Who would you recommend for New York senator, if you had the gov's ear?

[JackRiddler]

Poll question: Who would you recommend for New York senator, if you had the gov's ear?

Now some will say it shouldn't concern those from the other 49 states, but the question of who should replace Hillary Clinton as New York senator has been made into at least a minor national issue thanks to:
- national media attention
- the prominence of New York
- the history (RFK and HRC among others)
- and, as with any federal seat, because the Senate makes decisions affecting all of us (and the world) and thus all should care about its composition.

Under the New York Constitution the decision for who will serve until the Nov. 2010 special election (followed by a second full-term election in 2012) will be Gov. David Patterson's to make. So pretend you have his ear and answer the following question:

Out of this list of candidates so far brought into the discussion, whom do you recommend?

Please tell us: Why? What values and standards should guide such a decision?

Please tell us: a) if you are from New York state and b) if you actually knew all of the following names prior to clicking on this thread.

To choose OTHER: Post the name!

NOTE: Some are included who have already removed themselves from consideration; however, this may have been the common act of face-saving in anticipation of having no chance in the first place. As this is an ideal question -- Gov. Patterson's not reading this thread -- we leave them in for the purpose of debate.

[Renew Deal]

1. It's a shame that Suozzi is not our governor.

We were cheated.

[Freddie Stubbs]

9. Democratic primary voters chose Spitzer over Suozzi by a 4-1 margin

How exactly were you 'cheated?'

[Renew Deal]

10. Spitzer didn't exactly work out.

[BurtWorm]

2. Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

:shrug:

[SteppingRazor]

3. Other: Lou Reed. n/t

[JackRiddler]

4. Winner.

Total agreement. If you're going to open it up past politicians and consider anyone because they're a celebrity or prominent person or achiever (which is what the Kennedy discussion does), then no one tops him - as an artist or as a representative of New York.

However, in this vein I'd pick his partner: Laurie Anderson. (Talk about fully facing up to the fact of downstate dominance: the Senator from Soho!).

[BurtWorm]

6. Yeah!

[BurtWorm]

19. So you're Dan Sweeney of Huffington Post.

:hi:

I was going to link to your post in the thread I just posted.

[SteppingRazor]

23. Er .... yes. In fact, this thread was my inspiration to write that entry over at HuffPo.

Very many thanks for reading, by the way! :)

[JackRiddler]

27. Hey wild!

Glad to have been a catalyst of sorts.

[BurtWorm]

30. .

Hope I didn't blow your cover. I thought it was an amazing coincidence. ;)

[KamaAina]

31. But, wasn't he involved with the Weather Underground?

Like Bill Ayers? :shrug:

oh, wait a minute, Velvet Underground. My bad. :dunce:

[RB TexLa]

5. Gillibrand

[leftofthedial]

7. Myself.

I've been virtually unemployed for four years now. I'm to the point where I have to put me and mine first.

[terrya]

8. Nathan Lane

I think we need a fabulous, openly gay Tony award winner in that seat.

[JackRiddler]

11. The flood of Kennedy voters in this poll are required...

to tell us whether you're from New York (I'm sure many of you are) and whether you know who all of the other people listed in the poll are. It's the law!!! (tm)

Thank you.

[jeepnstein]

12. High Bidder...

(':evilgrin:')

[dmallind]

13. If I were him?

Cuomo. Not only does he have the ability to raise funds in 2010, but he has political experience to at least cover the cronyism charge, inevitable though that would be, and he would remove a very scary challenger for me (I'm supposed to be the Gov right?) come my turn to run for reelection.

Yes I live in NYS and had at least heard of all these people before, although I have minimal knowledge of some of them.

[JackRiddler]

14. kick for more votes nt

[KamaAina]

15. Who's Byron Brown?

:shrug:

I might have filled that slot up with Jerry Nadler instead.

The length of this list goes to point up how many qualified people are out there. If all you did was watch the M$M, you'd think it was between Caroline Kennedy and the guy who sells peanuts at Yankee Stadium. :eyes:

[dmallind]

18. Buffalo Mayor. Not exactly Mr. Effective. NT

[CTyankee]

16. Patterson would be a fool not to go with CSK. He avoids lots of political infighting

by appointing her. Too many political enemies would be made otherwise...

[anigbrowl]

17. Not from NY, don't recognize many names, but...

although I have nothing against Caroline Kennedy, I think she ought to fight for the seat. I like Eliot Spitzer for his record of fighting Wall Street, but obviously that's not going to happen until either time passes or he evolves some sort of coherent position on prostitution.

[Incitatus]

20. Michael Moore

[tabbycat31]

29. not living in NY

And I think Michael would be better off running for office in his home state, since he's so familar with MI issues such as the auto industry.

Even though the seat's gone to carpetbaggers before (Hillary Clinton), as a native NYer, I would perfer someone FROM the state (I don't live in NY anymore, but I am from NY).

[JackRiddler]

39. You could have fooled me.

I believe he does have a residence in NYC.

[SoCalDem]

21. The woman who was all ready to run when HRC nudged her aside

Nita Lowey, I think..

[question everything]

22. Just to make it clear: Hillary first has to be confirmed by the Senate, right?

[JackRiddler]

25. Yes, of course...

Since she's in the middle of her term there's no pressure on her to resign.

Or is there? I don't know what the protocol is. She's in the Senate, the body that confirms cabinet appointments. Will she vote on her own appointment?

Anyone?

[awoke_in_2003]

35. She hasn't resigned her office yet...

but in order to go through the nomination process, I believe she will need to, so no- she will not vote on her own appointment.

[JackRiddler]

36. Well, the chance of her failing to get the appointment is zero, anyway.

[readmoreoften]

24. Jonathan Tasini.

[JackRiddler]

26. Don't I wish...

Everyone's gotta draw the line at some kind of realistic. That ain't happening in any universe. Neither is Howie Hawkins or Sander Hicks.

;)

[readmoreoften]

32. Hey, he got 17% of the vote last election without even debating.

:shrug:

Put a D behind his name and he oughta win. I suppose the problem is getting the powers-that-be in the Dem party to allow that D.

[JackRiddler]

28. Lowey, then Maloney...

Lowey, a good lawmaker who would have run for this seat in 2000 but gave way to an earlier celebrity craze, supposedly doesn't want it now. She should be given a strong push to take it anyway.

She'd also be perfect as someone to hold the seat until the election, in which the people can have their say without anyone given the unfair advantage of being an "incumbent" who was never actually elected.

You see, I don't put any party ahead of democracy itself. A governor's appointment should not be focused on considerations of who is likely to hold the seat for his party. If anything, appointments shouldn't be allowed to run in the subsequent election, as this gives unfair advantage. I don't care who thinks that's "naive." It would be the right thing.

Given that it's not that way, the honorable and right choice among the named candidates to date, assuming Lowey doesn't want it, would be Maloney. Someone very problematic to me for certain votes (for Iraq war, for Paulson plunder plan). But also someone who has the support of real constituents who voted, not just the media whores and, sadly, the cheerleaders for celebrity we see on this board.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. Elizabeth Holtzman

One of the sharpest members of the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings.

She ran for Senate around 1980 or so, and she probably would have won, if Jacob Javits, who was dying of ALS, hadn't gotten miffed at being passed over for the endorsement and run in the general election.

He took away just enough votes to put Republicanite Alphonse D'Amato in.

Since then, Holtzman has been biding her time as a prosecutor in Brooklyn, but I heard somewhere that she was interested in the job, and it would right a wrong.

[JackRiddler]

37. Yes, excellent choice - and I remember the 1980 election!

That was a real blunder on Javits's part, which we'll give him as perhaps no longer possessing sufficient judgement. He was angry at the Republicans for pushing him out, so he ran on the Liberal line (no?) and ended up electing D'Amato. I remember being very upset at the age of 15.

Absolutely an excellent choice - also illustrative of how absurd it is to allow a media coronation. Since, once Kennedy's in, she'll no longer be challenged from within the Democrats, so we're stuck with the choice of a PR campaign.

[dysfunctional press]

34. a public lottery. one ticket per eligble person. $5 to play.

THAT would be cool.

have ed mcmahon deliver the news to the winner- he needs the work.

[JackRiddler]

38. This would be more democratic than what we usually have...

where it's a lottery with only two tickets and $5 million (minimum) to play!

[JackRiddler]

40. Kick for more votes...

What a spectacle - cable TV pundits say jump, an apparent majority of DUers ask, "how high?"