Freddy goes for Bloomy's throat (NYC Mayoral Debate)

[brooklynite]

Looking directly at Mayor Bloomberg and scoffing, "I don't know what city you're living in," underdog Democratic challenger Fernando Ferrer went on the attack yesterday in the candidates' first debate.
Bloomberg met Ferrer's combativeness on issues ranging from education to housing to the economy with cool confidence, throwing few punches of his own and, at times, barely responding to his rival's charges.

Ferrer, who is desperately trying to deflate the mayor's 31-point poll lead with the election just over a week away, took every opportunity yesterday to chip away at the billionaire incumbent's multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign and link Bloomberg to the national GOP.

Ferrer ridiculed the mayor's representatives to the MTA as "potted plants," repeatedly rebuked Bloomberg for chasing the Olympic Games and the West Side stadium, and accused Hizzoner of ignoring the high dropout rate in the city schools.

"Mike Bloomberg thinks everything's going just great in this town, and for some it is, but for millions of others it isn't," he said. "There are two New Yorks.

http://nydailynews.com/front/story/360903p-307488c.html
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This article, to be honest is fairly charitable about Ferrer's performance. He was certainly more agressive in his criticism, but has so far failed to offer a clear message about how he would change things as mayor. Ferrer is going to lose badly next week, leading the Democratic Party to its fourth straight defeat in sixteen years, and Bloomy's ad buys aren't going to be to blame. Ferrer's candidacy is the result of a continuing reliance on "coalition politics" which hasn't turned out adequate numbers of voters in decades. The successful candidates (Giuliani, Koch, Lindsay) have been those who could appeal to a broad swath of the city population. The Dems are going to need to find more candidates who can do the same.

[The_Counsel]

1. ...And Yet, The Daily News Still Endorsed Bloomberg

The Democratic Machine must be in pretty bad shape if their candidate is going to take the kind of ass-whoopin' Ferrer is expected to take on 11/8. I mean Dems outnumber GOP-ers by 5:1 in that city for cripes sake... :eyes:

[november3rd]

3. Ass-Whoopin'

After Mark Green's demise, nobody wants to stand up to Bloomberg's million$. Between his media contacts, the right wing spin machine, the upper class tax cut crowd, and the public's general ignorance of the real issues and policies involved in the election, Bloomberg should win in a landslide. Sad but true.

[KurtNYC]

7. Mark Green ran a terrible campaign

capped off by the worst attack ads in recent memory. And Giuliani /911 set the stage for Bloomberg to eek out a win.

Ferrer is written off by the local media and can't seem to break through the idea that "he can't win."

[Chovexani]

5. It doesn't help that the Dems we keep putting up are schmucks

Gods, I wish I could vote "None of the above" next Tuesday. I will hold my nose and vote for Ferrer simply because I hate Bloomberg more than I hate him, and I have never voted Repuke ever--and barring some weird aligning of the planets, never will.

[The_Counsel]

9. I Don't Understand It, Myself...

...8 million people in New York and they can't find even ONE Dem that know his ass from a hole in the wall. Dinkins may have had his faults, but I still can't see how my fellow NY-ers thought Guilliani was a better bet. :shrug:

Here in Rochester, we dumped the best candidate for mayor in the Dem primary, and is now faced with a choice between a right wing nut and a Republican posing as a Dem because the Dem:GOP split is something like 4:1 in the city. I'm really fighting the urge to vote for the Republican in this one. He may be a wing nut, but at least he has a brain. Also, the City Council is 100% Dem, so he won't get too far with his policies if they too right wing.

The Dem, on the other hand is a empty suit nitwit that reminds me too much of Bush, if you can believe it...

[iconoclastNYC]

10. This isn't about our party.

This dude is super-far left Republican in name only. If he wasn't a billionaire the Republican party would spit on him.

He's spending 100 million dollars on the race. Thats like $100 per vote.

[Stephanie]

2. Did you know Bloomberg gave $7 MILLION to the RNC Convention last summer?

UNfreaking believable!!!

[DLnyc]

4. Is Bloomberg News connected to Bloomberg? Yes, to the max.

Mike Bloomberg owns Bloomberg LP (which includes Bloomberg News) outright, as far as I know. It is not a public corporation--it's owned lock stock and barrel by 'humble' Mike.

That gives him quite a bit of leverage with every big-money operator in NYC and elsewhere.

[warrens]

6. Anywhere else Mike would be a wild-eyed liberal

He only ran as a Rethug because the Dem party had a waiting list a mile long, and had promised the nomination to Mark Green, who is to exciting and original as Spam is to tasty and nutritious.

[KurtNYC]

8. a "liberal" who donated $190,000 to Bush 2004?!

hosted the RNC convention and locked up 2600+ in a fire trap for three days without charges?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/10/17/171652/36

[0rganism]

11. He may be a RINO, but he carries enough water for a hundred true believers

* Hosted the 2004 RNC for cryin' out loud, enabling endless abuse of the WTC disaster

* Millions given to rightwing candidates and causes

* Gives the GOP big-time leverage within the northeast

* Perceived as St. Giuliani's heir-apparent

There's four reasons right there not to front-load apologetics for Mayor Bloomberg. The Democratic party of NYC needs to get its shit together. NO EXCUSES.

[shantipriya]

12. Bloomberg

The fact is that Bloomberg is a DEMOCRAT. He switched party just before the last election so he could run for the Mayor's election because the Democratic Party wouldn't give him a spot!

[geek tragedy]

13. If Dems want to win back the mayor's office, they have to do something

about the NYC Democratic machine, which is the blue-state equivalent to Tom DeLay's cabal.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

14. The changing demographics in NYC may make it GOPland

The squeeze out of the typical New Yorker who comes with nothing to bite out a piece of the Big Apple is probably at play here. And in the future it will be even worse.

Having moved to NYC in 1976 and out in 1998 I observed the huge changes. Rents are so outrageous that young people hoping for a career there without having alot of money in pocket can expect to live in New Jersey and commute. There are still affordable places in the outer boroughs, but they are fast becoming unaffordable.

Once rent controls are gone, you can say good-bye to Liberal NYC. Unless of course the markets tank and then it's time for a new FDR!!

[brentspeak]

15. Impossible for Bloomberg to be unseated

1) There's no widespread city discontentment with Bloomberg.

2) There's no major crisis or multiple minor crises that's bedeviling the city.

3) There's no superstar opposition candidate that would wrench city residents into paying attention to the election.

In fact, Bloomberg is wasting so many millions of dollars on this particular campaign. He would win hands down even he spent $10 million instead of $100 million.