Cal Thomas - Bloomberg’s flash in the primary pan

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Thursday, February 27th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It—a listener-supported daily news program from WORLD. I’m Nick Eicher.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: And I’m Megan Basham. Commentator Cal Thomas now with thoughts on the presidential campaign of billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: The Democratic Party is in trouble. After the debacle in Iowa, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has gone on a tear—and sent the party establishment into a panic. 

To make matters worse, a change in party rules allowed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the debate stage—and a political bludgeoning ensued. 

To say Bloomberg is a flawed candidate doesn’t even begin to describe this 78-year-old billionaire. He’s a former Republican, a former Democrat, and now an independent who wants to win the Democratic Party’s nomination. 

But he’s not only politically confused. He has not been able to defend himself against past racist, sexist, and misogynistic comments, including when Elizabeth Warren challenged him for calling women “fat broads” and “horse-faced lesbians.” 

The Washington Post reported on a former Bloomberg aide who once gave him a booklet of profane, sexist quotes she attributed to him. They’re too profane to say here, but other outrageous statements will help you get the picture. 

In one 2016 video Bloomberg claimed he could—quote—“teach anybody to be a farmer.” Why? Because all one has to do is dig a hole, drop in a seed, cover the hole with dirt, water it and voila, up pops a field of corn. 

Apparently, he is not aware of entire schools of agriculture that exist to teach real farming. He then pointed out the difference between workers in an agricultural economy and today’s information economy. Quoting again: “You have to have a different skill set, you have to have a lot more gray matter.” End quote. 

That sound bite should play well in Republican TV ads in farm belt states.

Another video features Bloomberg saying—quote—“There is an enormous cohort of black and Latino males, aged let’s say 16 to 25 that don’t have jobs, don’t have any prospects, don’t know how to find jobs, don’t know what their skill sets are, don’t know how to behave in the workplace where they have to work collaboratively.” End quote. 

Wow. Let’s see how those remarks look in TV ads in South Carolina, which has a large number of African American voters—and who are seeing black men gaining employment. 

These kinds of blunders would have already knocked out a candidate with less money. Bloomberg’s bottomless pockets may keep his campaign alive, but they can’t save his credibility.  

Ultimately, Bloomberg’s rise says more about the state of the Democratic primary than it does about the man. Much of his baggage was already known, and yet Democrats desperate for another option have lined up behind him. 

He may make a splash on Super Tuesday, but I predict it won’t last. 

For WORLD Radio, I’m Cal Thomas.

(Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) In this Feb. 4, 2020, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a campaign rally at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. 

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