Month: January 2020

Like a rosebush budding in the spring, President Bloomberg is beginning to smell sweet.

Whether or not Michael Bloomberg actually receives the Democratic nomination for President, his candidacy is a welcome and true contribution to the race. At least we now have an independent, rational, balanced candidate that can provide a moderate, centrist point of view without political posturing or promoting positions and programs that can never be.

Michael Bloomberg is that multi-billionaire, that successful businessman that President Trump likes to portray himself as but is really not. Michael Bloomberg has been mayor of New York City for two terms. He created a very large and successful business news-focused enterprise. He has proven credentials as a leader, a politician, and a chief executive, none of which President Trump had when he became president.

Michael Bloomberg is introducing himself to America by means of millions of dollars worth of political commercials, so he is able to control his image and message without question or contradiction. This appears to be highly effective, as he is already polling above many Democratic candidates who have been actively campaigning for nearly a year. Sad to say, but if these other candidates had a message that resonated with Democratic voters then they would have been much more successful by now.

Michael Bloomberg’s true test will come when he appears on a debate stage with other Democratic candidates and we can judge for ourselves as to whether or not he is truly presidential material. Can he provide a clear vision for this country? Can he think on his feet and defend his beliefs when directly questioned and verbally attacked by the other Democratic candidates? Can he be consistent, logical, and show resolve and focus, while at the same time being personable enough to have a personal appeal to Democratic voters?

I certainly hope so, as I am very concerned that our current Democratic candidates don’t have what it takes to lead this country, let alone defeat President Trump. I am tired of the windmill-tilter, the boy mayor, the Indian princess, the earnest snow queen, and the old pro. As much as I don’t care for many aspects of the Trump presidency, Donald Trump has become presidential like no other and commands the Republican party like no other. He shows resolve and focus and a toughness that a successful president must have.

My impression of Michael Bloomberg is that he also shows equal resolve and focus and toughness, but obviously in a more low-key manner. In addition, he exhibits the reasonableness and the intelligence to make decisions that would improve the lives of the average American, at the same time being able to promote and defend our interests abroad in a manner that would also benefit the rest of the world. He appears to have the strength to confront our adversaries and stand firm instead of offering appeasement or bluster and threats.

As the primaries approach and the stakes continue to rise, I look forward to finding out more about Michael Bloomberg. I believe that he could do very well in a debate with President Trump, much better than any of the other Democratic candidates. However, it is time for him to enter the fray and prove his worth to the American people.

It has become all too easy for us to demonize one another, to label others as cruel, evil, destructive people, different from ourselves, virtual monsters to be feared and destroyed. But aren’t the real demons those who are the accusers?

This ongoing demonization within our society should be antithetical to all of us, but so many of us seem to revel in it and find it entertaining, not realizing the harm that it does. Bigotry and intolerance grows among us like a cancer, fed by the fearful and the ignorant and the uncaring, the smug and the self-righteous and the selfish.

There has always been a dark undercurrent within our American society, this willingness to identify and marginalize by race or religion or ethnicity, but now it has transformed itself into a mainstream bigotry based upon political affiliation.

Through the power of repetitive lies and accusations, many of us now believe that the Democratic Party is anti-American, anti-traditional values, anti-police, anti-military, anti-freedom, anti-heartland, anti-sovereignty, anti-capitalism, and therefore evil – to be feared and hated, and ultimately destroyed. So too, many of us now believe that our established newspapers and cable/network news organizations purposefully lie to us every day and cannot be trusted.

This is bigoted, hateful speech and should be reviled by all of us. Those people who first coined and then promoted the renaming of one of our major political parties into the Demoncrats should be congratulated for their cleverness, and then publicly and loudly exposed for the cynical, manipulative, self-serving and unpatriotic individuals that they are. Their efforts to foster distrust of our independent free press is another example of bigoted and hateful speech, and the degree to which they have been successful in demonizing the mainstream media should be alarming and frightening.

We should all appreciate the checks and balances that having two healthy political parties provide just as much as we should appreciate the checks and balances that having three separate and independent branches of government provide. We should also appreciate that having a free press that is allowed to investigate and report on the actions of our government is necessary for us to continue to be a free people.

We should all stop for a moment and realize that a totalitarian state has a single party, with a ruling body, a judiciary, and a propaganda system that exist to control thought and behavior and eliminate dissent, typically in support of a single leader and close associates. Is this really what we want our country and society to devolve to?

Those Americans who have decided to hate the Democrats and the mainstream media need to re-evaluate their decision. There is little that could be more fundamentally in opposition to the principles of our democracy and the vision of our founding fathers than this demonizing of our fellow citizens and our established institutions.

This is a very unsettled time, with great anxiety throughout the world and within our own country as we address the effects of climate change, the increase in threats to peace, economic inequality between rich and poor, employment uncertainty brought about by robotics and automation, widespread mental health issues, and many other very significant concerns.

This is not the time to let ourselves continue to be led astray by the voices of those politicians and media talking heads that see profit in hate speech and the demonizing of the foundations of our country. Free thought, and open and honest discussion must be appreciated and protected by us all.