SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) appear headed for a collision course in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. (Image: composite/Common Dreams)
Sanders Campaign Charges Bloomberg 2020 Run 'Is Against Bernie, Not Trump'
"Multi-billionaires like Michael Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election," Sanders said Sunday.
Nov 24, 2019
Billionaire media businessman and former three-term Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg entered the Democratic primary on Sunday expressly to attack Sen. Bernie Sanders' attempt to win the party's 2020 nomination, the Sanders campaign charged Monday.
"Bloomberg is primarily motivated by a desire to stop Bernie and his working-class movement," claimed Sanders speechwriter David Sirota Monday in his Bern After Reading newsletter.
According to Sirota, the timing of Bloomberg's announcement lines up with Sanders' rise in the polls and a well-reported meeting between the media mogul and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, one of the two wealthiest men in the world alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Bloomberg is also close with Disney's Bob Iger, Sirota said.
Bloomberg's run is reminiscent of the billionaire's decision in 2016 to float a run in order to take down the Sanders campaign.
"Bloomberg began floating the idea of a presidential bid in 2016, just as Bernie was beginning to gain momentum in that race," wrote Sirota. "At the time, Bloomberg disparaged Bernie and his campaign's challenge to Wall Street."
Sanders, in a statement Friday in advance of Bloomberg's entrance in to the race, said he was "disgusted" that Bloomberg believed the race could be bought.
"I'm disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy our elections," Sanders said.
The Vermont senator doubled down on those criticisms at a rally on Sunday in New Hampshire.
"We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections," said Sanders. "That is why multi-billionaires like Michael Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election."
On MSNBC Monday, anchor Katy Tur wondered if Bloomberg has another candidate in mind to take down.
"Is this a real campaign, is he really running?" wondered Tur. "Or is he running to torpedo Elizabeth Warren?"
Warren, in New Hampshire on Sunday, said that while she accepts some excesses of wealth she draws the line at billionaires having more political power than the rest of Americans.
"I understand rich people are going to have more shoes than the rest of us," said Warren. "They're going to have more cars than the rest of us, they're going to have more houses--but they don't get a bigger share of democracy. Especially in a Democratic primary."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Billionaire media businessman and former three-term Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg entered the Democratic primary on Sunday expressly to attack Sen. Bernie Sanders' attempt to win the party's 2020 nomination, the Sanders campaign charged Monday.
"Bloomberg is primarily motivated by a desire to stop Bernie and his working-class movement," claimed Sanders speechwriter David Sirota Monday in his Bern After Reading newsletter.
According to Sirota, the timing of Bloomberg's announcement lines up with Sanders' rise in the polls and a well-reported meeting between the media mogul and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, one of the two wealthiest men in the world alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Bloomberg is also close with Disney's Bob Iger, Sirota said.
Bloomberg's run is reminiscent of the billionaire's decision in 2016 to float a run in order to take down the Sanders campaign.
"Bloomberg began floating the idea of a presidential bid in 2016, just as Bernie was beginning to gain momentum in that race," wrote Sirota. "At the time, Bloomberg disparaged Bernie and his campaign's challenge to Wall Street."
Sanders, in a statement Friday in advance of Bloomberg's entrance in to the race, said he was "disgusted" that Bloomberg believed the race could be bought.
"I'm disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy our elections," Sanders said.
The Vermont senator doubled down on those criticisms at a rally on Sunday in New Hampshire.
"We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections," said Sanders. "That is why multi-billionaires like Michael Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election."
On MSNBC Monday, anchor Katy Tur wondered if Bloomberg has another candidate in mind to take down.
"Is this a real campaign, is he really running?" wondered Tur. "Or is he running to torpedo Elizabeth Warren?"
Warren, in New Hampshire on Sunday, said that while she accepts some excesses of wealth she draws the line at billionaires having more political power than the rest of Americans.
"I understand rich people are going to have more shoes than the rest of us," said Warren. "They're going to have more cars than the rest of us, they're going to have more houses--but they don't get a bigger share of democracy. Especially in a Democratic primary."
Billionaire media businessman and former three-term Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg entered the Democratic primary on Sunday expressly to attack Sen. Bernie Sanders' attempt to win the party's 2020 nomination, the Sanders campaign charged Monday.
"Bloomberg is primarily motivated by a desire to stop Bernie and his working-class movement," claimed Sanders speechwriter David Sirota Monday in his Bern After Reading newsletter.
According to Sirota, the timing of Bloomberg's announcement lines up with Sanders' rise in the polls and a well-reported meeting between the media mogul and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, one of the two wealthiest men in the world alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Bloomberg is also close with Disney's Bob Iger, Sirota said.
Bloomberg's run is reminiscent of the billionaire's decision in 2016 to float a run in order to take down the Sanders campaign.
"Bloomberg began floating the idea of a presidential bid in 2016, just as Bernie was beginning to gain momentum in that race," wrote Sirota. "At the time, Bloomberg disparaged Bernie and his campaign's challenge to Wall Street."
Sanders, in a statement Friday in advance of Bloomberg's entrance in to the race, said he was "disgusted" that Bloomberg believed the race could be bought.
"I'm disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy our elections," Sanders said.
The Vermont senator doubled down on those criticisms at a rally on Sunday in New Hampshire.
"We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections," said Sanders. "That is why multi-billionaires like Michael Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election."
On MSNBC Monday, anchor Katy Tur wondered if Bloomberg has another candidate in mind to take down.
"Is this a real campaign, is he really running?" wondered Tur. "Or is he running to torpedo Elizabeth Warren?"
Warren, in New Hampshire on Sunday, said that while she accepts some excesses of wealth she draws the line at billionaires having more political power than the rest of Americans.
"I understand rich people are going to have more shoes than the rest of us," said Warren. "They're going to have more cars than the rest of us, they're going to have more houses--but they don't get a bigger share of democracy. Especially in a Democratic primary."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.