Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Thoughts on the NYC Mayoralty Primary...
Weiner concedes primary to Ferrer0 comments
Andrew Weiner was my dog in this hunt.
He's bright, thinks on his feet well and isn't afraid of taking on the whole Bush/Rove apparatus, which I saw him do exceptionally well on CNN's Crossfire during the Republican Convention coverage. He was articulate, fearless and rabid. Three qualities I especially like in a Democrat these days.
That all made me want to support him in the mayoralty race.
He lost. OK. He'll still serve us well in the House in Chuck Schumer's old seat.
Now we have Freddie Ferrer as the Democratic mayoralty standard-bearer, who may be listed in some encyclopedia somewhere as the example given for "hack."
Not a bad man; just a hack. Actually, an ambitious, unexciting and perhaps mildly incompetent hack.
But that's OK. I'll vote for him anyway. I may even campaign for him.
Because Michael Bloomberg made a politically fatal mistake.
He forgot to re-register as a Democrat.
For good or for ill, Michael Bloomberg now equals George W. Bush.
For those of you just tuning in, Bloomberg had been a fairly non-political Democrat for most, if not all, of his life. A rich man with nothing else to prove in the business world, he caught the office-holder bug. But the Democratic field for mayor that year was too crowded, since that's usually the main election in this heavily Democratic town. Michael, moderate-to-liberal, but basically apolitical, saw a hole open on the Republican side, saw that he could get on the ballot on the Republican line, so he easily swung over and Voila!—he's a Republican! And Voila!, Part II, he's Mayor!
He didn't believe anything that the Republicans thought; it was just an open line. Cool.
So, he threw some $47 million of his own money at the race, even got ol' Fuckin' Rudy Giuliani's endorcement, and bang, he's Mayor.
If he had only switched back this year when there was no overly strong Democratic candidate for mayor, he would own half the world instead of just half of Manhattan.
He would essentially run unopposed.
As mayors go, he's been OK. Half good/half bad. Which half on which issue depends on your personal perspective and politics.
He screwed up the whole N.Y. Jets stadium mess something awful. He's made other mistakes. But he was an exceedingly good CEO when we desperately needed a firm business hand at the helm of our shattered economy as Bush bent NYC over and forgot the K-Y after September 11th.
But Michael foolishly stayed a Republican.
And as a Republican, he has been forced into defending the indefensible. While he has stood up to the Bush group on many issues, he still has been forced into defending these heinous morons at turn after turn.
While it is obvious that he doesn't think like these vermin, and has made it clear he doesn't particularly like them, the sheer fact of being a GOP icon in the bluest of the blue territory gives comfort and succor to legions of frothing hate-mongers across the country.
Whether Bloomberg likes it or not, he made his choice, and he is now fully aligned with the most corrupt, divisive and incompetent administration in American political history and must be held accountable.
And as such, he must be put down, politically. As must every Republican.
Unfortunately for Michael, his greatest weapon is also his greatest vulnerability.
The New GOP has given an horrifically bad name to being a rich white man these days. And if Bloomberg's record is only 50-50, then his bank account is his ticket to success in a normal year, as it was when he won four years ago.
But these days, far too many people think in terms of "Follow the Money." Money now equates with corruption. So, just how corrupt must Micheal Bloomberg be? How much more must he want?
Because as we all know, there's no such thing as too rich, just like there's no such thing as too young or too thin.
Poor Michael. He's the mink coat in a cloth coat election year.
posted by Gotham 7:22 PM
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