Politics on the Hudson

Republicans are having a little pre-election fun at Democrats’ expense. Chairman Steve Minarik delivered a DVD of “Weekend at Bernie’s” to Democratic Party Chairman Denny Farrell today. The movie is a comedy about two young men whose boss is killed and they spend a weekend pretending he’s still alive and dragging him around. In this case, embattled Comptroller Alan Hevesi, a Democrat, is the “corpse” and he is being propped up by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan.

“Given the sad fact that the entire state Democratic political structure is doing what it can to prop up Alan Hevesi’s political corpse and drag him across the finish line, we thought Chairman Farrell should try to relax for a couple of hours and enjoy a good movie this weekend,” GOP state Chairman Steve Minarik said today.

Hevesi’s political future appears to be in jeopardy in the wake of an ethics scandal. The Ethics Commission alleged he broke the law by appointing a government worker as his disabled wife’s driver. He could face a fine, suspension or removal from office. Gov. George Pataki could announce as early as today whether he’ll recommend removal proceedings to the Senate.

“The bottom line,” Minarik said, “is Alan Hevesi is no longer politically viable—either as a candidate or an office holder.”