What's with the Giuliani and Bloomberg syndrome?

Why are NYers voting for republicans for mayor?

The elections are rigged!

When will people GET it?

nyers are voting for these guys

WHY would they? NY is so blue! It makes no sense!

is doing a good job, shares most of the beliefs of the voters (anti death penalty, pro choice) and the Democratic candidate is seen as being weak. This is how most Republicans get elected in the North East. They can't just pretend to be moderate like * did, they really have to be.

and has been a really good mayor. Never thought I'd vote for a republican, I'll admit. But he's not really a republican--pro-choice, anti-death penalty, pro-gun control, etc, etc.

edit--would not have voted for rudy

If he were progressive, why didn't Dean back him?

Obviously, cause Dean is the DNC chair and has to back the Democrat.

I would honestly say that Bloomberg and Ferrer are about equally progressive. Ferrer comes off as kind of slimy. New Yorkers are some of the most liberal people in this country (just look at the 2004 election--more than 80% of us, thank god, voted for Kerry.) Bloomberg is a republican in name only. And anyway, for my conscience's sake, I voted for him on the Liberal Party ticket.

I always vote for a candidate by using a minor party line.

I just feel it keeps them more honest. Make them think that having the D or R is not enough to get re-elected, they will actually have to work for it.

just because they are a Democrat? Did McAuliffe show up everywhere too? I can't remember him doing that...not that I paid much attention.

but that was not the question--the question was why Dean, the DNC chair, did not endorse the NYC Republican Mayoral candidate, and my point is that the answer to this quesion is self-evident.

I certainly wouldn't expect Dean to endorse Bloomberg (what am I, nuts?)...I meant I thought Dean was REALLY backing Ferrer in a STRONG way by going there and campaigning for him....and therefore I had a belief that Ferrer was progressive.

And sure, Ferrer is progressive. Just not obviously more progressive than Bloomberg, and certainly without the rather good track record that Bloomberg has built over the last four years.

A lot of prominent dems came to NYC and endorsed Ferrer in a really half-hearted way. Bill Clinton endorsed Ferrer and then hung out with Bloomberg....that very same day.

Well, at least Bloomberg's progressive--even if he is technically a Republican. I'm in favor of "good" politicians regardless of party, although I don't think I could bring myself to vote for a Republican. That would be hard. Maybe because I've never had a "good" Republican alternative.

led most prominently by Nelson Rockefeller, of course. But frankly, Bloomberg is not even one of them. It really is true that he would have run as a democrat if not for having to go through the crazy dem primaries 4 years ago.

as moderate as he is, he still is a big financial supporter of the uber-corporatists, since he IS one.

Cause he ran Goldman? Or Bill Gates and his billions of dollars to philanthropic causes? I sure don't like Microsoft very much, but I sure as hell appreciate the money Gates has been pouring into medical research for childhood diseases.

The world is not black and white.

in the mold of Bush, Frist, etc. Neither was Giuliani. This is how they can win. Plus the Democratic candidate this year (Ferrer) was not very strong. I am not saying I like Bloomberg or Giuliani (I don't) but they are not bible toting, end of times preaching nutjobs. If they were they would both have been laughed out of the campaign before even running for any office.

winning the democratic nomination required schmoozing, but winning the republican nomination required only money. so he ran as a republican.

of course, he did make a deal with the devil and so he does have to go along with the republicans for appearances. but in practice, new york is so overwhelmingly democratic, so he's couldn't exactly govern from the right, even if he wanted to.

I voted for Ferrer because I can't pull the R lever. I know Bloomberg will win. I wish we had had a stronger candidate. Bloomberg spent as much money in one day as Ferreer spent on the entire campaign. He bought the election but there's nothing we can do.

Bloomberg was always a Dem and NYers wouldn't nominate him. So he switched parties (Rep and Liberal Parties). He's a super RINO. He also donates tens of millions of dollars to great causes. Notice that Bush or Guiliani came nowhere near NYC for this election. That would have been the end of it.

Guiliani, by the way, is a lying *hole!

I couldn't figure it out either but you guys connected the dots.

who ran as a Republican because the Dem primary field was crowded and with billions and billions of dollars he can do whatever he wants. He's not even a "Rockefeller Republican", he's a flaming liberal RINO. The NY Conservative party refuses to endorse him, and the Liberal party would if they still existed.

Giuliani is pro-choice. I'm not familiar with his other views.

These two would not stand a chance in a conservative Republican area.

every time I hear him he sure does give a great endorsement for Bush. :puke:

If he runs for anything, watch him try to distance himself from Bush again..

You gotta realize. New York City politics on the local level is dominated by the Democrats and in the neighborhoods those politics are not progressive--thy are tribal. I mean we're talking a situation that's not too disimilar to Bosnia here.

Take Brooklyn, for example. Electoral districts tend to follow neighborhood lines and neighborhoods tend to be ethnic. In Bed Stuy, African-Americans dominate and you win election by catering to the causes that mean a great deal to African-Americans--reperations for slavery anybody? Reperations aren't going to get you anywhere in heavily Hispanic Sunset Park but closing down the Navy Base in Vieques! Yessir we have a winner. Over in Borough Park where Orthodox Jews prevail devotion to the State of Isreal is THE issue but in neighboring Bay Ridge, which has become increasingly Arabic in recent years, a candidate professing slavish devotion to Israel might get trounced. The Russians over in Bensonhurst have their issues--oh and don't forget the Irish and the Italians--but then they usually vote Republican these days although a good streetsmart progressive can sometimes win them over.

By the time a Democrat has gone up through the electoral ranks to a citywide office, he or she has usually had to kowtow to the particular fetishes of his or her base to the point that no one else can stand them. African Americans and Hispanics are often at odds and both have been known to turn on the gays.

Republicans don't have that problem. They can just do what they do knowing that one or the other of the usually Democratic tribal groups will turn their way out of spit toward the other--or simply stay home and refuse to vote.

It's ugly out here in NY.