Bill de Blasio Wants to Be Heard. Is Anyone Listening?

PLEASE do not run for president, Mr. DeBlaz. No offense (I say as I'm about to say the truth, which can be offensive) but other than Cuomo, I can't think of a less charismatic person. You inspire me NOT. I know that you try. I sense that you're ambitious, but please please give way to someone who is actually uplifting! Someone who can inspire and LEAD. You do neither of those things: Boring is the best way I can descibe you. I would stab myself in the chest four times if I had to listen to you deliver a State of the Union Address. Please do us and yourself a favor and recognize your limits. Maybe Charlene . . ...? But not you. Best wishes for your happiness (and may it not lie in the path of running for president.)

“...I won with 73 percent of the vote... Yup... And you all had to bring back Joe Lhota - who got most of the rest of the vote - to clean up the mess in the subways... “...I’m the mayor of the biggest city in the country... Yup... Just not the stuff underneath it...

Michael Bloomberg is smarter, but shorter.

Look at the sunny side -- If deB becomes President, he'd be slightly better than the current one, and then we can find a different Mayor!

With no real hard news to offer us on de Blasio's trip to Iowa (I hope he does run!) Goldmacher works the smug snear, "unfurled his long arms... to express his displeasure". Displeasure! Oh, my. Goldmacher cynicism makes NYC's mayor's tweeting about Chip smell of ambition: "Even when in New York City, Mr. de Blasio has embraced national causes." Really, EVEN then. Never mind how thousands of NYC children might lose health care if Chip isn't re-upped, the real story is ambition. "“Big ambitions?” one person said. “Yup,” said another." With Goldmacher's arrogant snearing (no, Shane, opinion is not your job) it's no wonder "Mr. de Blasio can sometimes seem to trudge through the day-to-day of his mayoralty, carrying heavily with him the grievances of his media coverage..." Why wouldn't the overtly progressive Democratic mayor of America's largest city, a winner of TWO landslide elections coming after twenty years of Republican and Independent mayors, be outspoken about progressive ideals on a national stage? Goldmacher's reflexively cynical and smug writing should be embarrassing to the paper that two and a half years ago was widely regarded as having the same problem with Hillary Clinton.

No one is listening to deBlasio because he has nothing useful to say. He is a terrible mayor and but for his significant war-chest he would not be mayor. Mandate? Hah! His pay-to-play scheme of shaking down real estate developers for Campaign funds and allowing them to destroy historic neighborhoods with out of scale high-rises, and his removal of parklands for luxury housing development are among his most egregious and hypocritical acts. This guy gives "progressive" a very bad name. Let's hope there are smarter and more decent, thoughtful and respectable democrats willing to run and not this guy, ever.

So a NY narcissist from the left is the answer to combatting a NY narcissist from the right? I don't think so.

Oh nice, more time away from the job you were hired for: running the city of New York. It must be nice to inflate your head and travel the world to spread your "progressive agenda" on the dime of taxpayers. He keeps doing it even though clearly no one cares.

He's an affable enough fellow, but being in power has gotten him to thinking that he's The Leader of a Progressive Movement - in his own mind. The Democratic Party never fails to stick a "Kick Me" sign on the Mayor's back, and yet he keeps coming back for more. De Blasio would do best to focus on the job he was re-elected to, hire good people, let them do their jobs, and stay out of trouble. Everything else is embarrassing.

What a self deluding man de Blasio is.

When people wonder how on Earth there are people in the world who can possibly support Donald Trump or the Republican party, just listen to de Blasio speak for a few minutes.... When even honest Democrats think he is a bumbling idiot, best to keep him out of sight.

This guy is such a clown. I've seen him show up to two sporting events and get a standing boo from the entire stadium. I think he revels in being hated.

Bill DeBlasio is a divider, not a builder. He is an ineffective manager. He is a grandstander. He feeds class warfare for the purpose of feeding class warfare, even where it is not required to get things done to solve inter-class problems. This city has people of all races, nationalities and classes. We need them all. The city did very poorly when "the rich" left; it will also do very poorly as "the poor" leave. Attacking "the rich" means their resources will not be there to protect "the poor", particularly when you treat people who are middle class and still struggling as "the rich". Using anti-"rich" sound bites may feel good at the moment, but it makes you unsuitable as a leader. Adopt the policies (raise the tax rates on the higher incomes), drop the rhetoric (stop talking about "make the rich pay"), and maybe you'll get somewhere. And in the meantime, stay home and run your government. If even New Yorkers don't like you, how do you think you'll play elsewhere? We only voted for you because the alternative was worse - you have no mandate, despite your pronouncements; you have a weak acceptance that provides you no base for national politics. Get over yourself and do your job.

Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo both fancy themselves as viable Presidential candidates for 2020. Seldom has one state been saddled with two such incompetent and corrupt buffoons simultaneously.

Who?

Mr. de Blasio is NYC's Slick Willy.

Today, a mere 35 miles as the crow flies from the square named after this worthy publication, in Donald Trump's America, a beggar stood outside a supermarket seeking alms. I witnessed it. The gentleman was an elderly white male, and the women I observed giving to him were brown complexioned. Mr. Mayor I suspect that scenario doesn't fit the neat identity politics and rigid ideologies you seek to impose on the party. In southwest PA. a GOP congressman recently resigned in disgrace after allegedly urging his inamorata to get an abortion. Though ignored by the NYT, the leading Democrat to get the nomination in that overwhelmingly white, Trump voting district actually has a chance. He is an ex-prosecutor and a USMC Vet. He also is white (oh the horror, I can imagine the hard left saying). Get back to us Mr. Mayor when you actually want to win "red" districts with candidates who fit the voters who don't know or care about artisanal this or fair trade that but worry about their retirement and their kids future.

Sorry Bill. You ain't all that. Also the last thing the Dems need is to field a candidate from NYC.

Ask yourself this, if he wasn't tall good looking with a black bisexual ivy keague educated wide and two lovely mix race children could he still be the posterchild for progressive politics based on his record? The answer is no. He's a photo-op selling the progressive demographic idealized upper middle class family. Sound familiar? No leader here folks. And I have nothing at all against his family who really do seem to be as lovely as they look, it's just that identity politics isn't leadership. The nation is being dragged into it's wretched past by the Republicans, we need a fighter with a track record of big achievements in national politics, De Blasio doesn't even have a good record of local achievements. I voted for him twice, just last month again, for MAYOR. He's no president America.

People in NYC don't like DeBlasio and no one here is interested in anything he has to say. He won here because he is a Democrat in a blue city, and most importantly, there were no viable candidates on the other side. He has done nothing to improve the lives of New Yorkers, in fact, quite the reverse. He certainly can't point to any accomplishments here, and if he thinks he has any chance on a national stage, then he is more than just a rotten mayor, he is delusional.

Commenter LM points out below - "For a person who has spent his entire adult life in politics, he's a terrible politician (as well as an ineffective manager)." Guess what - ? In 2000, a War Room Didn’t Fit de Blasio’s Style AUG. 25, 2013 "In the middle of the 2000 Senate race, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s advisers found themselves on a conference call about what seemed a small-bore subject: campaign signs. For 20 minutes it droned on. What color should their signs be for the Democratic National Convention that summer? And what about the font? One person had the power to end the discussion — the campaign manager, Bill de Blasio. But he declined to intervene. “Finally, someone said: ‘Seriously? Come on people, let’s go with blue!’ ” recalled a Clinton adviser, whose account was confirmed by two other people. “It was amazing that Bill was more than willing to let this go on.” Mr. de Blasio has soared in the primary polls, promising a kind of leadership that can knit together New York's many factions... An examination of Mr. de Blasio’s management of Mrs. Clinton’s first run for office, however, reveals that his inclinations — inclusive and easygoing but frequently indecisive — could be agonizingly inefficient in a high-pressure, ever-shifting situation. He was so deliberative, in fact, that he was eventually elbowed out during the final stretch of the campaign." http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/nyregion/in-2000-a-clinton-war-room-di...

Sadly, the West Wing does not have the monopoly on egomania, cluelessness, bloviating, stupidity and corruption - this is just the other end of the political spectrum. Those poles have very little to due with the candidate, but more the lack of options in a city with 6 democrats to every republican. Also, the political machine is alive and well, as not one major potential candidate ran against him - as they all were waiting for him to be indicted. That is quite a low bar and nothing to crow about.

In a word, No. Seldom has a mayor with such interesting and often good ideas been rejected by his constituents as de Blasio has. It's not that they dislike him. It's more that there's little there to like. He's argumentative, not a team player, not congenial with the public and just not an approachable guy. On the other hand, his polices on Pre-K, affordable housing, improved public transportation have all been very good. On police reform he's been luke warm. While unlike Bloomberg, he didn't appeal there federal court decision to end stop and frisk, neither has he aggressively supporter real progressive policing. While his affordable housing plans have had some promise, the definition of "affordable" still tilts toward the real estate industry. de Blasio is a policy wonk that really doesn't connect well with people. That said. if the Democrats control the White House in 2020 he might make a good secretary of HUD.

What is deB's plan to help us deal with increased Fed income taxes? We middle-classers can't deduct NYS and NYC income and property taxes any more from our Fed taxes (beyond $10,000). Unfortunate fact of life. What is deB's plan for reducing NYC income taxes by the equivalent of the value of our lost Fed income tax deduction? Well, what is it?

Why would he bother venturing to Iowa unless he has greater aspirations? De Blasio worked best as a Community Board member. Mayor of NYC has been way out of his league, but since he is Mayor, he should concentrate on business at home and put the kibosh on Iowa trips.

The true title of this article should have been: 'Will de Blasio's act play in Iowa?" I don't believe it will, de Blasio is the prototypical big city liberal. America wants people like Ralph Norton ( Governor-elect Virginia) and Doug Jones ( Senator-elect Alabama) non-threatening center of the road democrats, pragmatic politicians , Norton and Jones are perfect blue prints for what's needed to defeat republicans outside the North East. Bill de Blasio has done fine for himself as Mayor of New York but New York has many issues of its own, such as sky high rents, cost of living and high taxes. There is a glass ceiling for liberal Democrats these days, Blasio can look to Albany as his next stop but the Train stops there.

I doubt that he would be interested in a Senate seat, but I would wager he could run a successful primary challenge to Gillibrand who has basically become a one note fiddle and an out of tune one at that.

If he had run against anybody with a pulse, he would have lost. Setting aside his inflated view of his own importance, he has flooded the City with new employees that will have to be paid (as will their pensions) even when the economy goes south, which it will at some point. He arrogance matches his inflated ego. His habit of traveling daily between Gracie Mansion and Park Slope in an SUV caravan to go to the gym rather than patronize a local gym on the Upper East Side demonstrates his tone deafness. Stay home Mr. Mayor and do your job.

So there was de Blasio--according to him--presenting the progressive message when "out of nowhere" Sanders appeared and took it over? There is a reason a lot of people don't like this guy. Besides being a jerk with a huge ego, he also appears to have memory problems.

Mayor de Blasio seems to have an inflated sense of his own influence, importance, and popularity. Sure, he won election and re-election by huge margins, but turnout was so low each time that to tout winning 73 or 67 percent of the vote is meaningless. I'm popular with 100% of my two kids, for example, but I'm not sure how popular that would make me with other families. Good progressives lead by example. They don't run around the country asking people to listen to what a good progressive they are. If he focused more on issues here at home in NYC, he'd perhaps build an evidence-based case for why he ought to have a national profile. Right now, I'm not sure there's any case to be made for what he can offer Democrats at a national level.

A huge chunk of your constituency just saw their taxes raised by 30%+. People are panicking as they worry about their ability to remain in their homes and if in fact, they will be able to continue to live in NYC. Where are you for them? What is your plan? Where is your sense of duty or leadership? Do you have any shame? Do you have a single decent political instinct in that "6'6" frame"? If anybody with a pulse and half a brain had run against you, you would have been trounced.

I am a liberal New Yorker and I don't care what he has to say. I voted for the Green Party candidate because I didn't think he deserved a second term. He needs to stop pandering to the small truly progressive segment of the population and start working to improve the lives of all New Yorkers. Not just the poor, disenfranchised and immigrants, but the middle class folks who actually keep this city running. I couldn't care less what he has to say in Iowa. I want more affordable housing, cleaner streets and public spaces, and fewer homeless people in my neighborhood.

I was born and raised in NYC and my father worked for the city. Have been voting for Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter (my first election). When it came to Hilary, I went third party. I will do the same with De Blasio. The Democrats have gone beyond the extreme left, and their identity politics is not inclusive since it excludes a white identity. There are no longer any moderates, on either side. Third party protest votes are likely for the rest of my life.

Democrats need to be looking at candidates like Massachusetts house member Seth Moulton.

Mayor de Blasio has done some good things as Mayor of New York City, but I suspect that the number of Iowans who would like to see him run for President could be counted on the fingers of one's hand. Can't his advisors convince him that trips like this make him look foolish and thus diminish his potential to do more for New Yorker?

Progressivism is good and we should support it. de Balsio is a self-aggrandizing hack and a mediocre mayor.

de Blasio represents the city that is ground zero for income inequality. What has he done to make housing more affordable for the lower and middle income groups? He and the other Democrats who dream of becoming President need to do much more then bash Trump.

The last things the Dems need is another divisive candidate. DeBlasio is not the unity candidate the Dems need to build a broad coalition to appeal to disaffected middle America who voted for Trump last year. There's no chance that he would flip a single district from red to blue.

I'd like to answer the question the NY Times posed. Is anyone listening to Mr. de Blasio: NO.

As a lifelong New Yorker, my view is that DeBlasio is a joke. Both he and Cuomo would be fine for the Democratic Party to enter into a suicide pact. His platitudes might work somewhere but he would be a national disaster and I trust that the genius of the American people will continue to hear him ring hollow.

Nope.

First question. Did de Blasio arrive on time? Second question. Did he have any major tunnels, roads, airports shut down so his buddies could be there to support him? The fact that this man got a second term is a testament to the lack of talent in politics especially local. The only reason ny is doing well is the lasting effects of Bloomberg. de Blasio populism sells? Sure, a city that voted 90 percent for Clinton will definitely elect a trump supporter, and NYC is definitely representative of the rest of the US. If he gets elected after trump we may as well toss in the towel on the US now.

For a person who has spent his entire adult life in politics, he's a terrible politician (as well as an ineffective manager).