New York Times photo of Michael Bloomberg with Donald Trump in happier times. (photo: Robert Sabo/Daily News)
On the third night of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the stage to tout his non-partisanship and call for a “sane, competent person” for president. It was a celebration of conservative centrism, and so was the establishment media’s reaction—to a politician who is also one of the nation’s most powerful media moguls.
For media, there were two big takeaways to Bloomberg’s presence at the DNC: He’s a better New York billionaire than Trump, and he’s an independent. It was those two principles, and not his mayoral record, that a number of journalists and pundits propped up as evidence of his success.
The Washington Post (7/27/16) declared Bloomberg among the “winners” in their roundup of “winners and losers” from the evening. Although he got a “rough reception” at the outset after naming his policy differences with Hillary Clinton, wrote Chris Cillizza, “Bloomberg found his mojo when he turned his rhetorical fire on Trump. And, man oh man, did he go after his fellow New York billionaire.” Cillizza cited Bloomberg’s digs at how Trump runs his business, adding: “It was a searing and effective critique coming from Bloomberg—an unquestioned titan of business.”
Fellow Washington Post writer Jonathan Capehart (7/27/16), a member of the editorial board, described Bloomberg as “political pragmatism personified”:
He was a Democrat who switched party affiliation to Republican to run for mayor in 2001. He then became an independent in 2007 when he contemplated a run for the White House. The announcement of his party switch then captured what got him into politics 15 years ago and what motivated his convention speech Wednesday night. “Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles,” he said then, “and that good ideas should take precedence over rigid adherence to any particular political ideology.”
What “real results” from Bloomberg’s time as mayor Capehart is referencing aren’t specified, but it’s clear that he believes that Bloomberg has the moral high ground. Capehart called Trump—“the man and his candidacy”—a “a violation of Bloomberg’s life and political philosophy.” Bloomberg, he wrote, “slammed his fellow billionaire for his business practices that hurt real people.”
The missing factcheck here is how Bloomberg’s own policies “hurt real people.” One of his proudest—Stop and Frisk—was overturned by a federal judge, who wrote that, under Bloomberg’s NYPD, “targeting the ‘right people’ means stopping people in part because of their race.” His policies on homelessness—namely, eliminating permanent housing assistance programs— led to an 83 percent increase in the city’s homeless families. During his tenure, Bloomberg proposed budget cuts to the fire department, elderly services, libraries, public schools and recycling programs, and cut childcare and after-school programs for five years in a row.
New Yorkers know this, though not thanks to Bloomberg’s own media empire; reporters at Bloomberg News are under a longstanding directive to avoid coverage of their boss, which translated into a virtual ban on investigative reporting of the mayor of New York for 12 years.
But none of that is enough to change the shorthand that Bloomberg is “largely a social liberal but a fiscal conservative” (Washington Post, 7/27/16). Bloomberg’s wealth affords him a reputation as a “generous philanthropist” and a “supporter of the arts” (New York Times, 7/28/16). And, most perplexing of all, it makes him the billionaire to root for.
“Let me throw in a kudo for Michael Bloomberg. He wasn’t poetic, but I did love his real-billionaire contempt for Trump,” wrote Gail Collins in the Times (7/29/16).
The DNC spent much of last week appealing to the center-right, regardless of the policy implications, and its embrace of Bloomberg was the perfect embodiment of that strategy. That so many media elites threw their lot behind Michael Bloomberg—a man whose primary accomplishments as mayor were austerity and racist policing—shows just how little policy matters in so much of this conversation.
“Michael Bloomberg blew me away,” said MSNBC’s Chris Matthews (Hardball, 7/29/16). “He’s not exactly lyrical. He said, as a New Yorker, I know what a con looks like.”
Molly Knefel is a journalist and co-host of the daily political podcast Radio Dispatch. She is also an elementary and middle school teacher at a public school in the Bronx.
Bernie-Stein and Trump have pointed out that ‘normal’ politics has been screwing the middle class for 40 years. To me the Bernie-Stein platform for reform is the correct one:
Hillary and Trump are both oligarchs. The establishment of both parties are a disgrace to the needs of the middle class. Either one would appoint Supreme Court justices that support the oligarchy.
A few of Key points of the Power to the People Plan:
A Green New Deal:
Create millions of jobs by transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, and investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture, and conservation.
Jobs as a Right: Create living-wage jobs for every American who needs work, replacing unemployment offices with employment offices. Advance workers rights to form unions, achieve workplace democracy, and keep a fair share of the wealth they create.
End Poverty: Guarantee economic human rights, including access to food, water, housing, and utilities, with effective anti-poverty programs to ensure every American a life of dignity.
Health Care as a Right: Establish an improved “Medicare For All” single-payer public health insurance program to provide everyone with quality health care, at huge savings.
Education as a Right: Abolish student debt to free a generation of Americans from debt servitude. Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university. End high stakes testing and public school privatization.
A Just Economy: Set a $15/hour federal minimum wage. Break up “too-big-to-fail” banks and democratize the Federal Reserve. Reject gentrification as a model of economic development. Support development of worker and community cooperatives and small businesses. Make Wall Street, big corporations, and the rich pay their fair share of taxes. Create democratically run public banks and utilities. Replace corporate trade agreements with fair trade agreements.
Protect Mother Earth: Lead on a global treaty to halt climate change. End destructive energy extraction: fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, and uranium mines. Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators. Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe. Protect the rights of future generations.
Jill Stein 2016
Empire USA has the richest, most wealth driven and greed loving society the world has ever known. So, using the deadly force of government to make people moral, is that logical?
For as most people feel they deserve more, deserve to be rich actually, the only solution is to give people a conviction that they deserve less, deserve not one more day of life actually.
And so, go for nationwide strikes, go for mass disobedience, go for things that destroy the deadly force of government, as man’s government creates a state of war, always has and always will.
Hillary and Trump are both oligarchs. The establishment of both parties are a disgrace to the needs of the middle class. Either one would appoint Supreme Court justices that support the oligarchy.
A few of Key points of the Power to the People Plan:
A Green New Deal:
Create millions of jobs by transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, and investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture, and conservation.
Jobs as a Right: Create living-wage jobs for every American who needs work, replacing unemployment offices with employment offices. Advance workers rights to form unions, achieve workplace democracy, and keep a fair share of the wealth they create.
End Poverty: Guarantee economic human rights, including access to food, water, housing, and utilities, with effective anti-poverty programs to ensure every American a life of dignity.
Health Care as a Right: Establish an improved “Medicare For All” single-payer public health insurance program to provide everyone with quality health care, at huge savings.
Education as a Right: Abolish student debt to free a generation of Americans from debt servitude. Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university. End high stakes testing and public school privatization.
A Just Economy: Set a $15/hour federal minimum wage. Break up “too-big-to-fail” banks and democratize the Federal Reserve. Reject gentrification as a model of economic development. Support development of worker and community cooperatives and small businesses. Make Wall Street, big corporations, and the rich pay their fair share of taxes. Create democratically run public banks and utilities. Replace corporate trade agreements with fair trade agreements.
Protect Mother Earth: Lead on a global treaty to halt climate change. End destructive energy extraction: fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, and uranium mines. Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators. Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe. Protect the rights of future generations.
Jill Stein 2016
As the upper-half of society owns all land and wealth, as everything you want would have to be paid for by them, what do you propose to give them in exchange?
I would “give them” much higher taxes including estate taxes.. A country must have a strong middle class in order to maintain democracy rather than morphing into oligarchy, which we have done.
“I know what a con looks like.”
Everyone quoted here does
Every time they look in the mirror.
Michael is looking like he has one foot in the grave.
Michael “convinced” the city council to overturn term limits and re elect him. He was bad news but got good press.
Funny how folks can be fooled over and over and over
Good article. I was amused by the Times writers who used “kudo” as a singular. What happened to the Times’ proofreader? (“Kudos” is a singular noun.)
FACTS — SOLUTION — ROOT CAUSE
FACTS
(1) Wealth is the property we own above what is needed for a healthy and comfortable life.
(2) Wealth is stolen property belonging to those who suffer want.
(3) All of the land and wealth is owned by the intelligent and educated upper half of society, 95% of which are white.
SOLUTION
Raise minimum wage until the laboring-class lower half owns 25% of the land and wealth.
ROOT CAUSE
Most people, they love wealth more then people and the purpose of planet earth is to reach the ultimate conclusion of wealth hoarding people.