Anthony Weiner upended New York's political establishment this week when two major polls showed the former congressman holding a narrow lead or in a statistical tie for first in the Democratic primary for mayor.
We don't take anything away from Weiner's showing in these polls. But what strikes us is how much is still up for grabs.
Notwithstanding an embarrassing sex scandal, Weiner has benefited from being the outsider in this race. Unlike most of his Democratic rivals, he hasn't been in the thick of the city's most contentious issues until recently. Nor has he been promising the world to every liberal interest group.
James Messerschmidt
Anthony Weiner
At the same time, and especially with no endorsements from organized labor, Weiner's been free to speak common sense, for example, by suggesting union members' contributions to health benefits should be on the table in upcoming contract negotiations. He's also been supportive of charter schools and less critical of the NYPD than many of his opponents.
In other words, Anthony Weiner comes across as more sensible on all these positions than the rivals who are all gearing their appeal to the usual suspects. Whether Weiner can hold true on his positions, voters plainly find it refreshing.
But it also means there's an opening for Republicans. The Quinnipiac poll found 28 percent of Democrats are undecided; the Marist survey found 18 percent. Combine that with the support for Weiner, and it suggests a lot of Democrats are looking for a more sensible message than they've been getting.
That accords with history. There's a reason the city opted for 20 years of Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. To put it another way, if a quarter of New York City's Democrats are up for grabs, doesn't this indicate an opening for a Republican with a bold and compelling vision for the future — one grounded in clear support for a police force that has brought crime to historic lows, a willingness to make the city friendlier to business and a commitment to continue to strive to make our public schools work as well for our kids as they do for our teachers unions?
Anthony Weiner sees the opening. Would be nice if a Republican did, too.
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