I like Weld, but not in race against Spitzer
I like Weld, but not in race against Spitzer

By Alan Chartock
Mon, May 9, 2005 10:53 am

He knoweth not what he getteth into. The only question is whether he knoweth why he is doing what he is doing. I am writing, of course, about a man I have always admired, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld.
Weld is now a white-gloved kind of guy associated with big money in New York. Maybe because nature abhors a vacuum, Weld says he wants to run for governor of New York. Of course, he can’t win against Eliot Spitzer, but if he could, he’d end up with an asterisk after his name as the only man in my limited understanding of history who was ever governor of both Massachusetts and New York.
Weld really has mastered the art of getting along with other politicians. He says he’s a big friend of Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki, but since I have always harbored the innate belief that those two guys don’t really like each other, methinks Weld may be in danger of annoying both of them.
When he was governor of Massachu-setts, Weld really knew how to do the political tango with some of the most despicable and difficult legislative leaders to come down the Mass Pike. He would appear with his arms around those curs, singing the same old songs and they would respond with adoration. Do you think that would work with Shelly Silver and Joe Bruno in New York? Well, maybe Bruno, but forget about Silver who tends to almost always courageously stand up for what he actually believes in.
Weld doesn’t know me, but I know him and frankly, I have a deep debt of gratitude to the guy. So the idea of his running against one of my biggest political heroes and hopes, Spitzer, leaves me in an ethical quandary. Do I pay my debts or tell the truth about Weld and his chances?
Here’s the story. I happen to be the president of a major public radio system, Northeast Public Radio [otherwise known as WAMC] out of Albany. Soon there will be 15 stations in the network, and the biggest of them is WAMC itself. Its transmitter is atop Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. One day, a rather silly self-styled environmentalist, now retired, decided that he didn’t like the transmitter atop Mount Greylock [which had been there for a long time] and went to a commissioner who agreed to order it taken down. Not only did the public radio sit on that tower, but so did a lot of TV stations. It would have meant the end of a major public radio station that serves a good deal of New York State. Naturally, I did what a guy has to do and told our approximately 300,000 listeners. Apparently, several thousand of them contacted Weld and told him how much they needed public radio and NPR and all like that.
I kept rubbing my head and wondering what governor would take people’s radio and TV shows away from them. It’s the same sort of stupid move that George Bush is making, fooling around with Social Security and getting his head handed to him as a result. Anyway, Weld came to Pittsfield, Mass., and the news editor of the Berkshire Eagle, Clarence Fanto, stood up and asked him a direct question.
“Governor, are you going to take down the public radio tower?”
“Well,” said Weld with a twinkle in his eye, “we think that the proponents have a point. We have to be sensitive to the environment so what we’re going to do is to paint the tower green and put a big green bow around it, but no, the tower stays.”
I like a sense of humor and a man who tells the truth. Weld did it and incurred a big debt from me. Nevertheless, it is not a big enough debt to suggest for a single second that he’s good enough to beat Spitzer or even to kiss his shoes. He isn’t, never had been, never will be.
Weld has some baggage. He got bored with the job of governor and quit. Now he’s over being bored and wants to be governor of New York, suggesting that even though he was governor of Massachusetts, he’s really a New Yorker. If the Republicans are so desperate they may need Weld as a sacrificial lamb. That’s fine with me. He won’t win and frankly, since Spitzer is going to have an opponent one way or the other, he’d be lucky to have Weld. In fact, maybe he should pray for that outcome.



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- posted by Raymond @ 5/10/2005 07:34:00 AM

 
Censoring art is the real sin
What in the world is wrong with this country's attitude about sex? The United States is absolutely schizophrenic when it comes to the subject. Sex is one of the few things that makes money on the Internet. Millions of sex magazines are sold in this country every day. There are sex channels on cable and dish TV, and advertising encourages our kids to dress in the most sexually provocative way possible. Our movies are filled with sex.

On the other hand, there is always someone who thinks that nudity, even portrayed in the most artistic and tasteful manner, is a big-time sin. He's the one up there with all the other Neanderthals, preaching that there's big trouble "right here in River City."

Artist/developer Eric Rudd displayed a nude painting on his premises. Along comes a member of the North Adams City Council to ride to our rescue and protect us from the evil that is art.

Well, the guy sure got his name in the paper, which is why you won't be reading it in this column. I just won't give him the satisfaction. If he doesn't like it, as the old saying goes, let him avert his eyes. In the meantime, I'll bet everyone wants to see Rudd's painting. That is exactly what happened at the Brooklyn Museum when the moralists tried to censor controversial work there. The lines formed around the block. The best way to get anyone to look at anything is to tell them that they can't.



A number of years ago in the town of Great Barrington, a then selectman was watching television. He rubbed his eyes and there, lo and behold, on the Independent Film Channel, he saw a few seconds' worth of full frontal nudity.

He then demanded that IFC be removed from our basic cable tier -- and sure enough, it was! There's always one misguided moralist who'll ruin it for everyone else. Cable companies don't like to mess with their licensing authorities.

Read my lips: The human body is beautiful. Even the strictest fundamentalist will have to admit that our bodies are God's work.

Ever since this guy's epiphany, those of us who choose not to pay the premium rates have been deprived of a wonderful channel that played artistic, beautiful films all day long.

The complainer runs a pizza parlor. I hate to say this, but, although there is no evidence that a tasteful nude picture ever hurt anyone, there's plenty of evidence that carbohydrates have. Do you really think the sadistic garbage our kids watch on television -- all the murders and rapes and mistreatment of mainly women -- is better than a painting of a nude woman? Give me a break.

Back in tiny North Adams, some people are actually taking this guy seriously. Other denizens of the council are giving him helpful advice about how to go about achieving his ends.

Thanks to Mass MoCA, North Adams has been making itself a name as one of the art capitals of the world. If the town needed some negative publicity just in time for tourist season, this guy sure served it up on a silver platter. Great. My favorite mayor, John Barrett, works like a dog to get positive press for his city and one intemperate idea gets headlines all over the place. Good going.



Clark Billings of is one of our more colorful city councilors. He was quoted in The Eagle as saying that his errant colleague ought to check in with the city solicitor because he believed the attack was in violation of the First Amendment. Now there is an understatement. Good for Billings. I like to encourage him when he does something positive.

Our antihero wants to pass an ordinance that would forbid nude artwork in city shops and public places. Has anyone taken a look at the local graffiti lately? We absolutely must remove nude pictures from a public place before addressing some of the foulest language and racial slurs on our buildings and public restrooms.

I suggest that everyone head into one of the many fine art galleries in Berkshire County and insist that the sex police be brought in to close them down.

I'm sure that people at Williams and the Clark would be delighted with that approach. As for Eric Rudd, you can bet that the price of his nude has gone stratospheric since all of this happened. Keep painting, Eric, and make sure that you let us know where we can see your work. As for our hapless councilor, count to 10 the next time.

Alan Chartock, a Great Barrington resident, is president and CEO of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and a professor emeritus of communications at SUNY-Albany.
- posted by Raymond @ 5/10/2005 07:32:00 AM