Harrison/McMahon Versus Somebody

The NY Times did a write-up this week on the differences between the two Democratic candidates running for Congress in Staten Island (with a sliver of Brooklyn too). As anyone can easily see, there are plenty of contrasts between the grassroots-energized Harrison and 'moderate' Councilman McMahon. Steve Harrison has worn out multiple pairs of shoes walking the district while Michael McMahon got the full backing of the Democratic establishment once Vito self-destructed.

Here are just a few differences:

Political labels aside, there are stark differences between the two. Mr. Harrison opposes capital punishment, while Mr. McMahon supports it. The councilman favors nearly all means of addressing the nation’s energy problems, including offshore drilling, something Mr. Harrison opposes. Mr. McMahon supported Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ultimately unsuccessful congestion pricing plan, while Mr. Harrison opposed it.

On the Iraq war, Mr. Harrison has demanded an immediate withdrawal of American troops, while Mr. McMahon said he supported “a responsible redeployment of our troops in Iraq.”

New York's top Democrats have made life very hard for the progressive Harrison and with all that money, the race for the nomination this year is much tougher. As a liberal, I'd love to see Steve win this, despite the long odds. McMahon reminds me of the DLC Republican-lite crap that has been a losing proposition for too many Democrats over the years. People want to see a candidate with principles and a backbone and frankly, the Councilman looks like he is just playing politics and not standing up for what is right.

Of course, come November when either Harrison or McMahon is up against what's their faces, ultimately there will be one more member in the Democratic caucus, c/o Staten Island.