It’s Lulu Land up in Albany!
Liberal and independent media-makers from a President Trump-opposing group called The Creative Resistance released a video on Oct. 24 called “LuLu Land” which humorously criticizes the eight members of the breakaway bloc the Independent Democratic Conference, who sit across the aisle with the Grand Old Party in the Senate to give the Republicans a majority in the chamber.
The title of the two-and-a-half-minute video is a riff on the Hollywood musical “La La Land,” and refers to so-called “lulus” — the cash bonuses legislators get for holding leadership positions — which several members of the breakaway bloc receive in exchange for turning their backs on the Democrats and sitting with the majority party.
But instead of a love story between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s characters in Los Angeles, “The Sopranos” actress Edie Falco narrates how the eight rogue Democrats — including state Sen. Jesse Hamilton (D–Crown Heights) — are ruining New Yorker’s lives by preventing much-needed laws from passing, and why they should be voted out of office.
“Let’s fight back,” says Falco in the video. “If we can raise enough awareness in these eight IDC districts, we can vote the fake Dems out, making New York a real blue State, like California—and inspiring other States of the Union to resist Trump, too.”
The video also takes a shot at turncoat state Sen. Simcha Felder (D–Midwood), who is not a part of the Independent Democratic Conference but still chooses to abandon the True Blues and vote along with the Republicans.
“IDC members insist that the fault really lies with another rogue Democrat who votes with Republicans,” says Falco. “The truth is, they are both at fault and they use each other as scapegoats to shift blame for their treason against the people who voted for them.”
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Endorsement round-up:
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D–Park Slope) endorsed Democrat Justin Brannan for the open Bay Ridge Council seat in the tight race against Republican candidate John Quaglione and Reform Party candidate Bob Capano. Brannan has the biggest war chest, with $145,869 on hand, versus Quaglione’s $108,245, and Capano’s $46,78.
Incumbent Councilman Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island) — who has been hitting the campaign trail hard in the last few weeks to keep his seat against along-shot Republican challenger 27-year-old Raimondo (Ray) Denaro — has racked up a total of 14 union endorsements, including most recently 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Hotel Trades Council, New York State Nurses Association, and the Communications Workers of America. Denaro, who is backed by the Brooklyn Conservative and Republican parties, has just $10,418 in his campaign coffers compared to Treyger’s $110,657.
In a contentious race to fill Councilman David Greenfield’s open Midwood Council seat, the Hotel and Motel Trades Council threw its support behind candidate Yoni Hikind, who is running on the independent “Our Neighborhood” ballot line against Greenfield’s handpicked Democratic candidate Kalman Yeger. Hikind has $252,576 in his campaign coffers, compared to Yeger’s $122,726.
Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D–Sheepshead Bay) has received all five endorsements from the New York City Police Department unions — Lieutenants’ Benevolent Association, Sergeants’ Benevolent Association, Detectives’ Endowment Association, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, and the Captains Endowment Association — in his re-election bid against Republican challenger Steve Saperstein. Deutsch, who also has the support of the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, has $102,603 in contributions on hand. And Saperstein, who has $49,190 in his war chest, recently got the backing of former Rep. Bob Turner (D–Brooklyn-Queens).
