Following Hillary's trail

Daily Point

History, from Hillary to Hochul

There is an expectant buzz in political circles with New York State’s first female governor about to take office and preparing to run for a full term. Some veteran Democratic Party activists are reminded of more than 20 years ago when Hillary Clinton became the state’s first female senator.

Several organizers of the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee fundraising event Sunday in East Hampton have gathered before — on the political terrain where the first-lady-turned-senator-turned-secretary-of-state-turned-presidential-nominee once traveled.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, billed as a special guest, has attended this annual ER summer gathering several times, and now, a separate fundraising brunch for her fledgling governor campaign is slated in the village for Saturday. Hochul served as a surrogate speaker for Clinton in the 2016 campaign, and as such visited New Hampshire on her behalf.

Judith Hope of East Hampton, founder of the ER group and former state Democratic chairwoman and Democratic National Committee member, was of course a supporter of Clinton during her electoral career in New York.

A few directors of the organization, as listed on the invitation, have discernible past working ties with Clinton. Emily Giske was a superdelegate for the presidential nominee in 2016; Karen Keogh years ago was New York operations director for Clinton’s Senate office. Patti Kenner, friends for years with the Clintons, is involved in the Hochul fundraiser.

But insiders told The Point that while they’re excited about breaking glass ceilings, that’s not all it’s about. Operatives, fundraisers, influencers and consultants gravitating in Hochul’s direction have worked for or even been candidates for other offices as well.

In Suffolk, names on the invite list for Sunday include Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer and Legis. Kara Hahn, who’s in the mix next year for Congress. On hand will be steadfast supporters of President Joe Biden, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and other Democrats, including departing Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Individual political preferences aside, the committee itself declares its wider mission on its website: "We recruit, train, and fund pro-choice Democratic women to run for state and local office throughout New York."

For Hochul as a candidate, automatic incumbency as well as history could prove to be a big edge, and not only among women — depending on how she does in the next year-plus in office. Displaying early support at this point, strategically, could send a message to deter primary challengers, especially other women, a list that could include Attorney General Tish James. That’s the significance of this anticipated appearance out east.

State campaign slogs are long. They require building up steam somewhere. So for Hochul’s political circle-in-formation, summer on the East End offers a built-in fount of early fundraising.

— Dan Janison @Danjanison

Talking Point

One voice on WTC health fund

The New York congressional delegation is divided on various issues. But Republicans and Democrats across the state agree that the World Trade Center Health Program is going to need more money in the coming years. And this is the time, especially with the approaching 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to push for full funding.

But while New York’s senior senator, Chuck Schumer, supports the bill, he’s not the one leading the charge. Instead, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is out front. That may in part be because the issue is a political hot potato that eventually may be part of the reconciliation process, so a backseat role for Schumer, given his role as the Senate majority leader, makes sense. And Gillibrand has taken the lead on it since her start in the Senate.

On the House side, Rep. Andrew Garbarino appears to be taking up the mantle long held by his predecessor, Rep. Peter King. As King did before him, Garbarino is leading the effort among Republicans and introduced the legislation in the House along with Democrats Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler, both longtime champions of 9/11 first responders and survivors.

The rest of Long Island’s congressional delegation are listed as co-sponsors. Perhaps the most interesting wrinkle this time around is whether Rep. Lee Zeldin, now a gubernatorial candidate, will take a larger role in pushing the bill forward and getting his Republican colleagues on board than he has in the past.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

Where the trillions went

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Final Point

Rereading Point

What we’re seeing in Afghanistan right now is the complex aftermath of a full 20 years of American war, a history that can hardly be summed up in a news article or by Twitter’s instant pundits. So The Point has been flipping through some of the great books about the conflict — and its predecessors. For those interested in some reading or rereading, they include:

• "The Forever War," by Dexter Filkins, which opens with a harrowing scene of Taliban enforcers cutting the hand off an alleged pickpocket in Kabul in 1998.

• "No Good Men Among the Living," by Anand Gopal, which depicts the American war on terror through the eyes of a Taliban commander, a U.S.-backed warlord, and a village housewife trapped in the middle.

• "Every Man in This Village Is a Liar," by Megan K. Stack, a memoir of reporting from Afghanistan and surrounding countries and the violence witnessed there.

• "The Looming Tower," by Lawrence Wright, which connects the war even more deeply to New York by chronicling the rise of al-Qaida and the road to 9/11.

• "The Great Gamble," by Gregory Feifer, about the Soviet war in Afghanistan and its own bitter ending.

• "The Fighters" by C.J. Chivers, a Marine officer and journalist who digs into the human experience of the combatants, many of them young people "on their first enlistments" who "wanted then, and still want now, to connect their battlefield service to something greater than a memory reel of gunfights, explosions, and grievous wounds."

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

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