I'm in a New York State of Mind
on Friday, February 26, 2010 - 2:41pm
Lots going on today in the Empire State.
The most important? I got a snow day! There is over a foot of snow in my front yard and it’s still falling. Yeah! I made homemade coffee cake (all wholegrain flours) this AM because on snowy days, your house should smell like cinnamon.
There is all kinds of big news around the state.
It seems that David Patterson won’t be running for re-election, which clears the way for Andrew Cuomo to announce. Cuomo took a ton of flack a few cycles back for running a primary against Carl McCall, and was denounced by some for being racially insensitive in the process. He was not about to go THERE again, and has been stifled, like a racehorse fidgeting at the starting gate waiting to enter the race. He must be hugely relieved by the news.
Not so relieved, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice who just completed a Hillary Clinton style listening tour upstate in preparation for announcing her run for State Attorney General–which she could not do until Andy Cuomo announced for Governor. It’s like those toppling dominos.
However, yesterday Denise O’Donnell , Paterson’s top Criminal Justice official, resigned in protest over the NYS Troopers not telling her the truth about their interference in the Paterson aide domestic violence scandal. O’Donnell, the former US Attorney for the Western District of New York (under Clinton) has already run a credible race for State AG and still has her statewide network to call upon. Do not be surprised of O’Donnell throws her hat in the race. In fact, I will be curious to see if O’Donnell can get her announcement organized fast enough to beat Rice to the throwdown. It should be an interesting spectacle to watch the battle of the redheads.
A couple of new activist organizations have cropped up in response to the suppurating, pus oozing wound on our state government that the State Senate has become. ReBoot New York is a PAC devoted to reforming the NYS Senate by recruiting and backing progressive candidates that are willing to make real reform in Albany a priority. [conflict of interest alert--I am a member of ReBoot]
The new marriage equality activist group FightBack NY has selected Hiram Monserrate as their first target. Monserrate was recently expelled from the NYS Senate as a result of his domestic violence conviction. [thank you Brian Foley] However, FightBack is targeting Monserrate because of his vote against marriage equality.
Oh, and the Glen Cove HS Mock Trial team won their first two competitions and has moved on to the intermediate round. Go Big Red!
Comments
Rebooting the U.S.Senate Also
February 28, 2010 - 4:58am — AnonymousThis article is not anonymous. It is written by Philip S. Krone, potential candidate for U.S. Senator from the great State of New York for the seat currently held by Senator Charles Schumer.
Please forgive me for 'glomming' onto this site but I detect that New Yorkers are also unhappy with the U.S. Senate.
The Republicans are angry, many apoplectic.
We Democrats are unhappy, disappointed and sad.
Barack Obama promised hope and change, but no one gave him a magic wand. It will take a lot of time to undo the damage, and change the course of action of Bush, Cheney, DeLay, Armey and Paulson. We all know that our economy was seriously hurt by the Bush Cheney preemptive war against Iraq which Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton both voted for in 2002.
Senator Clinton's vote in favor of the war cost her the Democratic nomination for President which was punishment indeed. Senator Schumer deserves to be punished as well. If he loses the primary he will retire after his 30 years of Congressional Service with a full pension the day he leaves office in 2011. (He becomes 60 on November 23, 2010). Frankly, Hillary Clinton having lost the nomination in 2008 and having campaigned assiduously for Obama and who is now serving as Secretary of State in an effective low key manner, has redeemed herself and should be the presumptive candidate for President in 2016 when she will be only 68 (four years younger than McCain was when he ran in 2008).
During the next weeks and months I will lay out the reasons why I, a virtual unknown and outsider should receive the Democratic nomination for U. S. Senator.
I pledge that I will run an honest, aboveboard campaign which does not put Senator Schumer at risk for the general election where frankly his pro ward policies will help him with Republicans, that's
qssuming he wins the primary. This is not automatic. When he first ran for the Senate against Geraldine Ferraro in the 1998 Democratic primary his own polls showed him lower than 5%.
I might not be able to carry 61 ccounties in a general election, but I will compensate my fewer Republican votes with increased enthusiasm by real Democrats.
Like Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton before me, I am not a New Yorker. Unlike those two stars I am not famous. But I do have a specific record of accomplishment and unique, sometimes controversial ideas, which I believe New York Democrats will respond to positively.
For some reason there is no residency requirement for individuals running for the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives, but I fully intend to register in New York by May 5. I'm a life long Chicagoan. I've been a supporter of the most progressive members of the 'machine' and many Independents.
For reasons I can explain I was a Republican from 1962 to 1973, but have been a Democrat ever since, even going so far as to move to our condominium in Miami Beach in October, 2008 in order to vote for President Obama where I thought my vote might be needed. (Having no living parents, let alone grandparents, I followed Sarah Silverman's advice to an even one more level).
Although I am a 'carpetbagger' my first visit to New York was in 1949, with my parents when I was eight, and I remember almost every detail. That was, by the way, a year and a half before Senator Schumer was born. If you do the 'math' he was probably conceived between Valentine's Day and my birthday (March 1) in 1950. Mazel Tov.
My next visit to New York wasn't until 1958 and I have visited the Empire State and the Big Apple at least twice every year since then, even living in New York for several months in 1965 and 1969.
If you read about what Seward said about Lincoln in Doris Goodwin's book Team of Rivals you'll understand that I have hundreds of friends in New York and so far no enemies (Sen. Schumer and I are contesting the seat he holds which belongs to the people) and I consider him an opponent, not an enemy.
This will be a very serious campaign and a fun one as well.
I'll be 69 March 1, and am fighting terminal liver cancer, but my Doctor, Steven K. Rotschild, fluent in Spanish, a tenured Associate Professor of Family Practice Medicine at Rush Medical in Chicago and a member of the Chicago Board of Health believes I will live well into 2011, if not 2012, which will give Governor Cuomo an opportunity to choose a qualified New Yorker to fill my vacancy and run for the special election in 2012 or maybe even 2014. Inshallah!
By the way, I've been accused of 'wallowing in my self esteem' but I assure you that if any qualified New Yorker, preferably someone with a work record in the 'real' world would be willing to challenge Sen. Schumer I would willing to step aside. (Senator Schumer has never had a real full time job. He went straight from graduating from Harvard Law in 1974 to running for and winning a seat in the NY State Assemblyt from Brooklyn. Then he ran for the .S. House in 1980 and the the U. S. Senate in 1998.
I've had to work hard in the private sectorm and now I'm ready to legislate for my fellow citiznes.
It is understandable that no one seems to want to challenge someone sitting on a campaign warchest totalling nineteen million dollars. To me that kind of spending is antithetical to democracy. Worse than the amount which is intimidating is the time it takes to raise it; time that should be devoted to serving the people.
One important point. If I win there will be a few automatic resignations, but I will fire no one. I will interview everyone and give at least 90 days notice to those who don't seem to fit, and probably keep many.
My fundraising in this campaign will be open and transparent and the maximum individual contribution will be only $25. I will take large contributions form labor unions, corporations, law firms and PACS but no single issue PACS or companies which manufacture tobacco products.. I will disclose all contributions. I (I'm not going to have expensive TV commercials or direct mail). Hopefully, using the simple model of arithmetic progressions, the Internet, including facebook, webpages and You Tube as well as Twitter, I will connect to the voters. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I am not for rent, lease or sale, nor do I think Senagtor Schumer is either. Its just the inbordinate amount of time he spends goig to fundraisers and dialing for dollars that disturbs me, and I think many other voters as wel
I'll have a lot more to say as the weeks go on. My email for the moment is pkrone1@earthlink.net and my cell is (312) 371-5648. Feel free to write or call, but please call after 8 PM and if I'm on the phone I'll call back within 24 hours.
My cousin, Scott Segal Six, is having his debut at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall, Saturday afrternoon, March 20 along with another dozen top classical singers (he's a tenor). Buy a ticket and meet me at Intermission.
As soon as I have a website up and running I'll be posting that information everywhere. (I'm ubiquitous and peripatetic).
I mentioned that I was a carpetbagger. To put this in proper perspective I bought a genuine carpetbag made in Turkey at Hammacher Schlemmer in Manhattan to use in the campaign.
Have bag, ready to campaign.
Its not just the destination, its the journey. Please join me. I may be 69 (on March 1) but I am younger than most 19 year olds.
Cheers all.