Category Archives: Opinions

Welcome to the Opinions Page of The Columbia Paper. We hope to present a diverse range of ideas and positions from experts in various fields, We also have a letters page, which we hope will serve as a community sounding board. For now, please address letters to news@columbiapaper.com.

THE CAPITOL CONNECTION: He likes the Isle of Manhattan

by ALAN S. CHARTOCK

NEW YORK STATE IS A PRETTY big place. When we try to figure out the ethos of state as a whole, we surely have to divide it up into smaller pieces. Buffalo is not Manhattan and never will be. The rural counties are a completely different beast than the Big Apple. From Buffalo to Staten Island, there are a lot of little pieces to put together in order to construct the jigsaw puzzle that is New York State. Nevertheless, the biggest, most important part of the whole thing is Manhattan.

Oh, there may be an argument that the pieces could or should be put together in a way that makes sense no matter where you live, but it really doesn’t work that way. Turn on any television program or pick up the New York Times and you’ll be in no doubt that New York means Manhattan. I am sure that there are people who will reject such reasoning out of hand.

For years if you said “Brooklyn” you were talking about a smaller, outlying place within the larger city. When I was a kid growing up, so many years ago, Brooklyn was too often the place where your less well-to-do relatives might have lived. Then many New Yorkers left Manhattan for Brooklyn, once most famous for being the home of the Dodgers, the “Bums.” Brooklyn became a haven for young families and important in a way that I never thought it could or would. Nonetheless, it will never be Manhattan. Read more…

THE CAPITOL CONNECTION: Hochul avoids Cuomo’s mistakes

by ALAN S. CHARTOCK

SO HOW IS KATHY HOCHUL DOING as governor of New York? Turns out that she is doing okay. She did make a false step or two by rewarding her friends and in doing so, punishing her enemies, which is not atypical for a new governor. But Hochul has avoided the sort of Cuomo machismo mistakes. She doesn’t beat her chest and proclaim her superiority. She appears to be a nice person and that sits well with her constituents. If she continues down that path, she will be successful in the traditional won or lost columns by which politicians are judged. The truth is, politicians are judged in the same way that we mere mortals judge each other. Do we like someone because they appear “nice”? Hochul wins in that category. I think that when politicians tick people off, it is often because they are perceived as pushing “too hard.” Maybe because Hochul is a woman, she has been able to avoid the usual accusations of doing that.

We often compare our politicians with those who came before them. Papa Cuomo was a nice man who tried his best to make people like and respect him. Junior Cuomo, not so much. For Andrew, personal success was about being “Tough Guy Andrew.” Mario, who I knew quite well, was a throwback to the old days when politicians were judged on their ability to deliver. They were considered successful if they could vanquish their political enemies. Andrew was actually pretty successful at that. His greatest failure was in recruiting people who could get him into trouble. It is my impression that he is trying to get back into the game and, if you will, into the winner’s circle. Right now, though, I don’t think he’s getting anywhere.

If you are governor of New York, the next logical step is to run for president of the country. There was a time when governors of New York were expected to take that next step and run for the top job. That certainly was the expectation for the Cuomos. Mario probably failed at that for bad reasons. Number one on that list was completely ridiculous—the fact that he was Italian was held against him by too many people and while he should have been a top presidential candidate, he never made it to that list. Both Mario and Andrew proved that they could be excellent governors and administrators but they didn’t turn that success around and make it work for them as possible presidential candidates. Read more…

THE CAPITOL CONNECTION: We’re a funny country

by ALAN S. CHARTOCK

DONALD TRUMP IS JUST a despicable, dangerous man. We know that he has tried to game the system for years.

Many people believe that Trump is all about personal enrichment and that is just bad for this country. What terrifies me, and so many of you, is that despite all his failings, Trump still has a very large part of the populace behind him. Maybe when he runs the next time, he won’t win. I just don’t see how he can after the disgrace of two impeachments. He has already announced that he is running, and we know, unbelievably, that lots of Americans will vote for him. What we can’t know is how many votes he will get.

I have always believed that the split between the rich and the poor in this country is no more than a continuation of the Civil War. There are still many very smart people who believe that the south could and should have won that conflict. Many believe Trump has enough Americans behind him to win. I just don’t see that. He really can’t win. With all that we know of the character and chicanery of the man, I can’t fathom why people will cast a ballot that, if successful, would make him the leader of the free world. Nonetheless, an awful lot of people will actually cast a ballot for this miserable, corrupt human being. Read more…