Blood Boilin' in New York
This opinion is unfiltered and, as such, the viewpoints and opinions expressed by the writer are not necessarily in line with my own. What bothers the author, a Democrat, is the mindset that has spread in Washington, D.C. and into our local races - the mindset that says: "follow the money, not the voters."
BLOOD BOILIN' IN NEW YORK
By ANONYMOUS
As many of you know, we Democrats are getting ready for the '06 campaigns, but we have a few '05 campaigns to think about right now. One of these campaigns is the New York City mayoral race between millionaire and FORMER DEMOCRAT (until he ran) Michael Bloomberg and Freddy Ferrer, a nice and decent man around whom the party has unified in New York.
But there's always a catch. Enter Steven Rattner and the people like him.
Rattner, like Bloomberg, is also a millionaire. He's donated a lot of money to Democrats over the years, but suddenly he's decided to support Bloomberg in the race. An article in the New York Observer seems to say this is big news. Surely, it means Freddy Ferrer is faltering, the article alludes to.
So why is my blood boiling? If I've said it once, I'll say it a million times. Elections should never be coronations. Last time I checked, it's the voters that decide these things -- not how much money you have.
Now look, I don't have a problem with millionaires or their donations so long as the cause is right. What bothers me so much is this mindset that has spread in Washington and into our local races. It's the mindset that says: follow the money, not the voters.
Here's what we desperately need in this country: candidates who are good and smart enough to remember we're the real power brokers, and when our blood boils they had better listen up!
Well, Freddy Ferrer is listening. Now he needs our help.
It's a bad thing if Bloomberg wins -- bad for New York and bad for our party. He's cut funding for critical programs in New York while spending gobs of his personal fortune to gain support from folks. Ferrer has come so close to him in the polls because he's reached out and spoken up. Party labels aside, I know who I'd support judging just by how they run their campaigns.
And when Bloomberg was challenged to come to Harlem for a debate, Bloomberg declined ---through his spokesperson, of course! This guy is out of touch, friends.
So here's what we know. Bloomberg is a bad thing for New York. Freddy Ferrer is trying hard to win -- and win the right way. And things stink to high heaven if Rattner, the millionaire back-and-forth donor, represents the front lines of our party. He's doesn't.
We do.
A spokesperson for the Ferrer campaign said this:
"The Democratic Party is more united around Freddy Ferrer than the party has been around a candidate for more than a decade ..we can't speak for the people who Steve Rattner talks to at cocktail parties, but Democrats from Hillary Clinton to Eliot Spitzer to John Kerry know that Freddy Ferrer¹s fight...is compelling to those of us who believe in equality and prosperity for all, not just for some millionaires."
But I'll leave you instead with a quote from Mr. Rattner:
"I think slavery has been abolished in this country and I'm free to make a decision [on whom to support] on a case-by-case basis."
If Rattner thinks slavery was the last and only issue good Democrats care about, then he needs to find whatever subway route that ships him back to reality.
It's time to stand up for Freddy Ferrer [http://www.ferrer2005.com].
See:
The Plutocrats
Of Democrats
Go Bloomberg
In the New York Times, Patrick Healy reveals a partisan side to the NYC Mayor who does not like to appear as a partisan:
when it comes to donating money to politicians, Mr. Bloomberg's Republican bona fides are as good as they get, judging from his campaign finance records. As mayor, he gave $250,000 to the same Republican party-building effort that Representative Tom DeLay is now charged with using to launder political money. Mr. Bloomberg has also doled out thousands of dollars to politicians who are far more conservative than he is.
For Mr. Bloomberg, whose campaign slogan casts him as "a leader, not a politician," this pattern of giving may be the most partisan-driven aspect of his life in politics. In a city where Democratic registration far outweighs Republican, the mayor's financial ties to Republicans and President Bush are a source of concern to some allies, who worry that the donations will turn off liberal voters he needs.