The Radioactive Rising Star
The New York Observer notes the stunning speed with which Eliot Spitzer went from rising star to politically radioactive. The article catalogs a long list of political missteps that spell out how Spitzer managed to squander huge approval ratings. He is also not welcome on stage with local Democratic candidates. That tells you a lot about how few allies he has left.
Nor did Mr. Spitzer make any Election Day appearances in Suffolk County, where a number of competitive races were to determine control of the county legislature and a number of key town-wide offices.
From the perspective of local Democratic officials, this was just as well.
Schaffer, the Democratic county chairman in Suffolk, said that Mr. Spitzer’s nonappearance was “not surprising.”
Asked what would happen if Mr. Spitzer were to appear in Suffolk, he said, “I think he would be standing by himself.”
Since his lopsided election as governor late last year, Mr. Spitzer has somehow gone from rising national star to radioactive liability. The governor’s achievements in this regard were as systematic as they were well-documented.
In January, he picked and lost a fight with the powerful Democratic majority in the State Assembly over the appointment of a state comptroller. In February, he led a largely unsuccessful charge against the powerful health care worker’s union in a bid to contract the state’s hospital system. Starting in July, he has gotten the worst of a running feud with State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, managing the incredible feat of simultaneously triggering multiple public investigations into his own office and turning the cantankerous upstate conservative into a sympathetic figure.
Then, in late September—in what was surely a bid to change the subject—the governor first proposed a sweeping plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain state driver’s licenses (enraging conservatives and vulnerable Democrats in swing districts), then reversed himself by watering it down to comply with the Bush administration’s wishes (enraging pro-immigration liberals).
“If he continues this style he’s going to alienate enough people so that it will reach a point where he’ll look to his left and he’ll look to his right and he’ll look around and say ‘Oh, my God, who are my allies?” said Jose Peralta, a Democratic assemblyman from Queens who, like many of his colleagues, consider themselves allies of a governor in a situation they never anticipated.
He also provided the weapon that was used to draw first blood from candidate Clinton with his Licenses for Lawbreakers® scheme. If she loses next November, old Eliot can kiss his career aspirations goodbye. Not everyone is against him at this point, but politicians are very, very quick to distance themselves from a liability. At this point, most New York Democrats appear to want Spitzer to move as far away as possible.
By FedUp, Wednesday, 7 November , 2007 @ 12:10 pm
Picking losing battles… yep… sounds like a Dem to me! Doesn’t he read the papers or listen to his people??? Next election, Eliot…
By mockinbird, Wednesday, 7 November , 2007 @ 4:03 pm
He’s gotta learn New York quick that what looks like a steamroller really is a steamroller; otherwise we’re gonna start callin’ him…Governor Pancake.