New York Politics: The Egos Have Landed

New York is nicknamed the Empire State, although with population growth well below the national average, and with a decaying Upstate economy, one questions the applicability of the nickname. New York is a predominantly Democratic state (with certain areas of Upstate and Long Island voting Republican) and there is no shortage of Democratic politicians stepping over each other to be top dog: Spitzer, Cuomo, Silver, Schumer, Clinton (and don't forget Hevesi before he resigned from office).

The recent scandal involving the Spitzer administration is a perfect example of this clash among Democrats. The New York Times reports this morning on the competing egos, ambitions, and agendas of Governor Spitzer and Attorney General Cuomo.

Yet there is also a sense among some political analysts that Mr. Cuomo has emerged with his reputation enhanced and his power increased because both the governor and state Republicans have embraced the report’s findings.

Henry J. Stern, for example, the longtime parks commissioner who founded the good-government group New York Civic, said: “If anyone thought six months ago which one would be incompetent, they thought Cuomo would be the jerk and Spitzer would be the cool guy. But that appears not to be the case.”

When state politics becomes dominated by one party, don't think for a moment that back biting and political warfare come to an end. The Republicans hold a razor thin majority in the State Senate, and when the Democrats capture control in a few more years, the intra-party conflicts will only increase with the addition of another power player, a Democratic Senate Majority Leader.

For now, I'll just sit back and watch and wait for the knives to come out.