Bloomberg Sets Record For Personal Spending In Pursuit Of Public Office

nytimes.com:

Michael R. Bloomberg, the Wall Street mogul whose fortune catapulted him into New York's City Hall, has set another staggering financial record: He has now spent more of his own money than any other individual in United States history in the pursuit of public office.

Newly released campaign records show the mayor, as of Friday, had spent $85 million on his latest re-election campaign, and is on pace to spend between $110 million and $140 million before the election on Nov. 3.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[DCato]

This sort of thing is the reason Hamid Karzai looks mystified when western leaders criticize him for buying votes.

[MathIsTruth]

Unfortunately, America's founding fathers believed that it should be the wealthy who could hold political power, and the poor should not even be allowed to vote.

And even more unfortunately, we have not found a way to purge our political system of this philosophy entirely.

[alienator]

Until we have real finance reform, as in public financing, the status quo will continue and result in......well the status quo.
There will never be ANY government reform as long as money is involved.

"Money, is the root of all evil today."

PS. I could sure use some weekend fans.

[kayg]

he should be voted out just for the amount of vote bloomberg crap he stuffs in our nyc mailboxes *daily*.

[middleoftheroad]

Vote against Bllomberg and Corzine.....Corzine has spent 30 million of his Goldman fortune buying the gov seat in this election alone!

[felixthecat]

But Corzine's opponent is Chris - A FAT HOMOPHOBIC REPUBLICAN. I take Corzine over Chris but Bloomberg needs to be brought down. Then the events of that mid-September weekend gave Bloomberg the cover he needed, emotionally as well as politically. Down in Washington, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and other government officials decided to let Lehman Brothers collapse. When Bloomberg found out, on Sunday, he was strangely upbeat, canceling a scheduled trip to California and preparing to jump into the action on Monday morning, when he knew the stock markets would convulse. “There was a spring in his step, because he recognized it was a crisis,” a senior aide says. “These guys—Paulson, Geithner—were reaching out to him: ‘What do you think?’ It totally energized him.” After months of brooding about his upcoming forced retirement, Bloomberg believed he wasn’t simply needed again; he was indispensable to the city’s survival.

It took several more weeks to make Bloomberg’s grab for a third term official, but the campaign had been under way for months. Much of the mogul class had been encouraging Bloomberg, appealing to his sense of himself as above politics, telling him that the city couldn’t afford a return to old-style Democratic rule. At first Bloomberg was in favor of a different strategy: Handing off City Hall to a like-minded plutocrat, former Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons.

[felixthecat]

Mike Bloomberg Owns This Town
With shrewdness and luck, an imperious idea of democracy, and plenty of money, the mayor has made himself the only political player in New York who really matters.

http://nymag.com/news/politics/60161/

[felixthecat]

The serious side of this is that with his money, Bloomberg intimidated candidates out of running against him, and also, bought himself free passes on certain issues that should be of critical concern to us.

This past summer, Amsterdam's Mayor Job Cohen officiated the marriages of five Dutch-American gay couples. He stated that he was sending a message to his backwards Amercan counterparts and in particular, to Bloomberg.

What has been Bloomberg's reaction?

He accepted the endorsement of Giuliani, who within the last year boasted that he would win office in New York State by expoliting anti-gay bigotry, using gay rights as a wedge issue against Democratic opponents.

I am betting the $85 million Bloomberg has spent on this campaign so far that had Giuliani instead said he would exploit anti-Semitism to gain political power, Bloomberg would not accept Giuliani's endorsement.

If every gay New Yorker moved to Amsterdam tomorrow, what would the effect be on the city's economy? A mayor of New Yorker should be a world leader on gay rights, and by extension a credible spokesperson for human rights everywhere. What can Bloomberg credibly say on civil and human rights issues when he isn't on a level with the mayor of Amsterdam?

I mean, seriously?

[felixthecat]

http://bloombergwatch.com/

[gunnergoz]

Another argument for campaign funding reform. Why should the wealthy have a better shot at public office than someone who is not? They are not necessarily smarter or more ethical but they sure can try to buy votes. And once in office, their concerns are almost uniformly for their wealthy and corporate pals.
I say, pool all campaign funds anonymously and share them out equally to all candidates. If men like Bloomberg contribute $ Millions, then they will find their money going as much to their opponent as it does to their own campaign. Millions nullified and undue influence with it.
Either we have a democracy or we don't.

[Kassandra]

"Bloomberg Sets Record For Personal Spending In Pursuit Of Public Office"

Big deal! I bet MY governor has set the record for PUBLIC spending while IN office!

[dct1999]

Bloomberg's circumvention of term limits was disgraceful.

[dct1999]

Bloomberg is an enemy of all who aren't wealthy. He sees NYC as an extension of the suburbs replete with lawn chairs.

I will be voting for Thompson, not with a lot of enthusiasm but with the belief that the current mayor has to go.

[miksmaster]

Campaign Finance Reform NOW. Campaign Finance Reform NOW.

Just because this guy has a ton of dough does that qualify him to be the best choice for mayor of New York? I say “NO”!
I say “level the playing field”. Let the voters choose the best candidate based on their ideas not their bank account.
Imagine if a very rich, (but very stooopid) guy from a very rich family decided to run for president of the United States. A good example would be, let’s see now, how about George W. Bush. He has a lot of money. His family has a lot of money. They have “connections”. What if a rich, stooopid guy like this somehow got it into his head that he wanted to be president? Could you imagine what a disaster it would be? He would most likely give tax cuts to his rich friends and start unnecessary wars “just for snicks” and totally wreck our economy and cause the whole world to hate us. Could you imagine? Just for a minute?

(Ring. Ring. Ring.) That’s my alarm going off. I’m awake now. OMG – it’s true! It really happened! I thought it was just a dream! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Campaign Finance Reform NOW. Campaign Finance Reform NOW.

I rest my case.

[gunnergoz]

Excellent. Fanned.

[HekmabaJuzimax]

New York City politics is looking more and more like the third world every day.

[bzb]

What do you mean by that?

[HekmabaJuzimax]

Rich industrialists using their vast resources to ensure their grip on power; demonization of candidates who come from lower classes; No equal time from the Media; covering up or distorting crime statistics to make the incumbent look better; paying off powerful groups in services -- environmental and bike groups are being paid for their votes in bike lanes, which are temporary; consolidation of power and elimination of rivals through the elimination of mayoral posts. The list goes on and on, but my head hurts and I need a nap.

[bzb]

Bloomberg is buying votes and having Giuliani backing him was not a good idea.