WASHINGTON -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican, is antagonizing Republicans lately with his criticism of Congress _ a shift in tactics that some view as an effort to win over New York voters.
Bloomberg, who will stand for re-election next year, has been on the warpath over the House of Representatives' rejection of a measure that would have shifted $450 million in anti-terror funding from rural areas to cities. He accused lawmakers of wasting homeland security dollars in the name of pork barrel politics.
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Until recently, Bloomberg had taken a low-key approach to the city's campaign for more homeland security funding. But the gloves came off when the mayor disinvited Bob Ney, R-Ohio, to a luncheon with wealthy New Yorkers expected to donate to Republicans.
The mayor was angered by lawmakers, including Ney, who voted 237-171 against an amendment that would have shifted about $450 million in anti-terror funding from rural areas to big cities like New York at high risk of attack. Voting against the measure were 147 Republicans, 89 Democrats and an independent.
The canceled lunch left a bad taste in the mouths of a number of politicos. And chief among them was Ney, who holds a key insider position in Washington as an official with the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps elect Republicans to the House.
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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--gopconvention-rif0623jun23,0,6871209.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire