Time To De-Bloombergize New York City

by S.M. Oliva
Jul. 26, 2012

In response to the Aurora movie theater killings, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued an extraordinary statement. A longtime opponent of the right to self-defense, Bloomberg told a CNN interviewer that police have a moral duty to rebel against the civilian population if they don't cede their remaining gun rights to the state:

I don’t understand why the police officers across this country don’t stand up collectively and say, ‘We’re going to go on strike. We’re not going to protect you. Unless you, the public, through your legislature, do what’s required to keep us safe.'

This wasn't a political argument for "gun control" legislation. Bloomberg went on national television and demanded a military coup against a civilian government he deems insufficiently authoritarian. Like Adolf Hitler before him – and yes, I'm going there – he used the Aurora mass murder as a call to arms for his own version of the Beer Hall Putsch. By Bloomberg's own words, the "safety" of his armed militia is of greater importance than any fundamental rights the citizens may claim. There can no longer be any doubt that Bloomberg is a descendent of the Nazi and Communist ideologies that ravaged Europe during the previous century and linger to this day.

There is only one response to Bloomberg's rejection of the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has the legal authority to remove the mayor under the New York City Charter. The charter does not specify the grounds for removal, only, "The mayor may be removed from office by the governor upon charges and after service upon him of a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in his defense." And there's no defense for Bloomberg's tyranny.

Now, you could fairly respond that removing Bloomberg would only strengthen another illegitimate politician in Governor Cuomo. But I don't propose giving the governor any new power. The removal authority is already vested in him. And, as far as I can tell, there is no other provision for impeaching or removing the mayor from office. This is the only option – short of armed revolt – for deposing a man who has publicly declared war against his own citizens.

And there's nothing wrong with turning one parasite against another. We need to encourage more in-fighting among politicians, not less, for it distracts them from hurting the rest of us. We certainly can't depend on the ballot box. Bloomberg himself bought three elections – and even amended the city charter to enable his present third term – to get to the point where he feels safe enough to abandon any pretense of acting in the people's name.

In the 17th century, the English Parliament tried King Charles I for the newly defined crime of "tyranny." Unfortunately, the subsequent Civil War and restoration of Charles's son to the throne led many to discredit the trial as a breach of the unwritten English constitution. But the charge was sound. Tyranny is a specific crime that exists above and beyond the mere abuse of power or violation of written laws. It is the systematic assault on the liberties of the people motivated solely by the tyrant's desire for greater authority. That describes every aspect of Michael Bloomberg's decade-plus as mayor of the nation's largest city-state.
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S.M. Oliva [send him mail] is a freelance writer and paralegal living in Albemarle County, Virginia. You can view his online portfolio at www.skipoliva.com.