Mike's so out of touch, it hurts (Bloomberg)

The Daily News ^ | 8/11/03 | Sidney Zion

[qam1]

A savvy but rich New Yorker opined the other night that Mayor Bloomberg would be reelected. Seeing my eyebrows rise higher than a cat's back, he said: "Stranger things have happened." "Name one."

"Let's have another drink," he said.

The way things look now, Bloomberg is lucky he's not the governor of California. Do a Rorschach on him in New York, and you get tix blitz, taxes, no smoke, no booze, no fun. No nuthin' but orders from the CEO, who tells you that if you don't like it, you're fired.

Our amazin' mayor has managed to turn off just about every element in the city. Nary a day goes by that, by his acts or his words, or both, he doesn't alienate some group or other.

It's as if he wakes up every morning and decides how he can fix what ain't broken.

He never would have been elected but for 9/11, that's for sure. Until then, for all his millions that he ran into the campaign, he was running 25 points behind Mark Green.

The disaster at the World Trade Center turned Rudy Giuliani into a saint, and Rudy's arm made Bloomberg.

So last Fourth of July, Bloomberg's cops raided a beach party in Far Rockaway, Queens, a fund-raiser for the victims of 9/11.

They came in like a SWAT team, sweeping people off the beach. They even handcuffed an off-duty cop.

One woman showed the police a picture of her son, who died at Ground Zero. "This is a party in the name of my son," she said. "You should be ashamed of yourselves."

And the cops went on doing what they were doing.

Bloomberg justified the raid. The people were drinking, against the law. "The truth of the matter is, half a dozen people have died - drowned off the Rockaways," he said.

Except that none of the six drownings involved alcohol.

When it was pointed out that Bloomberg himself watched people drinking at a concert in Central Park, he said, "I don't know anybody that's drowned in a tuba recently."

You can't make this up. Yet Mayor Mike is oblivious, he doesn't dig why anybody would consider him an elitist.

He ran on a platform guaranteeing he would never raise taxes.

So he raised taxes more than any mayor in history.

What he never said was that he would outlaw smoking in every bar and restaurant in New York. The first thing he did was to make New York the No. 1 prohibitionist city in the country.

He did it, he said, to protect bartenders and waiters from the terrible health hazard of secondhand smoke.

"If I owned a bar," he said, "I would love to have a no-smoking bar. Then people would drink more."

If that's not meshuga, another word needs to be invented.

At a rally the other day on the outskirts of City Hall, a bartender put it this way: "Bloomberg did this to protect my health. Now I can't pay my health insurance."

The bars and restaurants are dying - all over town bartenders are laid off. Bloomberg never asked them if they needed this help, because Bloomberg doesn't ask, he orders.

Now he sits without a clue, a billionaire who knows what's good for us. "It works in California," he says.

In California, if I hear it right wherever I go, he'd be recalled this weekend.

[qam1]

Ping

[Phantom Lord]

A poster here on another thread agreed with me that Bloomberg has been a disappointment, but asked me how much worse would it be if the RAT had won. A week later I am still unable to think of how the RAT would have done a worse job or raised taxes more.

[qam1]

A week later I am still unable to think of how the RAT would have done a worse job or raised taxes more.

Yeah, Lets not forget originally Bloomberg originally wanted to raise property taxes by 22½% but it was the Rat controled City Counsel that cut it down to 18½%

[housethatruthbuilt]

it is truly amazing how bad this prick is.

like your tagline....you see them on the sanitarium tour?

[.cnI redruM]

Bloomberg is the Jon Lindsey of our generation. Even down to his elected office. Thucydides nailed it.

[Phantom Lord]

I live in Apex NC and drove down to Atlanta GA to see them.

[Phantom Lord]

Yeah, Lets not forget originally Bloomberg originally wanted to raise property taxes by 22½% but it was the Rat controled City Counsel that cut it down to 18½%

As is always the case in politics, shoot for more than you know you can get and accept a "reduction" in your proposal, still ending up at the real number you wanted, or close to it.

[housethatruthbuilt]

saw them in NY, Philly, and DC. incredible. anxiously awaiting the arena tour in the spring.

[Phantom Lord]

I was disappointed that they didnt play Rockingham NC has they have for virtually every outdoor tour the past decade. And the ones that were not in Rockingham were in Charlotte. Why they skipped NC this tour is beyond me.

It was great to see Blackened back in the line up. Why it was gone for 15 years I will never understand.

[Mr. Mojo]

When it was pointed out that Bloomberg himself watched people drinking at a concert in Central Park, he said, "I don't know anybody that's drowned in a tuba recently

This nutball also watched in absolute horror as Keith Richards and Ron Wood lit up a couple cigs on stage during a Stones' concert at the Garden a few months back, and told the Garden cops to arrest them immediately. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed, and the NYPD blue in attendence ignored the ridiculous - quite frankly, insane, order. Can you imagine the riot that would've ensued had Keith and Ron been arrested for smoking in the middle of a show?

Bloomberg belongs in a rubber room.

[ambrose]

I thought it did not matter what Bloomberg stood for, it only mattered that he is a Republican. That's what they're telling us on all the McClintock bashing threads.

[cake_crumb]

He's probably right. How many times was D'Amato reelected? Who elected Hillary after 8 years of her husband? Who will reelect her (or vote for her if she jumps into the '04 presidential fray?

New York voters will. The overwhelming majority, anyway.

[housethatruthbuilt]

james sobered up and listened to the fans again, i think. harvester was a thank you at each of the shows.

[cake_crumb]

"Can you imagine the riot that would've ensued had Keith and Ron been arrested for smoking in the middle of a show?"

Shame cooler heads prevailed. It would have shown just how deeply disturbed Bloomie really is.

[Phantom Lord]

I hope the indoor tour is like the black album tour. No opening act and a set list approaching 3 hours.

[goldstategop]

Michael Bloomberg was a Democrat who went on the Republican ballot cause the party already had too many liberals on the ballot. He was the only one who could have carried NYC after 9-11. Bloomie's no RINO, he's 100% unreconstructed, hard core statist liberal. I'm amazed he's still in the GOP.

[agrace]

Of course he IS a rat. He's the rino-est rino there is. How much more rino could one be after switching parties simply to give himself a better chance of winning?

Glad I don't live in the city anymore. Bloomberg makes me grateful for McGreevey, how scary is that.

[ambrose]

but he IS a Republican. isn't that all that matters? that is what I am hearing on the McClintock bashing threads.

[SouthParkRepublican]

"Bloomberg makes me grateful for McGreevey, how scary is that."

Bloomberg doesn’t stand a chance in the next election even if he’s running against a sock puppet. I live in NJ and hate our Governor but (to my amazement) agree with you that he’s not so bad when you hold him up to the Big Apple’s Nazi mayor. You are not kidding thats scary!