Why are "seasoned Democratic hands" helping the GOP w/ NYC mayor's race?

[ClarkUSA]

Four years after he won City Hall as a novice politician, Michael R. Bloomberg is far outpacing his record-breaking spending in that race, and is well into a far more sophisticated second campaign for mayor - one that uses a multimillion-dollar vote-getting machine that mimics many of the techniques used by the 2004 Bush presidential campaign.
.....

And his team, led largely by seasoned Democratic hands, is obeying his charge, spending in ways that have left his potential rivals agape while following a far more rigid game plan than they did in 2001.

.....

The latest poll has shown Mr. Bloomberg leading all his Democratic opponents by comfortable margins, though the polls have been volatile. His opponents are attacking him, saying he is too closely aligned with Washington Republicans and has the wrong priorities for the city.
.....

Mr. Bloomberg's campaign manager, Kevin Sheekey, is leading the re-election effort, and has been meeting with various leaders, especially union chiefs. The campaign hopes that he will steal away at least some unions, especially in the construction trades, that traditionally get behind the Democrats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/nyregion/metrocampaigns/26strategy.html?hp&ex=1119758400&en=5546f658b0e7b773&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Mass]

1. I read somewhere that Schumer was supporting Bloomberg

and that Hill was expected to do the same thing.

Dont ask me why! I am not sure I understand.

[ClarkUSA]

5. Really? Say it ain't so...cripes!

I'll have to call Schumer and Clinton's offices on Monday and ask them straight out. Damn.

I hope MA can get rid of Romney soon, btw.

I expect NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to win back the NY governorship for the Democrats from from Pataki or whomever the GOP put up against him.

[davepc]

2. Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat who switched parties to take advantage

of the virtually empty Republican field in the New York political scene.

Essentially he decided it was easier in New York to be a moderate Republican then to be one of any dozen Democrats.

[ClarkUSA]

6. He's a bored billionaire-turned-arrogant pol

Turncoat opportunist.

Political carpetbagger.

[davepc]

8. *shrug*

big city politics.

Last time New York had a string of dyed in the wool Democrats as Mayors the place was a sewer.

People's memories aren't that short.

[ClarkUSA]

10. Maybe we should have waited until Koch morphed into NY's Zell Miller...

actually I am too young to remember what you're referring to but how can that matter to people now?

[davepc]

12. I'm only 27

And I remember pretty clearly the squeegee men assaulting your car as you exited the Holland Tunnel and aggressively demanding payment for their "service" of washing your windshield with dirty water. I remember stepping over the homeless in Grand Central station. I remember the pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers who owned Times Square.

[ClarkUSA]

19. Sorry to tell you, but the prostitutes, etc. just moved to other digs...

and those reasons you give are really cosmetic and I could care less. Plenty of homeless still around, just not in high-profile areas. Shifting around poor people so as to not annoy the hoi-polloi is a rotten reason to like Repuke mayors.

[jmaier]

3. Not to mention that the Democratic field is pretty anemic

which seems odd coming from a bastion of the Democratic Party. You might expect Lincoln, NE to have a weak field of Democrats, but NYC!

[ClarkUSA]

7. Yes, that's something that's always surprised me, too

NYC needs to get their act together.

What's the matter with Mark Green, does anyone know?

[davepc]

11. Nothing per say...just

The Democratic political landscape is just too divided for him to united enough of the cities Democratic factions behind him.

Or he's too weak of a leader to do it.

[ClarkUSA]

13. Yes, and that's very frustrating.

That still doesn't explain why these senior strategists are helping Bloomsberg instead of the Democratic candidates, unless it's all about $$$$.

[davepc]

14. What exactly has Bloomberg done that is so bad?

Where has he vigorously fought against Democratic or even progressive principles?

His police department is not nearly as jack booted as Gualianis, he helps being economic development to the city which doesn't eradicate entire neighbor hoods. He's pro-gay rights, pro-choice, pro imigrants rights(be they legal or otherwise). He fights for federal anti-terrorism funding -- along with Schumer and Clinton-- which the Republican Congress has been withholding. He raised taxes. He balanced the cities budget and created a SURPLUS of $3 billion which was no mean feat in the wake of 9/11.

The biggest knock on him is that he wanted to build a stadium over a parking lot for trains.

Don't be so transfixed on the (R) next to his name. The bigger issue is if he's doing things that make the city BETTER.

[ClarkUSA]

18. Arresting 1000's of peaceful demonstrators during GOP Convention...

without charges and holding them in jail until the Convention was over and giving
bullshit reasons throughout while the ACLU was demanding why the people were still in holding cells?

Bloomsberg is an apologist for the Republican Party. His schilling for Bush/Cheney04 during the entire convention made me sick.

I won't go through the trouble of digging up the quotes or the photo-ops with Bush and Pataki.

I want to know why high-level Dem Party consultants would help a GOP candidate.

I can't believe that Fernando Ferrer is that bad a candidate.

[sleipnir]

4. Because the system is set up for Bloomberg to win.

Many of these people are old friends, from his days when he still called himself a Democrat, before he went from Anakin to Darth Vader.

The fractured NYC Dem party can't get a "visible" cadidate who is worth shit to run for mayor.

Bloomberg despite all of his horrific dealings with the RNC, the West Side Stadium and the Ratner's Brooklyn stadium, isn't that bad of a mayor. One could do much worse than Bloomberg...but we can also do better. I just wish the system wasn't set up to necessitate a "celebrity-like" cadidate to bring down Bloomberg.

[ClarkUSA]

9. Good points - goodness knows there are enough celebs in NYC

but what's wrong with Mark Green or Fernando Ferrer?

Democrats would rather back Bloomsberg than one of our own?

This type of cronyistic crap is what makes me sick about this Party.

[Nite Owl]

15. I thought Mark Green

was going to run for AG? I hope he is, he would be terrific.
NYC dems spend so much time bickering with each other that the Repuke gets in.

[ClarkUSA]

17. Yes, you're right...and I think he'd be terrific, too

Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to his prior run as mayor and Ferrer's present candidacy.

Dems are so stupid sometimes.

All the GOP cares about is winning: see Bloomsberg.

[FluxRostrum]

16. Because there's only 1 Party

2 parties 1 class.

neither republicans or democrats are representing us.
they represent the corporations.

sure there are several democrats with great intentions, a couple of republicans too; but they've got no balls and therefore end up begging crumbs from the Corpo-Alpha-Politicians of both parties.

Individualy there a some good democrats. Now if they would just put their ideals above boot licking the party line we might have a great country again.