Matt Cowherd and the other folks at New Kings Democrats began this failed campaign by slinging mud on their website at Assemblyman Lopez. They called him corrupt and ineffective, neither of which are true.

When they realized this was a failed strategy, they became more friendly, removed this content from their site, but were still clearly filled with the delusion that they were going to “overturn the system.” By running fifty candidates for County Committee? A friend of mine had a conversation last year with Rachel Lauter where she actually said “we’re going to take down Vito Lopez.” What a joke.

Assemblyman Lopez has worked hard for the last thirty years in North Brooklyn to improve people’s lives. He is tireless in his efforts, even when it means working during illness. He was working in Bushwick long before corporate attorneys like Cowherd decided to live in illegal loft apartments in Bushwick. People may not like his style or some of his decisions, but overall he is a titan in the fight to help the poor and senior citizens.

Matt Cowherd is a corporate lawyer who works for Skadden, and moved to the Bushwick only two years ago. Rachel Lauter graduated from Brown University in 2006. What makes them think they are entitled to bash people and win in elections against local candidates who have spent years helping people?

All the time wasted on this foolish campaign should have been spent helping people in Bushwick. All their education and money should have been spent volunteering for local organizations, making real connections with the people they seek to represent. So that someday, if Cowherd and Lauter still live in Bushwick or Williamsburg and want to run for office, they can point to real accomplishments and to a real commitment to the community.

Instead, they got what they wanted, elections, and they lost.

Mr. Mouth, is there no corrupt, status quo hack that you won't suck off publicly?

Just curious. 

All I aksed was one 11 word question.

No reason you should confuse my writing with that of 9:52; as it is well known, when I suck off a corrpupt status quo hack, I always make sure to dminister a couple of love bites. 9:52 clearly has a different technique.

My critique of New Kings Dems, though I've not expressed it, is quite different. If younwanted to change the party, why didn't you run District Leaders, instead of county committee (or both)?

You are playing tennis; the other guys are playing football. In the end, party control is determined at the Leaders' meeting. Not only dod you not have a seat at that table, you didn't even try to obtain one. 

But since you are in the room at St. Francis, my questions remains; what, if anything, are you going to do at the meeting?     

I attended a meeting in the 80s where Joe Ferris attempted to propose some rule changes, but brought only a pamphlet without actual  chapter and verse. It was an embarrassment.

And these guys make Ferris look like Senator Robert Byrd 

If I know one of the NKDs that did win, we can expect some shouting, maybe some sign waving, but definately no effective action.

Isn't it sweet how Steve Levin leaps to his boss' defense under the courageous banner of "Anonymous"? Who else but Vito's chief-of-staff would waste time rhapsodizing the accomplishments of "Assemblyman Lopez", while launching highly specific, personal attacks at two young reformers.

What's my evidence that this hatchet job is the work of Levin? Who else would have so assiduously gathered information on Lauter and Cowherd, including how many votes Cowherd received in the primary (which has not been reported to the public and is not available even from the Board of Elections)?

Oh, and how does Levin know that Lauter went to Brown? Because he did too. I guess that Vito, who Levin drools over as a "titan" (really, titan?), relies upon the same white Ivy-League yuppies to handle his affairs that this "Anonymous" writer allegedly deplores.

The difference is that Lauter and Cowherd have banded together with the people of their neighborhood to bring about real change from the bottom up. Levin, on the other hand, is banking on the fact that he has shamelessly served as Vito's goon to count as the sole qualification to justify his run for City Council next year.

Nice try, Steve. Next time just write under your own name and spare us the charade.

Hey Thomas Paine,

I'm not Levin, and I wrote the above post. As for how I know that Lauter went to Brown, I found out on their (your) website. The number of votes? I guessed. I figured that Matt Cowherd probably didnt get too many votes outside of his apartment building. Also, you can get his address when you google his name. Its amazing what these computer thingies do.

I will say, you all have surely banded together, with like several other people, many from all over Brooklyn.

You and several other people will bring change, hope, and a dynamic sense of purpose to everything you do. I believe that your electoral successes are a testament to your hard work and great understanding of the community. Go you!

As for writing under Anonymous, are you saying that your name is Thomas Paine? Not so much, right? Nice try.

The anonymous attacks on Matt and Rachel are disgusting- if you are going to go after people personally, at least have the guts to sign your name to the attack. 

The Kings County Committee can be so much more than a compromised and corrupt vestige of a bygone era.  It can and should embody the progressive ideals that have the potential to make Brooklyn an even more wonderful place to live.  If Rachel and Matt took one step in that direction, then they deserve all of Brooklyn’s gratitude.

Matt and Rachel: Thank you.

I was at the meeting today, and although the New Kings Democrats accomplished nothing, I cannot blame them as the entire meeting was a scripted farce.

The meeting was scripted, but I've been to far more scripted party events which were ostensibly supposed to be meetings of deliberative bodies.

For instance, I recently attended a meeting in Denver where absolutely nothing was left to chance. But, since it was run by the Obama people, let's just stipulate that it was a shining example of Democracy in action.

As I've said, if one is going to challenge the rules, it helps to be prepared; I doubt that during the 70s real reformers who brought real challenges to County ever behaved in such a slipshod manner.

Fact is, the one substantive issue was brought out not by a member of NKD, but by a member of Rhoda Jacobs' club. That a measure creating five new slots on the executive committee passed without any district leaders rasing a squawk begs the question of whether it is only the self appointed "reformers" who came to the meeting without a clue, since the regular leaders who voted for this member basically gave their power a self-adminsitered circumcission.

Otherwise, to a large extent the objections seemed to be that those who objected did not understand what they were objecting to. This is silly. One of the "reform" leaders claimed to me he had read everything I've written--if this is so, he would have known the party rules are on file at the Board of Elections, and could have been obtained in advance of the meeting. Back in the 70s, the reformers faced far greater obstacles and did so far more impressively.

In fact, no one at County seemed to want to fight. Challenges were filed by NKD to slates of vacancies to the county commitee in two ADs. In one case, the local leadership just acquised to the NKD choices. In both cases, NKD could probably have gotten all the members they wanted from the respective leaders by just asking. Instead they sometimes ran without even knowing who they were running against, in one case managing to beat David Shanton, one of Brooklyn's leading gay activists.   

Since NKD's prior statement indicated their willingness to work with individual clubs, you think they would have thought of doing so.  

Likewise, a separate effort by Charles Barron to put himself onto the credentials committee was resolved by doing just that.

Once again, I recomend to NKD that, to the extent they find the local leaders inhospitable, they go and organize their own clubs, and run candidates for distirct leader. As people like Chris Ownes would undoubtedly tell them, until they elect a few leaders, nothing they do will have any real impact in changing the party organization.  

First of all it's not much trouble, and it's not much of a defense. I have an intolernace for inteleltual laziness, which was much on display last night among both "reformers" who didn't know what they were doing, and regular leaders, who allowed some of their power to escape from their hands with little or no protest, and seemingly little or no comprehension. 

I think any effort at "reform" which concentrates on County Committee is misplaced. Concentrate on winning leaderships and make county committe anciliary to it, if even that. The way to win power is not to elevate the importance of the inconsequential. It is to learn the rules and beat them at their own game. Then you can change the rules (although most who've accomplished the victory usually somehow find the existing rules serve their needs nicely. Funny that).

 Seriously, even if bottom up orgaizing is your watchword, ala Obama, there would seem better avenues to pursue it than to make a symbol of  a county committee meeting. Espeically if you have nothing substantive to put on the table. If this is your idea of seizing power you surely missed the lesson of the Obam camapign, which beat Clinton by learning the rules better than they did  

And don't even count on outunmbering the regulars in the room. Or, if that's your goal, stop talking about it. It wouldn't be very difficult for Vito, Bernie Catcher, Al Vann and a few other to find a bigger venue and bus in their membership.   

But even if you can fill the rooom, why the  fuck bother?

What a stupid strategy. Your goals in two years is to to let the other side beat you, but to make them look bad in the process. How self-defeating!

Why not make your goal victory? 

Anyway, Nick, it's septmeber, and the other side controls the party while your team  put up candidates against a slate filed by the only club which could muster two leaders to refuse to support Vito Lopez continuing as County Leader. The fact that you chose to challenge Alan Fleishman and Joanne Simon's people, who were basically among your few allies in the room, speaks volumes about the idiocy of the NKD approach. 

So, I'm not really defending the status quo, although I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the status quo consists of a groups of Distirct Leaders, the majority of whom, at some point managed to win a constested election in their AD (Fleishman and Simon being among the exceptions), and therefore have the arguable right to claim to be the products of a democratic process.

What I am saying is that with seven electoral victories for a body whose memberhsip numbers in the thousands, you have quite a ways to go in obtaining the moral highground here.

Just wondering Gatemouth, but how do you know election results for NKD's candidates? Some of those who came to the meeting did not even know if they had won, hence the guy who was on the two vacancy slates.

Gatemouth-

As the person who ran against, and unofficially received more votes than, David Shanton- I find your analysis misplaced. I certainly applaud Mr. Shanton's activism, as I applaud the activism of all gay rights advocates.

My election effort was initially not part of a NKD strategy. In fact, I had not heard of NKD until after my petitioning was complete. When inquirying about the seat for my district in the spring, I saw that it was empty and ran for it. My district had no respresentation, at least according to official records. As a 10 year resident of the Greenpoint neighborhood, I wanted to give it some voice in the party. Apparently, Mr. Shanton had the same motivation, though I cannot speak for him.

In August I realized I was in a contested race, saw the names of my opponents for the first time. I ran a fair campaign.

And for the record, Mr. Shanton and his partner (I assume) Mr. Sandlin were both on the ballot, with me, as a "pick two." So one  did make it on the committee... And I look forward to working with the other winner. I am certainly open to working with both to leverage their concerns.

So please keep your analysis focused on the actual meeting you witnessed last evening, and refrain from second guessing the internal motivations behind each contested race.

While your history with these bodies lends to a unique perspective in local affairs, you are setting yourself up for a dangerous precedent by presuming every DCC action is a backfired NKD conspiracy. Worse, you are succumbing to the very behavior you criticize... 

Isn't the seven victories cited by Gatey the figure reported in this article?

I assume anyoneelse who who had figures they reported in this thread got them from someone who was at at the polling place that night. Surely Vito had someone taking numbers at everyone of his polling places.

And the Shanton story has already been well circulated through the gay gossip circuit, so Gatey probably got it on the downlow.

Domestic Partner indeed. 

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/09/bronx-rebels-call-rival-meetin.html

These guys have their act together, at least they're doing something, as opposed to NKD's dismal failure last night.

I certainly did not mean to imply any NKD conspiracies.

Conspiracies involve like-minded people with clearly defined goals working together effectively towards a common purpose.

I think it would be unfair for anyone to conclude that NKD did anything of the sort.

Hello, combattants.

I am a newly elected member of the Queens Democratic Committee. If these committees don't matter at all, why are you guys taking vicious pot-shots at eachother over them?

When I wanted to get into city politics, it was explained to me that these seats are a good place to start as you learn the procedure for getting on the ballot and other stuff. I will also get a good taste of the power grab and general stagnation in the QDCC, I imagine. Tonight in fact!

It is time for these entrenched Democratic "leaders" to show why the top-down non-Democrative style of governance should not be tossed out on its ear as soon as possible.

Flame away. I'm not even going to look.

If level of mean-spirited riticism on Room 8 is any indication, you are off to a good start. I was soundly attacked around here early in my blogging efforts. Now, to give credit where credit is due, Room 8 welcomes my presence (though commenters still attack me with just as much venom and just as little substance). Welcome and you are off to a good start.

I think it is very indicative that the machine attacks anyone whose goal is broadening the membership of the party and anyone who  seeks greater involvement and transparencey in the County process. The very fact that a grassroots effort that grew out of the Obama campaign's efforts (remember folks, Obama is our nominee!) creates such fear and loathing among our party "leaders" in Brooklyn shows how un-democratic and un-Democratic many of those leaders are. Please tell me when the last time was County made a true Democratic voter registration effort, made a serious GOTV effort against a Republican or set up phone banks to help Democrats win against Republicans? You have to look to the various reform and isnurgent groups to find those efforts. I would think the State level party would be embarassed as hell to see how ineffective the Brooklyn machine is at actually furthering the goals of the Democratic Party.

Look at the average age of the NKD folks and the average age of the County  hacks and you will see where the future lies. Furthermore, the machine has been losing more and more races year after year. Two Surrogate seats, one Civil Court seat and one State Senate seat in my personal experience. In three out of those four of those races, the County hugely outspent their opponents and still lost. NKD is an infusion of new, enthusiastic activists into the process and County just blew it by doing everything  they can to alienate them. Way to go, fools.

I  barely know the NKD people, wasn't in full agreement with their people in some races, and have no idea if we will be largely on the same side or opposite sides in the future. But I sure as hell welcome them to the process and wish them the best of luck. Vito could have helped himself greatly had he done the same, but he and his hacks chose to alienate the local Obama-inspired wave. To me that is the astonishingly stupid on their part.

I was at the DCC meeting..........it was a joke.  The establishment resembles the cast of the Addams Family...  And clearly (reading the hysteria of Anonymous'posts here and seeing the efforts that Vito went to to defeat Matt for a measly seat on the committee) Matt and Rachel are onto something with New Kings.

Sure, there is a learning curve, and sure, the Machine is powerful.  But if it was really so powerful and if the voting public was really so satisfied with its accomplishments, why is Obama the candidate and not Hillary?

It's not my impression that the goal of New Kings was to take over the party....if Vito and his cronies were smart, they would partner w/ the fresh energy of New Kings and reinvigorate the party.  Brooklyn is changing and the demographics of Brooklyn are changing.  And I guarantee you that new political faces are going to be a lot more appealing to the new residents (and many of the frustrated old ones) than the Addams family in future elections.  Time is on the side of New Kings.