Who needs enemies when you have political allies! Several allies of Gov. Paterson and Sen. Charlie Rangel are gearing up to challenge and oust Sen. Bill Perkins, another fellow Democrat. Perkins, who currently holds Paterson's former senate seat, drew the ire of local party bosses because he turned on Paterson during the Sherr-una Booker domestic violence scandal, saying he didn't think Paterson should run for re-election (Perkins also spoke of "scandal fatigue," and questioned the fairness of the reporting on Paterson).
But some Harlem Democrats now view Perkins with biblical fury: "It's on the level of Judas. He's for himself and not for the team...We would love to get him out of there because he's driving us crazy," one anonymous pol told Elizabeth Benjamin of the Daily News (This isn't the only Judas that's been thrown out by Dems recently, either). Perkins angered the embattled Rangel by refusing to rule out a run for his seat in congress.
Three young party members—Rodney Capel, Larry Scott Blackmon and Basil Smikle—are all being floated as possible candidates to run for Perkins central Harlem seat, although Perkins "is popular with constituents, well-known in the district and had a campaign war chest of $77,224 as of mid-January." But the fury of the anonymous source will not be abated: "We were under attack...When the media's after a black leader, we sort of close ranks. ..It's an unwritten rule."
