Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
February 17, 2020
“Sixty billion dollars can buy a lot of advertising, but it can’t erase your record,” said erstwhile Democrat candidate Joe Biden (DE) about former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg (R). Oh wait, Biden is still in the race, in spite of miserable showings in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Although to be fair, no one really knows what the hell happened in the Hawkeye State, belying its nickname. And to correct, Bloomberg is no longer the Republican he once was as New York City mayor. First he dropped the GOP label for that of an independent, now he wants people to believe he is a Democrat. By the way, Mr. Bloomberg, $60 billion will never buy class.
Apparently, traveling the country on your knees and in tears in an apology tour for virtually anything and everything that has occurred since time in memorium is how Bloomberg expects people to forget his past transgressions, both in word and deed. Oh, yeah, and there is also the advertising blitz which will have no end in sight until Bloomberg either has the nomination bought and paid for or drops out of the race.
The Democrat Party establishment is hoping for the former, in its own hypocrisy, and is proving so by changing their party’s own rules regarding the upcoming debate in Nevada to allow Bloomberg, who is not accepting donations, to appear on the debate stage at the Paris hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Interesting how the DNC made no exceptions for Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former HUD Secretary Julian Castro (D-TX), or US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). Gabbard, by the way, has been the punching bag of the DNC and the liberal media simply because Gabbard, a veteran still on active duty, is willing to speak out against her own party when she feels necessary. Any bets on whether or not the caucus results will be available the same day as they are held? Figures - the Paris - they even chose a venue named for a socialist city. Seems the nomination is going to boil down to the socialist Bernie Sanders (VT) and the former Republican Bloomberg - neither a true member of the Democrat Party. The DNC, under incompetent Tom Perez, has such animus toward Sanders, they are willing to pull the rug out from under his and his acolyte’s feet - yet again.
For those who think boy wonder Mayor Buttigieg is a moderate, think again. He will “Peter” out as people learn how South Bend, IN is a cesspool outside of the environs of the campus at Notre Dame, the continuing problems he has with race issues, and that he is more toward the socialist wing of the party than the middle. Thinking Buttigieg is a moderate, is demonstrative of how far left the Democrat Party has launched itself.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the closest candidate to a moderate, and she is still a solid liberal, and could find her way onto the ticket as the vice presidential nominee. She has surprised many with her performances in both Iowa and New Hampshire (not this writer who predicted a third place finish for her in the Granite State). She sounds like the voice of reason on the debate stage, is a midwesterner, a part of the country Democrats only recognize if it pertains to Chicago, Minneapolis, or St. Louis. Additionally, Klobuchar is infinitely less of a lightning rod than Hillary Clinton, yet, according to the Drudge Report, it is Hillary that Bloomberg is considering for the second spot on the ticket. A bit premature? How did that plan work out for President Ted Cruz and Vice President Carly Fiorina?
And now the party faces a genuine dilemma. Nominate an avowed socialist who will deleteriously impact the down-ballot candidates, or a multi-billionaire virtually every candidate has railed against. If Bloomberg is the nominee, where will the Bernie Bros. go? Will they hypocritically march in lock step and vote for the billionaire they loathe, or will they stay home on Election Day? Will Bernie demonstrate his level of hypocrisy and support the billionaire he has verbally harangued since day one?
Bloomberg will have to spend the bulk of the campaign explaining himself much more than looking toward the future and how he will govern, which may work for him, considering how he left New York City. Let’s legalize marijuana and decriminalize other drugs, but no one is allowed to drink a soda more than an ounce and a half. Keep explaining “Stop and Frisk,” Bloomy. Stop and frisk is a violation of a person’s Fourth Amendment right to not be searched without probable cause. The real name of the program was “Stop, Question, and Frisk,” which had a level of success worth bragging about at the time, except when Bloomberg talked about dispatching more officers to minority neighborhoods, “because that’s where all the crime is. Bloomberg has said mea culpa pretty much everywhere he campaigns - so often, he probably says it before going to bed at night.
Bloomberg also displayed an ignorance and racism, that if he were still a Republican, would be unforgivable, but now that he is a Democrat, a full prostration before the “right” people, and all is forgiven. From a 2011 PBS NewsHour, Bloomberg talked about black and Latino men ages 16-25, saying, they “don’t have jobs, don’t have any prospects, don’t know how to find jobs, don’t know what their skill sets are, don’t know how to behave in the workplace.”
In addition to alienating minorities, Bloomberg has no doubt antagonized American farmers, and thus so-called fly-over country. Speaking at Oxford University on America’s Veterans’ Day, November 11, 2016 Bloomberg diminished the nature of farmer’s work. Disparaging those who grow our food and feed millions upon millions of people the world over, Bloomberg attempted to simplify it: “I could teach anyone… you dig a hole, put seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, then the corn comes up.” Is this the 2020 version of Hillary’s “deplorables” comment?
Reminds me of one of my favorite lines in the classic Mel Brooks film, Blazing Saddles. Jim, played by the late Gene Wilder, says to Bart, played by the late Cleavon Little following a racial epithet leveled at Bart: “You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land… You know… morons.” In this case it is Bloomberg who clearly is the moron.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) rightly took issue with Bloomberg’s myopic assertion about the vital farm community. Bloomberg’s statements are “incredibly insulting,” and “nothing but pompous ignorance,” said Noem, Tuesday on Fox & Friends. “Who does Mike Bloomberg think he is? Every single day farmers work long hours, but they don’t just have to deal with the labor side, they understand genetics and engineering, biology, chemistry. It is incredibly difficult for farmers every day to feed the world and I’m just so proud my entire family is farmers. I’ve been a farmer my entire life. His comment is so out of touch with every day Americans,” said Noem before issuing a challenge to Bloomberg.
“I would challenge Mike Bloomberg to come spend a day with a farmer… ride horses, rope steers,... drive GPS controlled tractors, computer program grain handling systems, and then internationally market your commodities to pay your bills and continue to do what they do best,” said Noem.
Many Democrats simply want a candidate who can beat Trump, regardless of personality or politics. Seems counterintuitive to those people complaining about Trump’s personality vis a vis his obsession with Twitter. Yet, Bloomberg has the charisma of a warthog’s tuchus. He’s a guy who does not connect well with the people, but he cannot hide behind his advertising - he actually has to go face to face with the folks, something Sanders is reasonably adept at. Sanders, a socialist for sure, is not a phony - he lets people know what they are in for, he just doesn’t have a price tag - something he said in a recent interview. “Who knows?” he responded. Just what the people want to hear.
A parting thought on socialism, courtesy of Ayn Rand. “There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the way of achieving the same goal: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism by voting. It’s the same difference between murder and suicide.” May G-d help preserve the Union.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
No comments:
Post a Comment