Monday: An Interview with Harriet Christian, NY Senate Seat Contender

Rumors have begun to swirl again that Paterson is about to appoint Caroline Kennedy to Hillary’s Senate seat.  The reason often cited is that Caroline, with her big, aristocratic name, will be able to raise her own funds and won’t suck up money needed for other races.  Does anyone besides me see the problem with that argument?  Ok. for the slow Obots out there, here it is: If we only appoint or nominate people with their own money, then only the rich will be able to serve in Congress.  I think one of the points of our Constitution was to prevent rule by the moneyed, aristocratic class.  Even the requirements for Senate and President are remarkably spare.  We aren’t ignoring the economic reality  of the money hunt but we would like to point out that Obama raised $600,000,000 and threatened to withhold it from many states and downticket races if the delegates wouldn’t flip for him at the convention.  Then he hogged it anyway.

So, money isn’t everything.  Dedication to public service should be at the top of the list of qualifications for any office.  We haven’t seen much in the way of that from Caroline Kennedy.  But Harriet Christian has worked tirelessly for the public for years.  She’s a waitress in Manhattan.  She was also one of our most reliable and dedicated Hillary Clinton fans.  We’d like Governor Paterson to meet with Harriet and give us commoner for the seat.

Our own Madamab had an interview with Harriet recently to talk about the Senate appointment.  Here is that interview:

Interview With Senate Hopeful Harriet Christian
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 – 3:00 pm (Transcribed from recording)

MB: What made you decide to vie for Senator Clinton’s seat? Was it 9/11?

HC:  I’m sure 9/11 has a part to play in anything anyone does today; however, primarily it was done because I thought the fact that an individual could enter a race and be given preferential treatment just because of their name made me feel that, even though I don’t have name recognition, I stood on equal standing with her. We have both never held a political office. What made her more qualified than myself?

MB: You are “as qualified as the most unqualified,” correct?

HC: Absolutely.
MB: How did you come to be involved in politics?
HC: I’ve always been a Democrat. I’ve always been active, I would say, in the peripheral sense. I’ve always been very interested in the different candidates that have run. I don’t think I’ve ever taken as active a role as I did this time. And I think that all began with the Rules and ByLaws Committee. That just opened my eyes to what was so wrong with our Democratic Party.
MB: Yours, and many others. Do you have children, and if so, how influential are they in your voting decisions?
HC: I have one daughter. I think I’m not the normal mother in the sense of, we make up our own minds. Am I taking a stance on things today just because of my daughter? Absolutely not. I’m at a point in my life where I feel it’s time to not only worry about the future, but to worry about the present.
MB: How is your voting record? Do you usually vote in primaries?