What Happened In Vegas May Not Be Resolved Until Milwaukee

The conversation at the debate last night in Las Vegas was heated. And, it became glaringly clear that former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s 10 weeks of ad spending (somewhere north of 220 million dollars) could not stand up to 10 minutes of blistering attacks from his Democratic rivals who used Bloomberg as a punching bag to shore up their own political might. The rough night for Bloomberg started when he was slammed against the proverbial wall for his policy of Stop-and-Frisk. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren dissected Bloomberg’s apology for the policy with surgical precision, saying, “Bloomberg apologizes for the results of Stop-and-Frisk, but not his racist intent for the policy.”

We can pretend this debate was about several issues: Medicare for All, climate change, Latin America, taxes, redlining, and a few more matters, but pretending is all we would be doing. Last night revolved around three things for every candidate, except Bloomberg: who could defeat Trump, separating oneself from the pack, and shattering Bloomberg’s glass path to relevance.

And the Winner Is…

With this metric, the clear winner is Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren showed a command of last night’s stage that saw her take the highroad when all others were piling on Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar over a memory lapse. We watched her demand that Bloomberg release twenty-four women from Non-Disclosure Agreements that restrict them from telling their side of the story associated with his alleged sexism and other workplace harms. When challenged by former Vice-President Joe Biden, who asked, “What have you ever won?” Warren, with fire in her eyes, turned her head to the left and looked through him and slowly said, ‘Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.’ She even separated herself from her progressive ally, Bernie Sanders who is leading in the polls, without attacking him.

As for Bloomberg, last night showed the world what many of us already knew. Bloomberg thinks being president is a process that he can purchase, and he is above answering for any of his wrongs and lip service is all we deserve. Bloomberg’s arrogance was on display when asked if he deserved his billions, and he replied, “I earned them” without giving any credit to the workers. Former Vice-President Biden pointed out that Bloomberg gave millions to Republican political candidates over the years including George Bush. Bloomberg said, “I gave a lot to the Democrats”, which sounded like a badge of honor to the media mogul when it very clearly illustrates how influence looks in the American political system.

Bloomberg was welcomed on the stage by every candidate, and each tried to exact a pound of flesh. For that reason, it should be marked as the time the richest guy could not buy the night. Who will win the next time and enough times to claim the nomination are already generating concerns for the Democrats.