Declaring that “Members of Congress should never be able to take advantage of their positions to make a profit trading stocks,” U.S.Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has introduced bipartisan legislation to ban members of Congress, senior executive branch officials, and their families from holding and trading stocks. Her Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act would make sure government leaders put the interests of the American public first and would impose harsh penalties on those who violate the law.

Can a TCDC member publicly support a Democratic candidate who lost their primary? Now that the 2023 primary season in Tompkins County is over, congratulations are in order for the Democratic candidates. They have shown great commitment to the democratic process, spending weeks reaching out to voters, defining their position on the issues and sharing their ideas about governing. Primary winners are now considered Democratic nominees. They advance to the next stage—the General Election—with the full support and recognition of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee (TCDC), which comprises members of the town and ward committees. Over the past few weeks there have been inquiries about TCDC’s role in endorsing candidates. People have asked how they might publicly support a Democratic nominee’s opponent. As TCDC members, we are governed by By-law Article VII, Section 2: “A member or officer of the County Committee will be removed, upon two-thirds vote of the County Committee for corruption in office, or for publicly supporting the opponent of a duly nominated Democratic candidate for public office after notice and charges to be brought by the Executive Committee to be heard by the full County Committee.” Carrying out this process would be arduous. It would require […]

Note: This message about the ERA has been updated and will run in Tompkins Weekly as the August Democratic View. Be sure to look for it this week! One Hundred Years Later, Let’s Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment! Older Democrats will remember the push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1970s and 1980s. How many of us remember that the ERA was first proposed a century ago? You can relive that historical moment at the ERA Centennial March and Rally in nearby Seneca Falls, where the amendment was first introduced on July 21, 1923. The march and rally are the final events of the first day of the ERA Centennial Convention, to be held July 21 and 22. We’ve made enormous strides toward elevating the status of women and people across the gender spectrum since 1923. Yet here we are in the 21st century, facing attacks on our rights at the federal, state and local levels. Clearly, there is still work to be done. The distinct absence of an explicit prohibition against sex discrimination in the Constitution remains the key impediment to attaining gender equality and women’s progress overall. The ERA is an important tool that will […]

In keeping with his efforts to paint himself as a moderate, Congressman Marc Molinaro continues to straddle the political divide by touting his nice-guy persona on social media while simultaneously voting for partisan GOP priorities. Some of Molinaro’s recent votes include a vote in favor of gridlock such as HR 277, which would require Congress to approve many new rules generated by the executive branch before they could take effect; a vote in favor of legislation that would prevent new regulations pertaining to gas stoves from taking effect, and a vote in favor of censuring Adam Schiff. Molinaro won’t say a word about the egregious behavior of Donald Trump, the GOP’s de facto leader. Instead, he voted to punish the colleague—Representative Schiff—who brought Trump’s misbehavior to light. How is that “moderate?” by Ann Reichlin

The July Democratic View opinion column in Tompkins Weekly notes that the Democratic Party isn’t perfectly inclusive—yet. But we actively promote inclusivity, diversity and equity, because we thrive best as a nation when we’re not busy trying to hold each other down—or keep each other out. Read it here. by Claudia Wheatley

We believe in democracy. We believe in history. We believe in human rights. And we will prevail. Some of us were born Democrats. We are the children and grandchildren of Americans who came of age in the Depression, when Franklin Roosevelt offered hope to a nation in despair. Others joined our party over the decades that followed. Democrats championed civil rights in the 1960s, equal rights for women in the 1970s, universal access to health care in the 1990s, and LGBTQ rights in the new century. By contrast, Republicans seem to have increasingly lost their way. Recently, their stepped-up efforts to suppress voting, force unpopular laws on unwilling constituents and demand loyalty to budding authoritarians like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis has created the perception that the GOP has rejected American democracy. Shocked, people are abandoning their party for ours, or to become Independent voters. Democrats have much to offer. We value inclusion and diversity of all kinds, welcoming in pragmatic moderates, liberal idealists, committed Leftists and those with traditional conservative values like bodily autonomy. Our membership includes enlightened capitalists and democratic socialists. We may argue vigorously among ourselves over best directions for our party and our country—but we make […]

The Biden Administration has released fact sheets showing the potential impact of the House GOP budget for 2024 on individual states. The plan cuts spending by 22 percent across the board, affecting millions of New Yorkers in almost all areas of life: 736,000 New Yorkers would fail to meet harsh new eligibility restrictions for food assistance via SNAP and WIC 397,600 New Yorker college students would compete for fewer and smaller Pell Grants 225,400 New York Veterans could lose access to outpatient visits in New York, leaving them unable to get appointments for care like wellness visits, mental health services, and substance disorder treatment 67,300 families in New York would lose access to rental assistance, including older adults, persons with disabilities, and families with children Even as Republicans insist their goal is to rein in deficit spending,their plan also includes trillions in tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations,further reducing revenues. All of New York’s House Republicans voted for the GOP budget, including local Congressman Marc Molinaro, a self-proclaimed moderate.

Climate change gets real as residents contemplate new FEMA flood maps—and the prospect of buying more homeowners insurance By Krys Cail This month’s Fourth-Friday Issues Huddle was titled “New FEMA Flood Threat Maps.” It was held the same week as an information Open House sponsored by the Tompkins County Office of Planning and Sustainability. Some of our attendees had been to one of the two open house events, and had the opportunity to see how their own properties were impacted by the changes in the lines for100-year and 500-year flood threats. They learned more about how most banks require those with mortgages in those districts to purchase flood insurance annually, which can be expensive. Some who attended the Issues Huddle don’t even live in the areas that will be directly impacted by a higher risk of flooding. They were very interested in the economic and social changes that might be spurred by having large parts of residential neighborhoods shouldering a new housing cost on an ongoing basis. Will this spur further problems with housing affordability in an already strained market? Will it make housing in other areas more expensive, too? We also discussed the funds are available for physical flood […]

Where we report on what Marc Molinaro does, not just what he says By Ann Reichlin Representative Marc Molinaro (R-NY19) continues to present himself as a moderate, but when it comes to voting, he falls in line with the extreme views of today’s Republican Party. To take a fresh example: Molinaro voted for H.R. 2811, the debt ceiling bill, helping to give Speaker Kevin McCarthy his very narrow win in the GOP-controlled House. The bill includes new work requirements for SNAP recipients. Molinaro apparently supports them even after acknowledging that government assistance was very helpful to his family when he was growing up. Voting for the overall bill demonstrates that Molinaro is willing to go along with his party’s plan to hold the financial health of the country hostage to the GOP’s extreme-rightwing. Another example: Molinaro’s recent yes vote on a bill that “would bar transgender athletes from women’s athletic teams.” This legislation imposes Republican views on schools, exploits a social issue to score political points with GOP base voters and, in the process, unfairly targets the trans community; all under the false premise of “protecting women and girls.” For a party that claims to believe in small government, this […]