Michael Bloomberg & the Nanny State

After skipping Iowa and New Hampshire, former Republican Michael Bloomberg has become a serious contender for the Democratic nomination almost overnight. Drawing on his immense fortune, he’s been blanketing the airwaves with commercials even as he underperforms on the debate stage; in response, his critics have been drowning social media in clips of offensive comments he made in the past.

And while he’s something of a known quantity from his years as mayor of New York (crime control, gun control, cigarette control, french-fry control), he’s selectively tweaked his approach to policy for this race, for example by apologizing for his administration’s overuse of stop-and-frisk policing — and by putting out a steady stream of policy proposals meant to appeal to the Democratic base. Indeed, while Elizabeth Warren may be known as the candidate with a “plan for that,” Bloomberg’s website has a 32-item alphabetical grid of the damn things, from “All-In Economy” to “Wildfire Resilience” (not joking).

About the Author

Robert VerBruggen

Robert VerBruggen is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

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After skipping Iowa and New Hampshire, former Republican Michael Bloomberg has become a serious contender for the Democratic nomination almost overnight. Drawing on his immense fortune, he’s been blanketing the airwaves with commercials even as he underperforms on the debate stage; in response, his critics have been drowning social media in clips of offensive comments he made in the past.

And while he’s something of a known quantity from his years as mayor of New York (crime control, gun control, cigarette control, french-fry control), he’s selectively tweaked his approach to policy for this race, for example by apologizing for his administration’s overuse of stop-and-frisk policing — and by putting out a steady stream of policy proposals meant to appeal to the Democratic base. Indeed, while Elizabeth Warren may be known as the candidate with a “plan for that,” Bloomberg’s website has a 32-item alphabetical grid of the damn things, from “All-In Economy” to “Wildfire Resilience” (not joking).