A deal has been struck among New York State legislators and Gov. Paterson to tax some higher income New Yorkers at a somewhat higher rate. See also the report in the New York Daily News. and the Albany Times Union

In my opinion this is a good deal for New Yorkers and a great victory for the complex coalition of labor unions, community organizations and social service agencies which lobbied for months. The irrational, unplanned and wildly harmful budget cuts proposed by Gov. Paterson will largely be avoided. The increased tax rate will produce about $4 Billion dollars which, while greatly needed is not quite enough.

The worst part of the deal is that the two-step rate increase expires in three years which means we will have to re-fight this fight then.

The coalition, One New York: Fighting For Fairness, will now have to face our Billionaire Mayor who proposes taxes on low and moderate income New York City dwellers. Mr. Bloomberg refuses to tax the personal income of higher earning City dwellers -- preferring instead much higher and very unfair sales taxes.  read more »

You have to ask yourself: why don't more people do this? Here's Dan Squadron, Democratic nominee in the 25th SD out today, thanking voters for their trust.

Ruh Roh: blogger sighted.

If you want to know why Squadron won, here's your answer: he worked really hard. Harder than I've seen anyone ever work, really. As hard as someone who goes out the day after a grueling primary campaign and thanks voters, in fact.

In the end, it wasn't even close: In SD-25, Progressive newcomer Daniel Squadron defeated incumbent Senator Marty Connor by a healthy 10%, 55% to 45%.

Dan Cantor of the Working Families Party - bear with me for the repeated WFP stories, I love them, and they send me stuff - had this to say, per email.

“Daniel Squadron is a true progressive who has got the energy and the leadership we need to shake up Albany,” said Dan Cantor, the WFP’s Executive Director. “We poured our hearts into this race. We knocked on tens of thousands of doors and energized hundreds of volunteers. This was exciting grassroots politics at its best.”

“Together, we were able to join with Daniel to excite thousands of New Yorkers with the bold notion that politicians need to do more than talk. They need to find real solutions to problems facing working families trying to make ends meet as the economy sours and cost of living goes up and up,” Cantor added.

Cantor's right, but as the Democratic Party thanks Senator Connor for his long service, rank and file Democrats should be looking forward to something new and exciting. The import of this race was never who of two Progressives would win; it was whether it was even possible to oust a long-serving incumbent. Well, it's possible.

There's a chill going down many incumbent spines tonight.

Via an email release*, U.S. Senaor Chuck Schumer and Senate candidate Dan Squadron campaigning today in a senior center on the Lower East Side.

Cue the chorus of aggrieved, well-run-campaign-resenting lefties and various reactionary blog monkeys about what a bad person Chuck Schumer is, blah blah blabbity blah.

*Want your stuff published, campaigns? Try sending an email occasionally.

Dear Daniel,

I write to you with a concern that I believe you will gain by addressing. You see, your campaign just isn't the stuff that we lefties can get behind. Frighteningly enough, you are running your campaign in such a way that the possibility of you winning can't simply be dismissed out of hand and with a smile. And that, really, is just simply unacceptable, as you surely must realize.

Progressive campaigns in New York City are run as follows: one gathers a group of people, and they are always the same people, into a room and makes a speech. The content doesn't really matter all that much, truth be told. After that ritual, one passes a hat and asks the participants for their spare change, after which, one has completed the biggest fundraiser of one's campaign. At that point, please bring on the folk singers or, for extra points, that crappy rock band your campaign director's kid plays in. That's authentic, and we like authentic.

And when our candidates fail spectacularly, as they necessarily do, we gather at our local coffeehouse - not at Starbucks, thank you - and bemoan our fate: that we haven't been able, yet again, to force electoral outcomes through the sheer blazing force of our unassailable rightness.

So, please do everyone concerned a favor and stop raising or spending money. It makes you suspect to do either. Them, please stop working so hard - this too is an unforgivable lapse. Our candidates start their feeble fundraising efforts roughly three months before the polls open, and it's traitorous to do otherwise - a deficiency in Progressive consciousness.

Once you've done that, please send out xeroxed mailers about The Power Of The Grassroots. Pretend with us for a moment that a bunch of ineffective scolds standing on street corners are, indeed, the authentic voice of the people. You see, that's us, and we xerox with abandon.

In return, we promise to carry your campaign to the conclusion we all want to see, your inglorious defeat. This because, as much as we may yammer about stuff, we really don't want anything to change. For the abovementioned blazing rightness, our most cherished attribute, to shine dazzlingly enough for our tastes, we prefer to lose every race we contest.

Yours in Solidarity,

The Left