Defining Deviancy Down
What is it about Governor Paterson that he seems to be able to get away with misdeeds that would topple politicians in states with higher standards for the behavior of their politicians? The latest case in point is from yesterday's Daily News, which reports that Paterson, as a state senator, directed $60,000 in state money to nonprofits connected to a Museum of African American Cinema. The article indicates that only a quarter of the money actually got to the museum. The nonprofits gave $1,600 to Mr. Paterson's campaign.
That's right, the nonprofits — not their employees or board members, but the nonprofits themselves, accepting taxpayer money and then turning around and giving it right back to Mr. Paterson's campaign, which spent money on things such as clothing for Mr. Paterson and rooms at a hotel where he stayed with his mistress. The News quoted an anonymous aide to Mr. Paterson as saying "the nonprofits should not have donated the money and the campaign should not have taken it. 'The funds will be returned or directed to charity,' the aide said."
This is apparently the penalty for being caught taking taxpayer money or nonprofit money and using it for your campaign in New York State. All you have to do is give it back. There are no other consequences. If baseball were played by these rules, a runner thrown out while trying to steal second base would get to return to first base, no penalty. The Daily News, which came up with this sensational scoop and bills itself as New York's Home Town Newspaper, tucked it at the end of a long story under the tender headline "Gov Was A Giving Kind of Fellow." It didn't run an editorial or mention the news on its front page.
The "Troopergate" scandal that entangled Governor Spitzer involved Mr. Spitzer helping a newspaper get information on use of state aircraft for political purposes by a political rival to Mr. Spitzer, Senate Majority Leader Bruno. What Mr. Paterson has been up to makes Troopergate look like tiddlywinks. Maybe there is scandal fatigue in Albany. Maybe there is a soft bigotry of low expectations for Mr. Paterson. Maybe the legislative leaders are unwilling to pile on him because they actually prefer a weak governor. Maybe prosecutors, having already ousted Mr. Spitzer, crippled Speaker Quinn, cast a cloud over Senator Bruno, and humiliated Congressman Fossella, are reluctant to target another New York politician.
Whatever the reason for giving Mr. Paterson a pass on this, count us out. When, upon Governor Paterson's accession, questions were first raised about his campaign accounts, the public was assured by his aides that a lawyer was combing through all the records to correct any problems. Now the News comes up with this one. It's enough to make us wonder if the reason Mr. Paterson is so confident in claiming he can cut tens of billions of waste from the state budget, which is facing yawning deficits, is that he's intimately familiar with it. As for the Museum of African American Cinema, the News reports that while it has repeatedly been funded, it has yet to be built.
