Democrats are in a slump, and we need a conquest. And, in New York City next year, there is the strong chance for a meaningful conquest, the defeat of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
I have a financial stake in the City, and I dislike Bloomberg intensely. He is a bald liar about his ideology- he is a solid supporter of George Bush. And, he is a failed mayor. The quality of life in the City has deteriorated greatly during his term.
Bloomberg's leadership on mass transit has been a complete failure. Property taxes have risen astronomically. Bloomberg, along with the DLC's Joel Klein, engineered a takeover of the local schools, with nothing to show for it. And, fittingly, Bloomberg's other accomplishment- a complete smoking ban- is colored by Bloomberg being filmed with cigar-smoking Wall Street cronies in violation of the law.
Bloomberg is very compassionate- for billionaires. His pet project is the West Side Stadium, the most extraordinary gift of corporate welfare in U.S. history. A close second, the lion's share of the Downtown 9/11 redevelopment money, the so-called "Liberty Bonds," was diverted, likely illegally, to build an office tower in unscathed Midtown for Bank of America.
Mayor Bloomberg might seem to not be as bad as Rudi Giuliani. Bloomberg can converse with Democrats (he pretends to be one, a la Ed Koch). But the pattern of brutal unjustified shootings of blacks by NYPD has continued almost unabated, and Bloomberg speahheaded a shocking assault on civil liberties during the recent RNC. Bloomberg is no friend of diversity and liberty, the City's two true assets.
Bloomberg has refused to criticize the Bush Administration's demagoging of the United Nations, despite the large role the UN plays in the NYC economy. And now, faced with the greatest economic threat to the City since 9/11, namely eliminating the federal income tax deduction for state and local income taxes, he only whimpers to Bush.
Please understand, it would be hard to imagine a US President being worse to a City than Bush has been to New York, from being asleep at the switch the morning of September 11 to diverting Homeland Security spending to the Red States to favoring eliminating the income tax deduction. By staying silent, Bloomberg remains Bush's accomplice.
Bloomberg was a clever opportunist to seize on Democratic ineptness and become Mayor. And I'm certain Bloomberg loves being Mayor- it is probably the most wonderful job in the world.
But, New Yorkers are an educated and sophisticated lot, and you have to earn their respect. By the time the campaign is over, it will be clear to a large majority of New Yorkers that Bloomberg doesn't deserve theirs.