Date: 2024-09-27 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00017787
US Politics
Bernie Sanders - v - Michael Bloomberg
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY ... BERNIE SANDERS HAS FOUND HIS FOIL IN MIKE BLOOMBERG ... Sanders unloaded on Bloomberg Monday, calling the billionaire “arrogant” and suggesting he’s trying to “buy an election.”
Peter Burgess
Michael Bloomberg addresses patrons of a Virginia diner as he officially launches his presidential bid November 25.DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Bernie Sanders unloaded on Michael Bloomberg Monday, telling reporters a day after the billionaire entered the 2020 race that Bloomberg is “undermining” democracy. “What he believes—and this is the arrogance of billionaires: ‘Hey, I can run for president because I’m worth $55 billion, and maybe I’ll take $1 billion out of that $55 billion’—not a lot, when you’re worth that much—and…start running a massive amount of TV ads in California and, in fact, all over this country,” he said after meeting with union members in New Hampshire Monday. “People of this country do not want to see a billionaire buy an election,” Sanders added, “and that is precisely what Mr. Bloomberg is trying to do.”
Bloomberg’s late entry into the 2020 race has been met with eye rolls from a sizable chunk of the Democratic electorate, particularly on the left, which wasn’t exactly holding its breath for an even older, even richer, white former Republican to come in and rescue the party. Bloomberg’s candidacy has inspired heavy backlash from progressives, who point to signature policies like stop and frisk (for which Bloomberg recently repented) as evidence he’s out of touch. “He’s just an entitled billionaire who thinks that gives him the credibility to run for president,” New York housing advocate Cea Weaver told Politico, “and that’s ridiculous.”
Of course, that makes Bloomberg a perfect foil for Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the two leading progressives in the 2020 field. They’ve railed against Donald Trump, the wealthy, out-of-touch asshole currently in the Oval Office, but opposition to the president doesn’t really distinguish them from their Democratic rivals. Bloomberg, on the other hand, is a symbol of the wealth inequality that both parties have contributed to, and that has necessitated their calls for systemic change. After all, Sanders and Warren aren’t just running against Trump, but also against a political system that many on the left regard as out of touch itself. “Michael Bloomberg is making a bet about democracy in 2020—he doesn't need people, he only needs bags and bags of money,” Warren said in Iowa on Monday. “I think Michael Bloomberg is wrong and that's what we need to prove in this election.” Sanders in particular may find a welcome foil in Bloomberg. Warren has distinguished herself for fighting with billionaires, notably driving one to tears on CNBC—a phenomenon that’s only energized her supporters. Sanders, by contrast, has been less combatant, his tweets at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos having hit their stride over the summer.
That, of course, has not deterred Bloomberg. He’s leaned into benevolent rich guy persona, describing how he’s used his wealth to deliver pragmatic political victories. “For years, I’ve been using my resources for the things that matter to me,” he said during his campaign kickoff event at a diner in Virginia on Monday. To be sure, some of those issues also matter to voters across the Democratic spectrum, from climate change to gun control. Whether Bloomberg’s support on those fronts can outstrip his record as mayor remains to be seen. “The rich got richer here, and the poor got poorer,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams told Politico of Bloomberg’s Mayoral accomplishments. “The question is not whether his policies were successful. Who were they successful for?”
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