It didn't take long, but it looks like the Cuomo-Paterson slugfest has already begun...
State lawmakers yesterday fumed over Gov. Paterson's cozy weekend lunch date, saying New York's chief executive should be working on looming deadlines instead of dallying with a pretty female pal.
As The Post reported yesterday, Paterson was spotted having an intimate lunch at the celeb-friendly River Palm Terrace in Edgewater, NJ, with an attractive woman who was not his wife. They were affectionate and physical, according to two witnesses.
"He's got all these things on his platter to worry about," said one prominent state Democrat. "The budget he has to present on Tuesday, the Race to the Top [federal charter-school funding] due Tuesday, his campaign and its lack of cash -- and he's out dressed like an actor from 'Saturday Night Fever' over at a New Jersey restaurant on a Saturday afternoon?"
...and I wonder who the "prominent state Democrat" being quoted above is supporting for Governor next year? This was the story yesterday in the Post...
Farrell's friend and dining companion, special-ed teacher Carol McGuirt, said Paterson and his lady friend, a leggy Latina in her 20s, were ensconced in a cozy, curved banquette for several hours during lunch, and clearly were enjoying each other's company -- immensely.
"A young, young girl was with him," McGuirt said of Paterson, who was stylishly accoutered in a shiny purple dress shirt and slacks. "I would say they looked like a young couple who are very into each other . . . and enjoying themselves."
"She was very attractive," McGuirt said of Paterson's friend. "They were very close together. He was leaning over and very touching. They were like teenagers."
Coincidentally, or not, the same steakhouse has been frequented by Eliot Spitzer -- whose 2008 resignation as governor after being exposed as a prostitute-loving horn-dog put Paterson in charge of the Empire State.
...good stuff, huh?
By the time this race is over, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a full-scale race war taking place within the Democratic Party...
Gov. Paterson blamed a racist media Friday for trying to push him out of next year's election - launching into an angry rant that left even some black Democrats shaking their heads."The whole idea is to get me not to run in the primary," Paterson complained on a morning radio show hosted by Daily News columnist Errol Louis.
He suggested that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the country's only other African-American governor, also is under fire because of his race.
"We're not in the post-racial period," Paterson said.
"The reality is the next victim on the list - and you can see it coming - is President Barack Obama, who did nothing more than trying to reform a health care system."
...and then there are the comments made by Congressman Rangelm, Basil Paterson and Former Mayor David Dinkins a few weeks ago...
The only part of this half-hour kibitzing session to make the news was Basil Paterson's warning to Andrew Cuomo, pushing him not to challenge his son David by evoking memories of Cuomo's 2002 failed race for governor."When Andrew came back from Washington, having never run for public office, he challenged a highly qualified black man for governor, H. Carl McCall, " the senior Paterson said, contending that this effort "left a sour note." "Does he turn off the Democratic black vote even if he should win the primary?" he asked, describing it as a "problem" that Cuomo has that "everybody whispers about," but ostensibly only he has the courage to raise. "Does he lose the black vote in the general election?"
The velvet-gloved Paterson, who's been a member of a politically wired Long Island law firm for decades, couched this low blow as something "Andrew's people are concerned about, legitimately," adding that a race against David Paterson would be "the second time he's done it." Paterson did not note that McCall lost badly to George Pataki, just what Democrats are determined to avoid in 2010. Nor did he note that McCall was the elected state comptroller in 2002, unlike the current governor, who owes his gubernatorial position to Eliot Spitzer's hard-on and is not as widely regarded as "highly qualified" as McCall was. (Ironically, McCall was initially appointed to fill a vacancy at the behest of then governor, Mario Cuomo, who also chose him as his running mate for lieutenant governor in 1982 and, when McCall lost, named him state human rights commissioner).
As Paterson finished, Rangel was heard laughing out loud about "Rangel plays the race card" being the news. So Scotto turned to the congressman. Rangel's comments were in sharp contrast with Paterson's, praising Cuomo repeatedly, saying how "he has really developed," has "met with me," "matured," and "become politically sophisticated." The question of whether Cuomo should run for governor, Rangel said, can only be answered by Cuomo. "It's in Andrew's hands," said Rangel, who is embroiled in an ethics investigation in Washington. He called it "a question of conscience, not just a political question."Rangel's muted response (he led the charge against Cuomo in 2002) was so noticeable that he quickly recanted it in a New Year's Day interview that the Daily News's Liz Benjamin published today. Rangel tells Benjamin that he doesn't see Cuomo "making the moral decision to run against Paterson," and also linking it to race. "People have almost forgotten he ran against Carl McCall," suggesting that even in the age of a black president, it is forbidden for a New York Democrat to challenge an unelected black governor. Dinkins took no Cuomo shot on NY1, but he opened the discussion of David Paterson's fate by saying that Sutton "would be the first in line in support of our governor."
...the GOP should be prepared to capitalize on this inner-party, race-based warfare.
Then add the Ford-Gillibrand battle that is coming over the horizon and you have a full-fledged effort by the establishment in the Democratic Party trying to stop a number of African-American candidates from running for office. You really can't make this stuff up...
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
written by RRR , January 18, 2010
Putting aside that Paterson is a bonehead - who thinks he wasn't tailed by Cuomo's people? Do you think his son getting picked up for shooting craps was a cooincidence? Who the hell gets arrested for dice today? Let alone teenagers. Team Cuomo will do whatver they have to to try and push Paterson out of the race to avoid a splintering of their base. I believe Cuomo is literally another megamanicial Spitzer waiting to happen. I wish African-American voters would wake up and smell the coffee. Team Cuomo will stop at nothing.
written by Jay Golub , January 18, 2010
"Team Cuomo will do whatever they have to to try and push Paterson out of the race to avoid a splintering of their base...I wish African-American voters would wake up and smell the coffee."
I agree, RRR and I hope that this year, unlike for so many years past, we as the GOP wake up and appeal to African-American voters in a real and tangible way.
In the past, the GOP has only topically reached out to the AA community. I personally have never understood why we've not made a more concerted effort to bring their overall community into our fold - especially because many of the core issues of the Republican party ARE the core issues of the African-American community, ranging from conservative social issues to support for Charter Schools to job creation initiatives.
With it seeming clear that the NY Democratic Establishment has no interest in furthering the causes of the AA community and their candidates, the time is now for real change and a widespread political demographic switch...
written by Behold a Pale Horse , January 18, 2010
In the end, African-American politicians who hold an executive office (president, governor, mayor, and county executive) get judged by the same standard that Irish , Italian, Jewish, Hispanic, Asian, female, and gay politicians do: their performance. When times are bad, they get the blame (more so than individual legislators). I remember when the northeast economy sank in 1990. Govs. Madeline Kunin of VT, Mike Dukakis of Massachusetts, and William O'Neill of CT opted not to seek re-election because their poll numbers were low. Cuomo won only because the GOP picked Pierre Rinfret, and the Conservatives went with Herb London.
Was there any anti-Italian bias that drove Andy Spano and Tom Suozzi from their jobs?
Did anti-Semitism contribute to Bloomberg's lower re-election tally?
written by Jay Golub , January 18, 2010
"Was there any anti-Italian bias that drove Andy Spano and Tom Suozzi from their jobs?"
Would it help if I said yes? You're dousing the flames I'm fanning BAPH....lol
written by Jay Golub , January 23, 2010
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_...signs.html
The Democratic Establishment is really tightening their circle around Paterson now...
Tracy Sefl, his Washington-based campaign adviser and spokeswoman, abruptly quit after less than a year on the job.
Sefl, in a short statement to reporters, described her reason for leaving as a business decision.
"I remain supportive and admiring of [Paterson] and his agenda for the state," she said.
Insiders said Sefl - who has been credited with sharpening Paterson's message in recent months - saw no path to victory for the Democratic nomination.
She is a seasoned Democratic strategist, having worked on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential bid and John Kerry's 2004 White House effort.
...I have a question: Why should anyone trust the judgement of someone who worked on those two failed national campaign efforts?
Honestly, the Dems in DC probably made her resign so they could get soundbites like this...
While Paterson's anemic favorable ratings have been inching up, 60% of voters would prefer someone else to run for governor. The polls also show Paterson being trounced by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in a primary.
"Clearly the appearance is that you've got high-level folks abandoning ship," Baruch College's Doug Muzzio said of Sefl's departure.
...yet this still will NOT make Paterson leave the race. He is the Governor and he should and WILL make someone pry it from his cold dying hands....
written by David S. Levine , January 23, 2010
I have always thought of Democ-rat primaries as opportunities for Democ-rats to tell the truth about each other. How nice to see them taking advantage of that golden opportunity once again!
written by Jay Golub , February 25, 2010
http://content.usatoday.com/co...op-aide-/1
Is this really the best they can do to try to get Paterson out of the race?
I think it's going to take a lot more than that to make him walk away...
written by Jay Golub , February 25, 2010
http://content.usatoday.com/co...op-aide-/1
Is this really the best they can do to try to get Paterson out of the race?
I still don't think he leaves, but if he even took a phone call from the woman in question, he's out of mind...
"According to The Times, the unidentified woman lodged an assault complaint against long-time Paterson aide David Johnson and told authorities that State Police, who lacked jurisdiction in the matter, had urged her to drop the case.
The woman also received a telephone call from the governor shortly before she was to appear in court for a hearing on a protective order against Johnson, her lawyer told the newspaper. Paterson told the paper that the woman initiated the call.
The case was dismissed when the woman failed to appear at the hearing, The Times reported.
On Wednesday, Paterson suspended Johnson without pay and asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the governor's possible rival in the Democratic primary, to investigate."
...who knows what to think and what "proof" exists. And the fact that Paterson fires this guy only after it is made public, is damning for him, too.
Again, there is probably much more to this story.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
