Why All That Money Bloomberg Spent Didn't Buy Him Much Love

-by Noah

Imagine if Obamarahma had actually given Thompson a real endorsement and backing. No, instead they did the wimpy thing and didn't stand for a Democrat, or pinciple. Then again, it's obvious to me that Obamarahma and Bloomberg are cut from the same Wall Street Corporatista cloth. With Obamarahma, it's all about political power and the money it brings in, not about doing the right and principled thing. Meanwhile, everyone in New York took note of how much money Bloomberg spent for his measly 5% victory. $100,000,000 of his own money didn't buy a lot of popularity, did it?

I think there are several factors in Bloomberg's poor bang for the buck showing. 1) People of all backgrounds here are really pissed about his circumvention of our local term limit law. He promised that he would serve only two terms, and then, when his second term was coming to a close, he leaned on the City Council to "amend the rules" so that he could run again. It's interesting to note that some of the council members who sided with Bloomberg on this matter didn't even make it through the primary this year and voters gave the usurpation of the term limits law, that the people had voted for, by certain City Council members as a factor in their decision to vote against them. Bloomberg got the City Council to go against the will of the people and many of them remembered that when they decided to vote for William Thompson instead of His "Honor."

2) Bloomberg is seen, by many, as joined at the hip with the sleazy Wall Street community.

3) Bloomberg's media company, Bloomberg Media, has a huge influence over virtually all media and media figures in the city. None dare speak against him. Those who own and run the local media are, naturally, Bloomberg supporters. One hand washes the other and reporters know that they better be team players, or the next time they are out looking for a job...

4) Lastly, towards the end of his campaign, Bloomberg brought in Rudy Giuliani to campaign with and for him. That one went over like a lead balloon as soon as, you guessed it, Rudy brought up 9/11! The idea of using tired old Rudy kind of stalled after that, but a little bit of damage was done. Rudy is a disease.

One other thing: as a tactical step, Bloomberg hired literally every major political consultant in the city, even if he didn't have work for them. Why? So Thompson could not hire them. End result: Thompson was understaffed and underfunded by a tremendous amount and still almost won. So, no one should puff out their chest and say how popular Bloomberg really is in this town, even if he did win. Bloomberg bought the whole system. He's our very own Ferdinand Marcos. I'm just not sure if it's him or his wife that lovingly collects the shoes.