Do some interesting moves by unions against Governor Andrew Cuomo signal problems in the 2014 Democratic Primary
Rare agreement with Conservative Party Chairman rates a mention – But whereas Kassar missed a chance to predict an upset of Andrew Cuomo by Zephyr Teachout – I do make that prediction !
Here’s what Kassar had to say Cuomo and Teachout in this week’s Home Reporter column: “Although I doubt it will make much of a difference in the outcome of the Democratic primary for governor, I found the Public Employees Federation’s (PEF) endorsement of Zephyr Teachout interesting, not that I ever expected them to endorse Cuomo who has had a testy relationship with the union – the second largest public employee union in the state. *** I simply assumed they would do what was done by another large public employee union – New York State United Teachers – and endorse no one. The PEF endorsement really sticks it to Cuomo with no mixed message involved. *** Teachout’s campaign seems likely to become the magnet for many prime Democratic voters in September who are looking for a vehicle to send a message to Cuomo. The governor’s camp must have been concerned about this potential, as it has mounted an exceptionally expensive campaign court action to knock her off the ballot based on a residency issue. *** A Supreme Court judge ruled against Cuomo, but by then the damage was done and an apparent Achilles heel shown to the public. It will be interesting to see how well Teachout does in September.” (See “Common Sense: Unintended consequences” by Jerry Kassar, 8/18/14, Home Reporter/ Spectator [http://www.homereporternews.com/news/government/common-sense-unintended-cons]).
Then again, maybe Mr. Kassar didn’t get a chance to see a long feature article in a magazine that influential liberal Democrats (and a few remaining liberal Republicans) in New York do read, “The New Yorker.” If so, he would have been able to see the long article about corruption and Ms. Teachout’s being perhaps the last gasp of a broad view of anti-corruption in New York State and the nation ( See “The Crooked and the Dead - Does the Constitution protect corruption?” by Jill Lepore, Issue of 8/25/14, The New Yorker/ American Chronicles [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/25/crooked-dead]). Of course, Ms. Lepore’s favorable treatment of Zephyr Teachout, and obvious hostility to Buckley v. Valeo, might have been philosophically and historically anathema to Jarry Kassar – but, that’s OK. Don’t forget it’s not the Jerry Kassar’s of this world that actually vote in Democrat Party primaries.
Teachout will win on Sept 9th.
ReplyDeleteAs Salon article called it "THe Upset of The Century".
Good work Chuck
BACKFILL: THE “BROOKLYN GIRL WHO LEFT BROOKLYN TALKS ABOUT THE OUT OF STATE GIRL WHO CAME TO BROOKLYN TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR” EDITION
ReplyDelete“POTENTIAL UPSET OF THE CENTURY” IS A BIT OF A GYP TITLE FOR LENGTHY ARTICLE ABOUT ZEPHYR TEACHOUT IN SALON
FORMER HOWARD DEAN SUPPORTER EXPLAINS WHY SHE IS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR – AND HOW SHE CAN WIN AND LEFT WING OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CAN TAKE OVER
According to former Brooklynite Joan Walsh, Editor of Salon, “It’s official: The New York Times says we’re having ‘a Teachout moment,’ by which the paper’s editorial board means it’s time for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop trying to knock progressive challenger Zephyr Teachout off the ballot and to debate her instead. It’s a play on ‘teachable moment,’ and it makes you wonder what’s intended to be taught....” (See “‘Potential upset of the century’: Zephyr Teachout’s lesson for Andrew Cuomo” By Joan Walsh,
8/19/14, Salon [http://www.salon.com/2014/08/19/challenger_zephyr_teachout_%E2%80%9Candrew_cuomo_has_been_such_a_failure_as_a_democrat%E2%80%9D/]).
Walsh goes on to describe the Teachout run as follows: “Teachout’s run is as much a challenge to the fatalistic, anti-electoral politics left as to Cuomo. The Fordham Law professor says progressives shouldn’t merely complain about the corporate takeover of the Democratic Party; they should fight for its soul. Since working as Internet communications director for Gov. Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential run, she’s been an evangelist to a broad range of insurgencies, from the early Tea Party (very different than it is today) through Occupy Wall Street to North Carolina’s Moral Mondays, on the lookout for new populist energy that can be channeled into a challenge to corporate power – and to the Democratic Party’s Cuomo wing. *** Teachout herself comes from the party’s Cuomo wing – as in Mario Cuomo, the governor’s father. A believer in FDR liberalism, she says, she loved Mario Cuomo, but thinks his son is the symbol of a party that lost its way. An electoral politics novice, as a candidate anyway, she famously challenged Cuomo for the Working Families Party nomination in May, a sign that the progressive party, independent from but usually allied with Democrats, was fed up with a governor who was great on social issues like gun control and gay marriage but bad on economic ones. Cuomo has blocked tax hikes for the rich, cut the estate tax and enacted other tax cuts and exemptions for both businesses and individuals. Until recently, he opposed letting cities raise the local minimum wage.”
Most of the piece is Zephyr Teachout talking about herself and her campaign in a lengthy Q &A format.
MORE BACKFILL: THE "MESSAGE FINALLY GETS THROUGH TO CUOMO" EDITION
ReplyDeleteWHETHER IT WAS THE NY TIMES OR SALON OR CHIEF JUDGE LIPPMAN, SOMEBODY GOT THROUGH TO THE ANDREW CUOMO LEGAL TEAM -- THROW IN THE TOWEL ON THE COURT CASES
APPELLATE COURT AFFIRMS BROOKLYN SUPREME COURT DECISION THAT TEACHOUT STAYS ON THE BALLOT FOR GOVERNOR AND CUOMO'S SIDE SAYS NO MORE APPEALS
According to the New York Times, "... A New York State appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Zephyr Teachout, a law professor who is running against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the Democratic primary, can remain on the Sept. 9 ballot. *** Mr. Cuomo’s campaign, which had sought to disqualify her, said it would not appeal...." (See "Teachout Can Stay on Ballot Against Cuomo, Appeals Court Says" by Thomas Kaplan, 8/20/14, NY Times/ Albany [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/nyregion/zephyr-teachout-andrew-cuomo-court-ruling.html?_r=0]).
In addition to other points, Kaplan's article in the Times said the following:
--- "A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo’s campaign, Peter E. Kauffmann, declined to comment on the latest ruling beyond saying the campaign would not appeal...." and
--- "Mr. Cuomo, who is generally popular with Democrats and has an enormous fund-raising advantage, is not viewed as being in any danger of losing the primary. A statewide poll conducted from Aug. 14 to 17 by Quinnipiac University found that 85 percent of Democratic voters had not heard enough about Ms. Teachout to form an opinion. *** But Ms. Teachout, who has written frequently about political corruption, could at least find a receptive audience on that issue. Mr. Cuomo’s handling of an anticorruption commission that he created but shut down abruptly is now under investigation by federal prosecutors, and it appears to have prompted concerns among voters, too."