Long Hard Road

Clinton opponent rides his bike through New York state to launch his senatorial campaign and protest the war in Iraq

On Tuesday, labor activist and Demo- cratic senatorial candidate Jonathan Tasini arrived in Albany’s Capitol Park under overcast skies. He arrived on a bike he had ridden from Hudson, where he had been the day before. The day before that he had been in Kingston; the day before that, Beacon; the day before that, Nyack; the day before that, New Rochelle. He has ridden his bike to all of these six stops, and when his ride comes to an end in Buffalo at the state Democratic convention he will have ridden through 13 more. Tasini may be preparing himself for an even greater challenge, as this is how he has decided to launch his bid to take the Democratic senatorial nomination away from one of the country’s brightest political stars, Hillary Clinton. On his Ride for Peace, Tasini is not just taking on Clinton—he is also taking on the war in Iraq, as he carries with him petitions to end the conflict there. And if Tasini had had his way, things might have been just a bit more daunting.

“I wanted to walk across the state,” he told reporters from under his big, blue bike helmet as he stood over his bike in the downtown Albany park. “Biking was a compromise” he made with his staff, he reported.

That is not to say biking has been easy. Tasini said there have been two blown-out tires and at least one spill. He did, however, add that there has been some sort of karmic support for his ride, noting that “they have forecast rain” for most of the tour’s stops, but the clouds have stored their moisture long enough for his events to finish.

Spare tires and petitions aren’t the only things Tasini has brought with him on his tour. He has brought hope for individuals such as Jeanne Finley, a local activist and Tasini supporter who says Hillary Clinton is not representing the values of most Democrats in the state. Clinton has grown notorious for not making her exact stance on the Iraq war known, although she did vote to go to war in the first place. Finley asserts that polls show up to 65 to 70 percent of New York voters are opposed to the war. “There is a majority who wants the war to end and wants the troops home now,” she says, “And we’re not being represented. Mrs. Clinton is a star and a celebrity. There is a fait accompli. She is the senator, and she will always be the senator, but we’re now feeling enfranchised to have a candidate saying ‘End the war now!’ ”

Tasini has been fond of quoting Senator Paul Wellstone in asking voters to “vote for what you believe in.” He says he has had the chance to meet voters who agree with what he believes. “There is a hunger out there,” he said on Tuesday.

Tasini also brought with him a list of costs, the costs he says Albany County has paid for the Iraq war. These costs include the lives of soldiers lost in the war: Dominic J. Sacco, Timothy J. Moshier, and David M. Fisher. He also notes the financial cost to the county: $407.4 million, which he says could be used to pay for full university scholarships, affordable housing, health-care coverage, teachers and public-safety officers.

As Tasini’s conference wrapped up, a man in a construction hat taking his lunch break with his work group asked Finley, “What’s this about?” Finley explained that Tasini is running against Clinton. “Mrs. Clinton? I’m all set,” the worker spat back hastily. Finley assured the man her candidate was running against Clinton and handed him a flyer. “See where it says, ‘Send our troops home now?’ I think that is disrespectful!” said the man in the hard hat. Finley tried to respond, but it was too late. “Maybe if you opened up your fucking eyes you’d see the good shit we’re doing over there!” he shouted. Finley was joined by another campaign worker, and quickly the construction workers dispersed.

Then, just as Tasini had said happened on his other stops, the clouds gave out and it started to rain.

—David King

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