Let us introduce you to what may be the worst political operative in America, Seth Ford. Or, as we like to call him, Mayor Bloomberg’s red headed stepchild.
Ford was recently the Colorado Director for Bloomberg’s gun control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). His LinkedIn profile says he left that prestigious position last month, only weeks before MAIG became a national laughing stock in the wake of the defeats of Senators John Morse and Angela Giron.
Sold as a balancing political force to the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), MAIG was designed to bail out politicians who pushed gun control legislation when they inevitably came under attack. The recall defense of Giron and Morse was exactly what it was designed to do.
As you know, it didn’t exactly go according to plan.
Ford’s political benefactor, Mayor Bloomberg, became toxic in the gun debate. While Bloomberg may have given at least $350,000 (more could appear in the Oct. 1 report), his association with the recall elections was ultimately a lock stock loser for Senators Morse and Giron.
As Slate‘s Dave Weigel wrote in an analysis of the recalls:
Bloomberg tried to prevent [the recalls]. His specter hovered over the races from the beginning, with conservatives warning that the easily caricatured New York mayor was going to try to buy them…
The Colorado election is…a defeat for Bloomberg the Icon. For half a decade or more, a certain sort of liberal, usually well-off, has convinced himself that the country he dreams of is possible, if only Bloomberg wills it.
Bloomberg may have bought Ford, but he couldn’t buy the people of Colorado.
Despite the millions Bloomberg has pumped into MAIG nationally, he didn’t exactly get much for his money in Ford and the Colorado MAIG operation. It’s not really possible to tell the full extent of what MAIG did, as they’re a 501(c)4 that hasn’t disclosed its spending. From what we can tell, Ford’s strategy for victory was tweeting Colorado Pols links from 6 or 7 different Twitter accounts.
Whatever Ford and MAIG did, it clearly didn’t work.
Put simply, there hasn’t been a political force as ineffectual and impotent as MAIG since Dan Maes’s quixotic quest for the governorship. (Can I give you a penny back?)
If you recall (ha!), Senator Angela Giron said that if either her or Morse lost their election, then MAIG “might as well fold it up.”
No word yet from Ford on when MAIG plans to shut it down.
Just to correct the record: I had nothing to do with managing the recall campaigns before or after my position ended. I was not the Director, I was a coordinator. Finally, the task with which I was charged–helping to pass background checks on private gun sales–was accomplished. But don't let the facts get in the way of a great fantasy.
Maybe he washed out with the tide… One can only hope.
I also believe his strategy was to block Facebook comments 48 hours prior to the election… I heard of numerous complaints… You cannot buy us and you cannot silence us… WE WILL BE HEARD!