i had to be sneaky about it because I was embarrassed to want it. Truth.

I've always been embarrassed about the things I want. Truth.

I don't think I'm going to get through this, but it matters so I'm going to force myself. Vacillation.

They sent my grandmother home for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinner was the last time I was able to communicate with her in a meaningful way. Truth.

She spent most of the rest of her life in a hospital bed that they brought to the house. I don't believe in God, so I stood next to that bed, held her hand and made my confession to her. All of it, every bit of pride-shame-hate-love-fear and I wished over and over again that I'd done it this way three years ago when maybe it mattered. Truth.

She died just before her birthday in December. The night she died I was at home. I had thought I might to go down to Crossroads House and sleep in the room with her, maybe talk to her one more time, but I was drunk so I couldn't drive over there. My father says she waited for everyone to leave before she let herself go and that she wouldn't have been able to do it if one of us was there. Truth.

I've always thought that was bullshit.

My uncle was too sick to attend the wake. He was able, with some help, to come to the funeral home the morning we buried her. I helped him out of the car and into a wheelchair. That was the last time I saw him outside of a hospital. Truth.

He went to her casket. He called her mommy. He said he wasn't afraid because she'd be waiting for him. Truth.

I don't believe in heaven, but I fucking wanted to. Right then, I would have traded anything in the universe to have the comfort of belief. Truth.

My uncle died in the hospital a little more than a week later. Truth.

When my phone rang in the morning and I saw my father's number on the ID I thought he was calling about work. Truth.

When he told me my Uncle was dead all I felt was rage and I let out a growl/scream that scared my daughter awake. I sat on the stairs and pulled at my hair. Right at that moment, because I am a selfish person, I wanted to die too. Truth.

The priest was good friends with my Uncle. The funeral sermon was about how Jesus wept upon seeing Lazarus' friends' and family's grief. Truth.

My Uncle wept openly upon seeing the fields of Gettysburg. Truth.

My Uncle was cremated. Truth.

I visit my grandmother's grave on Tuesdays. There's no headstone yet, but I know which one it is because there are always fresh roses there. I'm not sure which day my grandfather goes, maybe he goes every day, but he's the one who leaves the flowers. He doesn't just lay them over the dirt; he makes a little hole and plants them right in the topsoil. I think he considers every time he plants those roses upright that it's the closest he's ever going to get to his wife again. I sit there on the ground and think about that. I sit there and I make my confession over and over again. I tell her the things I've never been able to tell anyone and I wish I'd done it while she was alive so she could have nodded her head and said, 'Hmm... well Chris, your Gram has an opinion about that.' Sometimes it rains so I have to go home and change afterward. Nobody ever notices because pretty much all my clothes look the same. Truth.

So, there's a bit of the Big Poison. It's in all of us and it gets nastier the longer we avoid the truth. It gets stronger when we shed just a few tears instead of screaming out our sorrow and rage. 

Here is that picture that I was so embarrassed to take. It's beautiful. Truth.

27 Things About NY-27

1: I still can't stop calling it NY26, just like I wrote 2011 on my checks until April. So, If I screw up and type NY26 trust me, Brian Higgins is safe.

2: Who cares about David Bellavia's water bill? Bob McCarthy of course and probably some voters. Bellavia played this well by employing the 'just regular folks' defense but tight-ass primary voters will take late payments into account.

3. Chris Collins is an asshole. I have never seen this point refuted.

4. Kathy Hochul's 'Yes' vote on CISPA was either the result of electoral politics or a complete lack of regard for individual citizen's personal privacy. Since the average voter in NY27 doesn't know what the hell CISPA is... Well, you do the math.

5. Oh look, there's a primary for the Independence Party line. Chris Collins vs. someone you've never heard of. This happens because of New York's fusion voting system. Fusion voting simply means that minor parties are allowed to try and play kingmaker so major parties need to find willing sacrifices to primary people like Collins on a ballot line that no one gives a damn about.

***UPDATE: Never mind about this, Collins couldn't get enough petition signatures to get himself on the IP ballot line. See thing number three.***

6. Summer is almost here and no one is going to pay any attention to this race until September.

7. Chris Collins ignored a rat infestation in Buffalo. If you want to know why, see thing number three.

8. David Bellavia was awarded a Silver Star. Silver Stars don't automatically make a person right for Congress.

9. Chris Collins doesn't have any Silver Stars, but he does sit on the board of a medical research company. The likelihood of some Collins mouthpiece telling us that the former Erie County Executive is working on a cure for cancer is high. Being on the board of a research company doesn't make a person right for congress, and the doctors in Australia are the ones who are actually working on a cure for cancer.

10: At some point during the primary, Collins is going to have to say exactly what I said in thing number eight.

11: If Collins says what I said in thing number eight, he's going to be painted as an uncaring anti-veteran candidate.

12. If things number ten and eleven actually happen it will be because Chris Collins is an asshole and he can't help himself. See thing number three.

13: Kathy Hochul has spent more time in the GLOW counties in half a Congressional term than both her predecessors combined.

14: Hey, remember when Chris Lee showed off his nipples to Washington DC's transsexual Craigslist users and then the nation? Man that was funny.

15: However the Republican primary shakes out, the general election may very well come down to how much NY27 Republican voters hate Barack Obama. There really won't be any other reason for them to leave their houses in November.

16: In 2008 the Erie County Republicans promised David Bellavia their endorsement the next time this congressional seat came open. Two elections later they still haven't honored that promise.

17: People in the Monroe County portion of NY27 don't have any reason at all to give a damn about this race. No one has seriously asked their opinion in years.

18: Chris Collins opened a Twitter account this week, but you should follow @DWICollins instead; he's more fun and more likely to tell the truth.

21: Jack Davis mumbled something a few weeks back about starting a SuperPAC for David Bellavia. He'd better get right on that because Bellavia is having serious trouble raising money.

22: Elections are all about money.

23: Chris Collins has the most money so even though thing number three is sad, funny and true, it doesn't actually matter.

24: Chris Collins is unpopular in the GLOW counties because he's unlikable. David Bellavia has never done anything noteworthy in the GLOW counties other than live there. Kathy Hochul gets bills passed in Congress that streamline the labor hiring process for GLOW farmers.

25: Chris Collins lost his Erie County Executive re-election bid last November. Kathy Hochul has never lost an election. David Bellavia has never cracked the 'serious candidate' plateau.

26: I never thought I'd actually make it to twenty-seven things and I've been secretly re-writing the title of this piece inside my head since thing number six.

27: If you're reading this and you're a Republican, see things number three, seven, nine, ten, eleven and twelve. The last time we sent a wealthy, male business asshole to congress, we ended up having to look at his nipples on the national news. How many nipples is it going to take before you people learn?