Sunday, December 21, 2008
SCANDAL '08: Dems Strike Back
In Sunday's Post, I take a look at the year in scandal, noting that the Democrats sweep of Republicans extended to taking the corruption crown that the GOP had almost to itself over the previous election cycle.
(Click on the inset art, which is quite amusing, if I do say so myself).
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(Click on the inset art, which is quite amusing, if I do say so myself).
Labels: corruption, Democrats, Eliot Spitzer, Rod Blagojevich
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Weekend Funnies
1) The full biography of Eliot Spitzer -- as it was meant to be. (This is a great site -- check out both the Rudy Giuliani and Barack Obama entries -- didn't know about Obama's three other kids, did ya?)
2) Speaking of the latter, Barely Political finally exposes the truth about the presidential contender's ethnic background.
3) All those celebrites that the Huffington Post hasn't managed to gobble up? Got 'em right here!
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2) Speaking of the latter, Barely Political finally exposes the truth about the presidential contender's ethnic background.
3) All those celebrites that the Huffington Post hasn't managed to gobble up? Got 'em right here!
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, political humor
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Spitzer To Quit Today
The Post's Fred Dicker reports this morning:
UPDATE: Daily News reports Lt. Gov. Paterson to be sworn in today.
UPDATE II: Spitzer's resignation will be effective Monday.
UPDATE IV: Spitzer's departure. And "Kristen" surfaces! With a MySpace page, of course!
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Gov. Eliot Spitzer has decided to resign and will begin notifying top state officials of his decision just after 9 a.m., The Post has learned.Not surprising, as follow-up reports on the scandal have the total he spent on prostitutes over the years reaching at least $80,000.
Word began circulating of his decision in state political circles just minutes ago, which came after what one source called "an agonizing night," as the governor's wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, and the governor's lawyers went over a possible plea deal offered by federal prosecutors, sources told The Post.
Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who has remained at his suburban Albany home for the past three days, was expected to be notified of Spiter's decision within the hour.
Sources said Paterson has told friends that if he does become governor, he would like Sptizer to hold off his resignation until Monday to give him enough time to prepare for a transition.
UPDATE: Daily News reports Lt. Gov. Paterson to be sworn in today.
UPDATE II: Spitzer's resignation will be effective Monday.
UPDATE IV: Spitzer's departure. And "Kristen" surfaces! With a MySpace page, of course!
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, prostitution, sex scandal
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
From Cloud Nine to Client No. Nine
My Pajamas Media overview of the Spitzer fall from grace.
UPDATE: Republican-controlled state Senate starts talking impeachment.
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UPDATE: Republican-controlled state Senate starts talking impeachment.
Labels: corruption, Democrats, Eliot Spitzer, pajamas media
Monday, March 10, 2008
3 AM Call...
The phone rings. Hillary Rodham Clinton picks it up.
"Yes?"
"Hillary, it's Silda Wall Spitzer. Sorry to call so late. Eliot's still not home. Based on your experience, what should I do?"
UPDATE: Welcome, visitors from Andrew Sullivan, Conservative Grapevine and Reddit! Hope you make it back!
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"Yes?"
"Hillary, it's Silda Wall Spitzer. Sorry to call so late. Eliot's still not home. Based on your experience, what should I do?"
UPDATE: Welcome, visitors from Andrew Sullivan, Conservative Grapevine and Reddit! Hope you make it back!
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton, prostitution, sex scandal
Hooked On A Feeling...
NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer involved in a prostitution ring.
(And, no, even though this is reported by the Times, these are apparently not lobbyists.)
Could be connected with this story on the front page of the New York Sun this morning.
UPDATE: Spitzer expected to resign (3:01 PM). Local WCBS Station is reporting that Spitzer resignation could come as early as this evening (5:15 PM).
UPDATE II: This may turn out to be the most prescient statement in the history of Ragged Thots (from last November):
Remove that "culture of corruption" arrow from the Democrats' fall quiver.
UPDATE III: Meet the governor of New York, "Client 9."
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(And, no, even though this is reported by the Times, these are apparently not lobbyists.)
Could be connected with this story on the front page of the New York Sun this morning.
UPDATE: Spitzer expected to resign (3:01 PM). Local WCBS Station is reporting that Spitzer resignation could come as early as this evening (5:15 PM).
UPDATE II: This may turn out to be the most prescient statement in the history of Ragged Thots (from last November):
Hillary's Worst Enemy...
...is not who you'd think.
It's not the easy answer of "herself" or "Bill."
It's certainly not Barack Obama or any of the other Democrats. For that matter, it's not even GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani or the rest of the Republican field.No, it is starting to look like Sen. Clinton's biggest obstacle -- indeed, the biggest wild card in Democratic fortunes in '08 -- is NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Remove that "culture of corruption" arrow from the Democrats' fall quiver.
UPDATE III: Meet the governor of New York, "Client 9."
Labels: corruption, Democrats, Eliot Spitzer
Friday, November 16, 2007
Triple Play
All about baseball -- even though the World Series ended two weeks ago!
1) Bonds In The Dock. As Filip Bondy points out, "It's always the cover-up that gets them." Ironically, Bonds would have made it to the Hall of Fame before his plunge into Steroid World in 2000. Now, it is far likelier that he will be, like Pete Rose, be walking in baseball limbo -- when he's not in jail.
2) A-Rod returns. Whether this cause for curses or celebration in the Bronx won't be known for many years. It's also interesting to note that despite all the recriminations against A-Rod for opting out of his previous contract, the numbers that are bandying about -- especially talk of a bonus if he breaks the all-time home run mark (with or without steroids is un-'clear') -- are pretty close to the 10-year/$300 million goal that Rodirguez and his agent Scott Boras were throwing around at the beginning of the season.
3) After everything that has bedeviled Eliot Spitzer in recent days, weeks and months, is it really smart to be seen going after Derek Jeter for tax evasion? Yeah, yeah, the state might be right on the law, but it still seems politically dumb.
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1) Bonds In The Dock. As Filip Bondy points out, "It's always the cover-up that gets them." Ironically, Bonds would have made it to the Hall of Fame before his plunge into Steroid World in 2000. Now, it is far likelier that he will be, like Pete Rose, be walking in baseball limbo -- when he's not in jail.
2) A-Rod returns. Whether this cause for curses or celebration in the Bronx won't be known for many years. It's also interesting to note that despite all the recriminations against A-Rod for opting out of his previous contract, the numbers that are bandying about -- especially talk of a bonus if he breaks the all-time home run mark (with or without steroids is un-'clear') -- are pretty close to the 10-year/$300 million goal that Rodirguez and his agent Scott Boras were throwing around at the beginning of the season.
3) After everything that has bedeviled Eliot Spitzer in recent days, weeks and months, is it really smart to be seen going after Derek Jeter for tax evasion? Yeah, yeah, the state might be right on the law, but it still seems politically dumb.
Labels: Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Eliot Spitzer, steroids
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Spitzer Drive-In Cave-In
In a move forecast in today's Post, NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer scrapped his driver's licenses-for-illegals plan.
Perhaps fittingly, Spitzer announced that he was dropping the plan -- not in New York -- but in Washington, DC, surrounded by members of the state congressional delegation. Notably, neither senator, Chuch Schumer or Hillary Rodham Clinton were present.
Spitzer, of course, blamed the failure of the plan on the federal government's inability to pass a comprehensive immigration plan.
Whether Spitzer recovers is an open question (there's an investigation into whether his former communications director committed perjury during the initial part of the so-called "Troopergate" scandal).
However, this episode certainly underscores how much immigration may turn out to be a wild card going into the '08 campaigns.
UPDATE: And that ever-present profile-in-courage, Mrs. Clinton, proudly came out against driver's licenses for illegal immigrants -- mere hours after Spitzer dropped it. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. Move along.
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Perhaps fittingly, Spitzer announced that he was dropping the plan -- not in New York -- but in Washington, DC, surrounded by members of the state congressional delegation. Notably, neither senator, Chuch Schumer or Hillary Rodham Clinton were present.
Spitzer, of course, blamed the failure of the plan on the federal government's inability to pass a comprehensive immigration plan.
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced Wednesday he was abandoning a plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, but said that the federal government had "lost control" of its borders and left states to deal with the consequences.This is, in actuality, one of the rare occasions where the public's will came through loud and clear. A poll released Tuesday was the third in the last month showing that more than two-thirds of New Yorkers opposed Spitzer's license plan. Combined with Spitzer's scandal involving using the State Police to spy on a political enemy -- and the subsequent cover-up -- this story caused Spitzer's popularity to plunge faster than any New York governor in history. Only a quarter of New Yorkers support Spitzer's re-election (he won with 69 percent of the vote a year ago).
"I have concluded that New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own," Spitzer said at a news conference after meeting with members of the state's congressional delegation.
Whether Spitzer recovers is an open question (there's an investigation into whether his former communications director committed perjury during the initial part of the so-called "Troopergate" scandal).
However, this episode certainly underscores how much immigration may turn out to be a wild card going into the '08 campaigns.
UPDATE: And that ever-present profile-in-courage, Mrs. Clinton, proudly came out against driver's licenses for illegal immigrants -- mere hours after Spitzer dropped it. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. Move along.
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, immigration
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Bloomy For Albany?
Further signs of Eliot Spitzer's problems.
Mike Bloomberg -- governor? Perhaps. Aides to the mayor apparently reach out to NY GOP legendary strategist Bill Powers to explore the viability of challenging Spitzer in 2010. Unlike the Bloomberg-for-Prez boomlet, this has the advantage of being well within the realm of probability.
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Mike Bloomberg -- governor? Perhaps. Aides to the mayor apparently reach out to NY GOP legendary strategist Bill Powers to explore the viability of challenging Spitzer in 2010. Unlike the Bloomberg-for-Prez boomlet, this has the advantage of being well within the realm of probability.
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, Michael Bloomberg
The Spitzer Contagion
My colleague Fred Dicker expands on my view from last week that Gov. Eliot Spitzer's stand on driver's licenses for illegal aliens has become the greatest gift that New York Republicans could have ever asked for.
Meanwhile, Spitzer was on a local Sunday public affairs show where he tried to explain why a driver's license wouldn't mean that it would be easier for an illegal immigrant to buy a firearm. Let's just say that the explanation didn't, uh, scan well. Bet you didn't know that you needed a "federal I.D." to get a gun.
Oh, there's no such thing as a "federal I.D.," you say?
Welcome to Eliot Spitzerland.
You can see the entire interview here. The federal I.D. stuff is in the first couple of minutes. The governor also blithely disses NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly in claiming former NY (and current Los Angeles) Commish Bill Bratton's praise of the license idea.
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Meanwhile, Spitzer was on a local Sunday public affairs show where he tried to explain why a driver's license wouldn't mean that it would be easier for an illegal immigrant to buy a firearm. Let's just say that the explanation didn't, uh, scan well. Bet you didn't know that you needed a "federal I.D." to get a gun.
Oh, there's no such thing as a "federal I.D.," you say?
Welcome to Eliot Spitzerland.
You can see the entire interview here. The federal I.D. stuff is in the first couple of minutes. The governor also blithely disses NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly in claiming former NY (and current Los Angeles) Commish Bill Bratton's praise of the license idea.
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Hillary's Worst Enemy...
...is not who you'd think.
It's not the easy answer of "herself" or "Bill."
It's certainly not Barack Obama or any of the other Democrats. For that matter, it's not even GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani or the rest of the Republican field.
No, it is starting to look like Sen. Clinton's biggest obstacle -- indeed, the biggest wild card in Democratic fortunes in '08 -- is NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
The governor has had perhaps the most disastrous first year of any chief executive in recent memory (certainly of anyone who won office with 70 percent of the vote. It started with a scandal that only impacted him -- the so-called "Troopergate" or "Choppergate" dirt tricks scandal. It involved the use of State Police allegedly to enact a political smear against Spitzer's legislative foe, Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
Four months into the story, one probe has raised as many questions as it answered, another semi-exonerated him using less-than-diligent investigatory methods -- and two more are ongoing.
However, the damage has been done: Nearly 60 percent of NYers don't think he's been honest in discussing the scandal and 70 percent want him to testify publically. Those sort of numbers, of course, can carry over into the public policy sphere.
Which is exactly what has happened with respect to Spitzer's plan -- announced a little more than a month ago -- to permit illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses. Spitzer claimed that illegals are already in the state and that giving them licenses would ultimately make the streets safer by allowing the immigrants to drive the roads legally and give them access to insurance.A normal politician, facing a political scandal like Troopergate, would have tried to change the subject by swiveling to embrace an issue that has clear support of a large segment of the public. Spitzer did the exact opposite, producing 72 percent opposition to his plan -- in a state with a 5-3 Democrat over Republican registration. The pro-immigrant last three mayors of New York City (Bloomberg, Giuliani and Ed Koch) all oppose it -- which earned them a piece of Spitzer's already-infamous disdain.
Worse, Spitzer has now managed to elevate what should be a completely moribund state GOP. The Troopergate fiasco managed to turn the aforementioned Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno -- ethically challenged and under FBI investigation himself -- into a victim of a political attack. The driver's license fiasco has turned the somewhat third-rate pol Assembly Leader Jim Tedisco into a principled leader of the opposition. In addition to the national security implications, Tedisco has also tied Spitzer's plan to the enhanced opportunity for voter fraud that it creates.
Worse, Spitzer has now managed to elevate what should be a completely moribund state GOP. The Troopergate fiasco managed to turn the aforementioned Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno -- ethically challenged and under FBI investigation himself -- into a victim of a political attack. The driver's license fiasco has turned the somewhat third-rate pol Assembly Leader Jim Tedisco into a principled leader of the opposition. In addition to the national security implications, Tedisco has also tied Spitzer's plan to the enhanced opportunity for voter fraud that it creates.
Meanwhile, CNN's immigration reform diva Lou Dobbs has made Spitzer's handling of the driver's license issue a national controversey with nightly updates. He had Bruno on the program earlier this week.
To buy more time, Spitzer cut a deal last weekend with the Department of Homeland Security. He agreed to create, over the course of the next year, to make a three-tiered driver's license: One for full-fledged citizens that could also be used as a national ID-equivalent for travel and other such purposes; another for green-card holders; and another "drive-only" document that illegals could use, but would not serve as identification for travel or other official government forms.
This "compromise", not surprisingly, satisfied no one: Those opposed to giving licenses to illegals still hated it. Immigrants rights groups felt that Spitzer was selling them out -- and Spitzer's supporters felt that he had blind-sided them. Worse, by punting on the issue, until next year, Spitzer has placed it right into the middle of the election year.
At the state level, this is bad enough: Democrats had high hopes of getting control of the state Senate (they already have an overwhelming majority in the Assembly); they only need to get three seats. With what was looking like a very favorable year for Democrats nationally -- and with the strong possibility that a New York Democrat would be heading the presidential ticket, things looked very good.
Eliot Spitzer has now turned that completely upside down.
Democrats statewide are forced to defend a policy that is just indefensible politically. And, as Hillary Rodham Clinton discovered, the issue has metastasized to attack her in a way that no shots from either fellow Democrats or Republicans had managed to do so far. While she has managed to finesse her votes on Iran and Iraq, the non-answers she gave on the driver's license issue at the last debate just didn't wash. Instead, they ended up drawing attention to her evasiveness on other issues. She has been so cautious in every other area of her campaign, that she should have seen it coming, but didn't -- perhaps because it was coming from what should be considered a "friendly" source. And it may prove particularly damaging given that it makes her vulnerable to, as luck would have it, a presidential opponent running from the same state -- and on an explicitly national-security focused agenda.
There is an unusual irony at play here: It's said that governors usually have an advantage over senators when running for president -- because they are already "chief executives" and are seen as being decisive; senators, conversely, cast so many votes that they are vulnerable to defending all of them -- and are often seen as "supporting characters" rather than leaders. However, as Michael Dukakis discovered, governors can also be vulnerable to attacks on their policy decisions (Willie Horton) and record (Boston Bay, the "Massachusetts Miracle," etc.).
But here in New York, how stunning would it be if the Hillary Clinton Express might be derailed, not by votes from the senator herself, but by a loose-cannon governor's policy vehicle that got stalled on the tracks?
But here in New York, how stunning would it be if the Hillary Clinton Express might be derailed, not by votes from the senator herself, but by a loose-cannon governor's policy vehicle that got stalled on the tracks?
Labels: Dem 2008 Presidential, Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
One Stone Overturned
New York's state government was judged the country's most dysfunctional -- three years ago -- by a non-partisan think tank.
It was hoped that the election of Eliot Spitzer last November would change that.
It has.
It's gone from dysfunctional to demented.
In the latest installment, GOP consultant Roger Stone was canned today by the state Senate RepublicanElection Campaign Committee after it was revealed that he was behind an abusive "anonymous" phone call to Gov. Spitzer's elderly father, Bernard, a real estate magnate. Stone, a long-time GOP operative was hired earlier this summer to provide strategic assistance to Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno in his ever-evolving political war with the governor. That war, of course, has produced multiple investigations connected to Spitzer's use of State Police in an apparent smear job of Bruno.
RT readers will also recall that Stone was at least tangentially connected to mysterious e-mails that were sent around to various journalists around the state. The e-mails were traced to a former(?) associate of Stone's called Michael Caputo -- who denied a connection to Stone. (One quick way to decrease the size of one's in-box -- after my few postings on the various e-mails, I suddenly stopped receiving them in both of my e-mail accounts.)
"Mess" doesn't begin to describe what has become of New York state politics over the last few weeks.
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It was hoped that the election of Eliot Spitzer last November would change that.
It has.
It's gone from dysfunctional to demented.
In the latest installment, GOP consultant Roger Stone was canned today by the state Senate Republican
RT readers will also recall that Stone was at least tangentially connected to mysterious e-mails that were sent around to various journalists around the state. The e-mails were traced to a former(?) associate of Stone's called Michael Caputo -- who denied a connection to Stone. (One quick way to decrease the size of one's in-box -- after my few postings on the various e-mails, I suddenly stopped receiving them in both of my e-mail accounts.)
"Mess" doesn't begin to describe what has become of New York state politics over the last few weeks.
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, New York state politics, Roger Stone
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Spitzer Meltdown
In a remarkably quick turnaround, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issues report reprimanding Gov. Eliot Spitzer (Cuomo's predecessor) for inappropriate use of State Police in a political dispute with Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
Not in office eight months and already Spitzer is forced to toss his long-time spokesman overboard and "reassign" another flunky.
My Post colleague Fred Dicker takes a well-deserved victory lap.
What more this entails for the Spitzer administration.
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Not in office eight months and already Spitzer is forced to toss his long-time spokesman overboard and "reassign" another flunky.
My Post colleague Fred Dicker takes a well-deserved victory lap.
What more this entails for the Spitzer administration.
Labels: Andrew Cuomo, corruption, Eliot Spitzer
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Stoning of Spitzer
Some actual news to report here at RT.
About a week or so a go, various New York area bloggers and journalists -- including yours truly -- began receiving these odd anonymous emails.
The sender was a previously unheard of organization called NYfacts.net. Visiting that site only rendered a blank Web page.
The e-mails were all just cut-and-pasted fully reprinted news articles (not links) -- specifically negative stories about Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The first few all were stories written by my Post colleague Fred Dicker on Spitzer's apparent using State Police to spy on his political adversary, Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
Bruno denied knowing anything about the e-mails.
Now this blogger, a Democrat, assumes that the sender is a politically active Democrat. Now, it's true that Spitzer likely has quite a few enemies within the Democratic party, but generally a Democrat wouldn't be using a New York Post report to try to bash another Democrat.
I was puzzled by the e-mails, but didn't give them much more thought until this morning.
I got a "StoneZONE" e-mail -- a semi-regular update on the media appearances and other work of long-time GOP strategist Roger Stone. Usually, these e-mails tell the recipient when Stone is appearing on MSNBC or has written some column. This one was different: It (fully) reprinted a Daily News blog item (not a link) that Stone has been hired by the NY state GOP:
I went to the "NYfacts.net" e-mail and noticed this "disclaimer" at the very top:
But look who pops up (emphasis added):
UPDATE: The Albany Times-Union contacts Michael Caputo who discusses his plans for "NYFACTS":
UPDATE II: I should make another obvious point: If Stone and Caputo aren't working together in some fashion, how did both of my accounts end up on Caputo's mailing list. I've never previously received e-mails -- to any of my accounts -- from Michael Caputo. On the other hand, as noted above, I have gotten them from Roger Stone.
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About a week or so a go, various New York area bloggers and journalists -- including yours truly -- began receiving these odd anonymous emails.
The sender was a previously unheard of organization called NYfacts.net. Visiting that site only rendered a blank Web page.
The e-mails were all just cut-and-pasted fully reprinted news articles (not links) -- specifically negative stories about Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The first few all were stories written by my Post colleague Fred Dicker on Spitzer's apparent using State Police to spy on his political adversary, Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
Bruno denied knowing anything about the e-mails.
Now this blogger, a Democrat, assumes that the sender is a politically active Democrat. Now, it's true that Spitzer likely has quite a few enemies within the Democratic party, but generally a Democrat wouldn't be using a New York Post report to try to bash another Democrat.
I was puzzled by the e-mails, but didn't give them much more thought until this morning.
I got a "StoneZONE" e-mail -- a semi-regular update on the media appearances and other work of long-time GOP strategist Roger Stone. Usually, these e-mails tell the recipient when Stone is appearing on MSNBC or has written some column. This one was different: It (fully) reprinted a Daily News blog item (not a link) that Stone has been hired by the NY state GOP:
Stone, whose client list has included Manhattan real estate mogul Donald Trump, the late President Ronald Reagan and failed billionaire gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano, will be conferring privately with the GOP majority Monday when the Senate returns to Albany to take up congestion pricing, yet-unconfirmed Spitzer nominees and property tax rebates, insiders say. Stone's assistance was reportedly sought by the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. Stone himself did not return a call for comment.Now, here's the kicker: I've been getting these "StoneZONE" e-mails regularly for some months, in both my New York Post account AND my personal "home" account (NOT the e-mail linked to this blog). For the first time today, I also received a NYfacts.net e-mail to that same home account (previously, NYfacts.net had only been coming to the Post).
A source said Stone last spoke to GOP senators several weeks ago and provided advice on "what we need to be doing to take it to the governor."
Since then, Senate GOP Leader Joe Bruno has sharpened his attacks on Spitzer, who in turn has vowed to play "hardball" against the Senate Republicans.
I went to the "NYfacts.net" e-mail and noticed this "disclaimer" at the very top:
NYFacts is a news service. Our goal is to inform civic, government, community, and political leaders about the news-of-the-day. NYFacts is not affiliated with any corporation, political party, or candidate. The viewpoints and contents of the news stories we commend to you are obviously that of the reporters and news organizations. All other editorial comments are ours.Acting on a hunch, I did a quick Web Search of "Roger Stone, Michael Caputo." That brought up this Village Voice story from 2004. It's actually a harsh piece slamming of Al Sharpton for working with Republican strategists -- like Roger Stone.
Michael Caputo
EDITOR,
NYFacts
Buffalo, NY
But look who pops up (emphasis added):
Two vendors for a current campaign assisted by Stone—the senate campaign of Larry Klayman—also donated in Florida, with public relations consultant Michael Caputo and Tasmania Productions owner Teddi Segal donating $250 (she says she doesn't know Stone). Caputo, ironically, was Stone's spokesman in 1996, when Stone was embroiled in the most embarrassing scandal of his career—the much ballyhooed revelation that he and his wife had advertised, with photos, for swinging partners in magazines and on the Internet. Caputo has, until recently, been handling press inquiries for Klayman, an evangelical who led the sex assault in Washington on Bill Clinton and is running a moral-majority, retake-Cuba campaign for senate. Stone volunteered behind the scenes for Klayman too, and several Stone-tied vendors, like Baynard and pollster Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates, have been retained.Hmmm...seems pretty clear where NYfacts.net originated. Eliot Spitzer apparently wanted hardball; it looks like he's now got it. And Mr. Bruno's comments that he didn't know anything about the e-mails seems a bit, well, disingenous.
UPDATE: The Albany Times-Union contacts Michael Caputo who discusses his plans for "NYFACTS":
“NYFACTS goes out to a large group of interested “grasstops” activists and decisionmakers. Beyond vital news clips, NYFACTS will be communicating stories from other publications and some orginal writing and cartoons. I have further aspirations for NYFACTS, but for nowCaputo sounds like he's doing this by himself. The timing of his new project, happening just as his erstwhile colleague, Mr. Stone (who, like Caputo, also splits his time between New York and Miami) signs a contract with NY state Republicans is curious, to say the least.
it is what it is.
“Time and the truth will prove Eliot Spitzer is a capricious man of questionable ethics - and I want to help nudge that news around.”
UPDATE II: I should make another obvious point: If Stone and Caputo aren't working together in some fashion, how did both of my accounts end up on Caputo's mailing list. I've never previously received e-mails -- to any of my accounts -- from Michael Caputo. On the other hand, as noted above, I have gotten them from Roger Stone.
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, Joe Bruno, New York state politics, Roger Stone
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Everything Changes
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer ran last year on the slogan, "Day One: Everything Changes."
Little did the average New Yorker realize how much the new gov would live up to that "promise."
Today's Post reports that Spitzer has apparently had state troopers following his main legislative foe, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno -- seemingly with the intent to use whatever information he gleaned for political mudslinging, such as last week's charge that Bruno used a state helicopter for political activity.
Now, to be clear here: Bruno is no angel. He's under FBI investigation for possible corruption involving his consultation practice.
However, this action by Spitzer -- the former attorney general -- brings up echoes of Richard Nixon using the FBI and the IRS for political retribution against his "enemies list."
Stunning.
The Post's editorial on the topic is here. The Daily News' coverage of Bruno's press conference earlier today where he called for a broad investigation of the governor's actions.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long takes issue with a Spitzer spokesman's claim that a comment by Long was the impetus for Spitzer siccing the state troopers on Bruno.
Amazing as it may seem, Eliot Spitzer may have irreparably wrecked his governorship barely six months into the job.
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Little did the average New Yorker realize how much the new gov would live up to that "promise."
Today's Post reports that Spitzer has apparently had state troopers following his main legislative foe, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno -- seemingly with the intent to use whatever information he gleaned for political mudslinging, such as last week's charge that Bruno used a state helicopter for political activity.
Now, to be clear here: Bruno is no angel. He's under FBI investigation for possible corruption involving his consultation practice.
However, this action by Spitzer -- the former attorney general -- brings up echoes of Richard Nixon using the FBI and the IRS for political retribution against his "enemies list."
Stunning.
The Post's editorial on the topic is here. The Daily News' coverage of Bruno's press conference earlier today where he called for a broad investigation of the governor's actions.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long takes issue with a Spitzer spokesman's claim that a comment by Long was the impetus for Spitzer siccing the state troopers on Bruno.
Amazing as it may seem, Eliot Spitzer may have irreparably wrecked his governorship barely six months into the job.
Labels: corruption, Eliot Spitzer
