The Democratic Party calls itself the "party of the people" and labels the Republican Party the "party of money."

Republican Mitt Romney's candidacy for president in 2012 against Barack Obama was skillfully derailed by Democrats attacking his enormous wealth and lack of sensitivity toward common people.

Democrats are not immune to rich standard-bearers. President John F. Kennedy was and is a hero of mine, but without daddy Joseph P. Kennedy's millions he probably would not have made it to the White House.

Howard Metzenbaum was and is a hero of mine, but his millions gave him a leg up on becoming a U.S. Senator from Ohio.

Enter Michael Bloomberg, worth $60 billion. He is vying for the Democratic nomination for president and has been attacked by fellow Democrats for trying to buy the nomination.

The former New York City mayor had dropped $500 million on television and social media ads by late February, vaulting him into or near the lead in public opinion polls in the 12 Super Tuesday (March 3) states and earning him a spot on the debate stage February 19.

Competitor Elizabeth Warren greeted him by calling him an arrogant insensitive white male tycoon who objectifies women and is trying to buy the election.

As the "party of the people," many Democrats are regularly exploited by the  rich and resent the wealthy class.

But in today's environment, where political advertising is virtually unregulated and unlimited if one can pay the freight, access to lots of hard cold cash can be the difference between winning and losing.

In 2018, multimillionaire Republican Mike DeWine reached into his saddlebags and lent himself $3 million as he outspent Democrat Richard Cordray and won a close race for governor.

Should Democrats hold their noses and welcome "filthy rich" Bloomberg into the fold in order to increase the chances of sending Donald Trump packing after one term or insist on purity and be more likely to lose? It is the existential question of Campaign 2020.

New Full-Sized Dispatch Now Full Of Older News

By the time you read this, the Columbus Dispatch will be full-sized after seven years as a subtabloid. The downsizing was one of several bonehead decisions by the Wolfe family that forced it to sell the paper five years ago.

The newest owner, Gatehouse Media, that now calls itself Gannett, decided to close the Columbus printing plant to save money and now prints the paper in Indianapolis, two-and-a-half hours away.

Dispatcheditor Alan Miller admitted in his Feb. 23 column that the Dispatch will no longer be able to report on the previous night's sports events in the newspaper because the deadline has been moved up to early evening. He advised readers to go online to read game results. This print blackout also applies to news coverage of evening meetings and crime, accidents, disasters, election returns, etc.

This reduces Dispatch print news coverage largely to feature stories and "old news," making the paper less timely and less valuable for readers..

When one goes online, there are lots of sources of the previous night's Columbus news and sports besides Dispatch.com, not the least of which are television stations 4, 6 and 10 that offer free digital access in attractive, accessible formats to sports results and breaking news and the comprehensive local sports website, The Athletic, which features some former Dispatch journalists.

“Public Be Damned,” Say Secretive OSU Trustees

The Ohio State University trustees have a message for the 11.5 million residents of Ohio.

"The Public Be Damned," the trustees appear to be saying as they announced a secret search for the next president.

The above phrase was uttered by tycoon William Henry Vanderbilt in the late 19th century to suggest that the rich and powerful know what was best for the lowly public.

Michael Drake is giving up the presidency with lots of unfinished business, especially settling with the victims of the late Dr. Richard Strauss, who accuse the OSU doctor with molesting them.

The trustees want a new president to have a clean slate.

The victims continue to implicate Trump apologist U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of the 4th District, alleging that he, as an OSU coach, knew of Strauss's misdeeds. Republican Jordan is facing his strongest opposition ever from Democrat Mike Larsen of Dublin.

And the victims are trying to link OSU trustee Abigail Wexner to dead alleged sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Abigail is married to billionaire Les Wexner, who was best buddies with Epstein..

Reeling from the Epstein inquiry, Les is selling his pride and joy Victoria's Secret.

When all is said and done, the names of both Les and Abigail Wexner may well be scraped off buildings at OSU and around Columbus town and be missing from the rosters of some prominent boards of trustees.

(Please send your comments and suggestions for future columns to John K. Hartman, ColumbusMediaInsider@gmail.com)

(ColumbusMediaInsider, copyright, 2020, John K. Hartman, All Rights Reserved)