Where are all the leaders?
The splendid, disorderly demonstration by 100 protesters who interrupted a recent speech by Mayor Bloomberg to an upscale crowd was a welcome sign that our town remains a home for free minds and independent voices. “This is what democracy looks like!” chanted members of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, or FUREE, a grass-roots advocacy organization. Eight ended up behind bars. It was a timely reminder to Bloomberg that a significant number of people feel shut out of public decision-making in this election year. They not only want to discuss the city’s substantive problems, they recognize that the normal channels for public debate have been silenced, compromised or bought off. Checks and balances, the pride and genius of American political culture, are out of whack in New York these days. Our system assumes City Hall will be analyzed, challenged and checked by robust political competition, fearlessly independent civic advocacy groups and a free press. But Bloomberg’s bra
