I still imagine Bloomberg as a Clinton New Democrat....favorable to the ultra rich, punishing to the "lazy" and disenfranchised. He might not be the popular primary candidate but would do fairly strong in the general elections...should he shed his out of touch billionaire vibe.
Bloomberg was of course a Republican until he decided being a Democrat played better in NYC. While being a Democrat he has continued to give money to GOP candidates in New York State so his taxes could be lower.
I think it no coincidence that after both Sanders and Warren proposed a wealth tax he decided to run. If it takes a billion or two to save say 5 billion he comes out ahead. Watch one of his fellow billionaires get choked up about a wealth tax.
type "crying billionaire" to see the poor guy all choked up. It is hard to link to the video for some reason lol
" ‘Moderate’ Michael Bloomberg Is an Authoritarian Nightmare": https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/01/moderate-michael-bloomberg-is-an-authoritarian-nightmare/
I'm no Bloomberg fan, but what he's doing now on messaging and Trump is a really good thing. And @glynch if Bernie wins the nomination, Bloomberg might not outright endorse him, but he is already pledging the keep running ads throughout the general election. If you've seen any of his recent ads on Trump and healthcare (Bernie's most passionate issue), they are pretty damn good, and easy for even Trump fans to understand. There has to be a steady stream of easy to understand media to counter Trumps lies about healthcare. The MSM just doesn't care to really challenge Trumps lies on this issue the way they should. You might really despise Bloomberg, but it's pretty clear to me that he's going to play a pretty big part in getting either Bernie or Biden elected on the issue of healthcare alone. He understands the media, understands messaging, and is going to be pumping hundreds of millions onto the airways to help Bernie or Biden in the end. He knows he's only polling at 2%, and is pumping more money into his ads than ever. The GOP has the entire Russian government, the Saudis, the Israeli's, and potentially the Chinese & North Koreans etc. working overtime to make deals with Trump to help him on disinformation campaigns, and illegal hacking. A few hundred million dollars from a Billionaire like Bloomberg helping out Bernie and Biden on countering the disinformation messaging is fine by me.
Hey dobro, a few hundred million from Bloomberg directly attacking Trump might be I really just see Bloomberg building his brand generically. He initially claimed that all the Dem candidates are flawed, but perhaps that did not play too well. His ads that I have seen are like "At 39 Mike was laid off and then he started a company and now employs 20,000" etc. If you think Bloomberg would help Bernie or even Warren in any but the most back handed way I think you are wrong.
Your biases betray you. https://www.axios.com/mike-bloomber...nee-8148b285-5108-4470-b8e4-577b3ca07a75.html Mike Bloomberg will pay for the nearly 500 staffers on his presidential campaign to continue working through November to support whoever wins the 2020 Democratic nomination, even if it's not him, NBC News reports. Why it matters: The former New York mayor is focused on getting President Trump out of the White House, and his vast operation — focused beyond the traditional early states — could provide a strong foundation in key battleground states, like North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The billionaire has also established a large tech operation, which will help the future nominee compete with Trump's digital prowess. Bloomberg has pledged to spend $15 million on efforts to drive voter turnout, and his staffers could help that push effort in key states. What they're saying: "Mike Bloomberg is either going to be the nominee or the most important person supporting the Democratic nominee for president," Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg’s campaign manager, told NBC.
The most recent ad I saw on healthcare was really solid. Bloomberg doesn’t have to say Bernies M4A or bust to help Bernie. Him having really good ads that educate and remind voters that Trump is currently suing in court to destroy pre-existing conditions is good... really good messaging from whoever the candidate is .. including Bernie. Ive notes this before but I get concerned about the divisiveness of Bernies hardcore supporters to viciously attack anything that isn’t Bernie level pure. I love Bernie and the guy is truly sincere but even he is a human and bound to have skeletons in the closet that’ll come out in the general if he gets the nomination. I just wish there was a more productive way of not always agreeing or frankly liking other people in the party, but not feeling the need to crucify anyone not named Bernie when Bernie is built up to be this perfect saint. Bernie is awesome and would be a great president, but he is a just a human being and bound to disappoint at some point if he’s built up with a cult like savior complex. (Also noting that’s not you I’m talking about. Bernie twitter and Facebook hardcore supporters are brutal. You are nowhere near that level FYI) If supporters want any part of the Bernie platform to become reality step 1 is getting the orange clown out. Bloomberg obviously wants the same goal. Him shelling out millions to attack Trump is a good thing.,
Well we will see with Bloomberg. Hey the conservative movement has quite a few billionaires who seriously invest in their extremist right wing politics which has which has led us to this mess and some to feel only a billionaire can save us. You guys are so trusting of Bloomberg who until this point is the exact type of GOP/Democrat who has brought the Dem Party to ruin. I do not think billionaire Bloomberg being the most important person in the Democratic Party or 2020 Campaign is good. I like democracy better. I still think this is sort of like when Trump ran in 2016 that it is brand building and an ego thing. If he loses or the Dems loose he is still an immorally rich man, Bloomberg has built hid brand. He may be envious of Zuckerman and Bezos and is thinking of all that juicy individual data he can get his hands on will be useful to him in future business endeavors.
I 100% agree that a billionaire being this important in an election is a really really bad sign of where we are as a Democracy. However how do we get to a point where the Dems control 2/3 of the Senate, House, and control the Presidency so they can overturn citizens united with a Bill signed into law making the selling of off of our government illegal???? Well it’s not by losing to Trump in 2020 because enough people who could do something about it, let him get a second term so they could cash in with another tax cut or off of polluting our environment. If guys like Bezos, Bill Gates, or Bloomberg have their heart in the right place and want to help with no strings attached, I don’t think the left should automatically crucify them and insinuate the worst. We all know that billionaires on the Right and jackasses like Zuckerberg are in the game for the wrong reasons. But yes, the most important thing for Democracy is to get money out of politics. That sure as hell doesn’t happen if Republicans continue to buy off and cheat in elections. I think the first debate question for Steyer or Bloomberg should be “As president, will you commit now to sign into law a bill that overturns citizens united”. If either of them dodge that question, they shouldn’t get one single Dem primary vote.
It seems to me Bloomberg is just using his campaign largely as a vehicle to promote the Democratic Party and launch attacks on Trump. It's pretty fascinating - I've always wondered while politically active multi-billionaire non-candidates didn't just throw a $1 billion into an election just because they could. Maybe you need to pretend to be a candidate to actually do it. At the rate he's going, he might end spending more in the primaries than Hillary and Trump did in the general election.
He’s not an idiot and isn’t doing this just to improve his brand. It’ll be interesting to see if these targeted ads affect public sentiment in those areas.
Ding ding ding. The Dems are rightly rejecting super pacs and big dollar donors like Bloomberg and Steyer know they are at a major disadvantage because of it. Bloomberg is basically creating a super pac by running himself but using his candidacy to weaken Trump with messaging and showing the difference in the Dem positions that’ll be hard to convey in the general with Trump sucking up all the media oxygen. Its a really smart strategy with really good compare and contrast messaging and when he never has to actually back a candidate. Backing the platform and policy positions while showing low information voters how Trump is a disaster for 10 months.
Well he is stupid then. If he wanted to have Trump defeated, he should run as an independent or fund a surrogate with a bunch of hard right views to eat away at Trumps base. Never understood why the left billionaires won't play dirty.
