Michael Bloomberg 2020 campaign megathread

[brucejoel99]

Honestly I wonder what he's hoping to accomplish. He's not stupid not to realize chances of him becoming the nominee, especially at this stage, are pretty much nonexistent. Even if Biden were to magically drop out it won't result in his voters just flocking to Bloomberg. His appeal is very limited.

Instead of playing an important role in financing campaigns he's ending his career on a joke note.

500th-dimensional shogi to help Biden, wherein Bloomberg runs so that Biden is contrasted with a billionaire who's hated by progressives, thereby making him more appealing to said progressives.

I firmly believe that Bloomberg has been approached by key elements of the Democratic Party who are extremely concerned about the quality of their field.  The most electable candidates can't catch fire in the polls.  The leaders all have massive flaws, as do the candidates just below the leaders.  The Democrats should be favored to beat Trump, but they're being perceived as blowing it, and no one on the Democratic side wants to be responsible for blowing it.

Bloomberg is a guy with both political and business gravitas.  He was a RINO who always was a social liberal who was a Democrat, then a Republican, then an Independent running on the Republican line, and then a Democrat again.  He's not supported the GOP national ticket in eons, and he supported Obama in 2012 and Hillary in 2016.  His achievements are formidable, and no one will accuse him of being an empty suit.  He's ready to be President on day one, and no one really doubts that.

I have said this before:  The Democratic field is unimpressive.  The Democratic interest groups that are the real stakeholders in the party see the 2020 election slipping away from them.  They need to be proactive and airlift a candidate with gravitas into the process.  There are few available.  Hillary Clinton isn't wanted and Al Gore is likely unavailable.  

The quality of the field is fine as it is. Bloomberg is just doing this because he hates the progressive wing of the party. If anything, this is proof that, at the end of the day, it's somebody like Bloomberg who wouldn't hesitate to divide Democrats if doing so would benefit his positions. Look at this objectively: attacking Warren & Sanders no matter the cost while also trying to siphon support from Biden & Pete could very well serve to essentially leave the Democrats unable to field a credible candidate in the general. This could get very bad, very fast, & if it's anybody's fault, it would be Bloomberg's, not the field's.

Joe Biden is collapsing, and people know this.  People also don't want to find out everything about Hunter Biden and Burisma; it may be a nothingburger, but it may not be, and what then?  Bloomberg is a fix to all this; he's Tom Steyer with political chops.  He's John Delaney with more business chops.  He's 77 years old, but he's sharper than Biden and healthier than Sanders.  And, as an added bonus, he'll be the first Jewish President in history, bringing forth a positive "first" buzz.  If the Democrats had to airlift a candidate into the race, Bloomberg is one of the best they could come up with.  

Biden is still consistently leading or tied for the lead in the polls & has higher favorability in battleground states & the South. How is he "collapsing"?

Moreover, it has already been proven that Burisma isn't something that "may be a nothingburger." It is a nothingburger, period.

[HillGoose]

The first 4 contests are for a relatively small amount of delegates.  The difference between Giuliani and Bloomberg is that Giuliani was an early entry into the race, whereas Bloomberg is a strategic late entry.

Obviously, but they usually create such a momentum in the media for a candidate, which usually cannot be blunted anymore by a late entry ...

Bloomberg is the ninth wealthiest person on the planet (Net worth: $55,500,000,000). He shouldn't have any difficulties generating media buzz.

hell ya brah Wall Street President gonna slap

[Gracile]

The only logical reason for making this move is if he thinks Biden will perform terribly in the first four states so much that he'll drop out, and Bloomberg will take Biden's place in the moderate lane. That seems unlikely to happen, though.

[LiberalDem19]

Real winner over here

[LiberalDem19]

Ok boomer

[HillGoose]

Bloomberg will win i can see it now, the lamestream media is already counting Bloomberg out because Bloomberg's rise doesn't fit their socialist agenda

[SN2903]

I mean, it's not like a New York mayor has ever tried this strategy before and had it totally backfire.

Rudy didn't have billions

[jaichind]

I think his logic is if Biden crashes and burns in the first 4 states he would be in a good position to come in to take the Biden vote without being blemished by defeats in the first 4 states.  If Biden does very well in the first 4 states then the entire premise of a Bloomberg candidacy would not be there and Bloomberg will just drop out to back Biden.

[HillGoose]

I notice a lot of articles I'm seeing about how Bloomberg shouldn't run and stuff like that from lamestream media coverage but not a lot of positive stuff and I think it's pretty wack that the powers that be are trying to end Bloomberg before the primaries even begin!

Like I mean really a guy who is such a fintech genius he was able to create the Bloomberg Terminal MUST be one of the best hopes America has! I don't know how many of you use a Bloomberg terminal on a regular basis or ever have but those of you who have will know what I mean and those of you who haven't I hope you someday have the opportunity to experience it.

[Progressive Pessimist]

It's not completely unearned. Bloomberg is very obviously not the kind of candidate that the modern Democratic Party wants.

[Frodo]

After our experience with Donald Trump, who wants to see another businessman in the White House?  Especially if you consider yourself a Democrat?

No, thank you.  I don't care how liberal you think you are.  Trump has pretty much poisoned that well. 

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Warren is already coming up in polls, it's been a back and forth race among the three frontrunners: Buttigieg,  Warren and Biden. He is a billionaire that offers the same thing as Biden, nothing to progressives.  Bloomberg, just like Trump, wont win

[Roll Roons]

After our experience with Donald Trump, who wants to see another businessman in the White House?  Especially if you consider yourself a Democrat?

No, thank you.  I don't care how liberal you think you are.  Trump has pretty much poisoned that well. 

They're not really comparable. Bloomberg is much more thoughtful, has a better grasp of policy and doesn't go around insulting people or sucking up to Putin. He's more than just a rich businessman. He spent 12 years as the successful mayor of an 8-million person city. That's got to count for something.

[TML]

Anyone who is qualified under the US Constitution can run if he or she so desires.

However, that doesn't mean the media can't pick apart a candidate's track record for everyone to see. In this case, Bloomberg appears to be a misfit for today's political climate (a pro-corporate figure in an anti-establishment era), so although he has every right to run if he wishes, we also have the right to say that he isn't well-suited for us.

[HillGoose]

After our experience with Donald Trump, who wants to see another businessman in the White House?  Especially if you consider yourself a Democrat?

No, thank you.  I don't care how liberal you think you are.  Trump has pretty much poisoned that well.  

They're not really comparable. Bloomberg is much more thoughtful, has a better grasp of policy and doesn't go around insulting people or sucking up to Putin. He's more than just a rich businessman. He spent 12 years as the successful mayor of an 8-million person city. That's got to count for something.

Also what's wrong with being a rich businessman anyway? Especially someone who is self-made like Bloomberg.

I think that's one of the most commendable things, to rise to fortune from modest beginnings. I don't understand why so many bitter people want to act like that's wrong.

I would love to become rich and forget about where I came from, everyone who lives there and the issues that exist there. Bloomberg though, he searches for solutions. He is a better man than I am.

[Sorenroy]

I think that the lower tier of candidates in general can be split into two broad categories: the "Who?"s and the "Why?"s. Candidates in the first group need to spend a significant amount of money and time just to explain who they are. Candidates in the "Why?" tear are fairly well known, but they just haven't gained enough traction to get into serious contention and thus need to spend their time arguing their theory of the case.

As shown by his qualification for the Alabama ballot and his 4% (and 5th highest name recognition) in Morning Consult's flash poll, Bloomberg is coming into the race as a "Why?" candidate. Unlike a Steyer of Delaney who has to spend tens of millions of dollars just to be recognized, Bloomberg can approach the race much more like a Warren, starting with a low level of support but able to drain cash directly into answering why they should be someone's candidate of choice.

What I can't understand is Bloomberg's approach to the race. I, and a lot of other people judging by this forum's reaction and the Morning Consult poll, really need to hear the answer to the question of "Why?" If you are a moderate, why not support Biden or Buttigieg? If you feel that being a billionaire is important, why not support Steyer? Bloomberg and his immense wealth could attempt to make an argument, but by staying out of the race he is leaving that by the wayside. And, if he enters later, he will have an immense amount of ground to cover just to make that case quickly to potential voters.

I don't like slapping the label of being entitled to candidates who are actively campaigning for the presidency, but I can't help but feel some air of entitlement from Bloomberg here as he seems to think that people will just flock to him if he decides he wants to run later on.

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

Strong endorsements of Bloomberg from Rahm Emanuel at Politico, and Bret Stephens at the NYT.

Both make me feel like they're pitching the same arguments Republicans used (and still use) to justify their support for Donald Trump, only with the Republican scratched out and "Democrat" scribbled in in its place. I think Stephens sums it up best, when he says,

The Democratic base will not sit out the election and squander its chances to oust Trump just because Bloomberg’s wealth offends them or because they won’t vote for a candidate who doesn’t embrace the Green New Deal.

I will be proud to reject both old white Republican New York billionaires on any ballot.

I don't know if there is any Democrat whose endorsement is less likely to make me support a candidate than Rahm

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

In the modern primary politics era, a late entry only makes sense if a front-runner unexpectedly leaves the race for whatever reason that might be.

[jimrtex]

Would be better if Bloomberg, Steyrer and Biden all drop out, let other more competent people do the job and donate 100 Mio. $ to the DNC for a 50-state GE campaign ...

That's illegal.

[TrumpBritt24]

https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/1194306543984037889

[GeneralMacArthur]

This isn't news, he did this five days ago...

[TrumpBritt24]

This isn't news, he did this five days ago...

Yes, but this is his first personal acknowledgment of running an actual campaign as compared to the rumor that this was a precautionary measure of some sort.

[Tender Branson]

We don't need hundreds of those threads.

Once he officially files with the FEC, he's IN.

[Mr. Morden]

Once he officially files with the FEC, he's IN.

I haven't looked into this on my own to verify, but according to various people in the relevant Wikipedia talk section, (link), filing in Alabama requires a declaration on the form that you are a candidate for the office in question.  If that's the case, then by any dictionary definition, isn't he a candidate, regardless of whether he's also declared that on any other documents or public fora?

[HillGoose]

Hell ya brah let's gooooooooo