Sanders V. Bloomberg – Can Either Take the Pace or the Heat?

They went ugly early. The road to the White House has taken a bumpy trail of late as party elites watch in horror a communist-leaning old white guy and his No. 1 nemesis, a billionaire media mogul, rise to the top positions in the primary season. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have let fly their mutual disgust heading into the Nevada State Democratic caucus.

And so the dream of having a woman of color become the next president of the United States is officially dashed within the hallowed halls of the Democratic Party.

The Fury of the Frumpy Socialist

Bloomberg came to the party fashionably late and couldn’t pass the stiff polling and donor requirements to reach the Democratic debate stage – until now. But the diminutive billionaire is casting a giant, wet, and gloomy shadow over the race by outspending every other candidate including President Trump in advertising while skipping the monotonous baby-kissing, grip-and-grin meet-and-greets in each primary or caucus state. Other candidates sweep in aboard private jets, take thousands of selfies, and eat fried food to stay relevant with the commoners from whom they hope to snag a vote.

Sanders has stumped across the country with the Bernie Bros and railed against “the man” – whom he seemingly hopes to become – and is gaining traction. He has not once wavered from his pandering to an electorate that just wants free stuff. And Bloomberg is his main target – a capitalist in his own backyard. Recently, in Nevada, Sanders took a swipe at the tiny “man”:

“Hey, guys, how do you buy the presidency? Well, you buy the presidency, at least he's going to try to buy the presidency, by spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars on TV ads. I didn't see Mike in Iowa ... I didn't see Mike in New Hampshire. ... Hey, you know what? I didn't see him here in Nevada!”

For his part in the fracas, Bloomberg has appeared not to care much for what Bernie says or does. He simply continues his crusade against the Second Amendment, holed up and avoiding the potentially unwashed masses, floating random surveys in hopes of ferreting out a winning vice president if he beats down the field. Yet that certainly isn’t a given: He isn’t much of a magnetic guy in person.

But since his debate qualification, the little elitist dude has gotten a bit stinky with Bernie, blasting the airwaves with the messages Bernie Bros continue to spew: He may have finally taken the low road. New York-based political consultant Neal Kwatra compared Bloomberg, who just turned 78, to former Vice President Joe Biden, observing that when the two septuagenarians are backed against a wall, they stumble, tragically off balance, and snap. Which is a drastic departure from the slick, rehearsed, professionally produced television ads. Kwatra warns, “(Bloomberg’s) impatient, he gets ornery and he’ll get annoyed.”

How will his bombastic style play on the debate stage in Nevada? He may be in and out before the race winnows down to a clear victor, tilting at windmills from his stationary step stool, as Bernie and his Bros go toe to toe with “the man.”

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Read more from Sarah Cowgill.