The groundbreaking and earth-shattering news of the day is that Mayor Bloomberg has officially changed his party status from Republican to Independent. The one-time Democrat switched to the elephants to run for Mayor of New York to follow in Giulani's footsteps. Although Bloomie continued the pro-corporate atmosphere of the city, he is hardly anything like his "Hitler on the Hudson" predecessor. Now the change in the antecedent initial following his name is more in line with his policies as Mayor.
Bloomberg's statement via The New York Times:
I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city.
A nonpartisan approach has worked wonders in New York: we’ve balanced budgets, grown our economy, improved public health, reformed the school system and made the nation’s safest city even safer.We have achieved real progress by overcoming the partisanship that too often puts narrow interests above the common good. As a political independent, I will continue to work with those in all political parties to find common ground, to put partisanship aside and to achieve real solutions to the challenges we face.
Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles and that good ideas should take precedence over rigid adherence to any particular political ideology. Working together, there’s no limit to what we can do.
Well that sounded great, but what is it for exactly? Could he have simply made the move (first for the NYC Mayoralty since 1971) to reflect his policies or for loftier purposes, such as running for President. This move followed his speech at Google yesterday that threw a few jabs at Bush and the Republican nominees. For someone that isn't running for the highest office in the land, he certainly is making all the right moves for his best possible shot next year.
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