There's a great debate in New York State right now -- great because it reflects a larger debate around the country: shouldn't the wealthiest New Yorkers pay their fair share?
As this video shows, there's some confusion already over who is paying what:
All New Yorkers earning over $20k, pay the same rate. Fair Share Tax Reformers in NY are calling on the Governor to follow the President's lead and ask those earning $250,000 to pay a higher rate.
One counter argument: "If we raise taxes on the rich, they'll move away."
The good news: the city's wealthiest resident isn't going anywhere -- in fact, he changed the law to ensure that he could stay in office 4 more years...and giving us 4 more years to raise his taxes.
Residents plead for help from their cities, which seek bailouts from the states, which flail as they hope for Federal or divine intervention.
No governor can be solely blamed for his or her states crisis; the real test of their leadership, now, is how governors tackle the solutions. And whether they'll be as honest about some issues -- such as the need to increase revenue -- as the President was in his address to Congress.
As a New Yorker, I see a very simple question: will Governor Paterson follow President Obama's lead to ask citizens who earn more than $250,000 to pay their fare share?
Bring a child to watch you vote.
Bring a friend and double your vote.
Bring an umbrella, a book, a sound system -- make it a party, as Color of Change recommended to its list, to keep people engaged, keep them entertained and (most importantly) keep them in line.
Wear a button.
Smile at people who are wearing buttons.
Start conversations about your button.
High five strangers -- it's awesome.
You've donated, you've blogged, you've swayed your friends. If you have any hours today, do more than vote -- we need you in the field or on the phone, every hour you have.
I went to the New York Board of Elections. I filed out my absentee ballot request form in person. I sat in what looked like a classroom with about 3 dozen other people at any given time. We all waited patiently. Somewhat quietly. Waiting like we were on a mission.
And we were.
It actually took over a half-hour before they called my name and handed me my ballot. By then, I was feeling a little weary from the room.
But once I filled out my ballot, and as I sealed the envelope, I couldn't repress a big smile.
Other people caught it -- they smiled too.
Then, five minutes later, I had to fight back tears.
As I exited the building onto the street, I just felt overwhelmed.
Why?
Was it a similar feeling that a friend's mother expressed to her daughter in an email yesterday:
This open letter to the Netroots from Netroots New Yorkers is posted by other signatories on The Albany Project and Daily Gotham
Democrats are on the ascent, nationally and in states like ours, where the decades-old Republican stranglehold on Albany may finally be broken in less than one week.
If the Democrats are victorious, then the real battle will begin: how do we hold them accountable to progressive values against the enormous pressure they will face to play it safe?
As you may well know, they've led many of the big battles over the last ten years, from raising the minimum wage to putting paid family leave on the map, to fighting for affordable healthcare for all, public transportation, and most recently taking on Mayor Bloomberg's extremely undemocratic plan to extend term limits without a public vote.
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has scheduled a vote for thus Thursday on extending theirs and the Mayor's term limits.
One argument for term limits is that incumbents may misuse the power of their office to stay in office. Regardless of whether you believe in term limits in principle, you see that concern come true in the case of New York.
Council Member Bill de Blasio, who along with the Working Families Pary's Its Our Decision campaign, has been leading the charge against the change, outlined the process concerns at a forum last night: Council members are voting on their own jobs; the publishers of the major dailies were on board with the Mayor before their editorial boards were approached; the major proponent of term limits in the past has been offered a seat on the review commission in return for his cooperation now; there are reports that the Speaker has threatened to strip committee chair posts from recalcitrant members; the Mayor's advocates have hired people to sit in hearings as supporters; and all of this is being rushed through an uncustomary two-week process that has left hundreds of New Yorkers who have come to testify closed out of the hearing rooms.
To de Blasio, it's not about term limits -- it's about the problems of corporate media, self-funded candidates and a willingness to ditch democratic process.
In June, after Senator Obama disappointed me with his FISA vote, I told someone who had come to Drinking Liberally to promote a fundraiser that I was going to withhold my donation. It was my own way to signal that I disagreed with the candidate I would ultimately vote for anyway.
Hearing the Obama campaign raised $150 million last month may make me wonder whether my deferred $25 made a difference. But we do have to find ways to pressure Obama, his advisors (and, hopefully, his administration) if we want to push a progressive agenda. As David Sirota asked earlier today, "If not now, when?" -- when can we challenge Obama, who we support for President, to live up to our standards?
Their "Vote Change Like You Mean It" campaign allows you to add your vote to the Obama total, but also send a message that you believe in higher wages, expanded healthcare and progressive tax structure (and right now they are the leading voice against Bloomberg's power grab)...and at the same time you can increase the power base of a group that will scare safe, cautious Dems on the state level.
Mayor Bloomberg is usually pretty calm and confident, one of the many qualities that has given him impressive approval numbers among New Yorkers.
So why has he been snapping at reporters? He lost his cool as a reporter asked about the pressure he and Speaker Christine Quinn were putting on Council Members to rush through their proposal to extend their own term limits.
Look I am not here to debate you; ask your question and I'll answer it...When you get done with your speech, let us know. You can write it out. Whenever you have a question, I'll be happy to answer it.
I spent the day campaigning with the Obama team in Easton, Pennsylvania, one of thee three cities that make up the Lehigh Valley. Obama's campaign has been moving staff into PA -- making sure this state, which often boasts results closer than polls predicted, stays in the Democratic column.
I wasn't here with Drinking Liberally; I was here with the Krebs family, and scores of other New Yorkers who bused in to knock on doors. When the sun went down, we didn't go home -- we went to the phones -- in the sweet and photogenic storefront that hosts Obama's Easton operation.
What keeps this place going is a core of team members -- staff, fulltime volunteers, a 13-year-old kid that made calls next to me -- and, the secret to every good operation, plenty of food.
Michael Moore was on CNN arguing with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about Sicko, claiming that Americans shouldn't be hurried along the path of bankruptcy and death because of a horrible health care system. Gupta argued that in Canada and England, people have to wait in line to die.
I voted today.
But once I filled out my ballot, and as I sealed the envelope, I couldn't repress a big smile.
In New York State, there's one good answer: you can send that message by 
