By Azi Paybarah 7/14/11 3:34pm

cuomo's world

Cuomo: 'I'm Sort of the Antichrist of Conservative Party,' Conservative Party Disagrees

Labeling Andrew Cuomo isn’t easy.

Cuomo has described himself as the leader of a “new Democratic Party” and a “progressive Democrat who’s broke.”

Yesterday, he added a new description.

“I’m sort of the Antichrist to the Conservative Party,” Cuomo, a Catholic, said in an interview. The fact that Cuomo said this to The New York Times may explain why the chairman of the New York State Conservative Party, Michael Long, hadn’t heard of it until I called him just now.

“Say that one more time to me,” Long said, when I told him about Cuomo’s remark. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 6/08/11 12:43pm

anthony weiner

What Will Shape Anthony Weiner’s District?

Could Anthony Weiner’s district be spared, thanks to non-partisan redistricting?

Governor Cuomo said his plan to have an independent panel draw legislative lines in New York would replace “a process that has been widely criticized for placing political considerations that protect incumbent office-holders and partisan objectives above the people’s interest in fair and equal representation.”

But the proposal’s biggest supporter, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch said he woudn’t have a problem if Weiner’s seat was drawn out of existence.

“It would be stupid to think there are no political considerations,” Koch told me in an interview.  “If you have someone who is under attack for a host of reasons, similar to that of Weiner, and the Democratic Party believes it would lose that seat if Weiner ran, there’s nothing wrong with if they have to give up the seat, to say that’s the seat we will give up. I don’t see anything wrong with that.” Read More