Democratic rivals turn guns on Mike Bloomberg
Democrat presidential candidates have sharpened their criticism of high-spending rival Mike Bloomberg.
Democrat presidential candidates have sharpened their criticism of high-spending rival Mike Bloomberg, saying the billionaire former New York mayor would fail to mobilise the party in a potential match-up against President Donald Trump in November.
Bernie Sanders, who is seeking to build on his early success with a victory in Sunday’s Nevada caucuses, said in Las Vegas that Mr Bloomberg’s past views on law enforcement and economic issues would hinder the party’s chances of defeating the President.
“Regardless of how much money a multi-billionaire candidate is willing to spend on his election,” Senator Sanders said, “we will not create the energy and excitement we need to defeat Donald Trump if that candidate pursued, advocated for and enacted racist policies like stop-and-frisk, which caused communities of colour in his city to live in fear.”
Senator Sanders was referring to the practice in which police officers in New York were given broad authority to stop and search people whom they suspected of criminal behaviour. Mr Bloomberg aggressively defended stop-and-frisk for years as vital to public safety, even as opposition among voters and legal challenges to the practice mushroomed in New York because the effects fell overwhelmingly on black and Latino residents. Mr Bloomberg apologised for his administration’s use of the tactic in November, the same month he officially launched his presidential campaign.
“It’s not surprising that as Mike continues to rise in the polls, other candidates, including Donald Trump, start to get nervous,” said Sabrina Singh, spokeswoman for the Bloomberg campaign. She said Mr Bloomberg’s rivals were reacting to “seeing Mike winning over voters across this country with his record of taking on tough fights”.
The Bloomberg campaign has already spent more than $US370m on campaign ads, helping to vault the late entrant ahead of many rivals in opinion surveys. Mr Bloomberg placed fourth in the Democratic field in a January WSJ/NBC News poll, with 9 per cent support, double his support from December. His campaign has bypassed early states to focus on those holding contests next month. Mr Bloomberg could qualify to appear on the debate stage for the first time later this week in Las Vegas.
In recent days, rivals including Senator Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have accused Mr Bloomberg of trying to buy the nomination. Others, including Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, said that past comments and allegations against Mr Bloomberg show that he hasn’t been vetted for flaws that could make him vulnerable in the primary or in the general election.
“The point is that $US60bn can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can’t erase your record,” Mr Biden said on NBC. “You take a look at the stop-and-frisk proposals. You take a look at what he’s done relative to the African-American community. I’m anxious to debate Michael on the issues relating to, you know, what we’re going to face in Super Tuesday.”
Mr Buttigieg said Mr Bloomberg would have to “answer for” complaints that he had created a hostile work environment for women at his media company, a flashpoint of controversy dating back to Mr Bloomberg’s first campaign for mayor in 2001. “We in our party hold ourselves to the highest standard, and it is going to be critical for us to have a nominee who can authentically lead, and who can show growth on these challenges,” he told Fox.
The Nevada caucus is the next test for the Democratic campaigns, and it has heightened tensions between the polling leader, Senator Sanders, and others, such as Mr Biden, who feel the pressure to win early victories before the Super Tuesday primaries on March 3. Mr Biden took a swipe at Senator Sanders on Sunday, saying that he had not gone far enough in separating himself from supporters who had criticised a Nevada union that opposes Senator Sanders’ position on Medicare and private health insurance.
Amy Klobuchar also focused both on Senator Sanders and the spending colossus of the Bloomberg campaign. “I don’t think you should be able to hide behind airwaves and huge ad buys,” Senator Klobuchar said on CNN. “I know I’m not going to be able to beat him on the airwaves, but I can beat him on the debate stage.”
Senator Klobuchar has positioned herself as a pragmatic centrist in the race, relative to candidates such as senators Sanders and Warren, who have called for a wholesale reshaping of American fiscal and economic policy. “They want plans,” Senator Klobuchar said of American voters, “not pipe dreams.”
Senator Sanders also called attention to Mr Bloomberg’s spending. That money won’t be enough to stimulate the coalition that Democrats will need to defeat the President, he warned.
“The simple truth is that Mayor Bloomberg with all his money won’t create the kind of excitement and energy we need to have the voter turnout we must have to defeat Donald Trump,” Senator Sanders said on Sunday.
The Wall Street Journal
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