The life of non-candidate candidate Anthony Weiner can be very strange.
Every morning starts with a strategy phone call which generally includes chief of staff Marie Ternes, political consultant Tom Freedman and former chiefs of staff (and current Democratic Leadership Council staffer) Marc Dunkleman and Anson Kaye, despite the delay in Kaye’s expected transition to become Weiner’s 2009 campaign manager. Pollster Joel Benenson sometimes participates as well.
Nights are spent away from public campaign activities, away from organization dinners and union events like the 32-BJ candidate screening.
The only press he is doing is about government funding and new legislation. He tends to duck out before whatever reporters are left get a chance to ask him about his campaign.
And there is the idea floated in private over the past few weeks about abandoning politics altogether.
Then there was the strained appearance at Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats on March 26, during which Weiner alternated between advising the club to put off its endorsement vote until the summer (in the end, he was rebuffed, with ex-officio member Chris Owens later referring to Weiner’s recent campaign suspension as his “John McCain moment”) and trotting out lines from his standard stump speech. Sometimes he spoke about his candidacy in the present tense. Sometimes in the future.
That left many of those in the room confused, including blogger and Council candidate Rock Hackshaw, who was curious to know where Weiner had been turning for advice.
“Who do you talk to before you get to this place where you make a gambit like this?” Hackshaw asked Weiner.
Weiner rejected Hackshaw’s term.
“Gambit’s loaded,” he said. “I would ask you to take me at my word that this simply feels like the right thing to do.”
Why Weiner feels that his atypical public indecisiveness about the race is the right thing to do may have as much to do with an interest in governing as about the early focus on him by the Michael Bloomberg campaign, according to one person who discussed strategy with Weiner. The Weiner camp was frustrated by efforts to generate stories like the March 6 CBS-2 review of his recent subcommittee performance, which pointed out his missing of several votes on visa grants. Notably, though, these were voice votes, meaning that Weiner’s absence would have only been apparent to someone who had been in the room, specifically keeping track.
Those close to Weiner believe actions like these have continued, which they feel signals the Bloomberg campaign’s continuing concern about him as a potential candidate. The Bloomberg push polls about which they fed stories to the New York Times are real, they say, as is the young man they presume to be a Bloomberg operative whom they have grown accustomed to seeing at the back of their press conferences.
What has also continued is Weiner’s surprise at the size of the workload in Washington now that Democrats control Capitol Hill and the White House for the first time in his Congressional career. He has been very active there, issuing no shortage of press releases—though the topics have been immigration service funding, expediting mammograms and reauthorizing the COPS bill.
But while Weiner may be wavering, his now-liberated Democratic opponent Comptroller William Thompson (D) has been moving strongly to assert himself, insisting that the lack of a primary challenge will provide him the backing of a Democratic Party more unified going into the November elections than in the past several mayoral elections, which they believe could prove decisive. Moreover, they argue Weiner’s staying out enables Thompson to much earlier focus his attacks, and what money he does have, against Bloomberg, which could prove an especially important benefit given the unlimited resources the mayor has indicated he will make available to his own campaign. Thompson’s lawyer has asked for special clearance from the Campaign Finance Board for higher fundraising limits given what they see as the preempted primary and their billionaire opponent.
Even an increased spending cap, however, will not be able to buy Thompson the amount of free media coverage that would come from a contested primary with Weiner. Weiner’s letter about leaving the campaign, after all, received more attention than just about everything Thompson has done so far in his campaign combined. Even Thompson attack lines like “During these tough economic times, we cannot afford to have Mike Bloomberg,” which he has been road-testing on the trail in recent weeks, pale in comparison to the sharper quips that come as second nature to Weiner and could have bloodied Bloomberg no matter who won the primary.
Thompson’s campaign manager, Eduardo Castell, said he believes that not having a primary would enable the comptroller to wage a six-month race against Bloomberg that could provide a more thorough challenge to the incumbent’s record. He said he was confident that the media coverage would follow even without Weiner.
“I think you will have a sitting billionaire incumbent in a contested race, and that will be news and that will be covered,” Castell said.
One major trial for the mayor’s popularity will be the city budget, which is due right at the beginning of the summer, when Weiner has said he will make a final decision about this year’s race. He has already maxed out in primary fundraising, but if he decides to run, he will have just two weeks to collect and file petitions for the primary ballot after the June 30 budget deadline.
If he does not, Weiner will be able to spend the next four years building a war chest for the general election as well, and putting together the legislative record that has for the most part eluded him so far in the House. In the event of a Bloomberg win this year, the congressman could be well positioned to dominate a primary field, even one as crowded as many expect it to be. Weiner will be all of 49 in 2013, which would still make him one of the city’s youngest mayors, were he to win.
And if he is eager to move up before then, there is always next year’s Senate primary against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D), which seems to grow more crowded with potential candidates by the week. So far, though, no popular billionaire is among that group.
In the meantime, there are press conferences like the one on April 5, where Weiner spent his Sunday morning in front of a newsstand on 53rd and Lexington, quoting statistics about internet tobacco sales from state Indian reservations. The city loses up to $150 million each year in tax revenue it would be collecting from cigarettes that are instead being sold on reservations. If every cigarette in the 30-40 million cartons sold on New York reservations was actually being smoked on that land, each Native American would have to be putting away a pack each minute, every minute of the day.
Something needed to be done. And Weiner, who introduced himself as a member of the House Health Subcommittee ready to submit a bill to the Judiciary Committee for markup, had the answer: pass a law that banned the shipping of tobacco through the mail.
Not many reporters came. Those who did left without asking Weiner anything about the campaign, or whether he is in fact running.
But the passing middle schooler who stayed after the press conference to talk to him wanted to know.
The newsstand operator asked too.
Weiner gave the same answer to both.
“Thinking about it,” he said, in what has clearly become an automatic response to a question he has become used to fielding. “Got any advice?”
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ABOVE: Anthony Weiner’s transition to the sidelines of the Mayor’s race has led to some conflicting behavior. Illustration by John Daly
Every morning starts with a strategy phone call which generally includes chief of staff Marie Ternes, political consultant Tom Freedman and former chiefs of staff (and current Democratic Leadership Council staffer) Marc Dunkleman and Anson Kaye, despite the delay in Kaye’s expected transition to become Weiner’s 2009 campaign manager. Pollster Joel Benenson sometimes participates as well.
Nights are spent away from public campaign activities, away from organization dinners and union events like the 32-BJ candidate screening.
The only press he is doing is about government funding and new legislation. He tends to duck out before whatever reporters are left get a chance to ask him about his campaign.
And there is the idea floated in private over the past few weeks about abandoning politics altogether.
Then there was the strained appearance at Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats on March 26, during which Weiner alternated between advising the club to put off its endorsement vote until the summer (in the end, he was rebuffed, with ex-officio member Chris Owens later referring to Weiner’s recent campaign suspension as his “John McCain moment”) and trotting out lines from his standard stump speech. Sometimes he spoke about his candidacy in the present tense. Sometimes in the future.
That left many of those in the room confused, including blogger and Council candidate Rock Hackshaw, who was curious to know where Weiner had been turning for advice.
“Who do you talk to before you get to this place where you make a gambit like this?” Hackshaw asked Weiner.
Weiner rejected Hackshaw’s term.
“Gambit’s loaded,” he said. “I would ask you to take me at my word that this simply feels like the right thing to do.”
Why Weiner feels that his atypical public indecisiveness about the race is the right thing to do may have as much to do with an interest in governing as about the early focus on him by the Michael Bloomberg campaign, according to one person who discussed strategy with Weiner. The Weiner camp was frustrated by efforts to generate stories like the March 6 CBS-2 review of his recent subcommittee performance, which pointed out his missing of several votes on visa grants. Notably, though, these were voice votes, meaning that Weiner’s absence would have only been apparent to someone who had been in the room, specifically keeping track.
Those close to Weiner believe actions like these have continued, which they feel signals the Bloomberg campaign’s continuing concern about him as a potential candidate. The Bloomberg push polls about which they fed stories to the New York Times are real, they say, as is the young man they presume to be a Bloomberg operative whom they have grown accustomed to seeing at the back of their press conferences.
What has also continued is Weiner’s surprise at the size of the workload in Washington now that Democrats control Capitol Hill and the White House for the first time in his Congressional career. He has been very active there, issuing no shortage of press releases—though the topics have been immigration service funding, expediting mammograms and reauthorizing the COPS bill.
But while Weiner may be wavering, his now-liberated Democratic opponent Comptroller William Thompson (D) has been moving strongly to assert himself, insisting that the lack of a primary challenge will provide him the backing of a Democratic Party more unified going into the November elections than in the past several mayoral elections, which they believe could prove decisive. Moreover, they argue Weiner’s staying out enables Thompson to much earlier focus his attacks, and what money he does have, against Bloomberg, which could prove an especially important benefit given the unlimited resources the mayor has indicated he will make available to his own campaign. Thompson’s lawyer has asked for special clearance from the Campaign Finance Board for higher fundraising limits given what they see as the preempted primary and their billionaire opponent.
Even an increased spending cap, however, will not be able to buy Thompson the amount of free media coverage that would come from a contested primary with Weiner. Weiner’s letter about leaving the campaign, after all, received more attention than just about everything Thompson has done so far in his campaign combined. Even Thompson attack lines like “During these tough economic times, we cannot afford to have Mike Bloomberg,” which he has been road-testing on the trail in recent weeks, pale in comparison to the sharper quips that come as second nature to Weiner and could have bloodied Bloomberg no matter who won the primary.
Thompson’s campaign manager, Eduardo Castell, said he believes that not having a primary would enable the comptroller to wage a six-month race against Bloomberg that could provide a more thorough challenge to the incumbent’s record. He said he was confident that the media coverage would follow even without Weiner.
“I think you will have a sitting billionaire incumbent in a contested race, and that will be news and that will be covered,” Castell said.
One major trial for the mayor’s popularity will be the city budget, which is due right at the beginning of the summer, when Weiner has said he will make a final decision about this year’s race. He has already maxed out in primary fundraising, but if he decides to run, he will have just two weeks to collect and file petitions for the primary ballot after the June 30 budget deadline.
If he does not, Weiner will be able to spend the next four years building a war chest for the general election as well, and putting together the legislative record that has for the most part eluded him so far in the House. In the event of a Bloomberg win this year, the congressman could be well positioned to dominate a primary field, even one as crowded as many expect it to be. Weiner will be all of 49 in 2013, which would still make him one of the city’s youngest mayors, were he to win.
And if he is eager to move up before then, there is always next year’s Senate primary against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D), which seems to grow more crowded with potential candidates by the week. So far, though, no popular billionaire is among that group.
In the meantime, there are press conferences like the one on April 5, where Weiner spent his Sunday morning in front of a newsstand on 53rd and Lexington, quoting statistics about internet tobacco sales from state Indian reservations. The city loses up to $150 million each year in tax revenue it would be collecting from cigarettes that are instead being sold on reservations. If every cigarette in the 30-40 million cartons sold on New York reservations was actually being smoked on that land, each Native American would have to be putting away a pack each minute, every minute of the day.
Something needed to be done. And Weiner, who introduced himself as a member of the House Health Subcommittee ready to submit a bill to the Judiciary Committee for markup, had the answer: pass a law that banned the shipping of tobacco through the mail.
Not many reporters came. Those who did left without asking Weiner anything about the campaign, or whether he is in fact running.
But the passing middle schooler who stayed after the press conference to talk to him wanted to know.
The newsstand operator asked too.
Weiner gave the same answer to both.
“Thinking about it,” he said, in what has clearly become an automatic response to a question he has become used to fielding. “Got any advice?”
--
ABOVE: Anthony Weiner’s transition to the sidelines of the Mayor’s race has led to some conflicting behavior. Illustration by John Daly
