We have to act fast. Five Democratic Members of Congress from New York are putting the brakes on President Obama’s historic campaign to reform our broken healthcare system.

Legislation that would expand healthcare coverage for tens of millions of Americans is gaining steam in Congress. But these five New York Representatives are stalling the bill because it pays for reform with a modest tax on the rich.

Accusations are flying that Mayor Bloomberg’s big contributions to the Republican and Independence parties may have had a hand in helping the Mayor win those two ballot lines. From the Daily News:

The going rate for a ballot line in New York City appears to be $250,000.

That’s how much it cost Mayor Bloomberg to win over the initially recalcitrant city Republican committees and earn the right to run a third time on their ballot line.
Four of the five county GOPs have filed their July 15 campaign finance reports, and each has received $50,000 apiece from the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned independent mayor.
…
It just so happens that $250,000 is the same amount the mayor contributed to the city Independence Party on May 15 - about a month after the minor party gave Bloomberg the nod to run again on its line, too.

[Cross posted over at The Party Line, the WFP blog.]

Talk about third parties in most places and folks will either snicker or rail about Ralph Nader helping to elect Bush. Talk about the Working Families Party in New York, and you get “Kingmaker.” At least that’s what the New York Post, the mouthpiece of Rupert Murdoch has to say.

The WFP is backing progressive champion Richard Aborn in the hotly contested race to replace legendary Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who’s retiring after 35 years in office. That has the right-wing Post’s editorial page worried: