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What kind of thirld-world bullshit is this?
Apparently, in this vast and shining City of over eight million people, there breathes only one man capable of running it: Michael Bloomberg, the incumbent mayor. In fact, the need for Mr. Bloomberg's services is so dire, so pressingly urgent, that an inconvenient law, passed twice by popular referendum, needs to and no doubt will be overturned. In the process, a bunch of otherwise unemployable members of the City Council will get a shot at a third term as well. Coincidentally, because that election is only thirteen months away, sorry, suckers, the City doesn't have the time to put it to a new referendum.
This is the kind of bullshit we used to snicker about when it happened in some colonial backwater someplace. We used to be - I don't know, back when we had a real currency, I guess - a serious country that held that laws are more important than individuals. Instead, now, like in every third-world backwater banana republic, the Council is likely going to vote to extend Caudillo Bloomberg's lease on governance, and thereby, coincidentally, its own.
You know what that means, right? Not just Bloomberg, but four more years of Betsy Gotbaum. If this happens, and it will, it should be considered as what it is, a legislative coup. It's insulting to New Yorkers, it's insulting to the fine crop of apparent candidates running for office - who apparently just can't do Maximo Lider's job, even if one of them is presently the City's Comptroller - and it should be rejected. If the council has even a glimmer of respect for the voters, as opposed to being a bunch of self-serving ass-kissers, it will be rejected.
Don't hold your breath.
More fallout
President Bush is now considering repealing the 22nd Amendment so he can stay on the job. After all, there's a financial crisis and we're in the middle of two wars (plus the "war on terror"). Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has any Oval Office experience. Clearly, we must keep Bush in office until these crises are resolved ... which could mean forever.
Fortunately, many good people are speaking out. Admittedly, most of them are running for higher office than they currently occupy, but still it's good to have them on the side of truth, justice, and the American way.
Some fairness
There are some City Councilmembers who I have been at odds with from time to time, including Yassky and De Blasio, who are against Bloomberg's Coup. I also suspect that the Schumer Faction won't like it because they are aiming for vacated positions as their path up.
I am not in favor of term limits in general, but I am disgusted by the current Bloomberg power grab.
Oh, no question.
DeBlasio was at the New Yorkers for term limits rally the other week, and Liu came out today against this idiocy. So they're not all bad, but I also didn't say they were. We'll see how many of them are decent, and how many aren't.
I'm Furious
That Putin Bloomberg thinks he's along with the City Council are so important that he should ignore the voters decision and run for a 3rd term. This is the most disgusting treatment of voters I have seen since Bush stole 2 elections.
I think we should put together a class action law suit to stop this. I'd be willing to put my name on it.
By the way, Tony Avilla is also against this Communist takeover of our rights.
Not So Bad?
I will judge DeBlasio, Liu, and Yassky when they choose not to run for re-election. This all seems like a sham to me. These guys will vote against it, then reap all the benefits of the bs game change. They don't have to run for office again, they can get any number of jobs out there. You want to know what each of them will do? They'll run for re-election.
If they do, and reformers don't challenge them, then reform politics is dead in NYC. What should happen is that any candidate that runs for re-election should have to defend their actions as individuals. If they can't, reform clubs should creat a coalition to find one candidate for each district to run against the incumbent, and should back them with money and people.
I actually agree with Bouldin on something.
I'm calling this the Big Apple-Banana Republic. People voted on term limits twice. The New York Times thinks it's fair if the city council now extends their own limits? The New York Times believes the law should apply to Rudy Giuliani and not to Michael Bloomberg? Both the New York Post and New York Daily News editorialize "Run, Mike, Run"?? This stinks stink stinks stinks stinks. Glad I moved out when I did!
I wrote a letter
to DeBlasio, which seems nearly superfluous. Though I guess a little constituent feedback never hurts when we actually agree with them. This feels typically Bloombergian, in that "people-be-damned, I know what's best for New York" kind of way.
What sort of action can we take? If we try to stage a protest, he'll deny us a permit.