How it was Meant to BeThe Lilliput Horns blasted songs
As the Accidental Governor,
Son-of-Basil-Paterson,
Successor to the Spitz
Chose Daughter-of-JFK,
Subtlest Mistress of the Fix
To replace Wife-of-Clinton
With a nod from Mayor Billionaire
Owner-of-the-Machine
Who with a wave does Stadia raise
And Himself to third terms hoists
Far above such base impedimenta
as the vote in Rabble's Referenda,
The Cartel oozing with daily praise
Eating the air from My Brain.
Sorry!
Caroline Kennedy and the media treated the contest for Paterson's brain as though it were an election campaign. The massive PR offensive on her behalf was unprecedented and, clearly, a touch too obvious. The media declared her selection inevitable on the apparent basis of nothing other than her name and their desire for celebrity coverage. Bloomberg aide Kevin Sheekey typified the public strong-arming of Paterson with his declaration that not picking Kennedy would amount to "political malpractice." It's little wonder the hapless governor reached for his own bag of dirty tricks, in defense of his right to choose as anchored in a faulty state constitution.
Then, I say, there was this Isay character. When I saw today's headline, "Hired PR gun doomed Caroline," my first thought was that the story must be about how her team's shameless public pressure campaign backfired on her. As the flood of meaningless media stories about Caroline continued for weeks and weeks, it was natural that they inspired a fully justified and widespread resentment, not just in Paterson's circle but among my own: the Non-Dynasts of Queens, each of us secure in the hubris that we had the same qualifications to be the next Senator from New York as the fortunate daughter.
Gillebrand on the surface may appear less progressive than CK's image, but of course all we had with CK was image, not a voting record or even a campaign on which she could be judged. Elected in 2006, Gillebrand did show integrity on the most important single measure of the outgoing Congress, twice casting a NO on the Paulson plunder plan. By contrast, we may never know for sure if the heiress known primarily for her behind-the-scenes fundraising and influence-taking would have stood for or against the billionaires' bailout.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=printer_friendly&forum=389&topic_id=4661291
Caroline Kennedy Hires Joe Lieberman’s “Fixer,” Josh Isay
By: Jane Hamsher Tuesday December 16, 2008 7:01 am
In her first move after announcing that she would like to be appointed to the New York Senate seat, Caroline Kennedy has hired "major Democratic fixer Josh Isay."
Isay did the honors for Joe Lieberman during his general election race against Ned Lamont, after Lieberman withdrew from the Democratic party and ran as a member of the "Connecticut for Lieberman" party
Of course, at the time Lieberman was getting hammered in the polls by Lamont, and needed to quickly change his rhetoric or risk a loss in Connecticut where the anti-war sentiment was strong.
The month after he was re-elected to the Senate, Lieberman called for an immediate increase of 15,000-30,000 troops.
Isay's ads were critical in deceiving voters and paving the way for Lieberman's reelection. Now that it's clear where Lieberman really stands, Daily Kos polling indicates Lamont would overwhelmingly defeat Lieberman.
It's telling that Caroline Kennedy has never wanted to run for office, and never thought to put her case before the public when she decided she wanted this job. Her first move was to pick up the phone and start working the elites, then hire a political fixer whose specialty is deceiving voters.
http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/16/caroline-kennedy-hires-joe-liebermans-fixer-josh-isay
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
