As was once again proven this week, there is nothing more destructive to the New York State political process than a billionaire scorned. In fact, this may be the single best argument for Mike Bloomberg’s re-election.
In 1989, for reasons too petty to be worth discussing, Al D’Amato filled his billionaire buddy Ron Lauder’s head full of visions of dancing sugarplums, and convinced him to run for Mayor, the better to sabotage the hopes of his former protégé, Rudy Giuliani, who had shown him insufficiently gratitude and fealty.
Lauder, not realizing his own campaign was a sick joke, got his clocked cleaned, and went into shock. Finally realizing his political career was dead, Lauder undertook Kubler-Ross’ stages of grief, but never got beyond anger, which he decided to visit upon the entire New York City political establishment, by finally hiring some competent people and putting on the ballot and passing an initiative instituting term limits for City offices, thereby putting an end date to Rudy’s term in public office before it had even started.
Term limits has replaced the old faces doing business as usual with a lot if new faces doing the same. They have been joined by others churning jobs back and forth, resulting in several Assembly special election where party candidates are chosen by hacks instead of voters. The big difference between the old days and the new is that pols with less time to make their mark tend to be even more self-serving in their efforts to make a splash quickly or cash in, are more likely to pull shameless stunts, and in their final terms, are far more likely to thumb their noses at public opinion. The apotheosis of this came when the term-limited pols modified the law in the face of two referendums to the contrary, since the worst that could happen in response (loss of their seats on the Council) was happening anyway.
Perhaps most emblematic of Lauder’s callousness was his agreement to grant professional courtesy to his fellow billionaire Bloomberg and not oppose the term limits modification the Mayor supported, provided Lauder was subsequently appointed to a Charter Commission to make term limits better than ever.
In 1992, billionaire Ross Perot ran for president and in the process facilitated the entry into the New York political scene of future Deputy Comptroller David Loglisci (currently under indictment), his brother Steve “Chooch” Loglisci and his buddy, Barrett Wissman (unindicted co-conspirator).
In 1994, multi-millionaire egomaniac Thomas Golisano looked in the mirror and concluded he was our own local Ross Perot (perhaps not having noticed that Perot had lost) and decided to buy his way to the governorship by creating a cult of no personality.
The first step was to get on the ballot, not an easy process for an independent statewide candidate unless one was running upon a party line no one worried about, like the Trotskyites. By definition, any time a billionaire runs for office, other candidates are going to worry.
To facilitate his ballot access, Golisano, like Perot before him, recruited the crazed anti-Semitic cult controlled by Fred Newman and Leonora Fulani, in the same manner he recruited most people, he rented them He did so not because he agreed with them on anything, but because they had trained troops and expertise in getting on the ballot.
Fulani and company had started out as pals of Lyndon LaRouche before deciding LaRouche's US Labor Party wasn’t big enough for two Messiahs and forming their own New Alliance Party (NAP) and a business empire of political consultants, psychotherapy and arts programs, among other enterprises, with the common goals of making money, increasing their political influence, abusing children and finding new sex partners.
The Nappies, with their own in-house counsel, cult member Harry Kresky (later a Bloomberg appointee), became experts on ballot access, sometimes filing petitions to run on their own line, and sometimes running in Democratic Primaries. They actually had their own Bronx Councilman, Gilberto Gerena-Valentin, during the late 70s, and their party (political) hopping Espada family [now spun off on their own] has held multiple offices on and off since the 90s, but mostly the Nappies lost. Nonetheless, they almost always made the ballot and played crucial roles in aiding politicians like Al Sharpton and Frank Barbaro in their ballot-access efforts.
Golisano lost the 94 election, but his party [originally called the “Independence Fusion Party,” but later changed to the more appealing “Independence Party” (IP )], achieved enough votes to earn a line on the ballot. A line on the ballot gives a party the ability to qualify candidates with minimal efforts, and with a name like “Independence”, this meant the ability to attract confused voters, thereby attracting the attention and generosity of the political establishment.
As such, control of the party became a valuable commodity. In 1995, the party’s membership was besieged by perennial candidates like Upper Manhattan’s Harry Fotopolous, independent movements like the Greens, fast buck operators and flakes. But when you lie down with a bigoted cult, you end up with them controlling your party. The well organized and disciplined Nappies, working together with fast buck opportunist allies who saw a chance at a piece of the pie (current IP Chair Frank McKay among them), eventually achieved control.
Golisano paid little attention; similar to Lauder, he went through denial, but stopped at anger, which he directed mostly at Pataki, whose credentials as a fiscal conservative he regarded as phony. The Nappies feasted off the Golisano gravy train, backing him in again 1998, but eventually George Pataki made them a better offer. As Governor, Pataki could deliver jobs to cult members and allies, state funding to cult controlled entities, and leverage contributions and business from other sources. McKay and the Nappies abandoned Golisano and prepared to deliver the 2002 IP Gubernatorial nomination to Pataki.
Locally, IP’s support for Mayor Mike, combined with the Pataki gratitude from Albany, yielded State and City financial backing in the millions for the Nappies’ “All-Stars” program (which has been accused in several jurisdictions of emotionally abusing the minors they are supposed to be helping), including mortgage financing via tax free municipal bonds, as well as funding for anti-Semitic theatrical productions, and most shockingly, school based “social therapy” programs run according to the Fed Newman philosophy, which combines extreme left wing ideas with wacko psychiatric theories.
“Social Therapist” Newman believes that it’s all right to have sex with his patients, and also to assign them therapeutic political work. While, in a political context, Newman’s quotes concerning his view of "professional ethics" are probably among his least offensive comments, the fact that he is being given access to young children shocks the conscience, even if everybody keeps their pants on.
And we haven’t even mentioned the large private contributions given or leveraged by the Mayor to the “arts” programs. The Mayor has also appointed Fulani-Newman cultists as members of the City’s Charter Review Commission. By contrast, the non-Fulani types have mostly wet their beaks in obscure state and county level jobs, tucked away where their accumulated efforts have no costs, except to the taxpayers (not that the Nappies didn’t take payroll positions as well).
For more detail, see my “Fuck the Independence Party” series:
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/the_independence_party_is_neither.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/joe_dreck.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/the_aristocrats_with_thanks_to_penn_jillette.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/drecky_rides_again.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/joe_douek_must_resign.htm
gatemouth/gatemouth_joins_the_times_editorial_board.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/a_better_reason_to_vote_against_bloomberg.html
Faced with the loss of his party nomination, Golisano weighed his options, first considering, then abandoning, the idea of starting a new party, for which he could then obtain enough votes to achieve ballot status, and which he could then lose control of. It was decided instead to muster up the freelance kooks and opportunists who made up the various non-Nappie factions of the party and meld them together using the mucilage of legal tender. Together, this coalition of the unhinged and the avaricious would run a primary against Pataki for the IP nomination.
By now, Golisano’s main campaign operative was Roger Stone, a man once called ‘The State of the Art Washington Sleaze Bag’ by New Republic. Though a Republican, Stone had reasons to hate George Pataki only slightly more petty than those adopted by Al D’Amato for hating Rudy (when there were, in reality, so many better reasons), but even more important was probably the cold hard cash that came along with the job. Besides helping to funnel Republican money to Al Sharpton, Stone is probably most famous for the personal ads run he's run with his wife seeking partners to satisfy their deviant sexual urges, experience which proved useful when, while on the State Senate Republican Campaign Committee payroll, he played a key role in bringing down Eliot Spitzer. Given that the real goal of the 2002 campaign was not electing Golisano, but rather beating Pataki, for the crime of having shown insufficient respect, most of the rest of the staff were Democrats, including Stone’s cousin, Steve Pigeon.
In the language of New Yorkers, Pigeon is defined as “a rat with wings,” which is at least half-correct.
Pigeon, a former Erie County Democratic Chair who’d worked for the State Senate Democrats, was probably responsible for the choice of election lawyer. Marty Connor, which, in turn, led to my own brief interval on the Golisano Gravy Train.
There was a problem though. Connor was already election Counsel for Dennis Mehiel, a multi-millionaire (in this story, a mere piker) who was Democrat Carl McCall’s running mate for Lieutenant Governor. Since Mehiel’s interests were inextricably linked to McCall (who he was largely financing), representing Golisano would require that Mehiel sign an explicit waiver. Without the waiver, Connor could not have represented Golisano without risking disbarment. McCall did not want Pataki to have the IP line, so he wanted Connor to keep Golisano on ballot to challenge Pataki. In fact, at the time, McCall called Golisano “my secret weapon”.
Mehiel signed the waiver, with something resembling glee bordering on elation.
Retained by Connor to assist him in his petition biding duties, along with several others from across the state, I took off some time from work, and made $8,000 in less than one week, pulling a few all-nighters. The only reason I didn’t make more was I had to give up an evening and to spend binding petition of some local allies and Senate Democrats. We worked out of a suite in a lovely midtown boutique hotel (I think it was the Barbizon), with unlimited room service provided by the campaign; the shrimp were the size of a baby’s arm.
During this time we worked under a deadline trying to comply with the highly technical requirements for a statewide petition, while fending off local IP lunatics seeking last minute assistance in binding their local sheets (I literally threw some out of our room) until it was agreed that we’d just add it to them tab. They were the sort of stuff you did while wearing gloves and turning the sheets upside down to avoid too much culpability.
In anticipation of cries that I too sold out my principles in the same manner as Mr. Monserrate (but not Mr. Espada, who did not sell out everything he ever stood for by his actions, but rather lived up to the principles which he has consistently lived by), I must respond that it is not the case. Despite efforts by some (Gary Tilzer) to label my work in helping to bind these petitions as some sort of sneaky underhanded maneuver to hurt the Democrats, it was nothing of the sort. Rather, my work, and that of Connor, was, in fact, a sneaky underhanded maneuver to help the Democrats.
We got the job done, kept Golisano on the ballot (I missed the trial because I was on my honeymoon), and he eventually beat Pataki and took 14% of the vote, most of it out of George Pataki’s hide.
In politics, an opportunity to advance one’s worldview while making carloads of money is regarded as the idealist’s wet dream. I had the time of my life, a full wallet and the knowledge that I was doing G-d’s work. You should someday be so lucky.
Eventually, after some bad stories appeared about the Nappies, Frank McKay realized that his once valuable ability to sell his line to the highest bidder was going to be considerable less profitable if the line was seen as tainted. 2006 was a Gubernatorial year, and unless the Party achieved 50,000 votes, it would lose its automatic ballot status and essentially go out of existence. If, as then seemed likely, every major party candidate rejected his ballot line, McKay’s charmed existence as a power broker would be yesterday’s news. Hence, he switched sides and began a purge of the Nappies who‘d brought him to power.
McKay’s efforts worked; just as it looked as if this boil on the butt of the state’s body politic was going to be lanced, off to the rescue came Eliot Spitzer and the State’s Democratic leadership, including Hillary and Alan Hevesi, to ensure Frank McKay and his motley crew another four years running their scummy little protection racket.
In a truly emblematic illustration of how the Albany bi-partisan ruling establishment really works, this all inured to the benefit of the Republicans. By taking their line, Spitzer enabled the Independence Party to survive; but he also enable Joe Bruno to survive. Facing a potential blow-out of monumental proportions, Joe Bruno and company were worried that not even the reliable incompetence of David Paterson and friends could save them from the unhappy accident of voters starting at Spitzer and voting straight down the line.
But, thanks to Spitzer and company, the 2006 IP ticket offered voters a ballot line where they could cast their votes for Spitzer, Hillary and Hevesi, and then continue down the line and be able to support every single solitary Senate Republican whose existence might have been threatened by a Democratic landslide, as well as every Senate Republican candidate who had even a theoretical chance of taking a Democratic seat. That year, and in 2008, the Independence Party became Joe Bruno’s, and then Dean Skelos,’ trump card; a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee (RSSCC), essentially run out of the RSSCC offices, providing Republicans with life jackets to save them from Democratic tsunamis.
As I predicted back in 2006, given their superior organizational skills, and the fact that their members are well programmed pods, the Nappies eventually retook control of the NYC IP. However, the factions remained divided until, in true New York Billionaire Fashion, Mike Bloomberg brokered a truce based upon persuading the factions that what united them (insatiable greed) was greater than what divided them (queuing for the limited spaces at the trough) by assuring and ensuring there would be enough slop for all concerned, at taxpayer expenses if possible, and out of his own pocket, if necessary.
Golisano, however, moved on. Pigeon had found Tom to be one of his namesake, and together they formed “Responsible New York.” This time, perhaps out of outrage towards McKay, Golisano directed his venom at Joe Bruno and his successor, Dean Skelos.
“Responsible New York” expended most of their efforts financing independent expenditures on behalf of Senate Democratic candidates in their targeted races. Some of the money also went elsewhere. A couple of Senate Republicans who had seen fit to kiss the ring Golisano keeps in his back pocket were also so rewarded, as were some Democrats with primaries, including Marty Connor. Money was also expended on Pigeon’s somewhat puzzling series of grudges and alliances in Erie County and nearby turf.
How effective were these efforts? Well, most of Pigeon’s allies lost, while Marty Connor was shocked to discover that the mailings produced by “Responsible New York” on his behalf were even worse than the ones produced by his own consultants. But there is no doubt that Malcolm’s Smith’s attitude should have been one of gratitude.
Instead of giving Golisano the undivided attention he had paid for, Malcolm Smith played with his Blackberry. More defensibly, Smith refused to turned over his western New York office to the care of Pigeon’s flock, instead , in the time honored manner of Majorities and Minorities in both houses, putting it under the supervision of a strong potential candidate who need a job until the next election.
Golisano was angry. Pigeon was angry. While once basically loyal to the Senate Dems, Golisano and Pigeon flew the coop (Golisano traveling to Florida) and threw a coup. Roger Stone came to town to lend the effort his immoral support.
With important matters crucial to such things as the budget of the City of New York still unresolved, Tom Golisano decided that giving New York the gift that keep on giving called the IP was no longer enough to ensure his legacy, and so now he proved wrong all those cynics who insisted that politics in New York could not get any worse.
For anyone who ever thought that something monstrous would be a bit less frightening if it was done with limited competence, we have as proof in the negative the latest and perhaps most repugnant Pigeon droppings of Tom Golisano.