"...and then I destroyed it" STFU, Eliot!

by: robinia

Thu Mar 04, 2010 at 09:55:10 AM EST

So, there is a whirlwind of bad behavior among Albany pols, most but not all of them Democrats.  Any reasonable progressive would be focusing intently on two things: 1) HOW do we clean house? (check here for an answer on that). 2) HOW do we limit damage to the Democratic brand, to avoid a reflexive turn to voting Republican?  Hey, if it can happen in Massachusetts, it can happen here.  If you think all this is not encouraging throwing the baby (you and me, bub) out with the foul sewer-like bathwater, you're dreaming.

So, what is surely not helpful during this difficult time is public retrospection and fulminating on his fall by Eliot Spitzer.  Eliot, do not give interviews where you talk about your sex life to Time Magazine.  Do not make it possible for The NY Post to publish articles headlined "Eliot Spitzer: Why I liked ho's" (sic).  Do not opine--

"How do you think I feel?" he said, eyes misting. "At one point, I stood for something that was important and useful.

"I was in a place in time where I had a purpose, where it mattered. And then I destroyed it."

Eliot, STFU.  How you feel is not something to be considered by the public now. You have a new role, let me spell it out for you: say nothing, just collect your investment income, and send money to others who don't stain the cloth of our political system every time they open their mouth.

This is Getting Ridiculous

by: urizon

Wed Mar 03, 2010 at 17:58:48 PM EST

Gov. David A. Paterson violated state ethics laws when he secured free tickets to the opening game of the World Series from the Yankees last fall for himself and others, the New York State Commission on Public Integrity charged on Wednesday. The accusation came as the governor, already mired in scandal, met with his cabinet and insisted he would stay in office.

In addition to violating the state's ban on gifts to public officials, Mr. Paterson falsely testified under oath that he had intended to pay for the tickets for his son and his son's friend, according to the commission. Mr. Paterson had never intended to pay for the tickets, the commission determined, and did so only after inquiries from the news media, after which he submitted a backdated check as payment. (emphasis mine)

What the hell did we do to deserve this?  

Gov. Paterson Resign NOW!

by: Soundpolitic

Tue Mar 02, 2010 at 15:37:35 PM EST

NOW calls on NY Gov. Paterson to resign

By MICHAEL GORMLEY (AP) - 1 hour ago

ALBANY, N.Y. - The National Organization for Women on Tuesday urged New York Gov. David Paterson to resign because of a report he directed two staffers to contact a woman about a domestic violence case involving one of his top aides.

The group is highly influential in Democratic politics and called for the governor's resignation despite what it considers Paterson's "excellent" record of strong support for women's issues and in combatting domestic violence.

"It is inappropriate for the governor to have any contact or to direct anyone to contact an alleged victim of violence," said Marcia Pappas, president of NOW New York State. "This latest news is very disappointing for those of us who believed the governor was a strong advocate for women's equality and for ending violence against women."

"It is now time for the governor to step down," she said in the written statement.

There was no immediate comment from Paterson's office. Some leading Democrats have said he should resign to avoid further damage to the party in the 2010 elections. Paterson has said he did nothing wrong and won't resign.

Yeah...Paterson also said he'd run for election.  That lasted less than a week...

The two-year anniversary of Spitzer's resignation is March 17.  With powerful organizations like NOW calling for Paterson to step down, he may not last long enough to mark the occasion.

With friends like these, Governor...

by: davesnyd

Tue Feb 23, 2010 at 07:59:05 AM EST

I was at the Rochester announcement. There were upsides and downsides. But I left with a sense that the campaign has to do better-- much better-- if they wish to win the race.

Paterson Populism

by: davesnyd

Sat Feb 20, 2010 at 21:20:35 PM EST

Here's what I mean when I say that:

• Simplify the tax system and make it more progressive
• Do things that will decrease property taxes
• Reduce the cost of New York State government
• Lobby to change the Medicaid reimbursement formula
• Support small businesses

Governor Paterson's road to victory

by: davesnyd

Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 21:34:56 PM EST

I'm just saying it's possible.

Governor Paterson can win in November: but I don't think he can do it by the conventional New York route.

Instead, I think he has to quietly make a backroom deal, offend a lot of people, run a vocally populist campaign, and get in the face of whomever the Republican nominee is.

Again?

by: simonstl

Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 17:10:33 PM EST

I've been holding off on writing about this, because it seems to come drip by drip. There are more of them appearing lately, though - Liz Benjamin, NGD, and now Capitol Confidential. The New York Times seems to be the journalistic epicenter of the story - we'll see what happens, I guess.

Destiny may not always be what it seems. If this turns out to be real, I fear for New York State going forward.

"Corruption costs money"

by: robinia

Tue Feb 02, 2010 at 23:31:27 PM EST

Paterson got some 'splainin' to do.

Experience (Not) Required in State Government

by: BingChester

Sun Jan 24, 2010 at 19:53:39 PM EST

Last week, Gov. David A. Paterson named Jeffrey R. Fenster as the [Workers' Compensation] board's new executive director, the agency's highest-paid official and the person charged with running daily operations. He reports to the board's chairman. Mr. Fenster is a 29-year-old lawyer who worked briefly as a litigation associate at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, but has no management or workers' compensation experience.

His appointment left many who work in the system bewildered.

"When I had a chance to look at Mr. Fenster's background, I noticed he has absolutely no administrative experience," said Michael Berns, a former commissioner on the Workers' Compensation Board. "And he has no experience in workers' comp or labor law. I'm totally at a loss as to what he brings to this job. It makes no sense whatsoever."

Morgan Hook, a spokesman for Mr. Paterson, said that Mr. Fenster was extensively vetted and that "it was determined he was the best candidate."
source

That's right, a 29 year old lawyer with NO experience in workers' compensation law or, in fact, any labor or employment law is now in charge of the state Board.  If you think that the sound of a completely inexperienced and inappropriate appointee to oversee a government agency sounds ominous, you're probably right .

Let's just call a spade a spade.

Fenster, who worked as a fifth-grade school aide for disabled children before entering law school, seems equally bewildered. Last summer he sent out resumes as part of his search for a job in the public sector. He doesn't know how one of them found its way to the governor's desk...

After being told of the job opening, Mr. Fenster said he spoke with Martin Minkowitz, a retired Stroock partner who remains involved with the firm, and who has long been a prominent authority in workers' compensation law...

When asked how Mr. Fenster came to the attention of the governor's office, Mr. Minkowitz was not specific. He suggested that Mr. Fenster was qualified, despite his inexperience. He said that someone in the workers' compensation system would not be suitable for the position, because it called for "someone with a little better education and a little better skills."

Asked if he had played a role in Mr. Fenster's getting the appointment, Mr. Minkowitz said, "I can't comment on any of that."

Bingo.

Let's give the last line to Above the Law, who sums up this (and many other) situations with a perfect mix of sarcasm and succinctness.  

Experience working with disabled children? Maybe Fenster should have been sent to the New York State Senate instead.

A sweeping proposal emerges

by: simonstl

Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 10:01:04 AM EST

There seems to be a rule in Albany that the loudest proponents of reform are those with the least effective power. In a new twist, though, that position seems currently held by Governor Paterson, who is now proposing a more thorough reform package than I've heard from anyone else so far:

While bills to create public financing have passed the Assembly many times, the expanded ethics oversight and term limits are expected to be a difficult sell in both houses of the Legislature, which has been slow to consider tougher ethics laws...

The legislation would effectively dismantle Albany's existing campaign finance system, in which corporations and labor unions deposit millions of dollars into central housekeeping accounts controlled by party leaders, who then use that money to finance individual candidates, making rank-and-file lawmakers dependent on the leaders.

Perhaps most controversially, Mr. Paterson will propose limiting statewide officials - the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and comptroller - to two four-year terms each, while members of the Legislature would be permitted six two-year terms. Such a change would require an amendment to the State Constitution.

Mr. Paterson is also including in his package a proposal he made last year to centralize ethics enforcement... The new commission would also have the legal authority to refer criminal and civil cases to the attorney general.

Why all this? Why now, after it seemed Paterson had moved such things to the back burner?

Mr. Paterson is pushing for the overhaul at a time when his efforts to guide New York through its worst fiscal crisis in generations have been thwarted by a powerful and well-financed alliance of state lawmakers, public employee unions and health care interests.

I'd be happy to see these proposals pass, even though I have serious doubts about term limits. I find the absence of proposals for better financial disclosure (or simply a full-time legislature, no moonlighting allowed) to be strange, though supposedly something's coming on that front.

Will it make a difference, even an incremental difference? It's hard to say. I suspect something will come out of it, but something seriously watered down. Paterson has more issues than just reform to deal with, and with everything likely in the same negotiating pot... well...

Good luck, Governor Paterson! (I haven't said that very often lately, but mean it here.)

Governor cheers on Wall Street

by: simonstl

Wed Dec 09, 2009 at 15:08:38 PM EST

The Governor's latest tweet reinforces a story Liz Benjamin had posted earlier today:

Iowa, corn. Michigan, autos. Texas, oil. NY, Wall Street...We must stand behind the engine of our state's economy & strengthen it.

In his speech, the Governor pointed to Wall Street's impact on state finances:

In 2007 Wall Street finances provided 22 percent of the revenues in New York, more than one out of every five dollars in wages comes from Wall Street

Before going on to make the more questionable claim that "Wall Street capital is what is able to allow for what is on Main Street - small businesses creating jobs." Don't get me wrong - there have been times in our history when Wall Street was front and center in making our railroads work and building our industry, in ways that benefited small business. It's just, well, kind of been a while since the benefits were clear to folks outside of Wall Street. (Though perhaps Paterson has a case for small businesses in New York that sell directly to these folks.)

It seems lost on the Governor that his predecessor, his sins aside, became Governor of New York precisely because he was willing to challenge Wall Street, not cheer them on. Spitzer argued that the "engine of our state's economy" should be well-tuned, operating within legal limits, and made his case despite that industry having a lot of friends inside and outside of the state.

I didn't have a lot of hope remaining for Paterson, but did he really need to sell out this severely? Is he that short of campaign donations?

What's going on around here?

by: furiousdee

Thu Sep 24, 2009 at 14:57:38 PM EDT

I thought this sight was a progressive one? Lately it seems that if a politician, member of the press, or private citizen disagrees with the TAP party line, they are villified ala Limbaugh and Beck, by ceratin contributing authors.

(Full disclosure: I was called a "fool" by one contributor because I disagreed with their assessment of press coverage for Senator Gillenbrand, a view I thought was legitamite, it may not have been - but a fool?)

TAP's love affair with Kirsten Gillibrand and now its cry for Paterson's head are incongruous with the progressive model.

Why can't someone primary against Gillibrand? Some on TAP thinks that is an absurd (see NY-Sen: Meet Jon Cooper: Still Pondering Run Against Gillibrand ) road to travel - why, someone might challenge the Senator on her inconsistent record?? - party heresy!

The cries for a sitting governor to NOT run more than a year out from the election is also an absurd notion. If he is as terrible as TAP has been saying (unfortunately it seems he is), then isn't a primary the logical place to have an open and honest debate about policy and government, instead of running him out of town with pitch forks and torches?

In both cases, the irrational demands made by some on this page betray the reason the page was created in the first place - intelligent, logical, and reasoned debate to help take back what is rightfully ours.

All viewpoints should be welcome to that debate; only then will progress be reached.

Governor Reveals Past Fantasies; First Lady Says of Obama's Nudge "I Don't Think It's Right"

by: robinia

Wed Sep 23, 2009 at 22:22:28 PM EDT

"I did not sign up for this," Paterson said. "I had this grand plan that Hillary Clinton was going to become president and maybe the governor would appoint me to the Senate."

The Syracuse Post-Standard thus quotes Governor Paterson looking back wistfully at his dreams of the past, under the headline "With His Support Evaporating, Paterson Shows His Humor in Syracuse."

And, while the Governor was up in Syracuse at the NYS Associated Press Association annual meeting, recalling his fond hopes of what might have been, the first lady was telling the NY Post that Obama should have stayed out of it all.  Here it is, as quoted in the NY Times

"I never heard of a president asking a governor not to run," Michelle Paterson told The Post after a luncheon in New York City. "I thought it was very unusual that this would be asked of David, and I don't think it's right."

The Times also has this quote from the Governor, which pretty much nails the situation:

"if I got to a point where I thought that my candidacy was hurting my party, obviously it would be rather self-absorbed to go forward."

Listen up, David.  Your wife may never think it is right, and you will probably always go back to thinking about how it might have been different.... but, if that isn't the definition of self-absorbed, I don't know what might be a better one.

Hang it up.  It's time.  If you can't face doing it in a big way while speaking to the NYS Associated Press Association, announce it at our BBQ in Ithaca on Saturday among Dem friends.  And then we can all have a good laugh at some of your great jokes, and move on.

Why Did the Court of Appeals Find for Paterson?

by: BingChester

Tue Sep 22, 2009 at 13:36:15 PM EDT

If you're interested in getting a detailed description of the majority's holding, feel free to follow me over the fold.

Obama to Paterson: Don't

by: simonstl

Sat Sep 19, 2009 at 23:39:24 PM EDT

I agree with the President that it would probably be better for all concerned if Governor Paterson didn't run again. However, I really have to wonder if Obama's regular involvement in New York politics is a good thing:

The decision to ask Mr. Paterson to step aside was proposed by political advisers to Mr. Obama, but approved by the president himself, one of the administration officials said....

The move against a sitting Democratic governor represents an extraordinary intervention into a state political race by the president, and is a delicate one, given that Mr. Paterson is one of only two African-American governors in the nation....

"The message the White House wanted to send - that it wants Paterson to step aside - was delivered," said the Democratic operative, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were intended to be confidential. "He is resistant."

I think we'd better build a much more thriving democratic political culture in New York State, one that doesn't invite such tinkering.

A real special session tomorrow?

by: simonstl

Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 23:24:54 PM EDT

I'm kind of wondering if Governor Paterson's twitter feed got hacked, but I see there:

The leadership from both the Republicans and Democrats has notified my office that they will attend tomorrow's Extraordinary Session.

I guess we'll see!

About that special session

by: simonstl

Sat Jun 20, 2009 at 13:14:51 PM EDT

It looks like one of the ways we may survive the Incredible Senate Chaos of 2009, and actually get at least basic legislation passed is by having Governor Paterson call a special session.

Why would that be any better than the current broken session? Well, it seems that in a special session, the Governor sets the active list, removing one key bone of contention for now.

The Democrats have put forward an offer for running the special session. Liz Benjamin noted, though, that the Senate "could come to Albany, gavel in and then gavel right back out without doing a thing."

Hopefully, this will at least avoid the trainwreck of routine legislature going unpassed, but I suspect there's more brinksmanship to come, special session or not.

(And for the longer run, the New York Times has some suggestions I like, though I'm not really sure any of the Senate leaders in either party, who'd be cut out by that proposal, are listening.)

Updates, via Liz Benjamin: Paterson's asked my former Congressman and LG, Stan Lundine, and former Republican Senator John Dunne to act as mediators. Lundine seems like a good voice of reason to me, though I don't remember much about Dunne. (Here's a piece on Dunne and Attica that Google found for me.) Paterson also suggested having the chief judge or his predecessor run the session if the two parties can't agree.

WTF: Paterson admin goes to bat for illegal dumper

by: Hudson

Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 13:59:30 PM EDT

But now the Paterson administration is rushing to Cascino's aid, issuing a report via Ag & Markets which whitewashes his activities and pays short shrift to the town's serious concerns.

The Reform Agenda Died a Little Today

by: Hudson

Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 11:38:27 AM EST

The New York Times is reporting that Governor Paterson (ostensibly a Democrat) is trashing New York's environmental regulations:

At the urging of the energy industry, Gov. David A. Paterson has agreed to reconsider a key rule New York adopted as part of a 10-state pact aimed at reducing the threat of global warming by cutting power plant emissions.

A hard year... well, almost a year

by: simonstl

Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 17:27:11 PM EST

I've wanted Paterson to succeed. I really have. After the Spitzer meltdown, it seemed entirely possible that he had the right approach to settle things down and move New York State ahead.

There have been moments when I've been happy - we certainly agree about the perilous state of New York State's finances. Most of the rest, though, has seemed very random, with ups and downs that seemed to have him riding along as a passenger, not really in control.

This morning, I was contemplating whether I should give Paterson a break in my dwindling opinion, given that he arrived in pretty unusual and certainly not helpful circumstances.

But then I read this look back in the Times, and wonder just how stuck we are.

Here's hoping that Day One for Paterson starts about now, and we see bold execution of a clear vision...