| DavidNYC emailed me late last night about an interesting conversation taking place over at Swing State Project about who Eliot Spitzer may appoint should Hillary Clinton become our next President. It's a pretty lively discussion and I'm surprised at some of the potential candidates. It seems there is quite a well spring of support for Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) as well as Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY-28). There is even some talk of appointing Lt. Governor David Paterson.
NY-Sen: Whom Might Spitzer Appoint?
Bear with me here. Let's assume for a moment that Hillary is our 2008 Presidential nominee, and that she wins. Fast forward to the election aftermath, where Gov. Eliot Spitzer has the task of appointing a replacement to fill Clinton's Senate vacancy.
Whom might Spitzer appoint? And whom would you want Spitzer to appoint?
Spitzer surprised many observers when he tapped state Senator David Paterson for his running mate in 2006, and perhaps he could surprise again given the chance. Despite being large in number, there is no one of tremendous stature in the state's Democratic congressional delegation who could be tapped (Charlie Rangel, at 77, is too old), but that's not to say that I think a promotion from the House to the Senate is unlikely.
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Perhaps even Paterson himself could be a possibility, but one would expect that Spitzer would come under pressure to balance the state's Senatorial delegation with an appointee from upstate rather than a second Senator with Brooklyn roots.
The usual calculations are tossed around in the comments. Should the candidate be from upstate? Should they be female? A moderate? A progressive?
These are all good questions. I'll just say that I would look for an unabashed progressive. As much as I'd also like to replace a female Senator with another, and I have a feeling we would, my first and foremost wish is that New York be represented by a Senator with strong progressive values. I want this state to be looked upon as a beacon of such values once again and there's no good reason we shouldn't be. I mean, this is New York, not, say, Missouri or Pennsylvania.
My choice? Louise Slaughter. What about you? |
