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AR: AG Has His Eye on the Future
Last Updated on Monday, 7 July 2008 11:32 Written by rslcpol Monday, 7 July 2008 10:45
Well, he is the lowest paid state A.G. in the country, right? It must be hard to make ends meet on that salary. And as a public servant we’re sure General McDaniel doesn’t take advantage of Arkansas’s liberal expense account regulations for office holders – that would be beyond the pale for such an earnest, and honest, public servant. From NWAnews.com:
The smiling faces in framed photographs on the walls at the Arkansas attorney general’s office serve as both inspiration and admonition to the current officeholder, Dustin McDaniel.
Among his predecessors, there are governors, a U. S. senator, a president. And there are two convicted felons.
McDaniel said he takes note of the lofty accomplishments as well as the political disasters. He points out that attorneys general from other states have gotten in a lot of very public trouble recently — two have left office amid scandal since December. Another recent attorney general, New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer, resigned in disgrace this spring.
“You somehow or another get it in your head that the rules don’t apply to you. Somehow or another, you get this hubris and bravado that you can do whatever you want,” McDaniel said. “It’s destroyed many people and ruined a lot of lives and a lot of families.” McDaniel acknowledges an ego and ambition of his own — without which few would run for public office — but said he tries to keep it in perspective for his 7-year-old daughter.
“I just don’t ever want her, when she’s old enough to Google daddy, to find anything that would ever embarrass her,” he said.
Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
NY: Chaos at the Capitol?
Last Updated on Monday, 7 July 2008 11:16 Written by rslcpol Monday, 7 July 2008 10:26
Wow – what show it must’ve been in Albany. We mean, well, unlike the last administration of course. From Newsday.com:
Beyond the Senate’s surprise power shake-up, much of the insider buzz coming out of Albany involves the perception that chaos reigns on the Capitol’s second floor, the domain of David A. Paterson’s accidental administration.
Republicans and Democrats alike said they were often left wondering in the recent session which aides to the governor were authorized to act and negotiate legislation and other business.
“Paterson’s operation is evolving, like they’re still trying to figure it out,” said a seasoned legislative official whose remarks were typical. “You can’t tell where you can interact in a positive way, who’s where in the firmament. It may be a work in progress. Maybe.”
Following a recent exodus of high-level Eliot Spitzer appointees, the governor today is expected to announce a replacement for operations director and former Spitzer man Paul Francis.
One major post, governor’s counsel, was supposed to be filled in March, shortly after Paterson took charge, by state Supreme Court Justice James Yates. He reconsidered and withdrew. David Nocenti, counsel under Spitzer, agreed to stay longer. Now Nocenti is gone but no permanent replacement is named. And last week came the surprise departure of Bruce Gyory, a former lobbyist hired late in Spitzer’s tenure to repair torn relations with the legislature.
Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
NY: Security Changes Likely For Governor
Last Updated on Thursday, 12 June 2008 11:46 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 June 2008 11:00
Imagine – if this had happened while Eliot Spitzer was governor – he wouldn’t have been able to use his office to abuse power by spying on the Senate Majority leader…and maybe it would’ve kept him from his other non-official dalliances. But, it didn’t, and that’s why he’s a member of the Democrat Dream Team. From TimesUnion:
State Police are poised to propose legislation that would give officers more authority over where the governor could or couldn’t go.
That comes as State Police are reported to be overhauling the way members of the governor’s security detail are chosen.
Posted under Attorney General News, Lieutenant Governor News, State Legislature News | No Comments
OH AG Special: What Are The Blogs Saying
Last Updated on Thursday, 12 June 2008 10:49 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 June 2008 10:49
The no-surprise endorsement of Ohio Democrat Governor Ted Strickland of Democrat State Treasurer Richard Cordray as the Democrat nominee in the upcoming special election to replace disgraced Democrat A.G. Marc Dann has stirred up the Ohio blog community.
From Naugh Blog:
Cordray may not be dumb enough to send dirty email messages to employees, but his philosophy and approach to the Attorney General’s office is still cut from the Eliot Spitzer/Marc Dann mold. He would be the same type of headline grabbing attorney general who will harm Ohio’s business climate, which is the last thing our state needs.
Comments from the Cleveland Plain Dealer Blog:
I’ve got nothing against Cordray, but I find it funny that in every news article there’s never anything about his legal skills, but he sure manages to get in that he won a few times on Jeopardy. Should we start electing our public officials based on how well they did on TV game shows? Hell, we might as well make Alex Trebek the President then, as he has all the answers. Howie Mandel could be the Vice President, and Jeff Foxworthy the governor of Ohio!
From the Ohio Daily Blog:
Speaking of lack of suspense, unless one of the higher profile GOP candidates changes course and gets into the special election on the Republican side, there is little doubt that Cordray will be the overwhelming favorite to win this race.
Oh, and you can check out the first political candidate from candidates of any stripe in this race right here from Independent candidate for A.G. Robert Owens.
Ohio’s going to be very interesting in 2008 – bonus!
Posted under Attorney General News, Blog, Videos | 2 Comments
NY: Dem Gov. Takes Hands On Approach to Legislature
Last Updated on Monday, 9 June 2008 02:00 Written by rslcpol Monday, 9 June 2008 01:00
That’s nice – a Democrat Governor from New York who won’t bully people. Now if only we could keep them from doing the other things that embarrass New Yorkers. From Newsday.com:
In a break from the style of his recent predecessors, Gov. David A. Paterson is relying on persuasion rather than bullying to spur legislative action as the state confronts huge challenges stemming from the economic slowdown.
Having spent 21 years as a senator before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006, Paterson has witnessed the ambitious agendas of chief executives falter amid confrontation with lawmakers.
He told Newsday recently that he wants to restore public confidence in state government by making it more relevant in residents’ lives. Toward that end, he has unveiled initiatives, both large and small, that some have said are more akin to those a lawmaker would introduce than a governor.
“I was in the legislature and I understand it has built-in power that you must respect or you are going absolutely nowhere,” said Paterson, who became governor on March 17 when >Eliot Spitzer resigned.
Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
NY: Secret Grand Jury in Dirty Tricks Probe
Last Updated on Monday, 19 May 2008 10:14 Written by rslcpol Monday, 19 May 2008 10:14
From the New York Post:
General Andrew Cuomo has secretly convened a grand jury to consider bringing criminal charges in the explosive State Police scandal probe that was rocked by a suicide late last week, The Post has learned.
The grand jury, which could bring charges against several current and former State Police officials, was the source of the subpoenas issued last month by Cuomo’s office for e-mails and BlackBerry messages tied to Daniel Wiese, a onetime State Police colonel and now-suspended New York Power Authority inspector general.
The grand jury also was the source for the subpoena on Friday for the suicide note left Thursday by Gary Berwick, the former security chief for Govs. Eliot Spitzer and George Pataki and a Wiese protege, a source close to the NYPA said.
The source said an examination of the subpoena sent to the NYPA showed it originated with a grand jury under Cuomo’s control.
Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
May 9, 2008: Who’s Reading The SNS?
Last Updated on Friday, 9 May 2008 12:02 Written by rslcpol Friday, 9 May 2008 10:48
Come on Wyoming – how hard is it to join your brothers and sisters in the other 49 states – South America is putting you to shame for crying out loud!
The SNS continues to see an increase in new readers each week – and even better, the number of return readers is growing week to week as well. We should start selling advertising space or something…nah, we’ll keep the adverts to a minimum so you can continue to get your news, commentary, analysis, and entertainment free of distraction.
If you’ve been checking in from time to time this week you don’t need us to tell you what the biggest story of the week was, or for that matter what state contributed the most readers – both new and returning. What we want to know is, what state and local democrat leader is going to be the next to fall? You’ve had New York’s Eliot Spitzer, Kansas’s Paul Morrison, Louisiana’s Charles Foti (though the voters were able to take care of that one), a slew of Democrat legislators from places like Ohio, Georgia, and Tennessee, just to name a few.
Ready for the top five posts of this week?
Posted under Blog | No Comments
NY: AG Demands Answers On ‘Troopergate’ Scrubbing
Last Updated on Thursday, 8 May 2008 12:12 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 8 May 2008 10:47
An interesting twist in this story – the Democrat A.G. is now trying to drag former Republican Govenor George Pataki into this mess. If there’s nothing there – Andrew Cuomo should get the partisan hack of the decade award trying to smear Republicans with the Spitzer mess. From the Daily News:
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Wednesday demanded to know why crucial e-mails and computer records belonging to a key figure in his state police probe were erased.
Cuomo released a bombshell letter to New York Power Authority head Roger Kelley asking for information on how and why material was scrubbed from the BlackBerry and computer of NYPA Inspector General Daniel Wiese.
At the same time, Wiese, a retired state police colonel with close ties to former Govs. George Pataki and Eliot Spitzer, was placed on nonpaid leave in what was seen as a step toward dismissal from his $181,700 a year job.
He had been on paid leave since April 4.
Posted under Attorney General News, Dems Behaving Badly, State Legislature News | No Comments
Democrat Governor Strong Arms State Police
Last Updated on Tuesday, 6 May 2008 09:44 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 6 May 2008 09:44
No, it’s not New York, but it sure has some similar qualities. A Democrat chief executive appearing to pressure state law enforcement to do his bidding. This Washington Post article about Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley could be the start of a long line of questions for the current administration. Is Maryland’s Democrat A.G. Doug Gansler watching? Did he learn anything from how slowly his Democrat counterpart in New York, Andrew Cuomo, moved on the Spitzer allegations? The blogs are still very quiet on this issue.
A state police commander who oversaw Maryland’s automotive inspections program alleged that “strong political pressure” from Gov. Martin O’Malley’s office was behind a recent decision to allow a Prince George’s County station to resume inspections four years after its license was revoked for fraudulent practices.
Posted under Attorney General News, Blog, Dems Behaving Badly | No Comments
OH: Will Dem AG Marc Dann Follow Role Models Example and Resign?
Last Updated on Friday, 2 May 2008 02:31 Written by rslcpol Friday, 2 May 2008 12:18
What a year for Statewide elected Democrats and Sex Scandals. We’ve been in Kansas, New York, and now Ohio.
Democrat Attorney General Marc Dann has just admitted to an extramarital affair with one of his employees. Those other, now former, Democrat Attorneys General first delayed their resignation and then turned theirs in – for more family time. The question now is, how long until Marc Dann decides to turn it in?
Soon after news of Kansas Democrat Attorney General Paul Morrison’s sex scandal broke, the AP reported Morrison saying:
“I sincerely apologize for this failing in my personal life and I pledge to continue to fight for the safety and security of Kansans to the best of my ability.”
“I will continue to defend the people of this state and perform my public duties as I have my entire career.”
Just 4 days Later, Morrison announced his resignation.
And what about the former Democrat Governor (and former AG) from New York? Remember, he’s the guy that Marc Dann spent his entire 2006 campaign saying He wants to be “Ohio’s” version of.
Posted under Attorney General News, Dems Behaving Badly | 1 Comment