Sleeping With The Enemy? Loyalty Questions Plague U.S. Senate Race In NY

Official Wire ^ | May 27, 2010 | Official Wire

[QueenCarlaC]

Ex-Senator D’Amato under fire for tilting election to Gillibrand at Republicans’ expense

Published on May 27, 2010

by Official Wire

(OfficialWire)

WASHINGTON, DC

While the media continues to call the New York Senate race a done deal in favor of Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, shady subplots involving her rise to prominence remain unexamined. America Outraged Political Action Committee has been seeking to expose what it calls “an egregious case of political cronyism” involving former Republican senator and political power broker Al D’Amato and Gillibrand, the daughter of a prominent lobbyist.

Among the connections:

Gillibrand's father, Doug Rutnik, a contributor mostly to the Democratic Party, “is an Albany insider and lobbyist whose ties to former GOP powerhouses Joe Bruno, George Pataki and Al D'Amato are legendary.” –Village Voice (1/22/09)

“Gillibrand won her seat [after being down 19 points] when a state police domestic violence report about the GOP incumbent, John Sweeney, was mysteriously leaked, ostensibly with the acquiescence of the Pataki administration.”—Village Voice (1/22/09)

Rutnik is also one-time boyfriend of Pataki Chief of Staff Zenia Mucha; Pataki has chosen not to run against Gillibrand even though polls showed he had the best chance.

Gillibrand worked for both D’Amato and Cuomo, who never conducted an investigation when he was attorney general of the Sweeney leak. D’Amato was front and center on the same platform with Gillibrand the night she was appointed senator.

D’Amato, who controls many country chairs that have fallen in line to support Gillibrand, has also given his own personal support to weak Republican candidate Bruce Blakeman, which could easily be viewed as gift-wrapping the election for Gillibrand.

Lynn Yowell, co-founder or America Outraged PAC, says the group recently launched “1,000+ People to STOP the D’Amato Machine!” (http://www.facebook.com/stopdamato) that seeks to find over a thousand people to “like” the page and voice their disapproval of political power broker and former U.S. Senator Al D’Amato. America Outraged has also started an educational “Stop D’Amato” blog that can be accessed at http://StopDamato.wordpress.com.

About America Outraged PAC

The mission of America Outraged PAC is to achieve accountability and responsibility in government, by communicating the voices of U.S. citizens who:

Demand accountability of those holding elected office, those appointed by elected officials, and those professing to be unbiased reporters of news and facts Demand that lawmakers read and understand the legislation they vote on Urgently require a limit on spending Oppose Congressional perks while the nation endures a severe recession Oppose bureaucrats making life-and-death decisions about individual citizens' health.

[wiggen]

Al is as dirty as they come. Its all about him and what he can get out of it.

[Theodore R.]

We all thought D’Amato would be such an improvement over Jacob K. Javits, and maybe he was, but not by much.

[QueenCarlaC]

You’ll probably find humor in this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP-MIIg6kuQ