Guardian OP-ED: Mike Bloomberg's election spending spree tells an ugly story

[Devil Child]

Mike Bloomberg’s election spending spree tells an ugly story

The former mayor of New York is the first billionaire to try to buy his way to being president – but he won’t be the last

It looks as if Michael Bloomberg is trying to find out. Since entering the race in November, he has spent an unprecedented amount of money trying to win the Democratic nomination. In less than three months, Bloomberg, who is worth about $60bn (£46bn), has spent about $320m on TV advertising alone – more than double the amount Tom Steyer, the other billionaire running and the second-biggest spender, has shelled out on ads. Since January, Bloomberg has spent more on Facebook ads than Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren combined.

His strategy (spend, spend, spend and see what sticks) seems to be paying off. He has surged to third place in some opinion polls, despite skipping Iowa and New Hampshire, and has been racking up endorsements from people including the mayor of Washington DC and the former ABC News anchor Sam Donaldson. It is still early, but he may be the candidate who faces Donald Trump in the general election.

If these two billionaires end up battling it out for the presidency, I am not sure it matters who wins in November. Democracy will have lost. We will have entered a new age of American oligarchy. A dangerous precedent will have been set. Money and politics will become even more intertwined. We might not see a non-billionaire become president again for a very long time.

snip...

Yes. I don’t think you can underestimate the optics of Bloomberg’s unapologetic spending spree. It lifts the veil on money in politics. It sends a dispiriting message to an already disillusioned electorate that politics is a swamp where ordinary people are not represented and where influence is bought. Even if Bloomberg doesn’t win the nomination, it seems inevitable that his success so far will pave the way for more billionaires. Bezos 2024? Zuckerberg 2028? It looks increasingly likely.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/18/michael-bloomberg-election-spending-spree-tells-an-ugly-story-billionaire-president

As the author notes, our democracy is threatened by the the wealthiest of individuals with their unprecedented purchasing power and lack of campaign finance reform.

[mr_lebowski]

1. I must admit ... when you're right, you're right ...

Other than the part of 'not sure if it matters who wins'.

THAT definitely matters.

The rest is pretty much dead-on.

[jalan48]

2. Billionaire Plutocrats as our new Caesars.

[Devil Child]

6. Indeed jalan48, I fear for a future in which the upper echelons of government are ruled by them

[VMA131Marine]

3. I'd rather Bloomberg spend his own money

rather than lie about spending his own money while being financed by Russian oligarchs ...

[JT45242]

4. Ignores a fundamental difference -- experience

Steyer and Yang do not resonate because they have no political experience.

Bloomberg was mayor of a city that contains almost 3% of the US population.

In fact, 38 states have fewer people than just the city of New York. https://spoilednyc.com/map-of-all-the-states-with-smaller-population-than-new-york-city/

So, don't kid yourself into thinking that any billionaire could do this. To many voters, experience matters. Whether it be Pete (mayor of a college town with about 100,000 residents) or the aforementioned Steyer and Yang -- there are steps towards becoming the president which usually involve being in congress (rep or senator) or a governor.

Billionaires have been the power behind the throne for many years (just look at the Senate and who is bought and paid for by the Koch brothers and how they voted on impeachment). The only way that they can be the front man is if (a) they want to take the heat and (b) they are willing to work incrementally up.

Let's remember that it was REAL BILLIONAIRES who funded the Trump campaign -- those within the US to get that sweet tax cut and those without at the behest of Putin, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc to either control US policy or weaken the US and the west. He was a useful front man.

So, I wouldn't read too much into Bloomberg -- except he appears willing to spend a boatload of money to counteract Murdoch, Koch, and friends to try to get enough 'did not vote for President' or 'wasted vote on 3rd party candidate' to vote for whoever has (D) next to their name -- hopefully all the way down the federal level of the ballot, at least.

[MarcA]

5. Surprised we haven't had another wealthy guy run as an independent

as Perot did twice in the 90s. With the divisions in the two major parties that
exist now they just might be successful.

[Devil Child]

7. I can see this happening in the very near future

Bezos and the Amazon Prime party in 2024! Oh god I think I'm gonna throw up...

[Turin_C3PO]

8. If Bloomberg

wins the nomination, I’ll vote for him and just hope he’ll be a benevolent authoritarian plutocrat. Sad times indeed.