I'm riled up about the situation with Governor Paterson, because it's a ludicrously clear example of the worst aspects of humanity and shucked responsibility increasingly on display in our country. A person in a position of power and authority commits an indefensible breach of trust, then makes the breach of trust seem like quaint behavior when he or she denies any wrongdoing, refuses to accept adequate responsibility, and insists that he should suffer no consequences other than those he chooses.
Let me tell you something, Governor Paterson: I pay taxes in New York state, and I want you out. Out of my face, off my television screen, off my front pages, out of Albany, and out of my life.
In courts of law, United States citizens are innocent until proven guilty. When an elected official - in this case the highest elected official in the State of New York - telephones a crime victim and witness the day before her scheduled testimony, it doesn't matter whether any laws were broken (though several might have been). He's broken the public trust. He's broken his oath of office. He's broken, period. And David Paterson ought to know this. Or, he ought to have it taught to him.
I've left out many of the most delicious details of the governor's farce in that brief summary. Like the fact that the person accused of assaulting the woman was, until days ago, his closest aide. Like the fact that New York state police "visited" the woman after she'd reported the crime. Like the allegations that the governor had several others contact her, speak with her, and encourage her to "make this go away."
But it's not allegations I'm interested in, or concerned about. It's his one phone call. A sitting governor does not contact a witness who's about to testify. Not to cajole, and not to console. It doesn't matter which. No matter what was said, the instant that call connected and the governor spoke to Sherr-una Booker, he gave up his governorship. That's why it gripes me so to have to watch him try to hold on.
It doesn't matter whether he encouraged her to lie, or to retreat. It doesn't even matter whether she was really the victim of a crime. When a governor calls an accuser the day before she's scheduled to testify, he's not qualified to govern anymore. Period. He has traded in his mantle for the pleasure of dialing those digits. He's got to go. And, personally, I've had about all I can take of elected officials, and Wall Street mobilizers and enablers, insisting that they don't have to.
Like a lot of people, I'm astonished and appalled at the craven, weaselly behavior we've had foisted upon us by presidents, vice presidents, senators, attorneys general, Justice Department lawyers, representatives, bankers, mortgage brokers, and on and on down and across the list (and that's before the denying and refusing to give up their jobs begins). Once the crimes, misdemeanors, and/or mere "transgressions" are exposed, then the really cowardly and sociopathic behavior begins.
Get with the program, folks. The way to redeem yourself and preserve some amount of dignity isn't by insisting you really didn't do anything wrong. It's not by insisting that you only did something a little bit wrong. It's by realizing and acknowledging that you behaved inappropriately, you got caught, you fucked up royally and have no one to blame but yourself, and that there's no path toward redemption open to you anymore, other than going away, and staying gone.
Evan Handler's latest book is "It's Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive."
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Let's all pretend to go to sleep now....
It doesn't even matter whether she was really the victim of a crime...."
This is what happens when reasonably intelligent
law abiding folks allow their Emotions to substitute
for rational thought.
Just because you pay taxes here, doesn't mean you get to make the rules, Evan. I pay taxes, too, and I think Paterson should stay in office until the allegations against him have been proved.
Around here we have something called "due process," which means that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. As one bossy taxpayer, you may not agree with that, but thems the rules whether you you you happen to like it or not.
What you are demanding is a pony -- not something that exists in the real world.
Regarding Patterson, he actively intimidated the abused woman. Adding insult and fear on top of injury. What a lowlife in a high place. He should pack his knives and go.
The Commission on Public Integrity has informed Paterson there is reasonable cause to believe he violated the public officers law last year when he solicited and accepted tickets to the first game of the 2009 World Series at Yankees Stadium
Worse, the Commission on Public Integrity also found that there is reasonable cause to believe that the governor lied under oath about the matter. This finding indicates that reasonable cause exists to pursue perjury charges against David Paterson.
First, the Dave Johnson fiasco, now we have ethics violations, and lying under oath – PERJURY.
Is David Paterson for real?
The more and more I read of the transgressions by David Paterson and his staff – lying under oath/perjury, the cover-ups, obstruction of justice, ethics violations, blatant lies - the more and more I wish Eliot Spitzer would have just read “The Democratic Conference: Organizational and Operational Structure Report”.
http://www.politico.com/static/PPM110_demreportfinal.html
This scathing report indicated that Paterson’s New York State Senate Minority office, headed by the highly inept Michael Jones-Bey, was completely dysfunctional. The unqualified and disinterested Mr. Jones-Bey, a childhood friend of Paterson, who is now incredulously Director of Division of Minority & Women Owned Business Development (DMWBD) at New York State’s Empire State Development Corporation, was reported to be more interested in partying and boozing up with staff than working.
http://nature.lohudblogs.com/2008/02/08/broadwater-delay/
Over half the lawmakers in Albany are lawyers, who can legally steer state contracts to their clients. The money gets paid to their law firms and not their reelection committees. Excuse me, but isn't this bribery?
But the most galling fact is this; tens of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas sit untapped in the Catskill Mountains simply because Albany is dicking around with right of way issues. In reality, they're just stalling for time to see how they can milk this sucker for personal gain. If those deposits were tapped tomorrow, and NYS imposed a 7.5% severance tax at the pump (just like Texas), the state treasury would be stuffed with cash instead of strapped for it.
I get the feeling that some very ugly people want Governor Paterson to go. Now they're on his case for accepting World Series comps from the Yankees. Hello! He's the governor. Isn't he supposed to be at the game even if he can't see it. Why don't they go after Giuliani, Pataki et al for their appearances?