As political pundits look into their crystal balls for a hint of what the midterm elections will hold, here's a snippet of what Democratic control of the House would mean for the New York delegation:

As the ranking minority member, Rep. Charles Rangel is set to head the Ways and Means Committee, should Democrats take control of the House. With vast jurisdiction over issues ranging from economic policy, welfare, health care policy, Social Security, Medicare and international trade, Ways and Means is obviously one of the crown jewels among Congressional committees. Because of the committee’s broad legislative and oversight responsibilities, Rep. Rangel’s vision for America would heavily influence Congressional priorities over the next couple years.

via the Examiner

"We have not had a delegation that has been as organized as the delegations of other states in focusing on what we need to bring back for New York," said Spitzer. "We have to do a lot better at getting our fair share from Washington."

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by Paul Rieckhoff

Who in Washington really supports the troops?  Well, here are the facts.

Sure, politicians say they support the troops.  But whose votes back up their rhetoric – and who’s just wearing an American flag lapel pin?

Now there’s an easy way to know for sure.  The nonprofit, nonpartisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s Action Fund has tallied up every Congressional vote cast on troops’ and veterans’ issues for the last five years.  We’ve crunched the numbers, and given every legislator a letter grade - the IAVA Congressional Rating.  We have created a groundbreaking new web interface that will allow you (and every American) to find out for themselves where politicians stand on the issues.

Here are the official ratings for New York State:

Ever seen a member of congress literally run away from a camera? Enter Rep Sue Kelly ...

Hat tip: TPM Cafe

In 2005, Hillary topped Barack, Chuck and John - as in, Obama, Schumer and McCain - in the amount of outside income she brought into her Chappaquian homestead (with a little help from Bill, that is).

The top ten follow:

Hat tip: The Center for Responsive Politics: OpenSecrets.org

via USA Today

Members of Congress and their staffs are barred from using their positions for personal profit. But their spouses and other relatives can — and often do — cash in when lawmakers spend taxpayer dollars.

Lobbying groups employed 30 family members last year to influence spending bills that their relatives with ties to the House and Senate appropriations committees oversaw or helped write, a USA TODAY investigation found. Combined, they generated millions of dollars in fees for themselves or their firms.

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Republican Rep James Walsh voted against federal funding for stem cell research, and in so doing earned himself much attention in this TV spot (courtesy of Majority Action):

On a special LunchBox today, host Adam Green on the congressional work ethic. And tomorrow, a LunchBox cameo...stay tuned!

via TPM Muckraker

Apparently, Hastert and Co. have another good lesson for the kids.  When you find yourself embarrassed by what you've previously written and heavily touted ... all you gotta do is DELETE... DELETE... DELETE!

TPM Muckraker reports that Speaker Hastert has just taken down this press release which had been featured on the front page of his website until yesterday.

Photo Hat Tip: DailyKos

The National Journal's House Race Hotline published it's updated rankings for House races to watch, those where seats could actually flip.  As expected, the NY-24th ranks highest in the State - coming in at number 15 nationally. 

The list can be viewed here in its entirety.

Consultants rake in $1.78B in 2004 cycle

By JIM KUHNHENN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- In the 1967 film classic "The Graduate," the callow Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman, is counseled to make his future in plastics.

These days, in the nation's capital, the career advice whispered to a young graduate would boil down to this: Consulting.

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by Jenny Klion

You’ve got to wonder who are the friends of US Rep Carolyn Maloney. For the 2005-2006 election cycle, a stunning 61.4 percent of her entire donation base was comprised of individual contributions — to the tune of well over a half a million dollars. And among those individuals, many of whom hail from wealthy Westchester County, three of them happen to be part of the executive team at Triumvirate Environmental, a Boston-based environmental/waste management company with new offices here in New York City.

by Jiji Lee

He's considered the most influential New York politician in Congress. So it's no surprise that Rep Thomas Reynolds (R-26) has received over $51,000 from the State of New York--making the Republican governed state one of his top campaign contributors since 1998.

As member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee (which is neither about ways nor means ... discuss!),  Reynolds oversees taxation issues on economic policy, trade, social security, and welfare.

via Paul Blumenthal's In Broad Daylight

On the heels of today’s Jeff Birnbaum article, “Support for Electronic Filing of Senate Candidates' Campaign-Finance Records Gains Momentum,” the blogosphere, left and right, has united to push Senators to file their campaign-finance records electronically. Bloggers from Daily Kos, Red State, HuffPo, Captain’s Quarters, Think Progress, and Wonkette are pushing for the passage of S. 1508, which would mandate electronic filing. S. 1508 is one of many transparency measures that have been languishing in Senate or House committees waiting for the kind of public pressure that bloggers brought to Coburn-Obama and will now hopefully bring to electronic filing.

Read the entry in its entirety, here.

by Jenny Klion 

One thing's for sure, the Durst Organization knows how to throw around its political capital.  In 2006 alone, Co-President Douglas Durst spread over $131,000 into federal political coffers; 80% of which fell into the hands of Democrats.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, for one, claimed $14,700 in donations from Durst - his largest contributor to date in the '05-'06 cycle.  And West side Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and State Senator Tom Duane took in over $11,000 combined from Durst and relatives.

Question is, besides the usual, more obvious real estate plays, what else is in it for Durst?  Turns out, potentially quite a few things...