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November 30, 2006
On Gargano, Pataki, Silver, Spitzer, and Hevesi
Picketing Henry Ford
Stuart Schrader can't seem to find a fancy French intellectual catchall phrase for "follow the money" and "politics makes strange bedfellows." What he does turn up is a political soap opera in which everyone ultimately has a price.
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So what is really going on with the approval of this project? Why so rushed? Simple: Governor Pataki, perhaps the most deluded politician alive (Rumsfeldian might be an apt description), has ambitions to be president... The bonus for Pataki is that Ratner has incredibly deep pockets, which all national candidates require.
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Hevesi’s fate ultimately sits in Spitzer’s hands. The lame-duck governor screwed Hevesi by not allowing his clearly stupid but ultimately forgivable financial impropriety to be swept under the rug. So Hevesi wants to screw Pataki back. A perfect way to do so is to delay the decision about the Atlantic Yards until after Pataki is out of office... If delayed, the vote gives Spitzer an opportunity to assert himself and set the character of his new administration. Hevesi surely hopes that by giving Spitzer this opportunity.... The problem in Brooklyn, however, is that Spitzer might not vote the way we want him to.
Posted by lumi at November 30, 2006 11:47 AM