While Democrats see Mike Bloomberg as the moderate solution to beat Trump, I believe he is not the candidate that should be chosen for the nomination.
This primary season has been a very confusing time for Democrats across this country. The original front runner for the Democrats, Joe Biden, has failed to place better than third in both the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire primary. While Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren have fallen from atop the polls, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg have risen to one and two in the polls respectively and Bernie Sanders appears to be breaking away from the pack of candidates. While all of this is happening, a new candidate has entered the race, yet has not campaigned in the first few states to hold primaries/ caucuses. Mike Bloomberg’s goal is to try spend hundreds of millions of dollars on Ads on states that participate in “Super Tuesday” and hopefully propel the momentum that he has right now to new heights, and potentially secure the democratic nomination for the presidency. While many people have seen him as the moderate solution the Democrats have been looking for to beat Trump, Mike Bloomberg is not the candidate that should be chosen for the nomination.
While Mr. Bloomberg has done admirable things with his money in support of the Democrats, as well as donations to combat climate change, his past (and maybe current in some instances) attitudes towards people of color, women, and the LGBTQIA community are not what Democrats should be looking for in a Presidential Candidate in 2020.
In the last few days since these allegations came out many candidates have voiced their troubles with Mr. Bloomberg. Last night’s debate showed how much contempt the other democratic candidates have towards Mr. Bloomberg, with Elizabeth Warren throwing most of the punches towards the former New York mayor. The quote, “I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mike Bloomberg,” is a powerful message to send to Democratic voters. Mike Bloomberg shares many similar qualities to the President that democrats loathe and want to expunge from the White House in this upcoming election. Senator Warren’s remarks should make Democratic voters think, “If I hate Donald Trump so much, why would I vote for Mike Bloomberg”?
While I am writing this as someone who will be supporting Bernie Sanders for the upcoming primary, I am also writing this as someone who wants to see my country succeed for a long, long time. The idea is that in this country is that anyone can hold public office no matter their socioeconomic status. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is the most recent example who went from being a bartender in the Bronx, to being the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. While many Democrats are turning away from corporate money, Mike Bloomberg is attempting to change the game by spending a small fortune on this election.
My point is that while Donald Trump is descending more and more towards authoritarianism every day, Democrats shouldn’t make the average voter choose between authoritarianism and a full on oligarchy in this society for the next four years.
If we prove to Bloomberg and other billionaires that if they spend hundreds of millions of dollars on campaigns and they can seemingly buy the Presidency, then we may be seeing a President Jeff Bezos, or maybe a President Bill Gates in our near future. While the Citizens United court case a decade ago increased outside spending on campaigns, and put a dent in our democracy, the election of a billionaire who seemingly entered the race out of nowhere and then beat candidates that are already raising large sums of money from grassroots movements would fully break it.
While there is nothing wrong with a wealthy person running for President, being a wealthy person who is directly running to maintain their interests is not what this country needs. We need a president who is going to be for the best interests of the people and isn’t running to maintain the status quo in America, one that currently only values a small group of people in society that make above a certain amount of money, while the majority struggles every day.
No matter how you feel about this election, you should at least vote and vote your conscious because so many people won’t. Yet at the same time I implore you to choose a candidate other than Bloomberg if you will be voting in the upcoming primaries/caucuses. There are five other democratic candidates that have a legitimate shot at winning the nomination as well as beating Donald Trump in the general election: Amy Klobuchar , Bernie Sanders , Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and Pete Buttigieg, all who are great candidates who I believe will be in the interests of the general population, rather than themselves. We shouldn’t focus on the money in candidates pocket this election in how to defeat Donald Trump, but if we are looking to beat Donald Trump, we should instead focus on the Candidate’s character, and willingness to go the extra mile for the common person.