Dem Party Animals
As New York's Democrats prepare to take charge, reform vows take a backseat
by Tom Robbins
June 6th, 2006 11:00 AM
Village Voice
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The erstwhile party of open government adopted a similar bar-the-door approach to the single most important issue haunting its otherwise wildly popular incumbent, Senator Hillary Clinton: the war in Iraq.

Democratic Party officials had good reason not to want the Iraq issue to get much airtime at the convention. While Clinton brought overwhelming voter support into Buffalo—a Zogby poll of 744 statewide voters released while the Democratic confab was under way reported that she enjoyed an overall favorable rating of 60 percent—the same poll found that her position on the war was a potential stumbling block. Some 32 percent of people who said they were likely to vote in the November election said they would vote for any anti-war candidate rather than Clinton. "There is potential for an anti-war candidate to embarrass her," said John Zogby on his polls' findings. "Many New Yorkers are very opposed to the war, and they could send a message."

The anti-war candidate looking to pull off exactly that stunt arrived in Buffalo after bicycling 600 miles across the state in a three-week tour aimed at reaching many of those voters unhappy with Clinton's position on the Iraqi war. Jonathan Tasini, a 50-year-old journalist and labor leader, launched his campaign on a shoestring (he says he has raised about $100,000 so far) and zero name recognition. But he banked on the notion, backed up by Zogby's survey and others, that many Democrats want to see Clinton challenged on her foreign- policy positions before she becomes a presumptive presidential candidate in 2008.

As step one in that process, Tasini brought along a petition with 2,500 signatures that the convention consider an anti-war resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. But when Tasini arrived at the convention, party officials refused to grant him credentials that would allow him access to the convention floor. After haggling with party bureaucrats, he finally obtained a guest pass, one that allowed him to work the corridors outside the main hall. "At least that allowed me to talk with the delegates as they were hanging out," said Tasini.

His petition hit similar bureaucratic roadblocks. Democratic officials told Tasini the proposed resolution had arrived too late to be included in a packet presented to delegates and which would have allowed it to be adopted by a simple majority. As a late arrival, Tasini's resolution would need two-thirds of the body for approval. Pushing the issue even further into the wings, party bigs ruled that no resolutions would be considered until after the candidate voting was completed—after which the media and many delegates stampede for the exits.

In a back-and-forth negotiation with party representatives and Clinton aides, a watered-down version of the resolution was eventually presented and passed by the convention. It termed the war "illegal"—a phrase Clinton has yet to invoke—and called for an end to hostilities but set no date for withdrawal.

"Jonathan's campaign is about ending the war and about preserving civil liberties," said Joanne Seminara, a party district leader and delegate from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, who sought to present Tasini's petition and candidacy to the convention. "Those are both issues that I am disappointed that Hillary has not come out for."

"What's remarkable," said Tasini, who is now petitioning to force a primary against Clinton, "is that if I hadn't come to the convention there would been no discussion about the war at all."