Why Mayor Mike is the man, reason #138

From the Daily News:

"PHILADELPHIA - Congress will have "one heck of a battle" on its hands if it withholds terror funding from cities that don't help the feds catch illegal immigrants, Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday.
At an immigration hearing held by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the mayor said city agencies can't become an arm of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

"If Congress attempts to cut off all of our homeland security funding . . . I promise you will have one heck of a battle on your hands," Bloomberg said. "We are not going to let Congress cut and run from New York City.""

In this age of sterilized, packaged, refried, poll tested politics, Bloomberg is a refreshing change. I remember when Ross Perot ran the first time, and I thought, "sure he's a bit off kilter, but the fact that he's wealthy enough to run his own campaign allows him to stand on his own two feet." The fact was, whether you liked him or not, you knew where he stood. Well Perot was a bust, but Mayor Bloomberg seems to prove my thesis. During his tenure he's been one of the few politicians who's broken party lines, and tradition to get things done...World Trade Center not withstanding.

Of course many of the fights Bloomberg takes on are no-brainers. Sure, as Mayor of NY your job is to get as much terror funding as possible, and the fact that NY received less than many other cities...well let's chalk that up to Bush irrationality. But how he fights those battles; the fuel, and the carefully worded rhetoric is what makes Mike captivating, and should be a lesson to Democrats. Mike, who happens to favor a guest worker program, and who's made statements to the effect that illegal immigration is the foundation that supports the American economy (an correct pragmatic judgment), effectively tackles two topics in one. Yes, we want the funding, and no we won't concede to your demands of using our (city) resources for your (Federal) policies. And as far as his flipping of the cut-and-run phrase...pure Clinton bliss.

I really hope guys like Shrum are out there taking notes, because come the Fall elections the people will be demanding guys like him, and right now the Democrats aren't delivering. There's got to be more to their platforms than simply saying, "I'm not Bush." There has to be pragmatic, and innovative plans. The GOP has opened up their own holes, now you just need someone to run the ball to the goal line.