NY Gov. Dave Paterson Solicits Netroots About the Budget

New York as well as many other states are in the midst of a fiscal crisis. Liberal New York bloggers like me have urged Governor Paterson to put forward a budget that shares the pain fairly. Time is short because the deficit needs to be reduced by April 1st of 2009. New York's projected deficit is $15 billion this year and $36 billion over the next two years.

To his credit, Governor Paterson is soliciting the opinions of the progressive netroots community over at Daily Kos as well as The Albany Project. If you're a New York State resident, I urge you to set up you're own account with The Albany Project. It's a terrific opportunity to review the ideas and concerns of other progressive New Yorkers as well as contribute to the conversation. Also, The Albany Project is an outstanding resource for information and activism to shape the debate in Albany in a more reformist minded and progressive direction.

It is also gratifying to know that Paterson respects our community and is not merely operating under the traditional "three men in a room" formula. The netroots through The Albany Project as well as the New York Workers Family Party have helped elect many progressive minded state legislators the previous two election cycles. Obviously we have earned clout as Governor Paterson is using the Internet to solicit our views.

I've been critical of Paterson regarding the budget and his flirtation with Caroline Kennedy as Hillary Clinton's replacement. If he is willing to engage however, as good citizens we should respond with respect and candor. We don't yet know how much federal aid New York will receive from the incoming Obama administration. In the meantime, tough decisions need to be made as the budget is vetted through the legislature and Governor Paterson is asking for ideas. So don't just sit on the sidelines and complain. Pitch in and help!

No To Hillary Clinton

According to recent media accounts, Hillary Clinton will be nominated as Barack Obama's Secretary of State. At one time I admired Hillary Clinton and often told friends I wished she was president instead of her husband. Whereas Bill Clinton was an undisciplined and feckless founding member of the DLC, Hillary Clinton appeared tough minded and principled. As a New Yorker I was thrilled when she became my senator after the 2000 election. I hoped she would be cut from the same cloth as Robert Kennedy: a steadfast advocate for economic and social justice at home and peace and human rights abroad.

Instead, Hillary Clinton opted to position herself as a hawkish/corporatist centrist and didn't even read the ninety page National Intelligence Estimate prior to supporting George W. Bush's folly in Iraq. I won't rehash the entire 2008 presidential primary campaign but Clinton's conduct prior to the Iraq war was the principal reason I didn't support her candidacy this year. Hence, even as I don't question her intellect or ability, I find it difficult to feel any enthusiasm for Clinton as our next Secretary of State.

Indeed, this sentence in Clinton's infamous October 10, 2002 Senate floor speech supporting Bush's war against Saddam Hussein forever damaged her credibility with me:

"He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001."

There was zero evidence of any relationship between Saddam and Al Quaeda and saying "apparently no evidence" of his involvement in 9/11 suggests some revealation was lurking just around the corner. Other Democrats like Joe Biden also wrongfully enabled Bush's war and apologized for their poor judgment. But Hillary Clinton did more than that. Her speech helped reinforce the Bush/Cheney false narrative about Iraq and 9/11. I for one can neither forgive nor forget. Hillary Clinton's support of Bush/Cheney fear mongering made her unworthy as a presidential candidate in my eyes. For damn sure it makes her unworthy to serve as America's voice to the world.

Another concern I have is that Clinton will staff the State Department with her own cronies. Certainly she would never accept the position without assurances about autonomy to pick her own staff. In fairness, Clinton should not be expected to accept such a post and be gelded like Colin Powell was with people inside the State Department who undermined him at every opportunity. Of course Clinton should be surrounded by personalities she trusts. And yet one can easily envision a soap opera in which the National Security Council contains Obama loyalists while the State Department becomes perceived as a fifth column serving Hillary Clinton. That is a recipe for disaster both at home and abroad.

Oh I can see the logic of it. In terms of raw politics, with one stroke Obama neuters a potential rival power base inside the Democratic party while giving both Bill and Hillary Clinton a stake in his presidency. Furthermore, Hillary Clinton's celebrity can be an enormous asset on the world stage and allow Obama to focus on domestic issues during a time of economic crisis. Her appointment adds to Obama's image as a self-confident post partisan leader who unlike Bush doesn't need to surround himself with rubber stamp cronies. I acknowledge those points. Perhaps it will work out for the best. I hope so but I have my doubts.

Also, even though I voted for Clinton's primary opponent in her 2006 Senate re-election campaign on principle (yes she really did have a primary opponent), New York can't afford to lose her now. Clinton is understandably frustrated by her lack of seniority in the world's most deliberative body. Yet I believe Clinton underestimates just how much clout she truly has. Hillary Clinton emerged from this year's campaign with a distinct political brand as the voice of working people who garnered 18 million votes. It may not be a powerful committee chair but that kind of demonstrated constituency means leverage. Other Senators hope to cut deals with figures possessing that kind of brand to enhance their stature and benefit from political cover.

Now more than ever New York needs that kind of clout. Even though a Democrat will occupy the White House, reliable blue states such as New York will still have to compete for their share of federal aid with traditional battle ground states. True New York's senior Senator Charles Schumer is no shrinking violet but following Wall Street's implosion the Empire State needs all the clout and leverage it can muster.

So as both an American and a New Yorker I hope the media is wrong about Hillary Clinton becoming Secretary of State. Others can serve Obama just as ably but few New Yorkers can accomplish what Hillary Clinton can for our struggling state.

Memo To My Fellow New Yorkers

One of my blogging regrets this election season is I haven't posted more about local politics in my home state . While New York is a reliable blue state and safely in Obama's column, my fellow progressive New Yorkers should remember two things about tomorrow.

• 1. Control of the state senate is at stake. For the first time in decades, Democrats have an opporunity to control the entire state government. It terms of public policy this means the imbalance in funding for New York City schools may be addressed. For too long public education in New York City has been underserved and underfunded. There are also national implications with the state senate because of the 2010 census. Two years from now the state electoral district map will be redrawn. Obviously the party in power controls how that map is redrawn. I am not an advocate for "gerrymandering." However, as state senator Liz Krueger pointed out to me in a podcast interview last year, simply drawing the map fairly will benefit Democrats in the House of Representatives and help secure a progressive majority in Congress.

• 2. Liberal New Yorkers should also remember that our state allows for fusion tickets. A candidate may be on the Democratic Party ballot as well as the Family Workers Party ballot. That happens to be true of Barack Obama who will appear on both ballots tomorrow. I therefore urge my fellow New Yorkers to pull the Family Workers Party lever tomorrow. For example, that is how I will cast my vote for Barack Obama. Every vote this party receives strengthens their leverage to fight on behalf of wage earners in Albany. It is important that the Albany power brokers both respect and fear the Family Workers Party so they can be more effective advocates on our behalf. So when you go inside the voting booth tomorrow, be sure to confirm that your candidate is on both the Democratic Party and Family Workers Party ballot and please vote accordingly.