I woke up this morning to a very pleasant surprise from my local paper (in this red county).
http://www.recordonline.com/...
The Times-Herald Record has endorsed Sue Kelly, the Republican, in the past, but is acknowledging her back-bencher, rubber-stamping of failed right-wing policies.
Kelly came into Congress a dozen years ago with the Newt Gingrich-led GOP sweep and its famous "Contract With America" that promised reform of how the House of Representatives was run by Democrats. For her part, Kelly reserved the right to pick and choose on the contract, but pledged to work for "a smaller, smarter government which is more accountable to the American people." The GOP-led federal government may be many things, but smaller, smarter and more accountable are not among them. Kelly's sin is not necessarily that her vision has not been realized, but that she almost unfailingly defends what has been delivered instead.
It also canned her "I bring home the bacon" statements as the fluff they are.
Sorry, congresswoman, the I've-brought-home-the-bacon argument is not enough this year. Not when Americans are demanding accountability for a costly botched war and are anxious about a federal government that seems to operate without any checks and balances. She says looking back at Iraq, on which she has supported the president, is "second-guessing." Hall more accurately describes it as "avoiding responsibility."
I hope this is the start of an avalanche of newspaper endorsements in the district. I look forward to hearing from the Journal-News (Gannett) and the Poughkeepsie Journal.
And I'm canvassing in Goshen today!
Go John Hall!
Send him some love if you can:
http://www.johnhallforcongress.com