Just when I think there's no hope for the Republican party, Mike makes me a believer.
Well, maybe he doesn't make me believe in the Republican ideology, but he sure does make me believe that there are members of the GOP who actually have courage and conviction. Yesterday, Mayor of NYC Mike Bloomberg, who has gained the respect of this blogger before, reinstilled pride in me yet again as he testified, at Congress, against the new gun bill that is being pushed by his GOP peers.
The gun bill will actually weaken existing firearms control laws, by blocking the ATF from offering public crime gun trace data, eliminating the current requirement that gun dealers report multiple handgun sales to law enforcement officials, and creates more loopholes for gun dealers to escape punishment. Bloomberg called the bill a, "God-awful piece of legislation," and attacked its backers saying that, "next time an officer is attacked by an illegal gun--and I say 'next time' because until Congress gets serious about illegal guns, more police officers and many more citizens will be murdered--there can be no denying that those who vote for this bill will bear some of the responsibility."
Tough words from a tough guy. And yet we all know that Mike backs up his talk with action. When he first came into the Mayor's seat he promised that he would reform education and strengthen law enforcement, and succeeded in both tasks even without Federal aid. In the last six months or so, several NY police officers have been killed by illegal handguns, and Mike has taken an interest in reducing the number of guns on the street, a task that the Republicans have continuously ignored. Perhaps it is ignored because of the power of the NRA's lobby in Washington, but for whatever reason, gun control, and not gun elimination, needs to be accomplished.
For his efforts Bloomberg is sure to gain the ire of other Republicans, but that has never been much of a problem for the former Democrat who changed parties to run for Mayor. It has always seemed to me that Bloomberg is one of the few politicians who is proudly bipartisan, and not only has it gained him the respect of New Yorkers, but also helped him to win his reelection by the biggest margin ever in NY history. On both sides of the aisle our representatives, and especially the Democrats, need to learn the lessons that Bloomberg displays; that it's not about the party, but it's about your convictions. Bill Clinton, in speaking about Bush, said that the people will vote for someone who's wrong but who stands for something. Well it's nice to have a Mayor who stands for something and gets it right a majority of the time. We give a tip of the hat to someone in office who's giving more than lip service in the fight to save lives.
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