Can "Ex"-Blue Dog Steve Israel Be Beaten... Preferably In A Primary?

When making an excuse for reappointing Israel chairman of the DCCC, despite his dismal failure in 2012, the nicest thing Nancy Pelosi could muster to say about his abilities was that he's "reptilian." Although he claims he performed so horrifically in 2012 because his wife was divorcing him, he doesn't seem to have learned a thing and is leading the Democrats to doom again-- forcing vulnerable freshmen far to the right of their Democratic bases which is likely to lead to the Great New Dem Apocalypse of 2014 for almost identical reasons the DCCC brought on the Great Blue Dog Apocalypse of 2010.

Though I was born in Brooklyn, a good part of my childhood-- as well as all of my college years-- was spent on Long Island. I know Steve Israel's district better than the back of my hand. And don't be surprised if voters there oust him. All it would take is a plausible opponent-- either in a primary or in a general election. And while I'd rather see a progressive Democrat take him down, I'd be almost as happy to see a Republican beat him if the Democrats can't get it together to clean up their own mess.

Obama won all three Long Island districts, though not by much-- and underperformed his 2008 totals in all 3. He did better in Peter King's NY-02 than in Israel's NY-03.

• NY-01- Obama- 49.6- 49.1%
• NY-02- Obama- 51.6- 47.2%
• NY-03- Obama- 50.8- 48.2%

While Patty Murray was leading the DSCC from one jaw-dropping victory to another in state after state, cleaning up against the Republicans last November, Israel was losing, losing and losing-- losing everywhere as all his ill-conceived strategies-- starting with pathetic recruitment and even worse targeting--- failed dismally (albeit predictably). And while this was going down, he was occupied fighting with his wife over the spoils of personal corruption... and working with his donors at JPMorgan Chase on a short sale of his Dix Hills home that included a convenient $93,000 bribe from one of the worst bankster outfits on Wall Street.

The original mortgage lenders to Congressman Steve Israel made over $50,000 in campaign contributions to Steve Israel for Congress and more to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee he chairs.

Of two original loans to the Congressman and his ex-wife for the Dix Hills home they recently sold in a short sale, one was from Homebridge Mortgage Bankers Corp. The company went bankrupt in 2008 and is currently the subject of numerous lawsuits. Two of the loans they got to refinance the home a year later were both from Homebridge.

Records show Homebridge Chairman and President, Nicholas A. Bratsafolis and his wife Michelle, gave $21,000 to the Steve Israel for Congress Committee and his New York Jobs PAC between 2003 and 2007.

Another listed President of Homebridge Mortgage, David Pankin, from Plainview, contributed $3,500 to the Steve Israel for Congress Committee between 2003 and 2005.

Together, Bratsafolis and Pankin also contributed more than $35,000 dollars to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, chaired by Israel.

According to Stephen Labate, Congressman Israel’s GOP challenger in the November election for the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District, “The donations tied to the loans raise serious questions of insider sweetheart deals.”

In July of 2004, Congressman Israel and his wife, Suffolk County Family Court Judge, Marlene Budd, purchased the Dix Hills home with two mortgages: one from Homebridge for $464,000 dollars and another from National City Bank for $57,950 dollars. Congressman Israel paid a down payment of $58,050 dollars or roughly 10% on the original purchase.

In August of 2005, Congressman Israel and his wife, refinanced with Homebridge, getting two loans from them, one for $508,000 and one for $63,500 dollars totaling $571,500 for the house they bought for $580,000 dollars in 2004. They satisfied the original loans when they refinanced.

“It is more than curious that just a year after purchasing the home, the congressman refinanced the home at 98.5% of the original purchase price from a mortgage lender whose principle owners just happen to be major donors to the congressman and his party.” according to Chris Thompson, Mr. Labate’s campaign manager. The Israel camp did not respond when asked how much, if any, down payment was part of the refinance deal in 2005.

In October of 2006, Congressman Israel and his wife got another mortgage on the same property for $105,000 dollars from JP Morgan Chase. That brought the total in 2006 to $675,500 dollars for the three mortgages on the Long Island home. In 2006, they also purchased an apartment in Washington, D.C. for approximately $416,000 dollars.

The house in Dix Hills sold recently for $460,000 dollars. In early October, the New York Post ran a story revealing JP Morgan Chase forgave $93,000 dollars on Israel’s “underwater mortgage.” The Israel campaign does not deny the amount and the fact of the JP Morgan Chase loan forgiveness.

Congressman Israel voted in 2008 to bailout JP Morgan Chase with $25 billion, through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).  JP Morgan paid back the loan with interest.  GOP strategists argue they may have paid back Congressman Israel by forgiving the $93,000 debt he still owed on his “underwater loan” to them.  The Israel camp denies any special treatment and insists that all transactions were above board and by the book.

Ed Cox, the New York State GOP Chairman, released a statement after the New York Post  article responding to the loan forgiveness.  

“On the surface it would appear that he would not qualify for such a reduction, so we asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate the circumstances that surround what looks to be a highly questionable transaction and a potential abuse of power.”

...“Short sale listings on Long Island per MLS (for the period 1/1/12-10/10/12) were 3,348 out of 30,526 total listings. That calculates to 10.9% not the 14.5% offered by the Israel campaign,” according to Mr. Thompson [campaign manager for his 2012 Republican opponent]. “Looking only at homes over $450,000 the number falls to less than 1% and Mr. Israel’s home was 1 of only 246 homes in that price range” he added.

Congressman Israel will not have to pay taxes on the cancellation of debt, because the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, (HR 3648,110th Congress), was extended through 2012 by the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Steve Israel voted for.

Before the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, anytime a lender, would write down (or forgive) the borrower’s debt to accommodate a settlement, they were required to report the amount of the write-down to the IRS and it could be considered income to the borrower. Treated as income the written-down amount becomes taxable and would need to be reported on the 1040 tax return. Normally, if a person gets debt forgiveness on an unsecured debt like a credit card, he must pay taxes on it. A temporary measure, The Mortgage Debt Relief Act was to expire, but thanks to the extension of the act through 2012, something Congressman Israel voted for, he will not have to pay taxes on the $93,000 JP Morgan Chase forgave.

Family Court Judge Marlene Budd and Congressman Israel have a combined income of over $300,000. Records show they purchased a 2nd home in Washington D.C. in February 2006.  Two mortgages were taken out on the D.C. apartment from Wachovia Bank: one for $56,667 and another for $302,228 for a total of $358,895. This apartment is not currently listed for sale as reported in Newday recently.

The total mortgage debt on their two homes in October of 2006 was about one million dollars.  Without including any credit card debt they might have had, their debt equity would be greater than the norms allowed for a conventional mortgage at their pay grade, according to the Labate campaign.

Democratic New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, has a televised campaign ad touting the new “Stock Act” she recently passed-- banning insider trading in the stock market by members of Congress based on information they get as members of influential committees. “Members of Congress should play by the exact same rules as families like yours.”

Some Republican’s are questioning whether Mr. Israel who has represented the 2nd Congressional District since 2001 and is now running for the 3rd CD, is playing by the same rules as his own constituents when it comes to his mortgage.

According to Stephen Labate,  “Since the story of the Congressman’s short sale broke, voters all across our district have been expressing their outrage, both to me and to our campaign volunteers.  Many have relayed their personal stories of financial duress and being turned away by their mortgage lenders when they sought relief. Voters are tired of the insider deals our elected officials cut for themselves and I believe they will voice their discontent at the polls on Election Day.”

Election Day came and went and Labate wasn't deemed a plausible candidate by the voters. Israel has portions of three counties. He won them all, although underperformed in the parts of the district, Nassau and Suffolk, where they knew him best.

• Nassau- 62,180 (56%)
• Suffolk- 51,903 (57%)
• Queens- 22,604 (65%)

The new 3rd District includes the Queens neighborhoods of Whitestone, Beechhurst, Little Neck, Douglaston, Fort Totten, Bay Terrace and (a portion of Bayside). On Long Island, Israel's new district lost the towns of Babylon and Islip from his old district. He retains the Town of Huntington and a small western portion of the Town of Smithtown from the previous district. In Nassau County, the district now includes Oyster Bay, Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington, Roslyn, Williston Park, Floral Park and New Hyde Park.

Previously a D+8 district, Israel's is now one of only 9 in the whole country rated exactly EVEN, not an R+1 like Peter King's to the south and not a D+1 like Frank LoBiondo's in New Jersey. So Israel had to actually campaign for himself last year. His first instinct, of course, was to throw President Obama under the bus.

“I’ve had disagreements with President (Barack) Obama over certain things,” Israel said. “I have agreements with him on other things, but on the disagreements I’m able to talk to him face to face because I’m in leadership and say ‘we need to do better on this.’”

A source of debate with Obama has been the “Bush tax cuts.”

Obama wants to eliminate the cuts for people earning more than $250,000 each year. Israel said he believes the cut off should be higher in areas of the country that are more expensive to live in.

“Well, $250,000 may make you rich in Hastings, Nebraska, but it does not make you rich in Huntington, Long Island,” Israel said. “I’ve had an argument with (Obama) that we ought to adjust the tax code to reflect the local cost of living.”

Although many Long Island residents are annually among the nation’s highest earners, Israel said the elevated cost of utility bills, property taxes and a high cost of living can make for difficult financial situations for residents of his district.

“Being chairman of the DCCC... puts me in the Oval Office where I can say to the president ‘Rich is relative, Mr. President and I wish you would understand that,’” Israel said.

He won but this cycle the NRCC has said they will target him and spend money trying to defeat him if they can recruit a credible candidate. I wish them all the luck in the world.

How could anyone vote for Steve Israel? He represents the wealthy people of his district-- and only the wealthy people of his disrict. Meet his constituents:

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New York GOP: Cruzin' For A Bruisin'

I know that the New York State Republican Party had a golden age... but it wasn't during the 20 years I lived in New York-- nor in the decades since. Currently there isn't one statewide Republican elected official-- nor has there been one since George Pataki. Last month, NY blogger Morgan Pehme summed up the party's dilemma pretty well.

Election Day in 2012 was one of the bleakest in the history of the New York State Republican Party.

Propelled by an Obama landslide in New York—the president’s best showing in any state except Vermont and Hawaii-- the Democrats trounced their opposition all the way down the ballot.

Kirsten Gillibrand, once considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the U.S. Senate, amassed a startling 72 percent of the vote, the highest percent total of any statewide candidate in New York history. At the same time, Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, a Tea Party darling, was drummed out of office, Rep. Nan Hayworth was defeated in a stunner, and Rep. Tom Reed, who was expected to cruise to re-election, only narrowly staved off a strong challenge from his previously unknown opponent.

In the state Legislature, the story was just as dreary. Despite the Vito Lopez scandal that had wounded Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Democrats rolled to victory in the lower chamber, regaining the “veto-proof” supermajority they had lost in 2010. And in the Senate, long the lone bright spot statewide for the GOP, the Republicans lost their pure majority, watching much ballyhooed candidates like Sean Hanna and Bob Cohen go down in flames, and even, after a razor-thin recount, George Amedore, for whom the party had gerrymandered the newly created 63rd Senate seat specifically for him to win.

In the devastating aftermath, a host of political observers declared the state Republican Party dead-- or at least on life support.

As Baruch College professor Doug Muzzio put it to the Daily News, “It is not extinct, but it is comatose.”

Beyond the results of Election Day, there was-- and continues to be-- ample reason to draw this conclusion. With the party suffering from a registration deficit statewide that has grown to a gaping 2.5-to-1 in favor of the Democrats, the last time the Republican nominee for president prevailed in New York was 1984, when Ronald Reagan swept every state in the union save for Walter Mondale’s home turf of Minnesota.

...In many ways, things have never looked worse for the state Republican Party-- once a breeding ground for giants like Teddy Roosevelt, Fiorello La Guardia, Thomas Dewey, Nelson Rockefeller and Jacob Javits.

“We have hit rock bottom,” laments New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich, one of the Republican Party’s promising state Senate candidates who went down to defeat in 2012. “The only place we can go is up.”

Actually not. The state party, according to the conservative NY Daily News could sink New York's Republican Party. Short version: their guest of honor to the annual party dinner is Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Two choices are offered to New York Republican Chairman Ed Cox: Cancel plans to have Texas Sen. Ted Cruz headline the party’s annual dinner or speed the GOP’s long demise in the state. In featuring Cruz as the prime speaker at the May 29 affair, Cox has entered a death embrace with New York’s political Public Enemy No. 1 of the moment.

Cruz represents the unthinking, doctrinaire strain of conservatism that doomed Mitt Romney’s electoral chances, such as they were, and threatened to alienate Republicans from key voting blocs, including Cruz’s fellow Hispanics.

He will be toxic to any hope that New York’s GOP might regain even slight relevance.

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, Cruz threatened to filibuster any and all reasonable gun control measures, up to and including background checks for purchases at gun shows.

With breathtaking callousness, he called the families of Newtown victims-- those mothers and fathers wrenched with pain-- “political props” for the Obama administration because many of them had stepped up to petition Congress for legislation aimed at stemming gun violence.

After superstorm Sandy devastated New York and New Jersey, Cruz voted against federal recovery funding, calling the urgently needed aid package “wasteful.”

This was typical of the GOP response, which prompted Long Island Republican Rep. Pete King to scream that his fellow legislators were “more and more taking on this anti-Northeast attitude.”

King followed up Tuesday, saying of Cruz: “He went out of his way to attack New York on the bill. It’s a little early to forgive and forget.”

King continued: “There were really false and phony charges made against the Sandy aid, and if Ted Cruz had prevailed, my constituents would be homeless.”

Extra bonus for hypocrisy-- after that fertilizer plant explosion leveled much of West, Tex., Cruz had the gall to demand that the federal government devote “all available resources” to help the stricken area.

Now, he is fighting to sink the bipartisan immigration reform plan that’s searching for support in Congress; he wants a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants to be “taken off the table.”

Let’s review the vital stats of the state party as led by Cox.

Having hemorrhaged clout for years, the GOP holds not a single statewide office.

Its last foothold in Albany-- control of the state Senate-- hangs by the slender thread of alliances with renegade Democrats.

More embarrassing still, two ranking Republican officials in the city have been indicted on charges of trying to rig the mayoral primary-- diminishing the party’s shot at winning City Hall.

Whether this Tea Partyer-in-chief will sell many tickets to Cox’s $1,000-a-plate dinner ($5,000 for a photo opportunity) at the Grand Hyatt remains to be seen. But scrounging to fill the organization’s depleted coffers will come at the price of branding the party and its candidates as pariahs.

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