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Home Front: Politix
Paterson Says He Is Ready To Assume Governorship
2008-03-14
David Paterson, who will become New York's first black governor and the first legally blind chief executive in the nation, said Thursday he is ready to lead the state after Gov. Eliot Spitzer's stunning resignation amid a cäll-girl scandal.
Everybody's gotta be the first something or other nowadays. I'm waiting for the first one-legged dwarf lesbiän dog catcher to make the papers. I'm sure some J-school graduate will think it newsworthy.
Unless the one-legged dwarf lesbiän dog catcher's a Republican, in which case you won't hear a word ...
At a news conference in the Capitol's Red Room,
Awww, c'mon! The Red Room? Associated with a whörehouse story?
"But last week I had the same babe in the Red Room and it only cost me twenty bucks!"
"But then you wuz on the teevee!"
a ceremonial setting where governor's frequently address the media, Mr. Paterson said he told Mr. Spitzer when he reluctantly accepted the job as lieutenant governor that "I would be prepared in the event I had to assume authority. I am prepared."

Mr. Spitzer resigned Wednesday after being exposed as a client in a high-priced pröstitution ring. "This has been a very sad few days in the history of New York, and for me, it's been sadder," said Mr. Paterson, a Harlem Democrat with a home near Albany.
Wouldn't that make him an "Albany Democrat"?
Elected to the state Senate from Harlem before running for LtGov. Guy's waaay to the left, but a nicer person than the Spritzer. Son of a longtime politician and wholly grown by the NYC Dem machine.
"My heart goes out to Eliot Spitzer, his wife, his daughters and his parents. We used to call them our other family." Mr. Paterson will be officially sworn in at 1 p.m. Monday, an hour after Mr. Spitzer's resignation takes effect.
Posted by:Fred

#12  duh
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-03-14 19:55  

#11   v.v.?

vice versa, NS. I can't stand Paterson's political preferences, but I admire the fact that he was not about to ingratiate himself with Spitzer's spies and enforcers.

OTOH it might just be different power bases. Spitzer from the real estate maven crowd, Paterson the son of a Dem pol by way of the NYC machine.
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-14 19:34  

#10  I take it soon-to-be Governor Patterson is not too famaliar with shooting sports and certainly unfamiliar with shooting to save a life situations. Legally blind?
Posted by: Sgt. D.T.   2008-03-14 18:15  

#9  ALBANY - Sen. David Paterson is pushing a bill that would require cops to shoot to wound, rather than using deadly force

Hey Judge, I shot to wound... can I help it if I'm a lousy shot? with a 12 gauge....? __Officer Friendly
Posted by: Dino Jomoger3586   2008-03-14 18:02  

#8  "The blind leading the blind. How appropriate."

Indeed...at least now the ugly hookers will get a chance.
Posted by: Kelly   2008-03-14 15:44  

#7  v.v.?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-03-14 13:32  

#6  I thought the name sounded familiar...

Dem Pol pushes bill: Cops may only shoot to wound, not kill

ALBANY - Sen. David Paterson is pushing a bill that would require cops to shoot to wound, rather than using deadly force - drawing outrage from officers. The bill also would create a new provision for second-degree manslaughter that would be reserved specifically for an officer who "uses more than the minimal amount necessary" to stop a crime suspect.

Paterson, who is on Eliot Spitzer's ticket as lieutenant governor, has reintroduced the bill twice since first sponsoring it in 2001, refusing to let it die. In a memo urging its passage, Paterson wrote: "There is no justification for terminating another's life when a less extreme measure may accomplish the same objective."

Current law gives cops a wide berth to use deadly force when a suspect presents a danger to another person's life. Paterson (D-Harlem) wrote that a police officer, under his legislation, "would have to try to shoot a suspect in the arm or the leg."

"This bill shows absolutely no understanding of just how difficult it is for a police officer when they get into situations requiring the use of deadly force," John Grebert, director of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, told the Daily News.

His sentiment was echoed by Dan DeFedericis, president of the New York State Troopers PBA, who said: "We are definitely opposed to this bill ... and we strongly believe it could endanger the lives of police officers and innocent civilians."
While Spitzer already has the endorsement of the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, that group's Albany lobbyist, John Poklemba, said, "This bill is very ill conceived. I can't imagine any police agencies not being opposed to it."

Paterson told The News last night that his bill would safeguard the public. He explained that he wrote the bill in response to the acquittal of four NYPD officers charged in the 1999 shooting death of the unarmed Amadou Diallo in the Bronx."Many people were surprised the officers weren't guilty of something, criminally negligent homicide or something that involved some negligence," he said. "I thought I was writing the bill that really mirrored what the department rules are."

I'm thinking if this is indicative of the legislation he introduces, this guy is either in way over his head or is maybe going to get eaten alive.
Either that, or New York is screwed...

http://207.114.86.27/poparticle.php?ID=143601&D=2006-02-23
Posted by: tu3031   2008-03-14 12:36  

#5  He's actually pretty well respected in Albany at a personal level by Rs and Ds alike. Spitzer's goon squads hated him and v.v.
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-14 12:19  

#4  Wouldn't it be cake if this guy got busted in a $50 hotel room, smoking crack, with a bunch of hookers.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2008-03-14 11:16  

#3  At least he will be happy with the $100 girls. They all look the same.
Posted by: Creling Darling of the Lichtensteiners8341   2008-03-14 09:07  

#2  The blind leading the blind. How appropriate.
Posted by: Besoeker   2008-03-14 02:38  

#1  ION< CHINESE MIL FORUM > BLOOMBERG - MCCAIN MORE HAWKISH THAN BUSH ON RUSSIA, CHINA, AND IRAQ. Mccain describes as a "REALIST IDEALIST", GOP SPLIT BETWEEN [anti-Mil Venture]REALISTS VERSUS [pro-War/Mil Venturist]IDEALISTS; + ASIA TIMES > WHILE CHINA MARCHES, AMERICA GUESSES. China's "true intentions".
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-03-14 00:24  

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