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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. News and Commentary By John F. Bailey. December 20, 2008: Well G-Rod has the entire Illinois legislature calling for his impeachment. I’m shocked, simply shocked that Illinois senate seat was being shopped. What’s wrong with that if it’s done by good people who do not use the F-word?
After all, it’s been done in New York for years, where everything with power attached to it is for sale. No one does anything for nothing in NY. Everyone in New York knows that. Money wins elections and the ability to raise money for the party – is a key factor in who runs for office. It even trumps qualifications.
Here in New York, G-Rod we talk this way instead of , “I contribute to your campaign, you don’t pass legislation that is going to stop me from making money, get it pal? I’ll expletiving sue you,” becomes, “Tom, these provisions cutting back our interest charges are really going to hurt us recover in this economy, we’d really appreciate it if you could postpone them for a year and a half, and I’ll see you at the inaugural.”
Trouble is G-Rod was just a little crude about working his prospects.
He lacked telephone etiquette. Perhaps the FBI should run some taps on New York’s present elected representatives, and G-Rod might hear some very different, very gentle businesslike conversations to take some pointers. In New York, G-Rod could claim a “best practices” defense.
But, he’s learning.
His 3-minute news conference Friday in the Windy City showed that he’s definitely picking up some finesse – he said he’s done nothing wrong. And, you know he’s right.
He just got a little tough on the telephone, asking for political support, instead he asked in an oblique way (rather crudely) for money in return for a Senate seat, according to some of the tapes. Well that’s done in New York all the time.
In fact, it’s being done now.
See here in New York, G-Rod, where everything is for sale, and nothing gets done unless you pay for it, we’re ladies and gentlemen about it. We cover our money trails. We leave discreet intervals before the payoffs are made.
Somehow the Feds leave us alone and the deals go through, over and over again. Nobody raises an eyebrow.
Once in awhile we catch payoff schemes, disbar a lawyer, but eventually we reinstate them if they’re nice. Once in awhile we get a phone tip about an employee buying things with government money, and he is pilloried in press, but still departs with a juicy pension. It’s the way New York works in the corridors of power though it’s all coming apart lately. Big time.
You just have to be subtle. Hold cocktail parties. Golf outings. Parties at country clubs. Set up Political Action Committees that raise money for a candidate or a string of candidates. Have “Friends of” committees that feed money into city committees who support candidates who vote in project after project.
But New Yorkers above all, love names without substance. We’re suckers.
You have to cultivate a name and if you have a name and the ability to fundraise – when you want something like a senate seat, you’re real subtle. You have your close friends and relatives promote you as a wonderful public service oriented individual who will be great for New York.
Remember the line, “Let’s put Bobby Kennedy to work for New York.”? That’s how Bobby Kennedy did it in New York in 1964 when he established residency and defeated Senator Kenneth Keating. Senator Hillary Clinton followed a similar schtick in 2000, beating the unknown Rick Lazio, when Rudolf Giuliani did not run. This game is getting tedious.
If you’re from a rich or politically connected family on first name basis with other names in high places who can get you cushy jobs in Washington or New York, you’re in great shape. New York is a sucker for big name. And when you come back to N.Y from Washington, you’re a name. New York just has one party, too, that makes it even sweeter. You’ve got an Assembly Seat, State Senate Seat, Senate seat, Congressional seat for life.
We’ve had a lot people like that come to New York and come in here to represent us. There was Bobby. There was Hillary. Mario. Daniel P. Andy. Now there is Caroline.
Quick, can any one see what is the unique thread here – they all could raise money, supposedly enough to help those presently in office raise more money on their own.
When they were not in office, they used their charisma to raise money for their party and local and state politicians. They showed up and worked for the party. They glad-hand. When an opening comes up, they naturally are tapped.
A grateful party sees they have name recognition and in they go. A President moves to New York, raises tons of money for party nationally and locally, and suddenly his wife gets the Senate nomination? No connection, of course. She’s so qualified.
A former Attorney General sets up a residency in New York after his brother is assassinated and he runs for Senator of New York and wins. It is a familiar pattern.
New York has become a reincarnation venue for big name politicians without a job, and our Democratic Party loves running them in here. We bring in political super stars like the Yankees bring in Free Agents. These people know the old New York money. They know the powerful because they are powerful themselves. New York power types fawn over them like celebrities.
These carpetbaggers get to run for high office because they have magic names that translated into money to buy spots, offices, polls, lawyers. They work fundraising events, chair foundations, work locally in high profile agencies and know everybody. They attract money bees like pollen.
Candidates on the local level have been told in the past they need at least $25,000 to run for city governments. Now I do not know how much they contribute – but they do hold fundraisers to pour money into the party. Even long elected officials who are not facing any opposition run fundraisers. You have to be able to raise money. As you move up you have to raise more money for the party, not just yourself.
Now if you’re not running for anything, why hold a fundraiser? Who gets the money? Oh, we’re always told they have to raise it for the next campaign whatever it may be. For State Senate, Assembly, congress, or maybe Senator.
Well everybody is all over G-Rod because, well obviously someone wanted to get him, and the FBI did their duty with their incriminating tapes. G-Rod contributed with his mouth. But, did anyone ever give him money for an office seat? Soliciting as he did was done crudely – no manners, simply making it a little too plain how politicians operate. He was embarrassing.
Come on. In New York State it is a way of life.
Just look at the projects that have been approved recently. A well-known developer contributes lots of money to a certain community leader and bingo, the governing body eventually buys the builder’s building, saying it was the best buy. How convenient. Coincidence, of course.
Anything wrong here? Hello Gangbusters. Just go over the developing that’s done by the familiar suspects and you’ll see the big names on the big political elected officials PAC Committee lists. It’s shall we say, perhaps a cost of doing business? (Don’t wait for tips on horny Governors to start an investigation).
In New York, we do not call this bribery, or soliciting, we call it “providing support.” Now if G-Rod in his conversations, he might have rephrased to Senate Candidate 5, as saying “I love you Jessie, we really need you in the Senate, how can our organizations work together and make both of them stronger, and coordinate what we need in Chicago with what you can do for us in the senate?” Now that sounds a lot better doesn’t it? Where is an etiquette, ethics coach when you need them.
People who get places and swing deals say things like that here in New York. People wanting things from elected officials lobby them, and committees solicit money and dole it out to politicians, and low and behold regulations get loosened, projects get approved, zoning codes get changed, Special Permits by the dozen get granted. Tax abatements are a breeze. IDA commitments, no problem-O.
Funding of housing projects that cost far more than they should gets done – take years more than they should to complete — with taxpayer money. Look no farther than the faux Yankee Stadium and the pathetic Citi Field giveaways to the two richest teams in baseball. New York City extracted a suite from the Yankees – was that a bribe – no way that was – well, what was it? A courtesy? A gift to the city. What was that anyway?
Certain PAC Committees collect money from developers and then distribute the money to candidates, some do not even say how they spent their money and nobody cares because there are no penalties for disobeying the reporting laws.
Caroline Kennedy has been touted by her supporters for our Senate Seat for her humanity, her good works, and her ability to fundraise. This was the first plum dangled to Governor David Patterson by the Caroliners.
Isn’t that offering a very subtle bribe to Governor Patterson publicly? But, wait, not a bribe, an advantage dangled.
The other candidates are no names – who bring no money to the table, but 100% more legislative experience. Caroline Kennedy has never written a law in her life. She’s written a book on the constitution, with a collaborator. She has never worked for a law firm, apparently, according to her biography, but has worked for major fundraising organizations in New York specializing in education. Perhaps she can be the education Senator.
Essentially, she has enough money and fame, to spend most of her time keeping the Kennedy mystique alive, and also being on the A-list as an attractor of rich people with money who can write checks. Big ones. Lots of them. What a legacy! Just what we need in New York, and the only skill really respected.
Now other than the fact she will command a lot of face time in the senate saying all the right things for New York, perhaps that’s all you want in a Senator, whose job mainly is to pump money into the state from federal coffers, and send out press releases about it.
Judging from Senatorial performance the last 8 months, she can’t do any more harm than the 100 bought-and-paid legislators in there now. Because, make no mistake the lobbyists run Washington. Chris Dodd, the Senator who runs the banking committee got $4 Million from credit institution interests and he has been sitting on credit reform for years. They work for their contributors, not you, and that’s who they listen to.
Here’s a prediction. Who do you think will be the next to get a bailout?
The big losers in the Madoff $50 Billion Caper.
$50 Billion? That’s a drop in the bucket. You can bet that Senators’ and Representatives’ telephone lines are burning up with calls from the rich and famous this minute, saying, “You Son-of-a-expletive, you’re not getting another dime unless you make me whole. I’m expletiving ruined. I made you and you have to make us whole.”
What do you think? No one has thought at all about saving you, Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains. I want to hear what Caroline thinks we should do before she goes up to the Senate.
However, Governor David Patterson has to get some sort of quid pro quo from the Caroliners.
He has to be assured that the party will not throw him under the bus and put Andrew Cuomo, his rival for the next Gubernatorial Nomination – coming up in 2010—behind the big wheel of the Democratic Party Super Cruiser.
Putting Andrew Cuomo into the senate clears the decks for Patterson, however, that could backfire if the Democratics then decide to run Caroline for Governor – hey if Caroline would be a great Senator, she’d be a great governor, too, wouldn’t she? And she’d be so easy to manipulate. On second thought, I take that back, send her to Washington where she will hurt us less.
Something Governor Patterson is not, is manipulatable. Otherwise he would never have shown the legislators up so much.
Governor Patterson is making a lot of enemies in Albany by showing – YES, we can get a budget submitted before Christmas. YES, we can cut the state budget , and YES we can cut state aid to education, and YES, we can consolidate departments.
This is heresy to every last State Senator and Assemblyperson, every union head, every bureaucracy, every development agency. He has made the legislature look unprofessional, which of course they are – but they are very smart professionals actually who have been stealing from us for years, and we thank them very much, they never could have done it without us.
Governor Patterson is the enemy to them. They want him out of there in the worst way.
Our Senators, Charles Schumer, and Ms. Clinton have promised the ObamaBucks will bail New York out. More Medicaid refunds to New York. $50 Billion will do it (and include the Tappan Zee Bridge, no doubt.)
Perhaps Governor Patterson should appoint himself to the Senate Seat that Hillary the latest Carpetbagger is leaving. That would fix them all. But, I do not think he can do that.
Oh – and by the way, no one should ever watch Saturday Night Live again after that sorry, embarrassing, tasteless skit about The Governor last week.
The network should seriously consider firing the sorry minds who approved all the way to the top. It was back to ridiculing the handicapped. Something the non-funny comedians do very well.
The Governor memorizes all his speeches because he cannot read teleprompters or pages. Something the skit performer might not have done in his little horrible skit.
He and his budget director have put every financial officer to shame by overhauling this state budget so thoroughly faster than any governor ever.
And as far as appointing the next Senator – I do not know what I would do in his position — perhaps one of our NY Congressional Representatives who are at least in congress now.
If Patterson is not nominated to run for Governor – you heard the reason why here first.
He’s trying to work for you.