Congressional Quarterly has decided that the John Hall-Sue Kelly race in NY's 19Cd is more competitive and adjusted its assessment of the district to "leans Republican." The shift was based, in part, on Kelly's connection to the problems of Mark Foley. When issues of Mr. Foley's contact with House Pages first was brought to the attention of Republican leaders in the House of Representatives in 2000, Sue Kelly was the Chair of the committee overseeing the House Page program. Review the CQ article, here. Sue Kelly's failed leadership in the Foley fiasco gets local coverage as well: (via Ben Smith) the Middletown Times-Herald Record has this report. See Sue Kelly's reply in Susan Elan's article in the Journal News. Sue Kelly's votes against veterants were at issue at a Beacon, NY veterns' speak out and press conference Wednesday. The Hall campaign outlined Sue Kelly's anti-vet. votes: "*Cut access to disability and retirement benefits (HR 1588, 11/6/03); *Denied military reservists’ access to TRICARE health care that active-duty military members receive (HR 1815, 5/25/05); *Stopped $3.6 billion of funding for quality of life enhancement for US military personnel (HR 3289, 10/16/03); *Opposed a job-training program to assist unemployed veterans returning from overseas service in Afghanistan and Iraq (HR 27, 3/2/05); *Also opposed $50 million for job training programs and $100 million health care funds for veterans (HR 1268, 3/16/05). Worst of all, Kelly voted twice against bankruptcy protection for active military personnel and veterans (S 256, 4/14/05 and S 1920, 1/28/04). At the same time, she was receiving tens of thousands of dollars from financial organizations that prey on our armed forces. Because of her absence of support for veterans’ programs, Kelly has been given a big “thumb’s down” from veterans groups. The Disabled American Veterans, for instance, has slammed Kelly with a zero rating three years in a row for her votes against health care, disability and retirement benefits for veterans."