It’s Tuesday, It Must be The Inner Workings of Phil Krone
The New York Senate Race
On Saturday morning, May 1, I had the opportunity to speak to the New York State Democratic Rural Conference, an organization which represents the mainly 47 rural counties of the Empire State (yes there is more to New York than Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island).
Interestingly, the incumbent senior senator also spoke, violating a cardinal rule of not sharing a platform with an opponent. Worse, he was exceedingly gracious, extolling the virtues of competition in a democratic society and actually thanking me for my participation. In this instance, that combination plus a few more affirmative things he did, wound up being correct.
As one who has been involved in real politics for more than fifty years I had created certain private benchmarks for my participation in this race. One of them was to see if there was any latent opposition to Schumer within the party structure. The vote of the DRC, a secret ballot, proved that he was virtually undefeatable.
I had two brief but private chats with Chuck Schumer; one on Friday, one on Saturday, and as a person not easy to deceive I came away with a different sense of him. Hopefully I will be able to help him during the course of the coming year. He was genuine is his graciousness and in his offer to involve me.
My exit will be planned and graceful. And my ‘controlled experiment’ has been validated, which I will write about when the election is over.
One of my criticisms of him was the inordinate amount of time he spends in fundraising, but he expressed gratitude for my saying that despite the obscene amounts of cash he has collected, his personal integrity was not violated because he is a person who cannot be bought, rented or leased. He understood the distinction and appreciated me making it.
One of the surprises of the conference was the involvement and performance of Hillary Clinton’s replacement, Senator Kirsten (not Kristen) Gillibrand (soft “g”, not hard “g”). She is a superb politician; more importantly she is an elegant wonk willing to manifest the courage required to have voted for the healthcare bill for example. My positive thoughts about her were first developed on the basis of private things told me by Linda Mitchell, Chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party where I have registered. But her performance in Niagara Falls was a clincher for me. Too bad we don’t have someone like her in Illinois.
Andrew Cuomo who is now the presumptive candidate for Governor (he received a unanimous vote at this conference) made a strong presentation, and even the outgoing Governor, David Paterson showed up, hosted a reception and demonstrated the kind of grace and class, rarely, if ever seen in politicians.
I have been asked to speak to several ‘upstate’ county organizations during the rest of this campaign and I have accepted those invitations. The chair of the state party and its executive director couldn’t have been friendlier (without being supportive) and I look forward to continuing my involvement during this election cycle.
When the conference was over I took a late afternoon cruise on the Maid of the Mist, and saw two double rainbows (four altogether) in the course of an hour – one at the American Falls, the other at the Horseshoe Falls. Niagara Falls is truly a magnificent natural wonder.
While the course of future events is now completely predictable, I wouldn’t have traded the past three months or the rest of the campaign season for anything. If only to have been reunited with Stuart Brody and to have made friends, especially Mason Smith, the boatbuilder novelist, this effort has been worth it on a personal level; and in terms of being able to enjoy the natural beauty of New York State, especially the Adirondacks, Catskills and the Finger Lakes as well as the architecture, from colonial times until now, especially the late 19th century Victorian period has been an exceptional pleasure.
This campaign has definitely prolonged my life and it has been a lot of fun, and I expect will continue to be in a slightly altered state.
The British Elections
Today I’m having lunch at Rosebud on Taylor with Brian Whalen, executive assistant to Governor Richard Ogilvie from the day he took office as Sheriff of Cook County in December, 1962 until the day he left office as Governor in January, 1973; former State Representative Pete Peters (Piotrowicz), John Dailey, Alan Drazek, Frank Resnik and Dave Citron. Back in the 60′s when we were in our twenties we were known as the ‘whiz kids’. Now we are the ‘wheeze kids’.
After this stroll down memory lane I head for the airport to fly to London for the British elections. It is so frustrating to observe campaigns you believe you could change “if they’d only listen”. This is one of them. I will not be at all surprised if Gordon Brown loses, though I will be disappointed. His most recent gaffe occurred when he was caught on a microphone he forgot to take off and called a woman a bigot. Actually he was right. More amazingly he said nothing obscene or derogatory related to her appearance. That plus the fact that his privacy was invaded should have actually helped him. My good friend since 1963, Michael Flesch, QC, now the top tax barrister in England is having lunch with me on Wednesday. Now, this is the kind of person who the Conservatives should be running for Prime Minister. Unfortunately this is not the case.
Music in the Loft
Sunday afternoon I went to the 11th Annual Kleiner Benefit for Music in the Loft, the Chicago cultural institution run by Fredda Hyman. The concert consisted of the Ying Quartet plus the participation of CSO clarinetist John Bruce Yeh in Mozart’s clarinet quintet.
It was a fabulous experience. While there is no argument that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera are our preeminent musical institutions, Music in the Loft is perhaps the single most important cultural institution which acts as a laboratory or incubator of young new talent. Indeed, the Ying Quartet was first presented by Fredda Hyman in 1992. She also has sponsored the cellist Zuill Bailey, young composers (this year Daniel Ludwig) and signed up the Cavatina Trio for this November years before they won the Naumburg Competition.
I am so grateful for Music in the Loft and the role it plays in the musical life of our city and nation.
There is a famous quotation: “All else passes, art alone endures.” That combined with the statement: “Everyone knows Beethoven, no one remembers his King,” properly capsulizes the truth. The arts are the core of our experience and promoting them makes life enjoyable and worthwhile. There is indeed a proper concept of a democratic elite. That which is really valuable is indeed available to all. You have to be a millionaire to own a yacht, but you don’t have to be wealthy to purchase a CD of the music of Beethoven or Mozart.
In all of our conversation about education policy we must not forget to emphasize the importance of the arts and athletics in the curriculum as well as science, math and language, literature and history.
Drill Baby Drill
Just a few weeks ago President Obama announced his support for off shore oil drilling 50 miles off the coast of Virginia. Last week the worst oil rig disaster occurred in the Gulf Coast, one which made the Exxon Valdez accident pale in comparison. The Exxon accident involved a single hull tanker. The gulf coast problem related to offshore drilling.
There are risks of course in any course of human action, including stepping into one’s own shower or tub, or driving a car, or taking a trip by airplane. But every action must be considered in terms of acceptable risks.
I’m sure that the Obama approval of off shore drilling was based on several facts, including that it was well past the horizon and wouldn’t be a visual impairment. More importantly that it was not in an environmentally fragile location, and of equal importance that it would be constructed and maintained under the highest safety standards.
Last week’s accident in the Gulf of Mexico was obviously the result of either poor maintenance, safety standards, possible sabotage or some other significant reason. Whatever the cause, all of the possibilities need to be dealt with. Every other off shore oil rig needs to be immediately checked for all of the possible causes. While BP should be required to pay for all of the clean up including reimbursement of state and federal government expenditures, that in itself will not make up for the huge environmental degradation. Hopefully, other petroleum companies including Exxon Mobil will assist in the effort to clean up the mess, and they too should be reimbursed by BP. In fact a general policy of cooperation in such disasters should be worked out between all the major oil companies and the government.
This does not mean, however, that we should stop drilling for off shore oil unilaterally and completely. We do need to be much more careful and increase the safety standards to reduce as close to zero as possible the risks. If such a cost becomes economically unviable, then the project should not be pursued.
The resources of the ocean and the bed underneath it are vast but comparatively unknown. International cooperation, led by the three major powers (U.S., China and Russia), the EU, Japan, emerging economies such as India and Brazil plus the UN, need to work out a fair and rational way of exploring and utilizing these resources fairly and efficiently. Food, energy and other vital needs are in these semi charted territories. There has to be an appropriate scientific, academic and political approach to these opportunities. While they are not technical experts, Al Gore and John McCain represent the public environmental and naval civilian leadership of our nation, and I would hope that President Obama would utilize their leadership ability and talents to help plan an effective policy for the administration and management of the seas.
**
Phil Krone is a candidate for Senate in New York and a regular columnist for the Chicago Daily Observer
image inner workings of a Krone watch
Mr. Krone,
While I appreciate your continued chronicle of your “campaign,” I do wonder why you are still doing it.
Your initial reasons involved your opinion of Sen. Schumer, which you state has now changed, and your dislike of Sen. Gillibrand in favor of Caroline Kennedy, and now you seem to have (understandably, as I did upon meeting her) grown fond of Sen. Gillibrand.
So are you now just doing this for your own entertainment? If so, why bother? Are you going to give back money to anyone who has donated to you?
Speaking of which, I found it unfortunate that you (whether intentionally or not, I’m sure informed) chose to officially register for the race the day after 1st quarter filing reports were due. Do you plan to drop out the day before 2nd quarter reports are due so that you can circumvent the law and pocket the money? If so, shameful, if not, why don’t you give us an update?
I’m glad you enjoyed your time at the DRC and I’d like to hear your opinion of the AG candidates. I personally am a Kathleen Rice supporter, being from Nassau County myself.
Finally, even as a native New Yorker, I hope you crossed the border and went on the Canadian side for the Maid of the Mist. Just a much nicer experience overall.
Nice that you two kids can get together, after all this time!
Andrew -Phil;Phil-Andrew. I’m going to the icebox for some sardines and liversausage, can I get you guys something?
Hey, what happened to Tuesday Weld? I thought we were gonna get a picture of Tuesday Weld next to Krone’s article this Tuesday and each and every Tuesday until election day! But no, I click on the CDOBs site expecting to view Ms. Weld’s glorious countenance and instead I’m confronted with a photograph of the innards of a watch. I was traumatized. There was a Twilight Zone episode about this subject, you know, the one where this guy is exiled to an asteroid and his female companion on the rock turns out to be a robot….they open her up and there’s a bunch of 1950′s era clockwork machinery inside of her. That was Jean Marsh, not Tuesday Weld, but like I said, it was very disturbing. Serling did several episodes like that, where some poor shnook’s inamorata turned out to be a machine. Actually, I’ve had several episodes like that myself, but that’s another story…
But anyway, what happened to Ms. Weld. Surely there’s no dearth of Tuesday Weld photographic material. Two examples come to mind immediately….Tuesday in her role as the prim and snobbish Thalia Menninger in “The Many Loves of Doby Gillis.” And I’m sure there’s plenty of stills of Tuesday parading around in that provocative but modest slip that she wore through most of “The Cincinnati Kid.” Poor Steve McQueen, having to choose between Tuesday Weld and Ann-Margaret…the toughest decision a man’s been confronted with since Archie had to choose between Betty and Veronica.
And,consistent with CDOB’s political bent, Ms. Weld has connections in the world of public office….she is a third cousin of former Massachusets governor William Weld.
So please, bring back Tuesday….if for no other reason that it may be the only way to attract male readers to peruse Mr. Krone’s increasingly esoteric observations on the inside baseball of New York politics.
Point well take Mike,
But the inner workings of a Krone Watch passing off to the inner workings of Krone’s Senate campaign led to a layout layup.
JBP
It’s Wednesday, It Must be The Time for Phil Krone to Ignore Any Questions or Comments People Have of Him. Just like a true politician.
Krone is in London working the UK election.
JBP
And your excuses for him the last few articles when he has ignored my and other people’s comments?
Or better yet, why do you continue to publish a guy who refuses to answer any questions?
General belligerence.
Is Schumer answering questions in on-line forums from one name inquisitors?
JBP
And if Chuck Schumer jumped off a bridge would Mr. Krone?
His stated goal was to not be like Schumer, so I if that is his defense, well then his candidacy is both unauthentic and hypocritical.
And Mr. Krone has ignored questions from other commenters as well. If he comes on here and says he’ll answer questions if I provide my last name, I’d be happy to do so. If you’re just coming up with a ridiculous argument for the sake of refusing to agree with me on anything, you’re pathetic. Or whatever word you’ll use when you censor that.
A challenge to Krone! Phil you up for it?
JBP
Sorry to have been remiss in answering comments, but frankly, I’m not paid to do it. I am doing it, however, because the publisher is concerned that I’m ignoring all the guff.
First, concerning Tuesday Weld, I did answer that solo comment, but it never got posted. I probably failed the gravatar math. I have no objection to whatever image the management wishes to put up, but please ask Mr. Buck if he would object to a current photo of Ms. Weld. If they wish to put Tuesday up eevery Tuesday in her pristine form that fine by me too. I weep a little when I see that photo because that’s how I actually knew her.
I don’t want to destroy anyone’s fantasy, however, so please John, don’t put up an up to date phot without Mr. Buck’s permission, though I’d bet she is a very elegant lady.
Speaking of which, I am really sad to see the passing of Lena Horne. One of my ideas which never got facilitated was to have the Grammy winning composer Lance Horne do a duet for Lena Horne and Marilyn Horne with the music being provided by a small ensemble of French Horns. An all horn(e) piece.
Back to Andrew. Concerning the Attorney General race in New York. I have never seen such a pack of outstanding candidates and Ms. Rice is certainly one of them for sure. I hope agreeing with you on this, Andrew, is not upsetting to you. An interesting sidenote is that Elizabeth Holtzman is thinking of running. Why, I don’t know, but at this point, in a field of five very qualified candidates Ms. Rice is the only woman running, certainly an advantage. If Holtzman gets in, it changes the dynamic completely. She and Carol Bellamy, along with the late Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm are true icons, not just female, though certainly that.
Now I have no problem posting my email address: pkrone1@earthlink.net and if Andrew would write to me I would continue to answer his quasi anonymmous comments as well as occasionally corresponding, or even meeting him at a mutually agreeable time in mid May in his own neighborhood, whether it be Nassau, Suffolk or one of the five counties (boroughs) which comprise New York City.
He legitimately asks why I’m still running. I wish he’d give me an answer as well. I’ll have all my answers later, but they are still valid. And I wouldn’t mind having his contribution to mull over as well.
I really will explain all this at a later date in my forthcoming book, “How to Prolong Your Life by making Dying Fun” (my agent is Curtis Brown), and I’ve lined up some great blurbers.
But as I have said this Senate race is a controlled experiment. I will explain all of the ingredients later. This is not a conventional effort, but the fact that it has been able to hold Andrew’s attention validates one of my very serious points and I am more grateful to him that he can know at this juncture. But he will know, he deserves to know, and might have figured out some of it already on his own. And when he does I think he will concur with me. He is of course correct that I am not Bobby Kennedy or Hillary Clinton, but I’d bet that my tour through upstate New York has been in many ways much more comnprehensive and ‘real’ than theirs was.
By the way, I did do Maid of the Mist. I decided not to do Cave of the Winds. As I will be back that way prior to September 14, should I do that too, or is it redundant. Andrew, your opinion please.
I should share another story with anyone who cares to read this. One of the elements of my ‘controlled’ experiment is to lead a proactive schedule and not allow the campaign to interefere with my life, as it has unfolded. Therefore, my wife and I are going to Lebanon in June for a wedding of a young, but senior American diplomat (as in foreign service) who I met in Yemen last June. He and his fiance are being married on the 37th anniversary of our wedding, which makes it doubly special. This event was planned last November (her family is from Lebanon, a lthough she is a native born US citizen) and while my absence at the wedding will not be missed I don’t want to cancel it. Also since we’re going to Lebanon we’re also visting Syria (Damascus, Aleppo and Palymyra). It would be hubris to set dates for myself more than six months ahead of time as I have several tumors to feed beside myself (they can’t be removed, or reduced – thank God for painkillers.
I truthfully say that Andrew’s honestly is something I cherish because sympathy and pity are real downers. I like the give and take which only democracy and free speech offers. But Andrew, now having been introduced by Patrick, please email me so we can move to a higher level.
I forgot to mention, Andrew, to say thank you for appreciating the continuing chronicle of my campaign. By the way, you don’t have to put your last name on this website, nor even on your emails. That could come later. I just want to be able to communicate privately as I do with literally dozens of people I have met in this campaign. (quality as opposed to quanitut is part of this experiment, as well as being a good excuse for getting demolished, though you will see how deftly I bring the media into this later.
Sorry for the typo. Quantity, quantity, quantity.
My thanks to Mr. Krone for his solicitude. Actually I didn’t expect any reply to my adolescent rant except, perhaps, the suggestion that I take a cold shower. But since you asked, yes, I would prefer a picture of Ms. Weld in her young and nubile days, with the caveat that it might be interesting, just once, to see what she looks like today. I understand that she’s 66, only 6 years older than I am. I doubt that viewing her as she currently appears would traumatize me as much as viewing that watch did.
And while I’m up and writing, I have a Lena Horne story of my own. My late father was a big fan of Lena Horne. Dad was a classically trained tenor who, like many classical musicians, also liked jazz. In his teens and early twenties he played soprano sax in a little jazz group. During this time he became enamoured of Ms. Horne’s vocal stylings as well as her physical beauty. When he was drafted for service in World War II he volunteered for combat duty in the Army Air Force and ended up as a B-25 tail gunner. Initially he was based in Oregon and was the only “Yankee” in a crew of Texans. He developed a close friendship with one of the Texans whose nickname just happened to be “Tex.” One day Dad and Tex were having a conversation about the relative physical attributes of various Hollywood actresses when my Dad, who was a bit naive about the racial sensibilities of southrons, blurted out that he thought that Lena Horne was a hot number, or words to that effect. Tex thought differently and described Ms. Horne in derogatory terms which included use of the “N-bomb.” My Dad responded by saying “Well, she’s prettier than your girl Tex.” Tex never talked to Dad again. My Dad said that he felt bad about the whole incident, that Tex really wasn’t a bad guy except for his blind spot on race,and that he was sorry that he had lost a friend. Soon he began to suspect that the rest of the southern boys in his crew were going to freeze him out of flying time. He was dropped from a scheduled patrol mission for no apparent reason and was pretty upset about it until word came in that the aircraft had crashed due to a techical malfunction killing the entire crew. So one might say that Ms. Horne indirectly facilitated my conception.
A delightful story well told, Mr. Buck. You too please email me at pkrone1@earthlink.net .
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