 |
It's up to you, New York... His Hat. The Ring. Why Not?By Rick Horowitz Just so you know: Hillary's not the only one. I'm giving "careful thought" to that New York Senate seat, too. I realize that my "careful thought" may not rate the covers of Time and Newsweek the way Hillary's "careful thought" does. And I haven't heard the kind of nonstop buzz about my future plans, about my "turn," that she's been attracting lately. But that's mostly because I haven't gotten the word out yet. That all changes, starting right now. Here's the word: Maybe. You'd think that with 18,000,000 or so people already in New York, those Democratic Party honchos wouldn't have to send out a search party to find a suitable candidate for the United States Senate in 2000. Apparently you don't think the way party honchos think. They want Hillary, and they're nearly breathless (but not, unfortunately, speechless) at the very idea. That's because they haven't really focused on my availability. No problem. If Hillary Clinton can run for the Senate from New York, I figure I can run, too. The way I see it, her strengths are my strengths. And her weaknesses? They're also my strengths. Location, for instance. Hillary Clinton currently lives 200-plus miles from New York. That's pretty impressive for a New York Senate candidate -- but I beat her hands down. At the moment, I live more than 600 miles from New York -- and that's just from Buffalo, way over in the western corner of the state. If you measure it from New York City, where most of the votes are, we're talking 900 miles. It's no contest. The same with name recognition. Sure, the Clinton name has a big following in certain New York circles. But check out a few of the local phone books some time -- column after column of "Horowitz." That's name recognition that counts for something! And endorsements? This is a sensitive topic; the last thing I want to do is bruise anyone's feelings, especially someone who's been through so much lately and isn't about to look a gift word in the mouth. But if I were Hillary Clinton, I'd be careful about how much weight to give to some of this ostensible praise she's been receiving. When Pat Moynihan, whose seat -- if hardly his shoes -- she'd be filling if she actually ran and won this thing, called her "my legacy" on TV the other day, I couldn't help noticing more than a hint of irony in his voice. The question is: Did she? And that other thing Moynihan said, the one that keeps being quoted, about Hillary's "Illinois-Arkansas enthusiasm"? The senator had his tongue on wry, no doubt about it; there isn't a New Yorker anywhere who would hear those words as a compliment. If Hillary did, she's already disqualified herself from representing New York in any official capacity, and she ought to give up this sudden flirtation right this minute before she gets herself hurt. Maybe a nice job in some nice little Little Rock clinic, administering to the sarcastically challenged... And I know all this why? Because I'm one of them -- a New Yorker anywhere, I mean, born and bred. I may be living in far-off Wisconsin now, but I went to grade school in Brooklyn, high school in Manhattan. I had bushels of cousins in Queens, rode the Staten Island Ferry, watched baseball in the Bronx. (And at the Polo Grounds. And at Ebbets Field.) I worked summer camps in the Catskills, visited Niagara Falls without even being on a honeymoon. I rode the subway. I still ride the subway, every chance I get. Can Hillary match that? Or any piece of it? Hardly. The way I see it, I've got Hillary flanked either way. If she tries to come across as an outsider, I'm much farther outside than she is. If she tries to come across as an insider, I've got years and years of authentic New York experience on her. Let's assume she decides to take me on anyway. Does she have any advantages? One. Money. Lots of money -- and it doesn't bother me a bit. She has all the fat cats in her corner? Fine -- I had plenty of chubby classmates, and skinny classmates, and even medium classmates. Of course money matters, but in a close race, only one of us can count on the all-important P.S. 219 vote. Do you think Mrs. Domsky's former third-graders are going to abandon one of their own? Don't be silly. Mark my words: If I get in, the First Lady stays out. Surrender, Hillary! Posted
2/23/99. Fresh stuff right here twice
weekly!
 |
  |
