In New York, Trump Backlash Takes Aim at Renegade Democrats

I live in Pennsylvania, where we certainly have our own challenges to overcome in November. But if I were able to work in NY campaigns, I'd be throwing all I have against the IDC. It's clearly a traitorous group of self-serving men who exemplify all that is wrong with the Democratic Party, especially it's ongoing inability to stick together when it has the majority. Godspeed to the grassroots groups (whom Mr Klein is already blaming for Trump's election and a Democratic defeat in November) aiming to rid your state government of these eight traitors. While you're at it, add your disappointing governor to the list. He should have addressed this long ago. Here's hoping Ms Nixon succeeds.

Klein's statement that "fringe groups" such as the Indivisibles are what brought Trump to power is as bogus as any of the statements he's made in our local Riverdale newspaper. Most of these groups came about because Trump won, not the other way around.

This is great news. That and a federal judge ruling that the emoluments case will proceed against Trump in DC/Maryland. Tired of the corruption. Run as a Democrat, act like a Democrat - not collude with a Republican agenda.

Remember, the next election picks a redistricting legislature. NY state senate Republicans have blocked fair districts, aided by these fake Democrats.

The idea that you can call yourself a Democrat, yet vote as a Republican, was used most prominently by Bill and Hilary Clinton. Yet the strategy is garbage, unless you don't really stand for anything and all you care about is YOU getting elected (which kind of describes the Clintons, now that I think about it). It's made me sick over the years to hear ignorant Republicans talk about Liberal Bill and Hilary, the people that gave us the very "liberal" policies of NAFTA, Three Strikes You're Out, the merger mania in Telecommunications, the ending of the Glass-Steagall laws, etc., etc. What the strategy DID achieve was to set a "new normal" for what was seen as Liberal, and the Democratic Party has still not recovered from the Clintons' heresy. Jeff Klein seems to get the most press, but Alcantara, Avella, Carlucci, Hamilton, Peralta, Savino, and Valesky should go out the door and go work for the party they actually belong to, the Republican Party.

I certainly hope Dr Mutnik is not one of those running, as his ignorance of state politics is quite telling.

There are 63 Senators — 32 Senators won on Democratic line and 32 Senators won on Republican line. That adds to 64 because Felder (who represents Orthodox area in Brooklyn) runs on both lines and often says he'll vote with whoever gives him/his district the most. . The IDC, all of whom run on the Democratic line of the ballot, caucus by themselves, giving the Republicans control of the Senate — that means that no bill gets out of committee and onto the floor unless the Republican Committee Chair allows it to come to the floor for a vote. Were the IDC to caucus with Democrats, Felder would have the spotlight as to which party he caucused with ... and it might go back and forth OR he could find himself with a challenger in his district. In any case, don't tell me that Peralta, Klein, etc., are progressive when many, many bills I favor never get to a vote so there's no way to hold Republican senators accountable for what they vote against. Further, why is Klein on the budget committee with Cuomo rather than Stewart-Cousins? He represents a caucus of 8 ... she represents a caucus of 23. AND for issues like discrimination and sexual harassment she brings a very different from white, male, IDC Klein ... How can Cuomo not recognize the optics of this unless Cynthia Nixon is correct in calling the group 1 actual Republican and 2 acting Republicans who run as Democrats?

Zephyr Teachout has a great video that explains this titled “Why New York is Not Quite a Blue State.”

For a long time I have been ashamed that NY was not taking more of a leading role in opposing the stench of this WH. What aren't we more vigorously opposing the dismantlement of our nation and our democracy? Why aren't we leading the charge on saving this planet for our children and grandchild? NY has disappointed me. Now I understand why. Change needs to come.

How about a list of democratic state senators who've been indicted in the last twenty years. Regular democrats all, and the reason the IDC was formed.

Thank heavens! ... NY politics - long a blot, blight, etc. that NY State somehow permits - have never been more putrid than now, when a handful of individuals betray many of their constituents for personal gain - the "lulus" that Committee Chairmen get. When you think that one of those "snakes" - I'd prefer something more colorful but don't want to be screened out for that reason - is now one of the 3 men in a room with the Governor, we as a State become no better than Alabama or Mississippi. It could happen, of course, only with the connivance of the current Governor, and the fact that the NY Times (for WHATEVER reason it might have that isn't being revealed) is marching to his tune is another thing we can be sad or angry about. But just as in the swamp called the District of Columbia, ... they have a potent argument at election time, "They listen to us." It's very hard for an opposing candidate to make the obvious case that "It's because you've sold your soul." If ever there were a time when the WFP could/should take a few scalps, this is it. And the 90% of Democrats who are more liberal and enlightened than Mr. Cuomo would do well to recognize that "the fish rots from the head." Ms. Nixon may have a lot to learn, but Mr. Cuomo has learned - "with his mother's milk," as it were - too many of the wrong lessons. I love most Italian people, but Machiavelli is probably not the best role model for a public servant in the 21st century. He must be Andy's godfather!

You can clearly see the kind of person and Public Servant Jeffrey Klein is from his finger-pointing statements. Imagine the audacity to blame the coalition for Trump's election. This piece of arrogance needs to be retired - immediately!!!

The article starts by quoting a voter who says "I bet a lot of people don't know about this". Then it NEVER lists the 8 members of the IDC. So a lot of people stlll don't know that their state senator belongs to this group, despite reading the New York Times. Give us the rest of the info. Please.

Ever think of voting your values? Vote Green!

Buried the lede there by mentioning Felder only in one paragraph deep in the article. What’s being done to put an actual Democrat in that seat?

I'm so glad the Times has explained how the IDC is doing this "bait and switch" on their constituents----pretending to be Democrats in their heavily Democratic districts while really being Republicans all the time. And how the nefarious almost comically villainous Jeff Klein, is behind it all. Why does it do it? The perks, the money from land lords, the power. Bonus: he also (allegedly) gets to forcibly kiss women on his staff. Then to write the laws punishing men like himself. He's a paragon. I sincerely hope Alessandra Biaggi defeats Jeff Klein. The IDC will fall apart and we will get the progressive legislation that has been kept off the floor by this fake Democrat. By the way, Gov. Cuomo---despite his protestations--- likes this arrangement because he gets to claim he's in favor of liberal legislation (healthcare, women's reproductive rights) without having it reach him for a signature. "If only those darn Republicans, 8 fake Democrats (and Jeff Klein) cooperated," he says! Cuomo seems happy to be powerless to do anything about it because those presidential primaries are not that far away. Remember Everyone, the Democratic Primary to defeat these Fake 8 is Thursday, September 13th!

It's about time. What do you call Democrats who play fair and nice ??? LOSERS. Want to win ????? Fight like a large, "ticked" off, menopausal Woman. You know, ME. Run to WIN, Run to LEAD.

The real issue with the IDC and the governor, is that voters will continue to re-elect them. When I look at what Trump and his policies are doing to NY State on taxes alone, it's not hard to see that the IDC and the governor(by allowing this to happen) are working against the best interests of the people of this state. When it comes to what is transpiring in state politics and the Democratic Party, you are either on the bus, or off the bus. There is no such thing as being a little bit pregnant.

partisan politics is incompatible with electoral democracy. it is not their labels that matter, but their actions in the legislature.

Anyone can do this, and bring themselves enormous power. The Senate in Washington is split 49-51 in favor of the GOP. Imagine if three GOP Senators formed an independent caucus, or caucused with the Democrats? Those three would control the entire Senate, with leaders of both parties coming to them, hat in hand. Those three would decide every issue from medical care to taxes to spending to judicial nominations, etc.

I don’t understand the motivation of the I.D.C, other than what’s printed here. The G.O.P. Is not Gerry Ford’s party, it’s now Trump’s party. Any attempt to forge a coalition with the State Republican Party includes the specter of Trump. While the I.D.C. claims to have “pulled the Senate Republicans to the Left,” this statement has to be verified. Given the Trumpist control of the national G.O.P.,, that has led to corruption of the political process, it is highly doubtful that Republicans can be “pulled to the Left”. Do members of the I.D.C. support impeachment of Trump, were there enough evidence? Right, this is New York State. Got it. They should be unequivocal in that position. Trump supporters: impeachment is bringing charges. There’ could be enough evidence to bring charges. If the I.D.C. has such a position, it would give voters confidence that they are truly independent of the G.O.P. The national G.O.P. has sided with Trump. Will the I.D.C compromise its values to support Trump in order to “pull the state G.O.P to the Left”? They need to clarify that to the voter. But then, if the I.D.C. doesn’t compromise, it loses it’s ability to forge its coalition with the state G.O.P. It’s a catch 22.

I love these true Democrats...

If only we had ranked-choice voting, the farce you described could have been avoided at least in one district. Marisol Alcantara won the Democratic primary with barely a third of the vote in a crowded field. Had there been ranked-choice voting she would not have come close to winning that primary or taking the seat she won the general, after which she suddenly turned into a Republican. She needs to be voted out in this next election!

The charge in many of the comments, that the Times hasn't covered the IDC, is untrue. The Times has run several articles about the IDC. I found out that my own state senator, Jose Peralta, had defected in a Times article on 1/25/17. I immediately called Peralta's office to protest. Peralta's argument, which I consider to be bizarre, was that defecting from Democrats would advance progressive causes. I replied that in that case I expected Albany to enact universal health care in anticipation of the dismantling of Obamacare. One of my arguments was that I had voted for Peralta in the belief that he was an actual Democrat, and I felt robbed. I said he should have told us in advance that if re-elected he intended to defect from the Democrats, so that we could cast informed votes. Another of my arguments was that, with Trump having taken over the GOP and the GOP having taken over the federal government and most of the states, it is critically important that Democrats be unified. I said I was pretty sure that a lot of Peralta's voters would feel the same way. Sure enough, just two weeks later, on 2/6/17, the Times reported on a protest at a Peralta town hall. In that story, the Times reported that "liberal activists are already pledging to mount primary challenges [in 2018] to the conference’s three most recent additions, Mr. Peralta, Senator Jesse Hamilton ... and Senator Marisol Alcantara." Those "liberal activists" have kept their word. politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com

New York Republicans are far to the left of republicans nationally and are a critical check on what would otherwise be a one party machine controlling everything. That the IDC helps to put this check in place and actually pulls the NY Republicans further to the center (god forbid) should be celebrated. With some of the highest taxes in the nation and a constant outflow of businesses and people, the last thing NYS needs is to be pulled even further to left than we already are. And who remembers the dysfunction the last time the Democrats controlled the NYS Senate back in 2009? It was a disaster.

A renegade Democrat is a Republican, simple as that.

At the root of this IDC travesty is their complicity in one of the most unethical gerrymandering scams in the US. In 2011 new state senate lines were drawn that packed urban residents into over-sized districts and but put as much as 40,000 fewer people in upstate rural districts. That's how a state that has consistently voted for Democrats with an average of 65 percent of the vote in statewide elections since 2006 has an upper state house that is controlled by Republicans. The gerrymandering included bisecting upstate urban districts that include high populations of color and diluting those votes by including ring areas that are all white. My IDC Senator, Carlucci who ran on gerrymandering reform, was rewarded. He traded in a purple area for an all blue town across the river.

The label "Independent Democratic Caucus" is intentionally misleading. First of all, this caucus is not independent but rather fully aligned with the Republican Caucus in the State Senate. Therefore, they are not Democrats either. These 8 politicians are nothing but bait and switch con artists who have effectively denied New Yorkers from a true ban on fracking, a statewide minimum wage hike, and a host of other progressive issues. The crux of the IDC argument is that rule of the people is bad, and the goal of the IDC is to thwart the rule of the majority. This is the literal antithesis of democracy.

This is a group interested in only power and found a handy way to exercise it. They need to go.

It's a scandal that those 8 renegades are in fact Republicans using Democratic funds to be elected.It's past time to clean the new york Democratic party from their nefarious presence.

The IDC senators betrayed the Democrats who elected them into office—and now they blame the activists for fighting what's so plainly wrong?? It's time for these people to go: MARISOL ALCANTARA (Inwood to Chelsea), TONY AVELLA (Queens), DAVID CARLUCCI (Rockland, Ossining), JESSE HAMILTON (Central Brooklyn), JEFF KLEIN (Bronx, Riverdale), JOSE PERALTA (Queens)DIANE SAVINO (Staten Island), and DAVID VALESKY (Syracuse).

Hello, Journalism 101: Name the IDC members.

It is incredible that because of the rash of news events at all levels. citizens are blindsided and not focused on important political events, such as this despicable arrangement by these eight senate renegades. They run as Democrats, then sell their souls to the GOP, the party of Trump. So, let's vanish these phony Democrats in the upcoming primaries and replace them with true blue Democrats so the Democrats will organize the chamber, not Republicans.

Think of when Democrats were in control...You had Krueger, Espada, Mosserate, & Smith. Its for reasons like this I support the IDC. Keeps balance of power in check.

It’s about time. Democrats in name only conning voters because as a Republican no one would pull the lever for them Shame shame shame

Fascinating story, but would have benefited by news you could use, listing all the IDC incumbents AND their challengers. Thank you, NYT.

If you think your New York state taxes are too high now, just wait until these people get their foot in the door in Albany. Far left Democrats are chomping at the bit to make you pay through the nose for every social welfare program under the sun. Elect them at your own risk, and watch the current exodus from New York become a flood of people seeking relief from the tax and spend lunatics on the left.

Goodbye, Jeff Klein. You are gone, after your betrayal of democrats, and your raw, ruthless dispay of political exploitation and manipulation. Im surprised youve lasted this long, but i get it that your elderly constituents in Riverdale arent really paying attention to what youve done in Albany to destroy the influence of the Democratic Party.

Even if the deal to merge the I.D.C. with the mainline Democrats WAS to go through, the Democrats would still be one vote short: WERE to go through is correct grammar.

Why would people not be previously informed about the IDC? Because the media has shielded the IDC. For example, Nick Reisman is an Albany based reporter who in the past described the GOP as being "in the majority" in the Senate even though they were not.

What exactly is so awful about the IDC, other than them not being "true Democrats?" In other countries, governance by coalition are the norm. While the IDC have been "comitting treachery," there has been a raise in the minimum wage, expanded free state/city college tuition, paid family leave, and other progressive accomplishments passed. So to their opponents: what specific progressive legislation have they blocked? This all seems like inside baseball, and most reporting on it so far hasn't made clear what the implications are to voters beyond who belongs to which Albany power faction. Maybe they're motivated by bigger offices and paychecks, but who is to say that the "true Democrats" aren't motivated by the same thing?

I defy anyone to explain how Queens State Senators Tony Avella and Jose Peralta are not a "Good Democrats". There is nothing wrong with them - they are both very progressive. They were doing exactly what politicians are supposed to be doing, working out compromises so things can get done. Conor Lamb is praised in this article for winning an election. He looked like, talked like, and smelled like a Republican during the campaign. I suggest that the author compare his position, issue by issue, with that of Avella and Peralta, and come to a real concussion about who is, and is not, a Democrat. As for Dr. Andrew Mutnick, let's check out the group he's hooked up with - the A.M.A. - and see just how dedicated to serving the public they really are.

This was covered extensively on cites like Gothamist before it was bought and shut down by, surprise surprise, a conservative trump supporter billionaire. Say what you will about local news blogs but this shouldn’t come as news to New Yorkers like politically active Mr. Klein if even sites like Gothamist had a bead on it. None of these jokers are in my district but I’ve been waiting for this backlash for a while.

I do not think it's hyperbole to say that these so-called "renegade Democrats" are the single biggest blight on New York State politics. Any candidate that REPEATEDLY votes with the opposing party AND MOREOVER allows them to gain control of one of the two Chambers of state government are an abomination to the citizens that they supposedly represent. It's one thing to occasionally break from one's party and support a bill presented by the opposition but to allow the opposing (and minority) party to hold hostage the progressive policies sought by the majority - the party to which they professed allegiance - smacks of the worst sort of political corruption and every effort should be made to oust these vile political hacks from our legislature.

I hope that we not only kick the IDC out, but also go after Republicans like my rep Elaine Phillips who voted against gun control and school safety. There is no excuse for Democrats not to pursue a progressive agenda in New York.

The IDC is the way Andrew Cuomo gets elected as a Democrat and makes certain he can rule as a Republican.

Please list the eight so we will know if we can vote against them.

If you always vote with Republicans, you're a Republican, regardless of the con game they play to get themselves elected in heavily Democratic districts. I wish their voting records and all the lulus they get from this facade could be posted in polling places. Keep publicizing this NYT.....

Clean 'em out. Otherwise New York will become another Ohio or Pennsylvania, if we're not there already...

This is factionalism at it's worst. As the article points out, even if the IDC voted with the regular democrats they would still be short of a majority. Anything progressive the IDC has accomplished is a plus. The Times seems to be part of the regular democratic machine, not a neutral observer. From the article: "Even if the deal to merge the I.D.C. with the mainline Democrats was to go through, the Democrats would still be one vote short of the 32 they need to lead the 63-seat chamber: Another Democratic senator, Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, has been siding with Republicans since 2012, and has been noncommittal about his alliances."