New York Party Bosses Can't Get It Up Anymore
I am not endorsing the Working Families Party, but, as a third party, it was able to make advances this year, even though it may have involved shenanigans. Until the neoliberalism can be gutted out of the Democratic Party, maybe supporting a third party can either lead the Democrats to reform themselves (or face irrelevancy) or else help build up a third party that can actually deliver reforms ? Either way, reformers win.
From True News From Change NYC :
Broken Party Bosses. Today both The Daily News and City and State both have done stories crediting the Working Families Party with winning the Mayoral election. What both papers failed to talk about is the disconnect of the city's Democrats and Republicans party bosses from the voters in their own parties. In other words they can no long deliver the vote. More importantly they represent only themselves and a few close criminal co-conspirators in dysfunctional parties that have cut off the public they claim to represent. The Queens Boss supported Quinn, the Bronx and Brooklyn bosses supported Thompson the Manhattan and Staten Island bosses did not endorse anyone. Over on the Queens side none of the party bosses supported Joe Lhota in the primary, but the voters in their party did.
Party Bosses and Ballot Lines For Sale. Former Bronx Republican Party leader Jay Savino and Queens GOP Vice Chair Vincent Tabone wait for their used to selling their party line to Bloomberg tried to sell their party this year to Malcolm Smith. The Queens party leaders even lost control of who runs the Board of Elections. It very strange that the media is doing story of Bill Lipton's WFP big win and not talking about who the losers are. What the newspaper should be looking into is not only the corruption connected to these party leaders, but how few people participate in party elections and picking who leads party bosses. Why are the newspapers and the city's permanent government, led by the partnership protecting the party leaders? The cluelessness of their Quinn endorsement shows they are as disconnected from the voters as the party bosses are. The permanent government has allowe a political and election system where only cleaver activists from the WFP know how to win in. And a media that covers the horse race rather the getting to the realities of the real issues that effect New Yorkers. The Working Families Party's long game is paying off(NYDN) * Last Look: Bill Lipton (City and State)
Robert Kennedy : The Last NY Politician, Who Tried to Reform the Party Bosses * Incumbent Protection * Party Leaders. Elected officials have taken over the party positions with the sole purpose of centralizing power and using it resources to help them get reelected. The party has no agenda or issue it pushes for. Most of the people in party positions have never beenchallenged. It function more like the old soviet union' Communist Party, then a democratic institution. It is even allow according to the U.S. Supreme Court to use politics to pick judges. Lopez Torres v. NYS Bd of Elections
Elected Officials, Reformer, Goo Goos Groups Silent On Party Reform. It has been 50 years since anyone has tried to reform New York's Democratic Party. In the mid 60's Robert Kennedy who defeated the democratic machine to become senator set his sights on cleaning up the state's Democratic Party. Kennedy tried to clean up Manhattan’s Surrogate Court, which to this day remains a Piggy bank for party patronage. Kennedy called the Court "a political toll booth exacting tribute from widows and orphans." He took aim at cronyism in Albany and fought to strengthen home rule of New York City. He also proposed nonpartisan redistricting, a move aimed at eliminating one of the main tools party leaders use to keep their incumbents in office for decades. Fiercely battled by a faction of the Democratic machine, Kennedy’s attempts reform the city's political parties died with his 1968 assassination. So called reformer and good government groups have never taken up his cause.
