‘There are two things that are important in politics,’ said Mark Hanna, the American senator, in 1895. ‘The first is money and I can’t remember what the second one is.’ In 2020, Hanna’s maxim could be updated: the second thing is being an old white guy from New York.
The presidential election is 36 weeks away and it looks as if the winner will be one of three men. There’s the Manhattan billionaire incumbent, Donald Trump, 73, whose fortune is estimated at $3 billion (he claims eight). There’s the socialist outsider from Brooklyn, Bernie Sanders, who is 78 and worth $2.5 million. And last but not least is 78-year-old Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the richest fruit in the Big Apple, weighing in at a whopping $64 billion.
Money, money, money. Bloomberg and Sanders are currently vying for the Democratic nomination. Thanks to his vast army of small-dollar donors, Sanders has a $350 million war chest. Bloomberg, meanwhile, is dropping the cash equivalent of a nuclear bomb on the American democratic process. He has still not entered the primary race, and he’s already spent $400 million. He’s said that he is willing to put up $2 billion.
Neither Bloomberg nor Sanders were Democrats three years ago. Both are attempting a hostile takeover of the Democratic party. Sanders wants to complete the left-wing revolution he started five years ago; Bloomberg’s campaign is more like an aggressive corporate buyout. The Democratic machine isn’t happy with either candidate, but can’t seem to settle on a credible alternative — former Vice President Joe Biden’s terrible campaign has been a particularly cruel humiliation. Party bigwigs are therefore starting to warm to Mike and his billions.
Political operatives are thrilled at the incoming bonanza. Bloomberg has hired just about every Democratic consultant he can get his hands on.
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