Paul Ryan: A lightning rod for local races

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s announcement of his selection of Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate has ignited a local political firestorm in western NY. Congressional representatives Louise Slaughter and Kathy Hochul used the opportunity to criticize Ryan’s stance on Medicare. Hochul was particular vocal, since she ran her 2011 campaign against Republican Jane Corwin largely as a statement against Ryan’s budget plan. “Americans deserve new ideas for how we can reduce the debt and protect our seniors and the middle class.  Just one year ago, Western New York voters rejected the Ryan-Collins policies that would end Medicare as we know it and hurt middle class families while giving more tax cuts to the rich,” Hochul said in a statement. “Our country needs to move forward, not re-hash failed ideas.  Given Chris Collins’ ongoing support for tax cuts for the rich that add nearly $1 trillion to the deficit and his willingness to send his business to China to line his pockets, it is clear my opponent is going to continue to pursue policies and priorities that have already been rejected.” Republicans say that the tax cuts proposed by Collins would actually help to jump start the economy by encouraging business owners to reinvest in their companies.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter shared similar convictions as Hochul. Slaughter is facing a bitter run against popular Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, a Republican who has promised to support cuts in government spending. “Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan shows just how committed Republicans are about gutting Medicare with a system that would have seniors negotiating alone with insurance companies for care and paying on average $6,400 more for the same coverage—all to give millionaires a $394,000 tax break,” Slaughter stated. “Maggie Brooks has already said Ryan’s budget doesn’t go far enough, which has fueled her campaign with tens of thousands of dollars and endorsements from Paul Ryan and other right-wing Republicans – now watch her run away from her record.”

Rochester weather some of the safest

In spite of the icy winter conditions typically endured by the Rochester area, a Weather Channel ranking has placed the region on a list of areas with the safest weather. Our area scored well since the most deadly events tabulated by the National Weather service, extreme heat, hurricanes, and tornados, are rare.