(TheLibertyRevolution.com) – It’s nice to see the Democrats fighting among themselves regarding money and how it’s spent, rather than continually trying to throw darts at President Donald Trump and the Republicans.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been making a lot of noise in the Democratic primary thus far, but not because of how he has performed in the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary. In fact, he barely recorded a blip on the radar in either of those two states.
Instead, he’s making headlines for how much he has spent on campaigning thus far — roughly $417 million of his own mega fortune (roughly $60 billion) on advertising alone. Despite not participating in the first four primaries of the campaign season, Bloomberg currently sits third in a RealClearPolitics poll with 14.2% of the national vote, trailing only Joe Biden (19.2%) and Bernie Sanders (23.6%).
One thing Bloomberg has definitely done so far is tick off his fellow Democratic candidates with how much money he’s spending.
At a campaign rally in Nevada this weekend, Sanders told the crowd: “He thinks he can buy this election. Well, I’ve got news for Mr. Bloomberg: the American people are sick and tired of billionaires buying elections!”
Amy Klobuchar said on “Face the Nation” on CBS: “I think he cannot hide behind the airwaves and the money. I think he has to come on the shows. And I personally think he should be on the debate stage.”
And Joe Biden told “Meet the Press” on NBC: “$60 billion can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can’t erase your record.”
Bloomberg is drawing the ire of the other major Democratic candidates for good reason. He’s taking a completely novel approach to the primaries — basically ignoring traditional campaigning and not caring about his early performance at the polls in favor of making noise with his money on the airwaves.
Democrats consistently call Bloomberg out for this spending, as well as his willingness to switch back and forth between parties in the past. He’s run as both a Republican and Democrat in elections before. They also despise him for his willingness to donate money to causes that are considered both Democratic and Republican.
As of now, it’s not certain whether Bloomberg would meet any of the qualifications needed to participate in the next Democratic debate, which is set to take place in Las Vegas this Wednesday. It’s also unclear that even if he were to qualify whether he would even choose to participate.
It would be a surprise to basically no one if Bloomberg decided to sit out the debates altogether, at least for now, and continue to focus instead of making headlines and grabbing voters’ attention through the various modes of advertising he’s employing now.
His fellow Democratic candidates for president may not like the tactics he’s choosing to employ, but they’re working — at least in terms of grabbing attention. Will attention translate into votes? Thus far, the answer is no.
