Poll: Clinton and Spitzer hold big leads; Golisano top with GOP

Poll: Clinton and Spitzer hold big leads; Golisano top with GOP

By MARC HUMBERT
AP Political Writer

October 4, 2005, 9:45 AM EDT

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a commanding lead in her 2006 bid for re-election while fellow Democrat Eliot Spitzer has even more strength against his potential Republican opponents in next year's race for governor, a statewide poll reported Tuesday.

The poll, from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, also found that billionaire businessman B. Thomas Golisano, the three-time losing candidate for governor on the Independence Party line, is the top choice among GOP voters for the party's 2006 gubernatorial nomination even though he is not a Republican _ at least not yet.

Golisano has said he is considering a party switch to the GOP. The deadline for doing that is Oct. 14 if he wants to qualify for a possible Republican primary a year from now without getting special permission from state GOP leaders. That permission might be difficult given Golisano's history of attacking current Republican Gov. George Pataki.

While Pataki is not seeking re-election to a fourth term next year, he still retains considerable influence over party operations and hand-picked the current state GOP chairman, Stephen Minarik.
(snip/...)

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--clinton-spitzer1004oct04,0,6727408.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

according to Dick Morris in today's NY POST. Apparently there's lots of dissatisfaction with her on the left... mainly due to her pro-war posture.

Morris mentioned Mark Green, Elizabeth Holtzman and Norman Siegal as potential challengers.

He's right about the left's disaffection; but this may be a case of a RW rag and its hack scribes trying to foment dissension among DEMS.

His anti-Hillary Clinton book should say it all.

The guy is a flack and a loser.

And Mark Green? Puh-leez.

I'd vote for him over Hillary in a heartbeat.

Green is perfectly suitable as a city councilman or borough president, but doesn't have the stuff for higher office than that. Anyone who could greenlight that awful Bloomberg sexual harrassment ad at the end of the 2001 mayoral campaign lacks the judgment for higher office. I've also met Mark Green on numerous occassions, and even worked for his campaigns, and - truth be told - the guy is a bit of a schmuck. Se4riously: he couldn't win the senate seat in even overwhelmingly Dem NY city. Hell, he couldn't even beat a silly-ass Bloomberg for mayor!

Beating Bloomberg is not so easy. He's got unlimited capital and this plus *enormous* ad buys generates uniformly favorable publicity in the electronic media here. Most folks, sadly, will base their vote on the paid 15- second spots plus the local TV summaries... all twisted to favor Bloomberg. He's payin' the bills.

The RW tabloids are already in his corner. He's good for "business".

If beating Bloomberg were such an uncomplicated undertaking, Ferrer ( Green's primary opponent in '01) wouldn't be trailing by 14 pts as we speak.

maybe Bloomberg wouldn't be winning. Green, Ferrer, Miller, they all suck and would not do a good job of running the city anyway. Weiner was probably the only decent candidate I have seen the last last two election years in NYC.

of NYC? I forgot about him..and I have his picture on my wall cut out of the New York Magazine on Sept 6, 2004. The article says Congressman Anthony Weiner wants to take on bloomberg for Mayor.

Weiner says bloomberg "hasn't fought for the city". And he said.."bloomberg welcoming bush to New York City for the repuke convention was akin to Ricardo Maltaban welcoming guests to Fantasy Island".

He looks and sounds like a fighter who has the fire in his belly..I hope he's still going to run and beats that toadie bloomberg.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Next you'll be asking me to explain the phrase "fuggedaboutit."

I'm not angry at all. Green is a schmuck. Feh. Wattayagonna do?

As for beating Bloomberg and Ferrer, Ferrer is a poison pill candidate in any borough but the Bronx, not least due to the still existing massive racism throughout the outer boroughs, but also because Ferrer is feckless in the extreme, and has presented himself as little more than a machine boss and craven opportunist. That said, Bloomberg also has the benefit of four relatively uneventful years in office. If you think of the goings on in New York during Koch's day, during Dinkins' day, and during Giuliani's day, you'll notice that the one remarkable thing about Bloomberg's reign is that...nothing. Really. Happened. Zilch. No corruption scandals. No race riots. No police brutality scandals. Nothing. Green, however, was facing an unknown quantity and should have won easily. He frittered away his chances with a piss poor campaign and that damn stupid harrassment ad. Don't get me wrong. I voted for the schmuck. But he's still a schmuck.

is a candidate of the bosses, a product of the machine etc.?

I live in the Bronx and was at least halfway paying attention during his rise and do not associate him with "the machine." If anything, the opposite seemed ( to me, anyway) to be true.

In the eighties, (Ferrer's wonder years, if you will) the Bronx was controlled mainly by Stanley Friedman and assorted crooks and hacks. ( Later indicted and convicted by then US prosecutor Giuliani). Ferrer, if memory serves, was a city councilman supported by the reform wing of the party... personified by such as Robert Abrams, Herman Badillo, etc.

Later, with the convictions and changeover to other... largely Hispanic... leadership, the sides and alliances shifted in a way that was not clear to me. The corruption persisted... or so it is widely believed. It's not clear to me how enmeshed... or UN-enmeshed... Ferrer was in the shenanigans of the post- Friedman crew.

He became Borough president; chances are he did that with at least the *cooperation* of the regular organization... but this alone does not amount to being "controlled by the bosses".

You should post some stuff to the NY Forum. I need someone knowledgeable to argue with there. It's dead as a doornail and there's only a month til the election.

He lost to D'AMATO in 1992 (one of the reasons why New York couldn't get id of him until 1998), and lost to Bloomberg in 2001 when he was the clear favorite for almost the entire election (although Ferrer's asshole reponse to the runoff and Green's own incompetence are both to blame.)

ran and lost in '86. Liz Holtzman also ran and lost to Damato in '80.

My point: Beating Damato was not so easy. Why single out Green?

He ousted a moderate Republican Senator (Javits) in 1980 and won during the Reagan-year landslide. How the hell did this guy keep getting elected? It seems that the people who ran against him and lost are now the potential Hillary challengers. If Hillary somehow lost the primary (unlike at best) then we will be stuck with D'Amato with ovaries (Piro.)

he's ever run except for public advocate. I seem to remember that in some he was an overwhelming favorite. What is it about the guy, is he a poor campaigner, or a bad manager? I've always wondered why he couldn't seem to pull it together.

Probably a bad manager too.

he's just unlikeable.

He lost a race for congress on the upper east side way back in the early 80's. A fairly conservative... by Manhattan standards... district.

Also the Damato race. Also the Bloomberg race.

Why? Money has a lot to do with it. Also he does not pick easy races... except for the P A, and he still had to win a primary to get that.

New York tends to favor "moderate" ( I'd call 'em right wing) DEMS in the Moynihan mold... especially statewide. Hillary and Schumer are heirs to this tradition. Republicans like Damato... and Bloomberg, for that matter... have been successful by drawing enough of the traditional DEM coalition away. For example, Damato used his high profile support for Israel to woo Jews who were nervous about DEMS... like Green, for example,... who were perceived as less enthusiastic. He did this successfully 'til Schumer was nominated. I think Green is associated in some minds with the "left wing" of the party. A small but significant element of the DEM coalition will bail if the candidate is perceived as "left wing" or ambivalent about Israel, or about American foreign policy.

Re Green: I can't remember a race where he was the "favorite".

lost to bloomberg.."It's not easy being green". :bounce:

Especially bad ones!

I think the loss to Bloomberg was the last straw for him electorally. He should have won that race and I really hope he continues his work for consumers.

Features Pirro routinely and bashes Spitzer as if he were the disciple of Karl Marx?

Ignore it.

32% of Republicans in NY support her right now. Imagine if, say, Kerry had that support nationally last year.

He banned women from wearing pants in the company he owns.

Clinton, Spitzer and Bloomberg are all shoo-ins.

Does anyone know if Congressman Anthony Weiner is in the running?

http://www.house.gov/weiner/

Sure as heck doesn't say anything on his site about it.

At least as governor he'll avoid the apparent curse of "no Senator has ever been elected to the office of president."

But I'm not a sir :P

He's awesome!!! He demands accountability at the top and is strong on equal enforcement of the law. Hard to believe such priciples are so rare these days. I think he'd be a fabulous Governor and a uniquely powerful President.

Over a year ago, IIRC. I was so impressed with his tenacity and the dedication of his staff in his pursuit of criminal activity on Wall Street. Spitzer's endorsement of Kerry was very important to me in my decision to eventually support Kerry.

I so very much want Spitzer in the Oval Office. He may not be perfect, no politician is, but so far his integrity is remarkable.

:hi:

as Senator Clinton. She has stood tall time and again for the state.

and not a moment too soon. We MUST concentrate on getting out the vote - especially the disenfranchised, those whose food stamps and housing vouchers will be cut.

We must be ready to work really hard. No excuses, all of us.

Get psyched.

I remember his ads on tv here in New York and he was vehemently savaging pataki and I'm .."Go Golisano"..I thought he had some fire in his belly and now he wants to be a repuke? Fagiddabowdit.

major underwriter of Clinton's recent Global Initiative in NY. On the website, they had a page featuring a statement from Golisano about the Initiative....