After early ridicule, Tim Wu calls out de Blasio as "accomplice" in Hochul's voter deception

Gov. Cuomo's running mate, Kathy Hochul, supports the Keystone XL energy pipeline, which the fracking industry needs to keep expanding their water-poisoning extraction across North America

The Cuomo administration is under federal investigation for reportedly obstructing the anti-corruption work of the now-defunct Moreland Commission, and Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Mark-Viverito don't care. They're endorsing the Cuomo-Hochul ticket. Once it became clear that the self-anointed progressive Mayor Bill de Blasio was going to endorse former Rep. Kathy Hochul for lieutenant governor in this year's Democratic Party primary, the first reaction from the Teachout/Wu campaign was to give Mayor de Blasio and his enablers the room to double-cross progressive voters. Many government reform activists see Mayor de Blasio's endorsement of Ms. Hochul's campaign as a betrayal of voters' progressive sensibilities. Not only is Ms. Hochul a supporter of the fracking industry, but she has also voted to limit or roll back regulations under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. She once earned the endorsement of the N.R.A., and she also voted to repeal Obamacare while she was in Congress. Even the specter of a federal investigation into the Cuomo administration's role in reportedly obstruction the corruption-fighting work of the now-shuttered Moreland Commission hasn't stopped Mayor de Blasio and his cronies from propping up the Cuomo/Hochul ticket. Nevertheless, the Teachout/Wu campaign initially didn't want to publicly question Mayor de Blasio's motivations for planning to endorse such an abysmal and conservative record as Ms. Hochul's. However, once government reform activists began to question the Teachout/Wu's silence, the Teachout/Wu campaign took a different approach. BdB sucks. RT @Taniel: Ah what government does to you: de Blasio endorses Kathy Hochul for Lieutenant Governor. http://t.co/tPYdtVcRcF — Doug Henwood (@DougHenwood) September 3, 2014 This right here is one of biggest reasons why we never get reforms, bc politicians are situational/sleazy when it comes to elections. @Azi — Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) September 3, 2014 Pressure on the Teachout/Wu campaign kept building this morning, especially after some wise political reporters began to notice the blatant contradictions in Mayor de Blasio's spin, leading Ms. Hochul's opponent, Tim Wu, to call out Mayor de Blasio for his duplicity. Tweetdeck makes sense of NY politics. cc @superwuster @KathyHochul @MMViverito @BilldeBlasio pic.twitter.com/f4Vzx5LB5h — Azi (@Azi) September 3, 2014 In a press conference this morning, Mr. Wu reacted to news of Mayor de Blasio's impending endorsement of Ms. Hochul with some of the harshest words yet expressed of Mayor de Blasio's dishonest portrayal of Ms. Hochul as a "progressive." "When it comes down to it, Kathy Hochul's record is out there. No one can look honestly and deeply at that record and say she's a progressive Democrat," Mr. Wu said at his press conference, adding that Mayor de Blasio was "serving as an accomplice" in "misrepresenting her record." .@superwuster says De Blasio is serving as 'accomplice' to Hochul http://t.co/1GMcgNaYgn via @conorskelding — Reid Pillifant (@reidpillifant) September 3, 2014 For her part, Zephyr Teachout, Mr. Cuomo's opponent in the gubernatorial race, said, "I'm thrilled that Bill de Blasio's my mayor, I supported him, but he's wrong on this. Kathy Hochul's a conservative."

RELATED Tim Wu: Mayor de Blasio serving as ‘accomplice’ to Hochul (Capital New York) Cuomo, de Blasio Panic As Progressive Candidate Tim Wu Gains Traction (The Gothamist) Activists fear Teachout will back Cuomo in General if she loses in Primary (NYC : News & Analysis)

Sen. Ruben Diaz doesn't want to start any trouble, but ...

Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., wrote a list of "Page Six" items about corrupt political reporters.

Given the culture of corruption in local and state government in New York, Sen. Ruben Diaz has decided to instead focus on corrupt political reporters by writing a round-up of riddles that allude to journalists who practise compromised media ethics.

His list is a form of pushback on how everybody assumes that only politicians are corrupt, but nobody considers the ethics of political reporters. Here are some of his "blind items" :

• Rumor has it that there are some folks in the media who do some pretty manipulative (and illegal) things behind the scenes, and I have to wonder, who investigates them.
• Rumor has it that there may be a radio personality in New York who uses his influence on the morning airwaves to push for his candidate for one of the 2013 Primary races, and that candidate may happen to be his partner. There’s no call to investigate if this is happening, or if the use of that in-kind-service-like air time for a family member is something the campaign financial board should take a close look at.
• Rumor has it that there may be a political reporter on TV who uses his evening air time for political maneuvering that may be right in line with the political will of his spouse, who might be found on the top of a list of the most politically influential New Yorkers. There’s no call to investigate those maneuverings.
• Rumor has it that there may be a Spanish language newspaper whose editorial board blocks the coverage of certain Hispanic elected officials who champion Hispanic New Yorkers, only because these elected officials will not cave in to the publication’s radical agendas. There’s no call to investigate if this is happening, and if the abuse of power by this type journalism is fraudulent or corrupt.
• Rumor has it that there may be a polling company that, more than one month before the Democratic Primary, decided to exclude in its poll the name of the only Latino candidate who is running for Mayor in New York City. There’s no call to investigate if such manipulative tactics to remove a candidate’s name from the race is, in fact, happening – and what consequences there may be if this is racist behavior.
• Rumor has it that there may be a political commentator who has freely and frequently used vulgarities and disparaging remarks on live television about Catholic Church leaders and about an elected official or two – and we all know that if any elected official used that language or attacked the Catholic Church, there would be serious consequences. There’s no call to evaluate the obvious mental instability of this type of commentator, and there is no investigation to find out if television sponsors who pay to air these types of broadcasts are comfortable sponsoring this kind of hate-speech.
• Rumor has it that there may be an editor in the print media who uses his power or influence even when he knows that he is lying to ruin the reputation of someone in elected office who may have offended the editor by holding a differing view. There’s no call to investigate the personal and professional damage that editor may have caused.
• Rumor has it that there may be a powerful political reporter who had once chummed up to a top elected official in New York State, using all of his resources to fawn over and sing the praises of that official, until the elected official took a differing position on a matter or two. There’s no call to investigate the abuse of journalism when these kinds of reporters use their columns and radio time to obviously attack elected officials when they turn a corner and personally disagree with them.
• Rumor has it that there may be a powerful political reporter from one of New York’s tabloids who accepts money and favors from elected officials when the elected officials want to get a bill passed in order to get covered. Rumor also has it that this same reporter goes out of his way to expose elected officials who take bribes. There’s no call to investigate this type of hypocrisy and bribery in the media.
• Rumor has it that some very powerful editorial boards in New York City that rightly condemn DWI cases, host Christmas parties where the hosts of the parties and even some of their ace reporters climb in behind the wheel to drive home after drinking too much at these events. There’s no call to investigate this type of hypocrisy or illegal behavior, even when they are putting people’s lives at risk.
• Rumor has it that there may be several journalists in New York who boast about what balanced and objective journalists they are, and even though they try to keep their writing balanced, they Tweet in professional capacity to spew their contempt for elected officials and issues they oppose. There’s no call for these journalists to stop lying to themselves or for anyone to investigate their apparent dual personalities.

Read more : Ruben Diaz’s Has Some Blind Items For The Press !

Quinn Flip Flops On Outside Campaign Finance Corruption

With State Senator Brad Hoylman at her side, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that she was changing her mind about accepting the corruptive influence of outside campaign money to help boost her sagging bid in this year's mayoral race.

In April, Speaker Quinn denounced the use of outside campaign money, sometimes called "independent expenditures" to soften the sound of corruption. That was back when Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign was ahead in the polls. But then in late June, once Speaker Quinn's campaign began a sharp nose-dive, she welcomed the assistance of outside campaign money.

Meanwhile, it was Speaker Quinn who supported loosening restrictions on the role of corporations in being able to spend money to influence municipal elections when she watered down the city's campaign finance laws.

CityTime Protest Rally Today

Shirley Huntley Corruption Scandal

New York State Sen. Shirley Huntley, who is ''inbetween on equality,'' faces multiple corruption investigations.

Sen. Shriley Huntley (D-Queens) was among the state senators, who voted to deny marriage equality in 2009. Now, she is facing two corruption investigations for steering $400,000 in taxpayer money to shady ''non-profit'' groups that are connected to her and to her family.

First, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating Sen. Huntley for directing thousands of dollars in discretionary ''member item'' budget monies to questionable non-profit groups.

Now, Sen. Huntley has received a federal subpoena in connection with a new investigation of her use of the New York State Legislature's scandalous ''member item'' system of budgetary earmarks that are constantly used by legislators to reward political allies -- and to enrich themselves.

After a previous vote for marriage equality failed in the New York Senate, activists said that they would target Democratic legislators, like Sen. Huntley, who voted against marriage equality.

Accountability Needed Over 200,000 Missing Votes Scandal

One Month after November Midterm Election, 200,000 Missing Votes Are Found in NYC

New York voters held Mayor John Lindsay accountable for not plowing the streets of snow after a severe winter storm in 1969 dumped 15 inches of snow. But what do you do with a mayor, who's administration misplaces 200,000 votes ?

Just like voters held Mayor Lindsay accountable for snow removal, voters need to hold Mayor Bloomberg accountable for voting irregularities and potentially tainted election results.