Ashley Dennis, stepdaughter of former NY Gov. David Paterson, arrested for breaking bottle over boyfriend, Brian McGuinness' head, during domestic violence incident in West Village apartment.
Ex-Gov. Paterson holding Ashley Denis' hand, son next to her
Just as New Yorkers were beginning to forget former Gov. David Paterson, the family is back in the news again. This time, Paterson's stepdaughter, Ashley Dennis, was arrested Saturday after bashing her boyfriend, Brian McGuinness, over the head with a bottle during a violent fight in his West Village apartment, the NY Daily News reports. The domestic violent incident reportedly broke out about 4:45 a.m. and at one point, McGuinness choked Dennis. The superintendent of the apartment building told the newspaper she thought someone had been murdered because there was blood on the floor, on the door handle and all over the hallway.
McGuinness told police Dennis broke a bottle over his head, knocking him to the floor, and then repeatedly slammed his leg in the door until he lost consciousness, according to the criminal complaint. He received three stitches at Beth Israel Medical Center, cops said.
A woman who would only give her name as Marie C. said she lives down the hall and woke up to the sound of smashing glass. "I heard a guy saying, 'Help me, help me,'" she said. "Then he started saying, 'Fire, fire,' to get someone's attention. I knew it was serious." The neighbor called police.
"He wasn't moving," she said. "He had two shoes on top of him like she kicked him out of the apartment and threw the shoes."A police source said the two didn't appear to be intoxicated. McGuinness was charged with criminal obstruction of breathing, a misdemeanor under the state's anti-choking law, authorities said. Dennis was charged with felony assault. Source
Dang, she certainly whipped his butt, but violence isn't the way to resolve conflicts. This relationship needs to come to an end before someone gets killed. There is no reason for either person in a relationship to hit the other. Love doesn't hurt. You will recall Alex Paterson, the governor's son, was arrested last year after he was caught shooting dice and in possession of someone else's debit card.
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele has injected race into the New York gubernatorial race. He appeared on "Face the Nation" yesterday and though he told host Bob Schieffer that opposition to President Obama and health care reform had nothing to do with race, he seemed to accuse the President of letting race play a factor in his decision to urge Governor David Paterson (D-NY) not to run in the 2010 Democratic primary. Steele said:
"I found that to be stunning that the White House would send word to one of only two black governors in the country not to run for reelection."
As you can see, Schieffer looked somewhat stunned and asked the Steele, "Well you don't think he's asked him not to run 'cuz he's black?"
I guess Steele, realizing that his foot was in his mouth, tried to backtrack. Stumbling over his words, in his classic moronic style, he questioned why Obama wasn't asking other Democrats with poor poll numbers -- like Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) -- not to run, calling it "a curiosity." Steele also said it "will be very interesting to see" how Obama's request to Paterson will play with black leaders across the country.
Newsflash Mr. Steele, even Rev. Al Sharpton sees the writing on the wall for Governor Paterson. When your own constituents are turning against you, you have a serious problem. That is the case in New York and if Gov. Paterson doesn't step out of the way, then New York state will have a Republican governor. I scarcely believe black leaders in this country will come to Paterson's defense. His poll numbers are abysmal.
I would have agreed with Michael Steele had he not injected race into the equation. This is the third time President Obama has meddled in local politics in New York state. You will recall the mess that ensued in the search of a replacement for Hillary Clinton's seat. It was clear that the president had initially preferred Caroline Kennedy for the seat, but he later cleared the field for Paterson's handpicked U.S. senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, asking her toughest potential primary challenger, Long Island Rep. Steve Israel, not to run. Next he tapped John McHugh, one of just three remaining Republicans in New York's congressional delegation, to serve as secretary of the Army, which led to a special election in McHugh's upstate district. Now Paterson is in the president's cross hairs. What will prove to be an uncomfortable encounter, the president will spend three days in New York, including an upstate stop, where he will be greeted at Albany International Airport by none other than David Paterson. Ouch. So, there was plenty for Michael Steele to hit President Obama on, rather than taking the easy way out to cite race as a factor.
Never mind the fact that New York's Governor David Paterson's record of accomplishment is abysmal, he's now complaining that he's being sandbagged because of his race. After complaining to the New Daily News' Errol Louis during a radio interview last Friday that he is the victim of an "orchestrated" campaign to push him out of office, he told political blogger Gerson Borrero that some people are uncomfortable with too many black people in power. Wow, that's the way to tell 'em governor. Just go ahead and pull the race card when it's convenient for you! What a moron. I guess he hasn't come to realization yet that his tenure in office has not amounted to anything worthy of touting, just a lot of confusion. Apparently the White House has already asked Paterson to tone down his rhetoric after he said last Friday that President Barack Obama will be the next target of a racist media.
Defensive and at time self pitying, Paterson indicated he's been stewing for some time "I have been quiet for 17 months on this issue," he said. "I played by the rules. It was a very difficult position to find myself in and I've given it my best. I've done the best I can under the very trying circumstances the state is facing."
"It seems I have to work twice as hard as others," he said in his interview with Borrero. And it still bothers him that people refer to him as the "accidental governor." He took office in 2008 after former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal. "It was not an accident. It is a constitutional mandate," he said. "I became governor by a constitutional mandate."
He said the successors to disgraced governors Jim McGreevey of New Jersey and John Rowland of Connecticut were not dubbed "accidental governors." "I've had to endure this for 17 months and quite frankly on Friday when I spoke to Errol Louis on his radio show, it all came to a head," he said. Source: NY Daily News
Gov. Paterson needs to step aside and let Attorney General Andrew Cuomo run for the governorship for the Democratic Party. He has a record of accomplishment. While some of Paterson's claims of racism may be valid, they are a moot point because he has not accomplished anything since he has become the governor and yes, it was quite by accident. It's a sad commentary when even people of his own race want him out. His wife, Michelle Paterson pulled the same race card in April, 2009, when she claimed that the reason her husband was unpopular and most likely would not secure the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010 was because he's black. In all honesty, I think the Patersons' ability to pull the race card expired on January 20, 2009, at noon, when President Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African American president of the United States.
Gov. Paterson needs to take a look at the polls and see that his fate is sealed. A new Siena Research Institute poll released this morning shows his job approval rating at 23% and his favorability rating at 32%. A staggering 68% of New Yorkers said that they would prefer someone else if Paterson runs for a full four-year term next year. The same poll also shows that AG Andrew Cuomo would soundly trounce him in a hypothetical Democratic primary match-up. The same poll also found that he would most definitely be beaten by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a general election match-up. So, why should the Democratic Party risk having such a liability on their hands and essentially guarantee the GOP a win in New York?
New York Governor David Paterson has chosen Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, a second-term congresswoman from upstate NY to fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Senate seat after the hot mess that ensued from Carolyn Kennedy abruptly withdrew her name from consideration. Gov. Paterson and his aides created more drama about Carolyn Kennedy's withdrawal and that was terrible. They knee-capped her in a major way, which I suspect will come back to bite the governor if he decides to seek re-election.
The 42-year-old Hudson Valley Democrat will reportedly be named by the governor at an announcement Friday in Albany. Gillibrand was considered one of the top three or four contenders in Paterson's secretive selection process, where the front-runners were considered to be Kennedy and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Of course, Ms. Gillibrand did not escape the wrath of the other contenders, led by more senior politicians, including Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who criticized her support of more conservative issues such as gun ownership rights was out of step with most New York Democrats.
Gillibrand is a proven vote getter in an eastern New York district that sprawls from the mid-Hudson Valley to north of Albany. She defeated a long-term Republican incumbent in 2006 and won re-election last year by a wide margin.
Gillibrand is married with a son and worked as a lawyer before challenging Republican John Sweeney in 2006 to represent New York's 20th District. Her upset win came after a police report was leaked shortly before the election that showed Sweeney's wife had called 911 in what appeared to be a domestic violence incident. Gillibrand is considered one of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, a stance that reflects her largely rural district. She voted last year against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill.
Gillibrand graduated from Dartmouth College in 1988 and earned a law degree at UCLA in 1991. She is the daughter of Albany lobbyist Douglas Rutnik. Source: NY Daily News
Okay, so there we have it--Senator Gillibrand. This drama with Carolyn Kennedy has come to a much-needed end. I hope Gov. Paterson realizes that his poor handling of this process will come back to haunt him should he have ambitions to run for re-election.
New York Governor David Paterson has chosen Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, a second-term congresswoman from upstate NY to fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Senate seat after the hot mess that ensued from Carolyn Kennedy abruptly withdrew her name from consideration. Gov. Paterson and his aides created more drama about Carolyn Kennedy's withdrawal and that was terrible. They knee-capped her in a major way, which I suspect will come back to bite the governor if he decides to seek re-election.
The 42-year-old Hudson Valley Democrat will reportedly be named by the governor at an announcement Friday in Albany. Gillibrand was considered one of the top three or four contenders in Paterson's secretive selection process, where the front-runners were considered to be Kennedy and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Of course, Ms. Gillibrand did not escape the wrath of the other contenders, led by more senior politicians, including Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who criticized her support of more conservative issues such as gun ownership rights was out of step with most New York Democrats.
Gillibrand is a proven vote getter in an eastern New York district that sprawls from the mid-Hudson Valley to north of Albany. She defeated a long-term Republican incumbent in 2006 and won re-election last year by a wide margin.
Gillibrand is married with a son and worked as a lawyer before challenging Republican John Sweeney in 2006 to represent New York's 20th District. Her upset win came after a police report was leaked shortly before the election that showed Sweeney's wife had called 911 in what appeared to be a domestic violence incident. Gillibrand is considered one of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, a stance that reflects her largely rural district. She voted last year against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill.
Gillibrand graduated from Dartmouth College in 1988 and earned a law degree at UCLA in 1991. She is the daughter of Albany lobbyist Douglas Rutnik. Source: NY Daily News
Okay, so there we have it--Senator Gillibrand. This drama with Carolyn Kennedy has come to a much-needed end. I hope Gov. Paterson realizes that his poor handling of this process will come back to haunt him should he have ambitions to run for re-election.
