Tag: david paterson

Rejoice, oh state Democrats: the White House will be interfering in your races.

With all of the delicacy, charm and raw political skill that they showed in trying to get Gov. David Paterson of NY to quit.

White House Is Taking a More Aggressive Role in State Races

WASHINGTON — The White House’s intervention in the race for New York governor is the latest evidence of how President Obama and his top advisers are taking an increasingly direct role in contests across the country, but their assertiveness has bruised some Democrats who suggest it could undercut Mr. Obama’s appeal with voters tired of partisan politics.

[snip]

More than anything, though, the interventions reflect a controlling style of this White House and of Mr. Emanuel, who employed similar hard-ball tactics to recruit candidates when he was running the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. In addition to Mr. Emanuel, the White House political director, Patrick Gaspard, and deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina, keep close watch on all political races.

Via @PatrickRuffini: bolding mine, and reflective of Erick Erickson’s recent first look at ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis’s Rolodex.  One may be forgiven for wondering whether… input on this was sought.

Moving along, disapproving quotes from affected Democrats like Joe Sestak (running against the untrustworthy opportunist Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania), Andrew Romanoff (running against the rather uninteresting appointee Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania (who may or may not have to run away from eventually being named as ‘Governor X’) show up in the article, for all the good that it’ll do them.  The President simply must micromanage, you understand; and, given that he’s been told time and again by his own party that his is a political genius not seen since FDR, Otto von Bismarck, and Martin van Buren there’s little incentive for him to stop.  Besides, this all comes back to what’s best for the White House, not the individual state Democratic parties.  Having Paterson on the ballot guarantees a politically embarrassing loss in New York in 2010; and the White House’s primary interest in Pennsylvania and Colorado is keeping their Senate seats in Democratic hands.  If that means signing off on a turncoat and a nonentity, so be it.

I would be sympathetic, but then this is what the Democratic party signed up for.  Well, sort of: it was probably expected that the President would be better at it.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

(Video) Steele: why isn’t Obama trying to get Corzine to drop?

Which is a question that has teeth in it, doesn’t it? Big, sharp, possibly racially-motivated teeth – given that the major difference between Governors Corzine and Paterson is more or less their respective skin colors.


)Sort of via the Hill, via Hot Air.)

Hey, the Democrats ask this sort of question all the time: since skin color’s so important to them generally, it seems only fair to check if it was important to them this time, too.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

White House targeting… Gov. Paterson (D, NY).

They apparently started by making a quiet request that he drop out, and I’m going to guess that Paterson told them ‘no.’ So they leaked the news.

To repeat: so they leaked the news.

ALBANY – In a stunning request, the Obama administration has made it clear to poll-challenged Gov. Paterson that the White House would prefer he not seek election to a full four-year term next year.

The Obama administration sent the message through White House political affairs director Patrick Gaspard, who met with the governor at his campaign headquarters for nearly two hours last Monday, according to a source with knowledge of the conversation.

Continue reading White House targeting… Gov. Paterson (D, NY).

POTUS’s pushback/non-pushback on Paterson racism smear.

Aren’t we supposed to be having a full and frank discussion on this sort of thing?

I mean, I wouldn’t want to get referenced during the casual race-baiting of the Governor of New York either, but it happened.  Heck, it happened to me, too – at least, in the sense that I’m one of the amorphous mass of people being accused 0f racism because we think that David Paterson is an incompetent dunderhead*.

Unlike the President, however, I don’t have aides that can call up the governor for me and complain, then leak that they did to the New York Post – and thus trying to have it both ways.  It must be nice…

Moe Lane

*Which Paterson is.  He can’t even interpret his own state’s constitution properly.

Crossposted to RedState.

NY Senate Watch: Paterson (D) could end this, any time?

He arguably has the authority to do so.  And knows it.

Groups call on Paterson to appoint Lt. Governor

Citizens Union, Common Cause and Assemb. Michael Gianaris (D- Astoria) urged Paterson to exercise the authority given him by Section 43 of the Public Officers Law.

The provision reads in part, “if a vacancy shall occur, otherwise than by expiration of term, with no provision of the law for filling the same, if the office be elective, the governor shall appoint a person to execute the duties thereof until the vacancy shall be fill by an election.”

Gianaris said the groups’ idea was presented to Paterson several weeks ago and he hasn’t yet made a decision.

It seems odd that Paterson, who is (like other Democratic governors) polling extraordinarily badly right now, doesn’t seem all that interested in ending the Senate mess in NY*, or at least getting it under some sort of control.  Then again, it seems odd that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would be arguing against the constitutionality of a solution that would arguably help not only New York, but his own party head.

Well, no.  Not really.  An out-of-control Senate is a wonderful thing, if you’re a Democrat trying to unseat an incumbent…

Moe Lane

Continue reading NY Senate Watch: Paterson (D) could end this, any time?

Whom the Gods would destroy, they first send Joe Biden: David Paterson edition.

Vice President Joe Biden is the sort of person who must be taken everywhere twice: the second time, to apologize*.

Gaffe-prone Vice President Joe Biden backtracked yesterday from comments he made at a Democratic fund-raiser in Manhattan that were widely viewed as an endorsement of Gov. Paterson’s re-election.

[snip]

Speaking of Paterson Monday night, the loose-lipped Biden said, “Your once and future governor of the state of New York has been extremely generous to Barack and me and has been a major part of us trying to put this economy back together.

The New York Post goes into more, possibly even loving, detail (including a greatest hits recap of his gaffes as VP: which is impressive, considering that it’s only June) – and why would they not be loving? Biden gives them copy every time he opens his mouth.  Good copy, for them: for the rest of us, well, not so much.  I’ve been spoiled by eight years of having a functional sort of person being placed in that spot: the new arrangement isn’t nearly as satisfactory.  In fact, the idea of ever having to write “Joe Biden, President of the United States! Dear God!” fills me with existential dread.  Which may have been a calculation.

Or, as Don Surber (H/T) put it: “Well, they said if I voted for Sarah Palin we would put an imbecile one heartbeat from the presidency. I did… and they were right!”

Moe Lane Continue reading Whom the Gods would destroy, they first send Joe Biden: David Paterson edition.

Andrew Cuomo still not running for NY Governor.

If the last month should have done anything, it should have caused NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to at least re-evaluate his decision not to challenge current Governor David Paterson for the job.  Since then, Paterson’s numbers have stayed awful: 19% from Marist, 28% from Quinnipac, 18% from Siena.  The consensus is that Giuliani beats Paterson; Cuomo beats Paterson; and that Cuomo beats Giuliani.  The situation for Paterson is in fact so bad that his own consituents would rather have their old governor back right now, and their old governor has a name for liking to choke prostitutes*.

And yet, Cuomo won’t run.

Governor David Paterson won’t get challenge from Andrew Cuomo

Primary fights are great for Democrats, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo asserts.

And no, he insisted again Sunday, he has no plans to challenge Gov. Paterson.

Either Cuomo really doesn’t want the job, or he’s quietly worried about any Democrat’s chances in 2010.  Given the nature of the economy in general and New York’s in particular, there may be something to that last worry – and if so, it’s something to consider when trying to decide how doomed the Republican Party is in the Northeast.

Moe Lane

*Which is why he won’t be running again, rehabilitation dreams to the contrary.  The editorial cartoons draw themselves.

Crossposted to RedState.

Depressing Q-Poll about NY Gov Paterson.

Worst possible news, in fact:

April 6, 2009 – Voters Say 3-1 Paterson Does Not Deserve Election, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Most Say He Should Announce Now He Won’t Run

New York State voters disapprove 60 – 28 percent of the job Gov. David Paterson is doing, the lowest approval ever for a New York Governor, and say 63 – 22 percent that he does not deserve to be elected to a full four-year term, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

With numbers like that, it’d take a special miracle from God to convince the man to run for election next year; more to the point, even if Paterson refuses to admit to the inevitable the rest of the NY Democratic Party won’t be quite so stubborn. Hence, the use of the word ‘depressing.’ I much prefer to see the Other Side engage in rather vicious primary battles. Like the one that may be happening with Gillibrand: Continue reading Depressing Q-Poll about NY Gov Paterson.

Gov. Paterson (D, NY): AIG Contribution not related to AIG rescue.

Good thing that he cleared that up:

AIG’s $100G donation to Democrats was unknown to Gov. Paterson, he says

Gov. Paterson stuck to his guns Saturday, insisting he knew nothing about a $100,000 donation from AIG to the state Democratic Party days before his office helped save the insurance giant.

State Republicans charged the Democrats with stonewalling an investigation into the Aug. 29 donation, uncovered last week by The Associated Press.

In the first week of September, Paterson launched negotiations to save the financially strapped company. GOP officials questioned whether there was a quid pro quo.

Otherwise suspicious individuals might ask whether September’s relief efforts were perhaps lubricated by such a transaction. Paterson’s intervention stopped the company’s financial free-fall back then, and it took place two weeks after AIG made a donation to the state Democratic party that was ten times higher than previous contributions. But Paterson, the Democrats, and AIG are all swearing that there was no quid pro quo. Or pay-for-play. Continue reading Gov. Paterson (D, NY): AIG Contribution not related to AIG rescue.