Primary night must have been a full moon because the New York State Republican Party has succeeded in nominating some truly hair-raising candidates to run our state.  While the New York Democrats cleaned house on primary night, removing coup plotter Pedro Espada and re-defeating domestic abuser Hiram Monserrate,  it’s clear from Tuesday’s results that Tea Party extremism has hijacked the once moderate New York GOP.

On the surface, do-nothing assembly member Greg Ball and millionaire developer Carl Paladino.  Nothing signifies this transformation more than the nomination of wingnut fellow travelers Carl Paladino for Governor and Greg Ball for State Senate.

Carl Paladino and Greg Ball are both engaged in an active war on the poor meant to dehumanize New Yorkers in need.  In the midst of a two year long recession, Paladino blames poverty on the shiftless character of the poor and called for the return of poorhouses. Ball, for his part, has denounced affordable housing as homes for “the Nation’s poorest and weakest.”

The Paladino-Ball ticket is fully committed to repealing gun control laws that have received bipartisan support in New York.  Unsurprisingly, the both Ball and Paladino have been rewarded for their fealty with the strong support of the gun lobby.

Finally, for reasons that are not exactly clear, respect for women is not part of either conservatives’ definition of “traditional values”. Paladino was famously caught sending incredibly crude and sexist e-mails, while Greg Ball appears to have an abhorrent lack of self control, to say the least, and strongly and asininely opposes legislation to protect women from discrimination in the work place.

Clearly, the Paladino-Ball team would spell disaster for the Empire State if elected.  While progressives might be enthused by the Republicans’ nomination of candidates so far out side the main stream, in the long run it is an unhealthy state of affairs to have one of the two major political parties function as some kind of electoral mad house.  New York’s voters must ensure that these men receive the defeat they so richly deserve in November to send a message to the New York Republicans that the shallow and dangerous demagoguery of Paladino and Ball has no place in our state.

It was novel the first time Ball trotted out his mother and ex to defend him, but now it is getting bizarre. From News 12:

A group of women voters rallied today in support of Assemblyman Greg Ball against what they call dirty politics by his opponent in a state Senate race

Lauren Pistone, who heads up the Women For Ball campaign, says Somers Town Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy, a Republican, is using push polling with loaded questions against Ball (R-Patterson)… Ball is facing accusations of fondling a waitress at an Albany bar in June.

By being so obsessive his denials, Greg Ball is only attracting more attention to this issue.  While these rallies do have the effect of getting Ball’s name in the news, they only further connect his name with scandal in the minds of voters.  It’s almost as if in his endless quest for attention, he really has adopted the principle that the only bad publicity is no publicity.

The New York League of Conservation Voters endorsed Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy in her GOP primary run for the 40th state Senate District against state Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Patterson. You can read about the endorsement here.

I guess the real environmentalists had a different idea about the meaning of “green”.

Mary Beth Murphy went after Assembly Member Greg Ball, her opponent in the 40th Senate district’s Republican primary, in a statement this morning. The charge: Ball and his colleagues in the Legislature are making a pretty penny off failing to deliver an on-time state budget.

Murphy referenced a Times-Union article from July 24 that examined legislators’ per-diem expenses over four weeks during June and July. According to Murphy, Ball had gone from $738 during a similar period of time last year to $2,235 during the period looked at by the Times-Union.

“They’re still nowhere near approving a budget, which means the incompetent legislators who created this problem will continue to make extra money because of their failure to do their job,” Murphy said. “In all, [state legislators have] received nearly a half-million dollars. That is a perversion of justice. Where else but New York’s Legislature does someone receive extra pay because the have totally failed to do their job?”

How does Greg Ball react to these revelations?  In classic classless Ball form, Ball responds with a non-sequitur statement that does nothing to refute to the substance of the claims against him but does engage in nauseating self-pity followed up by a political attack:

Ball said in the release that, were it not for a loan from his priest, he would be behind on his mortgage. He also accused Murphy of hypocrisy, saying the Somers town supervisor upped her salary by 40 percent.

Ball is not the only one sending out press releases on fiscal purity. Queens Sen. Joseph Addabbo sent out a statement earlier, saying he, too, returned his per diem.

“I don’t believe in good conscience that I should take my per diem pay when we did no legislative work in Albany last Thursday. Therefore, I am returning my check,” Addabbo said in his release.

That’s all well and good for a family man like Joe Addabbo, but Greg Ball has real responsibilities.  In fairness to Ball, top legal talent like Joe Tacopina, who recently represented ex-State Senator Hiram Monserrate and now gets paid by Ball to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct, isn’t cheap.  Won’t someone think of the lawyers?!?

Desolation: Coming soon to a shopping center near you!

Assemblyman Greg Ball has built his career on demonizing immigrants. Since launching his campaign for State Senate, he has ratcheted up his demagoguery, proposing to implement Arizona’s anti-immigrant law in New York. Perhaps he should take a moment and consider the disastrous effects this legislation is already having on Arizona before we follow them over the cliff:

Every time a customer buys some of the large fabric tote bags from the Dollar Store at 43rd Avenue and Thomas Road, Najmuddin Katchi sees another piece of his business vanish.

The purchase of the briefcase-sized shoulder bags means that another one of Katchi’s customers, mostly Latino immigrants, is packing to leave the state before what is touted as the nation’s toughest law against illegal immigrants takes effect July 29.

Katchi’s store isn’t the only business suffering. The vast shopping center that holds his small shop is almost empty. The Food City supermarket closed this spring. Then the furniture shop. Then the pizzeria…

For the last 20 years, Arizona has been one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. It depends on an expanding population to power its economy, which relies heavily on the construction of new houses.

At the corner of 43rd and Thomas, it’s hard to determine how much of the neighborhood’s woes stem from Arizona’s immigration laws and how much from the state’s economy, battered by a once red-hot housing marked that cooled.

Katchi’s revenue was already sagging before April 23, when Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law. Since then, sales have plummeted. [...]

When immigrants leave, Gans said, “stores experience dramatic drops in sales. Apartment owners who rent to immigrants have high vacancy rates and risk losing their buildings. Legal workers or renters or consumers don’t generally step in quickly enough to prevent these businesses from experiencing real additional hardship.”

At 43rd and Thomas, such short-term economic perils are no abstraction.

Rather than integrate new workers into the economy and help them revitalize troubled areas as others have done, Greg Ball wants to enact a law that will target immigrants, legal and illegal, and minorities, of all kinds, for harassment and unfair treatment.

Ball can talk about getting the government off our back and empowering the private sector all he wants, but it is hard to see how a policy of driving away the local workforce and customer base for many Hudson Valley businesses is a sound strategy for growing our economy.

Ex-Sen. Hiram Monserrate prepares to confront Greg Ball for stealing his PR tactic.

Earlier, I was concerned that Assemblyman Greg Ball would adopt the unprincipled and reckless political nihilism of Senator Pedro Espada. Now, it seems that Greg Ball is imitating another amigo, disgraced former State Senator Hiram Monserrate. Just as Monserrate enlisted his estranged girlfriend’s support during his assault trial, Ball is relying on his ex-girlfriend to defend himself from charges of sexually harassing an Albany waitress:

Lauren Pistone was joined by more than 24 women — including Ball’s mother — outside the Somers Town House, also known as the Elephant Hotel, to chastise his opponent, Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy, while portraying Ball as a defender of women who was being punished for standing up to “the corruption and the status quo in Albany.”

The event had been promoted as one where Pistone would drop a game-changing “bombshell”, an apparent reference to her claim Thursday that Murphy’s supporters had approached her to “work against Greg and the facts are not their concern.” Murphy and Ball will face off in a September Republican primary.

Murphy denies any interaction with Pistone and Ball’s camp has yet to provide independent evidence, so for now this bombshell appears to be a dud.  The closet thing to a bombshell is the following response from the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, which provides some important context for Pistone’s claims:

The facts are the facts, and Greg Ball stands accused of groping a waitress at an Albany bar, an account several eyewitnesses confirmed.  Today, he trots out a woman whose mother is on the payroll of Ball political ally Steve Katz to spread lies.

Regardless of whether or not these considerations actually influenced Ms. Pistone, it raises the question: is Greg Ball so desperate that he cannot find someone without a financial or familial connection to him to speak out publicly on his behalf?

The cast of "The Office" re-enacts the SD-40 2010 Republican Primary.

Via Politics on the Hudson:

The war of words heated up today between Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Patterson, and his supporters and the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. The committee is backing Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy in the race for the seat, which is being vacated by Sen. Vincent Leibell, R-Patterson.

One of Ball’s ex-girlfriends and a contingent of other women, including Ball’s mother, said at a news conference today that Ball is being unfairly maligned. The event was in response to a committee-sponsored mailer that detailed an alleged incident in which Ball is accused of groping an Albany waitress.

Scott Reif, a spokesman for the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, confirmed that it sent out the negative campaign literature on Ball. Reif said Ball has a “pattern of sexual misconduct towards women,” and that is a legitimate campaign issue.

Greg Ball, Which Side Are You On?

Assemblyman Greg Ball is fond of burnishing his blue collar credentials and even portraying himself as a pro-labor candidate with a few symbolic gestures while frequently implying that his anti-immigrant crusade is driven by a desire to protect American workers (never mind that the president of the country’s largest labor federation has condemned the Arizona anti-immigrant law that Ball wants to bring to New York).  Despite these attempts to cultivate the image of a working class hero, Ball remains a conventional conservative opponent of workers rights.   Like the yellow-dog unions of old, Greg Ball may purport to be labor’s friend, but in reality he’s precisely the opposite.  No matter how many press releases Ball churns out , he cannot conceal his anti-worker voting record.

Earlier this month, the Assembly voted on the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (A.1470/S.2311).  The case for this legislation was succinctly summarized by the New York Civil Liberties Union:

The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights would provide New York’s 200,000 domestic workers with the basic labor protections that have been afforded other workers for nearly a century, such as a day off every week, overtime pay, paid sick days, the right to form a union and recognition under the state’s Human Rights Law.

According to a study by Domestic Workers United and Datacenter, 26 percent of domestic workers earn wages below either the poverty line or the minimum wage rate. Thirty-three percent have reported verbal or physical abuse. Although half report working overtime, few have received overtime pay. Only 10 percent receive health insurance from their employers. And because 93 percent of domestic workers are women and 95 percent are people of color, this injustice tends to affect New York’s most marginalized communities.

Given the opportunity to extend labor rights most workers take for granted to those discretely toiling by the thousands across New York State, Assemblyman Greg Ball courageously followed his party’s leadership and showed domestic workers who was boss (hint: not people too poor to make campaign contributions) by voting against the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.  Sadly, this betrayal is not shocking coming from a man who allegedly exhibits extreme personal disrespect for those trying to make a living in the service sector.

An upstate assemblyman is accused of getting grabby with a waitress during a recent rowdy night out at an Albany bar, the Daily News has learned.

Assemblyman Greg Ball, 32, a Putnam County Republican, is said to have groped the waitress in a “sexual manner” June 21 at the Assembly Restaurant and Lounge.

Fear not, though, (allegedly) grabby Greg Ball is in “good hands”:

Ball’s newly hired lawyer, Joe Tacopina, who recently had represented now expelled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, threatened legal action.

Maybe when this is all over, the Next Amigo and the triple crossing former amigo Hiram Monserrate can bro out with an appropriately shameless joint venture. The last I heard, Monserrate is looking for a sparring partner. Personally, I doubt there could be a more fitting end for these two misfits than raining blows on each other in a desperate bid for attention.

Senator Leibell tries out a new look.

From the Poughkeepsie Journal:

PATTERSON — Federal investigators have subpoenaed a slew of records for a spacious home built by state Sen. Vincent Leibell.

Patterson Director of Codes Enforcement Nick Lamberti said Friday that his office last week turned over building records for 130 Cushman Road to agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation…

Leibell maintained his Cushman Road home was not tied to the other subpoenas, and blamed Assemblyman Greg Ball, a fellow Patterson Republican and political rival, with prompting the subpoena through repeated complaints to federal officials.

“Obviously I have a continuing conflict with the assemblyman, Greg Ball,” Leibell said. “My point is, when somebody raises a question as a public official they’re going to pursue it. They’re going to look at it.”

I am sure that if elected to the State Senate, Greg Ball and likely Putnam County Executive Vincent Leibell will let bygones be bygones and the two of them will team up for the benefit of their constituents.