Barackface

Monday, April 03, 2006

Eliot Spitzer

Rahm Emanuel: Big Ideas For America
The Spectrum Concept: Wide Applications

I am planning to show up for a Spitzer event on Thursday, so I have been doing some digging around on this guy who everyone takes for granted will be the next Governor of New York state. He looks as unbeatable as Hillary Clinton.

The Democratic Party in the 21st Century: A Blueprint for Reform with Eliot Spitzer
Location: 58 (formerly Au Bar) - 41 East 58th Street (bet. Park and Madison)
Thursday, April 6 at 7:00 PM
Come join us for a remarkable evening with perhaps the only person ever named both Crusader of the Year (Time Magazine) and Business Person of the Year (San Francisco Chronicle)
On Thursday April 6th, DL21C, in partnership with our friends at the NYSYD Caucus of Color, Cosmopolity and the Manhattan Young Democrats proudly presents DL21C's 2006 Election Series kick-off event!

Please RSVP at http://dl21c.org to get on the admission list

Suggested Admission: Free for Members - $7 for non-Members

For more information on the Spitzer campaign visit: http://www.spitzer2006.com

He does have this reputation of having been this hard-nosed Attorney General who has been cracking on a lot of white collar crime. He comes across a down to earth, facts-oriented person. This guy sure does his homework. I think it is worth going through his speeches:

March 29, 2006	Environmental Stewardship
March 21, 2006	Revitalizing the Economic Life of Cities
March 2, 2006	Growing Strategic Industries
February 9, 2006	Eliot Accepts NARAL Endorsement
January 18, 2006	A Vision for the Future of Health Care
November 21, 2005	Government Reform
November 1, 2005	Homeland Security and Preparedness

Following this race might also be an educational process for me for 2008, even if it is not really competitive. I learned some about city politics following Fernando Ferrer's run for Mayor late last year. Many Dems considered that one a slam dunk for Bloomberg and stayed away. I didn't. And I am glad for it.

I just learned through the Wikipedia article that Spitzer is Jewish. I keep having these revelations. Siegel, Feingold, Spitzer.

Spitzer exudes honesty, a passion for protecting the "little guy," and an intensity reinforced by his wiry figure. I think he will be good as Governor. But greatness asks for more than prosecutorial skills. Being Governor will ask for imagination and creativity and empathy and coalition building. I am not saying he does not have them. What I am saying is his current job has not allowed him to exhibit them.

He was born in 1959. He is young enough to be looking federal somewhere down the line, in some capacity.

There was a minor ruckus when he skipped Leecia Eve and settled on David Patterson for running mate. I think he might have weighed that Paterson has Albany experience. And he also might have wanted to signal his independence from heavyweights like Charlie Rangel who had thrown their weight behind Eve. I was rooting for Eve, though. (Mixing It For Ferrer, Who Is Leecia Eve?)

Eliot Spitzer is a leader. He is proof the people will come with you if you will only offer strong, clean, effective leadership. Bold ideas work.

On Security: Homeland Security and Preparedness

Government is essential. New York state is more of a target than most. It is important to be aggressive, not alarmist. Coordinate, communicate. Public, private partnerships.

Political Reform: Government Reform

"I knew whose side I was on. I didn't waiver. I didn't worry about the pushback that inevitably comes when you try to change the status quo...... They did not understand that enforcement of the rules is good for business, and that such action helps unleash the true power of the system -- with capital flowing freely to the greatest opportunities for growth...... the industries we investigated and then reformed are stronger now than they were before. .....(Albany has) been the bottleneck, resisting change, refusing to adapt, blocking actions that would lead to a natural transformation to the new economy. Just when we need it most, state government is at its most wasteful and ossified."

He wants to do to Albany what he did to Wall Street. Accountability. Reduce the importance of money on legislation. Districting: politicians should not be choosing the voters. Efficiency. There are "basic principles of good management" involved. More transparent book keeping. Responsible borrowing practices. A Martin Act for Medicaid, to do to it what has been done to Wall Street. There are too few women and minorities in the judiciary: "...we should amend the Constitution to eliminate the election of judges and instead create a merit appointment process."

"Real reform is something that cannot be achieved by one person or group. Instead, it needs a broad coalition of individuals and groups working towards a common goal."

Health Care: A Vision for the Future of Health Care

The system is too costly and leaves too many people outside. Expanding coverage makes money sense. There should be health insurance for every child. Close to a million adults are eligible for coverage through existing programs. Make the enrollment process simpler. Involve community organizations.

"Guaranteeing that every child in New York has health insurance and removing bureaucratic obstacles that keep those who are eligible from enrolling in existing programs will go a long way towards achieving our goal of reducing the number of uninsured in New York State by 50 percent over the next four years."

Reduce overall costs by: "1)restructuring our hospital and nursing home system; 2) using technology to create state-of-the-art health information systems that are the key to containing costs while improving health care quality; 3) managing and preventing chronic diseases more effectively; and 4) reducing the cost of prescription drugs."

"The Bush administration recently estimated that electronic health records nationwide would save approximately $140 billion a year."

His policy speeches are thorough. And he has shown as Attorney General that he can execute. If he can follow through, he might be headed for the history books.

Spitzer On The Web

Office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer 2006
Eliot Spitzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and was elected chairman of the undergraduate student government ....... 1992, when Spitzer led the investigation that ended the Gambino organized crime family's control of Manhattan's trucking and garment industries....... taking on cases that an Attorney General would normally avoid....... the Martin Act of 1921 .....building cases against the firms both in courtrooms and in public opinion....... an innovation in dealing with white collar crime that threatens investor confidence........ Spitzer's office uncovered $50 million in royalties owed to musicians whose record labels had failed to keep in contact with them....labels were required to take measures to contact artists owed royalties........ cross endorsements with former-Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer in the New York City Mayoral election, and State Senator Byron Brown in the Buffalo Mayoral election. The benefit to Spitzer in these endorsement deals is valuable media attention as he stumped for the candidates....... Spitzer's relative speed in uniting state Democrats to his side, he has gained the respect of Democratic leaders nationwide...... Bill Richardson dubbed Spitzer the "future of the Democratic Party"....... Polling throughout 2004 and into 2005 consistently showed Spitzer defeating Pataki in theoretical matchups......Spitzer selected New York State Senate minority leader David Paterson as his choice for Lieutenant Governor and running mate in January 2006....... Spitzer holds a 60%-to-22% lead against Golisano, and a 63%-to-16% lead against Weld...... won the New York State Democratic Rural Conference Straw Poll 148 to 7.......
Eliot Spitzer By Daniel Gross When Spitzer published a press release detailing "a shocking betrayal of trust by one of Wall Street's most trusted names," Merrill Lynch lost $5 billion in market value in a few days and quickly settled....... In the landmark December 2002 research settlement, 10 major firms agreed to cough up $1.4 billion, to sever the links between research and investment banking, to ban the spinning of IPOs, and to commit to purchase independent research for five years. "This agreement will permanently change the way Wall Street operates," Spitzer said. Punishment, remedy, and structural change...... In virtually every instance, prominent executives lost their jobs and the firm agreed to pay fines and reduce fees for investors going forward. Punishment, remedy, and structural change....... the threat of Spitzer isn't jail time; it's a tanking stock....... Spitzer inherited most of his wealth, but he's making the guys he sees at Princeton reunions and parent-teacher conference nights work a lot harder for theirs.
spitzer
Spitzer tells Manhattan: Upstate economy like `Appalachia ...
Newsday.com - Eliot Spitzer
JURIST - Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer Spoils for a Fight (washingtonpost.com) building a national reputation by taking on powerful opponents and finding creative new ways to use existing law to protect investors and workers...... In his early days, Spitzer was the quiet guy, the researcher, the staffer, the policy wonk. Now he is highly visible, lobbing well-crafted cases into voids he believes have been left by federal regulators........Many people are surprised by how much of a leader he has been...... He's smart and innovative and he gets along with people. Nobody carries Eliot's bag........ Using the law to change an industry's structure would become another Spitzer hallmark....... he surprised many by leaping into the 1994 Democratic primary for state attorney general. He poured more than $4 million of his own money into the race but came in last among four candidates.......... spent the next four years practicing law and showing up at political gatherings from Buffalo to Staten Island......... Spitzer celebrated by buying a new pair of shoes.......attended an elite private school, then Princeton University and Harvard Law School........ While at Harvard, he worked for law professor Alan M. Dershowitz, who describes Spitzer as "the quiet one, the behind-the-scenes guy, the library guy. It's amazing how he's blossomed.".......... went after expensive restaurants that hired only male waiters, released a study showing New York City police's street crimes unit had disproportionately stopped minorities, and sued Midwestern power plants over emissions that cause acid rain......... "Once he has decided, 'Here's an evil, here's an injustice,' it's 'What are we doing, why are we waiting?' "....... Spitzer didn't become a national figure until he took on Wall Street in April 2002........when he and his staff tried to recruit supporters to attend his press conference announcing a case against Merrill Lynch & Co., no important elected or regulatory official would join him........ Wall Street reacted savagely........ $1.4 billion "global" settlement..........He can be reasoned with, but you better have reason on your side, and not simply bluster........ more than $2.3 billion in restitution, penalties and reduced fees for customers........ Defense lawyers, meanwhile, see him as a guerrilla regulator, who unfairly targets common practices, comes down hard on a few unlucky souls and then moves on......... Spitzer said his aim isn't to pursue every case but "to be a catalyst, to get the national entities to focus on the issue."........ in the meantime there are insurance brokers, pharmaceutical companies and employment agencies to investigate....... "If you're working hard to succeed, what's wrong with being ambitious?"

Spitzer In The News

NY's Spitzer sues Direct Revenue over spyware Reuters
Spitzer sues 'spyware' co. over pop-up ads BusinessWeek
Spitzer sues major `spyware' Internet company over pop-up ads Newsday
Grasso says testimony handed over to Spitzer's office Reuters
Suozzi challenges Spitzer suit Newsday
Grasso loses try to get Spitzer lawsuit dismissed Pierceland Herald
Spitzer grumbles over FCC talks with radio chains Houston Chronicle, United States
Spitzer Assails FCC on Payola Red Herring
Spitzer accuses feds of undermining payoff case MSNBC
Eliot Spitzer, You're Needed in Japan Bloomberg corporate earnings figures routinely find their way into the local media before they're released. Why regulators aren't investigating this violation of Tokyo Stock Exchange rules is a mystery. Investigators should be looking into who's leaking the information and why. They should probe the possibility of illegal trading.
Eliot Spitzer sues H&R Block over IRAs Monsters and Critics.com, UK
Eliot Spitzer: Viewpoint Discriminator and Vindictive Democrat Post Chronicle New York's arbitrary, angry and aggressively ambitious Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer ...... The State of Colorado lets a high school geography teacher rant to his captive students that President Bush is eerily like Adolf Hitler, in the name of freedom of expression, but "Evil El" wants Choose Life license plates banned in New York, because they will provoke "road rage"! What a guy! ...... a secular extremist hypocrite
Who’s taking Eliot Spitzer’s job? News 10 Now, NY

On The Web: Issues

Politics, Activism, Political Issues, Government, and Elections ...
Washington Post: On Politics
About US Conservative Politics
Politics1 - The Presidency
Politics1 - Online Guide to Hot Issues & Debates
zFacts on Current Controversial Issues
BUBL LINK: United states politics
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USATODAY.com - Shaping politics from the pulpits
Politics of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Project Vote Smart - American Government, Elections, Candidates ...
Townhall.com
The New Republic Online
washingtonpost.com: Special Reports
Political Science Resources/United States Politics
The Brookings Institution
Salon.com - Home
The Christian Science Monitor | Daily Online Newspaper
Davenetics* Category: Politics
Think Tanks and Public Interest Organizations - Government and ...

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Bridge Activists

I first came across the term by way of Mary Joyce, currently in Morocco, giving time to the democracy cause there, a Fulbright Scholar who decided to stay on a little longer. (Mary Joyce) This was for the manifesto we co-authored: The Demosphere Manifesto. She introduced the term. I expanded on the democracy message in the manifesto here: Democracy Spreading Mechanism.

But then I am thinking, the concept of Bridge Activists could as well apply for the democracy message right here in America. Take a look at this proposition:
DFNYC, 100,000 Strong, Scalable Organization.

For this model, I have had people say, but what about people who are not online, who don't have email accounts, who will not blog, which is the vast majority of people. I think my suggestion is the 10-10-10-10-10 pyramid. Ideally each participant would blog, true, but they don't have to. That is the one voice concept. (The One Voice Concept, One Blog One LinkUp One Atom)

The 10-10-10 pyramid model is about weaving every single person into a one person, one vote, one voice net. This is about creating basic social, political units, 10 strong. This is about empowering the people, about creating the power structure, bottom up.

The one voice concept makes sure everyone gets heard before the consensus or the vote mechanisms take decisions and decide on collective positions.

But there is this important feature called the Vertical Degrees Of Separation that contributes to unity and efficiency. This will be an important contribution because groups that the Democratic Party usually tries to represent tend to be relatively powerless, and powerlessness leads to infighting, which leads to powerlessness.

What is the minimum requirement for someone to participate in the 10-10-10 model? Show up for meetings. You don't have to email or blog, but you do have to show up for meetings.

The Leader of the basic 10 strong unit would act as the Bridge Activist who will blog on behalf of the group. The more enterprising among them might even manage to give voice to those who for some reason can not make it to the meetings, or are reluctant starting out. A Leader could pay visits to people who they want seen heard.

The One Voice concept is powerful. It is almost like the right to vote. The internet makes it possible for people to have voices.

Another tool of empowerment in this model is Cross Tabbing. Once you participate in the 10-10-10 model, you do not have to stick to the pyramid structure. You can reach out to like minded, like interested people across geographical barriers. There might be only 10 Desis in some small town in Kentucky, but those 10 Desis could cross tab and become part of the larger nationwide Desi network. (blac, Pan American Desi Caucus: Brown Is Beautiful) And because the One Voice technology has text, audio and video features, people could really make themselves heard. You could have a parallel blac national pyramid, city to county to state to national. The backbone pyramid and the blac pyramid would co-exist. Right to peaceful assembly is a fundamental human right.

The tools are all available online for free. When you really spread around the one voice concept, you elevate the national conversation across the policy spectrum.

Money, Message, Organization. The costs come down drastically. The debates stay alive at all levels. The organization is transparent and strong as steel. (Money, Message, Organization)

Blogging is a powerful political tool. (Blogging Is Scalable Media)

The idea is to elevate and expand the democracy. The innovation is bound to spill over to both sides, and might as well. At least then we will be having honest, creative, forward-looking debates. The politics of soundbits and personal destruction will become less possible. Democracy will become more productive.

And at the policy level, it is about applying the Spectrum Concept. (The Spectrum Concept: Wide Applications) I think it is a great tool to handle the hot issues, but also policy issues in general. You make even your opponents feel heard. And you build your winning coalition. And you don't feel the need to reign in those at the cutting edge, pushing the boundaries.

On The Web

ORGANIZE TO WIN - A GRASSROOTS ACTIVISTS HANDBOOK
GRO! Grass Roots Organizing
Network-Centric Advocacy: Grassroots Organizing in the Age of ...
MyDD :: Grassroots Organizing at its Finest
Politics and Technology: grassroots organizing
Democracy Now! | Political Activism or Grassroots Organizing? A ...
Barriers To Grassroots Organizing : Advocacy: Maine Children's ...
Welfare Organizing at the Grassroots | ColorLines | Fall 2000
Grassroots Solutions | What We Do
Common Ground Common Sense > Grassroots Organizing

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