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September 7, 2006: As summer waned and primary elections drew nigh, New York State
Democrats got a pair of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's shoes
in the mail. Though the dog days dogs were merely pictorial,
they still smelt like mail order Limburger. But don't blame
gubernatorial candidate Spitzer. He didn't send the shoes. He
sends his cheese by TV. In campaign commercials oozing Velveeta.
Touting how during his stint as AG in the admin of Republican
Governor George Pataki, Spitzer stood up to the powerful and
greedy. To defend the little guy. Who he? You & me. But despite
our wimpy microscopic condition, a Spitzer commercial predicts
that come election day, "he will ask, and you [we] will answer."
Here's the rub; will our gnat-like voices be audible? As AG,
Spitzer barely responded to the buzz about crony-cozy state
development deals and Medicaid fraud. Though he did tongue lash
a few non-profit profiteers and public contractors...
But back to the other dogs. If the Friend-To-All-Munchkins didn't
send them, who did? The answer is attorney general wannabe Andrew
Cuomo, on a campaign flyer for himself. Over a pic of a pair of
shoes, a banner declares "Eliot Spitzer is leaving some very big
shoes to fill." Inside the flyer lie reasons why Andy Boy's feet
will fit. But before buying his Cinderella reasons to believe,
take a long look at those shovels. How do we know they actually
belong to Eliot Spitzer? Nowhere on the flyer is there a sworn
statement to that effect. Until Spitzer steps forward and says
yes, those shoes are mine, Andrew Cuomo's claims should be
viewed as suspect.
Other reasons to be cautious include Andy's record as head of
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). There
are plenty of lending professionals, plus government officials
in various oversight positions, who beg to differ with Cuomo's
claim to have reformed HUD. The FHA mortgage frauds and defaults
being bounced back to lending institutions speak volumes about
Cuomo's stewardship of HUD home ownership programs. As do
flipped-out strips of inflated inner city slums. Sure, the
frauds, flops and flips speak loudly about many Huddies-- pre &
post Cuomo. But he's the one on the brag, running to be
New York's top bunco detector.
Then there's his rep for being nasty and mean-spirited. Which
seems born out by his depiction of Eliot Spitzer as Big Foot.
On the other hand, Charles King, former regional HUD head for
New York and New Jersey, seems to think the world of his ex-boss
Andy. Until recently, King also wanted to be the Democrats' AG
candidate. In 2002, King ran for lieutenant governor on the Cuomo
for governor ticket. If Cuomo/King had won, New York would now
have 2, 2, 2 HUD heads of state! But King, a top exec at Praxis,
a Manhattan based not-for-profit company involved with public funded
housing initiatives, seems fated to be an also-ran in politics.
After showing up 3rd in polls (behind former NYC Consumer Affairs
Commissioner Mark Green) King dropped out of the AG race and
endorsed front runner Cuomo. In tones so ringing you have to
wonder why he ran at all.
Andrew Cuomo followed the mailing of the shoes allegedly
Spitzer's, with a collection of guns. New York State Republicans
can breath easy tho; they were only campaign lit pics. A guy who
"took on the NRA to get the illegal guns off our streets" sure as
shooting wouldn't send a bunch of blasters to who knows who.
When head of HUD in the late 90's, Andy took guns out of public
housing with his famous Gun Buy-Back Program. The 15 million
dollar program was paid for with drug elimination funds intended
for HUD housing projects. It worked like this: if anyone in or
around a housing project (within feet or miles wasn't clear)
turned in a gun they were paid between 50 and 100 dollars. No
questions asked, anonymity guaranteed. If any of the weapons had
committed crimes, so be it. Folks weren't required to rat out
the guns controlling their hands. A good thing too-- it stopped
the guns' peeps from pulling revenge pops. (Though a lot of Buy-Back guns were dysfunctional pieces of crap and may not have
commanded this level of loyalty.)
Bad guns! Into the melting pot they went. But more desirable
ones, such as collectable war souvenirs turned in by widows of
veterans, or good quality hunting and home defense weapons
boosted by addicts seeking a quik fix of drug elimination money,
sometimes went home with those overseeing the gathering o' the
guns. And some gun-driven crims gathering buy-back cash
applied it to purchasing a new boss same as the old boss. Albeit
one in better shape. Which is why the Gun Buy-Back Program wound
up being called the Gun Trade-In Program.
Be it Buy-Back or Trade-In, the Cuomo program ultimately bit
the dust. There was no proof buy-backs reduced violent crime
in or around housing projects, and diverting HUD funds
specifically earmarked for drug elimination to another purpose was deemed
unconstitutional. But fans of the buy-back need not give up the
dream. Some crime ridden cities still pay good money for bad
guns. Using public funds expressly intended for enhancing other
peoples' gun collections. Meanwhile, out on the streets,
roscoes still go pow pow in the hands of their helpless hosts.
Speaking of hands, in the upstate New York 108th Assembly
District, which includes communities in Albany, Rensselaer,
Columbia and Greene counties, voters inclined to the Independence
or Conservative line, got a pair of hands in the mail. Not a
gruesome calling card from some mobster (there is no organized
crime in the 108th Assembly District) but another hit of
political lit. One of the pictured hands is putting money in the
other. Beneath the image the word CORRUPTION is emblazoned in
red. The typeface looks as though it's crumbling, as if to
suggest the imminent collapse of civilization. The flyer touts
the reforming zeal of one Martin Reid, a candidate for State
Assembly. Reid is pictured addressing elderly people. With great
sincerity. The phrase "property tax relief" jumps out of the text
in red. By sin of info omission the flyer suggests Reid is an
independent kind of guy. Maybe even a fresh face on the political
scene. But with a magnifying glass one discovers that it (the
flyer, not Reid's face) was funded and mailed by the New York
Republican State Committee.
Republican Martin Reid has served 3 terms on the Rensselaer
County Legislature. He and his fellow county legislators voted
themselves a pay raise last spring, despite the fact that county
residents are feeling the pinch of tax increases. Across the
Hudson River from Rensselaer County lies the capital city of
Albany, the seat of state government. As candidate for the State
Assembly, Reid has received the endorsement of the Capital
Region's-- and the state's-- most prominent machine Republicans.
Including gubernatorial candidate John Faso and state Senate
Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Rensselear County is Joe Bruno's
home turf. Senator Bruno, along with Speaker of the New York
State Assembly Sheldon Silver (Democrat) and Republican Governor
George Pataki, squat atop the state government described so
accurately in Assembly candidate Martin Reid's campaign flyer:
"Government in Albany is out of control. Fraud, waste and abuse
are running rampant. And it's costing us millions in new, higher
taxes. It's time for a change."
Considering the source, cynics might call this bit of campaign
prose a Cheese Whiz. I prefer to think of it as a heart felt
confession. And a cry for help. With the Republican State
Committee stepping forward and speaking for both parties. Only
question is, now that they've asked, will we answer?
Carola Von Hoffmannstahl-Solomonoff
Mondo QT
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