He's not just focused on Trump though. He's targeting his ads in places with vulnerable GOP Senators; he's put tons of money into voter registration efforts; he's previously funded lots of pro-gun control candidates. He seems to have his sights set on more than just who's President.
A run as an independent could very well hurt the Democratic party. Bankrolling a far right ******* would taint his own brand to the point of no repair. Running as a Democratic candidate allows him to spend unlimited dollars on Trump/Republican attack ads, while also improving his own brand.
That's a pretty interesting strategy. I keep on waiting for Tulsi to drop out, and run as an independent. I think she could really weaken Trumps base by pulling in some of his voters. Question though- as a prominent public figure, or billionaire in order to pull from Trump's base by going FURTHER to the right, how far would you have to go? Just straight up burning crosses at rallies? (FYI- I approve of your avatar)
Billionaires are doing what they always do. Spend their money on philanthropy and other issues so that the plebes do not feel that they should tax their money. For those interested in this history and the question of whether we can count on the philanthropy of the very wealthy to improve society generally. See the good book on the issue.
Thank you for this post. I hadn't considered the super-PAC dynamic. In that light, his candidacy makes a lot more sense.
Yes and I expect that the purist Dems on the campaign will accuse Biden and others for using Bloomberg as a camouflaged super pac which I think is short sited & incorrect. Incorrect that Bloomberg ONLY wants to help Biden here. More than anything he's creating messaging (at least to this point) that weakens Trump with low information voters. His ads on healthcare and climate are fantastic to achieve this goal. What Bloomberg is doing is good for even Bernie although its inevitable that Bernie & Warren will vilify him for it.
So it's better that they don't use their money on philanthropy? Bernie is a millionaire so what is the cutoff point?
Bloomberg gaining ground, up to 7.5% or 7.3% nationally depending on which 538 number you believe from after the debate. He’s doubled up Klobuchar and is about to pass Buttigieg. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/election-update-its-cherry-picking-season/ Sanders seems to have gained the most post-debate and everyone seems to have gained except for Warren.
Bloomberg rises to 4th place in new national poll https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/22/michael-bloomberg-surges-to-4th-place-in-new-poll-102045
"Mike Bloomberg Just Lost My Vote with His Super Bowl Ad." "The billionaire former three-term mayor of New York panders to Democratic loyalists rather than laying out a vision for a prosperous, tolerant America." https://reason.com/2020/02/02/why-mike-bloomberg-lost-my-vote-with-his-super-bowl-ad/
I'm sure the editors of Reason were all lining up to vote for Mike Bloomberg right until that moment.
Yeah, he really looks like a Bloomberg voter... Rare among libertarians, who tend to dismiss Bloomberg as a petty tyrant for many plausible reasons, I was excited when he jumped into the Democratic race. Sure, he was a nanny stater on steroids when he ran the Big Apple, famous for his what-the-**** efforts to ban Big Gulp sodas and salt and he was an unapologetic champion of the repressive police tactic known as "stop and frisk" (he's unconvincingly repented now that he's running for president). He remains an idiot and a hypocrite on pot legalization, among other things. It's at least a little disturbing that he's risen as high as fourth in some polls based solely on spending $250 million on ads. His just-announced $5 trillion tax plan is a groaner as well, especially since he doesn't seem interested in cutting spending.
I'm starting to see a narrow path to the nomination for Bloomberg. I'm assuming Pete and Amy are done before Super Tuesday. If Bernie wins the first 3 states and Biden looks like a dead man walking, Bloomberg might be the remaining moderate "save us from Bernie" candidate people rally around on Super Tuesday and beyond.
