Breaking: Court throws out John Hall suit challenging Nan Hayworth’s spot on the Independence ballot

By Sam Foster

This afternoon, the court hearing John Hall's suit against Nan Hayworth was thrown out of court.  The suit was a political maneuver to bump Hayworth off of one of the third party lines.

I wrote about Hall's political motivation for doing so earlier and despite the shrill, over-hyped accusations by leftwing bloggers, Hayworth prevailed in clearing her campaign.  

Nan Hayworth's press release had the following statements:

"It's highly unfortunate that during the course of the lawsuit, without any foundation whatsoever, Hall's campaign accused some very well-meaning people – mainly notaries – of potential fraud and misconduct. That conduct simply didn't happen," said Hayworth campaign manager John Hicks. "It's also unfortunate that this issue has taken up not only the court's time and resources, but has also distracted from the urgent matters we face in District 19 involving jobs and the economy."

Hayworth communications director Douglas Cunningham said, "I think we now know why John Hall was so eager to disseminate fabrications about what was actually going on in the courtroom in Albany. He would rather talk about anything else except his record, which is one of lost jobs and failed big-government programs. I think it's clear what the voters want to focus on, and that's renewing our economy, fixing the abysmal jobs picture and restraining a government that's too big and too costly."

Read the Judge's decision below:

Young Voters for an Orlean's Reunion Tour "Vote with Me" gets media attention

By Sam Foster

As I pointed out, political marketing can have a major impact on a campaign. Earlier this week, Young Voters for an Orlean's Reunion Tour created a music video that spoof's Congressman John Hall's hit single "Dance with Me" called "Vote with Me."

Today, the local media picked up the music video and hit the streets to see what voters thought.

Here is News 12's coverage below.



Please note two things from the coverage.

First, John Hall's campaign manager makes an awkward pun that comes off very stale in comparison to YV's parody music video.

"..asking Hudson Valley families to dance with some pretty radical ideas."

Second, Nan picked up an endorsement from a very nice lady in a mini van. You can't buy publicity like that.

For those of you who still haven't seen "Vote with me," the video is below.

Democrat John Hall hiding from his Health Care vote: A tale of two health care events

By Sam Foster
Via Nan Hayworth's Blog, Poughkeepsie Journal, & Hudson Valley Patriots

Last Friday John Hall, Democrat congressman representing NY's 19^th Congressional District, held two town hall events.  One was held at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel and featured roughly 60 business people.  The other was a town hall for local constituents.  However, the content of these two events was similar, but the outcomes couldn't be more telling with regard to how far out of touch with voters, congressman Hall has become.

Congressman Hall demagogues at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel:

According to information from Hall's office, health care costs for small businesses have increased 129 percent over the past decade, with workers paying an average of 18 percent more for premiums than those employed by larger companies.

Hall estimated 45 percent of small businesses can afford to offer health benefits.

He said the Affordable Care Act "puts into place comprehensive reforms that will open up access to affordable and quality health care for America's small businesses."

At the end, Nan was able to confront John Hall and request the opportunity to debate in open forum the claims congressman Hall made at the event.  No surprise, Congressman Hall balked.

So Congressman John Hall headed off to event number two at Cortlandt Manor.  Wildly popular with fellow Democrats and local independent constituents, the only people to show up were Nan Hayworth supporters, according to a blogger who attended.

While Congressman Hall's rhetoric about how great health care reform is for small businesses may have passed muster in the earlier closed event, Hayworth supporters weren't buying it.  Even Congressman Hall flip-flops on his earlier remarks that health care will bolster small businesses, Hudson Valley Patriots reports:

"Basically, the men (congressman Hall) said there are 1,000 things that needed to be corrected in the bill. So someone asked why they even passed a bill that needed so much "fixing". One man complained he'll be out of business come January 1, 2011 because he cannot afford to give his 50 employees health care and not increase his rates. He cannot increase his rates because his competitor hires illegal aliens and won't have to buy health care for them.

Another man said he manufactures in the area and is proud of having 53 employees working, but he too cannot afford to provide health care to the workers and compete with China. Come January 1, 2010 he advised the only way he'll be able to stay in business is if he has only five employees who can help him unload the trucks with the chairs made in China.

Both congressmen told the men they were right and they were trying to fix the bill."

Could this be why Congressman Hall refuses to debate Nan Hayworth?

According to Nan Hayworth's blog, part of the reason the Cortlandt Manor event was so poorly attended was because John Hall changed the event location and time at the last minute, which appears to be true.  The original event announced in the local press on Wednesday afternoon was to be held at the Hudson Valley Hospital Center.  

Rep. John Hall Plays Party Favorite at Public’s Expense

By Raquel Okyay

Cross posted at RaquelOkyay.com

Shameless is the best way to describe Democrat Rep. John Hall "who takes a whack" at his Republican opponent Nan Hayworth (Congressional District 19) in this video advertisement that accuses Hayworth of being an apologist for BP. What did Hayworth do to warrant this charge? She set forth a position at her campaign website regarding energy exploration on land and sea using the best, environmentally sound technology, and (all of a sudden) according to Hall, she is a cheerleader for BP. BP is the British owned energy company that suffered a fatal explosion on or about April 22, causing an oil spill in the Gulf Mexico that dwarfs the 1989 Exxon spill at Alaska's Prince William Sound. One difference between the two disasters is the Exxon rig had a finite amount of oil to spill, whereas at the Gulf of Mexico, vulnerable oil is vast, continuous, and spilling at the rate of millions of gallons a day. Nan Hayworth responding with a video advertisement decrying Hall (rightfully so) for spending tax payer dollars to fund his campaign with glossy literature and misleading advertisements, Hayworth does a little whacking of her own. John Hall, another grandstanding Democrat, who never lets a crisis go by without blaming Republicans Any good politician can utilize coherent arguments to contrast opposing positions, but what Hall does in this instance is utilize an international disaster to demoralize a political opponent at the tax payer expense. Hall's meritless assertions show a lack of appreciation for the severity of the oil spill, and show such an insensitivity towards the real lives affected by this tragedy, that his actions ought to be a wake-up call to voters. Debating issues is one thing, baseless attacks for personal gain is quite another. Nan Hayworth has called on Hall to debate the issues: I have challenged John to a debate on five occasions with no success. I'm ready to talk to the public and discuss ways to produce energy with the most minimal impact on the environment. None of us want to see the environment damaged. That is what town hall meetings are for – to talk with the public about issues. John is avoiding a meaningful debate even though it's his job to do so. As your Congresswoman I will act with every weapon in my arsenal to offer solutions to serious problems that a disengaged Congress and a disappointing administration have rejected. At the onset of the BP oil disaster, President Obama "tells Politico the oil spill is like 9-11" and proceeds to play golf with Vice President Biden for four hours. All while administration officials were BLOCKING efforts to lessen the damage in the Gulf. The Daily News reports: According to state disaster relief officials, Alabama conceived a plan – early on – to erect huge booms off shore to shield the approximately 200 miles of their state's coastline from oil. Rather than install the relatively light and shallow booms in use elsewhere, the state (with assistance from the Coast Guard) canvassed the world and located enough huge, heavy booms – some weighing tons and seven meters high – to guard their coast. So, Alabama decided on a backup plan. It would buy snare booms to catch the oil as it began to wash up on the beaches. But…the Fish and Wildlife Administration vetoed the plan saying it would endanger sea turtles that nest on the beaches. So, Alabama – ever resourceful – decided to hire 400 workers to patrol the beaches in person scooping up oil that had washed ashore. But…OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Agency) refused to allow them to work more than twenty minutes out of every hour and required an hour long break after forty minutes of work so the cleanup proceeded at a very slow pace. The short answer is that every agency – each with its own particular bureaucratic agenda – was able to veto each aspect of any plan to fight the spill with the unintended consequence that nothing stopped the oil from destroying hundreds of miles of wetlands, habitats, beaches, fisheries, and recreational facilities. The only faction of the population that Hall shields against criticism is an increasingly left-leaning Democrat Party. Surely Hall is out of touch with the district if he does not recognize when criticism is due. Instead, Hall stands on a platform that bashes Republicans and protects Democrats, even when Republicans are right and Democrats wrong. This kind of partisan representation hurts everyone and ought to provide insight into the motives of the Congressman. After all, what has Hall done to offer solutions to the BP oil spill except point fingers at innocent bystanders? The true culprits are those who have failed to lead, to act, to move forward with answers not rhetoric. Elect Nan Hayworth to Congress and find an official who will act on behalf of District 19, not in spite of them.