In fairness to the Queens County Democratic insurgents I recently attacked here for party disloyalty, I print this clarification.
Where previously I’d implied that State Senate hopeful Albert Baldeo was an untrustworthy character, this week Baldeo proved himself good to his word.
Unfortunately, he did so by carrying through on his threat to form a third party, in his efforts to help Republican Senate Senator Serph Maltese retain his seat. Baldeo announced he was forming the “Hope and Change Party”, whose purpose seems to be to eliminate any “hope” for a “change”.
"I'm looking at a third-party candidacy run," said Baldeo, “In the unlikely event we don't win the primary, we owe it to those voters to give them a second chance to vote for me."
Let’s be fair though, since this is clearly about a matter of principle; the principle being “never go home empty-handed”. "He asked if we would support him [for a judge's position] and we said 'no,'" said Michael Reich, executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party.
Further, I’d suggested that Baldeo had displayed no concern for a Democratic victory, but even his enemies concede this is not true; Reich himself said that "[Baldeo] made a call and said, 'Listen, I want to support Joe [Addabbo]. I think that a primary would be divisive and would hurt the chances of the party and I hope you would consider me for a judgeship.'"
I stand corrected. But there’s more.
A few days ago, Rock Hackshaw sent me an hilarious email containing an actual quote from the “Reagan Diaries” concerning his Vice President (in case you don’t remember, George H.W. Bush), and his neer-do-well son (not Jeb). And indeed, if you search the web, there are thousands of “google” entries verifying the bonafides of this delicious tidbit.
The only problem is that the excerpt came from a satirical article by my hero and role model, Michael Kinsley. Sadly, Reagan never wrote. It goes without saying that the number of “google” entries debunking this urban myth is far smaller than the number circulating it.
It is with this in mind that I excerpt this article from Azi Paybarah. The prior article he refers to concerned a purported email by the campaign manager of defeated City Council candidate Charles Ober. I’d excerpted most of the Paybarah article, and parts of the email, in the same piece where I’d taken Baldeo over the coals. Here’s what Azi has to say now:
Ober Aide Says His Email Account Was Hacked
Two days ago, I wrote about an email, sent from the account of campaign aide Sam Esposito, saying that the City Council campaign he worked on was a “success” because it prevented another candidate, one favored by the Queens County Democratic Organization, from winning.
Today, the aide, Sam Esposito, said that the email did indeed come from his account, but that he didn't write it.
He said that his account was hacked into by someone who wrote the email, which was eventually forwarded to me.“I have my feelings about Queens County but I wouldn’t put them online,” Esposito told me.
Esposito said people have hacked into his email account before, and that he was recovering from a minor injury last week and wasn't checking his computer — or presumably, his contact number, where I left him a message before I ran the post — so he only learned of the email today.
The candidate who Esposito works for, Charles Ober, also denied any association with the email.
“I worked very hard and I expected to win,” Ober told me.
Instead, Republican Anthony Como beat Democrat Liz Crowley, who had the county backing, by only a handful of votes–and most likely, it didn't help Crowley's chances that Ober, a Democrat, was also in the race. When asked whether he took any satisfaction in what happened, Ober said no.
“This was about me running and winning,” he said. When asked about another idea expressed in the email–that he would try to oust Assemblyman Cathy Nolan, a member of his political club, which supported Crowley–Ober declined to comment.
Also, for what it's worth here: a Queens blog said the email didn’t look like something Esposito or Ober would write.
Well, I’ll leave it to y’all to come to your own conclusions; I’ve come to mine. If I believed Espositio, I’d print an unequivocal apology. I have not done so.
However, in the interest of fairness, those of you who do believe Esposito are invited to disregard my prior article and read the version which follows instead. It contains no references to the prior Paybarah article or the email, and none of the conclusion I drew from the Paybarah article or the email are referred to either.
Those who’ve not suspended their critical faculties need not read any further.
SURPRISE: QUEENS INSURGENTS OUST REGULARS TO TAKE CHARGE OF COUNTY CHAPTER OF “JOE BRUNO DEMOCRATS”
"Conditionally Corrected" by Gatemouth
Saturday 6/14/08
COMO'S VICTORY COULD IMPACT STATE SENATE RACE-NY Daily News, June 5th, 2008
Republican Anthony Como's razor-thin unofficial victory over Democrat Elizabeth Crowley in Tuesday's special election to replace ex-City Councilman Dennis Gallagher reaffirmed a political trend that could impact a high-stakes state Senate showdown this fall.
The nonpartisan special election was watched closely on the state level because of the big-money Senate race this fall between Republican incumbent Serfin Maltese and City Councilman Joseph Addabbo – a race that could decide who wields power in the upper house….
The statewide significance lies in the fact the 30th Council District forms the northern half of the 15th Senate District, where Maltese has won 10 straight terms in spite of a ….Democratic enrollment advantage….
…Maltese was giddy. "That is a good sign for my future election," Maltese crowed….Maltese said that by appealing to Democrats and Conservatives, not just Republicans, Como was able to hold off an all-out organizing effort by the Democratic Party, which is led by Crowley's cousin, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens).
Control of State Senate May Lie in NYC Special Election– Nassau GOP Watch –May 30, 2008
A Special Election to fill the seat of disgraced Republican Dennis Gallagher has a role in the fight for control of the New York State Senate. The 30th Council District covering Middle Village, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Glendale has been in republican hands since the map was re-drawn years ago. The District sits in the very heart of endangered republican State Senator Serf Maltese's district. A win for Democrat Elizabeth Crowley against republican Anthony "Baby Face" Como would seal the deal for the 15th SD.
Como is Maltese's guy and is going to bat for him in this election. Como has a prominent sign on Maltese's campaign office.
Maltese won re-election last time to a complete unknown by about only 850 votes….[The Senate GOP] is giving Maltese $2.441 Million in Members Item funds to campaign with. That's right, your tax dollars are being used as a campaign slush fund to save Maltese's keester.
Maltese is high on the Democrats hit-list this november and a Council seat win for a Democrat in the heart of Maltese's district, defeating his wanna-be successor Como spells the end of Maltese…
In a stunning example of role reversal, the Queens County Democratic Organization has seemingly committed itself to putting its full weight behind efforts to attain a Democratic majority in the NY State Senate, rather than repeating its past practice of covertly (and sometimes not so covertly) helping the County’s two Republican State Senators retain their ever more Democratic seats.
Finally, with a Democratic majority in plain sight and a member in good standing of their inner circle at the Senate Democratic helm, visions of the motherlode have been allowed to triumph over the prior Austin Street philosophy of the two-party system as a fee-splitting arrangement, but it was not always thus, as we can see here:
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/missed_opportunity.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/joe_crowley_meet_gordon_gekko.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/nolo_contendre.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/talking_back.html
One would think that this change would have delighted those Queens insurgents who, albeit sporadically, have attempted form time to time to upset the applecart in a quixotic effort to use the Democratic line to elect a Democratic.
One would be wrong.
First there is Al Baldeo, the strange immigration lawyer who managed, on Eliot Spitzer’s coattails, to get 49% against incumbent Serf Maltese in 2006, while everyone was caught sleeping.
The 2006 Democratic candidate could have been popular Councilman Joe Addabbo, son of the legendary Congressman of the same name, but despite promises of Bloomberg money, the boys at Austin Street decided it was better to do business with a friendly Republican in the Majority instead of a very friendly Democrat in the Minority.
If Addabbo was the nominee, he would have won, with an extra Democrat in the Senate, Republicans John Bonacic and Joe Robach would likely have jumped, “Choppergate” would never have happened, Joe Bruno would have been history and the resulting wet-dream would have kept the Governor so satisfied that the Emperor would have kept his clothes on.
But instead, the 2006 candidate against Maltese was Baldeo, previously most famous for a gun arrest (charges dropped) during a prior campaign for City Council. And, in an almost happy accident, he nearly pulled it off.
Now, despite the agreement of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee and the Queens Democrats to support Addabbo, Baldeo is running again. Let me be clear, Baldeo has every right to run, and while I do not find his claim that he is the strongest candidate to be very compelling, it is not an argument which is facially ridiculous.
What is ridiculous is his argument that his prior showing gives him the right to be handed the nomination on a platter. By that our logic, Presidential nominee should be John Kerry.
And what Baldeo does not have the right to do is threaten to run as an independent, or endorse Maltese, if he loses the primary. But that is what he's done, threatening, even before Addabbo entered the race, to circulate petitions to create a third party, and saying he intended to run on that line in the general election regardless of the outcome of a Democratic primary.
"Let’s say he wins the primary," said Baldeo of Addabbo, "he’ll still have to deal with me, and the reality is, he can’t win."
Brilliant tactic; sort of like Cleavon Little in "Blazing Saddles" pointing the gun at himself and threatening to shoot the new Sheriff. The best thing Baldeo had going for him was a claim to the moral high ground. So sad that he chose to forfeit that ground even before it clear whether his claim for it was even going to be contested.
If Baldeo is really as strong as his follower (the lack of plural is not a typo) says he is, he'll win the nomination. If he's not, he'll lose. That's called democracy. Meanwhile Baldeo’s supporter argues that no one should run against Baldeo because that could result in a split general election vote handing the seat to the Republcians.
SPLIT VOTE?!?!
Baldeo’s the one threatening to run on an independent line come primary defeat or not. I say that anyone who won’t promise to drop out should they lose the primary should forfeit any claim on support of voters who care about ending Joe Bruno’s reign. And the ugly and ceaseless attempts by Baldeo's hired hands to portray Addabbo as a racist must stop.
Luckily Baldeo is more of a lone wolf than a faction; the same cannot be said of Queens’ small but hardy band of “progressives”. To their credit, the “progressives”, whatever their misgivings about Addabbo, seem to have caught on that Baldeo is unworthy of their support this time out. Unfortunately, that has not stopped them from other quixotic activities.
A constant refrain this year is that the “progressive” losers who undertook hopeless races last time out should be given another chance. Congressional candidate Steve “Stevie Wonder” Harrison and Suffolk State Senate candidate Jimmy Dahroug each lost races by 14 points that progressives now brand as “close”, even though Hillary’s similar defeat in North Carolina was branded by them as a landslide defeat. Somehow, we are said to owe these losers a second or (in Dahroug’s case) third shot, even though the same “progressives” would rightly deny the same to upstate DINO reactionary Jack Davis, who came closer in his Congressional race than Dahroug or Harrison.
By the “progressive’s” own Dahroug-Harrison logic then, Elizabeth Crowley, who fought the good fight last time against Former Councilman Dennis “the Menace" Gallagher, when no one in the party, family included, gave her a shot, would seem to have earned her second chance as well.
Actually, I understate the case. Since Harrison and Dahroug’s current races involve primaries, and Crowley’s race was a de facto general election, the argument that other Democrats should have stepped aside in her favor was far more compelling in Crowley’s case than it is in the other races I've mentioned. However, given the Dem/Rep margin at the Council, it could be argued that far less was at stake.
However, that argument was dead wrong.
It is clear that the Republicans intend to use this seat as a breeding ground for their choice for Serph Maltese's eventual successor, provided they hold Serph’s seat, so killing their choice in its cradle would have been nice.
Moreover, the Republicans saw this race as crucial to holding Maltese’s seat. In the war of perceptions, A Republican victory is a great boost for Serph’s chances, and has already helped their efforts to create buzz and momentum to aid their fundraising on a statewide basis. Rightly or wrongly, Como’s victory will be taken as a sign that Democratic victory in the fall is not such a sure thing; and such perceptions can make all the difference in the world to the Albany contributing class.
But, a Democratic victory in the northern, more Republican end of Serph’s district would have been seen as the beginning of the end for Joe Bruno, opening the floodgates for Democratic fundraising, while leaving the Republicans high and dry. And, with a popular former Republican Councilman challenging the Republican organization’s choice, the perception of inevitable Democratic victory could have been created with a minority of the votes.
But insurgent “progressive” Democrat Charles Ober had other ideas; his pathetic 10% of the vote ego trip cost Crowley victory by a mere 38 votes.
Why couldn’t Ober have let Crowley win the special, and instead waited for the primary to contest her? Even had she won, Crowley would have been virtually without any advantage of incumbency, and the Republicans would have been far weakened.
Ober could have endorsed Crowley in the special, making it clear his challenge was coming later, and he would have gotten some nice publicity as a person of integrity for what would have been a laudable act of selflessness.
Yes, Crowley was no Jerry Nadler, but she was liberal enough to be endorsed by Queens’ gay Democratic club. Instead Ober gave Serph Maltese a double-sized cocktail of steroids and viagara. The fact that they (unlike Baldeo) obviously have no intention to help Joe Bruno only makes the stupidity of their actions that much more pathetic.