So another poll came out today from the Quinnipiac people telling us what we already know: that Elliot Spitzer is leading in the gubernatorial race. In the immortal words of one former Nets basketball-player, “whoop-dee-damn-doo”. To me this is where New York’s politics appear trite. Of course, it’s an artifact of the “silly season”.
While people seem hurriedly on the road to Spitzer’s coronation, some of us who have been in this game a long time shake our heads. What’s the hurry? What is Spitzer so afraid of? Is he ever going to talk to us? Really talk to us. Or is he going to hide behind polls, endorsements and commercials?
Spitzer’s spin-merchants are going to try to convince us that he is a reformer, but is he? Really? Since when? And could they spell out those reforms (or the proposals) for us please. Look, I have said many times that I think Spitzer did a decent job as Attorney General, but am I supposed to give him a pass-key to the governor’s mansion because of that? I don’t think so.
What I especially dislike is something I have observed on the blogs over the past year. When positive stories or comments are made on Tom Suozzi, the Spitzer people come out like sharks. Take a look at the archives of Room Eight’s sister blog, the “Politicker”. They are like lil attack dogs over there, and they move in wolf-like packs. It’s all about the spin. Watch the comments after I publish this piece. It’s all about controlling the spin. It’s not about ideas anymore. It’s sad, very sad.
I have been leaning towards voting for Tom Suozzi for a long time now, and the more I keep leaning, the more I will be like that pizza-tower in Italy. I may eventually topple over. Look, like the people at Motel Six, I have kept a light on for Spitzer, hoping that he would drop in and articulate his reform plans. That light is going to be turned off one of these days, if he doesn’t hurry. I had hoped that he would explain why he never commented on the cesspool that is the Brooklyn political environment, and why he reached into this pool and hired both Carl Andrews and Tish James, two individuals smelling of the stench. I want to know about his cozy accommodations with the political leaders of this state, and how can he now switch horses in mid-stream to focus on reform. Am I to take his relative silence over the years, as tacit approval for the lousy blow-jobs that Pataki, Bruno and Silver have been doing? What drives him beyond testosterone, ego and his family’s money? Where has he been on issues of police brutality/abuse against non-whites? What about the les than 2% rate of state and city contracts going to minority-owned firms? What about the 48% unemployment afflicting black males in the city? I could go on and on and on like the energizer bunny. But what pisses me off even more, is the fact that black elected officials, just roll over and endorse these white candidates (like Clinton and Spitzer), without even raising these issues affecting the black community, far less extracting promises for some type of address to them. And people get angry because I call the whole lot, a bunch of somnambulists.
Okay, so Spitzer did do a few successful prosecutions. And yes he did go after some corporations and some individual corporate thieves. Thank you very much sir, but that’s what we were paying you to do, no? Although, all in all it was promising work, taking this state by the horns, require more imagination than all the work he did at the AG’s office. We need a strong leader, like yesterday. We don’t need bullshit polls, endorsements and commercials. Enough already. And we sure don’t need calculated silence.
Whenever Elliot trots out those political-whores and pimps as endorsees, I want to throw-up. Nothing imaginative there. Even the unions are greedily feasting at the public trough, and they have no conscience. Don’t even talk about the lobbyists and the various special-interest groups. Is he going to reward all those endorsees at our expense? I mean, we are already the highest taxed state in the union, last time I looked; or maybe the second highest. Either way it’s too damn high, just like rents in New York City. Here is an idea Elliot (Gifford Miller stole it from me by the way, but did nothing with it), give renters in New York, a rebate at tax time. As long as rents equal more than half their salaries, and once they earn less than six-figures annually, renters should get needed relief. What do you think sir?
Seriously speaking; what many of us want to know is how will he deal with education? What is the game-plan? What about CFE, and also new school construction? What about class-sizes in communities of color? What about term-limits for the state legislature? Is campaign-finance reform anywhere in his thoughts? It’s time to start talking and time to stop the………. (You know what).
Stay tuned.