"If I Need to Call Spitzer..."
John Koblin was back in the 11th Congressional district this morning with Carl Andrews, who bragged about his access to Eliot Spitzer and revealed that he aspires to be a congressman in the mold of Charlie Rangel, Anthony Weiner and Greg Meeks.
Here's Koblin's report:
"Things are starting to shape like a pyramid, or hit a peak for the campaign," says Carl Andrews a little before 8 a.m. at the B/Q Newkirk Avenue subway station.Shaking hands and greeting sleepy commuters, Mr. Andrews said all the pieces - from yesterday's endorsement from the AFL-CIO to his "broad-based support" - were coming together.
"A culmination is starting to come to a head," he said.
But how reliable is that support? In an anti-incumbent year, could endorsements like that by The Establishment potentially backfire?-- Josh Benson"Only if those individuals don't have a good track record," he said. "And these people have known me for years. These aren't just fly-by-night endorsements. I worked with Eliot Spitzer. I knew Alan Hevesi as an intern. They all know me."
Later he added, "If I need to call Eliot Spitzer, I can call him on his cell phone or at his home. I have greater access than they do."
But what about his alignment with the people with less sterling track records, like Clarence Norman?
"I'm a Democrat and a good Democrat. Like they say in church, there's BC for Before Christ and AD, and, well, there's life before Norman and there's life after Norman. And I've been standing in this subway station for an hour, and no one has asked me about him."
So as a good Democract, if elected, which New York delegate would he model himself?
"A hybrid of Charlie Rangel, Anthony Weiner and Greg Meeks. Rangel because I'd love his authority, Meeks because we're somewhat similar in age and we've met on several occasions and Weiner because he works on a lot of working-class and family issues."
Mr. Andrews also stuck closely to his push that this is a "two-candidate" (notice he doesn't say "man") race. He said Yvette Clarke and Chris Owens are so far behind in money, that "history isn't on their side" to make a comeback.
When asked what specifically Yvette Clarke - who described herself yesterday as the "frontrunner" - and Chris Owens were missing, he gave this answer:
"There seems to be a lot of changes in that campaign," he said of Clarke. "A lot of personality changes, their financial director, their public relations director. Just seem to be a lot of changes."
And Chris Owens?
"Major Owens has been a good congressman," he said, then paused, before adding with a smile, "And Chris, well, he has a lot of nice policy papers."
Wow. I can't believe anyone takes this guy seriously. Did he just compare Clarence Norman to Jesus Christ?
Seriously. I couldn't help but thinks "how on earth is he so simple minded?" as i read the article.
Carl Andrews is going to win this seat. It's just that simple.
I'm sure that Bill Thompson, who has supported Carl, will be thrilled to learn of Carl's aspiration to emulate Anthony Weiner.
Anyone else finding it odd that the same venom that other campaigns receive when someone calls attention to gender is not seen here when a candidate compares the former Brooklyn Boss to the son of god?
It speaks of a setup and a coordinated smear campaign.
"I'm like Gregory Meeks because he and I have met...."
GENIUS! Now I see why he has been such an incredibly successful and notable state senator!
i think he just critcized an opponent, Owens, for having good ideas.
Clod.
A "culmination is coming to a head"? Good God, Andrews is a moron...
If Carl Andrews gets elected I WILL leave Brooklyn for good. Things will have hit rockbottom.
No one asked him about Clarence Norman at that station because they were heading to WORK....A place Clarence Norman has never thought about going -- except using his campaign credit cards to purchase snappy new suits -- and suck the taxpayer's money. Good riddance to him and come September 13th - greater riddance to you.
You're all missing the point. You can wax on all you want about the merits. The fact is that the ground game will win this war. Remember that Sampson was ALL over Brooklyn during his District Attorney run. Andrews has the same troops at his disposal working on their home turf. With all his money, Yassky will not be able to match him in over 2/3s of the district. Say good night, Gracie.
As far as I can tell, nobody here is claiming Andrews doesn't have a good chance. We all know he does. All we're doing is bemoaning the fact that he is by far the worst candidate. I'm an Owens supporter, but I know both Yassky, and to a lesser extent Clark would be decent reps. Carl on the other hand would only bring more of the inefectual representation we've all gotten so used to under Major.
One other point, if you really think it's going to come down to the ground game, I think Owens has shown he has the most effective volunteer network. Who needs to mail lit, when you can have your volunteers hand deliver it with a smile?
what to say, other than the fact that this guy is a f@*king moron as well as a crook. where the hell is joe hynes
The head of the Teacher's Union should hang her head in shame for the disgraceful endorsement of this guy. But Randi Weingarten doesn't live in Park Slope anymore, so she obviously doesn't give a damn about those of us in the 11th. This is an illiterate fool. He should come to my 5th grade class and the kids will be able to help him.
The head of the Teacher's Union should hang her head in shame for the disgraceful endorsement of this guy. But Randi Weingarten doesn't live in Park Slope anymore, so she obviously doesn't give a damn about those of us in the 11th. This is an illiterate fool. He should come to my 5th grade class and the kids will be able to help him.
To keep Gatemouth's theme rolling and since there was so much play vis-a-vis food... Has anybody seen Carl Andrews lately? That boy is BIG. He is huge, and that must be why he doesn't have his whole body in any of his campaign lit(Senate paid). So yeah, we have a literacy problem with the guy, but as a health care professional I know we have a fat problem, too. With childhood obesity finally being looked at in legislatures, can we expect Fat Man Carl to take the right position? As he said: "Things are starting to shape like a pyramid." That pyramid is Carl, with very little going on in his pointy brain and a whole lot going on below.
To keep Gatemouth's theme rolling and since there was so much play vis-a-vis food... Has anybody seen Carl Andrews lately? That boy is BIG. He is huge, and that must be why he doesn't have his whole body in any of his campaign lit(Senate paid). So yeah, we have a literacy problem with the guy, but as a health care professional I know we have a fat problem, too. With childhood obesity finally being looked at in legislatures, can we expect Fat Man Carl to take the right position? As he said: "Things are starting to shape like a pyramid." That pyramid is Carl, with very little going on in his pointy brain and a whole lot going on below.
You might almost think Andrews has been hitting the "weed" ( or watching WEEDS ) with comments like his. FRONT RUNNER ??
Too bad this election isn't taking place in Carl Andrews's head rather than the Real World. You have to assume Carl thinks this is a race between him and Yassky ?? If only it really were between Abbott and Costello ?? Carl Andrews is a Funny Man !
As for Spitzer's help maybe he should call Eliot on his cell phone and see if he can convince Suozzi to change his plans and run for Congress in the 11th then just maybe Andrews would have a chance. Maybe ??? Don't worry Carl there is a place for you on the Spitzer campaign staff come September 13th. Seeya'
Maybe he has been hitting the weed and that's why he's so fat.
Just looking at this as a horserace for a second, it IS interesting to compare Andrews to Sampson. But Sampson was a much more aggressive campaigner that Andrews, and he appealed to voters by showing his black face on posters all over Brooklyn.
Sampson was the only African-American running in that race, and he did pretty well, but Andrews has not been working as hard.
At this point, Yvette has not been around, and her office seems closed most of the time. So this looks like it's turning into a Yassky-Owens race.
Well, I live in the district and I must say that I've seen a lot of Andrews, Yassky and Owens but almost nothing of Yvette Clarke. At this point, I believe it really is a 2-person race between Yassky and Andrews. Owens has no money and limited track record in public life and Clarke's campaign seems to be floundering.