Could the flashy girl from Flushing, the Nanny named Fran, be heading to Washington? She'd sure like that! Fran Drescher, television's Nanny and owner of one of the more distinct voices working, someday thinks she'd like to run for elected office. And she isn't interested in a paltry two-year contract to work the House. Drescher says that "ideally I'd rather run in the Senate."
1
Results tagged “senate”
Fran Drescher Still Wants To Be A Senator From New York
Republicans Cool With Violence Against Women, As Long As They're Gay Or Immigrants
Democrats in the Senate are pushing to renew and expand the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which passed after a bipartisan effort in 1994. The only problem is that Republicans are gearing up to fight them tooth and nail about it: “I favor the Violence Against Women Act and have supported it at various points over the years, but there are matters put on that bill that almost seem to invite opposition,” said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama. What sort of matters might those be? Helping immigrant victims claim battery and expanding protection to same-sex couples. Oh, and failing to put in safeguards to ensure that domestic violence grants are being well spent—because obviously we wouldn't want those grants going to help gay or immigrant women!
Weiner Replacement Bob Turner Now Wants Kirsten Gillibrand's Senate Seat
After successfully winning the Congressional seat vacated by Anthony "Crotch Shot" Weiner in a wacky special election last year, Rep. Bob Turner now has his sights set on Kirsten Gillibrand's Senate seat. Chatter about the possibility started yesterday and Turner confirmed, "I will travel to the Republican State Convention in Rochester later this week and humbly ask for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate. I will respectfully ask for the Conservative nomination a few days later at that Party's convention. I have made my intentions known to the other Republican candidates in this race."
Senate Kills GOP's Anti-Contraception Bill, Despite Rush Limbaugh's Slut Shaming
The Senate voted today to shoot down a GOP effort to let employers and health insurance companies deny coverage for contraceptives if they have religious or moral objections. After four days of hearings and speeches, the vote went 51-48 in favor of President Obama's current birth control policy. But just because that debate is over for now doesn't mean that Rush Limbaugh didn't do his darndest to turn all the negative attention toward himself before the vote—yesterday, Limbaugh called Georgetown Law School student and activist Sandra Fluke "a slut" for arguing that contraception should be covered by health insurance. Listen to him bloviate below!
Senate Hopeful Cenedella Takes Full Responsibility For Idiotic Blog Posts
The nontroversy surrounding potential GOP senate candidate Marc Cenedella continues! Yesterday the Times reported on the TheLadders.com founder's recently disappeared misogynistic blog posts—much to the joy of incumbent Kristen Gillibrand—and today, after calling Gillibrand's part in the PIPA mess "unfortunate," Cendella copped to Capital Tonight to having "full responsibility" for the offending blog posts.
Was Potential GOP Senate Candidate Cenedella Writing A Misogynist Blog?
Oh the Internet, always catching politicians with their mouths open. In the latest example of the dangers of the interwebs, the Times today digs into a website purportedly written by potential Republican senate candidate Marc Cenedella. Maybe potential representatives of the Empire State don't want to be on the record as being in support of making March 14 a Steak and Blow Jobs holiday?
Bloomberg Gives Over $40K To Gay Marriage-Supporting Republican Senators
The marriage equality bill which passed on June 24, and was signed into law that same night by Governor Cuomo, will go into effect next weekend. Mayor Bloomberg, who had previously put his money where his mouth was in advocating for the bill, went out of his way to make sure that the City Clerk offices will be open that Sunday for the first legal gay nuptials in the state. He's also going out of his way to reward the four Republican Senators who helped support the bill.
Sheldon Silver Lays Body Blow To Stop Mixed Martial Arts
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of the octagon: it seemed like the page was about to turn for Mixed Martial Arts aficionados—after a long struggle to get their beloved, bloody sport legalized in New York, the MMA bill was overwhelmingly approved by the Assembly Tourism Committee this week. But the bill was then unceremoniously bodyslammed by none other than the heavyweight champion of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver. "There does not appear to be widespread support in the Assembly for this legislation," he told the News.
Connecticut Senate Approves Pot Decriminalization Bill
Last week, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which included prominent former heads of state and a former U.N. secretary-general, issued a report calling the war on drugs a failure, encouraging governments to decriminalize marijuana. It seems Connecticut may have been listening: the Connecticut Senate narrowly approved legislation to decriminalize small amounts of pot yesterday.
Snooki Booking At Rutgers May Lead To New Legislation!
Earlier this month, America's youth—specifically those currently enrolled at Rutgers University—paid Snooki of Jersey Shore an absurd amount of money to come fist pump at the school. More than the university paid Toni Morrison, in fact. (Kids today! Etc.) Now Senator Joe Kyrillos is prepping a proposal in the state Senate that would essentially, hopefully, lead to better choices.
It's Official: New York Down To 27 Districts
Good job, everyone who didn't fill out the census. According to the official census data released in Washington this morning, New York is losing two congressional seats, giving us the same number of seats we had in the 1800s. New York and Ohio are the only two states to lose two seats; Pennsylvania and New Jersey each lost one, and Texas gained four.
Senate Votes To Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell
After years of controversy, debate and frustration, the Senate voted 65 to 31 today to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which restricted openly gay, bisexual and lesbian citizens from serving in the military. With the bill already having passed the House 250 to 175, it will now go to President Obama, who advocated for a full repeal of DADT during his presidential campaign, and is expected to sign it into law. Obama said: "I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known...It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly."
Senate Blocks DREAM Act, "Disappointing" Says Obama
After numerous protests, debates and delays, the DREAM Act failed to break a filibuster in the Senate with a 55-41 vote. The act—which would provide a path to citizenship for immigrants who came to the country before they were 16, are under the age of 30, earned a high school diploma or a GED and enrolled in college or the military—failed to earn the 60 Senate votes required for cloture. On the floor before the vote, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) said, “This bill is a law that at its fundamental core is a reward for illegal activity." Because 10-year-olds who move to the country with their parents with dreams of going to college are clearly the enemy.
McCain Calls 9/11 Health Bill Push "Fooling Around"
Last week, Senator John "Maybe Maverick" McCain (R-Arizona) was kind of dismissive to a 9/11 first responder who would really love some Republican support for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Last night, McCain was kind of dismissive about Democrats' efforts to try to give $7.4 billion in benefits to first responders and survivors; when arguing against time limits for discussing the START Treaty, "To have a time agreement after all of the fooling around that we’ve been doing on ‘DREAM’ Act, on New York City … we will not have a time agreement from this side.” Naturally, that set off Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Jon Stewart Wants GOP To End Death Grip On 9/11
Last night, the Daily Show took up the Senate's failure to pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which would have given $7.4 billion to Ground Zero first responders and their survivors. Jon Stewart asked, "Since when do Republicans make 9/11 first responders stand over in the corner with the gays and Mexicans?"
Dream Act, DADT Senate Votes Blocked By GOP Filibuster
The Senate is where good things go to die, but the move by Democrats yesterday to table a vote on the DREAM Act and DADT may have eluded the legislative grim reaper. Faced with a GOP filibuster, majority leader Harry Reid called for a delay on the vote, according to the Times. This buys the Democrats time to win more Republican support to pass the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to immigrants who complete two years of college or join the military. They also hope to garner more votes on the side of repealing DADT, which will come before the Senate again at a later date, presumably before the January red invasion.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal, Dream Act Fail In Senate Vote
Earlier today, the GOP successfully filibustered the Department of Defense authorization bill, with the Senate voting 56-43 mostly party lines, with Democrats voting for the bill which included the repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and offering young immigrants a path to citizenship with the Dream Act. The NY Times explains, "Senate Republicans voted unanimously to block debate on the bill — the huge, annual authorization of military programs — after the majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said he would attach a number of the Democrats’ election-year priorities to it while also moving to limit the amendments offered by Republicans."
Politicians Bid Farewell To Pedro Espada Jr.
With heavy sighs and clenched handkerchiefs, politicians across NY state mourned the loss of former State Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., after Tuesday's humiliating defeat at the hands of upstart Gustavo Rivera. "He was an albatross around all of our necks," said a depressed Sen. Liz Krueger, clearly too overwhelmed by the moment. "What Espada's ethical problems did was put a scarlet letter around anyone in the conference," a Senate official told the Daily News, tears probably streaming down a reddened, blotchy face.
Ex-American Idol Judge's Dad Will Face Gillibrand
Yes, Joseph DioGuardi, dad of Kara, won the Republican Senate primary and will challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for her seat. After petitioning to be on the ballot, DioGuardi, a former Congressman, beat out Bruce Blakeman, a Long Island lawyer who is also known as Paul McCartney's girlfriend's ex-husband, and David Malpass, who was backed by Mayor Bloomberg's girlfriend. DioGuardi said, “We brought together Conservative and Republican lines. Do you realize what that means? Senator Gillibrand’s worst nightmare is coming true tonight. The NY Times reports, "Ms. Gillibrand was favored over whichever Republican she faced, because she is well financed and well known and has made efforts to build bipartisan support."
Did Espada Send Fake Campaign Mailers?
A former opponent of Pedro Espada Jr. is accusing the Bronxchester Senator of playing dirty on the campaign trail, even after the campaign was over. Waaaaait, someone is accusing Pedro of dirty tricks?? Next you'll be telling us the prospect of an Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan is the cause of mass controversy!
November Smackdown: McMahon Wins GOP Senate Primary
Former World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive—and wife of Vince—Linda McMahon won the Connecticut Republican Senate primary yesterday. According to the Courant, she "came on stage to Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger.'" She said of the Republican Party, "Families don't always get along and don't always agree, but, in the end, they do stand together." This means she'll be vying for Senator Christopher Dodd's seat this fall against Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic candidate and fake Vietnam vet). As Democrats slam her WWE connections, McMahon said she is willing to spend up to $50 million on the race.
Bloomberg's Lady Says She Could Have Beat Gillibrand
Diana Taylor is best known to New Yorkers as Mayor Bloomberg's girlfriend, but she's raising her public profile as a political contender. She recently confirmed that, yes, she was considering running against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand this fall, but decided not to, because "My significant other is the mayor of New York City, so that would be really complicated." And now, she tells NBC New York, "I think I could have" won over Gillibrand.
Obama: Extend Jobless Aid For This New Yorker
At a press conference in the White House Rose Garden yesterday, President Obama urged Congress to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who have been unemployed for over six months—Americans like Denise Gibson from Queens! OK, there were two other unemployed Americans at the speech, but Obama specifically said that Gibson "has been interviewing for jobs, but so far nothing has turned up. Meanwhile, she's fallen further and further behind on her rent and with her unemployment benefits set to expire she's worried about what the future holds." If nothing else, at least she can put President Obama as a personal reference on her resume.
Senate Passes Wall Street Reform Bill 60-39
The Senate passed the Wall Street reform bill, 60 to 39, with Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Scott Brown of Massachusetts joining 57 Democrats for the vote. The 60 Senators were also able to limit debate and move the bill forward; President Obama, who is expected to sign it into law next week, said, "From now on every American will be empowered with the clear and concise information they need to make financial information that are best for you. This bill will crack down on unscrupulous mortgage lenders."
Long Serving Senator Robert Byrd Dies At 92
Robert Byrd, the Democratic Senator from West Virginia who first entered the Senate in 1959, died earlier this morning at age 92. His office released a statement, "I am saddened that the family of U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., tearfully announces the passing of the longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history." Byrd had been hospitalized a few days ago for heat exhaustion, but "more serious issues were discovered." Byrd had been in poor health in recent years.
House, Senate "On The Brink Of" Wall Street Reform
Early this morning, House and Senate leaders agreed on reconciling financial reform legislation. President Obama said, before leaving for Toronto to attend the G20 Summit, "Over the last 17 months, we passed an economic Recovery Act, health insurance reform, education reform, and we are now on the brink of passing Wall Street reform. And at the G20 summit this weekend, I’ll work with other nations not only to coordinate our financial reform efforts, but to promote global economic growth while ensuring that each nation can pursue a path that is sustainable for its own public finances."
Catholic Church And N.O.W. Blast "Divorce on Demand"
Yesterday the Senate passed a bill that would finally bring New York State divorce law up to speed with the rest of the country. Forty-nine states in the Union permit residents to pursue no-fault divorces, but New York still doesn't accept "irreconcilable differences" as grounds for ending marriage; one spouse must prove in court that the other is guilty of adultery, cruel and inhuman treatment, or withholding sex for a year.
Senate Candidates Further Split NY GOP
Yesterday, the NY State GOP ended its "disastrous" convention by voting on candidates to challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Bruce Blakeman, a Nassau County lawyer (and ex-husband of Paul McCartney's squeeze) got most of the votes, but former Bear Stearns economist David Malpass got enough votes for there to be a Republican primary this fall.
Lautenberg Wants NJ To Get Super Bowl 2014 Credit
Hey, guess who, besides NJ Governor Chris Christie and Daily News columnist Denis Hamill, also wants to make it clear that the 2014 Super Bowl will be held in NJ? Why, the senior Senator of NJ, Frank Lautenberg. He sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week, first congratulating and thanking the NFL on the decision. Then he got to the point—he doesn't want New York hogging the Super Bowl glory!
I am also writing to ensure that the NFL appropriately describes the site of the game as New Jersey/New York and not simply “New York.” I also urge the league to utilize and promote New Jersey in its marketing and events associated with the Super Bowl. To be sure, the entire New Jersey/New York region has much to offer and will benefit economically from the game. But the reality is that the Super Bowl will be played in New Jersey, and the NFL’s marketing, promotion, and events should reflect that fact.more ›
Assembly Agrees To Lift Cap On Charter Schools
The State Assembly has reportedly agreed to lift the cap on charter schools from 200 to 460 over four years, which would enable NY to compete for "Race to the Top" funds. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says the Assembly will vote on the contentious issue this morning (well, the Senate had passed raising the cap, while the Assembly opposed it). The Daily News reports, "Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) met with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at about 2 a.m. to discuss the measure and afterward said only 'we’re working on it.'" Wow, lawmakers actually working! How's that budget coming along?
send a tip
tips@gothamist.comsubscribe
Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.