The scandal involving NY State Governor David Paterson is far broader than the Empire State. It represents the attempt by the main section of the capitalist class to exercise more direct control of the government — a hallmark of fascism — in order to serve its needs domestically and its war-making abroad. Meanwhile, it exposes its electoral system as a farce and reveals once again that choosing “black representation” (Paterson is the state’s first black governor) merely continues the rulers’ racist oppression of the whole working class, black and white.
Shocking political scandals, like Watergate and the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, generally reflect power struggles among competing capitalists with stakes far graver than the alleged offenses. The case of New York’s embattled governor follows the pattern. His misdeeds — trying to free an aide from an assault charge, and accepting free World Series tickets — are relatively minor. His real crime, according to the liberal-imperialist bosses’ NY Times editorial (3/3), lies in failing to correct a “dysfunctional and frequently corrupt Legislature.”
The Rockefeller-led dominant faction — and its servant Obama — that the Times represents, faces exploding military expenses for its widening wars amid domestic economic catastrophe, especially its racist super-exploitation of black and Latino workers. It needs swift enactment of job- and service-slashing state budgets along with tax hikes.
But Paterson hasn’t managed to squash organized opposition from smaller, “business-as-usual” bosses who have no stake in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. Their leader is anti-tax magnate Tom Golisano, who owns a payroll-services firm tied to small businesses. Last year, Golisano created a logjam in Albany by bribing two Democratic state senators, Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada, to turn Republican.
Warmaking Bosses Target
Ineffective Gov
At first, the imperialist wing enlisted liberal New York attorney-general (and former Kennedy-in-law) Andrew Cuomo as Paterson’s grand inquisitor, either to oust him or, at least, get him to toe the ruling-class line. But Cuomo’s gubernatorial ambitions created a blatant conflict of interest. So, Cuomo has handed the Paterson prosecution to “independent counsel” Judith Kaye. Some “independent”!
The state’s former Chief Judge, Kaye now works for the top ruling-class law firm Skadden Arps, which “ranked first among law firms representing Fortune 100 companies” in 2009, according to the National Law Journal. Thus, Kaye’s clientele includes Exxon Mobil, Chevron, JP MorganChase, Citigroup, Halliburton and other beneficiaries of Obama’s ever-expanding war efforts.
Domestically-oriented banks were rankled by Paterson predecessor Eliot Spitzer’s pro-imperialist, wartime regulation regime which disciplined those Wall Street banks that, in pursuit of immediate profits, were completely disregarding the long-range interests of their class, leading to economic chaos. This gang brought Spitzer down by exposing his prostitute habit. Now the defenders of the U.S. overseas empire are striking back.
Ravitch Plan for Rulers’ Rescue: Sell State to Banks, Give Unelected Capitalists Open State Power
The Times editorial, demanding that Paterson resign if things get too ugly, reminded readers that “Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch is highly capable.” Ravitch is also highly loyal to the imperialist rulers. Days later (3/11), a Times editorial trumpeted his “way to bail out New York.”
Ravitch’s scheme involves selling bonds to the likes of JP MorganChase and Goldman Sachs and creating “an independent board of highly-respected private citizens to assess the progress toward a balanced budget.” This panel could only represent the bondholders. Ravitch aims ultimately at anti-worker “painful but necessary budget cuts.”
Titans of capitalism inspire (and pay) him. “Ravitch has approached the Rockefeller Foundation [and] the New York Community Trust... to provide research grants to...support his work.” (NY Daily News, 12/15/09) The friendly-sounding Community Trust in fact comprises ruling-class predators like JP MorganChase, Citigroup, and Bank of New York.
Boston Model: Bankers, Other War Profiteers ‘Advising’ Politicians
Ravitch’s empowered “respected citizens” would closely resemble the newly-formed Massachusetts Competiveness Partnership (MCP), which soon will be “providing advice to Beacon Hill lawmakers.” The Times-owned Boston Globe editorialized (3/8) that the partnership “brings hope for a new era of civic leadership.” (Our emphasis — Ed.)
This shadow state legislature boasts Raytheon chief William Swanson and State Street Bank CEO Ronald Logue as directors. Raytheon, a leading “merchant of death,” sells the Pentagon much of its indiscriminately murderous missile systems. Arch-imperialist State Street holds over $10 trillion in global assets in custody, including many so-called “sovereign” wealth funds of foreign governments. The Globe favorably likened MCP to the “Vault,” a similarly unelected, anti-working-class, banker-led group that dominated policy in the 1960s and 1970s.
Replacing Paterson with such “civic-minded reformers” would only strengthen the war-making imperialists. The Albany circus, like Obama’s shattering of his anti-war campaign promises and his protection of bankers at the expense of increasingly unemployed workers, exposes the futility of voting.
All politicians serve one capitalist faction or another. True freedom from exploitation can only follow a worker-led communist revolution that destroys the profit system and its billionaire parasites. This is PLP’s long-term goal.