Someone was just kind enough to email me the results of a new poll conducted in NY-26 by Survey USA, generally considered one of the more reliable pollsters; the results look bad for Democrats, with our nominee, Alice Kryzan, getting crushed by eleven points, 48% to 37%. Long story short, she loses every polled demographic except Democrats, but even among her own party's supporters, she only garners 71% support. And in a year where youth turnout is expected to shatter all records, Kryzan loses the 18-34 demo by 58% to 29%. These are Mondale-Ferraro numbers.

So I suppose now's as good a time as any to say thank you to repeat loser Jack Davis for spending literally millions of dollars to trash netroots candidate, teacher and Iraq veteran Jon Powers. Awesome job.

Once again: sometimes, the biggest obstacle to Democratic victories are other Democrats.

The poll PDF is attached to this post.

Okay, this is a clear trend: scared (mainly old, always comfortable) people shying away from electoral debates presumably because they're worried about the outcomes. Now, Jack Davis, contender in NY-26, is joining a long and not very distinguished list that also includes Shelly Silver, Caesar Trunzo, Joe Robach and Ed Towns.

New Yorkers should make clear to those who'd like to represent them that seeing them argue their case against an opponent is not optional. These people - and mind you, that list includes some very accomplished names of consequence in our affairs - want to get hired by you for a job. The least they can do is give an interview to you, the voters.

But at least Silver, Towns, Robach and Trunzo aren't - yet or that we know of - publicly freaking out at their opponents. That's worth something, I suppose.

Hahaha!

In a stinging rebuke to immigrant-bashing Lou-Dobbs-wannabe ex-republican Jack Davis, 2004 Presidential nominee and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry came out hard for Jon Powers today.

Via Daily Kos:

It will be three years ago this fall that I met Jon Powers and there isn’t a more impressive young man getting involved in public life today. [...]

I first met Jon at a screening I attended of the documentary Gunner’s Palace. When I heard his story, and I talked to him, I was blown away. I then asked him to give the introduction to the speech I gave on dissent and patriotism at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

Jon later told me that he remembers that day because it helped inspire him to run for Congress, a fact that I’m very proud of.[...]

His primary opponent is a self-funded millionaire who is responsible for the gutting of the Millionaire’s Amendment – and who has launched a slew of misleading attacks – so please do what you can to help.[...]

Why is this personal to me? Because I believe in the courage and character of a young man who was a platoon leader in the First Armored Division in Baghdad during the early years of the Iraq war. His commanding officer described Jon as, “one of the most talented officers I have known in twenty-two years of service in the Army.”

Support Jon Powers - click here. This isn't just a fight about who's going to run in NY-26 in November; it goes to the root of the question of what kind of party we want to be. Me, I'd prefer not to nominate the ultra-rich former Cheney crony - until he was removed from a Cheney event for being annoyingly disruptive, that is - who went all the way to the Supreme Court to gut the millionaires amendment.

As we originally reported, millionaire immigrant-basher Jack Davis has created a site that violates the copyright of Red to Blue candidate Jon Powers in the Twenty-Sixth District.

It doesn't really take a lot of ingenuity to rip off someone's web site. It takes a special level of ignorance, however, to enact the following sequence.

First, a screenshot from Davis' spoof site.

Okay, so we're all eagerly awaiting the REAL War Kids Relief story (War Kids Relief is a charity started by Powers in 2005 to help Iraqi children orphaned by the war). Well, it showed up today, as a blogspot blog, available here (h/t Phil Anderson).

You know what's really stupendous?

The new blog, already announced on a site directly claimed by the Davis campaign, complete with a disclaimer and a phone number that reaches his corporate office, claims to have no affiliation with the Davis campaign.

Right now the race is centered on the Democratic primary, which takes place on September 9th. The primary is between Jack Davis, the three time professional Congressional candidate, cooky millionaire; Jon Powers, the substitute teacher, Iraqi war hero who returned from service to start a non-profit that has a lot of questions; and Alice Kryzan, the non-existent third wheel who is irrelevant. [...]

But the real purpose of this blog is to get to the bottom or the real story about War Kids Relief out there. This isn't a pro- or anti- Jon Powers website, it's the opportunity for both sides to get information out there to dispell any questions or rumors ongoing. [Emph. added]

People, when something is announced on one of your sites, playing the "I'm just an interested citizen" card is going to make you look stupid. Whoever does Jack Davis' internet is, it would appear, really, really dumb.

Or maybe the Davis campaign feels a slight sense of shame over attacking their opponent for starting a charity that helps war orphans, who knows? Be that as it may, their fingerprints are all over this - because they announced it, with the same language used on both announcement and finished product. Really, really dumb.

As we wrote yesterday, when we broke this story, billionaire Congressional candidate Jack Davis, NY-26, has a scam web site, a direct one to one rip-off of the web site of his principal opponent, Jon Powers. The scam web site spreads disinformation and innuendo about Powers.

Jack Davis, in case you forgot, is the guy who went all the way to the Bush Supreme Court to overturn the millionaires amendment, which before he filed suit allowed people running against self-funding millionaires to raise more money from every donor.

Now he's using his undoubted financial advantage to steal the web site of a netroots candidate and, on that stolen web site, lie about him. To make sure people notice it, he's now bought Google ads on Daily Kos, TPM, MyDD, and other sites across Progressive blogdom, in clear violation of Google's Terms of Service, which forbid the advertising of spoof sites.

Support Jon Powers. He's running against a guy who's not just a millionaire, but obviously a scumbag as well. Self-funded scumbags, unfortunately, are the worst kind.

[Update]: Well, finally: two days after we broke the story, Albany Project chimes in; Buffalo Pundit was quicker, here.

There's a very compelling candidate running for the open seat in NY-26. You may have heard of him; Jon Powers is widely seen, certainly among the netroots, as the type of candidate that we want to send to Washington. Some highlights of Jon's bio include his military service in Iraq, his career as a teacher, and his founding of a charity to bring relief to Iraqi orphans of the war our country started there.

Here's a screenshot of his web site.

And here's a screenshot of a spoof web site put up by one of his opponents in the Democratic primary, one Jack Davis.

That latter site is presently being advertised on Daily Kos. It's the kind of thing put up by people who want to steal your credit card information.

Via brownsox on Daily Kos comes word of Jack Davis, officially disfavored contender in NY-26, and his newest foible.

Words fail to describe it, so please check it out, here.

And when you're done, and have calmed down somewhat, check out a real Democrat - Jon Powers for Congress.

You can't make this shit up: the Supreme Court just struck down the millionaires amendment as being too restrictive to millionaires trying to wage a campaign for public office.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has struck down the "millionaire's amendment" as an unfair way to help opponents of wealthy candidates who spend from their personal fortunes.

The law allows candidates to receive larger contributions when their wealthy opponents spend heavily from their personal fortunes.

The court says by a 5-4 vote that the law violates the First Amendment.

The law was challenged by Jack Davis, a New York Democrat who has so far spent nearly $4 million of his own money in two losing campaigns for Congress and says he will spend another $3 million this year.

Davis says the law unfairly rewards his opponents by allowing them to exceed campaign fundraising limits simply because Davis has chosen to dip into his personal funds.

In other news, you now have a constitutional right to own a handgun. Quick, guess what the majority in those decisions looked like.

There's a primary brewing the 26th Congressional District that Democrats should avoid.

The contenders are Jon Powers, an Iraq War veteran and teacher, and Jack Davis, a local businessman who ran for this seat in 2006, narrowly losing to republican incumbent Tom Reynolds. Some background on the race is sketched out by Robert Harding of The Albany Project, here.

The reason this primary should be avoided is this: it would take away resources better used elsewhere, would damage the Democratic brand, and might result in an outcome, a Davis victory, that would likely lead to defeat in November.

Why, over the fold.