The billionaires would get their asses kicked by a socialist
by SEAN ILLING
The billionaire former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, is considering a presidential run in 2016. According to the New York Times, the business magnate already has his advisers laying out plans for an independent campaign. Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman write: Bloomberg is “galled by Donald Trump’s dominance of the Republican field, and troubled by Hillary Clinton’s stumbles and the rise of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on the Democratic side.”
The political class seems to think a race between Trump or Cruz on one side and Sanders on the other would be uniquely hospitable to an indepenent like Bloomberg. And indeed some establishment Democrats would likely support Bloomberg over Sanders, if it came to that. Ed Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania and DNC chairman (also a longtime Clinton ally), summed up what I imagine is a common sentiment among party insiders: “Mike Bloomberg for president rests on the not-impossible but somewhat unlikely circumstance of either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz versus Bernie Sanders. If Hillary wins the nomination, Hillary is mainstream enough that Mike would have no chance, and Mike’s not going to go on a suicide mission.” Revealingly, Rendell added that he would be open to backing Bloomberg in such a circumstance: “As a lifelong Democrat, as a former party chairman, it would be very hard for me to do that. But I would certainly take a look at it – absolutely.”
This attitude on the left is part of the problem, and proves the Democratic establishment has yet to understand what Bernie Sanders is doing. Bernie’s campaign is trying to redefine what constitutes the “mainstream.” If Clinton or Bloomberg or Rubio or Bush is “mainstream” today, it’s because of a lack of voter participation, because the majority of the country doesn’t vote. Sanders understands this, and his campaign aims to energize a restless majority, whose interests aren’t reflected in the Washington consensus.
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http://www.salon.com/2016/01/25/the_billionaires_would_get_their_asses_kicked_by_a_socialist_this_is_why_trumpbloombergsanders_guarantees_a_bernie_presidency/