Sources: Breslin on tap to be deputy leader

Breslin tapped deputy leader
ALBANY -- Sen. Neil Breslin has been tapped as deputy leader of the 26-member Democratic Conference, a post that requires him to coordinate the legislative flow on the chamber floor and serve as the second-in-command to Minority Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn. "I think it brings honor to the County of Albany that I have been selected as deputy minority leader, but it also means that I will have a great deal of work to do to make sure that we get out of the $10 billion Deficit while at the same ...

Here And Now
President Obama, who was supposed to be in Schenectady today, is headed to Tuscon, Az. tomorrow to attend a memorial service for the Saturday Shooting Victims. House members are considering adopting an enhanced security system that would make it easier for them to receive protection at home in their districts. “I believe Gun Ownership is an individual fundamental right,” Rep. Tom Reed said. “And regardless of the Regulation and prohibition you put on it, weapons are a fact of...

Reports Claim Spitzer's Co-Host Is Leaving CNN Show
Please, please, let CNN consider former Governor David Paterson or wily Republican operative Roger Stone as potential co-hosts: The rumors are rampant about the fate of CNN Talk Show Parker|Spitzer—namely, whether co-host Kathleen Parker will be around for much longer. The Wall Street Journal and Post both reports that the conservative columnist is on her way out, though a CNN spokeswoman says, "We aren't going to engage in speculation. The show continues to improve and we think it is a ...

Legislature convenes amid wintry blast
Snow and sleet did not delay the constitutionally mandated opening of the 2011 General Assembly Monday, and in the first two hours leaders in the Senate stripped the Lieutenant Governor of much of his power and House members easily re-elected David Ralston as Speaker. Ga. Politics news, helpful links PolitiFact Georgia » Ray McBerry: "You’ll find blacks in almost every regiment throughout the South who fought right alongside white Southerners," during the Civil War. One-h...

Pay shrinks under Sandoval
CARSON CITY -- Gov. Brian Sandoval's staff members will be paid less than their counterparts were paid under Nevada's last cost-cutting Governor. Sandoval on Monday released the annual salaries of his office staff. The Personnel Department, in response to a request, released the pay of Cabinet members. The information shows his Chief of Staff, former Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno, will be paid $124,988 a year, which is less than the $133,340 that Gov. Jim Gibbons paid his Chief ...

NOM To Spend $100K Opposing Marriage in Rhode Island
In his inaugural address last week, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chaffee declared his support for marriage equality in the state. “Lincoln Chafee got just 36% of the vote in the recent election, and fewer Popular Votes than the Cool Moose Party’s Candidate for Lieutenant Governor,” said Christopher Plante, Executive Director of NOM-RI. “Our message is that getting 36% of the vote is no mandate to redefine the institution of marriage for all of Rhode Island society.&rdquo...;

Gavin Newsom changes offices at last
Gavin Newsom finally gave up his title as San Francisco's mayor and was sworn in as the state's 49th Lieutenant Governor Monday afternoon by his dad, Bill Newsom , a retired state judge. Newsom, who delayed his swearing-in by a week so that the new Board of Supervisors that took office Saturday could appoint his successor, addressed state lawmakers and many of his former department heads (including newly minted District Attorney George Gascón and the man who will be mayor, Ed Lee ). Newsom eve...

Christie To Deliver State of the State Speech
TRENTON, N.J. (AP/CBS New York) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will lay out his plans for overhauling teacher tenure, school choice and the Public Pension system in his First State of the State address Tuesday. The Republican Governor says there won’t be any big surprises as he sticks to key initiatives. Christie says he’ll also touch upon the accomplishments of the past year, which include enacting a 2 percent Property Tax cap and passing an austere Budget with few chan...

The Weekend That Was
A troubled 22-year-old College Student, Jared Lee Loughner, has been charged with trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, during a shootout that left 20 people wounded, six of them fatally. Here’s the Criminal Complaint against Loughner, who acted alone. Giffords lived through the attack and remains in critical condition. Giffords’ Chief of Staff is a Saratoga Springs native and was not hurt in the shootout. The House called a halt to all work in Washington. Being in the ...

To The State Senate Renegade Go The (Bigger Office) Spoils, At Least For Now
In what appears to be the most public perk of telling Senate Minority Leader John Sampson to take his leadership and shove it, Dissident Sen. Jeff Klein has some new official digs: The office space formerly occupied by Sen. Tom Libous when he was deputy minority leader. The head of the new four-person Independent Democratic Caucus, who was formerly Sampson's deputy Majority Leader, has moved into 413 Cap, as LoHud noted today. "It's clear that independence for Jeff Klein comes with...

Tributes mark Congress' week ahead
Legislative action in the House will come to a standstill this week following the shooting Saturday of 20 people, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), at a "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson. The lower chamber is not in session Monday, but House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood requested Sunday that all members of Congress, Staffers and visitors present on the House side of the Capitol join President Obama and the country at 11 a.m. in observing a moment of silence for the Victims...

Davis garners major endorsements
Two key General Assembly leaders endorsed Hank Davis in Tuesday's Special Election for the Virginia Senate. Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw said Davis has been a great Candidate on the Campaign Trail, and praised him for being able to raise the money the Chatham resident needs to win - most of it from local sources. Davis raised about $54,000 roughly in a month as of Dec. 31. "Hank Davis has done an outstanding job raising money given the short amount of time to campaign," Saslaw said...

General Assembly opens despite ice and snow
State senators and representatives slogged through the snow and ice, mostly from downtown hotels rather than driving in, and opened the General Assembly by electing chamber officers and making a few opening political gambits in the Senate. Ga. Politics news, helpful links PolitiFact Georgia » Ray McBerry: "You’ll find blacks in almost every regiment throughout the South who fought right alongside white Southerners," during the Civil War. Fifty-two of the 56 senators unani...

Centrist group seeks to turn down the temperature, foster bipartisanship
Domenico Montanaro writes: In the wake of the shootings in Arizona, the head of the Centrist group Third Way penned a letter to congressional leaders with suggestions of ways to turn down the temperature on political Rhetoric and build more Bipartisanship. 1. Mixed (Bipartisan) seating at the SOTU, to avoid the spectacle of one side jumping up to applaud and the other sitting glumly. 2. A bipartisan retreat for each house of Congress. 3. Regular visits to the district/state of a member of a diff...

Three Steps to a More Civil Congress?
Third Way, the Centrist Democratic group, sent a letter to Congressional leaders on Monday outlining some suggestions to help promote civility in Congress and perhaps help moderate the nation’s overall political discourse. The letter was in response to the shooting rampage in Arizona over the weekend that killed six people, and gravely wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who is an honorary chairwoman of Third Way. The proposed steps include mixed, Bipartisan seating in the House cham...

Tributes to mark the week ahead in Congress
Legislative action in the House will come to a standstill this week following the shooting Saturday of 20 people, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), at a "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson. The lower chamber is not in session Monday, but House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood requested Sunday that all members of Congress, Staffers and visitors present on the House side of the Capitol join President Obama and the country at 11 a.m. in observing a moment of silence for...

The Morning Plum
* Obama steps up: The President is set to travel to Arizona tomorrow to attend the Funeral service of the Shooting Victims, and he is expected to give a Speech about tolerance, a theme he may reprise in the State of the Union address. But Obama's advisers are uncertain about the exact message he should send: It is not clear whether ideology motivated the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, and Obama's advisers may conclude it unwise for the president to lecture the nation on mutual respect -- whi...

Elsewhere: What to do About the Millionaires?
Did inflamed Rhetoric on the right contribute to the Giffords shooting? Eric Schneiderman weighed in on the Arizona tragedy, saying "I will continue to talk about the need to implement common-sense measures to prevent these types of catastrophes, including keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of those with severe Mental Illness." Tom Libous and Shelly Silver didn't rule out extending the Millionaire's tax. Tom DeLay got three years. Jared Lee Loughner's mugshot. Loughner was a registered...

Labor Leaders, Selected Democrats Celebrate at DiNapoli's Swearing-In
On Sunday afternoon, after a moment of silence for the shootings in Arizona, and before he got choked up talking about his immigrant grandfather, state Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli thanked everyone who filled the Great Hall at Cooper Union to celebrate his first statewide election. "I'm delighted to share this swearing-in—the others were practice, I explained to Judge Lippman—because this is with family and friends, and people who I want to be with," DiNapoli said. DiNapoli official...

How Can Republicans Hate the Individual Mandate?
The individual Health Care mandate is a conservative concept that Conservatives now say they despise. What gives? By Eliot Spitzer Slate.com Posted Monday, Jan. 10, 2011 When Congress returns to work after pausing to reflect on the horror of the Arizona shootings, Health Care Repeal will top the agenda for Speaker John Boehner and the Republican Party. "ObamaCare" galvanized opposition to the Obama presidency within Republican and independent ranks. And few issues within Health Care generate s...

Eliot Spitzer Doesn't Know Any Republicans
3) that there are good reasons to think that any plan involving an Individual Mandate will raise costs by more than this amount. My point is not that Spitzer should find these claims persuasive; just that he should be familiar with them. Hon. John M. Roll, R.I.P. Suddenly, 2012 has a new must-watch race: The election of sheriff in Pima County, Arizona. In 2008, Clarence Drupnik won Reelection . . . Go Two big things in the news today: 1. California is expected to reveal its state Budget. I cann...

On CNN, Weak Parker Spitzer Outperforms Slumping Anderson Cooper
Cable news Ratings, January 7, 2011: •On the same day news surfaces that CNN execs may be looking to shuffle hosts on the poorly performing (and soon to be key lead in to Piers Morgan Tonight) Parker Spitzer, the Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker hosted show wasn’t the weak spot on CNN’s Primetime schedule. Parker Spitzer attracted 137,000 viewers 25-54 (coming in fourth place), a full 30,000 viewers stronger than Anderson Cooper’s AC 360 Special at 9 p.m. and 17,000 viewers ...

Town may reverse opposition to tax cap
CANTON — Last month, the Town Council agreed — at the suggestion of its state association — to oppose Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's proposal for a 2 percent annual cap on property taxes. Now, it's not so sure. Supervisor David T. Button likes what he has seen in Gov. Cuomo so far, so he asked his board Monday to rescind its opposition. "I think Cuomo gets it," Mr. Button said. "I walked away from the State of the State believing we have turned a corner and might see some re...

Report: CNN May Replace Kathleen Parker On Parker Spitzer
According to a report posted tonight on the website of The Wall Street Journal, CNN is considering replacing Kathleen Parker, co-host of the Ratings-challenged Parker Spitzer. The WSJ story quotes unnamed sources who say a new co-host could be named to join Eliot Spitzer as part of a major overhaul of the show, which has floundered in the ratings since its debut three months ago. CNN’s Primetime programs performed poorly in 2010, which marked the network’s worst ratings performance ...

Eliot Spitzer
That seems crazy. Kathryn, you and 4 other people actually saw what Spitzer had to say. Thankfully his idiocy has been contained. Well, over on MSNBC the irony meter just spiked as Sheriff Dupnik repeated his complaint about Extremist Rhetoric to an eager Keith Olberman who did his "I'm a soft puppy, aren't I" act. Not as crazy as sleeping with Prostitutes while sitting as NY Governor. Let's face it, on the crazy spectrum, Spitzer enjoys immense bandwidth....