My love for Elliott Spitzer almost rivals my big crush on the silver fox, but there’s a new cat in town and he’s looking to fill Elliott’s big shoes. And I. Love. Him. (Don’t worry, I haven’t abandoned the Spitz; he’s moved on to bigger and better things, and is busy running for governor). How can you not appreciate a guy who says stuff like this:
“The truth is that white people are privileged in this society,” Mr. Maloney told the audience. “The truth is that there are people who make money off the fact that there are people who are incarcerated for nonviolent crimes. We have to stop being afraid of saying the things that are true.”
Yes, Sean Patrick Maloney is the real deal, and no, a name does not get any more Irish than that. He’s the underdog in a six-person race for Attorney General of New York, and is trying to make a name for himself when he’s up against establishment Democrats like Andrew Cuomo. Democratic leaders have already rallied around Cuomo, a man they see as the candidate who has greater potential to win. This, of course, is to the great disappointment of progressives like myself, and gives us another reason to be disenchanted with Democratic party politics.
Maloney is the only openly gay candidate in the race, and when he worked in the Clinton administration was the highest-ranking openly gay employee in the West Wing and the youngest person to serve as staff secretary. He’s just got that something about him — maybe it’s a little bit of naivete, but it’s certainly a lot of passion and idealism. And I like him.
He’s been outspoken against the Bush administration’s wiretapping. He believes that everyone deserves equal protection under the law. As an attorney he worked pro-bono to represent Matthew Shepard’s family, and got asylum for a Honduran civil rights leader. He’s been active in the Board of the Empire State Pride Agenda, and worked for the Clinton administration and various neighborhood groups. All that, and he’s a dad to three and partner to one.
And did I mention that he’s a blogger?
A good friend of mine is helping to run his campaign this summer, and I’m sure she’s looking for volunteers. I sadly will not be around, but if anyone is interested and in the New York area this summer and through election time, shoot me an email and I’ll send it on to her. And even if you can’t help campaign, check out his platform and, assuming he gets on the ballot, consider giving him your vote in the primaries this September — and hopefully in the actual AG election.
Plus, he loves puppies! How could you not like this guy?
So much to love…
… and then I saw he’s wearing a Dallas Cowboys jacket. (joke!)
Seriously, if only we had a snowball’s chance at the equator of getting someone like this as AG in Pennsylvania.
Wish we could get a guy like this in Wisconsin too. I’ve got nothing against Andrew Cuomo, but it would be nice to see more candidates who are not only genuine progressives, but who got where they are on something other than their daddies’ names. We’ve got way too many dynasties going these days.
Nice to here he’s a blogger too, but I looked and the blog hasn’t been updated since 3/24. What’s up with that?
Well, my old warhorse hero Jerry Brown is running for AG here in California, and he has my vote. But Maloney sounds like a compelling and articulate progressive voice. He and Spitzer together could make New York the bluest and most progressive big state in the union. I’d come to New York more just to spend money to support ‘em…
A lad can dream, right?
Have NY Attorney Generals always had such broad agendas? I loved the fact that Spitzer went after people the Bush admin never wanted to touch. And since Congress seems to be letting Bush off on the warrantless wiretapping, we desperately need someone to take the issue to court. Good luck to him.
Are the candidates all promising to take over where Sptizer left off? And to have an agenda that goes beyond solely NY issues?
Even California’s attorney generals don’t have such a broad agenda. Wish they would have had the guts to go after the energy companies a few years ago.
Hugo, I’ve always been a fan of Jerry Brown but I’m not so sure about his run for AG. Seems to me like he’s just going through the paces and wants to keep a job in politics. I haven’t been especially impressed with what he’s done ad mayor of Oakland. I’ll have to look at his platform, but from what I understand the California AG’s job is pretty limited by the constitution, no?
Jason, the AG has a fair amount of public influence, particularly around issues of corruption. He can also choose — or not choose — to vigorously enforce state laws. For example, the right AG could refuse to defend our state’s “defense of marriage act”, or at the least, defend it in a way that would guarantee it would be struck down.
Brown has been an enigmatic figure who inspires me with his endless capacity for reinvention. He’s also addicted to politics, which seems to serve his constituents well. When I was a kid, he was our governor — and our last Democratic one for a long time.
I didn’t always support him. In 1982, when he ran against Gore Vidal for the Democratic nomination for US Senate (a seat eventually won by the lamentable Pete Wilson) I backed Vidal (as any literate progressive should). But on the balance of things, old Guvnor Moonbeam is a solid guy.
While he’s both fighting and Irish, I would be remiss if I didn’t say something about the stereotype. Sure, Irish, and Celts in general, have both largely advanced and largely assimilated, and lots of folks face a lot more discrimination, but I’m an ethnic Scot, and if I don’t stand up for my Celtic brothers and sisters, who will?
Ah, fair enough. In my defense, I used “fighting Irish” because that’s part of his campaign.
Well, that’s a pretty good defense. The “fighting” thing has faded so far from popular memory that lots of folks don’t even realize that “paddy wagon” is a reference to arresting bunches of Irish men in Irish neighborhoods. The stereotype that tends to hang on is the one about alcoholism.
Total hottie!
I work with Sean and his personality is as good as his politics. Amusingly, Mario Cuomo also works at our firm and took Sean to lunch the day he announced his candidacy.
[...] tt Bai (New York Times Magazine), Rep. Anthony Weiner, etc. If only the silver fox and the green giant were here (he needs a better nickname than “green giant,” [...]