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Reformers from hell | page 1, 2
As Barrett explains, the egocentric developer is not exactly a political virgin. His empire was founded on massive contributions to politicians of both parties in his home state, where he was probably the largest single political donor during the '80s. In return, he collected enormous tax breaks that made his early construction projects such as the Grand Hyatt and Trump Tower profitable. He was a lavish donor to Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo and Democratic Mayor Ed Koch when those men could serve his purposes, and easily switched his checkbook allegiance to Republicans Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki as soon as they came to power. Joe Conason Joe Conason's column appears in Salon News every other Tuesday.
Trump dabbles in third-party politics when it suits his agenda. He is a major donor these days to the Liberal Party, a vestigial ballot line in New York that is, as local quipsters say, neither liberal nor a party. It is, however, a favorite cause of Mayor Giuliani, who has long enjoyed the political support of the fringe organization's boss, an influential lawyer-lobbyist named Ray Harding. And Mr. Harding's firm has also been employed by the Trump organization to handle its corporate relations with City Hall. That is the merest outline of the true Trump story, much of it not nearly as uplifting as the Donald's incessant self-flattery would suggest. So when incoming Reform Party chairman Jack Gargan says that his party stands firm for "the elimination of the influence of lobbyists and special interests," it's hard to imagine Trump as the party's standard-bearer. Perhaps he will explain his views on campaign finance and special-interest lobbying in his forthcoming book -- promotion of which is regarded by some cynics as the real reason behind Trump's current presidential posturing. Meanwhile, whatever the outcome of the Reform bloodbath, it may provide redeeming educational value as well as welcome comic relief. We may finally learn that third parties perennially promise things they cannot deliver. There are no shortcuts in American politics, no detours around coalition and compromise. And the seemingly attractive "alternative" can turn out to be no more pure or principled than the tired old institutions it purports to displace.
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