2016 Postmortem

DonViejo

(60,536 posts) Wed Oct 23, 2013, 07:12 AM Oct 2013

Bill de Blasio does not concede an inch to the right

CONTRIBUTING OP-ED WRITER

Bill de Blasio and the New Urban Populism

By THOMAS B. EDSALL

Published: October 22, 2013

In an era of Clintonesque caution, when Democrats typically mute any expression of their leftward leanings, Bill de Blasio, who will almost certainly be elected mayor of New York City two weeks from now, does not concede an inch to the right.

He talks about sharing the wealth. He is pro-tenant and anti-landlord. He wants to tax the rich to help the poor. He stands solidly in support of undocumented immigrants. He sides with workers over employers. He backs the teachers’ union in its struggles with the charter school movement. He supports programs to ensure that every New Yorker eligible for food stamps, health care, income security and social services gets on the rolls, effectively resurrecting the welfare rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The de Blasio platform, “One New York, Rising Together,” is a remarkable document, a statement of left principles rarely heard of from a major politician in recent decades.

Battling inequality will “be at the very center of our vision for the next four years” de Blasio, who leads his Republican opponent, Joe Lhota, 68-24 in recent polling, says in his platform. There’s more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/opinion/edsall-bill-de-blasio-and-the-new-urban-populism.html?_r=0

7 replies

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Highlight:

Bill de Blasio does not concede an inch to the right (Original Post) DonViejo Oct 2013 OP

Certainly someone to watch, for the future of the Dem party. djean111 Oct 2013 #1

It's one thing customerserviceguy Oct 2013 #2

Pay attention Democratic Party leaders. Offering a sharp alternative to the Republicans .... Scuba Oct 2013 #3

NYers have lived w. corporate, neo-con bullshit governance for 20 years. Smarmie Doofus Oct 2013 #4

I think he pretty much has this tied up. HappyMe Oct 2013 #5

Bill de Blasio has conceded millions of square feet to the right. Jim Lane Oct 2013 #6

DeBlasio a leftist? We'll see.... LiberalElite Oct 2013 #7

djean111

(14,255 posts)

1. Certainly someone to watch, for the future of the Dem party.

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 07:16 AM

Oct 2013

customerserviceguy

(25,183 posts)

2. It's one thing

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 07:21 AM

Oct 2013

to win a debate with a Republicon who hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell of winning, it's another to govern the way he talks. That accomplishment would make him noticeable on a national stage.

Scuba

(53,475 posts)

3. Pay attention Democratic Party leaders. Offering a sharp alternative to the Republicans ....

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 07:54 AM

Oct 2013

... is far more popular than "Republican-lite". And not just in NYC.

Smarmie Doofus

(14,498 posts)

4. NYers have lived w. corporate, neo-con bullshit governance for 20 years.

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 09:31 AM

Oct 2013

It appears that that... in spite of the incessant stream of disinformation, misinformation and just plain bullshit that emanates from print and electronic tabloid media that dominates the political discussion in this town.... the world capitol of capital, if you will..... NYers are beginning to figure it out.

Chances are things are evolving in a similar fashion elsewhere.

Let's hope so.

HappyMe

(20,277 posts)

5. I think he pretty much has this tied up.

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 01:11 PM

Oct 2013

A great guy for the future of the Dem party.

Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)

6. Bill de Blasio has conceded millions of square feet to the right.

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 01:12 PM

Oct 2013

On the key New York City issue of development, de Blasio has gone along with the real estate interests, supporting projects that environmentalists and community representatives opposed.

If Bill de Blasio becomes mayor, he will drive the “hardest bargain possible” with developers, he says. But his record, back before he was a
public advocate planning to run for mayor, is distinctly that of a
pragmatic deal maker who chose his battles carefully on the issue of
development, rather than that of the populist hardliner he now sounds
like.

....

(About his support for the Atlantic Yards development project):

After several members of Park Slope's Community Board 6 voted
against the project, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and
de Blasio “purged” them.

....

"Mr. de Blasio has never criticized the deeply flawed process that gifted
a complete zoning override and 22 acres of valuable Brooklyn real estate
to a single developer without any vote or any bidding process," said
Daniel Goldstein, the founder of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn,
which led the anti-Atlantic Yards fight, in an email. "He's never railed
against the sweetheart deal, or advocated on behalf of homeowners and
tenants who faced the highly controversial use of eminent domain. From
the start and right up to the minute he has unconditionally supported the
biggest land grab of the Bloomberg years, a deal made entirely in back
rooms."

Bill de Blasio's history of siding with real estate during controversial
development fights goes beyond Atlantic Yards. (from "Bill de Blasio, development pragmatist" in Capital New York)

The article also notes his support for the development of condos in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Furthermore, at the behest of developers, he opposed the designation of the toxic Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site, a designation that went through anyway and that is now finally leading to a cleanup process.

Thus, it's not surprising that the real estate lobby doesn't see him as a populist who concedes nothing:

The president of the powerful Real Estate Board of New York, which spent $4.9 million on its preferred City Council candidates this cycle, said recently the board doesn't intend to do a similar independent expenditure to support Lhota in the general election.

....

(Steven) Spinola, a close ally of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, shrugged off de Blasio's rhetoric during the competitive Democratic primary, when the public advocate painted rival Christine Quinn as a tool of the real-estate industry and called the mayor's pro-development approach "incredibly counterproductive."

"People say a lot of things in the campaign," Spinola said. "We go through campaigns all the time."

"I know Bill de Blasio," Spinola added. "He's not somebody that there's any reason for us to be frightened of. We've worked with him. We have no reason to believe he won't work with us." (from "Real estate group doesn't fear de Blasio, won't spend for Lhota")

We can hope that other Democratic politicians will learn the lesson that they should be more forcefully progressive in their campaigns. We must also hope, however, that they don't learn the lesson that they can get away with antipopulist policies as long as they throw in some fiery rhetoric.

LiberalElite

(14,691 posts)

7. DeBlasio a leftist? We'll see....

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 08:56 PM

Oct 2013

While I loathe King Mike the Clueless (Bloomberg); can't wait to be rid of him and will vote for deBlasio, I suspect he's not quite the Great Liberal Hope. Here's an excerpt from an article in the Atlantic's website from September: "...The hypocrisy charge is echoed by some former colleagues, such as [Democratic] state Senator Tony Avella, who served on the [NYC City] council for eight years with de Blasio and told City & State magazine: "I don't think he's always been this progressive, but it's interesting how candidates can remake themselves when they're running for office. It's revisionist history."

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