And by which I mean, I “want” to give honor — not sure if I can or I’m able but to I will, if pressed, at least attempt to do so.
Posted: July 14th, 2015 | Filed under: Things That Make You Go "Oy"On Tuesday night, the mayor took pains to reach several constituencies. Mr. de Blasio, who does not regularly attend church, began by saying, “I want to give honor to God.”
Nothing like shitting the bed and immediately heading out of town:
The mayor summoned journalists to his City Hall office for a pair of interviews on Tuesday afternoon, only hours before he was to leave New York for a weeklong family vacation to the Southwest. He said he had finally run out of patience with Mr. Cuomo, who has been widely viewed as being an obstacle to the mayor’s agenda since Mr. de Blasio took office in 2014.
“We will not play these games,” Mr. de Blasio said, adding that Mr. Cuomo’s behavior was “not anything like acceptable government practice, and I think people all over the state are coming to the same conclusion.”
The governor’s office responded with a two-sentence statement that carried its own subtle sting.
“For those new to the process, it takes coalition-building and compromise to get things done in government,” the governor’s spokeswoman, Melissa DeRosa, wrote in an email.
She added: “We wish the mayor well on his vacation.”
[. . .]
Rarely do politicians openly express the animus that is an unavoidable component of high-stakes governing. But Mr. de Blasio — who typically seeks consensus, not conflict — relishes flouting perceived rules, often pointing to the success of his long-shot mayoral candidacy as proof that holding true to his beliefs is a successful strategy.
In fact, during Tuesday’s interview, Mr. de Blasio seemed to be enjoying himself: When his press secretary tried to end the session, the mayor overruled her, and took several more questions.
Still, Mr. de Blasio was well aware of the unusual and potentially controversial nature of his remarks. At one point, he acknowledged the risk that his relationship with the governor could be further strained.
“I’m not going to be surprised if these statements lead to some attempts at revenge,” Mr. de Blasio said, his voice even. “And we’ll just call them right out. Because we are just not going to play that way.”
Doubtless a winning strategy. Also, it’s really fucking hot in the Southwest this time of year.
Posted: July 1st, 2015 | Filed under: Things That Make You Go "Oy"“How Bill de Blasio earned this week’s epic flogging”:
Posted: June 24th, 2015 | Filed under: Things That Make You Go "Oy"A single one of those losses would represent a failed legislative session for any mayor. To lose all four represents a flogging of a unique sort; no mayor in memory has had to absorb anything like it.
De Blasio blamed it on Albany dysfunction, and he has a superficial point — US Attorney Preet Bharara indicted two of the most powerful pols in the Capitol, and Cuomo’s off chasing squirrels of his own.
The other side of that coin, though, is that Bharara has created a power vacuum in Albany — one that an astute mayor, competently working the New York City legislative delegation, could turn to his advantage.
Bill de Blasio is not that mayor.
“What we’re dealing with is a mayor who is universally acknowledged to be bumbling and incompetent,” a Cuomo lieutenant told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday.
Anonymous sniping from political enemies should be taken in context — which in this case is that “bumbling” has been one of the more charitable behind-the-scenes descriptions of de Blasio since the day he took office.
His political judgment is seen as atrocious — did he really think attacking Republican state senators in October would have no consequences in June?
His staff work is viewed as even worse — he has ideologues assigned tasks better delegated to political pros.
He’s long on silly rhetoric, short on substantive follow-through and thinks Iowa is more important than Albany — or the City Council.
That said, give these folks credit for hanging around until after ten on a work night:
Posted: May 20th, 2015 | Filed under: Things That Make You Go "Oy"City Hall was initially at a loss for words when The [Daily] News emailed at 4 p.m. asking why the POW/MIA flag wasn’t flying. Three hours later, at 7:10 p.m., a spokesman emailed a bland response.
“We will review flag protocol and ensure the POW flag is displayed appropriately at City Hall,” the de Blasio spokesman said .
But when darkness fell, a worker skulked out around 10:10 p.m. and was spotted hoisting the dissed flag.
[. . .]
“Voters in Iowa seem to be more of a priority for the mayor than veterans in New York,” [a veterans’ advocate] scoffed. “And I think it’s especially egregious less than a week from Memorial Day.”
Although none of us should get lost in perceptions:
Posted: May 13th, 2015 | Filed under: 1Still, his day job never felt far away. The mayor was heckled throughout the event by supporters of the Central Park horse-carriage industry, which he has pledged to eliminate. Reporters peppered him with questions about crimes back in Manhattan, including a recent spate of assaults involving a man with a hammer.
There was also a poll, released by Quinnipiac University on Tuesday, that showed Mr. de Blasio with the lowest approval rating of his mayoralty, with 44 percent of voters approving of his performance; 40 percent disapproved. In January, when he was facing protests from his own police force, his approval rating was 49 percent.
“None of us should get lost in perceptions,” Mr. de Blasio said, when asked about the numbers.
But while the mayor has defended his Washington trip as an integral part of his job — saying he wanted to secure federal aid for reforms in New York City — his attention on Tuesday seemed squarely in the national realm.
He weighed in on federal trade deals, saying, emphatically, “We can’t have another Nafta.” He nodded as labor leaders attacked a political system they said had been co-opted by wealthy corporations.
And in a separate speech here on Tuesday morning, where he appeared at a liberal think-tank event alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, Mr. de Blasio made it clear that his goals spanned far beyond New York City’s five boroughs.
“It’s time to listen to the people all over this country, to listen to their hunger for a change,” Mr. de Blasio said, his voice rising. “It’s up to us to answer their call — their strong demand, in fact — that we create a more just nation.”
According to the Quinnipiac poll, New Yorkers are mixed about their mayor’s national ambitions. Forty-six percent of voters said his involvement in affairs outside the city was distracting him from his duties; 42 percent said it was not. Half of voters in the poll said the mayor did not have strong leadership qualities; 44 percent said he did.
