Bloomberg to shake up Democrats’ debate
Michael Bloomberg has unveiled detailed policy plans to act as a shield from attacks by his Democratic rivals for the White House nomination, after qualifying for his first TV debate.
The media billionaire, who entered the race to become the Democrats’ presidential candidate just 13 weeks ago, has qualified to appear on stage for the debate in Las Vegas today by coming second in a national poll with 19 per cent, behind Bernie Sanders on 31 per cent.
Bloomberg’s 15-point rise in the polls since December reflects the power of his US$64 billion (NZ$100b) fortune to promote him across the country through TV and online advertising against less well-funded opponents who have been campaigning for more than a year.
His policy blitz includes halving the US prison population by 2030 and decriminalising marijuana; providing free tuition at two-year state college; and levying a transactions tax on Wall Street ‘‘to address wealth inequality’’.
The debate will be the first chance for his Democratic rivals to spar in person with the three-time former New York mayor, after weeks of rising anger about his ability to ‘‘buy the nomination’’.
Sanders, the standard bearer of the left who narrowly lost to Hillary Clinton in 2016, has become the man to beat after his ascent in the NPR/Marist poll, up nine points since December, having won the popular vote in the first two states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
The poll ensured that Bloomberg qualified for the debate of the top six Democratic contenders in Nevada even though he is not on the ballot for the caucuses there on Sunday. He is focusing his efforts on the 14 states that will vote on Super Tuesday, March 3, which elect a third of the delegates to the party convention in July, when the presidential candidate will be crowned.
Bloomberg’s ad spending has now exceeded US$400 million (NZ$625m), almost 100 times that of former vicepresident Joe Biden, and more than 20 times that of the Sanders campaign, which is funded by grassroots donations.
‘‘Mr Bloomberg, like anybody else, has a right to run for president. He does not have the right to buy the presidency,’’ Sanders told supporters in Richmond, California. The Golden State has the most delegates at stake on Super Tuesday.
Biden also joined in the attack, saying that Bloomberg ‘‘can buy every ad he wants but he can’t, in fact, wipe away his record’’, referring to the New
York City police tactics of stop-andfrisk, which targeted young black men, while he was mayor.
Bloomberg apologised for stop and frisk shortly before launching his campaign, but last week recordings from
2015 surfaced in which he robustly defended the policy.
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted: ‘‘It’s a shame Mike Bloomberg can buy his way into the debate. But at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on Donald Trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire.’’
The Bloomberg campaign has been lashing out, too, following up an online ad detailing social media attacks on rivals by fervent supporters of Sanders. The Sanders campaign retaliated by publicising photos of Bloomberg seemingly enjoying the company of US President Donald Trump while golfing.
■ Bloomberg would sell the financial data and media company he created in the 1980s – which bears his name and made him a multibillionaire – if he is elected president, a top adviser says.
Bloomberg would put Bloomberg LP into a blind trust, and the trustee would then sell the company, adviser Tim O’Brien said. Proceeds from the sale would go to Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable giving arm that funds causes from climate change to public health and grants for American cities.
The only restriction Bloomberg would put on the sale was that it not be to a foreign buyer or a private equity company. He is currently chief executive of the company.
‘‘We want to be 180 degrees apart from Donald Trump around financial conflicts of interest,’’ O’Brien said. ‘‘And we want to be very transparent and clean and clear with voters.’’