The Empire State Blog

The Travails of the Hillary Slayer

Jonathan Tasini with the anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan in June. (Angel Franco/The New York Times)
Jonathan Tasini wants to do to Hillary Clinton what Ned Lamont is doing to Joseph Lieberman: dethrone a giant by focusing on Iraq. To that end, he drew reporters to an air-conditioned Lower Manhattan pub to denounce New York 1 News for denying him the chance to debate Clinton, just as Lamont debated Lieberman.

Mr. Tasini, flanked on either side by representatives of eight city independent Democratic clubs and the author Barbara Ehrenreich, chastised the station for its newly adopted requirement that all political candidates poll at least 5 percent and raise or spend at least $500,000 on their campaigns in order to participate in the station’s debate series. The policy prevents Mr. Tasini from getting the debate with Senator Clinton that he desperately wants, despite having garnered 40,000 petition signatures to assure him a spot on the September primary ballot.

Tasini told reporters that NY1 is aiding and abetting political corruption with the policy and acting as a censor.

One factor that may cloud his message: no New York 1 reporters were there.

– Karen James