Stop the Comandante!

Banana republic fever: It's catching! Another word for it might be Bloombergism or the Bloomberg syndrome. Where a figure in public life suddenly decides he's above the law or above ethical considerations just because of his own greatness. Perhaps El Comandante syndrome might capture it.

The Bloomberg Syndrome

...now Comandante Michael Bloomberg seeks to turn New York City into a banana republic. He wants to ignore two citywide votes for term limits—because (of course!) at the time they were passed, in the '90s, voters had not yet had the chance to contemplate the full grandeur of Michael Bloomberg. So far above the kind of mortal mayor the term limits were designed for that the ordinary rules shouldn't apply. So now, even though he's served the two terms the law allows, he wants to find a way to grant himself the power to run again.

Twice the voters of New York City voted in referendums in favor of term limits for mayors and other elected officials. According to the New York Daily News, Bloomberg supported it ardently both times. But now, suddenly, those limits apply to him, and he just doesn't like it. Or, as he disingenuously and utterly unconvincingly says, he's doing it for us—he wants to give us the opportunity to enthrone him once more.

...this mayor of mediocrity, enemy of trans fats who lets killer cranes crush people and buildings on a regular basis because of lax enforcement, the mayor who hasn't managed to get a 9/11 memorial off the ground in seven years (yes, I know there are other entities involved, but that basically says he's too weak to knock heads together and make it happen), suddenly this self-inflated suit looks in the mirror and decides: "The city cannot live without me."