Mayor Bloomberg Admits the Obvious

The big news here in New York City today is the decision of Mayor Bloomberg to abandon the Republican party and become an independent. Big deal. Anybody who seriously thought that Bloomberg was a Republican clearly wasn't paying attention. Bloomberg is a classic big city tax-and-spend liberal and only became a Republican because he didn't want to have to compete in a crowded Democrat primary field in a heavily Dem city. It may have made political sense, but frankly, it was kind of cowardly.


Bloomberg has always governed like a liberal Dem, and his latest effort to pay poor people to act like good citizens is classic Dem liberalism. Republicans believe that most people will do the right thing if left alone to their own devices, and therefore excessive regulation is not required. Freedom works best. Dems like Bloomberg believe that people generally will not do the right thing unless they are highly regulated, taxed or bribed to be good citizens. Given the fraud that always accompanies government programs, the Bloomberg plan is sure to suck billions of dollars out of the pockets of the good taxpayers and put most of it into the hands of scammers. Fewer people will be good citizens as a result.

This guy wants to be president, and although it's not clear that he's ready to make a run against the current Dem and GOP fields, don't count him out. He could spend a billion dollars on a campaign out of his own pocket and not even miss it. He'd be dangerous as president.