Here’s the first tv ad from Democratic congressional candidate Eric Massa, who is looking to unseat one of New York’s last remaining Republican congerss members, Randy Kuhl.

It’s a short bio piece of Massa, which includes a shot of him in his white Naval uniform. (It's vaguely reminiscent of a McCain spot. And that may not be so bad in a congressional district that has 177,515 registered Republicans and only 122,538 registered Democrats.

Representative Charlie Rangel, who has recently faced a flurry of tough , intense press coverage, is having what appears to be an enormous birthday party for himself at Central Park's Tavern on the Green on Wednesday, August 6.

The invitation notes that Bill and Hillary Clinton, David Paterson, Chuck Schumer, Andrew Cuomo, Tom DiNapoli, Malcolm Smith, Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn will be there. The "special guest" is Howard Dean.

The event will be a fund-raiser for Rangel's campaign committee, the Victory Fund. The committee is highlighting the "top ten targeted house races," all of which are in the DCCC's "Red to Blue" project.  read more »

From tireless intern Bharat Ayyar:

Congressional hopeful Eric Massa, a retired Navy commander, held a conference call with reporters this morning, and outlined his plan for veteran health care, which he says has been neglected by Washington.

“I don’t care how much it costs. I don’t care,” Massa said. He added later, “Supporting our veterans is not a matter of cost. It’s a matter of political will.”

Massa, who raised an impressive sum of $298,156 during the filing period that just ended, wants to introduce legislation that would not only mandate full funding of the Veterans Administration but also permit veterans who are too far from a V.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/netroots-massa-lays-out-veteran-health-care-plan#comments Politics Dan Maffei Eric Massa G.I. Bill Jack Davis Jim Webb Jon Powers Randy Kuhl Veteran's Administration Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:53:04 -0400 Katharine Jose 72297 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/fund-raising-change

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 »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/fund-raising-change#comments Politics Dan Maffei Eric Massa Jerry Nadler Joe Crowley Rahm Emanuel Steny Hoyer Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:26:41 -0500 Azi Paybarah 64850 at http://www.observer.com