Talk about third parties in most places and folks will either snicker or rail about Ralph Nader helping to elect Bush. Talk about the Working Families Party in New York, and you get “Kingmaker.” At least that’s what the New York Post, the mouthpiece of Rupert Murdoch has to say.
The WFP is backing progressive champion Richard Aborn in the hotly contested race to replace legendary Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who’s retiring after 35 years in office. That has the right-wing Post’s editorial page worried:
LEFTY KINGMAKERS? THE EARLY LINE ON THE DA RACE By E. J. Kessler The tiny, leftist Working Families Party may in effect choose the next Manhattan district attorney — one of the most important law-enforcement posts in the nation.
The successor to Robert Morgenthau, who’s held the job since 1974 but is retiring, clearly will be decided in the Sept. 15 Democratic primary — and, with no serious mayoral race on that ballot, voter turnout may well be scant. That could make the WFP the kingmaker.
… “[T]he WFP can provide Aborn with a field operation, which none of the other candidates have,” said CUNY political scientist Doug Muzzio. “That could make the difference.”
10 years after the WFP was founded to help hold politicians accountable and a couple million votes later, the WFP is hardly tiny. But the larger point is exactly right - elections like these are all about grassroots organizing: talking to voters one on one about the issues that matter. And that’s what WFP does best. Why is WFP backing Aborn over the other candidates (Leslie Crocker-Snyder and Cy Vance)? The Post gets it half-right:
[Leslie Crocker-Snyder] supported the death penalty until recently — a no-no in liberal Manhattan. And, as a no-nonsense courtroom type, she lacks shmoozing skills crucial for the slog through the Dem clubhouses.
Expect Aborn, a self-styled “progressive,” to exploit all that. He calls for investigating the NYPD for alleged “gay profiling,” and told the New York Observer that fighting crime is “not about pounding our chest and showing how tough we are,” but about the need to “rebuild families and rebuild communities.” He’s been endorsed by former Police Commissioner William Bratton (with whom he worked on gun-control and police issues), Act Blue (a clearinghouse for liberal candidates), Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel and a bunch of Dem clubs and local electeds.
As DA, Aborn will be as tough as anyone on violent crime. But he knows that’s not enough. Progressive crime-fighting means stopping crime before it starts, by replacing the failed war on drugs and ensuring that first-time, non-violent drug offenders have access to treatment instead of prison, by fighting back against the NRA to keep illegal guns off the street, and making domestic violence a priority by going after batterers and breaking the cycle of violence. The last word from the Post:
Issues-wise, the race is being fought on the left. Police reform (e.g., videotaping custodial interrogations) is figuring as a topic. Getting tough on white-collar crime (read: Wall Street), for obvious reasons, is another buzzword, as is “consumer protection” against fraud. With two months to go, the race seems wide open — any factor might tip the balance. Wild cards include any big event such as a major crime or act of terrorism — and, of course, the WFP.
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