| First of all, a few general points about the Congressional Corner. Chartock does these regularly, and has plenty of Members of Congress and Senators to interview, since WAMC listening area covers eastern upstate New York, western Massachusetts, and southern Vermont -- with about 10 Members of Congress, plus the six Senators, most of whom participate.
This is the first time, in my memory, that he's interviewed a Member of Congress from well outside WAMC's listening area
The interviews are generally slow-pitch softball, but Maloney's was worse that that -- it was as if Chartock and she were on the same team and he was tossing batting practice.
Judge for yourself, here's Chartock's opening question:
Carolyn Maloney, let me, let me ask you this.
You're in your ninth term; you are one of the most aggressive and distinguished people in the House of Representatives; your legislative achievements are legendary; your work just on the credit card bill, if there was nothing else, is unbelievable; your chairmanship of the Joint Economic Committee of both the Senate and the House is extraordinary, an extraordinary achievement for any human being.
There were many people who thought that you should have been appointed by Gov. Paterson, I was one of them, to the Senate seat, and you weren't, it went to Kirsten Gillibrand.
Now I'm not going to talk to you about Kirsten Gillibrand, I'm just going to ask you about something that is very difficult for me to understand.
One of the great tentpoles of the American democracy is the primary system, and Chuck Schumer, the Senator from New York who I happen to think enjoys a little too much power now, yelled at some reporters, "There ain't going to be a primary here."
You would have to give up all those things I've been talking about in order to run in a primary at this stage of the the game. So I guess what I really want to know is, do you want to be a Senator, would you want to be a Senator, is it worth giving up all that you have worked for in case you don't win?
How can you answer that?
First, a correction, Chartock had supported Caroline Kennedy for the Senate apppointment, and fancied himself one of the first to do so. Perhaps he switched to supporting Maloney in the day or two between Kennedy's withdrawal and Gillibrand's appointment.
Second, how about that question? It's like a liberal version of a Sean Hannity interview of Newt Gingrich.
Here's Maloney's repetitive response:
I'd say that I very much believe that New Yorkers deserve a choice and I believe that New Yorkers need an independent voice, someone who knows who he or she is and what they believe in, and will stand up to the Establishment, challenge the status quo, and fight for the values, principles and policies that will bring a brighter and safer future for all of us.
So there's a lot of challenges out there, Alan. Times are too tough and the challenges are too important for business as usual and I believe we need strong, independent, committed people who are willing to stand up to private and powerful interests, people who've proven that they can take on the political pressure and stand their ground for New York.
And I've done that with the Credit Card Bill of Rights. We need in New York independent voices and, more importantly, New York deserves a choice, not a rubber stamp.
No direct digs at Gillibrand here, though Maloney clearly intends to imply that Gillibrand is not an "independent voice" and does not know who she is and what she believes in.
Without mentioning her by name, Maloney gets in a few more indirect shots, calling Gillibrand "one candidate rushing to create two different positions and two different records" and asking "who's going to looking out for New York, someone who has a record of challenging credit card companies or someone who has a different kind of record, working for tobacco companies and others."
Maloney did talk some about current business in the House (the energy bill, health care reform, etc.), but the whole point of this softball practice was to promote Maloney's primary candidacy upstate, where few people know who she is.
Maloney evidently has no shortage of ego, twice comparing her running in a primary to the situation in Iran:
Many of our ancestors gave their lives for democracy, for independence, and for the right to vote. Look at what's happening in Iran right now, people are taking to the streets because they believe their votes were not counted, that the machines were manipulated, and that they were tricked out of an honest and fair election.
I believe a cornerstone of our country is honest and fair elections, and I would never encourage someone not to run -- I think it's their right to run if they so choose.
Chartock got back on point when ended the interview:
Well, we are out of time.
Carolyn Maloney, as you know, I've always been a huge fan of yours, No.1, and No. 2, I think democracy deserves choices and I admire you even considering this.
You may wonder why Chartock, who lives in Massachusetts and has worked for decades in upstate (college teaching in New Paltz and Albany, and running WAMC from Albany), is such a "huge fan" of a Manhattan Member of Congress.
He dropped a clue about that recently when he recalled that, way back when he was a graduate student intern at the Legislature, he met and befriended Maloney, who was also working there.
They evidently remain good friends. |
