6.21.00
Never Mind the Riots

6.21.00
Gore's Plan Is ADud

6.20.00
The Pablum Platform

6.20.00
High Noon for Vouchers

6.20.00
Elephant Mania!

6.20.00
A Bronx Cheer for Football Player

6.19.00
The Coming Reparations Boondoggle

6.19.00
Death Tax Discrimination

6.19.00
No Taxation without Justification

6.19.00
Gas Pains

6.16.00
Nobel Mind

6.16.00
Cox for Veep!

6.16.00
Loud and Clear

6.15.00
Crime Makes a Comeback

6.15.00
Trojan Horse Legislation

6.15.00
Noah Pollak Responds

6.15.00
Gore's Phony Accounts

6.14.00
Why Blast the NBA?

6.14.00
Al Gore, Slumlord

6.14.00
Packing the Peace

6/21/00 12:50 p.m.
Never Mind the Riots
The real outrage is before the city council.

By Arnold Steinberg, political strategist and author

double distraction: The Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA title, and the LAPD under-reacts to vandals. This has deflected media attention from the real diversion: The Los Angeles City Council (whose own pay has risen 21% in the last 18 months) is debating allocating (diverting?) $4 million from the city treasury to Al Gore's campaign. Technically, these city funds bail out the Democratic National Convention. In reality, the Democratic National Committee ultimately could be liable for any shortfall, meaning the money could come from its soft advertising budget for Al Gore.

Significantly, only one week ago, convention chair Terry McAuliffe ("the most effective fund-raiser in the history of American politics") said Democrats would raise the convention money. Obviously, this proposed taxpayer bailout will benefit Gore.

A little history. Even after Republican Mayor Richard Riordan, wanting to boost the city, had raised millions for the convention, Democrats asked for more. Given the convention's problems, it was no wonder convention chairman Roy Romer (McAuliffe's predecessor) resigned. The 71-year-old boy wonder who has never taught school now will head the troubled L.A. school district. A perfect fit?

The taxpayer money would be on top of at least $9 million in city services already on tap for the convention. True, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia provide public subsidies for the Republican convention. But the situation is different. The Democrats insisted their event would resemble the privately funded 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Democrats agreed (in writing!) to accept "full financial responsibility." Individual signers assumed "liabilities associated with hosting the 2000 Democratic National Convention." Signers included the richest man in Los Angeles, Eli Broad (whose public company, not he, gave $1 million for the convention), and runner-up billionaires — supermarket LBO titan Ron Burke and entertainment mogul David Geffen. Geffen's DreamWorks SKG's partners include mega-director Steven Spielberg (worth only $500 million) and Disney has-been Jeffrey Katzenberg (poor at $250 million). Geffen's DW spokesman volunteered: "It would be up to others to raise the money while we would be free to concentrate on our support for the vice president and the Democratic candidates." Translation: "Others" means L.A. taxpayers.

Mayor Riordan had installed his deputy Mayor, Democrat Noellia Rodriguez, as the convention CEO. Riordan also signed a $1 million letter of credit for the convention. Still, liberal Dem Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said sarcastically: "Our fearless leader has failed to lead." Riordan, who previously had included President Clinton on a conference call to prospective donors, now will host Clinton at his home (this Saturday) for a convention fundraiser. Riordan's hand-picked successor for Mayor, Republican Steve Soboroff (who surrounds himself with Democrats), conscientiously objects to the war against tax money for the private sector. Soboroff himself championed public subsidies for the Staples Center, site of the Democrats’ convention.

Even normally partisan Democrat city controller Rick Tuttle blasted Democrats for trying to break what he termed a "bait and switch" deal. Tuttle said the DNC should provide the money. Into this soap opera: Enter independent, populist, fiscally conservative gay city councilman (and mayoral candidate) Joel Wachs, who says rich Democrats should pay for the mismanaged convention. Enthused about using taxpayer funds is inner-city councilman Nate Holden, a Democrat who is no stranger to subsidies. The city spent $1.5 million defending Holden against multiple sexual-harassment complaints.

The city council's final vote on the bailout won't happen until Friday. Perhaps more ominously, even after the Central Park fiasco at the other end of the continent, L.A. liberals praise the LAPD's aloof refusal to confront the mob outside the Staples Center after the Lakers victory. With WTO protests at Seattle now history, what will happen now, outside this same Staples Center when the Democrats meet there in August?

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