BY THE VILLAGE SUN | In a coup for his campaign, The New York Times on Saturday endorsed Dan Goldman in the Democratic primary for the 10th Congressional District.
The newly drawn district includes Manhattan south of 14th Street, plus a large swath of northeastern Brooklyn, ranging from Park Slope and Carroll Gardens to Borough Park and Red Hook.
“This is a major moment in our campaign to bring accountability to Washington and protect our democracy from far-right attacks,” Goldman’s campaign said of the Times’s coveted nod. “We’re honored to have this critical endorsement — and thrilled that so many more New Yorkers will now be able to learn from the most trusted source why Dan is the right leader for NY-10.”
The Goldman campaign declared, “Dan is the only candidate in this race who Donald Trump and his Republican Party fear.”
The Times’s editorial board noted that while a “crowded and accomplished field” is vying for the seat, two candidates “stand out”: Goldman — who was the lead counsel for the Democrats in the first Trump impeachment trial — and Westchester Congressmember Mondaire Jones.
The editorial notably snubbed several candidates who are more well known locally, including Councilmember Carlina Rivera and Assemblymembers Yuh-Line Niou and Jo Anne Simon, not even mentioning their names.
The Times’s focus, though, was clearly on “defending democracy” — keeping Donald Trump and the G.O.P. in check and Trump out of the White House.
“Mr. Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, has lived in Lower Manhattan for 16 years,” the editorial stated. “His uncommon experience, particularly his knowledge of congressional oversight and the rule of law, could prove especially valuable in Congress in coming years.”
The editorial board cited its interview with Goldman, in which he stated, “’I have been on the front lines leading the fight in Congress against Donald Trump and his Republican Party and trying to protect and defend our democracy and our institutions and our rule of law.'”
(Last month, as reported by The Village Sun, Goldman released a “A Five-Point Plan To Defend Our Democracy.” The scheme calls for abolishing the Electoral College, establishing term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices and suspending the statute of limitations on offenses committed by presidents and vice presidents before or during their time in office.)
The Times endorsement added that, “thanks to his work on the impeachment trial,” Goldman already has close working relationships in Washington.
Despite an eyebrow-raising statement by Goldman to Hamodia on abortion, about which he later said he “misspoke,” the Times assured that he “made clear he will passionately defend” abortion rights.
Goldman’s experience in law enforcement as a former prosecutor for the Southern District of New York would be helpful too, if he wins election, toward ensuring public safety, the paper said.
Addressing his personal wealth as an heir to the Levi Strauss jeans empire — which his opponnets have tried to make an issue out of — the Times noted that Goldman supports a ban on stock trading by congressmembers and has pledged to put his assets into a blind trust, if elected.
Nevertheless, Goldman, if elected, would definitely need to work to show he can represent everyone in the diverse NY-10, the Times said.
“Although he lives in the district, much of which is affluent,” the editorial stated, “Mr. Goldman would need to use his first term to convince the large numbers of lower-income and middle-class Americans he would represent that he understands the issues facing those constituents, especially the need for more affordable housing and better public transportation.”
As for Jones, the Times’s runner-up for the seat, the editorial praised him as “a bridge builder between the progressive wing of his party and its more moderate leadership,” adding that he has been “a prolific legislator, particularly on voting rights.”
At the same time, the Times conceded that neither Goldman nor Jones “have as much experience working in the communities they seek to represent as other candidates in the race.”
On that note, the Gray Lady did give a shout-out to former Congressmember Elizabeth Holtzman — who represented part of the district in the 1970s and ’80s — recalling she played a key role during the investigation of Richard Nixon. Holtzman “made a similar — and compelling — case” for her candidacy, in describing how, like Goldman, she would be a democracy defender, the paper said, yet adding that the district “is ready for new representation.”
Hank Sheinkopf, the veteran political strategist, called the Times’s endorsement very important in this particular election — and yet he strongly critiqued it, too.
On the one hand, he said, the influential outlet’s endorsement “sorts out the chaos” in the race, given how many candidates are running.
The editorial also has an abnormally high impact in this case because of the primary’s unusal date — Aug. 23 — so, “It’s a wake-up call” to voters that the election is actually happening, he said.
Sheinkopf conceded that Goldman has “spent his money wisely” and run a good campaign: “He created a persona that didn’t exist,” he said.
The fact that the attorney has also gotten airtime on MSNBC as a talking head during the Jan. 6 hearings “is a form of free advertising,” Sheinkopf noted.
However, the strategist said he found the endorsement personally “somewhat distressing,” especially when taken with the Times’s endorsement of Jerry Nadler over Carolyn Maloney and Suraj Patel in the 12th Congressional District.
“Women are the most underrepresented group in Congress,” he said. “The decision was made here not to keep one woman in Congress and not to put another one in — whether it’s Carlina or Yuh-Line.”
Similarly, he said, the Times’s endorsement represents the “disinclusion of emerging groups,” such as Asians and Latinos, which are booming voter blocs in the city.
“It is likely if [Goldman] wins he will certainly be fine,” he said. “But they’re all anti-Trumpites: Anybody that wins that seat would actively be opposed to Trump — but also represent groups that were on the outside — women and/or Latinos, Asians and Blacks, gays. Therein lies the difference.
“It’s the power elite — money and The Times — ensuring that those who want to get power don’t have it.
“You want to go after Trump?” he asked. “Make sure Liz Cheney gets elected.”
Sheinkopf grew up the son of teenage parents in the hardscrabble South Bronx and started out working blue-collar union jobs. His background, as he described it, is in labor and “social equity.” Not suprisingly, then, he generally frowns on candidates who come from money rather than from up through the community grassroots.
“That’s why this is somewhat distressing,” he said of the Times’s endorsement.
He does, though, have immense respect for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire who used his wealth to win election to City Hall three times, and has gone on to champion and fund many important civic causes, from gun control to education.
“Bloomberg was an exception,” he said, though adding, in general, “The stories of New York are about striving not arriving.”
A Rivera spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Times’s endorsement.
Thanks for running this “awful” post. Good posts are the antidote to awful ones, including those by boorish people, like the gross Tom Canada.
Tom Canada’s post shows why we need people like Dan Goldman in Congress NOW.
I want to report Mr. Canada’s post. It is wildly inappropriate. This is a troll. Get him out of here! The language and the attitude are just awful.
“Tom Canada” post is offensive; a standard Trumpian name-calling diatribe. Why was is allowed to be posted?
You guys and Dan Goldman are a bunch of fucking retards, why do you guys keep talking about Dan Goldman and Donald Trump when Donald Trump’s not even in office he’s a civilian. But it does kind of make me laugh that you dumb fucks are still so obsessed with Donald Trump. Well you just wait because he will be back in office in 2024 and then you fuckers can bitch and cry and complain because we actually have a true American in the White House you bunch of fucking commie Nazi fucks. Go fuck yourself.
OMG. What have you been smoking?
True American??? He is a self-centered, narcissist and sociopath that will destroy America if given another chance. To coin his phrase, “Lock him up!”
Chill, Tom Canada — maybe with a snort of bleach that your guy uses for his hair and recommends for warding off Covid.
I’m surprised that your thoroughly nasty comment got by the approval of this newspaper, but I guess if your one of the Proud Boys or a 3 Percenter your opinion is necessary as a representation of the other side. It is unfortunate that vitriol and violence seems to rule the day.
delusional
Heir to the Levi Strauss fortune (estimated worth up to $253 million), Dan Goldman, if elected, would become one of the 20 wealthiest members of U.S. Congress, according to a July 30 Bloomberg article:
“Goldman’s assets include a broad range of stocks and holdings in a wide variety of industry sectors, including oil and gas, large pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, big tech, military contractors and major commercial banks.”
In light of Mr. Goldman’s holdings, I’m not surprised that he does not support Medicare for All, but rather wants to preserve private insurance. I’m not surprised that he’s accepted funds from Trump supporters and donors, and that he hired “a Republican, Trump-supporting campaign consultant.” And I’m also not surprised that initially he was prepared to restrict the right to choose (before a staffer intervened during an interview and Goldman walked back his comment).
If voters don’t want a progressive in Congress for the 10th District, if voters would prefer a Clinton Democrat (and here I’m recalling the quarter-million-dollar fees Hillary collected for each speech to Goldman Sachs), Dan Goldman could be your man.
But the 10th Congressional District includes many constituents with deep progressive commitments, and it includes many constituents who are low to modest income, who will never in their lifetimes have so much as a brush with Goldman Sachs, let alone a $50 million line of credit from it (as Dan Goldman has).
I support my New York State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, a true progressive and our best hope in this race.
Shame on the NYT for its failure to mention Yuh-Line Niou and Carlina Rivera, 2 women of color running for Congress in the 10th District, who know far more about that terrain than the rich white guy this august rag endorsed.
Asian representation is important, but I just can’t support someone that supports the BDS movement.
Early voting for the Aug 23 primary is already in progress, and I usually vote early (if not often). For this election, I’ve delayed voting. I may not wait until election day, but what’s in the news persuades me to continue to weigh my decision.
Last week’s news was Exhibit “A” why to put the geriatric trio — Biden, Schumer and Pelosi — out to pasture, and replace these slackers with People Who Get Things Done! My takeaway: I continue to seriously consider Elizabeth Holtzman, who — let’s remember — is notably younger than Nancy Pelosi.
I’m waiting to see what next week’s news offers.