One of the greatest ironies of the Democratic nomination process has been the amount of wealth held by the candidates — most of whom have net worths far above anything their supporters could dream of. Bernie Sanders, who regularly slams other politicians for their own wealth (while not mentioning his own) went after another monied candidate, slamming former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for his campaign spending spree.
Sanders launched an attack at Bloomberg, stating that the billionaire was attempting to buy the presidency. This accusation came after the Federal Election Commission data released last week showed that the wealthiest candidate was spending about $7 million daily to support his campaign.
“Michael Bloomberg has no problem spending $7 million a day so he can buy the presidency,” Sanders said. “Meanwhile, half our people live paycheck to paycheck. Our economy is rigged, and we must create one that works for all, not just billionaires.”
Sanders often speaks of the poor, the middle class and those that the economy is rigged against, as though he were one of them, instead of a very wealthy man running for the highest office in the land. He is outraged at being outspent by Bloomberg, who is by far the wealthiest candidate in the race.
Sanders took to Twitter to complain about Bloomberg and his approach to the campaign, and thousands of users picked up the cause. NBC News chimed in, stating that Bloomberg’s $7 million per day worked out to about $300,000 per hour on ads and campaigning.
Bloomberg spent over $460 million in December and January, and has been dumping cash into key states in advance of the March 3, 2020 primaries. His campaign manager describes him as “the only candidate with the resources to beat Donald Trump”.
Sanders isn’t wrong — Bloomberg is throwing money at his campaign in greater amounts than we’ve ever seen before, and is very likely trying to outspend and out-buy the competition. The problem with Sanders’ statements is the hypocrisy. Sanders is positioning himself with middle class workers who make far less than $100,000 per year — and that may not own even a single modest home. Compared to his supporters, Sanders has far more in common with Bloomberg that with the people he hopes will vote for him.
Last week’s debate saw robust accusations and arguments between not only Bloomberg and Sanders, but Bloomberg and other competitors as well. According to Sanders, despite his high spending, Bloomberg does not have the support it takes to win.
“Mr. Bloomberg had policies in New York City of stop and frisk which went after African-American and Latino people in an outrageous way. That is not a way you’re going to grow voter turnout,” Sanders said.
Elizabeth Warren pointed out the similarities between Sanders and Bloomberg.
“Look, I’ll support whoever the Democratic nominee is. But understand this: Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) chimed in.
Pete Buttigieg (D) argued that both uber-wealthy candidates were out of touch with the needs of the American people as well:
“Most Americans don’t see where they fit if they’ve got to choose between a socialist who thinks that capitalism is the root of all evil and a billionaire who thinks that money ought to be the root of all power,” Buttigieg said.
“Let’s put forward somebody who actually lives and works in a middle-class neighborhood, in an industrial Midwestern city. Let’s put forward somebody who’s actually a Democrat,” he added, seemingly attempting to describe himself.
Infighting among the candidates continues to intensify as we roll closer to Super Tuesday and the latest caucuses and primaries. Both Sanders and Bloomberg are expected to perform well in the coming days, despite the bickering and accusations flying from both sides.
