this Narcissist is determined to be the next Borgia pope.
Recall his Marie Antoinette moment (one of many), when he threatened NYC that ir taxes are raised on billionaires "they will leave New York. And another high moment when hizzoner felt it was better for poor kids to get lead poisoning from lead paint than to impose inspections on the real estate industry. ("Let them eat cake, anyone?"). Or, "The City needs more billionaires, not less (sic)".
What a golden age, his 12 year dictatorship was!
2
Not sure why there is so much objection to Mr Bloomberg spending his own money on his campaign. Seems better than begging money from special interests or pandering with unrealistic promises to the folks on Main Street.
He also had a good record as Mayor of NYC - got elected three times. Not to mention that he built a business empire on his own and doesn’t have parades of ex-employees or business associates with grudges against his business practices (like you know who). Can’t think of a better use for his money than removing Trump from office.
5
There is one move that Michael Bloomberg can do that would be evidence of a dramatic action that would give weight to the sincerity of his apology for his stand on “Stop and Frisk!” It would be to offer to pay forward the court costs and fines that will otherwise keep thousands of ex-felons from regaining the right to vote granted by overwhelming votes to pass Amendment Four. Unfortunately, this Florida legislature enacted laws to counteract this will of Florida voters that essentially amounts to an overt voter suppression poll tax! Considering that some ten percent of Florida residents are ex-felons, and that the margin of victory for Governor and Senate was far less than one percent, the outlined proposal will most likely assure victories for candidates who truly best represent the will and best interest for Florida residents! Not only that, the initiative for send a very strong signal to African American voters, who were most adversely impacted by “Stop and Frisk” that Michael Bloomberg has their best interest at heart in multiple states.
2
I have three questions...
1. Is Bloomberg officially in the Nevada debate?
2. How many Democratic debates are scheduled after Nevada?
3. In which states, (along with their dates), will Bloomberg listed on the ballot?
Thank you.
Certainly Bloomberg is better than Trump, but somehow buying the election on the left is as bad as buying it on the right. I hope Bloomberg keeps his promise to message Trump into oblivion, but I can think of at least two remaining candidates who I'd prefer those messages would support. Still, I'll be standing with any Democrat over Trump. Any!
23
Since when does the Constitution say: "For the plutocrats, by the plutocrats?" Bloomberg's campaign is an obscenity and more poison fruit from the Supreme Court's inability to tell money from speech.
Will we vote for a racist, anti-feminist billionaire just because he can lie on more TV commercials than anyone else?
5
Ugh. Just ugh.
Bloomberg has always been coddled by the press. Does anyone see a connection between him being a media mogul and the soft coverage he has always received? He is connected, he has friends in media places.
I mean, duh.
3
Purchased loyalty is the worst kind of loyalty.
3
So when are we going to hear about his programs? Money isn't everything!
2
Bloomberg is exhibit A of why money should be taken out of politics and there should be public funding and public debates for a duration of not longer than six months, with literally billions at his disposal and an ego large enough to spend it on a vanity project: a prima facia example of how terribly huge money can distort reality is this columns comments, with Mikes very well paid Army working 24/7 commenting and attempting to command the narratives there is absolutely no way to know what comments are real and what are planted by his workforce, not to mention his own media empire. I feel from now out I will pay little attention to the unlikely and unprecedented volume of “likes” that miraculously occur for positive comments about Mr. Mike.
5
Would like to see MSM talk about Bloomberg’s philanthropic impact. He hasn’t only shelled out big sums for the campaign.
2
Nothing is sadder than those who look to a billionaire to save them. The biggest problem with our democracy is that too many people lack any sense of agency and are looking for a savoir. NEWS FLASH: That person doesn't exist.
3
Three points:
1) I feel like he is by-passing the vetting process.
2) He's making the presidency into something that can be bought.
3) How can a guy that does this have any understanding about what life is like for the average citizen (who has to stand in line with everyone else and who worries about household finances)?
He is a strong candidate but his campaign strategy puts me off.
2
This really makes the case for public financing of federal elections. It's unfair to competitors and suggests that he need not be responsive to the public. This is the opposite of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who must convince voters to finance their campaigns.
5
I am 63 yrs old. I recently attended a meeting organized by the Bloomberg Team to discuss his views on Health Care. He & Warren are the only Dem candidates with offices in this city.
I don't know if he is my "favorite" but I felt I simply must get involved because of the terrifying thought of 4 more years of Trump. Bloomberg is certainly a smart and successful candidate who I believe has many good and forward thinking ideas. I was impressed with his reported views on health care and even more impressed (!) that even if he does not get the nomination all paid staffers (not me) will be on the payroll til November to support whoever is the Dem Nominee. We simply must defeat Trump and I am impressed by Bloomberg. I absolutely wish money didn't govern this country & our politics... but apparently it does!
We simply must not have some purity test in looking for a candidate - 4 more years of Trump and we will not recognize our country. Just check the last week's news if you doubt it. Or any from the last 3+ years.
7
Bloomberg showed who he really is when he strong-armed the NY city council to let him run for a third term, his tone-deafness about complaints over stop-and-frisk, and finally his singular focus on turning Manhattan into an island for the rich using tax subsidies.
He would make a fine moderate Republican, a Democrat he is not (and in fact wasn't until he ran for mayor).
5
Aren’t the skeptics forgetting why Bloomberg got in the race in the first place? It looks to me like he saw what so many of us saw as we watched Joe Biden stumble forward week after week. I was a Warren supporter in 2016 when she made the serious mistake of deferring to HRC, and I like Amy. Winning, however, is everything. I took a chance and voted for Mike in our primary but could be wrong and have told him via twitter to listen to Mara Gay and show some humility as he confronts “stop and frisk.” I want him to lead a national conversation on race but assume the experts will not allow that in 2020. Nonetheless, he is going to hear from me and others that he better be better prepared to answer the tough questions next week or no amount of money will win him the nomination. If he can’t persuade people in debates that he is the real deal, he will fail. He should know better than most people that the marketplace is unforgiving. The dogs don’t take the packaging into consideration when digging into the dog food.
3
Money can't buy you love.
3
I could not help but see the contrast with the other supposed billionaire - actually in the White House.
If I remember right, he hardly spent any of his millions - save for his Trump jet.
And overall, he spent half of Hillary did in her losing campaign.
You decide who is a better manager and a better candidate for America.
I also can't help but wonder if our POTUS in 2016 had pulled this stunt with "money as a waterfall".
The media and pundits would have been apoplectic.
Not to mention charges that Russians secretly funding his campaign.
I guess if a Democrat billionaire does it - it's a good news copy.
If a Republican were to do it - the news copy would scream - our Republic is threatened.
Different folks - different strokes - and for sure, different headlines.
Sorry to disappoint you, but Bloomberg has been a Republican and now a Democrat. So take your pick.
2
The time has come for Bloomberg to step up to the microphone and answer tough (or any, really) questions from the press and potential voters. Buying the nomination is bad enough but coasting through with the only presentation of yourself through slick media ads is wrong.
10
The #Bloomberg2020 campaign hiring practices infuriate me, and not because of what they are paying entry level field organizers. I am a communications expert with over 20 years of experience in digital marketing.
When I interviewed with the campaign I told them I was available immediately to work 60 hours a week and have a history of volunteering for Democratic campaigns. I'm even a social media pioneer with thousands of followers on multiple platforms.
So why was I told that my qualifications were not relevant to the campaign even to be a field organizer? As the article here shows, those jobs are going to 22 year olds with little prior work experience.
Mike you are 78 on Valentine's Day. Happy Birthday. I am over 50. It may be a good idea to hire some field organizers who have a few years under their belts.
6
I like Bernie Sanders, and I think he would make a good President.
.
Accordingly, there is a suspicion of a billionaire buying the nomination, if not the presidency. That has been tried, and it did not turn out well.
.
But on the other hand...
.
Mayor Bloomberg has genuine credibility on gun control. He has been working on that for years, and he has put a pile of money, and effort and heart into it.
.
He has a credible record on issues that matter. He does fight for things that Democrats care about. He was a good mayor or a really big, complex city.
.
Right now, the GOP is running circles around the Democrats. They are so inept at social media. Only Senator Sanders, Mayor Buttigieg, and Andrew Yang seem intuitively good at it.
.
Then along comes Mayor Bloomberg.
He is seriously into media.
He has the resources to outspend the White House.
to outspend the GOP.
to outspend the Kremlin.
to outspend the oil companies.
to outspend Likud.
to outspend the House of Saud.
.
In short, he has the resources to do a first class job of beating the GOP at its own game.
.
And he has the media savvy to know how to do it.
It's tempting. Very tempting.
.
I would prefer Senator Sanders. He's the real article.
But Mayor Bloomberg wouldn't be a bad choice, either, and there is nothing fake about him, either.
.
Any of Senators Sanders, Klobuchar, Booker, Franken, Mayor Buttigieg, or Stacey Abrams would be a vast improvement on the present situation.
3
I was wondering why there was such a huge number of pro-Bloomberg comments on nearly every piece of media I have seen about him. Wonder no more. Fake, bought enthusiasm for a plutocrat Republican from supposed Democratic supporters comes off as very disingenuous. Can't Mike find actual supporters to write these comments? Maybe get more of the 0.01% to send in comments, at least they will seem more genuine. Also, why is a racist Republican running in the Democratic primary? I mean, aside from giving the election to Trump if he is the candidate.
3
Blloomberg is winning my vote. He's a smart, successful leader who has actually done more than the other candidates to address major issues. He's putting his resources and his many talents in the defense of Democracy. For example, he invested more than any other candidate in 2018 to assure the election of enough Democrats to retake the majority in the House. Today, his messaging is doing more to make the case against Trump than the other candidates. Furthermore, he'll support down ticket candidates to assure a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate in 2020 and 2022 and 2024 and 2026 and beyond.
4
Calling all tax experts:
Remember when Hank Paulson became GWB's Sec of Treasury? He had about $600 million of unrealized gain in his Goldman Sachs stock, which he had to divest. I recall that there is a law, or special ruling from the IRS, that allowed him to sell the stock to comply with his divestiture requirement, without having to pay tax on the gain. This of course was a huge benefit to Paulson.
So my questions are:
1. If Bloomberg became President, would he have to sell his interest in Bloomberg LP? Or was Paulson's situation particular to being Sec of Treasury.
2. If Bloomberg had to sell, would he be eligible for that same "no tax" deal? If so, that would be the biggest tax break of all time, as Bloomberg must have tens of billions in unrealized gain in his LP interest.
2
Selling his interest in Bloomberg LP is the $64 billion question (give or take a billion or two).
Would he *want* to sell? I doubt it. Would he *have* to sell to distinguish himself morally from the current occupant? Absolutely.
If he isn’t asked this question when he makes his first debate appearance I’ll be amazed.
3
I have read that Bloomberg will save five billion if his "wealth tax," rather than the one proposed by Sanders, were enacted. That makes this run a good business investment.
2
Now THAT is a REAL billionaire, not a self-proclaimed and lying one...Bloomberg will return this country to its sanity, its calm, global respect and dial down all the hatred - he incites calm, not outrage and is exactly what this country desperately needs right now.
210
@Mr. Mike
Does this country need an oligarchic ruler? The fact that people like Mr. Mike cannot see how Bloomberg, with his billions and largesse to countless politicians, essentially BUYS influence -aka legalized bribery, is what will put the final nail in the coffin of whatever democracy we have left, for this sets a very dangerous precedence.
Welcoming the "benevolance" of one billionaire to deliver us from another (supposed) billionaire, is, as a Turkish proverb goes, the trees voting for the axe, because its handle is made of wood.
38
@Sean Politics is legalized bribery, period. that Bloomberg can totally snub everyone with the promise of campaign cash makes he free and clear of lobby efforts, long-term campaign influence AND utterly transparent in his peros al financial dealings - have you see Trumps tax returns yourself? No, I didn't think so...
21
@Sean he is independent, as opposed to those politicians beholden to the likes of the Koch bros and big corporations. I’ll take Bloomberg any day
28
I don't see what is wrong with Bloomberg paying a living wage to his staffers. A campaign job is stressful, temporary and hours are often greater than 8 hours a day.
Political campaigns must live up to their own political platforms.
8
If Bloomberg wants to help the country, he should spend his considerable fortune to help take back the Senate for the Democrats. It's McConnell who needs to be stopped, moreso that Trump.
2
I’d bet he’s building political infrastructure in those swing senatorial seats to do just that.
2
Smart man. If he pulls this off, I, for one, will be eternally grateful.
5
Unfortunately, Mike Bloomberg occupies a political no man’s land. His taped comments about minorities and crime shows there is no place for him in today’s Democratic Party...and although he may peel off some Trump supporters for that stance, his positions on guns, abortion and taxes put him far to the left of today’s Republican Party.
But how can you feel bad for someone with 60 billion dollars?
3
I see Bloomberg as a breath of fresh air. He wants to increase taxes significantly on the wealthy, and use those funds to grow the middle class and do something about the environment, without contorting himself into some sort of victim or woke savior and without resorting to some kind of emotional or identitarian appeal.
He's a logical, no-nonsense guy, and he wants the same things that 95% of Democrats want. He's just less about the theater and more about the business of actually getting it done.
5
I support a liberal candidate but fear some individuals don’t understand the restrictions that will be placed on that candidate. MB can be seen as moderate, is intelligent, has integrity, experience in public service, can’t be bought with ‘expected favors’, but most I importantly I don’t believe he is doing this for himself but for the American people.
6
Litmus tests of a presidential candidate that divert attention from the main issue will keep the devil with his hands on the throats of America. No one is all things to all people. The key point is finding a candidate who will benefit the American people rather than simply himself and his buddies. Bloomberg is most likely to do an infinitely better job as President than the current holder of that position has demonstrated for the last several years.
4
So if Bloomberg becomes POTUS he's going to dissolve his business empire as well so no conflicts of interest or feeding at the trough, especially Bloomberg news? Or since because he's a Democrat and his cause therefore righteous, no need to muzzle this ox threshing wheat? I can't wait to see what the shoe on the other foot looks like.
1
Yes! He can defeat this hideous man in the Oval Office! And, Yes! He will spend millions of his own money to accomplish the objective. We desperately need him and his enlightened policies and leadership, period. Please, let's not over think this, people.
5
Bloomberg is going to be what’s needed to rid the country of Trump.
4
Too bad for humankind when money can buy stomachs, hearts, minds and morales
When Mayor Mike made his first bid for Cityhall, his campaign sent transitor radios exclusively tuned to Bloomberg News to the male electorate.
Will swag and snacks sway the vote?
1
"A waterfall of cash." That just about says it all.
3
Oh no, we can’t allow someone who was massively successful based on their ideas and hard work be president! How unfair would THAT be?!
[\sarcasm]
Unlike Trump, any business owner on earth would hire Mike Bloomberg in the blink of an eye.
3
The fanfare has also drawn some who don’t plan to vote for the billionaire. “Don’t get me wrong, I like Mike Bloomberg,” said Ramon Vivas, who attended Mr. Bloomberg’s Miami rally in January and wore one of the free shirts bearing that message, along with two Bloomberg buttons. “But I don’t think he’s going to get the nomination, and I support Bernie.”
Still, Mr. Vivas said he thought the Democratic Party had “moved too far to the left”
Does this guy Vivas have a clue?? He likes Bernie, but the party has moved too far to the left?? And Bloomberg is not his favorite because he is ... what ... too centrist??
Some people say they make their choice because like a candidate's ... HAIR.
And then there is the Cult of Trump.
People like that actually get to vote.
INCREDIBLE. (No wonder a person like the tweetie bird in the White House can get elected.)
1
Whatever it takes. Fight fire with fire.
4
I just listened to Bloomberg’s speech on his Greenwood Initiative in which he spells out his proposals for uplifting black Americans. (Bloomberg.com under Plans/Economic Justice for Black Americans). At 28:15, he notes that the “election of our first black African American VICE president” did not repair hundreds of years (and counting) of injustices perpetrated upon black Americans. Huh? Up till that moment, it was an inspiring speech proposing innovative ideas. Now I wonder if he is just another patronizing white guy with a subconscious inability to fully acknowledge black achievement.
2
It’s a long speech and if that’s the only mistake, I’d give him a break and not let it affect your decision. We all make silly mistakes time to time.
1
I’ll vote for Mike Bloomberg or any other Democrat as long as we can DUMP TRUMP 2020!
3
The coolest thing - none of it came from special interests, or mega donors expecting quid pro quo for their bucks.
And why not? he made his money, he's a self made man. Why not allow a successful self made person to run? he has proven he can succeed, don't we all want that?
Maybe it should become a rule that candidates should either be self financed, or if not, government financed with a tini budget.
That way we can avoid special interests paying for the best candidate money can buy.
3
Really looking forward to the first debate with Bloomberg versus Bernie. Talk about an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force and two completely different factions of Democrats facing off.
3
@Constantinople
I don't know that I would consider a cranky old man with a bad ticker and limited mathematical skills to be either an immovable object or an unstoppable force.
@Constantinople Bloomberg is a Republican. He endorsed George W. Bush.
1
For all the talk of Bloomberg's money, he'd still be one of the best candidates in the field, his warts and all. The fact that he can spend his way out of the Democratic primary noise doesn't change that fact. We probably should be grateful that he can spend a lot of his own money and is willing to.
I now look forward to a Bloomberg/Warren ticket.
4
Or...
Bloomberg/Klobuchar
Bloomberg/Harris
1
Bloomberg/Yang!
Bloomberg is not my top choice, but I would relish watching him at a debate with Trump, waving copies of his tax returns while asking Trump where his are, and why they aren't there.
8
Bloomberg is not my top choice, but I would relish watching him at a debate with Trump, waving copies of his tax returns while asking Trump where his are, and why they aren't there.
3
Bloomberg is not my top choice, but I would relish watching him at a debate with Trump, waving copies of his tax returns while asking Trump where his are, and why they aren't there.
3
Good for Bloomberg and his plans to buy the White House. I will not vote for him. I've been a Democrat all my life, and generations of my family before me were considered yellow-dog Democrats, but they would never recognize the Democratic Party these days in its Clintonian incarnation.
Bernie Sanders would have been a very recognizable type to them--and I'm talking about a bunch of forebears who adored Eisenhower but wouldn't vote for him because he was in the wrong party. Sanders more resembles the Democrat who led them out of the Great Depression than any registered Democrat on the Democratic campaign stage now.
I have close friends who were lifelong Republicans until Trump's campaign. They were so upset by the meanness of that campaign that they changed their voter registration in North Carolina to "Unaffiliated." They will vote for Bernie Sanders, as will I. I have no idea what the liberal news media are thinking these days, but my impression is that they have stopped thinking and have defaulted to pushing Establishment types. I will cease being a Democrat next year if my party impedes Sander's campaign again, as I am sure it will.
Just as my formerly GOP friends have been pushed out of their party, I apparently am being pushed out of mine.
5
Well, to be fair, if you’re a Sanders supporter you’re technically a Democratic Socialist, not a Democrat. We need a pragmatic, centrist leader who can first and foremost win the election, and secondly win over the remaining (or hidden) centrist Republicans in Congress. It’s not enough to propose change; you have to be able to implement it as well. Barak Obama squandered his first two years seeking compromise with Republicans who found his policy proposals too left leaning. How do you think Sanders will fare against Mitch McConnell’s Republican Senate? I suspect not so well; whereas Bloomberg has a shot at winning some of those battles.
2
I like Mike.
Bloomberg seems to me to be the General Eisenhower of this game. He is a breath of fresh air and a model of precision planning. Meanwhile with the others we have a litany of "Firsts," such as "the first to be most electable woman" (Warren), "the first democratic socialist with a first in poor health and the first to be oldest" (Sanders), "the first next-to-oldest candidate who won his first election running against the age of his opponent (67)" (Biden), "the first openly gay man to run for president" (Buttigieg), "the first to be second most electable woman" (Klobuchar).
All of these "Firsts" have barely acknowledged that their election is for naught without retaking a majority in the McConnell Senate. General Bloomberg, however, has acknowledged this and given over $20 million to senate campaigns. The same goes for House candidates, to whom Bloomberg has given $80+ million.
Bloomberg is generating a tsunami of support and resources for a broadband assault on the Republican establishment, "Boss" Trump, and the firehose blast of liquified bushwa coming out of the Trump Tweeting Machine.
It's time for the democrats to start hanging together, otherwise they will most assuredly hang separately. Then, after they have taken the Senate, the House, the Presidency, and have taken back the majority of governorships and state legislatures, then and only then should they get back to the "Me Firsts" and alienating segments of their constituency.
I like Mike.
7
Why do Americans believe only billionaires can save us? It’s like calling the arsonist to put out the fire he stoked. Of course I will vote for Bloomberg if he is the nominee, but we’ve already seen one “billionaire”, immune to criticism and unaccountable to the public because he uses his own cash and is “independent”, putting his boot on the necks of the poor and middle class. If Bloomberg is the nominee, my heart will bleed for what this country has become. We used to be a country that believed in government and the prestige of a government job. We used to be a country that pulled together to get through the Depression and two World Wars. Now there is the collective sentiment that we must rely on the people who destroyed the system to save us from it, and that is just...heartbreaking. I hope we can be better than this.
3
Sanders is offering free health care to all, free college, elimination of all college loans even though he has no idea how to pay for it.
So who is really trying to buy the election?
9
Sanders is presenting his vision of how to make America a greater country. Bloomberg is literally buying the election no matter how much of a manipulative comment you made.
I have mixed feelings. Does money always corrupt? If we don’t want rich people to buy elections, which they do anyway, we need liberal democratic majorities. Money can do great and terrible things. The policies and integrity seem more important.
3
Bloomberg is better than Trump. That should be the one and only litmus test this year for any Democratic candidate.
5
Big money and politics is a bad mix. I oppose Citizens United and I oppose Michael Bloomberg. Who has more money has nothing to do with who should be President.
3
So sad to see people saying (on multiple platforms) that they think Bloomberg is a good candidate precisely because he has a lot of money, that that's what it will take to oust Trump. People are so disenfranchised, a condition that Bloomberg is nakedly exploiting. Very sad. Bloomberg winning would be another chapter of this current dystopia, nothing more.
5
Thank you, Mike Bloomberg, for your patriotism. There is a LOT of justified cynicism today about greed for power, but your enormous expenditure may just possibly save this democracy from demise under Trump. I, for one, thank you. You may actually end up our only hope.
5
I guess a self made billionaire is a bad thing to the snowflake generation who thing they should get free everything and let someone else pay for their college and healthcare. I am grateful that a man of his caliber cares enough to spend his money on trying to help our country. Haters gonna hate but I love his message and he deserves to debate Trump and see what dignity and class look like.
3
America is at a political and critical crossroad for a decision on who will beat Trump in just 9 months.
Sure, Bloomberg has alot of money and is spending it. And, yes, there has been comments which might be racially based or inferred. But, let him explain those comments in the context of the time..and the horrific safety issues that many of "all' colors had to endure. In the end, the crime problem was resolved and felonies are down substantially from before.
That said, Trump was the verbal instigator for so many racist comments. We know Trump is a racist. The Justice Department back in the 1980's fined Trump organization for racial discrimination in housing.
Mike Bloomberg is the only candidate equipped both with funding and a "sharp tongue" to take on not just Trump, but the Russian Trolls, the NRA and the deep pockets of those who received trillion in tax relief (the deficit last year was the highest in any year previously).
No body is perfect, but, Bloomberg will have my vote because hopefully he will prevail...and the sealed indictments possibly pending against Trump for income tax fraud will be un-sealed and a hearing before Federal Judge Jackson (Stone's judge) will be forthcoming...wouldn't that be a payback!
5
Mr. Bloomberg is willing to spend a lot of his massive wealth to rid us of Mr. Trump, and replace the current administration's hate and corruption with policies I agree with - gun control, environment, fair taxation, etc. Sounds good to me.
7
Mike Bloomberg is sane. He puts his money into addressing serious problems such as climate change. He's smart and tough. He's for $15.00 per hour (though it should be higher). He surrounds himself with competent people.
Is he perfect? No. Is anyone? No. But is he a malignant narcissist who is cruel and petty like the current occupant of the White House? No. Does he pay attention to scientists and other experts? Yes. Is he a real success? Absolutely. He's everything Trump is not. And if he is spending his own money, that means he doesn't have to sell us out to oil companies, pharma companies, coal companies, obesity (I mean food) companies.
I will happily vote for him over Trump. Happily. Never forget that Moses was raised as the son of the Pharoah - sometimes you need someone who is privileged and rich to help the rest of us - he can show us how possible things really are.
4
Sorry Mr. Moneybags. In a post 2016 environment, no matter how big your coffers are, grassroots energy is king.
3
@The Buddy
Hey, let me finish that sentence for you:
"In a post 2016 environment, no matter how big your coffers are, grassroots energy is king... on twitter, and the NYT Comment pages. Elsewhere, not so much."
Hillary Clinton proved in 2016 you can outspend your opponent ten to one and still lose the general election...Mike Bloomberg is going to add further evidence this year that it holds true.
1
Can we please stop with the canard that Bloomberg is buying his way into the presidency? Every candidate has to buy his/her way into the presidency. That is how our system works.
If you want a horror story about buying the presidency, look at the $200 million the GOP has at the ready to spend to buy Trump a second term. That $200 million is already on-hand. When the Democrat candidate is finally decided then the GOP can start its serious fund raising.
Yes, Mr. Bloomberg, spend, spend, spend. And thank you for doing so with your own money.
I'd bet you have very long coattails too. We need a strong Senate and House Democrat majority to even begin to repair the damage Trump has done to our representative democracy, our allies, and to the environment.
Bloomburg is the only Dem who can motivate the kind of turnout among all demographics that are needed to overcome the grotesque bias of the Electoral College.
Bloomberg is the one.
8
As mentioned in the comments of another column about MB, FDR was also a rich (not self-made but mostly from mom), New York politician. Like MB he also appeared to spend lavishly on getting elected: "In one early election campaign, Roosevelt outspent his opponents 5-to-1"... but FDR was also responsible for the Social Security Act "after sending a special message to Congress on June 8, 1934, that promised a plan for social insurance as a safeguard 'against the hazards and vicissitudes of life.'. I don't see something like that in Trump's legacy. Yes, the amount of money in politics is grotesque but the system is what it is at this moment in history.
If Democrats had a majority in the senate (or was guaranteed one in this year's election) I might not be as polemic about MB. But Trump "owns" the majority of the three branches of American government right now. That has to change this year and I think MB has the best chance of winning.
8
The idea that someone is inherently flawed or corrupt because they are rich is absurd. The questions are not if they are rich; but how did they get rich? and what are they doing with their money? I have no problem with how Bloomberg became rich (he formed is own company) and I support what he does with his money (he has given away half his wealth, and now he is using it to defeat Trump!). These moral and fiscal purity tests the Dem candidates is really becoming a major issue, ESPECIALLY when the other party is what it is. Regardless, vote for whoever the Dem nominee is, all are not perfect, but are light years beyond what we got now.
13
Doesn't take a big brain to figure this out. The people with all the money are the people who don't share enough. All wealth everywhere can be traced to unpaid wages somewhere else.
A society with even minimal economic justice needs no philanthropy. The rich are trying to buy places in heaven, says this atheist
1
"Best government money can buy."
3
A rich people against a rich people , establishment win . Fear of Bernie Sanders that's why Bloomberg is partecipating .
3
Good. Mike is a smart hard working no nonsense guy. He’s the exact opposite of trump in every way.
9
Bloomberg will go by way of Biden. Just watch. The only ones who care about his candidacy are the elite and the media.
4
I really don’t care how much he spends so long as we get Trump out of the White House. Unless you are a Trump supporter , I don’t get why people are upset and yelling all over the place about big money and unfairness. These are not normal times!
12
I am not going to vote for an oligarch.
3
@john I hope if it’s Michael or Trump you’ll pull the lever for Mike
1
Why shouldn’t he go first class all the way? Bloomberg is everything Trump wants to be, and the kick to all of this is that Bloomberg is self made and actually cares about America and Americans. Trump had it handed to him on a silver platter and lost most of it, plus he could care less about America. He wants to be a dictator so he can lose what we have too. Bloomberg can destroy Trump and one can only hope.
12
Where do I apply?!?
Creating jobs (staffers, waiters, restaurants, pilots, etc.) & financing local artists...how does that not make an awesome President?
Sign me up.
7
Thanks but no thanks Mr. Bloomberg.
4
Why do we want oligarchs buying the Presidency?
5
Bloomberg has a proven record of donating billions to support middle class program
7
"Mike Will Get It Bought".
A campaign slogan for the times, since Citizens United.
6
I read a book back in the 60's titled The Selling of The President by an author named Sleshinger (sic). Like it's title it was all about the money spent during the Nixon/Kennedy cycle. At the time i was a teenager and I found this shocking that the most money wins.
Well that is just plain wrong. Our nation has had nothing but Rich old White guys hold that position. I guess Truman did not fit that description but a a toddler then i knew nothing.
The money race has continued and slowly our nation is achieving a new nadir with dueling billionaires vying for the top job.
we've had Roosevelt's. We've had Bushes. We've had Kennedys. All these rich families can date their morals with the ruling class of Babylon and Rome. Their hold on the populace of the world will finally finish because mankind has ruined the planet we inhabit.
2
I don't see this as buying an election at all. He is FUNDING his bid to be elected. Big difference.
If he's on the ballot, you choose. There's no buying in choice.
16
Bloomberg seems to be an excellent executive, smart and sensible, with a generally liberal worldview. His time as mayor of New York shows him to be a highly successful manager, who got many good results, and generally improved the city.
But one huge caveat. The improvements and benefits mostly fell to the upper middle class and wealthy. New York is a great place to live if you're either well-off or young with the potential to soon be well-off. If you're poor or from one of our marginalized classes, you'll struggle to get a good paying job and to cover your rent—and you might get thrown up against a wall and frisked just because you don't look like one of the successful people to which the city caters.
Through much of the 1990s and 2000s, America too has been a great place for the upper middle class and wealthy. For the less well-off majority, however, it's been an increasingly tough place to get along—with stagnant or even declining living standards. A lot of people struggle to meet basic expenses, with lousy jobs or no job at all, and ever increasing expenses and debt.
Can Bloomberg shift to using his managerial skills to serve the rest of America—the kinds of people he had stopped and frisked or whose needs he ignored—while making New York great for the successful classes? Much of what he's said in the past doesn't show much empathy for those who aren't successful—nor much understanding of their lives and challenges.
Can Bloomberg find his inner Warren?
58
@617to416
Good points. However, one of his goals is a $15.00 minimum wage. That alone is a start in the right direction. Was not a huge fan of his time in NY, but he did do some good.
6
@John
Yes, he's always been for modest increases to the minimum wage—but adamantly against laws like living wage laws or laws that require mandatory paid time off or health care benefits. A little for the working poor, but not a lot.
It's certainly not Elizabeth Warren. At least not yet.
I do think he has done some (maybe even much) good—and has the managerial skills to get things done. I just hope that if he is the nominee he shows more understanding of and empathy toward the real challenges so many poorer Americans face—and that he addresses those challenges more aggressively than he has in the past. A $15 minimum wage is a small start in the right direction, but it's hardly enough to solve the actual problem.
6
@617to416
If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's most likely a duck.
So the answer to your question would be a definitive 'No.'
Fascinating imagery. So are we to assume that "Mike" is a Kennedy-Democrat? If so, then I'm confused. Wasn't he a Republican mayor?
Hey, look, I get that the man is complex and contradictory and that he can afford to be. At this stage his decision to finance his own campaign is hugely impressive. Sends a good message. He will not be denied.
In a way, I feel kind of sorry for the other Democrats. It just feels like they are spinning their wheels. He is completely exploiting the fact that a divided Democratic party will hand the election to Trump. He is a force the party has no choice but to reckon with.
27
@PeterW they are spinning their wheels as usual the Democratic run and hide regarding any controversial issues. You’ve heard none of them praise Obama- now Bloomberg out there in commercials with Obama praising him. Bloomberg‘s out there talking about gun safety he’s taking on the controversial issues that Dems run and hide from
6
What’s your point? Warren was a Republican, Bernie isn’t a Democrat, Hilary campaigned for Republicans when in college, and on and on. I feel sorry for, and am leery of, anyone who is fully wedded to dogma...Exhibit A being Republicans these days, perhaps excepting Mitt Romney.
Oh, and I went to the the launch of Bloomberg’s Boise HQ, where his longtime partner Diana Taylor spoke (eloquently and sincerely). No booze, no fancy spread, just a couple of veggie platters, one meat and cheese tray and a box of highly questionable looking donuts. Went back this week to work the phones, and same story, with no fancy phones and very basic laptops. I was impressed by the sorted recycling boxes and paper cups for our water, rather than bottles. This is a far cry from the lap of luxury described by the Times.
9
Sickening display by a billionaire caught on tape with racist remarks who changes parties when it's more convenient for him and only offers an apology, middling at best, when it's unavoidable.
No I'm not referring to "Stop and Frisk' Donald Trump, it's his buddy "Stop and Frisk" Mike Bloomberg. Flip sides of the same coin!
Never will I vote for either!!
11
@American Abroad if you truly believe Trump & Bloomberg are "flip sides of the same coin," that's just sad. Very sad. Nothing could be further from the truth.
8
@Anne
Like Trump, Bloomberg's wildly sexist too!
For example, ABC news reported, "Bloomberg’s use of lewd comments around co-workers fostered a frat-like culture at the company he founded and still owns. Quotes attributed to him in court filings include, "I’d like to do that piece of meat," and "I would DO you in a second."
You can read more if you can get your hands on a. copy of “The Portable Bloomberg”, a collection of his quotes assembled by his top staffers that contains sexist remarks and a company culture that degraded women
2
@Anne
And how are you so sure? Did you hear Bloomberg's utterly racist comments, backed by Those reveal far more to me about him than his slick ads!
And Bloomberg's massive "Stop and Frisk" policies he fervently supported, as a Republican, arguably did even more harm to minorities than Trump:
As Mayor, Bloomberg was responsible, between 2003 and 2013 for over 100,000 stops PER YEAR, with 685,724 people being stopped at the height of the program in 2011. The vast majority, 90% in 2017, of those stopped were African-American or Latino, most of whom were aged 14–24. Furthermore, 70% of all those stopped were later found to be innocent.
2
Hey Mike, let's cut out the middleman. You're squandering money (not that you care), but being a numbers guy, you know that for every dollar you spend only a pittance goes towards an actual vote. In the race for your illegal third term, you lavished about $180 per vote, and that only translated into a 5% victory over a your vastly overspent opponent Bill Thompson. My suggestion to you is just send everyone a coupon, redeemable at the polls; I'd say $100 would do it without making an appreciable ding to your fortune. This way you could spend your valuable time in Bermuda until November without dragging yourself from fete to fete in your personal jet.
8
I’d rather know that staff is valued and that the guy running the show is employing the best talent. That takes resources. Let’s contrast this to the Trumpers handing out cash to minorities at the Occupant’s rallies.
1
Keep it coming.Bloomberg is the one to beat trump.
11
@susan mccall He better clean up his message on stop and frisk as one white voter that disturbs me very much
2
Maybe Mr. Bloomberg could buy Fox News.
24
In 2016 I campaigned for Bernie.
Not this time. We are in an historic crisis. There's no time to whine, carry on about petty things...like big-money in a campaign, etc. Put that aside for this election. Mike may be the one and only who can beat djt. Mike has been a republican, a democrat and an independent. Who does that? That alone is a chance to win votes because he would appeal to all tribes. He's extremely wealthy making him a *perfect match* to compete with the attitudes of the king. Think carefully about that and the heart in Bloomberg's campaign. He knows we are in trouble. His better angels are in his spending big to get the king out. People, our democracy is slowly withering on the vine. We need a radical contender to end the reign. Mike Bloomberg's goal is to do just that. PLEASE, Vote with the big picture in mind. We cannot have a revolution or gender bias in this moment. That will come again soon if we do it right this time.
20
The Sanders campaign is inspiring young voters to get passionate about policies that can create a sustainable, livable future. Come join us! Increase representative democracy with us! We don’t need to give power away to yet another oligarch.
I say if you got it why not spend it? What we are talking about here is chump change to Bloomberg. Trump must be sweating bullets.
12
And Bloomberg actually has a chance of winning back certain Republican donors. Depriving Trump of funding going into November is just as important as supporting the Democratic candidate. Let’s win back the middle!
I’m with Mike!
4
He's paying a living wage. I thought that's what Democrats want.
18
@Reasonable Person #exactly
2
@Reasonable Person
They're temp workers.
2
He doesn't trust Trump and he doesn't trust Sanders or Warren so he feels he's going to do the job himself
7
This article has spent way more words on the higher pay in bloomberg campaign than it should. I can't say the same for his campaign though.
1
In an election with voters allegedly motivated to preserve our democracy, personal-wealth-based campaigns feel more like SNL skits than something to be taken seriously.
"Mike Will Get it Done" sounds a lot like "Make America Great Again". It is not that these are both backwards-looking, it is that they are both vacuous and egomaniacal. The ads showing Obama praising Bloomberg (or Bloomberg's money, it is hard to say which) seems to be using a clip from 2013. Obama left office in 2017. It seems telling that he could not find anything more recent to use.
Ross Perot was a fine protest campaign against two problematic candidates. His campaign should have been a one-hit wonder, not the start of a trend.
4
@Alan The commercials with Obama are awesome too many of the democratics are afraid to use Bill Clinton or Obama they run and hide
1
Let’s all hope Bernie does not accept any billionaire Bloomberg campaign assistance should Bernie be victorious in the primary battle.
5
Stop crying about Bloomberg and Trump's money. You think the career politicians running got their wealth from their government salaries? Please!
8
@Jane Doe The average contribution to Bernie Sanders' campaign is $18.
To be clear: Bloomberg hires talent, pays good money for it, then treats them well with good food and lodging.
I can see why we all hate this man...
19
@Chris
They are temp positions.
Let's hear it for the gig economy! (NOT)
I just do not understand how the Democrats can support Bloomberg. If this audio of Bloomberg was Trump or any other candidate, the so called liberal media would be all over it. Analyzing every word in it. Calling him names and how he is not fit to be President. Then why is Bloomberg given a free pass. He is as bad as Trump.
2
He is sending plenty of money to my favorite youtubers as well. I always let his ads play to the end, with the volume muted, so the creators of the videos get as much money for the ad as possible. I watch a lot of youtube videos so taking full advantage on behalf of the creators I enjoy. I guarantee you none of them would be people he approve of.
5
Note that most people who are happy about a Bloomberg presidency are most happy NOT because Bloomberg brings any unique policies or positions (he was a republican that endorsed W. Bush and Giuliani and both him and Trump loved stop and frisk) but because he's even more of a billionaire than Trump. They just want to say our billionaire is richer than yours. They just believe the way to beat one billionaire is to run an even richer billionaire. Just as people were contemplating running Oprah for president simply because we needed an even bigger celebrity than Trump, now we're running an even bigger billionaire.
Bloomberg's campaign, more so than any other before, is really testing whether an election can be won simply by buying a massing operation and advertisement campaign. If it works, it will change our democracy possibly for a very long time.
10
In contrast to other candidates, Bloomberg gives me the impression that he really wants the job. He obviously is not naive about power.
He also can make inroads in the large base of Trump voters who want to vote for a strong man, and for which being strong means being rich. One may not agree with the opinions of this base, but it is out there, it is significant, and it may easily reelect Trump. As the Romans said 'divide and rule'.
He seems to be the only candidate that can stop Trump for sure.
6
I've felt for a while the Bloomberg could be he one to unseat Trump. The remaining democratic field isn't inspiring, even if they have good things to say on some points.
That said, I do worry that our presidency is going to become off limits to all who are not billionaires - concerning trend.
3
All major party candidates buy elections. It's just a matter of whose money they use. GW Bush used mom's Christmas card list. Obama used Wall Street and Silicon Valley bundlers. The policy we got was predictable because those presidents owed their office to those donors. We have no idea where Trump's money comes from but Russian and Saudi connections are strongly suspected and look what policy we're getting. At least Bloomberg is using his own money. The results will be much better.
7
@Andrew Bernie Sanders gets an average of 18 dollars from millions of Americans.
One can’t escape the irony of progressives, proponents of raising wages for all, are now complaining that Bloomberg campaign workers are being paid far above the competition, i.e. being treated more than fairly. It seems that nothing can satisfy progressive outrage, even when people benefit according to their own dogma. It also illustrates that Democrats simply do not understand competition, and that Democratic complaints about the economy not benefiting Americans are, as these complaints about Bloomberg, also untethered to reality.
6
@LTJ
I think you miss the point. It's not that he pays his workers well. That's all good. Except being able to do so also gives him a huge advantage that non-billionaires don't have. That's the problem—we have a system where the rich can afford to do what it takes to win while good (maybe better) candidates of more ordinary means can't compete. That's not healthy for a democracy.
4
@LTJ
So his campaign workers are being paid very well.
But the jobs are still part of the gig economy - which is not good for many people trying to eke out a decent living.
Let's remember that in 2016, Trump claimed that he was self-funding his campaign as well. If he contributed any of his own money to his campaign, we have no idea because he has not released any tax returns or financial statements. And even if he actually is kicking in some of his own money (doubtful), Trump's campaign most definitely takes donations from donors.
Compare to Mike Bloomberg -- I went to his website and there is no link for anyone to donate to his campaign. He is truly serious about self-funding. I don't see how this is a problem if it frees up donor money to go to other key races.
I like Mike!
11
Good luck to Mayor Bloomberg. It would be interesting to see a real billionaire in the White House. He has good relations with our allies and he'll appoint the best people available to cabinet posts.
7
Good for him and the people he is hiring.We could do a lot worse than Bloomberg! Actually,we have and it’s name is Trump! I would like the nominee to be Biden but I’ll vote for Bloomberg. He’s done some things I didn’t like but that was then and now we need to move on and defeat Trump and clean the swamp he has created in DC!
5
You might want to also report on the trump campaign.
Bloomberg may be a waterfall of cash. But we know where it’s coming from.
Trump on the other hand is an ocean of corruption, corporate, off shore and dark money that no one know where it comes from.
Vote my friends Bloomberg 2020. He’s the only person with both the abilities and yes, the resources to show trump the door.
7
This is a deplorable situation for the Democrats. On the one hand, Sanders is a superb candidate who still will not be able to appeal to a majority base of American voters (those people who vote Republican, against their own self-interests). And on the other hand, Bloomberg is running a vanity campaign, with no clear, content-base platform other than remove Trump from office.
5
This is scary, he is just buying the election.
This vastly different than fundraising. Fundraising has campaign donation caps specifically to prevent this type of behavior. The dishonest have figured out ways around this by engaging in super PACS and by using corporations and non-profits after the Citizens United case. Do not equate the two.
Voting for Bloomberg is like voting on Trump part 2. He is a billionaire. Do you think someone becomes a billionaire by spreading wealth or hoarding it? People can become billionaires because of the infrastructure and culture in America. And the profits should be more fairly distributed, via taxes, to all Americans!
6
An actual, self made billionaire can kneecap this phony president. The system may be rigged by money but at least Bloomberg's money is not dark money. What he is doing is not just campaigning for president but shining a light on what our system looks like in the light of day.
89
@AJ
BUT, the problem lurking in the shadows is that even if Bloomberg was the nominee and happened to defeat Trump, would he be committed to dealing with the neglected decades old issues that got Trump elected in the first place?
The time for "tinkering around" the edges is over, yet, I doubt Bloomberg will even try thus leaving an opening for a "Trump clone" in 2024.
@Deus If Trump wins re-election the Trump clone in 2024 will be Trump. And his name will be the only one on the ballot.
5
This is a vanity campaign because the billionaire realizes he can't take it with him totally distroying the democratic process of selecting a presidential candidate.
11
@moodygirl
I understand how being rich gives him the ability to hire people and spend money on ads. But how does he actually use the money to force people to vote for him? That's the part I don't understand. I also don't remember many Dems complaining about too much money in politics when Hillary was spending the most money, and everyone thought she'd win.
Democracy will survive.
4
@moodygirl I strongly disagree. He's using his money the way he always has - philanthropically. He's paying his people fair wages for hard work. He's continuing to make massive donations to issues central to his campaign like climate change, gun control, and gender equality. He's putting his money to good use and trying to change the direction of the country for the better.
5
@moodygirl you ARE talking about the current occupant of the White House, correct?
If only John D. Rockefeller had bought the election in 1932...this country could have avoided that evil "socialist" (FDR) from being elected President.
Instead, we ended up with those terrible policies like Social Security and the GI Bill.
24
@John Wow, you’ve managed to completely overlook the fact that FDR was a plutocrat with a progressive political agenda. Just like...oh yeah, that’s right...MIKE BLOOMBERG.
6
@Michael Hogan
FDR was a "class traitor" in a way that Bloomberg would NEVER be.
And by the way, his policy agenda is not "progressive" if it's premised on his buying the election with private cash, an asymmetrical advantage so obscene as to kill off whatever is left of American democracy from here on out. The Republicans are already well on their way in doing that... the Democrats shouldn't be helping them.
@Nick So you're going to grant the asymmetrical advantage to Trump? Great plan Nick. When you class warriors realize that we have to rid ourselves of Trump first, convincingly, and make progress toward taking back the Senate, before a single shred of your wish list is ever going to see the light of day? Bernie is DOA in the general. Hopeless.
1
Thanks for reporting on this and making the public aware – I am truly sickened by this wasteful, lavish spending, essentially to buy votes and loyal campaign workers who will sing Bloomberg’s praises. He could have done a world of good by spending all that money on ensuring the senate is majority Dems so real policy changes can actually take effect. If this is how foolishly he spends on just his campaign (and creating a 24/7 propaganda machine on the airwaves so everyone is force-fed his ads only), how can the public trust his judgment on spending wisely when he’s in the highest office? Or will he just continue to spend lavishly on high-end catering and swag and “buy loyalty” so people will do his bidding no matter what? And if they do his bidding, is it truly for the public good or for himself? How is he any different from Trump then? Trump buys loyalty through fear and bullying, and Bloomberg through high salaries and luxury perks. It is obscene to spend money like this when ordinary Americans can’t buy insulin and go bankrupt because of no healthcare, and even more obscene when you’re running for office. He is completely tone-deaf to how the public will perceive him through these actions – as just another entitled elitist paying off his loyalists and cronies to get his way and buying his way to being POTUS. I hope the other Dem candidates skewer him on this and pound this message into Democratic voters so they wake up to what he’s doing and who he really is.
15
@Mrs_I
Bloomberg is a Plutocrat who, even if elected, will do little or nothing to deal with the decades long neglect of important issues that got Trump elected in the first place.
5
@Mrs_I
This comment is beyond salvaging if you honestly can't tell the difference between Mike Bloomberg and Donald Trump.
5
I don’t care who or what.
If he’s the one to get it done then so be it.
I’d even donate money to add to his gazillions.
33
The other D candidates bring nerf bats to the fight.
The side show barker is slick with a knife and derringer.
Mike brings in heavy artillery to soften up the target before the main assault. Then you will see some fireworks.
He didn't get to 60 billion dollars plus by not knowing where and when to spend money judiciously.And to only hire the best and have the best media costs money.
Go Mike
26
@Lawrence
He got 60 billion dollars because our system is broken, not because he is clever or hardworking.
1
@Lawrence This is the fallacy that so many people blindly believe - that billionaires are somehow self-made uber-geniuses and therefore should rule the world (or be POTUS). They’re able to make and keep billions from corporate/tax/legal loopholes that greatly benefit them and no one else. Let’s not pretend that billionaires didn’t get massive help from these loopholes to get where they are.
Interesting, Not one featured story about Mr. Bloomberg's vile defense of the racist, authoritarian "stop and frisk" policy. Is there a reason for that?
8
@Richuz I'd rather have a candidate who has apologized for stop and frisk than a president who has committed crimes, whose underlings have been indicted and sent to prison, has sexually assaulted women (and then paid for silence) and gives the medal of freedom to a racist.
Bloomberg has shown the ability to listen, to learn, and to use his money to make things happen, like better gun legislation.
He's not perfect but he is way better than what's in the white house now.
4
@Richuz
Charles Blow has that covered fairly thoroughly. Odds are high that it will eventually sink his campaign, but perhaps not before his campaign alters the outcome of the race.
Trump keeps making fun of Bloomberg's short stature.
Mike should say the following:
"Why don't we both stand on our wallets and then see who's shorter"
18
@John
Men don't measure themselves by standing on their wallets. They stand toe to toe and eye to eye. Unless its Trump and Bloomberg. Then they just stand toe to toe.
1
I guess Trump can thank Bloomberg for our low unemployment rate.
1
This is exactly *the* event we needed to expose how ridiculous America's campaign finance laws are. We need a double-digit multi-billionaire, who can truly spend "whatever it takes" to win an election.
That makes it impossible for any oner Democratic contender (including single-digit billionaire Steyer) to match. Bernie, Pete, Amy having to raise no more than $2,500 (by law) from an individual are all handicapped.
There should have *never* ever been any limits on individual contributions to campaigns. a) it limits free political expression and b) the multi-billionaire can give infinitely to his campaign.
Maybe this will align the US with most other democracies who have no such ridiculous campaign finance law.
That may be the biggest contribution of the Iowa fiasco and of Bloomberg's campaign - exposing how ridiculous our election laws are.
6
At least it is his money - Bloomberg doesn't steal from the taxpayers like the family currently in office.
31
@Better American than Republican
He doesn't steal from the taxpayer? Bloomberg and others like him have spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying government against improving minimum wage laws, stronger consumer financial regulation, tax policy and stronger environmental rules and when in trouble, "socialize" their losses so the taxpayer ultimately "picks up the tab".
When. all of a sudden Bloomberg gives a speech decrying that there is too much inequality in America, it is HE and others like him who made a lot of their money on the backs of others largely creating the inequality in the first place.
4
It's such a shame that so much of our electoral system is controlled by private funding, especially when income and wealth inequality in this country is so severe.
Thanks, SCOTUS.
8
@Todd Bollinger
It's called the First Amendment. Do they no longer teach that at Starbucks U?
This is how Bloomberg bought his way to being mayor of NY.
he bribed his way onto the Republican ticket and managed to run for an outlawed third term by bribing the City Council to overturn the law the voters had twice voted for.
Why have democracy when you have billionaires?
14
Bloomberg’s campaign parachuted into Dayton and was offering $70k to $140K positions w/ benefits to activists in the black community. This is straight up vote buying. Trump is antithetical to democracy, and I’m afraid Bloomberg is looking more and more the same.
17
@Daniel Kamen So- you think it's fine for families earning $30,000 a year and income restricted seniors to part with their $5 (that would otherwise feed them) and not OK for someone to say "Keep your money". As far as campaign salaries- he's paying more and offering benefits that are commensurate with the same positions in the business sector, rather than expecting people to work for next to nothing and to forgo medical benefits for the cause?
6
One oligarch fighting another oligarch.. that is what the Supreme Court got us to
11
"But Mr. Trump, who is self-financing, didn’t need to genuflect to the big money, and it turns out that the base doesn’t mind his heresies. This is a real revelation, which may have a lasting impact on our politics."
Paul Krugman NYT 2015
Turns out in this case Paul Krugman was right .
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/opinion/paul-krugman-trump-is-right-on-economics.html
4
@Woof Trump didn't spend a lot of money on his run (what is considered "a lot" anyway); the media gave him plenty of air time because they thought he was a joke. Funny.
2
FDR's father spent millions to get him elected to Congress, Senate and eventually the White House
Michael Bloomberg earned his money. He founded a business from scratch and worked his tail off to turn it into a huge success and he created tens of thousands of jobs in the process.
He could spend his fortune on yachts or islands
Instead he's using it to defeat the worst president in the history of the United States of America.
God Bless Him
40
FDR's father was dead by then.
Perhaps you meant JFK.
Funny how some people cheer on some pro athlete that gets paid 100’s of millions of dollars to throw a ball around.
Then take exception to a highly qualified man like Micheal Bloomberg running for president to rid this country of a corrupt, morally bankrupt trump.
All because Micheal Bloomberg, as a self made man, is rich.
Get a grip folks, George Washington was one of the riches men in America at the time, and he didn’t do so bad.
31
@Steven This is the fallacy that so many people blindly believe - that billionaires are somehow self-made uber-geniuses and therefore should rule the world (or be POTUS). They’re able to make and keep billions from corporate/tax/legal loopholes that greatly benefit them and no one else. Let’s not pretend that billionaires didn’t get massive help from these loopholes to get where they are. There is NOTHING self-made about them.
@Mrs_I
Wow, I did not realize how easy it is to be a self-made billionaire. So you must be one too, right?
1
I don't understand how even a million TV ads would persuade a reasonable, strong, independent person to vote for a corporate billionaire oligarch who would obviously do little for people but clearly only strengthen the hold of billionaire corporate oligarchs on the economy, politics, and social system of the nation.
11
@Lawrence Chanin - what you call a "corporate billionaire oligarch" I see as a smart, self-made, experienced, fact based person who did a wonderful job as mayor of N.Y.C. And that doesn't make me any less reasonable, strong, or independent than you are.
5
Have you actually researched or read Bloomber’s platform? His proposals for gun control, climate change, tax reform, healthcare, and immigration reform are all reasonable. Let’s get back to the task of sound policy and good governance by leaders who have PROVEN they can get things done. If it takes $ to get into the race, so be it. So far he’s the only candidate with a track record of measurable success.
7
@Lawrence Chanin
Sadly, many Americans have always succumbed to the "cult of personality", i.e. "style over substance".
2
My red flags always go up when people wastefully throw their money around, I don't care how rich they are. It's a sign of hubris. And his vast wealth could be spent on so many more meaningful things. Even more so in the case of Steyer, who doesn't stand a chance of winning the nomination.
5
Nothing says “democracy” like a billionaire buying his way into an election to try to unseat another billionaire.
8
I would rather have a self funded billionaire president than one who was funded by wealthy insiders and special interests.
24
I really feel like we need a woman to make this country right. Unfortunately, too many other women are afraid. Bloomberg seems like a decent enough guy. I'll vote for him if he wins the primary.
5
Doesn't bode well for someone who may potentially have to balance the budget and deal with a huge deficit.
2
@Anna Actually, Anna, look at how he governed NYC. Bloomberg does know how to make good business decisions and balance a budget.
2
Wow, a generous boss who pays a livable entry level wage by NYC standards. Good guy. If he wins the nomination (big if), he has my vote by this alone.
15
So Bloomberg is paying his employee's a livable wage, along with benefits to support them to perform well on the job.
Isn't this what every working American would like to receive when they work for a living?
26
I'm one of those almost extinct moderate to conservative Democrats so I welcome Bloomberg's stimulating the economy. I also trust Bloomberg will keep his promise that his financial contributions to defeat Trump will not diminish when someone other than himself is the nominee.
10
This is absolutely disgusting. I used to say I would vote for anyone against Trump but now I am wavering. Bloomberg’s campaign is the problem with the whole US economy in a nutshell. Some people are more equal than others.
10
Well, some people are more talented, and they are compensated for that talent.
3
For those of you concerned that Mike Bloomberg is an oligarch, there IS such a thing as a rich guy with a social conscience:
"Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environment, public health, the arts, government innovation and education. Bloomberg has pledged to donate the majority of his wealth, currently estimated at more than $60.2 billion."
Sounds just like tRUMP, right?
20
@Mike Schmidt Philanthropy is a word invented by the ultra rich to try make us focus on what they 'give', and not on how they got it. Also Bloomberg is paying his own businesses as part of his campaigning expenses, not exactly spending is own money as much as shuffling it around. The man is dangerous to democracy.
9
@Appalled
Do you know how he got his money? His businesses are not nefarious. He doesn't own fossil fuel companies that pollute the environment, manufacturing companies that employ child labor, or any other forms of capitalistic enterprises that spew ruin throughout the world to enrich their owners.
3
@Mike Schmidt
Just another way to buy his legacy. Donating the majority of his wealth still leaves him billions!
What sounds just like Trump are Bloomberg's racist remarks caught on tape and his "Stop and Frisk" policies that he righteously' spearheaded, only apologizing for it the day before he decided to run for president.
Now that truly sounds just like Trump!
Do we really need another billionaire conman?
5
I join in being appalled at the cluelessness of throwing money around, but to me the even bigger issue -- one that rich and poor can perhaps agree on -- is the same one that came up decades ago when a segment of the population was instantly enamored of Lee Iacocca as a potential presidential candidate. It's one thing to "get it done" in business, including on a grand scale, but governing a nation is not the same thing as managing a company...or several. Yes, I know Bloomberg was a mayor, but to that I have the same objection as I have to Buttigieg: it's not enough, doesn't necessarily translate. There are many competent mayors for whom the presidency is utterly over their heads.
6
@calleefornia New York City is bigger - and WAY more diverse and complicated - than all but a handful of states. And Bloomberg was re-elected twice, minority communities and all. Time to stop making lame excuses for why Bloomberg shouldn’t be our nominee. He has the resources, he has a progressive agenda, and he drives Trump crazy more than anyone else you can think of (except perhaps Barack Obama). It’s time to get serious about winning - something Bernie will never do no matter how much of Bloomberg’s or anyone else’s money he spends.
5
@calleefornia
Except that the population of New York City is larger than many states, so it's more like being Governor, of which we've had several become President.
1
@RPJ
Okay, @RPJ and Michael Hogan. I see your point.
In most elections, the GOP is the highest bidder. Citizens United made it worse. Bloomberg is using his money wisely. Paying high salaries makes it possible to attract the best people, and it shows in his ads, his tactics, and his strategy. He has the right views on the environment, healthcare, and guns. The only thing we lose is a wealth tax and taxes on stock market transactions, which we wouldn’t get anyway. Bloomberg is the best hope the Democrats have to defeat Trump. Still a long shot, but possible with Bloomberg, probably not with anyone else.
20
In Bloomberg we see just another multi-billionaire whom because he made a considerable sum of money, so many Americans automatically put him up on a pedestal assuming him to be intellectually and morally superior and an automatic fit for government leadership when all we have to do is look at who is sitting in the WH and the result of that concept.
In his thinking and character, Bloomberg is really not that much different from Trump and when all of a sudden, Bloomberg states he is concerned about inequality in
America, he may want to take a long hard look in the mirror in which because he and many others like him who spend tens of millions of dollars every year lobbying government against policies like increasing the minimum wage, better healthcare and fighting stronger regulation in the consumer, financial, banking and environmental institutions, he largely contributed to that inequality.
If Bloomberg were to somehow be able to become the nominee, he would do absolutely nothing to deal with the decades old and neglected important issues that got Trump elected in the first place.
8
Really? Just read his platform and look at what he’s already done. Case closed.
2
He’s going to keep paying people until November. That’s impressive! Whoever the front-runner is will inherit his infrastructure. That’s huge! If he’s not a front-runner, I think that he’s being wise about ridding us of a president who is a danger to our democracy and the survival of the planet. He’s already had a climate change initiative, putting his money where his beliefs are.
Nobody can buy my vote. I don’t think he’s trying to do that. I think he’s a 78-year-old man who cares about what happens in the world and is doing his best to influence that with what he has. He wasn’t given his money from birth, he earned it. I don’t think he cares about accumulating more, unless it could go to a good cause. Although he has billions of dollars, this is a significant portion of what he does have. Good for him!
Where are the likes of Gates, Zuckerberg, Sandberg? I wish they’d try to “buy” the election for the Democrats. Instead they’re selling us down the river. We make a mistake if we think all billionaires are alike. We need to counter Citizens United with something.
I’m still on the fence about who to vote for in the primary. I’ve gone back and forth on Mike. I don’t see eye to eye with him on certain issues, but one of them is not what he’s doing with his money. I admire that. I’ll see what happens on super Tuesday. I just want Trump gone! Will he have long coattails? Big factor for me.
37
I vote on Super Tuesday and my vote will be strategic. If it’s looking like Mike can beat Trump then he has my vote. If he wins, his VP choice could make him even a stronger candidate. I’m hoping Amy or Kamala! (or Amy for VP and Kamala for Attorney General!)
1
he is also spending hundreds of millions attacking Trump, which is, in my view, a public service. I am not voting for him in the primaries, but appreciate that he has committed to supporting whoever the eventual nominee is.
62
@Sipa111 Bloomberg is paying his own businesses as part of his campaign expenses. Michael Bloomberg does not view other people as human beings, just things that can be bought. He was a republican who endorsed the Iraq war and enabled Trump's real estate racket in NYC, turning it into the unaffordable city it is today. He is more like Trump in substance than character, maybe even more so.
2
@Appalled p I don't disagree with you which is why I am not voting for him in the primaries. But if he does win the nomination through sheer force of money, the alternative is between bleak and cancer
I attended the first Mike event in Maryland a week ago. 25 people were expected according to the host. 250 came so we had to move the his yard.
He had over 1,500 such events in one week recently. They are mushrooming.
It is impossible to run an effective campaign without a lot of money. Mike is paying the entire bill.
His goal is to defeat Trump.
If he can get it done then I am very happy to support him.
He asks people who criticize his use of his own billions to get rid of Trump, Do you want me to spend less?
The answer is self evident.
He will give us back our land and return the Congress to Dems.
Mike will get it done.
42
What, no tuna on saltines? To non-New Yorkers, the preferred appetizer at Bloomberg’s home parties- hey! He was frugal all his life! He wears a Timex watch! (What moneyed man in today’s society wears a cheap watch?)
Why go the easy route of condemning a surfeit of cash? Wouldn’t we all like all workers to be treated so fairly by corporate America? A living wage, benefits, food. (Wages have been, if not stagnant, certainly not even keeping up with 2.9 annual inflation.)
The guy knows how to do things. How to value peoples’ lives and TIME. I admit it’s not a good look at first impression, but why condemn his ability to be fair simply because our employers for the most part are not?
20
Bloomberg is paying his people a decent wage. That's something to celebrate after decades of declining middle-class incomes. Since when is treating employees well a bad thing?
41
@doc Since 1980 when Reagon won the presidency, fought the labor unions (you know - the people who earn W-2 income as laborers) and the Chicago School of Economics, supply-side, trickle-down policies were put in place. THAT is the reason we have a gutted middle-class.
@June No, it's more complicated than that.
The middle class are the reason we have fewer jobs - by blindly supporting discounters like Walmart instead of their local merchants (so that most of them went out of business), and then by demanding ever cheaper merchandise (requiring said discounters to buy from overseas rather than US based factories, so that most of them went out of business) is why our job market is how it is now. Our government is not responsible, nor are the billionaires, nor is Wall Street. We the people did this to ourselves.
Those missing middle class incomes were the business owners and factory workers that have seen their livelihoods disappear so Americans can buy cheap merchandise. Even worse, the restaurants, car dealerships, etc any business that depended on those now missing middle class incomes for their businesses are either gone or suffering now as well.
Micheal Bloomberg is the only person with enough backbone, integrity, executive abilities and yes, resources to beat trump.
This country’s elections have been for sale to corporations since the outrageous Supreme Court decision on “citizens united”.
An since the Democratic Party systematically tries to undermine any out side candidates, how else can a highly qualified man like Bloomberg even get a chance.
Micheal Bloomberg is a man of the highest values and capabilities. I can only pray that he is elected President.
17
@Steven
"a man of the highest values and capabilities"? I guess you weren't living in NYC when he was in City Hall.
4
@Choderlos
I was -- and I would vote for Bloomberg again in a heartbeat. National stop & frisk would get half of all Reps to vote for Bloomberg over Trump!
4
This is not going to end well when it is Bloomberg vs Bernie.
You think the Left of the party were antagonistic to Hillary, wait till they get a loud of Bloomberg and the buff job the DNC is giving him.
Surprisingly - Trump (a Democrat turned Republican) has been able to coalesce the key factions in the Republican party (Cultural conservatives, Pro-Business reps, Nativists)
Can Bloomberg (a Republican turned Democrat) do the same with the Left, African Americans, and well-off cultural liberals?
7
Trump's behavior in the last 72 hours has confirmed for the umpteenth time that he is a threat to national security, the Constitution, and the very survival of the nation. This is a national emergency and he must be defeated. If Mayor Bloomberg is the man to do it, then so be it.
Republicans opened this door with Valeo v Buckley and Citizens United - it would be great to see it turn around and bite them in 2020. After watching Republicans buy Senate and gubernatorial elections for my lifetime it will be amusing to watch them cry crocodile tears about Bloomberg. Republicans set this up - if you prefer, we can beg each other for money, be severely outspent and allow the Republicans to slander our candidates.....?
23
Many NYT commentators lament about how the world “should” be. And, I agree with them! We should not have Citizens United nor have a system that allows billionaires to take over the political system.
But, alas, that is not how things operate RIGHT NOW at this point in time. And with only one half of one branch of government, we Democrats can’t afford our incessant habit of pearl clutching and shooting down our most effective allies.
And, Michael Bloomberg is an incredibly effective Democratic ally with very well scripted ads. And even better, they are everywhere, in all 50 states, appealing to voters about issues they actually CARE about, not bogged down in circular firing squad PC identity politics (which everyone hates, BTW) one state at a time.
So, my fellow Democrats, let’s try something new. Let’s win back the Senate and the executive branch and keep the House. And then we will have the power to start turning things around.
21
Bloomberg is a billionaire, whose side is he on? Nuff said.
12
@Dave He's the candidate republicans might go for if only because he's not leaning so far to the left he'll tip over.
But obviously you've never heard of his decades long support and involvement in gun safety issues, Everytown For Gun Safety, and people turn out in the thousands to hear his message and know they have his support. The billionaire is throwing a lot of those billions into this effort.
6
@Rosemarie McMichael Gun safety, soda taxes, and any number of other liberal initiatives mean nothing if we can't get at the root of the problem, which is money in politics. Bloomberg isn't running to promote any of those other policies, it's to avoid the taxes on fortunes like his being promoted by better candidates like Warren and Sanders.
Not enough said. Read about where Bloomberg has for decades now been putting his money.
Gun control, the environment, c climate change, family planning and abortion, jobs for inner-city men, cultural institutions and historic preservation -- for heaven's sake, think about the man and not your preconceptions about all rich men.
4
Bloomberg is advertising. The President and Congressional backers get front page news “advertisements” every day in every newspaper and news show in America.
Besides Bloomberg earned his money.
36
@Neil No billionaire has truly "earned" his money.
@Mrs_I Seriously? Does it fall from the sky? Do they steal it? Was it illegal for Jeff Bezos to start an online bookstore? Or for Mike Bloomberg to create and sell his information systems? Or for Bill Gates and the late Paul Allen to make billions of people's lives better by creating Microsoft? None of the above were born wealthy...and none of them got rich like Washington insiders and politicians do by selling their souls...
The irony. A billionaire old white man becomes the choice to be the Democratic nominee for president.
9
@Pepperman,
The irony is that the civic-minded businessman pays and treats his staff well, while the democratic socialist "revolutionary" keeps his people in penury. Of course, that will be far over the heads of most democratic socialist revolutionary.
5
Suddenly we see Bloomberg endorsements coming from African American politicians. Just at the time that his racist policing policies are being exposed to the rest of the country.
Huge red flag. Or is it a green flag $$$.
17
Why don't we just sell the American Presidency to the highest Bidder and use the money to pay down the national debt? That would be more honest and transparent than what is happening now.
191
@Cantaloupe
Already doing so ... except the pay-down-the-debt thingie.
4
@Cantaloupe
Aside from the obligatory sprinkling of a few women and people of color, Bloomberg's cabinet will look like a museum reproduction of the Goldman Sachs boardroom, with the same agenda. Incredible that people can be so blind to this opportunist, but yet see right through Trump.
11
@Cantaloupe Really, why don't we give it up and go to public financing of elections. With citizens united in active play, we are selling the presidency to corporations, just less transparently than Bloomberg's self financing.
5
The presidency isn't "for sale." People still have to vote for you. Bloomberg looked at the current Democratic field and, pragmatist that he is, decided he would be the best person for the job. If the fact that he's rich disqualifies him from being president, then every president would be disqualified. His ideas matter more than his money. Democrats may accept or reject them, based on their worth. But this idea that because he's spending his own money, it amounts to some kind of corruption doesn't hold water. Until we have 100% publicly funded elections, every candidate needs to spend money. The only difference here is that Bloomberg is spending his own and everyone else is asking to spend yours.
148
Not true. Bloomberg is paying WAY above market rate. It does actually amount to vote buying. He’s not just using money to build a grassroots organization like other campaigns, in Bloomberg’s case the money is the message.
23
@Michael but voters love to vote for the celebrity type rich men.
I’ve lived in NYC for years and I can assure you Micheal Bloomberg is a man of the highest integrity and abilities and would lead this country to a much better place than it is today.
All of us can only pray that we get a man like Micheal Bloomberg as President after the corrupt, morally bankrupt trump.
Vote my friends, Bloomberg 2020.
14
The presidency has been for sale since Citizens United passed into law, Bloomberg is just being transparent.
Democrats are being ridiculous objecting to his wealth or his spending as is anyone conflating Mike Bloomberg with Donald Trump.
Perhaps Bloomberg has said or done things that some find objectionable but the purity testing is nonsense. I have no reason to believe that Bloomberg is dishonest or motivated by anything other than a desire to help the country.
Are we really complaining that he's treating his employees too well?! This schadenfreude is what has the country in the condition it's in today! We've lost the ability to be happy for anyone, to help others, to want good things for anyone not in our tribe.
We need to be better than this!
281
@Zorsyte
As a strong 2016 Bernie supporter, I agree completely with your logic.
Mike Bloomberg is an opportunity - tao - to dump humpty off that wall. In this election, era of corruption, let's not preach economic morality. This is about the doom of a, happening *now,* dictator's rule. The flower of Mike's blooming campaign has one goal, to save the U.S. democracy.
38
@Zorsyte
If Americans were better than this, and realized how corruption and money is taking hold of their entire society and institutions, Bloomberg's money would be better spent helping those less fortunate than attempting to derail Bernie Sanders one of the few "uncorrupted" politicians left in America who is actually committed to helping people with REAL policies.
15
@Zorsyte
"The presidency has been for sale since Citizens United passed into law..."
If that were true, Hillary, who spent twice as much as Trump, would be President.
7
If Mr. Bloomberg really wanted to protect the institutions of democracy, he could use some of his pile of cash to buy the McClatchey newspapers as a preventative measure.
41
It is truly dystopian how easily you report news like this and how unchallenged it is in the US. We are reporting on a so-called DEMOCRACY where people are supposed to be equal, but so much campaign reporting is about the donors and the money spent. It sounds more like the Hunger Games than an actual democracy. Shameful.
48
@S
Unfortunately that is how corruption and money has become the everyday mainstay in American society and it is also how democracy dies.
3
Bloomberg is a Republican. Why are we talking about voting for a Republican? Have we not learned our lesson?
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@sedanchair
No, we are voting against Donald Trumpf and his entire administration. Trumpf has got to go; he is Putin's Russian Mole and his corrupt administration more insidious than a CoronaVirus plague.
20
@sedanchair Mike Bloomberg is now a Democrat and was a Republican (twice I do believe) also was an Independent voter.
Change is constant. We are allowed to move and vote freely in this democracy, to vote for the person, not a party.
17
@sedanchair
Explain why a "republican" would speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 and speak on behalf of Hillary Clinton and offer his support and endorsement of her.
11
A bored multi-billionaire having one late-life fling at national fame. Why not make it a wine-filled party? He's only got money to lose and his daily revenues will fill that gap in no time. Why not?
7
I came to America because I was told this country has democracy. I am so disappointed.
45
@Chaucer You are in the right country. Democracy is a fragile thing and Americans treasure what we have. In this particular moment of history the foundation of our country is being shaken - taken apart one step at a time. Wealthy Mike Bloomberg is a good man. He isn't asking for our money, is using his own resources. That's different. He is a presidential *choice.* Mike Bloomberg's goal is to end the reign of terror. It might be the BEST way to vote.
8
@LydB interesting you should refer to the reign of terror. I was thinking about teaching the French Revolution this morning and remembering the chapter on the reign of terror and the words "desperate times call for desperate measures". That's what Bloomberg's actions are. Desperate measures in desperate times. We are looking into the abyss and the democratic party is the only thing that can save us, according to James Carville. I agree. This is no time for squeamish purity protests.
Ugh, this is so crassly anti-democratic.
29
@Millennial he was successful in business. He was successful as mayor. He is trying to dislodge a cancer from our government. It is COMPLETELY democratic!
22
@Millennial
But if Bernie were a billionaire, doing the exact same thing, you'd be just fine with it, right? I suspect that your issue is not that there's too much money in politics. Rather, your issue is that there's not enough money in YOUR politics.
9
@Millennial
How so? Winning a Presidential election requires obscene amounts of money. Why is it "anti-democratic" for him to spend his own money, thus becoming beholden to no donors whatsoever? There has never been anything preventing candidates from spending their own money on their campaigns, because spending your own money leads to no conflicts of interest that arise from accepting the money of others.
5
Sanders is increasing representative democracy with funding from the dollars from the coffee can, proving we don’t need another billionaire telling us he needs even more power.
31
@Lilly
It amazes yet discourages me how Americans are actually brainwashed into believing because a man who made a considerable sum of money, is automatically assumed to be morally and intellectually superior in all aspects of leadership and in government.
It also amazes, yet, discourages me while Americans are "screaming from the rooftops" about corruption, money in politics and lawlessness in government, at the same and as we have seen in the comments section, a corporate establishment and citizens themselves that will ostracize and marginilize someone like Bernie Sanders who is one of the FEW, high profile "uncorrupted" politicians left in government with actual policies that are targeted to helping the majority of Americans.
6
@Lilly
And what if that billionaire wants more power to do something good for the country, starting with getting rid of Trump?
Put another way, if Bloomberg checked off every single policy goal that aligned with yours would you reject him just because he’s rich?
4
Good for Mike. Paying people well and building turnout infrastructure for whoever wins. What’s wrong with that?
138
We need to increase representative democracy, and increasing power of an American oligarch is counterintuitive for a reason.
6
My 2 siblings and I are lifelong Democrats who could put to great use a 72K salary. In the Sixties I worked hard on Humphrey's campaign, pounding on doors and organizing where and when we would work next. I find it attractive to be able to earn 72K, never having earned that much in my life as a PhD professional. The thought goes through my mind that with Bloomberg using his own money, he must have some positive agenda in his mind with regard to the country. Unfortunately I live in Canada having married a Canadian, otherwise I'd be paying Bloomberg's office a visit.
83
@Mary Ann Rombach Canadian wages are pretty low across the board
Well this is nothing new. Democracy has always been up for sale to the highest bidder in the history of humanity. It began with the greeks (who created Democracy) to even the roman republic and other polity's.
8
I listen to Bloomberg radio for financial news and I 've known for some time that it was left leaning. Now there are signs of conflict of interest, with Bloomberg reporters touting his sudden rise in the polls. There is a disclaimer afterward, but I wonder when that will fade away. I don't know if non-financial types know how much Bloomberg controls the airways but that is another area of concern. Political success is closely related to timing, and Bloomberg's timing is off. Even though he is very intelligent and shows no signs of age-related decline, he is too old. The campaign is more than a vanity project but he shares a billionaire's inflated belief that only someone with his enormous resources can save the world.
6
@Moso
Left leaning? He leans whatever direction is of benefit to him at the time.
4
Well, he can't take the money with him, so Bloomberg might as well spend it on a Presidential campaign against Trump that would not only help put a Democrat in the WH, but may also help other Democrats in State wide and local elections. Bloomberg probably does not even have to provide detail reporting if he had set up a PAC to fund his and other candidates' campaign.
37
You’re right. Bloomberg is almost as old as Sanders. How long does he think he will live?
I guess he's not being too subtle about trying to buy the election. Well, folks, decide. Do you want democracy to be put up to the highest bidder? Should we just figure out who is the richest billionaire, and make that person president? Does anyone honestly believe Bloomberg would be a factor in this election without spending hundreds of millions of dollars of his own personal wealth? The Republican party has already sold its soul. Will the Democratic party do the same?
58
@Andy Dwyer is he giving cash to voters? Sign me up. But that is not happening
16
@Andy Dwyer EVERY election is "bought": it's called "fundraising" and it's the very lifeblood of politics. Can';t you see the truthful benefit of NOT having to fundraise and hence be beholden to donors??
41
They all buy elections, only the non-entities who have no hope of winning try to do so with public money. And Donald Trump did so with Soviet money. Follow those tax returns.
Michael Bloomberg has put his cash behind environmental causes, gun control, women's health and reproductive choices, and other causes I appreciate.
If he "buys" this election, I'll be glad.
94
Can anyone not see how dangerous this is to democracy that elections are ever more becoming the playground of billionaires? This is third-world country political patronage type of stuff. It's true that he can't be bought, but you know who else said that? Donald Trump. It's scary when Trump has convinced even Democrats that pinning your hopes on a Billionaire is a good idea.
69
@Sean trump can be bought and has been. You will know the buyer if a d when his tax returns are disclosed
17
@Sean
But a billion rubles is only $15.7million! Seriously though, I have been wondering about how the flip side of a strict publicly financed campaign law would work. Instead of a dozen primary candidates, there might be a hundred. Ultimately, the only way to cut through that kind of chaos would be to establish a State Ruling Party like the Politburo that would decide on the secession of power. That’s why I suspect Bernie is always touting that line. His Socialist political ideology has a real world basis, and is not purely aspirational as his young acolytes assume.
1
@MKR
And it will be Russian buyers.
2
This is all you need to know. True, better than Trump as a Republican, but he can't beat Trump in Republican primaries. He certainly doesn't belong in Democratic primaries ever, and it's clear he won't win same anyway because no one is fooled. Let him run as a Republican or independent, in which event, like Clinton/Perot election, Democrat will win. As will American Democracy.
12
Admirable and obscene.
I am glad to have his help bombarding the airwaves with missives to discredit and undermine Trump, but beyond that, we don’t need another oligarch.
The Presidency should not be for sale, and Bloomberg is just as unqualified as John Lindsay. What we need is a President committed to reinstating the agencies and programs gutted by Trump, and to putting the working class and middle class back into a more predictable, peaceful and productive life.
For me, that President is the sunnily relentless and brilliant Elizabeth Warren. May Bloomberg share his largess with a legitimate candidate as soon as possible so we can get Trump out of the White House while we still can.
14
Not in favor of billionaires buying elections, but just want to remind people that Trump has gone his entire term without releasing his tax returns. We don’t know who funds his campaign, we don’t know the web of nefarious actors buying his favor or covering his personal debts. At least Bloomberg is spending his own cash.
213
@Maple Surp
This is basically a whatabout...
@Maple Surple
"..we don’t know the web of nefarious actors buying his favor ..."
Actually we do know some of them.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/10/sheldon-adelson-trump-donation-republicans-congress
3
@Maple Surple The day Trump's tax returns are leaked is the day we learn that Trump is not a billionaire, but a wholly-owned subsidiary of Putin, Inc.
3
This is precisely what it will tske to counter punch with Trump.
101
You may like Bloomberg, I suppose.
Approve of his businessness, his polish, his New York roots, his calm and assured demeanor. Its even possible you like what little he has revealed of his policies.
But he is the devil. The devil not much in disguise.
He is Citizens United gussied up in almost-liberal, corporate Democrat pretty things and turned loose to buy the world a cold one.
Or, rather, a carefully aged, sophisticatedly curated, professionally decanted and poured room temperature one.
Why is this OK?
Nobody ought be able to buy more speech than the average Joe and then pretend to some political holiness because he is using his own money. Or just sweep the whole tawdry thing under the rug because nobody has, anymore, any right to know who is funding who.
Bloomberg is Bloomberg, he'll do what he will, most likely act as a safety valve against these hot head liberal communistic socialists who seem like they could actually damage the personal fortunes of people like Bloomberg. He is a placeholder for the rich.
Just as Republicans abandoned anything that even smells like integrity to support their overlord and his vile minions, Democrats have eased too easily into the "rich guys get to say more than everybody else combined" mistake imposed upon our sagging democracy by the doctrinaire Roberts and his sad shadow of a court.
We better be careful...Democrats are sliding a little too enthusiastically into Trump's swamp. There will be no coming back.
50
@John, Come on man.....the devil?! Wow. Democrats seem to have a habit of playing nice during campaigns. Republicans will do whatever it takes with over $100 million from the casino magnate Adelson and buckets of cash from the fossil fuel Koch brothers.
Trump must be defeated on November 3rd. Bloomberg can do it. I refuse to say that just because someone was successful that they should be ruled out.
10
@John
You're right: when will people understand that the reality of billionaires has nothing to do with the reality that the rest of us are living? Is it really that difficult to grasp?
3