The Black lining in Gov. Spitzer’s Downfall …
March 11, 2008
We couldn’t figure whether or not to put this as a Black Races piece or a Black Policy Wire, but decided that we had to act quick since neither has been updated in quite a long minute.
Anyway: everyone knows the dig on NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The whole fall-from-hypocritical-grace thing is all over the news. It’s the stuff soap-operas and steamy HBO series are made out of. In fact – you can’t write better stuff than this. But, we shall not kick thy neighbor while he’s down.
The real story, for us, is whether or not this cat decides to resign (which might not be a bad idea since he was elected on the anti-corruption crusade mandate) and lets Lt. Gov. David Paterson take his place, the 53-year old legally blind African American and former State Senator out of Harlem.
Will much of New York state’s White electorate - cringing from the days when Mayor David Dinkins couldn’t run New York City - give Spitzer a pass on this latest scandal just to spite the thought of a Black man running the Empire State? 18 months of a Paterson administration, should he take the seat, will tell. Spitzer obviously doesn’t want to let his seat go; he worked all his life to get there, probably thinking all the way to the White House. But, how much of a twist is this should he step down and let Paterson take hold: the morally blind leading the actual, visually impaired blind into immediate political stardom.
But, obviously, to be the 4th Black Governor since P.B.S. Pinchback’s 36 days in Louisiana offers a rare bit of leveraging beyond Gotham City limits for the state’s Black political establishment. Now, folks like Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), through Paterson, could get something out of the harassment that a Clinton endorsement brings to African American elected officials. Endorsing Clinton while representing Black districts that like Obama certainly hasn’t been the best of deals. Throw Paterson in the mix, and they have something to lean on. Some may say maybe it’ll make it easier for them all, including Paterson, to nix the Hillary endorsement. It’s attractive for some, but: that’s politically illogical – they might as well move out of the state. Again: at the end of the day, Black politicians are … politicians. They have to get along in the same house, and that won’t happen anytime soon, especially while she’s still the powerful junior Senator from New York.
There is also the question of whether a Black blind man will be a strong contender for the Governor’s post in 2010. Not certain how the state’s Republicans will run against that. But, if Paterson plays his cards right, he could be looking at more than just filling out the remainder of a Spitzer term.
The other question is how this impacts the Presidential race. Jury is still out on that; although Spitzer is a major Clinton endorser and super-delegate, she can easily distance herself from him. Then again, as long as Spitzer is in office as the scandal unfolds, this all brings back the ugly days of President Bill Clinton’s trysts with Monica Lewinsky. Suddenly, an episode the Clintons would like to forget is being replayed on cable networks. It can have an impact on the voter psyche: do we want to go through this again?
Maybe it helps Obama, maybe it doesn’t. It could help since, again, that’s one of Hillary’s boys getting caught with his pants down. Hence, her negatives could edge up a little while peeps look to Obama as a fresh beginning. Then again, this comes at a bad time while Obama struggles to sharpen his counter arguments after losses last week. This could turn into a big distraction, removing Obama from the headlines day by day. More spotlight on Clinton’s state, more spotlight on her - any media, as they say, is good media. We learned that lesson last week; any chance she gets to look like the victimized, helpless White woman (oh no, here it comes, don’t go there … on the top of the Empire State Building, lol) translates into a good ole’ racial code day for her. Odd how this happens in her state.
