Billionaire wannabe president Michael Bloomberg, whose bankroll of the Everytown for Gun Safety gun prohibition lobbying group, has been tagged as an “authoritarian nightmare” by Katherine Timpf, writing at National Review online.
Bloomberg, who has dumped millions of dollars into political campaigns across the country, in an effort to help elect anti-gun Democrats (Virginia and Oregon), and pass gun control ballot initiatives (Washington and Nevada), not to mention the $200 million he has already invested in his own presidential bid, according to CNBC.
High on Timpf’s list of gripes about the former New York mayor is his remark in the aftermath of the Texas church shooting in which an armed private citizen killed the gunman with a head shot late last month. Reacting to the shooting, Bloomberg contended we “just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.”
Concealed carry advocates have the correct response to this: “Legally-armed Americans are above-average citizens.”
There is more truth than sarcasm in that statement. To obtain a carry license or permit, one goes through a background check. In many states, there are training requirements, and in those states without requirements, thousands of those citizens take voluntary training courses.
But Timpf’s piece includes another quote from Bloomberg which puts an unusually honest perspective on all of his remarks: “I wasn’t there; I don’t know the facts.” It’s an admission more gun prohibitionists could make.
Bloomberg contends “It’s the job of law enforcement to have guns and to decide when to shoot.” That was a luxury unavailable to firearms instructor and church security volunteer Jack Wilson when, in the course of two seconds, the gunman withdrew a shotgun from under his heavy coat and killed to parishioners before being taken down for keeps.
When seconds count, police are minutes away.
But the National Review piece delves deeper into Bloomberg’s authoritarianism. Recall Bloomberg’s push to ban the “Big Gulp” soda. Remember his “stop-and-frisk” policy, which many on the right seemed to think was a good idea because it bagged bad guys with guns, but civil rights activists had a different perspective.
Timpf reminds readers, “Throughout his career, Bloomberg has repeatedly shown blatant disrespect for individual rights and civil liberties.” Nowhere has that been more evident than in his perennial support of gun control efforts.
Bloomberg will not be on stage with other Democrats at the Iowa debate, and that may be a good thing because his late entry into the race hasn’t set well with the left for a number of reasons. He’s got more resources than Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren combined, and he’s a billionaire from Wall Street, the very thing the Far Left despises.
According to Fox News, Bloomberg has “more than 1,000 people” working on his campaign in 33 states, including a staff of 300 in Manhattan and more than 700 others “on the ground” across the landscape. How many of those people are doing double duty as gun prohibition lobbyists in states where legislative sessions have just opened?
Whether Bloomberg has a genuine chance of becoming president or he’s just running a very expensive vanity campaign is a matter of speculation. Elections can be bought with enough money, but so far, the Constitution has not been for sale.
