ELIOT SPITZER FOR PRESIDENT

I just pity the staff in his office. He either employs like 200 people, or hes going to have a revolt on his hands soon.

speaking of ny politix, what do y'all think about the mayoral race? i'm partial to, um, weiner.

I'm looking forward to him leveling Pataki.

yeah ... what an asshat ferrer has turned out to be!

i'm so glad that i don't actually LIVE in ny.

OTM!

sheed, at least fucking bob kerrey ain't gonna run.

and someone else does?

I'm not too happy about anyone running for mayor this year. I hate not voting, but I might sit it out. I don't think Bloomberg's all bad, but his deputy is, and I can't vote for anyone pushing that idiotic stadium. I think he'll probably get re-elected, for lack of a compelling alternative (and also maybe on the old friends- close/enemies-closer logic).

Best explanation I've heard so far.

But I can understand why some people who don't have the tightest grasp on the financial stakes involved in things like market timing or reinsurance, and the ripple effects they can have on broader consumer finance, might be wary of his investigative vigor. That wariness will probably be the biggest challenge he has to overcome in the gubernatorial campaign. Also, I suspect that whomever his Republican opponent will be will hammer on Spitzer's settlements record and maybe even accuse him of vendetta against the Greenbergs (and by extension, all wealthy people).

Weiner is a protege of scumfuck Schumer, hence dead to me.
As of now, I'm for Virginia Fields in the primary.

And the thing is, he'd have to be a really, truly abysmal governor to be worse than Pataki. My guess is he'd be a decent governor, and possibly even a really good one.

gypsy mothra, not voting would be remarkably lame, lamer than our candidates even (but we've covered that in many a thread).

Virginia Fields would make a fine placeholder, but is nothing as a politician. against Bloomberg, maybe that's unnecessary. don't know how constituencies v. turnout would play out wrt Weiner v. Fields.

scumfuck Schumer

wow

Stencil, I really need to make more of an effort to learn about Markowitz given that he's my buro prez. The only time I've ever really paid any attention to him was after the blackout, when we were walking home over the Brooklyn Bridge, and he was standing on the center divider hooting into a bullhorn to "Hey everybody! Have a barbecue! It's alright! It's Brooklyn!"

i also vaguely remember some folks back in 1998 (when spitzer was first elected NYAG) thinking that he wouldn't amount to much, that he was a spoiled rich kid getting his juice from his dad, etc. interesting how wrong THAT assessment turned out to be!

My support for Fields would be based on my distaste for the others (I voted for Ferrer at every step last time, and the cop-pandering thing -- and his ineptitude after -- has soured me), and on demographic criteria.

If I used "substance" as a criterion, Stenc ... it'd be Brodeur!

http://mayorbrodeur.org/

Follow Schumer's craven media stunts and record (start with Waco: The Rules of Engagement); you'll find no more appalling pol aside from the GOP's Creationist core.

hahaha yeah i like brodeur but he's got a little too much substance, if you know what i mean.

I've read a number of magazine pieces about Spitzer that play up the pedigree angle, but it never seems to stick in conversation about him.

On principle, I agree. In practice... I hate to say this, but my guess is that Bloomberg may be a better administrator than any of the Democratic candidatesbasic bureaucratic competence that you look for in an executive. I think he does a capable job of keeping the city running, which is no small thing. I also grudgingly admire his independent streak (hosting the Log Cabin Republicans during the GOP convention, supporting gay marriage, etc.). But I refuse to vote for him, largely on account of the stadium and Olympics nonsense, but also because of his willingness to accommodate and propagate the Bush administration's Sept. 11 propaganda. OTOH, I might have a hard time voting for any of his opponents, who I might like better ideologically but might not be as good at being day-to-day mayor. I'm very suspicious of the Democratic Party machine (see recent scandals involving Brooklyn judges, e.g.), or of anyone too beholden to it.

did anybody see the piece in the times yesterday about bloomberg wanting to solve the homeless problem?

also, re: the gay stuff, i think america's most closeted mayor hasn't done much to actually change things for the better.

And the Democratic candidates might be mostly opposed to the stadium (it's a good political move, given its general unpopularity), but Democratic mayors in general are just as stadium-and-developer happy as Republican mayors. Everybody likes to build monuments. I mean, Marty Markowitz loooooooves Bruce Ratner.

i also note that if i lived in NYC in 2001, i COULD have conceivably voted for him -- i had that much of a strong dislike for green (as a PERSON -- he's an obnoxious twerp, plus i questioned his core political skills [e.g., if he couldn't handle sharpton and ferrer in the primaries and whilst running, how the HELL was he gonna handle them and others if mayor?] -- though i liked many of his political stances) that it would've really been a coin-toss. (nb: i liked alan hevesi best that year -- why didn't you NYers listen to me?!?)

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Eliot Spitzer has rattled Wall Street's cage with investigations into stock research, mutual funds and insurance sales, but the New York Attorney General isn't done: now he's turning his attention to record labels, according to a published report Friday.

Spitzer's office has served subpoenas to four major record companies, including Universal Music, Sony BMG Music, EMI Group and Warner Music, the New York Times reported.

The subpoenas are an effort to obtain information on fees the companies may have paid to middlemen that pitch songs to radio stations, according to the Times.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit against former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso and the exchange Monday, seeking the return of some of Grasso's $187 million pay package.

This guy is totally getting the ILX vote!

If I lose my studio of 10 years to Pataki's rent law "reforms," I somehow don't think The Spitz will retrieve it for me.

if any ILXor is curious about what would make me vote third party, it's someone like weiner. thank goodness i only work in NYC, and that i don't live here.

The way it's being played out does pretty much = suck suck suck though.

Bring back the commuter tax!

i don't understand how this would happen?!?

Also, it seems like it might have more of psychological impact than actual monetary one. But still, not a huge deal.