The Daily News reported today that the White House has indicated to New York Governor David Paterson that the President prefers that he not seek the Democratic nomination for Governor. This is a wise and prudent decision. It will prevent what I thought would be a complete catastrophe in the Democratic Party, not only in New York but for our national prospects.
More below:
We all know David Paterson became Governor as a result of Eliot Spitzer's resignation. He's an accidental Governor who has never run a statewide race. Thats strike one. We all know how he bungled the selection process for the successor to Hillary Clinton. Thats strike two. We all know about the disaster that is the newly Democratic State Senate that has Democrats disapproving of their State Senate by 72%. A stunning failure of political leadership that is strike three against Paterson. All of these things, not to mention his failure to do anything about Albany's 77% 'dysfunctional' rating from the public, have brought Gov. Paterson's approval rating to 20% including only 24% of Democrats. By the way, he's only at 27% among African-Americans. He's doing worse than Spitzer at his resignation. He's doing worse than President Bush at the height of Katrina.
Alternatively, Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo has 72% approval, has won statewide by a huge landslide, and has a Democratic name that is as good as gold in New York.
All of things would cause a rational politician to conclude that he's basically finsished. A loyal party leader would conclude it's probably wise to keep his name far away from a ballot. But not David Paterson:
Despite basement-level approval ratings and calls for him to step aside in 2010, New York Gov. David A. Paterson is moving forward with his election campaign.
Why does the Governor think he is having such low approval from the public?
Gov. Paterson blamed a racist media Friday for trying to push him out of next year's election - launching into an angry rant that left even some black Democrats shaking their heads.
"The whole idea is to get me not to run in the primary," Paterson complained on a morning radio show hosted by Daily News columnist Errol Louis.
The Daily News
Mr. Dinkins was reacting to comments Mr. Paterson made in a radio interview on Friday that he was the victim of a racially motivated news media campaign to keep him from running for election next year.
"We’re not in the post-racial period," Mr. Paterson said in the interview. "My feeling is it’s being orchestrated, it’s a game, and people who pay attention know that."
Mr. Dinkins, who has been close to the Paterson family for decades, took issue with the governor’s comments.
"Definitely he should get off the racist thing," Mr. Dinkins said. "Right or wrong, it’s a fight you sure can’t win."
That's former New York City Mayor David Dinkins telling Paterson to stop blaming all his problems on racism.
This is the sort of campaign that Paterson probably does not want to run, but that is exactly the campaign he's going to get because of his comments. The elite "Harlem Four" (which consists of Charlie Rangel, Businessman Percy Sutton, former Mayor David Dinkins, and Paterson's father Basil Paterson) don't want to see him face a primary opponent, naturally. Rangel has already said what the strategy is going to be:
In an interview with NY1, Rep. Charles Rangel warns state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo not to challenge Gov. David Paterson in a Democratic primary next year, saying it could create "racial polarization" in the state and be "devastating" to New York Democrats.
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You see where this is going don't you?
It would create an absolute disaster if Paterson runs in the general election, against either Lazio or Giuliani...really doesn't matter. Seconldy, his and Rangel's comments will create a poisonous political atmosphere the likes of which we haven't seen since the late 1980's. Which, in my opinion, helped bring us Giuliani and Pataki. Finally, keep this in mind: THIS IS NEW YORK, MEDIA CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. An election that brings back New York racially tinged politics is going to be national news every single day, dragging down Democrats across the country who have nothing to do with it. The media will cover it heavily because they happen to be here.
There is only one man who can stop this disaster, and that's President Barack Obama. As an inverse to Paterson, Obama's approval among African-Americans in New York is in the high 90's. He can provide Cuomo, or whoever runs against Paterson, with full political cover from a guy like Rangel. He's got more juice than anybody.
Some people in the media are speculating that Obama stepping in is going to cause a "backlash" in the Black community. This is ridiculous. Paterson has already lost the black community:
"He's given the media more than enough to feed on with the incompetence shown in his administration," said state Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), an African-American.
"To quote Michael Jackson, he should start with the man in the mirror," Parker said.
Significantly, the decision to send both Patrick Gaspard and Greg Meeks, is a BIG DEAL:
The White House's preference he not run was reiterated to Paterson during a Friday evening dinner with Rep. Greg Meeks, a Queens Democrat.
Paterson, according to the first source, raised his Monday conversation with Gaspard during the dinner, which also included a couple of state senators.
Meeks, the source said, told Paterson that he had spoken in Washington, D.C., with Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who he said doesn't think a Paterson run is "tenable."
Meeks is no lightweight, neither is Gaspard. Both are highly respected "new-generation" leaders in the community directly looking past the civil-rights era generation that the Harlem Four represent. Meeks represents St. Albans and Hollis, two communities that have large numbers of prosperous, upper income African-Americans. The powerful Allen AME church is in his district. They vote. In primaries. Gaspard was the political director for the extremely powerful SEIU 1199 healthcare workers union. Everyone in New York knows you don't fuck with 1199, the largest local in America.
Paterson is a slow motion train wreck for our party. Rangel is damaged goods and is headed towards a day of reckoning with the Justice Department. He can't save Paterson. If Paterson reads his tea leaves and bows out, good. If he decides to run, Cuomo will know that he will get push back from the White House if Paterson decides to go racial in the primary.
This exactly the sort of move that will prevent a catastrophe and I applaud the President for a much needed intervention.