Like many other Granite Staters, I spent hours before the New Hampshire Democratic primary evaluating the candidates in an effort to come to a rational decision. In the end, though, I let my heart lead me. I cast my vote for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders because of his emphasis on climate change, his push for higher taxes on extreme wealth, and his insistence that corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Most crucial, from my perspective as a retired school administrator, Sanders is the only candidate who has supported eliminating the “test-and-punish” model imposed on public schools by No Child Left Behind and reinforced by Race to the Top.
I voted for Sanders in the primary, but I don’t believe he will get the nomination. For better or worse, I believe former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will head the ticket, in all likelihood following a brokered convention. And should that happen I will wholeheartedly support him, despite my many misgivings.
I was dismayed when I learned that Bloomberg was entering the race. He is a billionaire who, from all appearances, is trying to buy an election — the worst-case scenario for those who lament the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. And he has a long list of negatives. His stop-and-frisk policy clearly hurt people of color in New York City, and he compounded that by continuing to defend the policy as recently as 2015. Worse, his eventual apology seemed politically motivated. His high-handed dealings with labor unions are also problematic. Homelessness increased while he was mayor, a result of gentrification. He’s been criticized, and even sued, for his comments about and treatment of women at his business-information company. And finally, as one who opposes the privatization of public education, I find his support of for-profit charter schools in New York City particularly objectionable.
So why support Bloomberg’s candidacy? It’s not just his progressive positions on climate change, taxes, gun control, women’s reproductive rights and health care. It’s also that he does not view government as “the problem.” On the contrary, Bloomberg is one of a group of millionaires and billionaires who recognize that an appropriately funded and well-run government is essential to both economic growth and the rule of law. And Bloomberg has a record of using government policy to make positive changes (stop-and-frisk notwithstanding). As mayor, he addressed climate change by creating a network of bike lanes throughout the city while working to discourage automobile commuting. He raised taxes on those earning more than $500,000 and used the money to balance the city’s budget without cuts to social safety nets. He banned smoking in restaurants and imposed taxes on sugared drinks, a leading cause of obesity and other health problems. He has supported gun control legislation. He provided more than $13 million to Planned Parenthood when that organization faced funding cuts.
And let’s face it, Bloomberg — whose net worth is north of $60 billion — also has the ability to spend money to help the Democratic Party win races up and down the ticket. I recognize that seeing this as a “positive” is an unfortunate byproduct of Citizens United. But massive amounts of money will be needed to counteract the corporations and interest groups that benefited from that destructive decision and will open their wallets wide to try to defeat any Democratic nominee who challenges their ill-gotten advantages.
Bloomberg understands that to have any hope of moving the country in a progressive direction the next president will need the support not only of both chambers of Congress, but also of governors and state legislatures across the nation. To that end, he has already spent millions to help elect Democrats at all levels of government. In 2018, his political action committees spent $112 million on 24 House races, in addition to Senate, state legislature and even school board races. (Of the 24 House races Bloomberg backed, Democrats won 21.)
Then there’s the inability so far of any Democratic candidate, progressive or moderate, to gain a decided advantage in the race. Sanders hoped to ride a wave of new, young voters into the White House — and he has dominated that demographic — but he still received half as many votes in New Hampshire and Iowa in 2020 as he did in 2016. Even with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s votes added in, the “progressive wing” of the Democratic Party got fewer votes in the first 2020 contests compared with 2016. Former Vice President Joe Biden did poorly in both states while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg did perhaps better than expected. So at this juncture, the race is a muddle. Sanders, the “leader” at the moment, may fall short of the votes needed to win on the first ballot at the party’s convention in Milwaukee in July.
I hope Sanders can somehow gain the full support of the Democratic Party, and I am personally repelled by the idea that a billionaire might end up buying an election. But should Bloomberg emerge as the Democratic candidate — and his performance at Wednesday night’s debate in Las Vegas will be a good barometer — I will support him. In so doing, I will take heart in the fact that our nation does have a precedent for electing a wealthy New York plutocrat to the White House following a brokered convention: In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the Democratic Party nomination on the fourth ballot, and then won the general election in a landslide. To tackle our country’s many serious challenges, we will need an overhaul like the one FDR led nearly nine decades ago. Bloomberg just may be the one to do that.
Wayne Gersen lives in Etna.