Arcuri campaign strategy revealed!

[Clipper]

Sounds like Larry found his other wing and a desire to fly in a different direction now that he is not under the thumb of the self serving, left wing, liberal, back biters of Oneida County. Hopefully with each election MORE democrats will see the light and wake the hell up to the antics of the liberal left fraud dealing flunkies before it is too late.

Unfortunately, the Republican party in Oneida county is not any better. The sad fact is that Oneida County politics is simply a sewer, infested with rats of the most despicable variety. The kind of rats that can ignore the woes of the many, while funneling money to their croneys at EDGE and the Insight House, and other little pet projects that I am sure repay the kindness with one favor or another. Just ask Fiorini. In Utica it is a family and friends affair, and if you are family or a friend, you can be appointed to civil service positions without taking the proper exam, only to be appointed to new money sucking, do nothing position when the state catches up with the wrong doing.

Larry sacrificed his position on the board for the privilege of exposing the crap that goes on there. He was the unruly stepchild that the party could not gag. He went there, he saw and he exposed. I knew early on that with the way the party operates, he would NOT be re-elected. The party "Godfathers" would make sure of that.

Stoney, what you see as disloyalty to the party, is simply loyalty to his own honesty, integrity, and the principles that SHOULD rule politics and the board of legislators. He simply has found that it is not something to be found while aligned with either particular party and something that must be sought by voting for a candidate instead of a party line.

The only true answer is to be found by cleaning house. The only way to totally clean house is to vote out all the incumbents and to start over. At least then you would stand at least a 50% chance of having at least a legislature that is honest and trustworthy.

Moderation is the answer. All the far right and far left garbage is sinking the ship. Time to dump the donkeys and elephants and sincerely listen to the platforms and agendas, not the party lines. It is frigging disgusting to watch the Republicans stonewalling the Democrats, and the Democrats ramming shit through congress in backroom midnight dealings and votes.

Bush's policies may have started the fire, but electing an even more arrogant and ignorant ass to the White House was NOT the answer to the problem. All it has done is thrown kerosene on the fire of internal discontent in America.

If Bush's 8 years was a nightmare as some many think it was, adding 4 or 8 more years of Obama and his clueless attitudes and lack of diplomacy is definitely not the answer.

[stoney]

Wow. I only pointed out that he gave to Arcuri in '08 (not even 2 years ago), & now he's headed in the opposite direction. How quickly people seem to change their minds. I never said anything about allegiance to one particular party.

I agree: I highly doubt Arcuri will win this time around as too many people dislike him (for whatever reason they may have) along with the anti-liberal LOUD SCREAMERS drowning out everybody else.

You believe in your principals, Clipper, & I respect that. At least you don't talk out of both sides of your mouth & flip-flop back-and-forth like a trout out of water.

And neither do I.

P.S. And I still don't know why Mello was brought up in this.

[wilum47]

Speaking about fish out of water....What was I going to say....Ah never mind, See Clipper? Just don't seem to have that gab gift anymore.

Anyway, Arcuri's TOAST!

[bobbbiez]

The way I see it, in many elections we did vote out the incumbent and tried to start over. Voters did ignore party-lines in high hopes of change. When it comes to Arcuri and President Obama that's exactly what the voters did. No guarantee doing that we won't jump from the frying pan into the fire.

Living in Utica for 66 years I will agree politics here sucks, but as I see it no matter where one lives, politics all over this country sucks or we wouldn't be in the big mess we're ALL in now. Can't say Utica holds the blame for that alone.

[Clipper]

I don't see Larry as flip flopping as much as he has simply seen the corruption and changed his views on items of importance.

Larry was a young and fairly naive, but enthused and charged up to take up the banner for those he represented. He went into the lion's den, and it was with great disappointment, he found that HIS party was as crooked as the opposing party was, and that when he attempted to expose any corruption or to shake any trees, his own party covered their own asses and sold him down the river for the sake of maintaining the status quo.

I always liked and supported Gerry Fiorini in the past, but there is not much doubt in my mind that there was some shady crap involved in the lease deal for Insight House when it is fairly well known that he was, or is, involved in an adulterous relationship with Donna Vitigliano.

I don't consider Larry as flip flopping. I see him as getting into office, seeing the crap being perpetrated on the voters and taxpayers by both parties, and trying to right what wrongs he could, no matter how the chips might fall. Party politics may have ousted him from the board, but they cannot silence him or keep him from addressing the issues and exposing the dirt.

You may see him as a disloyal democrat, but I see him as a man dedicated only to changing the way crooked politicians do business with OUR money within the chambers of county government, no matter their party affiliation. I might say that those blindly following along party lines are being disloyal only to themselves. They need to look at the issues and who can resolve them, no matter the party, rather than propagating more financial instability for the county through their ignorance and arrogant disregard for the wishes of the taxpayer.

He may be young and he may be naive, but he is honest and he only crusades for the good of those that are USED by people like Hendricks and others in county government. He may be temporarily defeated, battered and bruised, but don't count him out. He is still around, and still watching over the shoulders of the crooks and miscreants that represent you folks up there. He still is an opponent to be dealt with, and he will still be rooting out the dirt and slime in government and blogging or posting about it on forums for a long time to come. We can read his blogs and laugh at his words if we like, but he is out there and simply putting it up there for all to view and make up their own minds about.

[dgriffin]

I agree, Bobbbiez, there's nothing all that unique about Utica politics. We have similar problems where I live. Many of the problems may be unique to New York State, of course. You can't expect fantastic local results in a dysfunctional state.

I suppose the real problem is that most people don't really care. And who can blame them? Even when their representatives do change, not much else changes. Eventually power corrupts and the spoils go to the new friends and relatives. When 100 years ago we had a ratio of voters to politicians of 1,000 to one (I'm making that up) and most people didn't pay much taxes, if any, a little graft and corruption didn't matter much. Also, the pols came from local businesses, because these owners wanted a say in how they were taxed and they wanted use of the government to further their pursuit of wealth. That at least had the effect of helping the local economy to function.

But today our politicians are professional rulers, who spend their careers dispensing favors and garnering power to themselves and their minions. Many no doubt are criminals in a clinical sense, attracted to where the money is. Today's politicians may appeal to constituents for their support , but they do not help them very much. They are monuments to self interest. Voters assume the best about candidates, and are often blindsided by the psychology of the criminal mind (Corner knows what I mean) which is very close to that of the political mind. (You would have never guessed such a nice person would steal your coat in the restaurant, and when she denied it, you were tempted to believe her because she manipulated you into believing her.)

I'm afraid the world won't be changing very soon.

Voting incumbents out the door is not a solution, but it is a start. It will certainly shake up our rulers and may improve things a bit, hopefully their ability to listen. And I don't believe it's a dangerous move. Agencies run the government, not legislators. A batch of new politicians, inexperienced and even incompetent, won't do any more damage than leaving the current crop of bums in office.

[bobbbiez]

Dave, you are 100% right but the problems will always exist because without the parties backing one will never get nominated as a candidate never mind elected.

Even if one does get elected if one attacks their party after the fact, as in Larry's case, forget about winning that position again. The parties will work very hard against you and they will succeed in ousting you, as in Larry's case.

One thing about the parties, they do have many, many dedicated workers who are willing to campaign for their candidates and the simple voter has no chance in fighting them. Especially if the simple voter is not willing to donate many, many hours of their time to get a new candidate elected.

Won't even mention the cost of one's campaign which the parties do have the finances to throw in for their candidates. Try to get a buck out of the simple voter for an unknown. Don't see that happening. Many will bitch, but won't back up their mouths with their time or their money for an unknown candidate, so we stay at the mercy of the parties and the candidates they want us to choose from. We're damned if we do and damned if we don't. So, we're back to picking the lesser of the evils in hopes we see a change that will never come as long as the parties remain in control.

[Swimmy]

I thought arcuri would lose hands down the last time around. I don't see the same momentum this time around. I'll be the only one to say that arcuri wins. Just callin' like I've seen it.

[stoney]

Good posts & good discussion.