…..Imagine a billionaire who is running
for the presidency and has switched parties
multiple times using his personal fortune to
boost his candidacy.
Astute observers might think that this
sounds a whole lot like Donald Trump, but
this billionaire says on his website, “I’m
running for president to defeat Donald Trump
and rebuild America.”
Yes, it’s Michael Bloomberg, a recent
entry into the Democratic field, a former
mayor of New
York City as an
independent and
a Republican at
various times, a
media mogul, and
an underwriter of
TV stations. That
last title is thanks
to his $31 million
dollar ad buy as of
Dec. 3, according to
fivethirtyeight.com.
Strangely enough, Bloomberg’s not the
only billionaire buying his way into the
Democratic primary this cycle. Tom Steyer
may be a relative pauper, as Forbes estimates
his fortune at a measly $1.2 billion, 3 percent
of Michael Bloomberg’s $52.6 billion. His
tactics, however, are the same.
Steyer has not only imitated Trump in
fundraising, but also in duplicity, incomplete
evidence and entitlement. He supports
policies that, as he proclaims, would not
favor billionaires, yet he uses his gobs
of money to buy his way onto the debate
stage. His “Need to Impeach” organization
has tried to paint harsh rhetoric as an
impeachable offence at the same level as the
Ukraine scandal, when the historical record
demonstrates that this is a time-honored, if
detested, practice of politicians. Finally, he
has an utter lack of relevant experience and
has used ads to pay his way into the debates.
Steyer, and especially Bloomberg,
entered the race long after most of the
serious candidates, which shows they view
this as just one more thing to do with their
dollars, rather than a serious commitment to
helping American
democracy
survive the Trump
administration.
If Americans
feel that they
have to hope that
these billionaires
can save us
from the Trump
administration,
our country has
failed. We’ve
demonstrated that Trump has eroded our
trust in democratic institutions. We’ve
demonstrated that our political system and
its related institutions, such as the media,
are dominated by the ultra-wealthy. We’ve
demonstrated that our destiny lies in the
hands of those billionaires. America can
do better, and we can avoid falling into yet
another billionaire presidency.
