Eric Massa solidifying support
We here in the City may occasionally forget this, having little reason to remember it, but there are still some members of the republican party in New York State who hold elected office. Now, clearly, this is a profoundly unnatural state of affairs, and one that must be addressed and remedied.
Arguably the worst republican left standing in New York after the tidal wave of last November is Randy Kuhl, who represents, somewhat, the 29th District in Congress. Last November, Democrat Eric Massa came within a hair's breadth of ousting the man.
Now Massa is shooting for a successful result in 2008, not however, this time, unopposed; there's a Democratic primary in the 29th District this time around. This primary pits one David Nachbar against Massa; the former has the advantage of being able to self-fund, as well as the support of Louise Slaughter; but also comes burdened with the way that he made his money, which was by advising American businesses on outsourcing their domestic jobs to foreign, low-wage jurisdictions. This kind of activity is, in fairness, not too popular with Democrats.
The key ingredient in prevailing in a primary is the support of Democratic county and local organizations, and by that measure, Massa is doing quite well. On June 11th, he wrapped up the support of Rush, NY; on June 12th, he got the endorsement of the Yates County Democrats; on June 14th, he received the support of the Gates, NY, Democratic committee, in Monroe County, bringing his total to seven such endorsements in Monroe alone; on June 15th, Major General John Batiste, the former Commander of the United States Army's First Infantry Division, announced his formal endorsement as well. Yesterday, the Cattaraugus County Democrats chose sides, and unanimously went with Massa. These kinds of endorsements carry real weight in a district that is largely rural and dotted with smaller cities.
I'm personally a big believer in primaries, and Massa is by no means a candidate without flaws. However, I also detest outsourcing; it's very close to economic treason in my book. That's perhaps an old-fashioned conceit in the days when we keep on hearing that the world is flat, and that sending our jobs to India and China is somehow good for us; but many people, especially those that have them or would like to have them, are rather fond of jobs in this country. That simple observation makes support of David Nachbar very difficult, in my book, at least.
On the web: Eric Massa for Congress
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2008 Elections | Eric Massa
Take a real look at Nachbar
While Nachbar is a senior exec at B&L, it seems very poor form to suggest that he as the reason for outsourcing that occurred at B&L. Not even mentioning the legal and tax conditions that make it incredibly difficult to build businesses in the Rochester area as well as the need to manage stockholders, consider that
Nacbar is ONLY a senior exec in charge of human resources for B&L, which means he is responsible for implementing policy, not making it.
Policy is made by various members of the Board and the senior execs. Assuming Nachbar is the ONE person responsible for any outsourcing decisions is like blaming the one-star general in Iraq for the surge in troop strengths.
And before someone points out that Nachbar is also on the B&L Strategy Policy committee, he is one of many. While you could say he could resign if he disagreed with the policy, have you any idea how many jobs B&L may have saved? Can you tell us with a matter of certainty what nachbar said or did?
Additionally, take a look at Nachbar's previous work in St. Paul Companies and the successes he had in the lifestyle improvements in other places. His work has been stellar, and even previous employees speak highly of him.
Read this posting from RochesterTurning:
Before you accept the commentary from one side of the race, maybe you should meet Nachbar and learn more about him from other supporters.
This does not discount Massa's efforts of Massa; he has been incredibly good for the Democrats of the District. And by his efforts, he has earned the support of these committees. But IMHO, having two good candidates is a good thing for the betterment of the District, especially when most will be focusing on the Presidentials and we will need something to raise the level of discourse during the primary season.