Billionaire Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg had a disastrous night by most accounts but made one zinger count when he arguably “destroyed” front-runner candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders at Wednesday’s primary debate by exposing his unrepentant hypocrisy regarding matters of wealth.
The exposure happened after Sanders began kvetching about so-called “socialism for the rich,” i.e., his term for wealthy job producers being allowed to pay reduced tax rates on the wealth they’ve legally earned.
For some reason, economic illiterate socialists such as Sanders see an equivalency between someone being forced to fork over less of his money to the government, and someone being literally handed wads of cash for whatever reason.
“When Donald Trump gets $800 million in tax breaks and subsidies to build luxury condominiums, that’s socialism for the rich. … I believe in democratic socialism for working people, not billionaires, health care for all, educational opportunities for all,” he said.
He then added, “Creating a government that works for all, not just for Mr. Bloomberg.”
They were fighting words that Bloomberg responded to with verbal fists of fury.
“What a wonderful country we have. The best known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses. What did I miss here?” the former New York City mayor replied.
Watch:
While Bloomberg’s savvy diss provoked groans from the audience, he appeared to have a valid point about Sanders’ hypocrisy. Ironically, it’s a point the senator himself helped boost.
“Well, you’ll miss that I work in Washington, house one,” he replied.
“That’s the first problem,” Bloomberg responded.
Was he wrong?
“Live in Burlington, house two,” the senator replied. “And like thousands of other Vermonters, I do have a summer camp. Forgive me for that. Where is your home? Which tax haven do you have your home?”
“New York City, thank you very much, and I pay all my taxes,” Bloomberg responded.
While it’s probably true that “thousands of other Vermonters” own their own summer camp, the fact is that the state boasts a population of roughly 626,000. Assuming 10,000 people in the state possess enough wealth to own multiple homes, that puts Sanders among the top one percent of Vermont residents.
Of course, Bloomberg’s estimated wealth of $64 billion likely puts him in the top 0.001 percent of Americans. The difference, however, is that he’s an avid capitalist, not a self-avowed socialist who routinely demonizes the wealthy yet lives like a wealthy elite. It seems only the most wealthy of elites can afford a “summer camp” like the one below, reportedly of Sanders’ summer digs:
???Start your day with a tour of the Sanders’ “summer camp.”
$575K in 2016. I screwed up the thread last night so here are all the pics. I verified the price with several other sources. I do not have address & would not reveal if I did.
Source: https://t.co/yrEWpEscEk pic.twitter.com/SdkWM5qIJ7
— Sunshine City Dem (@ZenGrrrl47) February 20, 2020
Start your bedroom count here.
He described it as a “summer camp”; this is #3 of his houses.
The “working class people” he champions are lucky to have one house.
Bernie Sanders is not working class. pic.twitter.com/M5hfgRRCk1
— Sunshine City Dem (@ZenGrrrl47) February 20, 2020
Lots of bedrooms. I will send a small bottle Vermont maple syrup made by my parents’ plumber to the best suggestion for attendees at a “Sanders Summer House House Party.”
Wrong answers only. pic.twitter.com/11xJxaIYTv
— Sunshine City Dem (@ZenGrrrl47) February 20, 2020
More bedrooms!
Think how much $ the Sanders save on healthcare every year with his Senate plan – 30 years, salary, perks, retirement … & what? Three named PO’s in VT? I have pictures of those too. pic.twitter.com/o69Q7O0tU6
— Sunshine City Dem (@ZenGrrrl47) February 20, 2020
The Arbor! And look, a Baby Summer House attached to the Summer House … which guests get stuck out there?
The median household income in the state of Vermont is $60,782, which is less than the US median annual income of $61,937. https://t.co/FzEF2QKjhe pic.twitter.com/RZGQiaMpyR
— Sunshine City Dem (@ZenGrrrl47) February 20, 2020
Aerial view & a last one of the interior.
In 2018, 11.8% of Vermonters were living in poverty.https://t.co/nyUHoEoner pic.twitter.com/WLozQZB0bx
— Sunshine City Dem (@ZenGrrrl47) February 20, 2020
FWIW, Bernie’s summer home in Vermont isn’t a little cabin: It is a ~$600k house with 500 feet of beachfront on Lake Champlain. https://t.co/AvoxjGQsX1
— Zack Stanton (@zackstanton) February 20, 2020
Some have argued that Sanders is no different than the climate change zealots who demand that working class people sacrifice their lifestyles and livelihoods on the altar of climate change — yet who personally refuse to make any discernible sacrifices of their own.
Though in fairness, it could also be argued that he’s even worse than them because he’s so habitually deceptive about his hypocrisy.
Case in point: Last November he slammed Bloomberg for trying to buy the 2020 race. Yet this week he refused to rule out accepting contributions from his billionaire arch-nemesis in case he, Sanders, wins the democrat nomination.
And so given his deceptiveness and hypocrisy, it shouldn’t necessarily be surprising that so many conservatives and liberals alike jumped on Twitter during the debate Wednesday to express support, however tacitly, for Bloomberg’s criticism of the senator.
Look:
#Bernie IS a #hypocrite.#NeverBernie. Never. pic.twitter.com/8rasfjgx7p
— Peter Savas ?️? (@petesavas) February 20, 2020
— ⚡️MaxFin⚡️ (@Max__Fin) February 20, 2020
Bloomberg leans into his wealth and makes no apology for it, while Sanders would pretend he’s just a humble pickle salesman
The hypocrisy is the issue https://t.co/QFxZAxfKL9
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) February 20, 2020
I’m glad someone on the national stage finally pointed out Bernie’s hypocrisy…even if it is Bloomberg.
— Jordan Coy (@jcoy42) February 20, 2020
In a world where 250 000 Americans are living on the street, summer camps should not exist
— Gavin Hayes (@Gavin_B_Hayes) February 20, 2020
The latter tweet was a play on Sanders’ own radical argument that “billionaires should not exist.” It was written in response to analysis from conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who theorized that, based on the senator’s inability to ward off Bloomberg’s attacks, he’d be mince meat against President Donald Trump.
Look:
People seem to be ignoring just how poor Sanders’ response here was. Brutal. And if you think Trump won’t physically clock Sanders with a plank from his summer home, you haven’t been watching politics for a few years. https://t.co/Qq6A21aC90
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 20, 2020
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