Bloomberg Asks Donors to Shut Wallets Over Senators’ Gun Votes

[BainsBane]

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a sharp escalation in the battle over gun control, is seeking to punish Democratic senators by taking away the one thing they most need from New Yorkers: money.

On Wednesday, Mr. Bloomberg will send a personal letter to hundreds of the biggest Democratic donors in New York urging them to cut off contributions to the four Democratic senators who helped block a bill in April that would have strengthened background checks on gun purchasers.

The move could inflame tensions that have simmered for weeks between Mr. Bloomberg, who blames the four Democrats for the defeat of the bill, and Democratic Senate leaders, who have privately told City Hall that the attacks can serve only to empower a Republican majority openly hostile to Mr. Bloomberg’s priorities.

By appealing to the Democrats’ financial base, Mr. Bloomberg is exploiting his relationships and prestige among wealthy New Yorkers to disrupt the flow of campaign money to key Democrats whose re-election next year will help determine whether the party retains control of the Senate. No state is more essential to the party’s fund-raising: Sitting Democratic senators and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $30.4 million from New York donors in 2012, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, more than in any other state.

And the four Democratic senators who sided with Republicans filibustering the background check bill — Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — have raised more than $2.2 million from New York.

More at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/nyregion/bloomberg-urges-no-gifts-to-democrats-who-blocked-gun-bill.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

We need to make sure those who voted against expanded background checks pay for siding with the corporate gun lobby over the American people. 38,000 American lives each year depend on removing obstructionist pols from office. The gun nuts hate Bloomberg because he counters the big money that the gun lobby has used to buy politicians for years. Those donations from the NRA and other gun groups are blood money, made possible by profiting from mass shootings like Sandyhook. It's time to stand up to the single most deadly force in American society today: the gun lobby and their lackeys.



Cross-posted in GD

[jimmy the one]

1. dare not say treason

Mayor Bloomberg is seeking to punish Democratic senators {4 who voted nay on bg checks}.. Mr. Bloomberg is exploiting his relationships and prestige among wealthy New Yorkers to disrupt the flow of campaign money to key Democrats whose re-election next year will help determine whether the party retains control of the Senate.

Bloomberg is not a democrat last I heard, he's an independent & was once a republican; there is no strong bloomberg allegiance to elected democrats - even tho he tends to align with democrat policies & ideas.
Thus he's not really betraying his allies, he's attacking his opposition, on a reverse premise 'an enemy of my enemy is my friend' where the 4 dem senators in the nra's eyes are their 'friends' - even if temporary. The nra is similarly under no obligation to support anyone, & often don't, even if they would be gunnuts to us.

Dem leaders have privately told.. attacks serve only to empower a Republican majority openly hostile to Bloomberg's priorities.

Well that's the worst case scenario which we embraced prior to bloomberg coming out & saying this; & as the 4 progun dems themselves have said the mayor's opposition may tend to help rather than hurt them, if gun owners are indeed a determinant in next year's reelection campaigns. “In Alaska, having a New York mayor tell us what to do? The guy who wants to ban Big Gulps?” Mr. Begich asked incredulously. “If anything, it might help me,"..

So you see, I don't see this as a big thing; furthermore, those 4 states voted republican (romney, mccain,gwbush), (montana, arkansas, alaska, NDakota), & per the current figures of approx 2 million dollars from new york donors going into the 4 states, that (avg) half million in each would become incorporated into a red state which would eventually end up supporting the repub pres candidate in 2016, booooooo. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Bloomberg not dumb eh?

What they are doing," Dem aide “is increasing the likelihood of a 100% A-rated NRA Republican being elected.”

Again worst case scenario - depends on the repub candidate too - and it's not like they're left on the ocean without a lifeboat, they have other resources like dem committees.
.. What the hell, the past 25 years the nra has done similar to varying success, note how in 2012 nra money got only a little 1% winning candidates return; so what bloomberg is doing is not some awful knife in the back treason, but a dice roll which might even turn out to be beneficial if it shows that his (MAIG) money & policy affects some races, at least there's resistance from the left to counter that from the right, bravo.
.. Observing the past 20 years of scant guncontrol successes, I dare not say treason, to mayor bloomberg.

[BainsBane]

2. Most of his money goes against Republicans

and any Democrat who votes against background checks is dirt to me. Their party label means nothing when they vote with Republicans.

[Robb]

3. I support replacing every one of these particular DINOs.

However it will never come to that on this.

The result will merely be that, should the opportunity present itself to vote on new gun safety legislation, they will get the fuck in line. Which is fine, sadly this is how the system works, money talks. At least it's an amount of money that can compete with the gun lobby in a few carefully-picked races.

[BainsBane]

4. That's good enough

If they vote for reasonable gun control, I can handle the rest of their red state bullshit.
I hope they and many of the Republicans have a good scare from this.

[BainsBane]

5. Meanwhile, some seek to put more guns in circulation

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1172&pid=123735