The Cuomo Conundrum
Lazio, a surer bet to beat than junkyard dog Paladino
If you were Andrew Cuomo, who would you rather run against: Rick Lazio, the Republican middle-of-the-roader who is as American as apple pie and Howdy Doody, or his conservative, tea-partyish opponent, Carl Paladino? Cuomo is beating the stuffing out of both of them in the polls. You can be sure that this question is being discussed a lot in the Cuomo organization and between Papa and Junior Cuomo. Read more
New York Pols are all too human
Lawmakers act as though laws don’t apply to them
The more we watch these powerful folks in politics, the clearer it is that many of their actions can be explained by “rationalization,” the term we all learned back in our basic Psychology 101 course. For example, when Charlie Rangel is accused of not paying his taxes after having written much of the tax code, or Eliot Spitzer consorts with prostitutes after he wrote and enforced many of the laws against “Johns,” we ask ourselves how they could be so stupid. Or when former Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno skirts the ethical line by selling a nearly worthless nag as a way of having a business associate funnel money to him, we shake our heads and wonder what he could have been thinking. Read more
Going Lean in Hard Times
Time for New York politicians to stop ‘porking’ out
OK, class, let’s talk about pork. Pork, of course, is not kosher. Like many, I suspect one of the reasons it was listed in the biblically proscribed list was that if not properly handled, it caused diseases like trichinosis. Once that worm got into your system, you could die from it.
I tell you all of this since there is another kind of pork—that which exists in politics and abounds in New York, where the Legislature has given away more and more money each year. The party in power gets more of this pork (so-called projects and special member items) to give away than the minority party. Read more
Ready for a Revolution
You know it’s bad when California government starts to look good
By Alan S. Chartock
I have been hanging around the New York State Legislature and watching government as a professor, broadcaster and columnist since about 1965. I’ve seen a lot, but I have truly never seen anything like what I am seeing now. It’s degenerate, disgusting, venal and beyond comprehension. It is particularly bad in the New York State Senate, where a clique of Democratic politicians has grabbed power and captured the top leadership positions. Read more
Reading the LG Tea Leaves
What picking Rochester Mayor Duffy means for team Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo has chosen his candidate for lieutenant governor. He is Bob Duffy, the mayor of Rochester, and a virtual unknown “who-he?” to most New Yorkers.
If one knows the Cuomos and the way they think, which is politically, you had better believe that they have specific criteria for who becomes the number two person in the administration. Read more
Cuomo Tackles the Albany Beast
Would-be gov’s success depends on ability to navigate Legislature
Andrew Cuomo is positioning himself to be president of the United States. His chances of getting there will be infinitely increased if he is able to turn Albany into a calmer, less venal, more reflective and genuinely representative place.
Cuomo must win the Legislature’s confidence and at the same time convince the people that he really is going to clean things up. Read more
Sweet Budget Relief
Despite critics, soda tax is the answer to New York’s fiscal woes
By Alan S. Chartock
You’ve got to admit that we are a bit inconsistent about the way we make our laws. We tax the hell out of evil cigarettes, which, even as they suck the life out of people, are legal. Yet we arrest people for using marijuana, despite the fact that doing so can bring them respite from terrible diseases, like cancer and glaucoma. We could tax marijuana, but we choose not to.
We know that obesity is rampant in this country and sugar use by Americans is off the charts. But we don’t tax sugar-laden soda, even though our health commissioner tells us that this is the time to do just that. Read more
Senate Majority Report
The Dems are about to lose control, and it’s all their own fault
By Alan S. Chartock
This week, we learned that the State Senate had established committees that literally sold accessibility to state politicians for menu item dollars. Labor leaders were told that for 50 grand they would have “increased access” to the Senate majority. Others were told that 25 grand would buy them power.
If you are recorded by the FBI saying to a legislator, “If you vote for this bill I will give you this much money,” you are guilty of bribery under the law. Read more
Trouble for Team Cuomo
The AG contends with slipping poll numbers
By Alan S. Chartock
Andrew Cuomo has a real dilemma. Team Andrew wanted to avoid a divisive primary that might destroy Democratic unity. With Paterson out of the way, the Cuomo people got what they wanted.
Cuomo the younger has been playing it safe. He has not opened his mouth on the issues of the day. Before Paterson dropped out, he challenged Cuomo to offer his ideas about how to get the state out of its massive fiscal mess. Andrew stayed shut and said only that he would continue to do his job as attorney general. That strategy seemed to work and his polling numbers stayed high, around 70 percent. Read more
Winds of Change
Paterson’s push for legislative reform
By Alan S. Chartock
For years, I have been speaking of the “IPP” or “Incumbent Protection Plan.” Let’s face it: When the people who serve in the New York State Legislature get into office, they take whatever actions are necessary to stay there.
I know many of these people and despite what I am writing here, I like them. They are fun, they are filled with ideas and I would drink a club soda with them any time. But the truth is that the whole process has become a self-serving mess. The voters know it and these are very dangerous times for politicians. Read more
