He's Spoilingfor a Chance to Take on Schumer

NY Times ^ | Nov 10, 2003 | Raymond Hernandez

[neverdem]

n New York Republican circles, Michael Benjamin has become a bit like the kid on the basketball court begging the other players to pass him the ball.

Even as the party has all but given up any hope of finding a candidate who can beat New York's well-funded senior senator, Charles E. Schumer, next year, Mr. Benjamin has been trying to convince the party's leaders that he is the man for the job.

Mr. Benjamin, 33, has put more than 40,000 miles on his Ford Explorer in the last nine months, visiting every one of the state's 62 counties in an effort to round up support from local party leaders and rank-and-file Republicans.

He has also managed to arrange meetings with some leading Republicans in the state, including Joseph L. Bruno, the Senate majority leader, and Alexander F. Treadwell, the state party chairman.

He even cornered Gov. George E. Pataki at a recent fund-raiser in Westchester County to press his case, though the governor's response was something on the order of "Don't call us, we'll call you," according to people familiar with the encounter. (An aide to the governor said that Mr. Pataki told Mr. Benjamin at the time that he might contact him later on.)

All this might have discouraged other candidates, but not Mr. Benjamin, a fast-talking former Wall Street trader whose fund-raising for Republicans has no doubt helped him get a foot in the door with party chieftains, none of whom chose to be quoted on the subject of Mr. Benjamin.

"I'm not discouraged in the least," Mr. Benjamin said the other day in an interview. "I haven't gotten a green light from the powers that be, but I haven't gotten a red light, either."

Mr. Benjamin is facing something that Republican leaders in New York would really rather not discuss, at least publicly: the huge lead, financially and politically, that Mr. Schumer holds as he heads into a re-election year.

That has led Republican leaders in New York to avoid the extremely difficult issue of whom they should put up for a probable losing cause. Any Republican is very likely to be trounced by Mr. Schumer, a first-term senator who has considerable support even among Republicans in public polls.

New York Republicans have concluded that they are better off devoting money and other campaign resources to another political objective: helping President Bush mount a competitive 2004 re-election campaign in New York, a state that the Democratic presidential candidate usually wins with ease.

In fact, several top New York Republicans, including Mr. Pataki, are said to be worried that attempting a serious challenge to Mr. Schumer could stir up Democrats and hurt any chance that Mr. Bush might have in the state. The last Republican presidential candidate to win the state was Ronald Reagan.

Referring to Mr. Benjamin's campaign to oust Mr. Schumer, a senior adviser to one New York Republican leader said recently, "Nobody has the heart to tell him that it's a hopeless cause."

"But who knows?" the adviser continued. "Maybe we'll end up giving him the nomination since nobody else wants it. He could be another Bob McMillan." Robert R. McMillan was the Nassau County lawyer who emerged from political obscurity in 1988 to challenge New York's previous senior senator, Daniel P. Moynihan. At the time, even Republicans conceded that Mr. McMillan was little more than a sacrificial lamb.

Fifteen years later, Mr. Benjamin acts genuinely thrilled by any suggestion that his candidacy is being taken seriously by people outside of his relatively small circle of supporters. He has, for example, filled his campaign Web site with newspaper articles chronicling the reaction he has received as he travels around the state to places like Norwich, where one reporter described him as the only "top politician" to attend the 28th annual Chenango County Lobsterfest.

Mr. Benjamin gets very upset when articles about next year's United States Senate race fail to mention him. "What do I have to do to get you to cover my campaign?" he once asked a reporter with more than a hint of frustration.

[neverdem]

Wishes and prayers for Mr. Benjamin

[AuH2ORepublican]

Benjamin has an appealing background and is a solid conservative. Too bad he's from Communist Manhattan or else he could be a fine Congressman and someone who could lead other Hispanics to join the GOP. Beating Schumer, though, is well beyond his capabilities at this stage of his political career. We need Rudy to run if we're going to take out Schumer.

[WOSG]

Let him run ... you can just smell the defeatism of the GOP top party. sad, since Schumer is quite beatable by at least one man: Rudy.

[Dog Gone]

Any Republican is very likely to be trounced by Mr. Schumer, a first-term senator who has considerable support even among Republicans in public polls.

Any Republican who would support Schumer is no Republican.

[Brett66]

I was hoping Rudy was going to run against hitlery.

[neverdem]

Maybe his appeal Latinos is misunderestimated. I doubt Rudy is interested in the Senate. He had a chance at the Senate against Hillary in 2000 but decided to bow out so late that Rick Lazio got trashed about 55-45%, IIRC, in a state that has 5 million rats and 3 million pubbies. My guess is Rudy will go for governor. Expect a primary fight if Pataki tries for a 4th term.

[neverdem]

"Any Republican who would support Schumer is no Republican."

Ther are some RINO's in NY who are so pro-nanny state you would swear they are commies.

[neverdem]

"appeal Latinos" = "appeal to Latinos"

Sorry, I do a lousy job of proofreading myself.

[sgtbono2002]

Why is Chucky so strong , He spends most of his time stepping on his crank.

[mrustow]

This is just the sort of guy GOP officials ought to be jumping to support. And since he's willing to fight for them in a seemingly hopeless race, there are nothing but up sides to his candidacy. And he sounds like the sort of tough, upbeat challenger who could give Schumer -- a political bully, if ever there was one -- a real black eye, and set him up for defeat the next time around. If the state party officials can't see this man's virtues, and are so contemptuous of voters, then they are brain and heart dead, and unworthy of support. That won't lead me to vote for Democrats, but there are always Conservative, Right-to-Life and other party (Constitution?) candidates running in statewide races. The GOP ain't the only game in town, and the sooner they face that fact, the better for their long-term health.

[mrustow]

They have a comer like this kid, yet they go hat in hand to beg Georgette Mosbacher to run? And her appeal to voters would reside, I take it, in her choice of ex-husbands? This story isn't just about the braindead/morally dead NYS GOP, it's about everything that's wrong with America, in the year 2003.

[neverdem]

Last week I read that the Right to Life, Liberal and Green parties lost their automatic inclusion in future ballots in NY State because they didn't recieve 50,000 votes, the minimum required, in the last statewide vote. I'll try to find the link.

[neverdem]

Here you go, 4th paragraph.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/09/nyregion/metrocampaigns/09WORK.html

[drhogan]

there is possibly one small problem with this guy, which would need to be checked out. the article says that he worked his way thru college by modeling, but he doesn't like to talk about it. there may be some negative stories there. schumer is a vicious campaigner, and his guys are probably already collecting stories from other male models.

[drhogan]

of course, this is new york, so these stories will probably help him with the gay vote and the model vote.

[neverdem]

Here's a link to his issues page of his website. The possibilty of him being gay crossed my mind, but I don't see how putzhead could directly use it against him in oh so tolerant NY. Maybe in an indirect smear campaign, it could be used.

http://www.benjamin2004.com/issues/issues.asp

[mrustow]

Thanks for the link, but that's a hardcore, left-racist party. Its name is a eupemism for "Black and Hispanic Party." I realize that it may not sound much worse than the New York Dems, and in practice they are often identical. And yet, they ain't the same. Yet.

[neverdem]

"Thanks for the link, but that's a hardcore, left-racist party. Its name is a eupemism for "Black and Hispanic Party." I realize that it may not sound much worse than the New York Dems, and in practice they are often identical. And yet, they ain't the same. Yet."

I have no use for the Working Families Party(WFP). I was only trying to substantiate the fact that the Liberal, Green and Right to Life parties lost their listing on the NY ballot by posting the link and telling you where to find it in the 4th paragraph.

I want smaller and less gov't. This WFP is useful only to the extent it fractures the vote of the left.

[drhogan]

new york campaigns can get really bad. schumer is so crafty and devious that he could think of some angle. it wouldn't necessarily be that the guy is gay, but some sordid thing that might have happened--sex for money, or something like that.

[drhogan]

it is even possible that the new york times was setting him up by writing that "he doesn't like it talk about it" (modeling). that may have been the opening attack.