Say Hi to the Next Governor of New York .....
What a eight billion dollar budget deficit couldn't do, the girlfriend of a staff member did for David Paterson. The Governor of New York, who replaced Eliot Spitzer after Spitzer's prostitute scandal, decided to not run for election, after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office announced they were investigating if Paterson used his influence to get a domestic violence charge dropped by the girlfriend of one of his closest staffers... It's always the women that take us down.... My proposal is for every elected official to either be 1) Barred from interacting with women on the job, or 2) be turned into a Eunuch.....
More interesting than Paterson's walking out (there was no doubt he would lose), is the void it leaves, and all the other players who now have to readjust to the new playing field. First off, there is no doubt that Cuomo will be elected this year. He now has no competition on the Democratic side, so the $10 million plus he has in the bank can now be used to hammer the Republican candidate. Speaking of which, there really aren't any strong contenders. Rudy Giuliani would have been a good match, but by no means a slam dunk win. The Cuomo's are held with the same reverence in New York that the Clinton's have nationally. The funny part is how Cuomo showed both Henry McMaster and Andre Bauer how to clear the road for your own political gain, and not look bad doing it....
With Cuomo now able to run for Governor, his job will likely go to Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice, who has a decent reputation, and is good looking enough to make Upstaters forget that she's from Long Island. the Upstate/Downstate rancor DOES still exist, folks...
And what of Kirsten Gillibrand? Paterson's choice to replace Hillary Clinton, which was greeted with 'Kirsten Who?' has her work cut out for her. Right now, she's about a half-step above Roland Burris, and her only saving grace is that the Republican Party hasn't found a name candidate to run against her. Is the GOP missing a golden opportunity for Seat Number 42? Yep... Of course, it's not too late, but when your party has been getting bitchslapped for 15 years, it's hard to have a candidate with a strong resume... George Pataki, Washington is calling you.
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4 comments:
Was there anyone that did not think David Patterson's political career was gonna end badly after his overblown reaction to Saturday Night Live skits targeting him? It was apparent then, that Patterson must had been given a pass throughout his career (I assume b/c of his disabilities) and did not possess the hide you would expect of a major poltical candidate (especially one from the rough and tumble politics of NY).
A disappointment? Yes. A surprise? No. As someone pointed out, he couldn't even abuse his influence right: he wasted it on his staffer's romantic problems, not even his own. That's just downright inefficient. In today's political climate of corruption, I find that particularly offensive.
Yes, but if Obama owed McMaster and/or Bauer props to lean on someone, that might be bigger dirt than we hear is being thrown at Barrett...
Mike-if the NY GOP wants to have a chance then the top of the ticket has got to have Pataki!! Minimal negatives, good name recognition, positives on the character issue. The wild card as usual could be if Rep. Peter King decides to move up. We've discussed this before, he's better suited for where he is but ambition can trump good common sense (and often does)...
As far as Paterson goes, after a sex scandal,husband/wife issues,staffer scandal/criminal charges (why does this sound like Sanford??); add having not just the state democrat party but the the President's adminstration pressuring him to step aside,nevermind people's immediate reaction to a blind person as Governor (yes it is narrow minded but people have been less than kind about his disability),Cuomo's overwhelming lead in the polls and fund-raising; Patterson finally broke. Too bad it would have been interesting to have watched from a distance...
Like we discussed on too many trips to count this will be a most interesting election cycle...teg
Reino...I wanted to break it here first: I am not running for the Democratic nomination for Senate in NY. Look for my op-ed piece to run in the Post tomorrow.
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