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Patriot Games
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http://www.newsmax.com/politics/bloomberg_president/2008/01/20/65944.html
Bloomberg Has Harsh Words for Washington
Sunday, January 20, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who says he's not a
candidate for president, chose electoral vote-rich California for a
scorching attack Saturday on Washington.
Without singling out either party for blame, he said Washington has failed
to keep up with the need for new airports, roads, water systems and bridges
across America.
While China and other nations are investing heavily in ports and high-speed
trains "Washington doesn't have a plan" to address crumbling U.S.
infrastructure, Bloomberg said.
In remarks clearly aimed at a national audience, the mayor said politics
trumps common sense in Congress, where pork-barrel spending takes priority.
Inevitably, the economy will be strangled if goods and people can't move
easily, he warned.
"In politics, winning elections and protecting a party majority is more
important than solving problems. And so short-term pork invariably wins over
long-term investments," the mayor said.
Washington "spends money to win votes and collect campaign cash no matter
what the real needs are," Bloomberg added. "It's hurting our country."
The Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent mayor appeared with Govs.
Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican, and Ed Rendell of
Pennsylvania, a Democrat, to announce a coalition that would push for more
investment in ports, highways and other infrastructure. Both governors are
known for reaching across party lines to achieve compromise.
"We have an independent here, we have a Democrat here, a Republican. I mean,
how much better can you get?" Schwarzenegger said.
The coalition, Building America's Future, will be a not-for-profit
organization that will be made up of elected and other officials. It will
work with presidential candidates and the platform committees of the
national political parties to bring attention to infrastructure needs, which
Schwarzenegger said exceed $1 trillion.
Bloomberg appearance came on the second day of a trip that also took him to
Texas, another key state on the presidential election map where he met
privately Friday with an expert in third-party ballot access who served as
campaign manager for H. Ross Perot.
In an era when the public views government with suspicion and loathing, the
billionaire mayor is honing an image as an innovative problem-solver working
outside the partisan scrum of Washington politics.
Aides say Bloomberg will delay a decision until after the major parties
produce clear front-runners.
Bloomberg has been quietly polling and analyzing voting trends in every
state as he contemplates launching a campaign. On Tuesday, his supporters
launched a 50-state petition drive in an attempt to "draft" him into the
race.
As an independent candidate in California, Bloomberg would have to collect
nearly 160,000 voter signatures between April 25 and August 8 to qualify for
the ballot.
The billionaire mayor could fund the most lavish - and expensive - campaign
in history, but the record of third-party candidates like Perot is not
impressive.
"They usually show promise early on, and then voters go back to their
partisan loyalties," said Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who's worked
on presidential campaigns for Bill Clinton, Dick Gephardt and Ted Kennedy.
Bloomberg met privately Friday with Clay Mulford, who is well-versed in
third-party ballot access and served as campaign manager for Perot. The
Texas businessman sought the presidency in 1992 and 1996.
Schwarzenegger was asked if he was staying neutral in the presidential race
to see if Bloomberg would jump in, and he answered, "I respect all of the
candidates in the Republican lineup. ... I will not endorse anybody."
Rendell, a prodigious fundraiser and former general chairman of the
Democratic National Committee, is a political maverick who delivered most of
his ambitious first-term agenda by building coalitions in a Legislature
controlled by Republicans. He is in his second year of his second four-year
term.
Bloomberg Has Harsh Words for Washington
Sunday, January 20, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who says he's not a
candidate for president, chose electoral vote-rich California for a
scorching attack Saturday on Washington.
Without singling out either party for blame, he said Washington has failed
to keep up with the need for new airports, roads, water systems and bridges
across America.
While China and other nations are investing heavily in ports and high-speed
trains "Washington doesn't have a plan" to address crumbling U.S.
infrastructure, Bloomberg said.
In remarks clearly aimed at a national audience, the mayor said politics
trumps common sense in Congress, where pork-barrel spending takes priority.
Inevitably, the economy will be strangled if goods and people can't move
easily, he warned.
"In politics, winning elections and protecting a party majority is more
important than solving problems. And so short-term pork invariably wins over
long-term investments," the mayor said.
Washington "spends money to win votes and collect campaign cash no matter
what the real needs are," Bloomberg added. "It's hurting our country."
The Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent mayor appeared with Govs.
Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican, and Ed Rendell of
Pennsylvania, a Democrat, to announce a coalition that would push for more
investment in ports, highways and other infrastructure. Both governors are
known for reaching across party lines to achieve compromise.
"We have an independent here, we have a Democrat here, a Republican. I mean,
how much better can you get?" Schwarzenegger said.
The coalition, Building America's Future, will be a not-for-profit
organization that will be made up of elected and other officials. It will
work with presidential candidates and the platform committees of the
national political parties to bring attention to infrastructure needs, which
Schwarzenegger said exceed $1 trillion.
Bloomberg appearance came on the second day of a trip that also took him to
Texas, another key state on the presidential election map where he met
privately Friday with an expert in third-party ballot access who served as
campaign manager for H. Ross Perot.
In an era when the public views government with suspicion and loathing, the
billionaire mayor is honing an image as an innovative problem-solver working
outside the partisan scrum of Washington politics.
Aides say Bloomberg will delay a decision until after the major parties
produce clear front-runners.
Bloomberg has been quietly polling and analyzing voting trends in every
state as he contemplates launching a campaign. On Tuesday, his supporters
launched a 50-state petition drive in an attempt to "draft" him into the
race.
As an independent candidate in California, Bloomberg would have to collect
nearly 160,000 voter signatures between April 25 and August 8 to qualify for
the ballot.
The billionaire mayor could fund the most lavish - and expensive - campaign
in history, but the record of third-party candidates like Perot is not
impressive.
"They usually show promise early on, and then voters go back to their
partisan loyalties," said Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who's worked
on presidential campaigns for Bill Clinton, Dick Gephardt and Ted Kennedy.
Bloomberg met privately Friday with Clay Mulford, who is well-versed in
third-party ballot access and served as campaign manager for Perot. The
Texas businessman sought the presidency in 1992 and 1996.
Schwarzenegger was asked if he was staying neutral in the presidential race
to see if Bloomberg would jump in, and he answered, "I respect all of the
candidates in the Republican lineup. ... I will not endorse anybody."
Rendell, a prodigious fundraiser and former general chairman of the
Democratic National Committee, is a political maverick who delivered most of
his ambitious first-term agenda by building coalitions in a Legislature
controlled by Republicans. He is in his second year of his second four-year
term.
