Letter from Michael Caputo

[WNYresident]

Dear Fellow New Yorker:

First, please accept my family's wishes for a happy and prosperous new year. As Carl Paladino's former campaign manager, I know the campaigns of 2010 were exhausting for all of us. I wanted to drop you a note of thanks for your support for Carl's candidacy.

We lost at the polls, but we might still see a policy victory: today, Governor Andrew Cuomo is talking like a fiscal conservative. His ideological shift - if it is for real - can be attributed to two factors: New York's economic reality and the chorus of grassroots protest.

I am writing you today because it may be up to the grassroots to deliver conservative fiscal reform that can cut our taxes and save our State.

So far, Gov. Cuomo has proposed a series of reforms that sound an awful lot like Carl Paladino:

• An annual cap on the growth of local and school district property taxes at two percent, or 120 percent of the inflation rate, whichever is lower. (http://nyti.ms/e4seDy)
• Layoffs of 10,000 to 12,000 state workers, about five percent of the workforce. (http://on.wsj.com/es4ohu)
• A "storm" of real budget cuts, the first in far too long. One reporter thinks Cuomo "would exceed the $7 billion in cuts proposed by Carl Paladino." (http://bloom.bg/hBJVRX)
• Closing a $10 billion budget deficit with no new taxes, fees, or borrowing. (http://nydn.us/ep0uqc)

Sure, Gov. Cuomo is "talking the talk." But will he "walk the walk" of fiscal responsibility? We'll soon find out. His State of the State speech will be televised on Tuesday, February 1st and budget talks will begin thereafter.

But we already have some indications of his resolve.

This month, Cuomo stood his ground on the property tax cap, resisting Democrat Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's push to link the cap to reauthorizing a state law controlling rents for a million New York City apartments.

Cuomo said no. He wants the two issues dealt with "on their own merits," and he's right.

Cuomo has no draft legislation yet, but the Albany horse-trading has begun. Any tax cap bill must include mandate relief, and mandates are Speaker Silver's lifeblood. The Governor must make deep, unilateral cuts to major programs, such as Medicaid, in his first budget proposals. If he compromises and excludes bloated mandates, a tax cap will be only a fig leaf to hide this administration's shortcomings.

More leaves worth reading: an onerous State income tax surcharge on New Yorkers making more than $200,000 - worth more than a billion in state revenues annually - is set to expire. Much to the chagrin of Speaker Silver, Cuomo insists the surcharge must sunset, otherwise it's "a new tax and therefore I'm against it."

I know - you really have to pinch yourself. What's next, a pit bull and a baseball bat?

Like you, I oppose the Democrat Party's progressive agenda. Like you, I fought like Hell to stop Andrew Cuomo's campaign for Governor of New York State. I don't much like him; I'm still angry about his dirty campaign against Carl.

But, at the risk of a localized lightning strike, I must admit the Governor's early fiscal moves are conservative, responsible and absolutely necessary.

I think we all agree: we don't need tax caps - we need tax CUTS. That was a key contrast in Cuomo v. Paladino, and we must never stop calling for tax cuts. But if the new Governor is unable to show strength when cutting spending, slashing mandates and enacting a property tax cap, he will never work for tax cuts.

"A property tax cap is the place to start," said Sandy Parker, president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, and a co-founder of Unshackle Upstate. "It forces the conversation that has been put off for far too long."

Ms. Parker is right. So here is the question that has kept me awake at night: should Carl's grassroots supporters cross battle lines and help Cuomo push a conservative fiscal agenda?

If you are engaged in the political arena only to advance the Republican Party, you might say no.

If you are active in politics because you desire a fiscally responsible government, you must say YES.

I am a die-hard Republican who fought in the trenches for Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp and Carl Paladino. I'm as conservative as you can get, and last year I spent most of my time criticizing Andrew Cuomo.

It is starting to look like I may end up eating a few of my words. But I would happily sit for that meal if the Governor delivers real fiscal reform.

In fact, I am writing to tell you I will work to push Cuomo's fiscal agenda.

Right away, I will contact my legislators and ask them to vote for the two percent property tax cap, but only if it includes mandate relief for local governments. I'll ask them to cut spending, not raise taxes, to balance the budget. And I am writing to encourage you to do the same.

Nobody asked me to do this; nobody has hired me to help. Just because Carl Paladino lost doesn't make far more responsible fiscal policies any less urgent. I am doing this on my own accord, at some risk to my conservative credentials.

If you want to stop the rocketing rise of your taxes, I invite you to join me and start by backing budget cuts and real mandate relief under a two percent property tax cap.

Please telephone, email and FAX your New York State legislators demanding budget cuts and a property tax cap with fundamental mandate relief. You can easily track down your representatives' contact information here: http://nymap.elections.state.ny.us/nysboe/.

I also urge you to talk with your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, your grassroots activist friends, and every New Yorker you come in contact with in the days ahead. Tell them we have a decent chance that spending cuts - not tax hikes - will balance our budget and there's a chance for a property tax cap that reigns in runaway State mandates. But only if they contact their legislators TODAY.

Crossing party lines is what separates partisans from ideologues. I'm a lifelong loyal Republican, but New York State is dying for tax relief. Spending cuts are first steps and a property tax cap is just a start, but if we don't start today we'll never achieve our shared goals of broader fiscal responsibility.

Tax and mandate relief: it's what we believe in. So let's get off the sidelines fight for it. Thank you for your time and consideration of this vital matter.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Caputo
Buffalo, NY

PS: The lines are being drawn right now in the battle to save our State. Please take a few minutes out of your day to gain control of your tax burden: contact your New York State Assemblymember and Senator today via Web at http://nymap.elections.state.ny.us/nysboe/. I've pasted an example letter below:


---


Assemblymember/Senator NAME
New York State Legislature
Albany, New York

Dear New York Assemblymember/Senator NAME:

New York State faces the most serious financial crisis in our state's history. The upstate economy is in especially bad shape and people are leaving our state to find jobs and opportunity elsewhere.

We have the highest taxes and the largest health care, energy and education costs of any state in the nation. Today New York is unaffordable for the average worker and unattractive to business. On top of these problems, our state faces a huge budget deficit because our government has spent beyond its means for a decade.

I did not support Andrew Cuomo in this past election, but as Governor he has announced a good plan to gain control of our state finances and fix our economy. I know he cannot get conservative fiscal reform through a progressive legislature alone. He needs citizen support - and he needs you and the other members of the state legislature to back his plans.

The time has come to fix what is broken in Albany. As your constituent, I hope and expect you will actively support spending cuts to close the $10 billion budget deficit - no new taxes, fees, or borrowing to balance. I also urge you to lock in mandate relief as a property tax cap requirement - any cap is a sham without mandate relief.

We all need to work together to get New York back on track. With your leadership, we can create new jobs, control spending and grow our economy. Please keep me informed on what you are doing to accomplish the two objectives noted above.

Thank you for your time and service.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
CITY, NY ZIP

[therising]

So here is the question that has kept me awake at night: should Carl's grassroots supporters cross battle lines and help Cuomo push a conservative fiscal agenda?

If you are engaged in the political arena only to advance the Republican Party, you might say no.

If you are active in politics because you desire a fiscally responsible government, you must say YES.

I am a die-hard Republican who fought in the trenches for Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp and Carl Paladino. I'm as conservative as you can get, and last year I spent most of my time criticizing Andrew Cuomo.

It is starting to look like I may end up eating a few of my words. But I would happily sit for that meal if the Governor delivers real fiscal reform.

In fact, I am writing to tell you I will work to push Cuomo's fiscal agenda.

WOW. Good for him. I suddenly have total respect for this guy.

Unlike a lot people here (The guilty parties know who you are, because I've called you out on it in the past,) he's actually more interested in getting things done, than getting caught up in the usual partisan politics.

[buffy]

This fits right into SpeakUp WNY's mission. Let's send a paper storm of support for Andrew's plan to all of our elected state representatives. Raise hell WNY!

[buffy]

I sent my letters today to Mike Randzenhofer & Jim Hayes. Yesterday I got a robo call from Mike asking 3 questions pertaining to taxes and whether I was opposed to raising taxes for a few different reasons. I answered " NO " or, rather, I pressed #2 for NO!

I even pressed #2 for his first questioned, which, in the way he phrased it, sounded like he favored tax credits to businesses for job creation. NO! NO! NO! No tax credits no tax increases, just get the house in order, lower our damn taxes, and the people will stay and businesses will come.

[WNYresident]

Vicki sent her letters out and I was told to get mine out

[nogods]

All is not well in tea party land:

"He (Caputo) was way off the reservation if he was trying to speak for the tea party people," said Paladino, who told 2 On Your Side he will reserve his praise for Gov. Cuomo until he hears that Cuomo is prepared to take a step beyond merely putting a cap on taxes.

And Caputo needs a history lesson himself:

Top aide to Paladino backs agenda but misstates facts in many cases

And then there is this:

New York governor-elect Andrew Cuomo celebrates his 63% to 32% win over Tea Party firebrand Carl Paladino.

63% to 32% sounds to me like "Carl, shut up!"

I can understand aspiring candidates for governor making noise, but a has-been loser needs to stop flapping his lips. he lost. big time. it's as if someone took a bat and beat him with it.

[buffy]

Apparently, I'm on the email list for Patriot Action Network because i got a similiar request from them today to send letters to my legislators exhorting them to support Andrew Cuomo's budget.

Does my heart good to know that for the most part, people are uniting across party lines to get out the Governor's message.

[therising]

Apparently, I'm on the email list for Patriot Action Network because i got a similiar request from them today to send letters to my legislators exhorting them to support Andrew Cuomo's budget.

Does my heart good to know that for the most part, people are uniting across party lines to get out the Governor's message.

Buffy - I under-estimated you, and I'm sorry for that. I misjudged you, and I thought that since you were such an avid Carl supporter, that you would never support Cuomo.

I wish more people were like you.

[buffy]

Buffy - I under-estimated you, and I'm sorry for that. I misjudged you, and I thought that since you were such an avid Carl supporter, that you would never support Cuomo.

I wish more people were like you.

I supported Carl, ...Carl lost. Carl probably shouldn't have started with a bid for the governor's office, but, I think he ran on heartache to honor his son. That said, Andrew Cuomo is smart enough to know when a grassroots movement is building steam and he seems to be bucking his status quo stigma. I support him in this. More power to him. He submitted his budget and asks that we do our part to "force the legislature" to adopt it as is. As far as I'm concerned, we're on the same page - of course I'll help. This is his first step and its an important one b/c there are lots more steps to take before we're out of the hole.

Now I have to ask you... have you mailed your letters yet?

[nogods]

We all also need to send email or letters to the school board members in your district. Let them know you want a budget that freezes teacher and administrator compensation and benefits rather than programing cuts. Let them know that you know the date of the next board election.

[buffy]

Buffy -
I wish more people were like you.

February 3, 2011


Dear Fellow New Yorker,

We have a small victory, thanks to concerned citizens, Tea Party activists and everyday Americans across the New York State who devote their time and energies to educating the public about an all too powerful government.

It is by our vigilance that we are able to persuade elected officials to see things from the people's perspective, rather than from a self absorbed - know it all - State government view.

It is time for us to persuade these elected officials again.

When we see a Democrat Governor open his eyes to the need for bold spending restraints and property tax caps that will (hopefully) keep New York afloat on a river that has been bending for years, we ought to be happy.

New York has a long history of one hand washing the other. Republicans and Democrats alike have cow-towed to powerful public unions. They have accepted unreasonable contracts that force spending mandates the taxpayers cannot afford.

Another concern is that New Yorkers will leave this great state; feeling the weight of high taxes and excess regulation; taking their business ingenuity elsewhere; resulting in zero job growth for New York.

So, it is without hesitation that I support Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget for addressing the issues important to me; a budget the New York Daily News calls "slash-and-burn" (this is a good sign!).

In his Letter to New Yorkers dated February 2, Governor Cuomo wrote: "The budget is designed to get our state on the right path by eliminating a $10 billion deficit without raising taxes or borrowing. Just as importantly, it will transform our state's budget process itself."

"We must realign our state spending with reality. Our budget efforts are not just a cutting exercise, but a management exercise. We will redesign and reinvent state government based on the principles of quality and efficiency."

"We are also taking on the decades-old system of basing budgets on a body of law that ignores fiscal realities and actual performance while driving exorbitant growth rates. We will work to create new laws that reflect the true economic conditions impacting our state and that incorporate achievement as a measure of success."

New Yorkers are resilient and creative. We will move forward and keep working to effect positive changes in government in order to keep residents and businesses right here in the Empire State.

Do not let an olive branch of common sense opportunity pass you by. Contact your elected officials today and let them know you support Governor Cuomo's budget. You can do that easily via Internet by clicking HERE.

Thank you!

Raquel Okyay
Ulster Orange Tea Party

[buffy]

February 8, 2011

Dear Fellow Taxpayer,

This past week, New York's new Governor, Andrew Cuomo, unveiled a budget for the coming 2011-2012 fiscal year. He has followed through on his campaign pledges with the right rhetoric - and proposed many of the right reforms.

Now, he needs our help. The Suffolk County Liberty Report is determined to help the Governor gain control of a budget process with a legislature bound and gagged by a flawed budget process and powerful special interests.

To an upstate audience in Amherst this past week, the Governor said of that budget process: "It's not supposed to be about Democrats and Republicans. It's supposed to be about the people of New York." It's not supposed to be about those special interests, either.

It's about us -- the tax-paying homeowners and small businesses that work hard to make New York a place to live and prosper. Under the weight of deficit spending, ludicrous regulations, and oppressive taxation, we struggle to live within our means and leave a better New York for our children and grandchildren.

The Governor has proposed a plan to eliminate the $10 Billion deficit without raising taxes or borrowing. The State, he declared, "will have live within our means." New York, like its families, can no longer spend money it does not have.

He is riling the special interests, challenging timid legislators, bucking the big-spending inertia of Albany, and making difficult decisions - read spending cuts - in line with reality, not political pipe dreams of any party.

We ask that you join us in sending a message to Albany. Stand with the Suffolk County Liberty Report. Stand with the Governor's fiscally conservative budget reforms. The size of government spending - and state government - must be reduced.

Please write to your legislator in the Senate and Assembly by clicking HERE or HERE. The Governor thanks you. We thank you. And your children and grandchildren will thank you.

Sincerely,

Frank
Frank Seabrook
Publisher and Founder Jim
James B. Teese
Editor in Chief

[buffy]

February 9, 2011

To the All Grassroots Organizations in New York State:

A week ago, Mike Caputo made a reasonable and evenly metered defense of the Governor's budget. This has raised quite a lot of excitement amongst tea party activists. I, too, have reservations, but the Governor's proposals, in fact, sound a lot more like something Governor Paladino would have presented than those of a Progressive Democrat. The message here is that all the time, energy and money expended by Carl and by all the rest of us was not wasted. Carl didn't win, but his ideas for the most part did. That's a victory for New York State.

We live in an imperfect world. We will never get everything we want. No one ever does. We need to maintain perspective in situations like this. To villainize our compatriots can do nothing but harm our cause. A steady and reasoned, on-going analysis is what we need here. It's what we always need.

Remember this: we in the Tea Party/9-12 movement cling to certain principles. Mike chose to endorse Mr. Cuomo's plan because he believes it is in line with those principles. We may not care that Cuomo is the messenger, but we have a moral obligation to embrace his message if it is in line with our thinking. If our message wins, we win, and above all New York State wins.

I present these ideas from the standpoint of an individual. I do not purport to speak for everyone in the Cattaraugus County Tea Party. To do so would be to greatly overstep any authority ever placed in me by our organization.


IN GOD WE TRUST
Carl W. Edwards
Cattaraugus County Tea Party Member
www.cattcoteaparty.org
cw.edwards@hughes.net

[nogods]

February 9, 2011

To the All Grassroots Organizations in New York State:

The message here is that all the time, energy and money expended by Carl and by all the rest of us was not wasted. Carl didn't win, but his ideas for the most part did. That's a victory for New York State.


IN GOD WE TRUST
Carl W. Edwards
Cattaraugus County Tea Party Member
www.cattcoteaparty.org
cw.edwards@hughes.net

what a joker.