We here at Sip & Savor think Mahatma Gandhi would probably not see eye-to-eye with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who yesterday – after his Board of Health voted to ban the sale of soft drinks larger than 16 ounces – boasted about his ability to buy the passage of a cause that was important to him. Forget the fact that a strong majority of the New Yorkers he represents oppose the soda ban. Also overlook the fact that the Mayor did not allow any other citizen-elected council members to weigh in on the issue. He simply bought and bullied until he got his way. According to a story in the New York Post:

“I just spent roughly $600 million of my own money to try to stop the scourge of tobacco, and I’m looking for another cause,” the billionaire mayor boasted as he scoffed at the beverage industry’s anti-ban war chest.

“I don’t know that [the ban opposition] is well-funded,” he said before asking a reporter, “How much were they spending again?”

When he got no answer, he snipped, “Thank you. Next question.”

It seems easier for Mayor Bloomberg to buy causes rather than put forward ideas and work for support, as is expected in a Democratic system. After all, it’s easy to be unbought and unbossed when you’re a mega-millionaire. So is it really any surprise, then, with the ability to spend that much money, that Mayor Bloomberg is so out of touch with those he represents?