The Dictator Of New York

Michael Goodwin is positively pulling out the stops to go after New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. In fact Spitzer's fall from grace in the wake of the recent scandal that revealed that his office had used state police to falsify charges against New York State Senate Majority leader Joesph Bruno has been remarkable. A vast majority of the voters want Spitzer investigated over the actions his staff took. And Spitzer's apparent grab to become the single power in New York has fallen apart with all the revelations.

But as Week 2 of the "Eliot Mess" begins, Spitzer is in a free fall. The definition of "scarce" in Albany is anybody of either party who believes the governor's claim he had nothing to do with the dirty tricks plot his office concocted against Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. The public is similarly skeptical. Up to 80% of voters want Spitzer to testify under oath about what he knew, with 50% saying they don't believe he has been honest, according to a Marist Institute poll.

The astonishing collapse is one of the fastest falls from political grace in memory. And Spitzer has only himself to blame…..

…..Such fine distinctions about the governor's role go to the heart of the trust issue because the stakes were so high for Spitzer. The plot was aligned perfectly with comments he often made about getting rid of Bruno. With Democrats enjoying a huge majority in the Assembly, and with Speaker Shelly Silver mostly abdicating his leadership role to Spitzer, Bruno was the last man willing to say no to the governor. With only a two-seat GOP majority, the feisty Bruno could still block legislation, hold up appointments and deny confirmation to Spitzer judicial picks.

But with Bruno gone, Spitzer would hold vast power over all three branches of government.

Spitzer has a real problem on his hands. Goodwin and others will not let this pass unchallenged. The New York Times, on the other hand, is reliably in the pocket of the Spitzer administration. Today they publish his self-serving public apology.

The worst thing that could happen now would be for this to stop our progress, preventing us from building on our many successes of the past six months: health insurance for every child; historic investment in our schools tied to accountability; the largest property tax cut in history; ethics, lobbying and campaign finance reform; breaking the impasse at ground zero; and a 20 percent cut in workers’ compensation rates that will save New York businesses $1 billion and make our state more competitive.

In other words, whatever you do, don't investigate me. Which is absolutely the wrong answer. The voters want – and deserve – to know what involvement Spitzer had in this. He insists no laws were broken. Possibly, but ethics and lapses thereof mean a lot to the voters. Spitzer appears to have tried to eliminate all opposition to him by whatever means necessary. That needs looking into. New York does not need a dictator.