Paterson's Sneaky Gay Marriage End-Run

What a shocker. Another sneaky Democrat pulling a fast one on an unwitting public and basically enforcing gay marriage without a vote by the people or legislation by elected officials.

Why are proponents of gay marriage so afraid to let the will of the people be heard?

Because they know it will lose every time, as it has across the nation.

If New York's governor had any guts he would run on the issue in 2010. But he's a Democrat, so screw the people.

I have no problem if states either pass legislation or the people vote for gay marriage. But judicial activism or dead of night moves like this by public officials only further antagonize opponents. This is a democracy, not a dictatorship.

Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”

The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.

In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality.” And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.

“Very shortly, there will be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, and probably thousands and thousands and thousands of gay people who have their marriages recognized by the state,” said Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side and has pushed for legalization of gay unions.

O'Donnell, by the way, is the openly-gay brother of a certain celebutard.

Massachusetts and California are the only states that have legalized gay marriage, while others, including New Jersey and Vermont, allow civil unions. Forty-one states have laws limiting marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Legal experts said Mr. Paterson’s decision would make New York the only state that did not itself allow gay marriage but fully recognized same-sex unions entered into elsewhere.

The directive is the strongest signal yet that Mr. Paterson, who developed strong ties to the gay community as a legislator, plans to push aggressively to legalize same-sex unions as governor. His predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, introduced a bill last year that would have legalized gay marriage, but even as he submitted it, doubted that it would pass. The Democratic-dominated Assembly passed the measure, but the Republican-led Senate has refused to call a vote on it.
...
Groups that oppose gay marriage said the governor was essentially trying to circumvent the Legislature.

“It’s a perfect example of a governor overstepping his authority and sidestepping the democratic process,” said Brian Raum, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a national organization opposed to same-sex marriage. “It’s an issue of public policy that should be decided by the voters.”

Even when Democrats slip one by the public, it's never enough for those in the minority.

While gay rights advocates widely praised the spirit of Mr. Paterson’s policy, some saw more than a little irony in the fact that New York has yet to allow gays to marry.

“If you’re going to treat us as equals, why don’t you just give us the marriage license?” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda. “So this is a temporary but necessary fix for a longer-term problem, which is marriage equality in New York State.”

OK then, put it to a vote and let the people decide.

Naturally, the AP trumpets recent actions in California and New York as wins for gay advocates. Is it really winning when you thwart the will of the people?

Seems more like cheating to me.

Shocker! Spitzer Dirty Tricks Campaign Began Earlier Than Thought

Actually, there's nothing to be shocked about. What would be stunning is if the rest of the media outside of Fred Dicker actually got around to investigating this thug.

Gov. Spitzer'S office has turned over "damaging" documents to the Albany County District Attorney's Office revealing that the Dirty Tricks plot against his chief GOP opponent began much earlier than suspected, The Post has learned.

Law-enforcement sources said Dirty Tricks Scandal material subpoenaed weeks ago by DA David Soares from Spitzer's office suggests that the effort to damage or destroy the career of state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) began as early as January 2007, the month Spitzer took office.

"The documents, which include e-mails, are damaging and embarrassing, and the press will have a field day if the material ever becomes public," said a source close to Spitzer.

I beg to differ. How would the press have a field day when most of them aren't even interested?

You think the New York Times is going to put any of their valuable resources into this when they're busy going after Bruno and editorializing about it?

Please.

Meanwhile, two sources said Spitzer's chief counsel, David Nocenti, testified under oath for several hours on the scandal Thursday before the state Public Integrity Commission, which is conducting its own probe.

A day later, members of the Spitzer-controlled commission - which is believed to be focusing on the actions of former top Spitzer aide Darren Dopp - were told at a secret "executive session" that action in the case, most likely a charge against Dopp, is expected within weeks.

Until now, Spitzer - who has yet to testify under oath about the scandal - has maintained that the use of the State Police by his aides to gather supposedly damaging information on Bruno began only weeks before The Post disclosed the existence of the plot last July 5.

Spitzer, in response to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's bombshell July 23 report on the plot, also insisted he became aware of the effort to gather evidence on Bruno only shortly before The Post's disclosure.

That, my friends, is a damnable lie and Spitzer knows it.

I suspect Dopp is being set up as the fall guy here; Spitzer will magically avoid ever testifying under oath and will be on his merry way. Although Dopp may have had enough of this and is ready to roll over on Spitzer.

Dopp, a longtime Spitzer loyalist now working for Spitzer-connected lobbyist Pat Lynch, has sent signals to several political figures that he "won't remain silent" if he is legally charged.

Spitzer@stonewall.ny.gov

It appears New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is involved in a cover-up in the dirty tricks scandal.

What other conclusion can one make when he won't even provide the ISP's used by himself and his aides?

Gov. Spitzer is endangering the recovery of potentially crucial e-mail evidence relating to the Dirty Tricks Scandal by refusing to give investigators the names of Internet service providers used by himself and his aides, sources have told The Post.

The refusal has blocked the Senate Investigations Committee from issuing subpoenas to ISPs for personal BlackBerries and other e-mail-equipped devices known to be used by Spitzer and his senior aides.

"I sent [Spitzer counsel] David Nocenti a letter asking for the names of the ISPs in October, and he hasn't even answered me," Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner (R-Elmira) told The Post.

"Then we sent out a subpoena for the information, and the governor is fighting that in court. I can't just send out a general subpoena to Yahoo! or Hotmail or AOL or Road Runner. I need to know what ISPs are being used by the governor and his aides."

Spitzer's refusal to identify the ISPs has led Senate and non-Senate probers to fear that crucial scandal-related evidence has been, or will soon be, destroyed.

A senior official involved in the investigation told The Post that "some of the ISPs only hold copies of e-mails for 30 days, some hold them for 60 days, and maybe some for six months.

"What you have here, I believe, is the governor running out the clock on the evidence," the official continued.

Spitzer's spokesman, Errol Cockfield, insisted that the governor and his aides had preserved all "relevant materials" and were resisting the Senate's requests for information only because "state law makes it clear that it is improper for the Senate - an equal branch of government - to investigate the executive branch."

As we noted the other day, can you just imagine the uproar and non-stop, front-page coverage of this scandal were he a Republican?

We'd have ominous New York Times stories and comparisons to Watergate around the clock.

Eventually, there will be a point of no return for Spitzer, especially if some other media outlets ever get around to reporting this.

Did One Spitzer Aide Threaten Another?

Now that Eliot Spitzer has wisely junked plans to hand out driver's licenses to illegal aliens, he's far from in the clear.

More problem lies ahead in his dirty tricks campaign against Joe Bruno.

For instance, did his political director threaten his communications director?

The Albany DA (an ally of Spitzer, by the way) would like to know.

A top aide to Gov. Spitzer is expected to be asked by the Albany district attorney if he or others threatened former Spitzer communications director Darren Dopp with dismissal if he refused to sign a controversial affidavit on the Dirty Tricks Scandal, it was learned last night.

The question will likely be posed to Spitzer policy director Peter Pope, who has been summoned to appear before DA David Soares as soon as today as part of a potentially explosive new investigation of whether Dopp, a central figure in the scandal, committed perjury when he signed the statement, a source said.

"Pope is expected to be asked if he or others threatened Darren with termination unless they signed the affidavit," the source said.

Pope, along with Spitzer counsel David Nocenti and Sean Patrick Maloney, the governor's first deputy secretary, helped prepare a sworn statement signed by Dopp on July 22, a day before Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a blockbuster report on the use of the State Police by top Spitzer aides to gather purportedly damaging information on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer.)

Question: How would the rest of the media treat this case if it were a Republican doing this?

UPDATE: Hot Air links. Thanks!

Allahpundit also notes an egregious tax grab by Spitzer.

UPDATE II: Michelle Malkin also links. Thanks!

UPDATE III: Spitzer held a DC press conference along with the congressional delegation from New York, regarding dropping the licenses for illegals scheme. Full of sophistry, solipsism and santimony, it's all pretty much Bush's fault. As we predicted, he'll be back trying to weasel this plan through.

All the Governor's Men

After some new revelations came to light in the dirty tricks campaign run by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and his henchmen, the Albany DA will now be interviewing a top aide of Spitzer.

DA WILL PUT SPITZ MAN ON THE GRILL

Albany District Attorney David Soares will interview a top aide to Gov. Spitzer later this week about the circumstances under which the aide and two officials helped prepare a sworn statement by former Spitzer communications director Darren Dopp, who is under investigation for possible perjury, it was learned last night.

Peter Pope, Spitzer's policy director, will be questioned about the role he played with Spitzer counsel David Nocenti and Sean Patrick Maloney, the governor's first deputy secretary, in the statement signed by Dopp on July 22, one day before Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a blockbuster reporter on the Dirty Tricks Scandal.

The Commission on Public Integrity, which is probing the scandal, asked Soares late last week to investigate Dopp after determining that his testimony to the commission appeared to contradict the sworn statement.

A source in the governor's office said Pope had been assured by Soares that neither he, Nocenti nor Maloney were "targets" of the DA.

"We were told that Soares' inquiry at this point is solely and exclusively about whether or not Darren testified falsely before the Ethics Commission," said the source.

The source insisted Dopp himself had the final say as to what was in the sworn statement and no effort was made to encourage him to tell anything but the truth.

Word of Soares' widening new probe came as The Post learned that several aides to Spitzer - not just Dopp - gave conflicting testimony on the scandal to the Public Integrity Commission.

"There clearly have been absolutely contradictory sworn statements between witnesses from the governor's office, and I think very few people realize how serious this is," a source close to the commission told The Post.

Read the rest.

I don't exactly hold much faith this probe will get very far, as Democrats control every top position in New York State, but be assured Joe Bruno will be keeping this issue alive.

Meanwhile, it appears more likely Spitzer will abandon his cockamamie plan to grant driver's licenses to illegals. There is much hand wringing going on in Democrat circles, especially after Mrs. Clinton's inept attempt defense of this ridiculous plan.

What won't help is for Mr. Spitzer to stay on the fence over the volatile issue. He has to make a decision, and soon. The issue has morphed from a state matter to a national one, and may well have done serious damage to the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been lambasted by her primary rivals for trying to have it both ways by sympathizing with the Spitzer plan, while at the same time distancing herself from it.

UPDATE: Instapundit links. Thanks!

UPDATE II: John in Carolina has some questions about Governor Nifong.

UPDATE III: My, isn't this news just delicious?

Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s plan to provide illegal immigrants with driver’s licenses has sunk his favorability rating to an all-time low of 41 percent, and has left only 25 percent of voters planning to re-elect him, according to a poll the Siena Research Institute released Tuesday.

More again from Instapundit, as well as Lawhawk.