Today is primary day in New York and, even though I live in the City of Yonkers, I am paying close attention to the New York City mayoral race. I can walk to New York City in a couple of minutes, I spend a lot of time in New York City, and the fate of my beloved City of Y______ is inextricably linked with that of the Big Apple.
The big kerfuffle in this race is current Mayor Mike Bloomberg's horrible statement that Democratic frontrunner Bill De Blasio is running a racist campaign because his ads feature his African-American wife and mixed-race children- De Blasio's son Dante, with his awesome 'fro has become a minor celebrity in the five boroughs. Bloomberg, when asked to clarify what he meant by a "racist campaign" , whined, “It’s comparable to me pointing out that I’m Jewish in attracting the Jewish vote.”
Predictably, Bloomberg has pointed out that he is Jewish while campaigning in Jewish neighborhoods, even going so far as to billing himself as "Mike the Mensch" and wearing a yarmulke when it suits his purposes.
Bloomberg started his political career as a wonky technocrat and has transformed into a petty autocrat in his third term, a term he engineered in spite of his support for a two-term limit to the mayoralty. Polls now indicated that many New Yorkers have "buyers' remorse for Bloomberg's third term, which has been marred by his stop-and-frisk policy (his howler about disproportionately stopping whites too much and minorities too little was especially odious) and his poorly thought out large soda ban (he should have proposed a penny-an-ounce tax to defray the health costs of soda consumption). Bloomberg has exceeded his shelf life, and is now stinking up the joint.
Bloomberg's animus toward De Blasio probably stems from De Blasio's opposition to Bloomberg's third term, to the extent that he was a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit opposing Bloomberg's third term campaign. There is also a perception that Bloomberg hates De Blasio because he is running against Bloomberg's perceived legacy. If so, Bloomberg's calumnious attacks on De Blasio's family reveals him as a callow, cowardly tyrant.
One of the greatest ads of this political season was recorded by author Junot Diaz. The blistering takeaway quote, one worthy of a celebrated novelist, eviscerates Bloomberg:
“When Bloomberg looks at a photograph of De Blasio’s family, he thinks racism. Me, I just think New York.”
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If so, Bloomberg's calumnious attacks on De Blasio's family reveals him as a callow, cowardly tyrant.
That, and most everything else Mayor Mike has done in his life.
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For instance:
Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and other New York leaders who ordered the eviction should take a long, hard look at their handling of the occupation.
This morning’s action may not be what a police state looks like, but it’s certainly how one begins.
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That, and most everything else Mayor Mike has done in his life.
The Salon article suggests that his hatred of De Blasio results from his inability to buy this election, or to buy a legacy.
This morning’s action may not be what a police state looks like, but it’s certainly how one begins.
The banality of it is appalling.
It must be interesting to live in a place where local/municipal politics are both interesting and meaningful. The two times I can remember the SF city government being important were the aftermath of the Moscone/Milk murders and the aftermath of Jonestown.
The Board of Supervisors is the real power in San Francisco, but because they are an 11 person legislative body they lack the single personality factor that attracts so much light and heat to someone like Bloomberg.
i already knew mike was jewish - not that there's anything wrong with that
i was annoyed when he bought the name of the johns hopkins school of public health, but as you know, society is run by the golden rule - those who have the gold, rule
may the creative forces of the universe stand beside us, and guide us, through the night with the light from above (metaphorically speaking)
a callow, cowardly tyrant.
"Callow" implies a lack of experience in cowardice and tyranny, like he is a novice.
It must be interesting to live in a place where local/municipal politics are both interesting and meaningful. The two times I can remember the SF city government being important were the aftermath of the Moscone/Milk murders and the aftermath of Jonestown.
Somebody needs to be killed to make it interesting?
may the creative forces of the universe stand beside us, and guide us, through the night with the light from above (metaphorically speaking)
I think the voters will find their way.
"Callow" implies a lack of experience in cowardice and tyranny, like he is a novice.
His first two terms were okay, but he did a weird turn and it became all about soda cup bans (I prefer an penny an ounce tax to offset the cost of health problems) and stop-and-frisk. He's a little dictator, a piker to the Scott Walkers of the world.
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