Citizens Against Government Waste published its annual list of congressional earmarks (they actually call it the Congressional Pig Book list).

Of course, what one person calls wasteful spending, another person calls bringing home the bacon, and now that Democrats are in the majority, New York was supposed to be getting more federal money.

The state made out with a good portion, particularly in the Catskills, where Maurice Hinchey brought in $43.7 million.

Here is a list of what some members from New York, and a few from elsewhere, brought their districts, according to the list. (It's in numbers of millions):  read more »

Helen Foster, who is contemplating a run for Bronx Borough President, said the last two people who have held that job have divided the borough’s black and Puerto Rican communities.

A story in the Riverdale Review (still not online!) this week quoted Foster’s father, the former Councilman in the area, at a February 7 meeting saying, “The last two borough presidents we've had were not and are not sympathetic to the black community.”  read more »

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel are special guests at a fund-raiser at the Yale Club this afternoon for six Democratic congressional challengers, including two from New York: Dan Maffei and Eric Massa.  read more »

I just got off the phone with one of Hillary Clinton’s newly deputized "rapid responders," Assemblyman Joe Morelle. In the spirit of rapid responding, I named a few elected officials and asked him to say the first thing that popped into his head:

Hillary Clinton: “Extraordinary”
Bill Clinton: “Smartest man in any room he‘s in.”
Barack Obama: “Very talented and has a lot of promise.”  read more »

Jackson Heights City Council candidate Danny Dromm hosted a number of influential local politicians at a fund-raiser this weekend, most notably city Comptroller Bill Thompson, who will be a special guest at a fund-raiser for Dromm’s opponent in the Democratic primary, Alfonso Quiroz [time clarified]. Quiroz's boyfriend and treasurer is Thompson's director of communications.

More after the jump.  read more »

It's worth noting that Hillary Clinton isn’t the only one trying to get squared away with Eliot Spitzer’s new license policy.

The governor’s (original) plan would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain a driver's license, but now it's being linked to federal guidelines that will be outlined in the Real ID Act. Although Spitzer backed Real ID this week, a number of Democratic congress members from New York opposed it during a 2005 vote (which may explain why it hasn't been easy getting most of them to say anything about Spitzer's new plan).

One congressional aide was kind enough to refer me to the results of the 2005 vote on the Real ID Act.

Democrats Gary Ackerman (Queens/Nassau), Tim Bishop (Suffolk), Joe Crowley (Queens/Bronx), Eliot Engel (Bronx/Westchester), Carolyn Maloney (Manhattan/Queens), Greg Meeks (Queens), Jerry Nadler (Manhattan/Brooklyn), Charlie Rangel (Manhattan), Jose Serrano (Bronx), Ed Towns (Brooklyn), Nydia Velazquez (Manhattan/Brooklyn/Queens) and Anthony Weiner (Queens/Brooklyn) all voted against it.

UPDATE: Another congressional staffer, putting this story in context, noted that every Democratic congress member in the state voted against Real ID, except for Mike McNulty, who voted for it, and Maurice Hinchey who was absent.

The key message being pushed today at the state Democratic Party meeting in Garden City--onetime home of Rudy Giuliani and home to the last Republican state convention--is party unity.

Here, above, is State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who organized a lunch for convention goers, sharing a moment up on the podium with Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.

DiNapoli lost a primary to Suozzi in the 2001 county executive’s race, but he said that the two have since mended fences, going so far as to reveal to the crowd that he had kissed his former opponent at a dinner the night before.

The crowd laughed. To prove that the story wasn't a joke, Suozzi stepped up and planted one on DiNapoli’s forehead.

Afterwards, I asked Suozzi what political significance that kiss might have for Eliot Spitzer. All he would say was, "I'm going to give him a kiss too, later."

In other news: Chuck Schumer said he still hasn't studied Eliot Spitzer's plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, while Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Joe Crowley said they support the effort.

A reader in DC called in to remind me that a number of City Council members were there last night for a dinner hosted by Rep. Joe Crowley, and to attend a breakfast there this morning hosted by Rep. Charlie Rangel.

They’re there to deliver the City Council’s federal agenda to Congressional lawmakers (and check out some new office space).

Does anyone know if anything interesting happened? Or, while we're at it, whether the affected Council lawmakers are going to get back in time to vote in the local elections taking place today?

UPDATE: A reader called to inform me that Quinn met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to discuss 9/11 health issues, the Council's number one
legislative priority. 

Hillary Clinton is having a fund-raiser in D.C. today, hosted by Reps. Joe Crowley, Anthony Weiner and Steve Israel.

Ben plays the expectation game with the 2008 fund-raising numbers.

The Brennan Center thinks Albany's three-men-in-a-room style of governing is still in operation, despite a change in the line-up.

Cooper notes that Charles Gargano has an method of economic development that includes travelling to Rome and eating very expensive meals.

Fred Thompson is officially a top-tier candidate, now that his Christianity is being questioned.

And pictured above is Mike Bloomberg leaving City Hall as critics of his education plan protested.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just approved a waiver that will allow Joe Crowley to sit on the Foreign Relations Committee in addition to the the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, something he might otherwise have had to give up.

"I am grateful to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Steering Chair Rosa L. DeLauro for this opportunity to serve on the Committee on Foreign Affairs," Crowley said in a public statement.