E32: Organizing Against Bloomberg (w/ Benjamin Dixon)

Recently, millions of potential US voters heard newly-unearthed comments made in 2015 by Michael Bloomberg -- the billionaire, former New York City Mayor, and current Democratic presidential primary candidate. In his remarks, Bloomberg vociferously defended stop-and-frisk, an NYPD policy that disproportionately targeted poor people and minorities for warrantless searches. The controversy over Bloomberg’s remarks raise questions about how the former Republican has risen to near the top of the polls despite having a policy record and political ideology largely out of step with the current Democratic Party. 

On today’s episode, we speak to Benjamin Dixon, the independent journalist, commentator, and activist who publicized the 2015 Bloomberg stop-and-frisk comments via Twitter and YouTube on February 10. Since then, Dixon has continued to use his platform to publicize and problematize Bloomberg’s record and rhetoric. We ask Ben about Bloomberg’s history and governing philosophy, the corporate media’s coverage of the Democratic primary, and the overwhelming role of economic power in electoral politics. We conclude by discussing the best practices for political advocacy that Ben has developed based on this and his other work.

Reference Material:

Dixon’s unearthed audio of Bloomberg’s comments on "Stop and Frisk"

Dixon’s unearthed audio of Bloomberg’s comments on “Black and Latino Males”

Dixon’s original tweet publicizing the Bloomberg audio

Dixon’s recent article on Bloomberg’s comments in The Guardian: “Bloomberg is avoiding all scrutiny. It’s time to take a long, hard look at his views”

Aspen Times: “Michael Bloomberg blocks footage of Aspen Institute appearance”

Bloomberg’s response to questions about his stop & frisk comments

Interview with Benjamin Dixon in Jacobin: “Michael Bloomberg’s Campaign Is an Insult to Democracy”