After all, the reason D'amato and Tisch and some of the other plutocrats and their functionaries backed Thompson was to cause maximum damage in the Democratic primary and, if possible, have an anemic candidate like Thompson in the general election. If anybody gives Joe Lhota a shot to win, it's an awful candidate like Bill Thompson. ... Reality Based Educator.You really can't make this stuff up, given what happened in the 2001 election where the UFT leadership played a major role in making Bloomberg mayor with its failed endorsements. They also helped give him a 3rd term in 2009. Then this year they were all wearing buttons that said: Dec. 31, 2013, the end of Bloomberg's term. Now with a clear choice ahead of them to urge Thompson to pull a 2005 Weiner move and drop out to a candidate than beat him by almost 15 points, they are engaging in a destructive act of possibly handing the mayoralty to Lhota.
They are already printing buttons that say: Dec. 31, 2021 for the end of Lhota's term.
More later when I get back from yoga -- so much to say -- but check front page of NY Times which expresses the panic over de Blasio's victory by the elite -- and ask yourself which side the UFT is on?
Check Perdido St School for more commentary like this:
98% Counted - De Blasio 40.2%, Thompson 26%
There are still votes to be counted, but if the trajectory of the race stays essentially the same, will Thompson challenge de Blasio and try and force a runoff?
The public polls showed Thompson losing to de Blasio in a runoff by 12 points or more.
Thompson lost last night's primary to de Blasio by a little more than 14 points.
While he would have a shot to beat de Blasio in a runoff, it would be an uphill battle for him.
The damage done to the eventual Democratic nominee might not be fatal, but it would definitely hurt.
Lhota would be getting ready for the general election while the Dems would still be damaging each other like they have the last couple of weeks.
I am sure that the powers that be who were behind Thompson's campaign would like for him to force a runoff.
After all, the reason D'amato and Tisch and some of the other plutocrats and their functionaries backed Thompson was to cause maximum damage in the Democratic primary and, if possible, have an anemic candidate like Thompson in the general election.
If anybody gives Joe Lhota a shot to win, it's an awful candidate like Bill Thompson.
Read this from WNYC and weep:
As Thompson Refuses to Concede, So Does the Teachers Union
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - 12:43 AM
- Bill Thompson on primary night, 2013 (Beth Fertig/WNYC)
- Join the Discussion [1]
The teachers union spent a lot of political capital by endorsing Bill Thompson's in the Democratic primary race for mayor. It hasn't endorsed a mayoral candidate since 2001. But with rival Bill de Blasio the clear winner of Tuesday's vote, the union is now in the awkward position of hoping for the next best thing: a runoff.
Thompson's hope all along was to get into a runoff with one of the candidates. But as de Blasio surged ahead of the pack in recent weeks, the goal was to stop him from hitting the 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. The Board of Elections will now determine the final tally.
One day before the primary, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew was asked by WNYC if de Blasio's lead was a sign that his union had picked the wrong candidate. His response: "We don't pick winners we make winners."
Late Tuesday night, Mulgrew wasn't in the mood for much conversation as he left Thompson's campaign headquarters at a hotel near Penn Station. An aide said he was rushing to see Scott Stringer, who had just defeated Eliot Spitzer in the Democratic primary for Comptroller.
"We're waiting for every vote to be counted and clearly that has not happened at this point," Mulgrew said on his way to the elevator. When asked if he was pleased with his candidate's performance, he said, "We're very comfortable right now."
He also added, "In the end were going to make that winner."
But the union doesn't have a great track record in mayoral races. In 2001, the U.F.T. backed candidates who went on to lose in the Democratic primary, the runoff and the general election. It then stayed out of the next two mayoral races, declining to back Fernando Ferrer's bid to unseat Bloomberg in 2005 and Thompson's candidacy in 2009.
On Tuesday, former U.F.T. president Randi Weingarten - who now heads the American Federation of Teachers - put a more positive spin on the current situation.
"What's happened is people are shocked that Bill Thompson came in second," she said adding that she looks forward to a three-week campaign that's not a "slug-fest" like the last debate.
"At the end of the day there's always an issue when you have so many candidates," she went on to explain, the difficulties facing Thompson.
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, at Thompson's campaign headquarters Tuesday (Beth Fertig/WNYC)
The teachers union said it made 380,000 calls to its members, both live and automated, since September 4. It organized phone banks and about 1000 teachers were said to have canvassed neighborhoods before and after school on primary day. The union's political action committee also spent over $1 million on Thompson.
But not all teachers embraced Thompson. Several told WNYC they preferred de Blasio or Comptroller John Liu.
There weren't many teachers at Thompson's headquarters Tuesday, most likely because it was a school night. One who attended, and who declined to give her name, said she strongly supported Thompson. But she was glad that both de Blasio and Thompson would take a different approach to education from Bloomberg.
When asked if it was a poor reflection on the union that Thompson was about 15 percentage points behind de Blasio, Weingarten said, "There are many people that put a lot into this."
In the end, she said, she looks forward to a runoff between the two candidates. She also noted that people dismissed Thompson in 2009, when he ran against Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but he wound up losing by just 5 percentage points despite being vastly outspent.
One day before the primary, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew was asked by WNYC if de Blasio's lead was a sign that his union had picked the wrong candidate. His response: "We don't pick winners we make winners."
Late Tuesday night, Mulgrew wasn't in the mood for much conversation as he left Thompson's campaign headquarters at a hotel near Penn Station. An aide said he was rushing to see Scott Stringer, who had just defeated Eliot Spitzer in the Democratic primary for Comptroller.
"We're waiting for every vote to be counted and clearly that has not happened at this point," Mulgrew said on his way to the elevator. When asked if he was pleased with his candidate's performance, he said, "We're very comfortable right now."
He also added, "In the end were going to make that winner."
But the union doesn't have a great track record in mayoral races. In 2001, the U.F.T. backed candidates who went on to lose in the Democratic primary, the runoff and the general election. It then stayed out of the next two mayoral races, declining to back Fernando Ferrer's bid to unseat Bloomberg in 2005 and Thompson's candidacy in 2009.
On Tuesday, former U.F.T. president Randi Weingarten - who now heads the American Federation of Teachers - put a more positive spin on the current situation.
"What's happened is people are shocked that Bill Thompson came in second," she said adding that she looks forward to a three-week campaign that's not a "slug-fest" like the last debate.
"At the end of the day there's always an issue when you have so many candidates," she went on to explain, the difficulties facing Thompson.
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, at Thompson's campaign headquarters Tuesday (Beth Fertig/WNYC)
The teachers union said it made 380,000 calls to its members, both live and automated, since September 4. It organized phone banks and about 1000 teachers were said to have canvassed neighborhoods before and after school on primary day. The union's political action committee also spent over $1 million on Thompson.
But not all teachers embraced Thompson. Several told WNYC they preferred de Blasio or Comptroller John Liu.
There weren't many teachers at Thompson's headquarters Tuesday, most likely because it was a school night. One who attended, and who declined to give her name, said she strongly supported Thompson. But she was glad that both de Blasio and Thompson would take a different approach to education from Bloomberg.
When asked if it was a poor reflection on the union that Thompson was about 15 percentage points behind de Blasio, Weingarten said, "There are many people that put a lot into this."
In the end, she said, she looks forward to a runoff between the two candidates. She also noted that people dismissed Thompson in 2009, when he ran against Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but he wound up losing by just 5 percentage points despite being vastly outspent.
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