Posted on 11/06/2005 2:12:05 PM PST by neverdem
As Democrats pursue an uphill battle to recapture City Hall on Tuesday, this year's mayoral campaign has already exposed the long-term fracturing of Democratic power in the city, from splinters in the black and Hispanic vote to defections in liberal bastions like the West Side.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's popularity and his $66 million in campaign spending are two pressure points as the campaign winds into its final phase this weekend. Yet it is the permanent structural changes in New York politics - such as term limits, campaign finance reforms and evolving demographics - that are really shaking the once-dominant party and seem bound to hamper it for years to come, leading Democrats and political consultants say.
The Democrats have lost the last three mayoral elections, and if they lose Tuesday's it will be their longest stretch out of power since the consolidation of New York City in 1898. And the recent Republican successes have only empowered the mayor, whether in rooting out patronage in government or in pushing controversial priorities like the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. As for the impact on voters, Democratic leaders say a lack of unity weakens party efforts to build more affordable housing, rein in apartment rents, allow gay marriage and battle for more school aid from Albany.
Democrats complain that fund-raising caps and term limits have deprived the Democratic challenger, Fernando Ferrer, of a political machine to confront the vast resources of the Bloomberg campaign. And he has not been able to spread his message in even traditional hotbeds of party loyalty - a sign, some Democrats say...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
New York state and NYC is the exception to the rule. Otherwise, your tiresome posts promoting RINOism is simply garbage.
If Bloomberg was honestly a "Republican", the NooYawkers would have hung him out to dry a long time ago, alongside of "Rudy"!
We need to be more careful about who we let share our defining name.
The only people in this city who see gay "marriage" as a pressing political issue are Christine Quinn, Tom Duane, and Margarita Lopez.
This is one of the primary reasons that Democrats are so manifestly unpopular, the coastal regions of this country notwithstanding.
A sense of misplaced priorities.
Bingo! Thank God it's not a close race. I'd rather cut off my nose than vote for Bloomboob.
What this article doesnt realize...Maybe its not his spending...A Republican did a good job!! IMAGINE THAT?
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
The Dems have misplaced everything. If it weren't for their flacks in the press, they'd be the laughing stock of the US.
:-)
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Democrats still have an incredible about of political power in nyc. City Hall eludes them, but almost every other citywide position (and city representation in Albany & DC) is overwhelmingly dem.
The quality of life in NYC has dramatically improved over the last 12 years. That is undeniable. Times Square is a glamourus showcase, not the cesspool of depravity it was in the 80's. That is something practically every New Yorker sees at least once a week.
Bloomberg is also helped by the absence of out of control police scandals on his watch. No blacks being sodomized with nightsticks or riddled with gunfire for standing in their doorways or shot for refusing to buy drugs from an undercover cop. That has won him black support.
Sadly, the Dems have a lock on the City Council, 4 of the 5 borough presidencies and, in another four years, they'll have City Hall back when Bloomberg hits term limits. There aint another Rudy out there.
So, do you think Bloomberg will win another term? I have to admit I haven't been following the race very closely...
I don't get this argument. Hardly any New York apartments are rent controlled anymore. Newly built or renovated housing is not rent stabilized, either. My friends pay $4,200 a month for a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan -- and the parking garage and basement storage are extra.
Bloomberg has benefited from Rudy G's hard work. Now, there's a mensch. But most people in my neighborhood saw Giuliani as an extreme right-winger. You'd never convince them that he was anything less than a hard-rock conservative, and when I suggest this, they think I'm out of my mind. Bloomberg is a decent manager, but arrogant and, I think, quietly enriching his friends with under the table real estate deals. I don't like him but will probably vote for him. Ferrer's brilliant ideas include putting a tax on stock transfers -- a great way to drive the financial center to New Jersey -- and giving every school kid a lap top computer. (Half would be sold on the streets within a week.) He is pathetic but, believe it or not, far from the worst of the Democratic field.
To all of you people one there who couldn't find New York City on a map, but wring your hands about electing a rino, consider this: When Bloomberg kicks freddy's ass all over the city, he will be showing huge numbers of minority voters that they can vote for a Republican without the world coming to an end. Look, people don't vote Democrat all their lives and then flip. This doesn't happen to individuals let along historically robotic Black and Hispanic voters. To the contrary, the first move is for people to either take a quick jump over ( very small) but then follow this path, they 1) don't vote at all 2) they vote some third party or Indy 3) they finally vote Republican and stay there. Bloomy will lead hundreds of thousands of minority voters to the first step. This will be very bad news for the rats all over but especially for the beast who will now NOT have such an easy ride next year and thereafter.
In 2003, over 2/3 of NYC's 2 million apartments were were either rent controlled or rent stabilized. Less than 1/3 are subject to 100% market forces.
Price controls always lead to inefficient distribution, and to shortages.
I live in Woodlawn and will tell you I think Bloomberg is a capable, comptent leader who does not pander. I don't agree with him all the time, but considering all else, and 9/11 aside, he has done as good a job as Rudy if not better.
Ray Kelly, Kerik, Bill Bratton - would all make good republican candidates for mayor in 2009. The Dems will put up either Weiner or Gifford Miller.
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