"It is a function of government and politicians to invent philosophies to explain the demands of its own convenience." - Murray Kempton

A couple of weeks ago New York City’s term limits law was extended legislatively by the New York City Council and Mayor Bloomberg based upon the rationale that the City needs consistent leadership to get us through the coming economic crisis. The editorial boards of all the city’s daily newspapers made this exact case to their readers and our elected officials echoed their argument. Council Speaker Quinn said “given the level of economic tumult that exists, I have decided to change my position [opposing the extension of term limits] because I believe the potential of consistent leadership by this council and this mayor would be in the best interest of the city during these hard economic times."

This could have been the time for changing New York’s incumbent protection election system. During the last council election in 2005, almost two thirds (28 out of 34) of the incumbents running had no primary. Four of the other six incumbents being challenged won with more than 80% of the vote. The controversial term limits vote is the only opportunity to negotiate with enough councilmember to get the votes needed for Charter change that will insure real competitive elections in this one party town. It is a failure of the Citizen Union and other good government groups as well as the newspaper editorial boards and the reform clubs of this city not to demand changes that could have been used as a bargaining chip by both sides in this forced debate.

Changes needed to give challenges a better chance against incumbents include: a reduction in the number of petition signatures required to get on the ballot; non partisan redistricting; reductions in constituent mailings and office staff; equal time on the city’s cable TV stations and council web sites for challengers and opposition voices and an end to member items.

Petitions

Sometimes I wish I had gone the route of anonymous blogging so that I could really, really say what's on my mind about all the tards and turds of the Democratic Party --because, you know I already hate all republican politicians.

My dreams of anonymous blogging used to get a wettie everytime I read The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. fakeSTEVE was outed recently but I just as soon decided to not remember his name. I didn't want to destroy the 'childlike wonder' of his anonymity (this, btw, is one of his running jokes). I'd rather believe realSTEVE would call Microsoft's Steve Ballmer SquirrelBoy or that he'd cast aspersions on open-source software activists and devotees by calling them freetards; as opposed to knowing he's some awesomely snarky writer working for Forbes.com.

Which is why I coined the neologism, demotard. So that I could give a shout out to fakeSTEVE and the freetards when I give you the political blind item of the week :

Which demotard got his manties in bunch last week because I dared to criticize an incumbent, his incumbent, because the incumbent happens to be a Democrat!

The manties wearing human excrescence went as far to use my children to attack me for not sucking up to his free lunch and his office.

The. Douchebag. Went. There.

At St. Paul's Chapel (just south of City Hall Park on Broadway at Fulton), Thursday evening, considering joining the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing for a convocation and overnight vigil at City Hall for housing justice. The convocation, which runs from 6:30PM to 8:30PM, will honor and recognize the work such groups as Coalition for the Homeless, The Pratt Center for Community & Economic Development, The Supportive Housing Network and Picture The Homeless.

Following the convocation will be an overnight Vigil for Housing Justice in City Hall Park starting at 9PM and concluding at 7AM -- perhaps so they'll be gone as Deputy Mayors and their aides stagger into work. You can register for the vigil online here or just show up. (As Woody Allen reminds us, 90% of life is just showing up).

The convocation and vigil presents a quandary, however for fans of Grey's Anatomy, like me -- a two-hour special of innuendo and sexual bantering -- is a do-not-miss event. Can I or you learn to program a VCR in time?

What better way to start the day than with a good Rudy-bashing?

Jacob Weisberg has written for Financial Times a rather brutal assessment of Rudy Guiliani's legacy :

Over time, however, Mr Giuliani’s personal limitations became increasingly evident. Instead of taking on new challenges after his re-election in 1997, he dedicated his second term to vanquishing his remaining enemies. Fran Reiter, who served as a deputy mayor under Mr Giuliani, describes him as depressed and directionless after being sworn in for the second time. “He can get mired in the petty stuff,” Ms Reiter says. “He doesn’t suffer political opponents well and there are times when he doesn’t compromise well.”

In his second term, Mr Giuliani showed himself to be a classic micro-manager, unable to delegate and unwilling to share the spotlight. He had already driven out William Bratton, his triumphant chief of police, in a battle over credit. Mr Bratton’s fate was sealed when he appeared on the cover of Time. Nor could Mr Giuliani abide ridicule. He went to court to try to stop New York Magazine from advertising itself on the sides of buses as “possibly the only good thing in New York Rudy hasn’t taken credit for”.

Now, this article is not what it seems. Read closely and you'll notice this is not so much about Rudy but about who is not Rudy.

The answer? Michael Bloomberg.

I've been involved to a limited degree with Manny Innamorato's special election campaign to fill Andrew Lanza's usually empty Southshore/Mid-Island council seat (Marchi's successor and Titone's State Senate opponent had the worst attendance in the Council)against State Assemblyman Vincent Ignizio, a Vito protege.

Manny, the head of IT for the City of Yonkers (Talk about bad commutes), held a fundraiser last night on the Island. Steve, Janele and most Staten Island Democratic officeholders, activists and operatives were there.

Daniel is right, that a win here would help Democrats win other races in the forgotten borough (Although I appreciate Daniel not forgetting us). Ignizio, who ran unopposed for his Assembly spot, is being groomed to eventually succeed Fossella. Iggy defeated Manny for the Assembly seat in 04. Beating him in the council race will dampen his ambition and possibly give a Southshore Democrat the courage to oppose him when he runs for reelection to Albany.

The Council district is slightly more Democratic than that of the all Republican dominated Southshore Assembly because it includes New Springville which is mixed (New Springville became slightly less Democratic two days after election day when my wife and myself moved to the Northshore.)Manny should do better than he did against Iggy for City Hall than for Albany just based on that.

2009?

Ok I know what your thinking "Spitzer just got in to office,we have three special elections coming up in the next month, and 2008 is a Presidential year. What about 2009?"

2009 represents the year when truly a cast of thousands well seek the numerous City Council seats that will become vacant. My count has 41 City Council seats that will be open due to those pesky term limits that Speaker Quinn may want to remove. That leaves only 10 seats that may not see a new face after the primaries in 2009.

Now how about those 41 who may be job hunting soon?

Will one of the remaining ten that survive re-election will become speaker of the House? (i.e. Letisha James)

Well is my "unfinished painting" for 2009. Be mindful its early but then again we are picking Presidential winners and losers(Guilani) already.

City Council List (Who is Staying, Going, and Not Knowing)

1. Christine Quinn – Term limited in 2009- Expected to run for Mayor or Public Advocate
2. Council Member- District: 32
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.- Democrat 1/1/02-12/31/09 (Term Limited)
3. Council Member- District: 17
Maria del Carmen Arroyo- Democrat 3/21/05-12/31/2009 (Not Term Limited-Up for Reelection 2009)

This morning the Post reports on how 9/11 families are inconveniently refusing to play along with the Rudy Giuliani 9/11 Hero Myth. This is one of the biggest political con jobs - well, there have been a lot of political con jobs over the last few years, but this is a big one, too - and I know I won't be the only one talking about it over the coming months. But let's start with Sally Regenhard and the Skyscraper Safety Campaign.

From the Post:

"I can't see why any 9/11 family member who knows the truth about the failures of the Giuliani administration . . . would not be outraged about the failures," said Regenhard.

She co-founded a group called the Skyscraper Safety Campaign and heckled Giuliani when he testified at 9/11 commission hearings in 2004. She has long blamed Giuliani for communications failures, including faulty radios, at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Giuliani's self-serving version of the 9/11 story doesn't include the part about his own incompetence:

Thanks to Bouldin for pointing out E.J. Dionne's delightful analysis of the decline of the conservative movement. It reminds me of a column I read just after the 2004 election, by a venerable conservative writer - unfortunately I can't find the link, but I think it was either Buckley or Safire - in which he mentioned that, were he just starting out in politics today, he'd be a Democrat, because that's where the next generation of exciting new ideas will come from.

As Dionne points out:

In 1984 three exit polls pegged Ronald Reagan's share of the ballots cast by Americans under 30 at between 57 and 60 percent. Reagan-style conservatism seemed fresh, optimistic and innovative. In 2006 voters under 30 gave 60 percent of their votes to Democratic House candidates, according to the shared media exit poll. Conservatism now looks old, tired and ineffectual.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg makes headlines for a kind of political innovation of its own. Daniel calls it "anemic and mean-spirited," and certainly it does seem to be an oddly retro- (think Moynihan) approach to poverty: locating the root of poverty in the "behavior" of the poor.

Ick! Ick! That was my reaction, at least, to this new City PSA running on network television these days.

Not that they're not right or anything like that, but please, can we be just a touch less graphic?