Koch Tries to Make New York Bush-Friendly

[MtnBiker]

NewsMax.com columnist and former mayor Ed Koch stars in a new campaign urging New Yorkers to be tolerant and welcoming during the Republican National Convention in late summer.

One ad, the New York Post reported today, depicts Koch with this caption: "The Republicans are coming. Make nice."

The other shows him next to an elephant, the GOP symbol, and notes, "You don't have to be a Democrat to love New York."

Koch, a lifelong Democrat who has endorsed President Bush's re-election, said: "This is a bipartisan operation. It's non-political from my vantage point."

link

 

[rtwngAvngr]

look libs. Even lifelong democrats are voting for bush. your party is SO in the crapper.

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by rtwngAvngr
look libs. Even lifelong democrats are voting for bush. your party is SO in the crapper.

And there are lifelong republicans that vote democratric. It means nothing.
Well, I'll admit that Koch is a pretty high profile lifelong Democrat.

 

[Gop guy]

Originally posted by rtwngAvngr
look libs. Even lifelong democrats are voting for bush. your party is SO in the crapper.

God you're great RWA!

 

[winston churchi]

I always liked Ed Koch...back when he was the mayor of New York...but I didn't vote for him when he ran against Cuomo for Gov.

I think a lot of New Yorkers, dem and Rep have always liked Koch.

 

[Fletch]

Funny you don't hear Mitt Romney praising the Dem Convention here in Boston.

 

[Avatar4321]

Originally posted by Fletch
Funny you don't hear Mitt Romney praising the Dem Convention here in Boston.

Why would he? for one its a Boston event. Governor really shouldnt be involved. but more importantly he is campaigning for Bush. Why would he be out supporting Kerry lol

 

[acludem]

Koch is a classic Republicrat. He's a Republican when it suits him and democrat when that suits him. He's supporting President Bush to curry favor with Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg.

acludem

 

[MtnBiker]

What possible reason does Koch need to curry favor with Bloomberg or Guilliani?

 

[nycflasher]

I was wondering that too.
Street cred?:cof:

 

[insein]

Originally posted by nycflasher
I was wondering that too.
Street cred?:cof:

East Coast Killas...:

 

[acludem]

My guess is that as a former NYC mayor he wants to stay in the loop.

He's a Republicrat anyway you paint it.

acludem

 

[insein]

Originally posted by acludem
My guess is that as a former NYC mayor he wants to stay in the loop.

He's a Republicrat anyway you paint it.

acludem

I guess Zell miller is too.

 

[Avatar4321]

Originally posted by acludem
My guess is that as a former NYC mayor he wants to stay in the loop.

He's a Republicrat anyway you paint it.

acludem

Maybe he simply realized that New York City, a City he loves, was attacked and that one political party is fighting to prevent another such attack and the other party is fighting them on every turn and he in good conscious cant support a party who isnt going to seriously try to prevent another attack.

If he is a Republicrat, maybe we need more Democrats becoming Republicrats. Leave the radicals.

 

[MtnBiker]

Originally posted by acludem
My guess is that as a former NYC mayor he wants to stay in the loop.

He's a Republicrat anyway you paint it.

acludem

Speculation!

Here are some words from Ed Koch himself:


Democrats Making 'Unforgivable Mistake'
Edward I. Koch
Wednesday, July 16, 2003

I am a proud Democrat who generally supports Democratic candidates for office. I have never voted for anyone other than a Democrat for president. I believe that the Democratic Party's philosophy is overall far better for our country than the Republican Party's.

At the core of the Democratic ideology is a belief in helping the less fortunate among us. The Republican mantra, on the other hand, is "I made it on my own, and you will have to do the same."

Although I am a Democrat, I am no ideologue. In some local and state elections, I have proudly crossed party lines for candidates I thought were appreciably better. I believe that the most important issue facing the world is international terrorism, and it is my current intention to vote for George W. Bush for re-election.

I do not agree with him on many domestic issues, ranging from privatizing Social Security to tax reductions favoring the wealthy. However, because of his leadership and successes in the war against international terrorism, he is my current choice in 2004.

Full Story

I believe that the most important issue facing the world is international terrorism, and it is my current intention to vote for George W. Bush for re-election.

See Ed believes that without defeating terrorism all other issues would become irrelevant.

 

[insein]

Originally posted by MtnBiker
Speculation!

Here are some words from Ed Koch himself:


Democrats Making 'Unforgivable Mistake'
Edward I. Koch
Wednesday, July 16, 2003

I am a proud Democrat who generally supports Democratic candidates for office. I have never voted for anyone other than a Democrat for president. I believe that the Democratic Party's philosophy is overall far better for our country than the Republican Party's.

At the core of the Democratic ideology is a belief in helping the less fortunate among us. The Republican mantra, on the other hand, is "I made it on my own, and you will have to do the same."

Although I am a Democrat, I am no ideologue. In some local and state elections, I have proudly crossed party lines for candidates I thought were appreciably better. I believe that the most important issue facing the world is international terrorism, and it is my current intention to vote for George W. Bush for re-election.

I do not agree with him on many domestic issues, ranging from privatizing Social Security to tax reductions favoring the wealthy. However, because of his leadership and successes in the war against international terrorism, he is my current choice in 2004.

Full Story


See Ed believes that without defeating terrorism all other issues would become irrelevant.

I hope other Democrats vote with their heads and not their hearts as well.

 

[preemptingyou03]

acludem,

Koch isn't a big fan of Giuliani.

Koch is crossing party lines anv voting for GWB just like I would have voted for Truman.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

Originally posted by Gop guy
God you're great RWA!

I do what I can, when I can, for the people!

 

[rtwngAvngr]

Originally posted by nycflasher
And there are lifelong republicans that vote democratric. It means nothing.
Well, I'll admit that Koch is a pretty high profile lifelong Democrat.

"It means nothing. Ok, it means something." -- why bother?

 

[jimnyc]

Originally posted by rtwngAvngr
look libs. Even lifelong democrats are voting for bush. your party is SO in the crapper.

Democrats Desert Kerry for Bush

The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign fired a shot across Sen. John F. Kerry's bow with the release of the list of some 100 people making up the core of what the campaign calls "Democrats for Bush."

The group will be led by retiring Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, who committed to support President George W. Bush's re-election bid even before the Democrats had a sense of who their nominee would be.

"I was born a Democrat and I expect I'll be a Democrat until the day I leave this earth," Miller said, "but right now this president is the guy I support."

Miller, a two-term former Georgia governor who spent a total of 24 years as a statewide elected official before being appointed to the Senate, had some strong words for his own party at the group's kickoff.

"The direction the Democrats are headed is not based on what is good for America but what is good for the party, and at historic times like these, Americans deserve more," Miller said.

Other Democrats participating in events Wednesday on Bush's behalf included former Florida Lt. Gov. Wayne Mixson, who served under Bob Graham, and Ken Trentham, a former Bollinger, Mo., county commissioner.

The effort, which campaign officials say is one of many coalitions that will be assembled for the campaign, is further evidence that the Democrats' once powerful national majority, grounded in its control of state and local offices, is disintegrating. The number of Democrats crossing the aisle in presidential campaigns made a dramatic upswing during the Reagan years, especially in the South. The number of elected Democrats re-registering as Republicans averaged one per week over the eight years of the Clinton-Gore administration.

The group's charter members include a few party notables, such as former Democratic National Committee Executive Director Brian Lunde, former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell, former Kentucky state Democratic Chairman Larry Townsend, and former Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Bill Brewster. Most, however, are not nationally known but include several former statewide elected officials, several former U.S. representatives, a handful of local party leaders and close to two score current and former state legislators.

The Massachusetts senator's campaign downplayed the significance of the event, saying through a spokesman, "Miller's new leadership role will be a lonely post." Calling Miller "Zigzag Zell," the campaign released a set of talking points asserting that Kerry, a 19-year veteran of the Senate, and Miller, who was appointed to his seat in July 2000 after the death of Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell, have similar voting records on defense and national security issues.

The senator's campaign also released a series of quotes attributed to Miller that lauded Kerry's leadership, including one in which he called him, "one of this nation's authentic heroes."

During a conference call after the announcement, Miller pledged to carry forward his efforts to bring Democrats into the Bush camp. "Each of us knows fellow Democrats, whether they are family, friends or colleagues, that are of a like mind on the need to have a president that is firm in his beliefs," he said.

A letter Miller will send to the other charter members of the coalition asks each of them to recruit five Democrats who will continue the chain.

Writing to "Dear Fellow Democrat," Miller said, "We each have our own reasons for taking this position. Whether you support President Bush for the leadership he has provided in the war on terror, reducing the tax burden for families and businesses, or standing firm to strengthen American families, we agree that the times demand a president that provides steady leadership."

Calling on them to reflect on the party's roots, Miller said, "President Bush is acting on the ideals we have supported for years: promoting prosperity and equal opportunity; helping Americans most in need; defending America's security and promoting freedom. National Democratic leaders have lost sight of this fact in their raw desire to defeat George W. Bush."

Miller's letter includes a description of what he believes will be Kerry's initial public policy initiatives should he win the election: "Just consider what the first 100 days of a Kerry administration would look like: massive spending increases, immediate tax increase for families and businesses, dismantling our efforts to fight terror at home and overseas, and lost jobs due to excessive regulation."

The campaign hopes that Miller's active participation in the president's re-election campaign, while helping convince Democrats that Bush deserves a second term, may also help offset pro-Kerry comments coming from Republican U.S. Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, both of whom have recently contested the Bush campaign's use of Kerry's voting record on national security and defense issues.

Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Chairman Marc Racicot, a former governor of Montana, called the Democrats for Bush event an illustration of "the tremendous depth of support President Bush enjoys throughout the country. This president's steady leadership in times of change appeals to all voters, regardless of their political affiliation."

http://www.insightmag.com/news/2004/03/30/Politics/Democrats.Desert.Kerry.For.Bush-642873.shtml