New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a news conference at
City Hall on April 25. The billionaire mayor has been spending from his
personal fortune to provide a "political counterweight to the NRA," his
policy adviser says. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)NPR
Bloomberg's first target is a Democratic senator facing a tough fight for re-election in 2014: Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
Pryor knows he's a marked man. Whether he's actually sweating it is the question. He's said it before, and he's saying it now: He doesn't take gun advice from the mayor of New York City. He listens to Arkansas.
"I guess the way I look at it [is] it's just another one of the outside groups that's going to try to come in," he says. "I think, you know, honestly, that's what's wrong with politics today is all these outside groups come in and try to do that. But I can't stop it from happening."
Pryor was one of four Democrats who voted against a proposal to expand background checks last week, and Bloomberg, the founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is trying to make sure Pryor pays. Bloomberg plans to pour money into months of TV ads, radio ads and mailings to defeat the Arkansas senator. His group says it has spent $12 million in the months since the Newtown, Conn., school shootings on field campaigns and commercials across the country.
"This is just a toe in the water," says John Feinblatt, Bloomberg's chief policy adviser. And toe in the water is right — this is a guy Forbes estimates to be worth about $27 billion. Bloomberg will also be doling out money to help re-election campaigns of lawmakers who voted for gun control — both Democrats and Republicans.
"The mayor and others are going to provide the political counterweight to the NRA," Feinblatt says. "It has had the field to itself for decades, and that has to stop. And that time has come."
What do you think? Is Sen. Pryor as unconcerned as he says?
Please leave a comment.
Keep a pro-gun Democrat.
ReplyDeleteReplace him with an anti-gunner with no seniority.
Have a pro-gun Republican take the seat.
Three possible outcomes of this, none of which sound disastrous.
Mark Pryor heard from me--several times, in fact. He knows that I can vote for him or against him, while Bloomingbutt has no vote in Arkansas. But seriously, is your side so inept that you think Arkansas would replace Pryor with a gun control freak? If Pryor loses, a Republican will take his place. Since this is a pro-gun state, that Republican would be more on my side than Pryor can ever be as a Democrat, given the current attitudes of the two parties.
ReplyDeleteI'll give away a secret here. The worst part of fighting the gun control side is remembering to keep up our guard in the face of total idiocy. You people keep your smart ones hidden until we're not paying attention. Of course, given all that you've done lately, we're paying careful attention.
This could be interesting having TWO multimillion dollar lobbying groups supporting opposing candidates. Democracy at its best. Which one is worse? One group that represents millions of members, or one man, not even a resident of the state spending his own money? You think the NRA takes some extreme stands on issues and you link yourself to a guy who wants to enact soda cup control?
ReplyDeleteSo if Bloomberg's candidate doesnt win, does that mean the 90% supporting reasonable gun laws might be incorrect? What if he cant find a candidate who will pass his litmus test of "reasonable" gun laws.
I know this--Mark Pryor would be glad to have an opponent who takes money from the mayor of New York City. I can imagine the ads now...
ReplyDeleteHope they don't run into problems with copyrights from Pace.
DeleteWhat's the law on using such material for political speech?
DeleteI'm not an expert on copyright law, so I'll leave that one to somebody with more knowledge.
DeleteYou guys won't be able to say it's all about the money anymore. Wait, who am I kidding? Your side still said the NRA "bought" this vote even when Bloomberg alone outspent the 4.5 million NRA members.
ReplyDeleteI doubt very much is Bloomberg's $12M was enough to outspend the entire pr0-gun lobby, of which the NRA is only a part.
DeleteGreg's right. I lived in Arkansas for almost 4 years. Having an opponent financed by Bloomberg would be a Christmas present for Pryor.
ReplyDelete