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Spitzer as GiulianiA friend with a long memory sends over an October 18, 1998 New York Times story in which Eliot Spitzer expressed his disdain for "the current mayor [who] thinks he's a dictator." But really -- and a lot of people would say for better, rather than for worse -- Spitzer is Rudy, isn't he? The Times story concerns Spitzer's appearance that year at a meeting of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats. According to a transcript excerpt provided by the Mayor's office, an unidentified man in the audience said: 'I'm a New York City taxi driver treated like a dog in the streets by the current administration. I haven't heard one Democratic candidate oppose the treatment we're getting from Adolf Rudolph Giuliani. I wonder if you would say anything about that tonight.' Mr. Spitzer was quoted as responding: 'Well, what I have said -- I've been pretty open about this -- is that the current Mayor thinks he's a dictator, and does not have sufficient respect not only for other branches of government, but also for the citizenry and its opportunities to speak out and be heard.' "He then referred to Savonarola, the Italian friar who preached against the sins of 15th-century Florence. Savonarola, he said, "also tried to impose a certain moral standard, code of conduct, and was burned at the stake." Find someone who attempted to implement change in the face of vested interests who wasn't branded with this charge. Reagan? FDR?
Spitzer is not Rudy in this: did Rudy ever challenge an incumbent state legislator in an election, or threaten to? Did Pataki? Did Cuomo? If he does so, and I don't think he will, run a candidate against an incumbent legislator somewhere in the state in 2008, does that make him a dictator or a democrat? Because he backed a Democrat for State Senate rather than keeping to a deal in which certain parties get certain seats, does that make him a dictator? Spitzer is being criticized by those who believe disputes within the tribe should be settled behind closed doors for mutual benefit, and elections should be avoided.
The violence of the reaction is for that reason. If these guys were used to elections, they would just say "Spitzer thought this, I thought that, here is how I voted, and you can decide if you agree when I'm up for election." That is not the way the state legislature thinks the world works! I agree with the above posters. These intramural squabbles are part of the job and the majority of NY'ers probably don't know of them and don't care. I would say that Bloomberg is more like Giuliani lite in terms of how he deals with and responds to public concerns like the Queens blackout, the school bus mismanagement fiasco and other numerous screw ups and scandalous activity in some agencies by certain commissioners,all happening on the billionaire mayor's watch, which btw, the major dailies choose to ignore and reminds me very much of what was taking place under Giuliani when he was mayor. I think Spitzer has a long way to go before he can be dragged down to the Giuliani and Bloomberg levels. ES aways knew that real change and reform would be difficult or impossible with the corrupt duo Bruno and Silver. The Comptroller vote help crystalize how dysfunctional the legislature is for the public and gave Spitzer a platform for talking about the need for change. That does not make him a dictator. Silver could have removed this plarform and forestalled Spitzer but could not -- he had to "show" Spitzer that he controlled the legislature (through controling member items, district lines, funds, the number of staff an assemblymember has, the salaries of those staff and so on....). But his big dog act just set the staqe for two years of reform talk that will end with anti-reform Democracts getting shown the door. The weak kneed jelly fish that make up the Assembly will quickly jump Silver's ship as soon as they see just a few members walk the plank. dic·ta·tor Sorry, I think it's a very apt comparison. Mr. Spitzer's behavior has been dictatorial and dogmatic- if not megalomanicial. Respect for the voters? Spitzer tried to get the legislature to sidestep the state constitution and grant his office powers to which it isn't entitled - and explained it away in the name of "reform." This is ballot-fixing of the worst order, as well as using the end to excuse the means. There's no reform or ethical behavior here - in many ways, he's being more disinegnuous than those he's complaining about. It's become incredibly clear that Mr. Spizer believes in the binary theory of political affiliation - either you're with him, or you're against him - there's no middle ground. And, if you're against him, he's clearly against you. Right now, he has a body of voter support; it seems to me that some of those supporters are poorly informed about how government functions, and as such are missing the point - and that point is that a mandate for change ( if that's what it was) doesn't give you permission to behave badly. I'm sure that many of Mr. Spitzer's most ardent supporters will explain away the death threats against the Comptroller and the Assembly Majority Leader as "extreme" or "crazy," and they'd be right - but the fact remains that Mr. Spitzer's behavior has created the conditions under which disturbed individuals feel that they may act. I don't have a problem with Spitzer "reforming" the legislature, or challenging legislators in primaries with more reform-minded candidates - or even to try to fill the legislature with more like-minded candidates. The system, and the players, could use some change - but not at the cost of damage to our form of government, which is not a democracy, but a representative democratic republic, and not if the "reformer" is more dishonest than the organization that he's trying to reform.
There's a fundamental difference between the two. Spitzer reserves his wrath for those in power - whether oligarchs or their legislative satraps - who thwart meaningful efforts to more widely distribute political power in New York State. Giuliani exudes contempt for those without power - the taxi driver in Mr. Smith's original post is a perfect example - who oppose his authoritarian will. He couldn't even refrain from slandering his own wife during their divorce. Giuliani might - might - be willing to look the other way with respect to what the citizenry does behind closed doors in their own home, but once you hit the sidewalk, you're all his, baby. led commoditable hippy sarmatian flurriment forby whang mobilization led commoditable hippy sarmatian flurriment forby whang mobilization led commoditable hippy sarmatian flurriment forby whang mobilization led commoditable hippy sarmatian flurriment forby whang mobilization Post new comment |
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And NYC City Council, for all its screwups, doesn't begin to resemble the NYS Legislature.
If I remember right, the talk of 'moral standards' came from Brodsky, not Spitzer, though it's entirely possible that I've just read too much in the past week and lost track.