What's going on one year before the election?

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

When he campaigned for governor last year, Andrew Cuomo said, “We cannot tax our way out of the current crisis,” which was then a massive $10 billion deficit.

“New York has no future as the tax capital of the nation,” Cuomo said in January, after he was elected in a landslide on a no-new-taxes pledge.

“We simply cannot afford to keep spending at our current rate,” he said in presenting his tax-hike-free budget a few weeks later.

“You are kidding yourself if you think you can be one of the highest-taxed states in the nation, have a reputation for being anti-business and have a rosy economic future,” the governor said just last month.

Democrats on Capital Hill apparently do not agree with Cuomo.

President Obama “We’ve been a little bit lazy over the last couple of decades. We’ve kind of taken for granted — ‘Well, people would want to come here’ — and we aren’t out there hungry, selling America and trying to attract new businesses into America."

Dems refuse to back ObamaSen. Joe Lieberman was treated like an outcast back in 2008 when he broke from the Senate Democratic Caucus and openly opposed Barack Obama’s bid for the White House. Asked last week if he’d back Obama in 2012, the Connecticut independent said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

This time around, there may be more Liebermans.

A number of moderate Democrats like Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and liberals like Sen. Bernie Sanders are declining to give their unqualified support for the president, saying they’re either too focused on their own races or are calling on the White House to cater to their agendas before they will offer an endorsement. Some up for reelection in red states or in swing districts fear that even showing up on stage with Obama will give their opponents an image to seize upon — much as Democrats did in 2008 when they repeatedly flashed shots of Sen. John McCain hugging President George W. Bush.

So as the president faces the dual challenges of energizing his base while wooing moderates, some Democrats in Congress are keeping their distance, with the president’s approval rating hovering in the mid-40s — and even lower in states like West Virginia, where moderate Sen. Joe Manchin is up for reelection.

Occupy Protester Defecates In Public Street Hundreds of New York City police officers began clearing Zuccotti Park. Is this the new Democrat strategy? Send college kids and Union thugs out to blame Wall Street and shit on the streets of our cities so it takes the heat off them?

Michelle Fields of the Daily Caller was on scene to report about the Occupy DC protests. After a night of violence and harassment she has announced that she has asked the Daily Caller not to assign her to any more Occupy DC events because she fears for her safety.

Biden Praised Disgraced Corzine: ‘Smartest Guy I Know In Terms Of Economy’

Insider trading in the halls of Congress: Politicians Get Rich for What You and I Would Go to Jail For

European Debt Crisis: You Haven't Seen Anything Yet Though the daily market gyrations might indicate otherwise, realization is beginning to creep in that the European debt crisis and its effect on the U.S. will not take days, weeks or months to unwind—but years. That prolonged time frame — which entails the period it will take to reduce government spending, come up with workable debt repayment plans, and, most likely, witness the contagion that will follow — means that the market tumult that the crisis has brought also won't be going away anytime soon, either. Unless the rest of the euro-zone provides Italy with significant amount of assistance over a prolonged period, we think Italy will eventually default with catastrophic consequences for the wider region. Democrats in the U.S. are desperately trying to deflect blame away from excessive spending, an extremely difficult task as the Debt Commission pushes for Tax Increases, not spending cuts. Europe is expected to experience a mild recession in 2012, and the U.S. policy looms large, as we expect another credit downgrade if the Political will to cut is not there.

Californians Cut Spending. Californians have been cutting spending, according to a new report, in stark contrast to the state government, which continues to spend more than it takes in. The latest figures show state revenues last month were $811 million below projections. Nearly a billion dollars in just one month. Fiscal year to date, state income is running $1.5 billion below projections while state expenditures are $1.7 billion above--a $3.2 billion gap. On the other hand, individual Californians appear to be doing a better job reining in spending.