Empty Threat.
After weeks of sound and fury, Hillary’s supposed stand against the administration’s EPA nominee, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, ended up signifying nothing. After it became apparent that Senate Republicans easily had the 60 votes needed to crush Sen. Clinton’s threatened filibuster, Hillary and other Democrats backed off. Incredibly, Hillary then claimed victory, as she explained that the White House had told her in a letter that it would take additional steps over two years to protect New York City residents who potentially had been exposed to harmful substances from the World Trade Center rubble. Said Hil: "I’m pleased we’ve made this progress with the White House. . . and I hope their cooperation is an indication of a new attitude." Not only did Sen. Clinton drop her delay tactic, but she ended up voting for the nominee anyway. "I will be voting for Gov. Leavitt because I intend to work closely with him on this process (of improving air quality in New York City)," she said in a speech on the Senate floor. "I know from my conversation with him that he was open to the arguments that I was making," she said.
War in New York.
Hillary recently charged that New York Gov. George Pataki shortchanged police and fire departments statewide by failing to pass along millions of dollars of federal anti-terror aid. She claimed that "Money is not reaching the people who are on the front lines. I am beyond frustrated by this. It appears to me that the stranglehold is at the state governmental level." Mrs. Clinton also said it appeared that officials in Albany, including the Governor, were holding on to substantial sums of the aid instead of getting the money to where it is most needed. "I don’t know where else you can put the accountability other than at the state government level," she said when asked whether she held Pataki responsible. "I think the governor is, you know...that’s where the buck stops. And apparently that’s where it stopped." Gov. Pataki’s office charged that Hillary was just covering up "for her lack of success in securing more dollars for Homeland Security needs" from the federal government. For his part, Pataki called Hillary’s claim "nonsense" and urged Sen. Clinton to "check her facts." The row over anti-terror funds marks the end of the political ceasefire between the Governor and Hillary that was in place ever since she beat Pataki’s choice, Rep. Rick Lazio, for the New York Senate seat in 2000.
Chump Change.
The Senate recently voted to give itself a $3,400-a-year pay raise next year, virtually assuring their salaries will rise to about $158,000 a year. Hillary voted against taking the money, which seems commendable at first glance, but considering she has an $8-million book deal, her husband’s lucrative speaking tour (a few million per year), his presidential pension (over $150,000 a year) and countless other fringe benefits, it really seems more like a crass political move, rather than a genuine gesture to save taxpayer’s money.
GOP Challenge.
Roll Call recently reported that Senate Republicans have begun recruiting potential opponents in New York, and are "already considering their second-tier options should the Empire State’s GOP luminaries pass on the contest" to challenge Hillary in 2006. Sen. George Allen, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said that the GOP is "Already working on it. We’re plotting and planning and encouraging." According to Roll Call, the Republicans’ "primary goal is to defeat Clinton and end her political career," but if that can’t be accomplished, they hope to "at least knock her off stride and bleed her campaign of funds that could otherwise give her a ready-made 2008 presidential account." Republicans in Washington and New York say it’s imperative that the two "leading lights" of N.Y. GOP politics, Gov. George Pataki and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, make a decision about challenging Sen. Clinton by very early in 2005, if not sooner. If Giuliani and Pataki both decline to run, some lesser possibilities include Rep. John Sweeney, former Syracuse Mayor Roy Bernardi, and one "potential candidate who would surely make Clinton spend her money," current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The challenge to Sen. Clinton is in stark contrast to the current situation in New York, where Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has an $18-million campaign war chest, essentially has a free ride to re-election in 2004. Why the GOP establishment doesn’t think that Hillary won’t have at least that amount at this time in 2005 is unknown.
