More Hats in the Ring.
A couple more of Hillary's fellow New Yorkers are considering running against her next year. The former mayor of Yonkers, John Spencer, is rumored to want to run in 2006, but at this point he's keeping relatively mum. "I'm not commenting," says Spencer. "In the world of politics, I live one day at a time."
But insiders say Spencer, who has been weighing a number of options since leaving office last year, has been seriously thinking about mounting a campaign against Sen. Clinton.
George Hudak, who worked closely with Spencer on his two mayoral campaigns, said: "I think it's extremely real. I don't think he's ready to announce, but people are talking to him."
"John is a very astute person," said Hudak. "He knows the calculated risks. He's certainly aware that it's going to take a lot of money."
Word also has it that Spencer has talked to the political consulting firm McLaughlin & Associates, whose list of winning clients includes Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Phil Amicone, the present mayor of Yonkers.
Unfortunately, outside of Yonkers and its immediate area, Spencer has a serious name recognition problem. But in 2003, he briefly considered opposing Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) and he has been considered a leading candidate for the Republican nomination in this year's race for Westchester County executive.
Incredibly for a politician in New York, Spencer is pro-life. Of course, apparently Hillary is now pro-life, too.
The other New Yorker who is considering a Senate run next year is Edward Cox, a son-in-law of President Richard Nixon. A longtime friend and adviser of Cox said that "to say he's running against Hillary Clinton is to way overstate it, but he's interested in it." "He's testing the waters. We're meeting with people and sometime, probably in April or so, a decision will be made." A young Hillary Rodham, it will be remembered, worked on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1973 to investigate Cox's father-in-law and his involvement in Watergate.
Anti-Hill PAC.
New York Republican strategist Arthur Finkelstein is starting a political action committee to oppose Hillary and any future ambitions she may harbor. Finkelstein used to be a close adviser to New York Gov. George Pataki.
His PAC is called "Stop Her Now." It will be aimed at defeating Clinton in 2006 as a means of thwarting any move by her to run for the White House in 2008.
According to New York magazine, which broke the story, Finkelstein hopes to raise more than $10 million for the effort. Another GOP strategist said, "They're looking to put a big number out there and you can raise big numbers off her."
Hillary and her supporters at this point dismiss Stop Hillary Now as "a negative campaign of lies and distortions," and her spokesman said that "New Yorkers will see through it, and we will be prepared."
SOTU News.
Hillary was a prize interview after President Bush's State of the Union speech. Dozens of reporters got on a conference call to hear her thoughts on the speech, especially the proposal to privatize Social Security.
But instead they mostly heard a replay of the Democratic response of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) to Bush's address. What happened was that someone put the phone on hold, leaving everyone else, including Mrs. Clinton, listening to Reid's mini-tirade against Bush. "I love Harry Reid, but can somebody turn that off?" Hillary said, raising her voice.
Then her spokesman Phillipe Reines said, "I don't think they can hear you, senator." After a few confusing minutes, Hillary was finally able to tell reporters what she thought about the Pesident's speech, and it wasn't good. "Some of what the President said is totally unobjectionable, but some of it was exaggerating the challenges facing Social Security." said Hill. "We have to see the details. But if the President is still intent on private accounts being taken out of the payroll tax, there is no way that can be done without making the problems facing Social Security worse." In other SOTU news, Hillary invited Sharon Engeldrum-widow of 9/11 hero firefighter Christian Engeldrum who died last November in Iraq-to the speech as her guest. Engeldrum, a firefighter with Bronx Ladder Co. 61, raced to the World Trade Center on 9/11. Some of his colleagues call him the 344th firefighter to die as a result of 9/11.
