A Guide to the Neocon Bloomberg May Back for Senate
With support from several GOP luminaries, Dan Senor, husband of CNN's Campbell Brown and delusional neocon hawk, may be primed to challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for her seat. Here's a field guide to your potential next Senator.
According to a report in the Times on Friday: "Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey, Mr. Bloomberg's top political adviser, met with Mr. Senor at Gracie Mansion a few weeks ago to discuss his potential candidacy, according to people told of the meeting." Sounds promising, Dan!
Talking Points Memo isn't so sure Senor will get the GOP support he'll need to secure the nomination, but with early backing from Rudy "America's Mayor" Giuliani and Senator Lindsey Graham, he is expected to announce a decision soon.
In Iraq, Senor was the head of Stratcomm, the propaganda arm of the Coalition Provisional Authority. He was also the ying to CPA viceroy L. Paul Bremer's yang, and despised by most Iraqis. A quote from Senor's time as CPA spokesman in April 2004, while the US was fighting Sunni and Shia insurgents on two fronts, sums up his grip on reality:
"I can tell you that the majority of this country, the majority of the population, is returning to normalcy…"
Senor defended the first invasion of Fallujah on behalf of four Blackwater mercenaries who were killed and mutilated after entering the city on questionable grounds. And he was a main proponent of the disbanding of the Iraqi Army - a decision that ultimately led to a long, bloody insurgency. On the eve of civil war in Iraq, in 2005, he defended this policy in a Times op-ed.
Along with Bill Kristol, Senor is co-founder of the right-wing think tank Foreign Policy Initiative. He's the author of a book, Start Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle, which sounds like the title of a bad Tom Friedman op-ed.
But Gillibrand's camp doesn't seem too concerned. Her spokesman told Ben Smith at Politico: "There will be plenty of time to talk in-depth about Senor's role as George Bush's chief spin doctor in Iraq if he ever makes it past a competitive Republican primary."