Hinden-Bloomberg: NYC mayor goes up in flames at Vegas debate

Former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg got a taste of front-runner status on Wednesday night, getting absolutely walloped by his primary opponents during the ninth Democratic debate in Nevada.

Bloomberg, who was not on the ballot in the Iowa caucus or the New Hampshire primary, has been surging in the polls thanks to massive ad buys and a social media-oriented campaign. However, his absence from debates has allowed him to avoid scrutiny for the issues raised by massive opposition research dumps.

Bloomberg took a gamble by appearing at Wednesday’s debate — presumably he assumed he had the political experience to put up a good performance. Instead, he was hammered repeatedly over alleged sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, his ‘stop and frisk’ policies in New York City, his status as a billionaire, and his previous Republican membership. The mayor appeared defensive and unprepared to answer to any of these attacks — the type of thing that can sink a candidacy, if Sen Kamala Harris’s campaign post-Tulsi Gabbard whacking her for her prosecutorial history is any indicator.