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Democrat Warren accuses rival Bloomberg of trying to buy U.S. presidential election

webfact

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webfact Grand Master Member

webfact

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Democrat Warren accuses rival Bloomberg of trying to buy U.S. presidential election

By Tim Reid and Michael Martina

 

2019-11-25T211423Z_1_LYNXMPEFAO1ZA_RTROPTP_4_USA-ELECTION-WARREN.JPG

FILE PHOTO: Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at a campaign town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

 

ANKENY, Iowa (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren blasted billionaire Michael Bloomberg on Monday for launching his nascent White House bid with a $37 million TV advertising blitz, accusing the former New York City mayor of trying to buy American democracy.

 

Bloomberg, 77, a media mogul who will use his personal fortune to spend freely on his campaign and has said he will not take donations, officially jumped into the White House race as a moderate Democrat on Sunday.

 

Warren, 70, a liberal U.S. senator from Massachusetts and one of the leading Democratic contenders according to polls, has proposed a wealth tax on billionaires and frequently rails against corporate America, something Bloomberg has criticized.

 

At an event with voters in Ankeny, Iowa, Warren opened her remarks denouncing Bloomberg's tactics.

 

"Michael Bloomberg is making a bet about democracy in 2020. He doesn't need people, he only needs bags and bags of money. I think Michael Bloomberg is wrong," Warren said.

 

"That's exactly what's now in play in 2020 - which vision, which version of our democracy is going to win. If Michael Bloomberg's version of democracy wins then democracy changes. It's going to be which billionaire you can stomach," she said.

 

Bloomberg's campaign would not comment on Warren's remarks, but at Bloomberg's first campaign event on Monday in Norfolk, Virginia, he defended using his wealth to underwrite his candidacy.

 

"For years I've been using my resources for the things that matter to me," Bloomberg said, according to a video posted by PBS. "I am going to make my case and let the voters who are plenty smart make their choice."

 

Bloomberg's late entry into the race, less than three months before the Democrats' nominating contests begin, reflects his concern that none of the 17 other candidates vying to take on Republican president Donald Trump in next November's election can beat him.

 

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren blasted billionaire Michael Bloomberg on Monday for launching his nascent White House bid with a $37 million TV advertising blitz, accusing the former New York City mayor of trying to buy American democracy.

 

Despite Warren's status among contenders in polls, moderates like Bloomberg fear her planned costly expansion of government programs will alienate voters in battleground states.

 

At the same time, some Democrats have been unnerved by an uneven campaign performance from former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, while another leading candidate, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 37, is seen in some quarters as too young and inexperienced.

 

At a campaign event in Creston, Iowa, Buttigieg declined to comment on Bloomberg's candidacy and plan to skip early-voting states in favour of competing in larger nominating contests later in the calendar.

 

But Lori Hays, 59, a Buttigieg supporter from Creston, said Bloomberg was making a mistake.

 

"As an Iowan, it makes me feel like they don't care about Iowa," Hays said. "To me, Bloomberg thinks he can buy the White House with his billions of dollars and that we Iowans don't matter.”

 

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Akneny, Iowa and Michael Martina in Creston, Iowa; Editing by James Oliphant and Bill Berkrot)

 

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-26
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Bluespunk Star Member

Bluespunk

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16 minutes ago, webfact said:

Michael Bloomberg is making a bet about democracy in 2020. He doesn't need people, he only needs bags and bags of money. I think Michael Bloomberg is wrong," Warren said.

I don’t think he’ll win, but if he believes all you need is money to win, he’s mostly correct. 
 

No one can win the presidential election without a vast amount of expenditure these days.  
 

You do also need a message and a platform to proclaim it from, but without money, no one will hear it. 

Edited by Bluespunk
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zydeco Platinum Member

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Warren is the only candidate who will put billionaires and bankers on notice. The only one worth voting for. No more billionaires. Time for them all to cough up their ill-gotten gains from the fraudulent fixed stock market of the past ten years.

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sukhumvitneon Senior Member

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If Biden, Bernie, and Warren are all the Dems have to offer then Trump will steamroll in 2020.  And I say this as someone who at this point is completely disappointed in Trump's lack of follow through.  There won't be free healthcare or meaningful student debt forgiveness in this country and most Americans realize that

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stevenl Star Member

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5 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

I don’t think he’ll win, but if he believes all you need is money to win, he’s mostly correct. 
 

No one can win the presidential election without a vast amount of expenditure these days.  
 

You do also need a message and a platform to proclaim it from, but without money, no one will hear it. 

I think it is a very bad development for democracy, but I have to agree with this.

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phantomfiddler Gold Member

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Surely this is standard practice in U.S.A. and probably more so than any other country. Many MANY years ago America was seen as the bastion of democracy, but has recently shown itself to be the least democratic of all. Politics is a farce, and the country has seen little benefit from being abused by "the families" is Bush and Clinton, while the presidency of obama must rank as the greatest con job in American history ????

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Cory1848 Advanced Member

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5 hours ago, zydeco said:

Warren is the only candidate who will put billionaires and bankers on notice. The only one worth voting for. No more billionaires. Time for them all to cough up their ill-gotten gains from the fraudulent fixed stock market of the past ten years.

The system has to, somehow, provide incentive to innovate (and take risks), and money seems to be the primary incentive for most humans. But any system that enables such immense disparity of wealth as we have now is obscene and evil at its core. A few hundred million is more than enough for anyone. You’re totally right; Warren is the best person on the stage to effect needed systemic change. Unfortunately, she has her work cut out for her convincing enough Americans of that to vote her into office, although I’m hopeful she can do it.

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DoctorG Gold Member

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7 hours ago, zydeco said:

Warren is the only candidate who will put billionaires and bankers on notice. The only one worth voting for. No more billionaires. Time for them all to cough up their ill-gotten gains from the fraudulent fixed stock market of the past ten years.

Do you really believe this?

There is no way she would actually try to introduce a wealth tax.

You need to think a little more deeply about this.

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spidermike007 Star Member

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I only wish he had announced a year earlier. He has always been the dems best shot at taking out Trump. Warren and Sanders are scary. Tens of millions of moderate minded voters find them radical. As do I. Biden seems to be lacking any real juice. 

 

I like Bloomberg and will likely vote for him. Who else can match the $125 mil Don Donald has raised in the past quarter? Also, I love the fact that he is sane and rational. Trump needs to be beaten badly. Who else can do It?

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sirineou Star Member

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People regurgitating talking points and using words and phrases that would never normally use in real  life in a vain attempt to sound clever, actively working against their own personal interest, while the rich get richer, 

and and they scrabble to scrape enough funds for a visa extension. :cheesy::cheesy:

 

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Jingthing Legendary Member

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57 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I only wish he had announced a year earlier. He has always been the dems best shot at taking out Trump. Warren and Sanders are scary. Tens of millions of moderate minded voters find them radical. As do I. Biden seems to be lacking any real juice. 

 

I like Bloomberg and will likely vote for him. Who else can match the $125 mil Don Donald has raised in the past quarter? Also, I love the fact that he is sane and rational. Trump needs to be beaten badly. Who else can do It?

Bloomberg still has a real chance to be nominated. No front runner has emerged. Of course this may mean we're headed to a really wild convention. I'm curious to see how Amy Klobuchar who I like very much and is in a similar lane as Bloomberg deals with this. This all presupposes that Biden will fade which is a fair bet. If Biden fails to win in South Carolina that would be good for Bloomberg. 

 

BTW I don't think Mayor Pete is to be taken very seriously. It feels like he is peaking too early. Weirdly 45 might be right about his estimation that there is something about his look (which includes his extreme youth as a potential president) that just doesn't work for him. 

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Jingthing Legendary Member

Jingthing

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1 minute ago, oldhippy said:

OK.

I mean in recent history.

Obama.

Yes he raised a lot of money. They all need to do that. I don't consider that the same thing as "buying" elections.

Bloomberg being one of the richest men in the world is going to be accused of that because at least to start, he is self financing.

But he will be playing within the rules.

I would agree the rules should changed.

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oldhippy Silver Member

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9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Obama.

Yes he raised a lot of money. They all need to do that. I don't consider that the same thing as "buying" elections.

Bloomberg being one of the richest men in the world is going to be accused of that because at least to start, he is self financing.

But he will be playing within the rules.

I would agree the rules should changed.

Were you being cheeky when you said Truman did not buy the presidency? Didn't he become president as vice president replacing a dead president?

If so, good joke.

You could have mentioned Johnson too (no, not Boris).

 

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Jingthing Legendary Member

Jingthing

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2 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

Were you being cheeky when you said Truman did not buy the presidentcy? Didn't he become president as vice president replacing a dead president.

If so, good joke.

You could have mentioned Johnson too (no, not Boris).

 

No, I was talking about his fight for the NOMINATION in 1948. 

Look, if you're talking about campaign finance reform, I'm all for it.

If your accusing all candidates of literally buying elections, I think that's absurd. That implies corrupt direct vote buying. Maybe you need to DEFINE buying elections. Spending a lot of money on campaigns is not that. 

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oldhippy Silver Member

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5 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

No, I was talking about his fight for the NOMINATION in 1948. 

Look, if you're talking about campaign finance reform, I'm all for it.

If your accusing all candidates of literally buying elections, I think that's absurd. That implies corrupt direct vote buying. Maybe you need to DEFINE buying elections. Spending a lot of money on campaigns is not that. 

So we disagree (slightly).

What's the fundamental difference between vote buying Thai style and brainwashing voters through very expensive marketing campaigns?

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Jingthing Legendary Member

Jingthing

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6 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

sSo we disagree (slightly).

What's the fundamental difference between vote buying Thai style and brainwashing voters through very expensive marketing campaigns?

That's a more complicated question than it sounds in this age of targeted messaging using fake news. But it's not only about money. We already have a billionaire in the democratic race who is spending a lot of his own money with basically bupkis results. Bloomberg will spend even more likely much more but he has a very impressive record and also name recognition to help his cause as well as his money. This is getting too off topic. Like I said I agree with campaign finance reform but candidates are allowed to campaign under CURRENTLY LEGAL campaign laws.

You may reply if you want, but I won't respond further. Too off topic and it's an endless loop. 

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