Koch pushing GOP convention, Bush

NEW YORK -- The city's most vocal supporter of the Republican National Convention and the reelection of George W. Bush is not one of the few Republicans living here, but rather, one of the city's most famous and prickliest Democrats.

Edward I. Koch, the three-term mayor from 1978 to 1989 who some say is New York City's best-known citizen, is not only acting as the welcome wagon for the 50,000 Republicans arriving this month, but he also is unapologetically advocating Bush's reelection.

"For the position of president, I always voted for Democrat. I even voted for McGovern, but I held my nose while I did it. I am not going to do that anymore," he said as he sat in his office in a midtown law firm where photographs of Democrats such as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton hang on the walls.

"I am 80 years old. I am going to go to my death in five, seven, eight years, and I am not going to compromise."

Koch said he supports Bush although he disagrees with the president on virtually every domestic issue.

"There is only one issue I think is important today, and it overshadows and trumps any other issue," Koch said. "On the most important issue -- dealing with international terrorism and standing up -- President Bush has been magnificent, and I believe the Democratic Party does not have the stomach to take on year after year international terrorism."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, made Koch the chairman of the volunteer drive to recruit people to work at the convention, and ever since Koch's face and voice have been everywhere, urging fellow New Yorkers to welcome delegates coming for the convention from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. In a radio ad, Koch tells residents to help Republican delegates "find shopping, a schmeer, . . . a shoe shine, a shuttle." In posters, he declares: "Republicans are coming. Make nice."

The feisty former mayor, who restored New York City's fiscal stability during his tenure but had a tenuous relationship with the African-American community, said the Republicans were smart to choose a dynamic city like New York for their convention.

"The Democrats made the stupid decision to go to Boston," he said. "Their convention was dullsville."

Koch has helped to recruit 20,000 volunteers, far exceeding the city's goal of 8,000. New Yorkers may admire his push for volunteerism, but many in this city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 5 to 1 were not thrilled when he began to publicly express his support for Bush. Koch said he has not received much negative feedback. He recalled four people who acted hostile to him on the streets and two others who asked to be removed from the e-mail list for his political commentaries.

Others say plenty of Democrats are annoyed with Koch.

"I would say Democrats are pretty upset about his behavior," said Ed Gold, a former leader in the Village Independent Democrats, a club where Koch got his start in politics.

"I've known him for 50 years. We began politics together in the reform movement; we go way back. Back then you could call him a liberal Democrat, but he has moved toward the center over the years, and I would say since 9/11 he has become a right-winger."

Koch acknowledged he has crossed party lines in the past, backing former mayors John Lindsay and Rudolph Giuliani as well as Bloomberg, Governor George Pataki, and Alfonse D'Amato for Senate, but he insists that he is a centrist.

Gold said that after he was quoted calling Koch a "neo-con," or neoconservative, in a local newspaper, Koch kicked him out of the lunch club Koch founded. Gold and others said Koch remains influential in some political circles in New York City and is perhaps the most recognized New Yorker, even more so than Giuliani. Other fellow Democrats say his opinion has little impact anymore.

"First of all, flip-flop Koch has always been confused. One minute he is supporting Republicans, and the next minute he is a Democrat," City Councilor Charles Barron said. "I don't think many people pay Koch any mind anymore. Koch doesn't represent progressive New Yorkers and he doesn't even represent Democratic New Yorkers, so for him to be welcoming Republicans means absolutely nothing."

That is, unless you are a Republican. GOP officials are praising Koch and say his support is proof that Bush's appeal stretches far beyond political parties.

"Mayor Koch is somebody that embodies tough leadership during tough times. The mayor and president might be of different parties, but they are of one mind when it comes to fighting and winning the war on terrorism," said Leonardo Alcivar, spokesman for the Republican National Convention.

Koch, a Bronx native, remains active in his eighth decade of life. He is a partner in an international law firm. He wakes up at 5 a.m., exercises at a gym, and arrives at the office by 8 a.m. He is a radio and television host and travels for work. And he just finished writing a children's book.

Paul Elliot, spokesman for the host committee, which helped create the convention ad campaign, said city organizers thought Koch symbolized what organizers wanted to show the world: that New York City is the strong, energetic city it has always been.

"Former mayor Koch is the quintessential New Yorker," Elliot said. "You don't have to be a New Yorker to know Koch. His face, his voice, and personality is New York. He represents New York's energy and spirit."