Michael Bloomberg is actually to the left of Bernie Sanders on guns. His positions on climate change and cultural issues are well within the Democratic mainstream. He supports improving Obamacare and agrees that the wealthy should pay higher taxes. And yet, Sanders views Bloomberg not as a fellow competitor, but as the enemy, simply because he is a billionaire. What does this mean for the campaign?
From Bloomberg’s perspective, it means he has the option of doing what none of the other Democratic candidates will do–running blizzards of commercials attacking Sanders as a dangerous socialist. He hasn’t gone negative on any of the other Democrats yet, but if it looks like a socialist will win, why not? From Bernie’s perspective, it means he will reject any help from Bloomberg and other left-wing billionaires during the general election campaign, which will obviously hurt his cause, and he may even provoke a third party challenge that could cost him the election.
Keep that in mind if you are thinking about voting for Bernie in the primaries on the basis of his electability.