(snip)"Mayor Bloomberg, in his regular denials that he intends to run for President, likes to note that a "short, Jewish, divorced billionaire" doesn't sound very electable. We're not sure how important the first three traits are, but the last, far from disqualifying him, is the main reason behind the Bloomberg boomlet. Unlike most other American politicians, he is rich enough to finance his own independent Presidential campaign. And thanks to our campaign finance laws, he's a rare candidate who doesn't have to raise money in hundreds of $2,300 or smaller increments."(snip)
(snip)"We don't begrudge Mr. Bloomberg a cent of his money, and he should be free to spend all of it on politics if he wishes, including on a run for President. The Supreme Court has said he has that right. But no one has so far explained why it's fine for Mr. Bloomberg to advance his own political career using his personal fortune, but it would be "dirty" for him to bankroll someone else who shared his agenda."(snip)
(snip)"It is often said that billionaires should not be able to "buy" elections, and that strict donation limits weed out candidates without a broad base of support. But now a billionaire really can buy an election, in the sense that he is unrestrained by the limits imposed on everyone else. Mr. Bloomberg spent an estimated $160 million on his two mayoral campaigns, literally overwhelming his competitors with TV ads. Restricting billionaires to financing themselves, far from increasing political competition, has reduced it."(snip)
(snip)"Mr. Bloomberg has recently complained about the dearth of good Presidential candidates--presumably one reason he may take the independent plunge. We'd like to see him acknowledge that one reason for that dearth is that a short, Jewish, divorced billionaire can't write a check larger than $2,300 to anyone but himself."(snip)




Bookmarks