Forget Weiner: There’s a real progressive for NYC Mayor

[DonViejo]

Bill de Blasio tells Salon he'll break from Bloomberg, end racial profiling and tax the rich to fund preschool

BY JOAN WALSH

The day the latest Anthony Weiner scandal surfaced, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed anti-racial profiling legislation, a young woman was murdered in the East Harlem housing project where mayoral candidates had stayed two nights earlier, and Bill de Blasio held a press conference to talk about his work to block the closing of two New York hospitals – which wound up dominated by questions about Weiner.

That’s mostly been the story of de Blasio’s campaign since Weiner jumped into the mayor’s race in May and immediately became City Council President Christine Quinn’s top rival. While the exhibitionist former congressman still has progressive fans from his days shouting about health care reform on Fox and MSNBC, de Blasio is the genuine progressive in the race, with bold stands on police controversies and economic inequality that set him apart. Still, he’s been stuck in the middle of the pack in the polls, behind Weiner, Quinn and former comptroller Bill Thompson, who lost to Bloomberg in 2009.

New York magazine, in a largely admiring profile of de Blasio, called his campaign “easily the most intellectually coherent and focused when it comes to inequality… but his wonky ideas are also in danger of getting lost in Weinermania” – and that was before the latest revelations of Weiner’s sexting habits after he left Congress.

Yet de Blasio, New York’s Public Advocate, may be the beneficiary of Weiner’s latest troubles: In the Wall Street Journal/Marist College poll released Thursday – the first poll taken after the new sexting news — Weiner had dropped far behind Quinn, and de Blasio had climbed into a tie with Thompson at 14 percent. He was in second place among voters who said they were likely to vote in the city’s Democratic primary — significant, because unless a candidate gets more than 40 percent of the primary vote, the top two vote-getters will compete in a run-off — though polling experts say surveys consistently undercount the African American Thompson’s support, which is how he came close to upsetting Bloomberg in 2009.

full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/07/26/forget_weiner_theres_a_real_progressive_for_nyc_mayor/

[hrmjustin]

1. I tend to think Thompson will gain from Weiners losslasio is a great guy but Thompson has a

better name ID.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. Interesting

[dusty trails]

3. Weiner's toast

n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. Kick. It's progressives and people who read critically who are backing DiBlasio.

The 1% MEDIA will try to set-up a run-off between Quinn and Thompson... either of which they can live with ( i.e. control).

To achieve this, they will black DiBlasio out ( pretty much as they've been doing).

DiBlasio's chances of making the runoff would improve significantly if Liu and/or Albanese would drop out. They're competing for the same votes.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

7. I'm sorry, but Quinn is unacceptable. She supports "stop and frisk". She sounds like Bloomberg on

steroids!

[Dustin DeWinde]

5. de blasio wIll never be our mayor

Joan Walsh is ok as far as limousine liberals go but she is clueless as to how we live here in nyc. She is one of those types that only sets foot in queens if she is going to the airport and doesn't go to Brooklyn or the Bronx for ANY reason. Hell, I would be suprised if she has ever been north of 96 th street in Manhattan.

I like her comments on national politics but she should really leave nyc politics to real new Yorkers. Bill Thompson is the peoples choice. And most of us would pick Weiner scandal and all over Di blasio or Quinn.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

6. Bill Thompson is the best. Why are people conveniently forgetting him?

http://billthompsonformayor.com