OK Bernie.. Go get'em...

Bernie lets it rip against Bloomberg ‘arrogance’

Sanders says the latest candidate to join the race is trying to “buy an election” and is “undermining” American democracy.

By DAVID SIDERS

Bernie Sanders insists he has nothing personal against Michael Bloomberg.

“I really don’t.”

He just thinks he’s trying to “buy an election,” is demonstrating “the arrogance of billionaires” and, as Bloomberg opens his near-bottomless wallet to pay for TV ads, is complicit in “undermining” American democracy.

One day after Bloomberg announced his late entry into the Democratic presidential field, Sanders and his progressive allies aren’t holding back.

“What he believes — and this is the arrogance of billionaires: ‘Hey, I can run for president because I’m worth $55 billion, and maybe I’ll take $1 billion out of that $55 billion’ — not a lot, when you’re worth that much — and … start running a massive amount of TV ads in California and, in fact, all over this country,” Sanders told reporters after a town meeting with union members in New Hampshire on Monday.

Earlier in the day, it was Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s turn, when she told a crowd in Iowa that Bloomberg was “making a bet about democracy in 2020: He doesn’t need people, he only needs bags and bags of money.”

She said, “I think Michael Bloomberg is wrong, and that’s what we need to prove in this election.”

Bloomberg, the former New York mayor, announced his campaign on Sunday, positioning himself as a moderate alternative to former Vice President Joe Biden. But his self-funding — including an enormous, initial $34 million ad buy — has drawn fierce criticism from progressive Democrats, including Sanders and Warren.

The criticism of Bloomberg’s spending is not new, and began even before he announced his campaign. In response, he has emphasized his middle-class upbringing and the large sums of money he has spent on Democratic causes.

After Warren lit into him Monday, Bloomberg told reporters, “For years I’ve been using my resources for the things that matter to me.”

He said, “I was using my money to turn Virginia from red to blue, and a lot of it was because of the monies that we provided. I’m going to make my case and let the voters, who are plenty smart, make their choice.”

Several hours later in New Hampshire, Sanders suggested that Bloomberg was circumventing norms central to democracy, including with his plan to forgo competing in early-voting states and to instead focus on Super Tuesday. Recounting the numerous town halls and other events he has held in New Hampshire and elsewhere, Sanders said “real politics” was about meeting with voters.

“I don’t believe that Mr. Bloomberg is going to succeed,” Sanders said. “Because I think at the end of the day, people of this country do not want to see a billionaire buy an election, and that is precisely what Mr. Bloomberg is trying to do.”