The era of Judge Judy is coming to an end. At least, Judge Judith Sheindlin announced Monday that her famous courtroom TV show on CBS will conclude after its 25th season finishes. Judge Judy plans to use her massive popularity to launch a new show — but also to make the case for Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 election.
Judge Judy endorsed Bloomberg and his authoritarianism a while back, but in an explosive USA Today op-ed published on Sunday, she attacked Bernie Sanders and made her case for the former New York City mayor. While Judge Judy’s attacks on the socialist senator certainly had some merit, her argument for Bloomberg did not. In fact, it was downright incoherent and endorsed a version of Bloomberg incompatible with the reality of the man’s character and his legacy.
“I’m supporting Michael Bloomberg for president, and I urge you to do the same,” Judge Judy wrote. “He, and he alone, can provide the leadership we need to bring us together and end the toxic civil war that is ripping our nation apart.”
She goes on to accuse the other Democratic candidates of bullying and blustering, calling Bloomberg the “only grown-up in the room” and saying he will “restore faith in our institutions … [and] rekindle respect for American values.”
“We’ve had enough anger and division. We’re done. America needs a leader who can restore the decency that made us the envy of the world, and get things moving again. Mike Bloomberg is that man,” Judge Judy concludes.
My only reaction is: Huh? Are we talking about the same Mike Bloomberg?
This vision of Bloomberg as some principled, decent leader is a fantasy. In fact, the former mayor has a long, appalling record of sexism, with his crudeness toward women well-documented throughout his career. From reportedly telling a female employee to kill her baby and mocking the appearance of women, to calling others “horse-faced lesbians” and more, the idea that Mike Bloomberg is some paragon of virtue is downright absurd.
Judge Judy’s argument that Bloomberg can restore decency to our political discourse is also undercut by the way he has operated his campaign to date. The mayor has regularly bullied back, mocked his opponents on Twitter, and otherwise emulated, not rejected, President Trump’s boorish behavior.
As far as Bloomberg being some stalwart of American values, it’s hard to see which of our founding values the wanna-be nanny stater embodies. Individual liberty? No way — Bloomberg wants to ban everything from large sodas to e-cigarettes and has openly admitted he thinks poor people are too stupid to plan their own finances.
The mayor’s record on the Constitution and civil liberties is even worse. For decades, he supported racist stop-and-frisk police practices that allowed mostly minority men to be racially profiled, stopped, and searched at will, with no regard for their privacy rights. Plus, he supported blatantly Islamophobic policies in the wake of 9/11 that trampled on the rights of Muslim Americans, even where there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
It’s hard to see what great American principles Bloomberg embodies. If any do exist, Judge Judy has repeatedly failed to articulate them clearly.
Still, I suppose there is a case to be made that Bloomberg is better than an extremist such as Sanders. But Bloomberg’s supporters shred their own credibility when they pretend he’s some paragon of virtue who will restore decency to politics. He’s the opposite.
