He who straddles the fence gets splinters. Change that “he” to a “she” and you have the case against Christine Quinn.
The council speaker is trying desperately to be all things to all people. She believes she can become the next mayor by splitting all the babies in half.
Stop-and-frisk, wage mandates, economic development, education, union power, taxing and spending — she tries always to thread the needle between competing interests. Only on gay rights is she consistently principled, although her overreach in trying to close down the Chick-fil-A store at NYU revealed a militant streak.
As unappealing as her behavior in that incident was, her approach to other policies isn’t much better. Quinn is no Bill Clinton when it comes to triangulating. Her “third way” is mostly a ham-handed effort to simultaneously pander to opposites.
Thus, she wants the business community to believe she shares its concerns about wage and sick-leave laws, while telling the unions her heart is with them on the same issues. She collected money from both sides, and both now demand their piece of flesh.
Whatever she decides, her formula for governing is doomed to fail because there is no clear guiding principle. If she were to use that calculating, transactional approach as mayor, City Hall would resemble an auction house, with all bidders assuming they would get something for their money. Prosecutors and newspapers would have a field day.
Quinn has been able to get by up to now because she is hiding under the wings of Mayor Bloomberg. His power and money shelter her, and she has repaid him by acting more as a deputy mayor than the head of the legislative branch. He owes her for that, and for organizing the votes that allowed them both a third term.
It is worth noting that, of the big scandals involving Bloomberg’s contracts on technology and other private vendors, none was uncovered by the City Council. Agency oversight has rarely been strong in the council, but under Quinn, it is an oxymoron.
At heart, Quinn is not a reformer. She is a creature of the clubhouse and advocacy worlds, with taxpayer cash and special-interest logrolling the coins of her realm. As a gay friend of hers said to me recently, “She is an old-fashioned Irish pol who happens to be a lesbian.”
Now, there is nothing disqualifying about being either an Irish pol or a lesbian. But even a combination of the two does not guarantee a ticket to the mayoralty in these complex times.
The challenge to those who enter the arena under the banner of identity politics is to take a broader view as they climb the ladder. When the job comes with real power and ultimate responsibility, it is not enough to just grease the squeaky wheels and call it a day.
Look at this way: If a handler were to advise Quinn to be herself, who would she be?
That’s the crossroads she faces. Being a successful mayor of New York requires wisdom as well as knowledge, and conviction as well as talent. She is only 46 years old, and her experience is not wide.
With unemployment at 10 percent, outstanding debt at $100 billion for the first time ever, a sprawling school system that needs fresh eyes, and the ever-present threat of terrorism and crime, the next mayor must build on Bloomberg’s successes while importing new ideas and people to solve old problems. It is a job for a grown-up with a confident center of gravity and an open mind.
Leaving aside comparisons to her rivals, Quinn inspires little confidence she is ready to make that leap. That’s not to say she can’t do it, but first, she’ll have to break free of the calculating, sail-trimming habits that have marked her career so far.
Machine Gun Harry is O’s character assassin
Let’s stipulate that Harry Reid is pond scum and a political fabulist not fit to be Senate majority leader. But let’s not forget what else he is: a hit man for the Obama campaign.
Reid’s smear of Mitt Romney, accusing him of not paying taxes for 10 years, on the Senate floor no less, wasn’t a case of going rogue. His attempted character assassination was fully consistent with the incumbent’s re-election strategy. David Axelrod probably wrote the script.
The incident, part of the nonstop barrage on Romney, reflects how little confidence Team Obama has in their candidate’s standing. The polls say the race is tied, but most show Obama topping out at 46 or 47 percent. For an incumbent, that’s the danger zone.
The dismal economy, the entitlement debacle, the unsustainable debt and deficits — the president would get laughed at if he pretended to care about them. So he doesn’t pretend, saving all his energy for trying to destroy Romney. If Obama has a conscience, you wonder how he sleeps at night.
Even the timing of Reid’s attack was not coincidental. Coming on the eve of the July jobs report, it was designed to get the media and voters talking about something other than rising unemployment.
That it succeeded should be a red flag to Romney. He is up against not only a determined, unscrupulous opponent, but also an unhappy electorate that can be distracted.
The elite assumption that, sooner or later, the focus of the race will turn to the big issues could be false. As long as one side has something to gain by avoiding them, and a willingness to jeopardize America’s future for a chance at victory, nothing is inevitable.
Weed it & weep in Times
One of the illusions of vacation is that, while you were away, everything got better. So it was a sickening shock on the flight home to see that The New York Times selected Bill Maher to review a book on marijuana legalization.
That would be the same Bill Maher who routinely slurs the Catholic Church, said America is a stupid country filled with stupid people, said more people would live if Dick Cheney died, and used a vulgar term to describe Sarah Palin.
On second thought, never mind. Precisely because of those views, Maher is definitely fit to publish in The Times.
CNN caught mapping
There is much finger-pointing at CNN over its bizarre decision to flash a map of India’s Punjab province while reporting that Gov. Nikki Haley will speak at the GOP convention. Some critics smell bigotry because Haley is the first female Indian-American governor.
Maybe, but the mistake could also reflect a different kind of bias. Perhaps CNN doesn’t know where South Carolina is.
Oh, well, an inside traitor
The news that David Plouffe, a top aide to President Obama, was paid $100,000 by a company doing business with Iran a month before he joined the White House isn’t getting much attention. No surprise there. The chance to sell out your country is considered a perk by many in Washington.