Author: Gatemouth

As regular readers of this department realize, I've not been a big fan of the Mayor, but both they and I might be hard pressed to say why.

In listening to the Mayor's potential opponents, I've yet to find many issues where I think they are right and the Mayor is wrong. My problem with mayoral_control_of_the_schools is not the idea but its implementation, which seems designed to thwart the accountability which is ostensibly its goal. At any rate, it is no surprise that the Mayor's opponents share The Mayor's desire not to diminish the powers of the Mayor's office, even as they seek to change its occupant. When it comes to who Bloomberg's opponents want to control our schools, the difference among the candidates are worth considerably less than a stick of gum.

In Last Week’s Episode, I told the tale of Republican Party which faced a leadership battle including two relics of Jim Crow (Katon Dawson and Chip Saltsman) and two African Americans (Michael Steele and J.

“Blue State MODERATE [emphasis added] Michael Steele beat four MORE HARDLINE [emphasis added] GOP candidates to become the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee."—NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 1/31/09

FROM THE MARYLAND DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S “MARYLAND LT. GOVERNOR MICHAEL STEELE RESEARCH BOOK”: While speaking to the Baltimore Jewish Council, Michael Steele compared doctors conducting stem cell research to Nazis performing human experiments during the Holocaust: “You of all folks know what happens when people decide to experiment on human beings, when they want to take your life and use it as a tool.” [Associated Press, 2/10/06]

"But unlike Kennedy or Cuomo, she isn't saddled with all that dynastic baggage. Perfect!" —Eve Fairbanks on Slate

Enough talk about the world of the Schlossberg wing of the Family Kennedy, it is time to talk about the world of a different Kennedy.

 “That year an ill wind blew over the city and threatened to destroy flowerpots, family fortunes, reputations, true love and several types of virtue” —The opening of “Roscoe” by William Kennedy

Perhaps it was the year the Albany Organization found itself without the County Executive’s position, and decided the solution was a Republican State Senator. The Organization’s incumbent, Howard Nolan, a Lace Curtain Irish breeder of thoroughbred race horses (though surely not the only Capitol Area Senator involved in “trading horses“, in every sense of that term), who had to travel the shortest distance to the Capitol of any of his colleagues, would often be found on session days at Belmont watching his latest acquisitions, with one of the Minority‘s “Local Government Coordinator‘s” acting as his chauffer in a State-owned vehicle . Given the Senator’s lack of interest in his duties, and the powerlessness of his position in the Minority, even if such an interest could be acquired, it was hard to say that his constituents were really suffering from the arrangement.

For the Albany Republicans, whose County Executive was stymied by a County Legislature under the control of the Democrats, a Senate seat in the Majority provided far better opportunities for avarice than the County Executive’s position. For the Democrats, it was the reverse. The Senate seat was a useless ornament, as was their Senator, while having the County Legislature without the Executive was like owning Boardwalk without Park Place. As their Senator, who’d long ago retired from his duties, was now set to retire from his title as well, a swap was arranged, a sure loser nominated, and the seats of power were re-arranged in a win/win manner.

"And she was right in the rain of the bullets that eventually brought her down
But she’s still dancing in the night
Unafraid of what a dude’ll do in a town full of heroes and villains"

When did the Beach Boys become the soundtrack for New York State politics?

Last month, “Carl and the Passions” were topping the charts; now, in breaking news, it appears that Mayor Mike's "Pet Sounds" has just done a big bellyflop. From all indications, she just wasn't made for these times.

Gatemouth (7/24/08): But “Aggressive Isolationism” and our involuntary quarantine by our former allies, was not always our destiny. To cop from the dust jacket of Beinart’s “The Good Fight: Why Liberals – and Only Liberals – Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again”, we once had leaders who believed that “America must lead the world by persuasion, not command”, George Bush believes the opposite, and American and the world are suffering as a result. Beinart posits an alternative “liberalism cannot merely define itself against the right, but must fervently oppose the totalitarianism that blighted Europe a half century ago, and which stalks the Islamic world today” and “an unyielding hostility to totalitarianism – and a recognition that defeating it requires bringing hope to the bleakest corners of the globe. And it means understanding that democracy begins at home, in a nation that does more than merely preach about justice, but become more just itself.”

In contrast to Dubya's Aggressive Isolationism, Beinart’s dust jacket argues that “American greatness cannot simply be asserted; it must be proved….That American leadership is not American Empire.” As Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. said in praise of Beinart, “The replacement of containment by the Bush Doctrine of preventive war…has screwed everything up with illegitimacy, tactical blunders, and utopian fantasy.”

Yesterday was a a day of tragedy.

I will not second guess Israel's efforts at self defense because, unlike the Israelis, I don't have to live with the consequences of either action or inaction, but the fact that such actions may have been necessary does not minimize their tragic nature, it amplifies it.

Everybody knows what a Mideast Peace would look like and no one knows how to get there. Those on both sides who live in denial of these facts, including Gaza's Hamas rulers and most of the Lkud slate in next year's election (though possibly not Mr. Netanyahu) doom the world to more days like yesterday.

When wading into a raging stream of controversy, it is best to have one’s life support system laid out in advance; as such, let me note the following:

1) In over two and one half years of blogging on “Room 8,” I’ve never had one kind word to say about Councilman and State Senator-Elect Hiram Montserrate, but have managed a few nasty ones (some examples of which follow here, here, here, here and here).

In fact, Hiram’s do-wopping as a member of “Carl_and_the_Passions” (AKA “The Gang of Four”), followed by his decision to go solo and sign with a major label, proves there is no honor among thieves; Hiram could not sustain loyalty to any cause, even that of treason. As DINO wannabes Carl Kruger, Pedro Espada and Ruben Diaz have discovered, Hiram Monserrate can’t be bought at any price, only rented, on a very short-term lease. While I will not comment about a pending criminal investigation, my distaste for Councilman Monserrate is long standing and has nothing to do with his legal troubles (or at least with these legal troubles). So, let no one call me a shill for Hiram Monserrate.

Like more than one local blogger (Michael Bouldin and Dan Millstone come to mind) I recently discovered that post-election malaise is not restricted to the bad years. To top it off, I recently encountered Facebook and found the ability to connect with 30 years of my history in one night more addicting than heroin. The last time a site (Jdate) had such an impact, I ended up a husband and father in less than a year and a half.

This time, by the time I came to, my brilliant idea that Abner Mikva should be made caretaker Senator from Illinois had already been used by Michael Tomasky (we won’t even talk about the consequences of my failure to advise Malcolm Smith). It seems a good time to get back to work.

Gatemouth has declared his candidacy for the US Senate and has retained Gary Tilzer to lobby on his behalf.