It”™s been said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
The quote by Friedrich Nietzsche has proven true for Gov. David Paterson who has done battle with his former colleagues in the state Legislature over the budget, been berated in the media for a lack of courage, and was disrespected by the president of the United States.
It has truly been a tough year for the unelected governor of New York, who has seen his approval rating among voters drop to abysmal levels.
But as the year wore on, Paterson became more resilient. He was no longer going to be bullied. His approval numbers began to rise.
In early December he faced down the Legislature after it was unwilling to meet the tough demands of his deficit reduction plan.
The Assembly Majority did not accept his proposed cuts to Supplemental Security Income grants, the Tuition Assistance Program and the school breakfast and lunch program.
“If the Legislature will not do what is necessary, I will take the difficult actions that are needed to restore our state”™s fiscal integrity.”
As a former state legislator he was part of the problem when it came to making compromises for the good of the party. But as a governor, he came to view the state”™s problems from a different perspective. He realized he could not compromise his principles or the lives of the people of New York state for some partisan payback.
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He may have not run for governor, but fate thrust him into a position historically replete with political turmoil and containing inherent risks to one”™s career.
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He is no longer acquiescing as he once did; instead he is standing up to orchestrated news theatrics as evidenced in a recent TV interview when he took the reporter to task for asking a hypothetical question about the upcoming gubernatorial election.
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Ask about what the state was going to do if the revenues don”™t increase and the state is close to insolvency, he suggested. On Dec. 28, the state had $2.8 billion cash on hand to pay bills. And the bills will keep coming and coming.
If in fact there was a tipping point for Paterson when he took on a more assertive persona, it was at the end of summer when President Obama asked him to withdraw from the race for governor.
Paterson resisted the suggestion.
He didn”™t forget, though.
In December, Paterson and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg teamed up to lambaste the health care reform plan and its lack of equity toward the state of New York. The plan will add $1 billion annually in new state Medicaid costs.
Paterson is gaining strength in his confidence as a leader.
We wait to see how he will handle the Legislature this month as the deficit continues to move the state closer to insolvency.
If the lawmakers fail once again to make the hard choices needed to reconcile the state”™s flagging finances, the governor may need to make a hard choice and veto their legislation.
The governor knows what”™s at stake and we”™re sure he will do what”™s right.
