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Jewish World Review Nov. 2, 2005 / 30 Tishrei, 5766 Scarlett R? By Froma Harrop
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Anyone who knows New York City politics had to laugh at a recent
item in the New York Post. The headline read, "Stealth politics: The secret
life of 'GOP Mike.'"
The intrepid reporter had invoked the Freedom of Information Act
to obtain the daily schedules of Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is running for
another term. Objective: Prove that His Honor, a Grand Old Party registrant
in this city of Democrats, does indeed consort with fellow Republicans.
Much was revealed.
Fact: Bloomberg saw Bush political adviser Sara Taylor at 8:30
a.m. on May 6. Fact: Bloomberg attended a Bronx Republican Committee
breakfast on Feb. 26. Fact: Bloomberg went to a Jan. 27 fund-raiser run by
former Republican mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Bloomberg issues a daily schedule
for the public, but these meetings did not appear on it.
With the approval ratings for the Bush administration and the
GOP-controlled Congress crashing, has the Republican label become toxic?
True, New York City is liberal for all seasons, but Bloomberg is 30
percentage points ahead of his Democratic rival. Why would he fret over his
party affiliation, unless he thought the Washington plague was spreading?
Perhaps it is, for Republicans in places far more conservative than Gotham
are also distancing themselves from the national party.
In Minnesota, for example, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently
lamented that his party is "on the ropes," and he would be "lucky to get
re-elected." And Minnesota is a state that Republicans like to think is
trending their way. In his interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Pawlenty
quipped, "I hope voters are smart enough to know that I'm not involved in
the Valerie Plame affair."
Not long ago, politicians in New York City could be more
outwardly Republican. It was no secret in the last three mayoral elections
that Bloomberg and Giuliani, before him, were Republicans. Only 14 months
ago, Bloomberg played proud host to the Republican National Convention.
New Yorkers often elect Republican mayors to control the
excesses of their liberal city council. Similar things happen on the state
level: Progressive-minded voters choose moderate Republican governors to
rein in their legislatures, which tend to give the store away to
public-employee unions. That's why the true-blue states of California and
New York have Republican governors, as do the four most liberal New England
states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island.
But have the crazy deficit-spending, cheap-labor policies and
corruption in Washington reached a point that the discontent is rubbing off
on even popular Republicans in moderate-to-liberal parts of the country? It
does seem strange that Bloomberg, who has always worn his Republican ties
loosely, should try to expunge them from the record altogether.
Bloomberg should have nothing to worry about. He's won loud
plaudits for leading New York through the post-9/11 trauma. When the local
economy tanked, he did not cut services. He raised taxes. The conservative
Manhattan Institute hollered at him for that, which only endeared him more
to the locals.
The mayor knew what he was doing. The whole place was mired in
deep depression. It would have been unseemly to dismiss hundreds of city
workers, especially after so many had given their lives at the World Trade
Center.
Bloomberg became a billionaire (five times over, some people
think) by being an astute businessman. As such, he understands that New York
City is a product. You don't get customers back by offering dirty streets
and rundown city parks. The economy recovered, and then some. With the
fiscal house in order, Bloomberg reduced some taxes.
Under Bloomberg, falling crime rates fell further. The schools
got better. While Republicans in Washington dispensed pork and moral
lectures, Bloomberg governed. He worked with unions to end some of the
city's wasteful labor practices, and he found new places to send the
garbage.
The New York Times gave Bloomberg a rousing endorsement, even
though the Democrat, former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, is not
half bad. Given the sunny prospects for next week's election, why does
Bloomberg go to such lengths to hide the Republican tag?
Something has clearly happened in recent months, and it didn't
happen in New York City. It happened in Washington. And you have to wonder
how many other Republicans across America are, like Bloomberg, running
television ads that don't mention the "R" word.
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© 2005 Creators Syndicate |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
