Wake up!
Anyone is better than the devil we got!
And anyone who opposes any of the Dems best watch out for the backlash against them...
120
For the very first time, I agree completely with Ross Douthat.
40
“Will the Democrats try to replace Donald Trump with a power-hungry plutocrat?”
YES!!!
71
Always like when Ross lets his affinity for Trump shine through more fully.
77
Wow. A Ross Douthat op-ed I completely agree with!
18
Too often I find Ross's opinions go far beyond the range of his intelligence. This is one of them.
57
Bravo! Thank you!
7
Bloomberg/Klobuchar 2020
88
New York Times, this column, and it's headline, are really too ugly for words.
I am unsubscribing. I cannot support people who support Trump.
49
Bloomberg would not be my first choice, but I’d take him in a heartbeat over the corrupt, venal, orange dotard who actively seeks to destroy our Constitution and rule of law.
137
Bloomberg can and will defeat Donald Trump.
85
I thought you liked plutocrats? We're doing this for you!
26
You know what call a moderate republican in 2020? A Democrat....
Vote blue all the way through.
48
Who does Ross want to be President? (Serious question.)
30
Spot on column! Bloomberg himself said that Joe had the best shot but when he started to struggle, did Bloomberg help with brilliant PR ads? Present a plan to retake the Senate? No--he simply proclaimed from on high that he himself was the "only I" candidate--a sadly familiar refrain which should chill any enthusiasm for him arising from the current panic.
And where's the pledge to undo the disastrous tax cuts which likely gave him profit? repeal Citizens United and push for a McCain-Feingold type of campaign finance reform? He is simply buying this presidency - that's exactly what Trump presented (yeah, he lied!) and look what we got!
Bloomberg a tough and tightly focused fighter, but it comes across as for himself 1st and the country 2nd. This is raw ego going for the world’s biggest prize.
A weak apology for stop-&-frisk weeks before announcing isn't believable. He is a Republican at heart, not a Democrat. I don’t sense any ability to reconnect Congress to the needs of everyday people.
Be careful what you wish for..... Can he beat Trump? Maybe BUT he shouldn't be IN the race so much as SUPPORTING candidates who know that forming a more perfect union never depends on one man with a load of cash. A true leader knows that he himself is not the greater good. I don't sense the empathy which is a main aspect of being an American citizen AND our leader. A Bloomberg campaign is an easy fix but not a solution.
28
What is this "power-hungry" adjective? As opposed to "laid back" presidential candidate?!
20
Great, replace one racist, misogynist billionaire with another.
Do we really need to set our sights so low?
If we don’t aim for the stars we’ll end up where we are now, the gutter.
30
Here's news. First, us average folks have had it up to our eyeballs with Sanders/AOC wokefulness. Second, we're not thrilled by the obnoxious kids supporting Sanders trying to run the show grabbing free stuff. Third, why do you think Bloomberg has any more of an ego than Bernie, Pete, Amy, or Elizabeth?
It's in the eye of the beholder. I would love to nominate someone who wouldn't be beating down my door every five seconds asking for money.
66
I'll replace trump with anyone, Bloomberg, Bush, Chairman Kim, anyone.
44
Saw it was Douthat and read the headline "Will the Democrats try to replace Donald Trump with a power-hungry plutocrat?" Once more I find myself lamenting the demise of Irony.
Oh, Irony, you playful minx. I miss you, girl.
33
Reagan at 77 had Alzeimers; Trump is also mentally disabled - All these MEN will be into their 80s in their first term. President of the USA is and will continue to be the toughest job in the world and the rest of theworld depends on a compos mentis, strong one. Looked how it aged Clinton and Obama.
Please America if nothing else give them a good grilling on Climate Change.
Anyone of the younger ones coming through are more than capable of beating Trump
15
Will the Democrats try to replace Donald Trump with a power-hungry plutocrat?
Come on! Any functioning adult!
52
Mike beats Trump with Amy as his VP. Then he resigns. We WIN!
34
The choice between Trump and Bloomberg is like the choice between steak and lobster for passengers on the Titanic:either way, the ship's going down.
17
Ross Douthat, you are right about Amy Klobuchar. But your analysis of Mike Bloomberg especially by casting him as a "power-hungry plutocrat" who is best understood by casting him as a scary funhouse mirror version of trump speaks poorly of something about you but since I don't know you I will reserve conjecture. Billionaires by definition have a strong appetite for power. In smaller, relatively successful types, one might use the less caustic word, ambition, like, say, an Op-Ed columnist for one of the most important newspapers in the world. In short, you should stick to your knitting and analyze policy and get your eyes off the crystal ball of where you want us to believe this progressive, intelligent, economically-savvy doer and leader might take us.
36
These think-pieces do little more than remind us again that primary season is waaay too long, inconsequential states are given too much sway, and the Democrats are probably going to blow what should be a layup.
14
Bloomberg is Hillary Clinton part two, a bad idea. Go young, new, Mayor Pete.
9
It is not a time for overly ambitious, pie in the sky idealism. Love him or hate him Mike is the only person that could potentiality displace the most dangerous man to ever live in the White House. It's time to save the American ideal. It's time for survival.
49
This opinion misses the point, and so continues to commit the same flaw that has let Trump rule like a dictator and despot rolled into one (to which Ross's namby "power hungry plutocrat" is a mere newborn bunny rabbit by the way).
Caesar had a master who actually ruled Rome. Caesar was merely the intentionally-distracting clown show. The real ruler was called the Praetorian Guard, or in today's case, the ruling political party.
6
Are you joking?
I agree with all your criticism of Bloomberg.
But, as you say, he's fiercely competent. He also operates within the law.
After four years of utter incompetence and flagrant corruption, these two simple qualities make Bloomberg look like Jesus.
82
Not sure if the columnist Douthat writes the sub-headlines or not, but who decided that Bloomberg is "power-hungry"? Is this actually suggesting that the other candidates for president, on both sides, are somehow less so? More guided by altruistic impulses than Bloomberg? Who has only single-handedly financed the left's return to power in the House, kept oxygen (in the form of money) flowing in a dozen core service and philanthropic entities (Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, Everytown Against Gun Violence, etc etc)?
In any event, whether it's Douthat or the NYT headline writer, this is disingenuous and unfairly reductive. This man may be the only person standing between us and the abyss. I am fan of Bernie, Joe, Pete, Amy, Elizabeth -- all of them. But I voted for Mike, because he'll win.
48
That last sentence.
Wonderful column.
3
Donald Trump is the most corrupt, incompetent man to ever hold the Presidency. What makes him dangerous is the cult-like following which enables everything he does. It is impossible for me to agree with Douthat at a time when Donald J. Trump's Attorney General is systematically demanding investigation after investigation after investigation against those who have "wronged" Trump or a Trump associate.
It is the blind servitude of the Trumpites that makes Trump much more dangerous than any other candidate, including Michael Bloomberg.
34
Not a fan of Bloomberg, but he is a decent man.
Trump is indecent.
52
Gawd I love it when Republicans write dozens of opinion pieces advising we Dems on which candidates we should be supporting, (and which ones we shouldn't), and which ones we should vote for.
28
At least he would be a sane power-hungry plutocrat.
27
I'd take a plutocrat over a kleptocrat any day.
37
The idea that Bloomberg is even similar to Trump in any way is absurd on its face — and Douthat knows it. If Bloomberg were as greedy for the office of President as Trump clearly was and is, why wait until recently to join the fray?
This is just another disruptive argument thrown in to create chaos and distrust.
Here’s a question that Douthat really ought to address: why did nearly every Senate Republican reject the idea of additional witnesses in the impeachment trial of Trump? Yeah. I’d really like to know the excuse for such moral cowardice, especially since Ross is always so gung-ho about “morality” and so quick to criticize the lack of it.
37
Bloomberg-only one with the will to out maneuver trump in every way.
17
Yes, but ask yourself, how many people on Bloomberg's payroll have "recommended" favorable articles below?
Whereas Trump's presidential inauguration was well underpopulated and so inflated numbers inauspicious, Bloomberg would simply pay people to fake his.
4
Bloomberg / Klobuchar. That is the ticket that can win. Mike should agree to be a one term president and get Amy on board.
15
"In our era of congressional abdication, all presidents are prodded or tempted toward power grabs and caesarism." You speak, of course, of the Senate, not the House. I wish I could believe what I just wrote about you, but--alas--I can not. The House has passed many bills that I approve of but don't fit your own mindset, so you probably dismiss them as abdication of your own principles.
3
I could not vote for Bloomberg and am troubled by the comments I am reading here rationalizing his attempts to buy the Democratic nomination. I think that the American people would view a choice between two racist, misogynistic white billionaire businessmen from new York as no choice at all and return trump to office for another four years.
I am also troubled at the precedent Bloomberg as the dem nominee would set. can we expect future presidential elections to be nothing more than competitions between billionaires to see who can spend the most to be elected president to satisfy their fragile egos?
11
Good going Ross - further splinter the Democratic Party and ensure a Trump victory in November. Awful.
22
'Will the Democrats try to replace Donald Trump with a power-hungry plutocrat?'
For the sake of this country, I hope so.
28
If Bloomberg is what it takes to defeat Trump then we should be all in. We could do far worse. I am still waiting to see the results of the primaries but Bloomberg will have my support if if there is no clear leader that can defat Trump.
25
I'm really touched by Republicans' concern for how Democrats try to remove Trump. Where were you when Trump was steamrolling the field in 2016? Republicans trashed a perfectly honorable Barack Obama for 8 years because....why? You set up Trump's victory. Now you want to tell us how to get rid of Trump. Sell it somewhere else.
37
Self-Correction: Yes, but ask yourself, how many people on Bloomberg's payroll have "recommended" favorable comments below?
Whereas Trump's presidential inauguration was well underpopulated and so inflated numbers inauspicious, Bloomberg would simply pay people to fake his.
3
Hilarious to read Douthat 'worrying' about a Bloomberg presidency, especially after his downplaying of Trump's ongoing cataclysm of a presidency. It's a tough job being the Times' conservative columnist and keeping a straight face.
24
Say what you will NY was much better before our current “woke” progressive mayor. I miss the Bloomberg days with a passion. A vote for sanders or Warren is a vote for trump. As an independent I’ll pick Bloomberg any day.
25
The minute I heard Bloomberg was in the race I cheered and knew who I was going to vote for in our primary next month. I don't care if he's caught choking puppies, he's my guy.
21
There is nothing I repeat nothing compelling about Bloomberg. You think Trump is bad? Wait until Bloomberg. He will and can do anything he wants and he's as much a Democrat as Trump is a Republican. What do you tell a Billionaire? Nothing. He doesn't care about you, why would he? His agenda like Trump's is his and his only. Think he work with congress or just use executive orders to get what he wants. Bloomberg is a modern day Citizen Kane and his news organization will destroy anyone not with him. He is a nuclear Trump. I look forward to him destroying the Republic much more efficiently than Trump.
4
Warren as president, Bloomberg as vice-president. She can inspire over half the population, he can show the rest how to serve their better halves.
Look at that, Ross Douthat benevolently trying to "educate" Democrats on the failings of Michael Bloomberg, as per the Republican playbook of reinforcing and inciting division among Dems.
18
Bloomberg is 78. The life expectancy of an American male has declined under Trump's Presidency. That has only happened twice before: the Swine Flu pandemic of 1918 (with some help from World War I) and before that the Civil War of 1861-1865. So now he's a few years past his time. For over a third of a century I was a nurse in home care and hospice. My experience backs up the statistics that by 2025 (the end of a term in office) even a healthy man who is 78 today will probably be dead or significantly reduced in mental capacity. Bloomberg dead or addled would probably be a better President than Trump alive. But, we should know before we vote for Bloomberg in a primary who his vice presidential choice is. Remember also that Bloomberg has been a mayor but lacks experience in national politics.
Past performance is the best predictor that I know of for predicting future behavior. Now he whines that he inherited such horrible programs as racial profiling and stop and frisk, even claiming that he was not responsible. For twelve full years he not only expanded those programs, he praised them in ways hard core racists would like. Sometimes a person has an epiphany and renounces past misdeeds - I respect that. Bloomberg's denials prove that that has not happened here.
5
Douhat isn’t perhaps scared that Bloomberg could beat trump. I think he has a good chance for doing so.
9
Bloomberg is rising in the polls by spending money. Does Sanders need a better demonstration of the power of money in politics? Will he and his people ever admit that his campaign strategy of grassroots romanticism was idiotic in the age of Citizens United? We have a small window of opportunity to arrest McConnell's dream of establishing a conservative federal judiciary as a firewall for any future liberal ambitions. In addition, we face climate change, political corruption, gun control, and women's right to choose. Yet, Sanders and his followers are willing to sabotage the next election and ensure the end of democracy. Democrats should stop talking about defeating Bloomberg and breath a sigh of relief that we finally have someone who can give back as good as he gets from Trump. Even better, expose him for the fraud that he is.
12
No, absolutely not. The only reason we're discussing this is because he has bought your influence. Not drinking that kool-aid: the guy started and defended stop-and-frisk, mismanaged his campaign's timing, and is cavalier enough to think he can now get in the conversation without anything of substance but cash. It's this entitled attitude that has brought us to the precipice of democracy we're currently tethering on.
6
I feel like the media is giving outsize attention to Bloomberg simply to dramatize the election cycle and manufacture controversy, somewhat like they did in the early days of the Trump campaign in 2016. I suggest we suspend discussion of Michael Bloomberg until after March 3rd. If he bombs in California, Texas, and a dozen other states, you'll all be asking yourselves why you wasted so much psychic energy on him.
5
I did not vote for Mike Bloomberg when he bought his third term. I absolutely refused. I will not vote for him as president because he is buying the presidency. He was overrated as mayor of New York. The positive changes that we saw in the city started under Mayor Rudolph Guiliani. Mike Bloomberg rode on his coattails and yet he wants to take all the credit. Mike Bloomberg is an opportunist.
1
As usual Douthat is wrong. Bloomberg might be a plutocrat, but he's already got $60 billion worth of power and more importantly, he's got principles. Already he's used his money and power when he was our mayor to go after big guns, big tobacco, and even Big Gulps. (Okay, he lost that one.) He helped big time to flip the House that impeached the worst President in U.S. history. He brags he'll get the job done, and he'll do it. If we let him.
17
Democrats can nominate him. That doesn’t mean I’ll vote for him. Look for another Trump victory with another lame Republican-lite candidate, Democrats.
3
What bunk. I loved Douthat's column last week. It brought me to tears but give me a break. Trump will destroy anything, and I meany anything to win. Q followers are at his rallies. I fear for family members who are trying to register voters. Literally. I fear for their lives.
Bloomberg would never stoke that hatred and fear.
14
Reading Brooks, Douthat, and Stephens these past few weeks has been tedious. They claim to dislike Trump, but they spend their space criticizing the potential Democratic candidates. Don’t be fooled, these three don’t have any problem with Trump being re-elected.
17
Keep your eye on the goal here. Defeat Trump. We don't need perfect-- we need not-Trump, we need decency, we need a president rather than a despot. No good will come of tearing apart every candidate willing to go up against Trump. Our biggest problem is losing all the Bernie acolytes, as we did last election. All candidates need to focus on saving the presidency and restoring democracy. Bloomberg would be great.
16
The last thing American democracy needs in this second gilded age is an oligarch buying the Presidency.
4
Above all, I would like a candidate that would go after all the republican criminals, especially trump, his family and his cabinet and advisers with no mercy. I don’t think any of the other democrats would do that. If this country is to get back on track, we need to set an example with these criminals so that no one ever tries this again.
10
Well, let’s think about this. What did Trump ever do for others before he had the power of the presidency? Who did he fight for? What did he do for America?
There are millions of veterans, civil servants, volunteers, diplomats, police officers and justice agents who knew that they would never get rich. What have the Trumps ever done for anyone? What matters is what you do when no one is worshipping you.
8
I'm a Pete guy...but it's going to take Bloomberg to get the monster out from under the bed. So...I really do hope it's Bloomberg at this point. He's serious about guns, climate and he knows how the economy works and he knows how to herd cats (he did run NYC after all).
22
These are dark times. I'll vote Bloomberg if I have to.
13
You lost me with the "populist in the White House" nonsense.To which populist, in which white house, in which alternative universe do you refer? Nixon, no hand-wringing liberal, signed the EPA into law. The current occupant of the White House is busy trashing the EPA. Bloomberg supports environmental preservation . I am a single issue voter.
13
The major takeaway from Mr. Douthat’s latest foray into twisted logic is: he’ll accept authoritarianism as long as it results in his ultimate dream government - a theocracy. Any candidate who believes in the separation of church and state is to be feared and reviled.
8
Hey, DNC - Don't make the same moves/mistakes from 2016. It's early. Trust the voters. Step back and let the process work itself out. Don't push panic buttons.
5
Hmmm. Power-hungry plutocrat? I think we already have one of those in the White House. In Bloomberg, many people see a man who's made a LOT of money and is being very generous with it--even before he considered running. P.S. odd choice of image to go with your piece.
6
This is why Democrats lose so always. They impose purity tests on their own kind and turn on one another. We saw many moderate Republicans and skeptics go for Trump in 2016, because they held their noses and said it was better than the alternative. Vote Blue No Matter Who.
8
Uh, Ross? A lot of Democrats WANT the party to pull back to before the rise of Bernie Sanders. All Bernie gave us was Donald Trump, so yes, please, let's go back and start over.
5
Whatever his shortcomings, whatever his questionable acts in the past, Bloomberg looks like St. Francis compared to Trump.
Exclude Bloomberg. Is there a Democratic candidate who can beat Trump? This is the weakest group of Democratic presidential candidates in generations. Three cheers for Bloomberg running.
19
Above all we must defeat Trump, which influences all decisions. The very future of our democracy depends on voting Trump out.
If I choose a candidate based solely on views that match mine, Warren would be my choice. If I choose based on who is most likely to beat Trump, then the choice goes for Bloomberg.
If Sanders wins the nomination, I’ll vote for him, but he’s low on my list. I find him arrogant and with a history of more talk than action.
How agonizing that Bloomberg has a truly alarming history of sickening and abusive behavior towards women and African Americans (housing and law enforcement), plus the audacity to grab a third term in NYC. In those respects, he reminds me of Trump.
These are hard times on many levels.
Main thing: Vote blue. Don’t sit this one out. Please.
11
He may be what you say, but many will take him.
Just do not expect him to come close to touching income and wealth inequality... even if there was a completely Dem congress.
1
After years of a scorched Earth policy by a Billionaire from New York, why would anyone want another?
The goal is winning. Bloomberg’s money would counter the Russian/Chinese interference, the Facebook and Twitter garbage, Fox News State TV and Southern voter suppression and outright cheating.
If the Republicans were running a same AMERICAN that believed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, then Democrats could be aspirational and take risks with new idea candidates.
The Democrats have to win. Bloomberg or whoever can fight the multiple fronts the GOP and their Russian masters will throw at them.
8
Thank you Ross, we don't need President Bloomberg. If he want's make a difference, he should take the money he's spending on his campaign and put it toward his favorite causes, stopping climate change and sensible gun control. We tried the wealthy egomaniac, it's not working well at all.
1
For a minute there, Mr. Douthat had me worried. Then I remembered that if voters paid attention to the Times, Senators Klobuchar and Warren would have tied for first in Iowa and New Hampshire, instead of finishing where they did. I like both women very much and indeed have supported Senator Klobuchar from the beginning. Nevertheless, if Mr. Bloomberg is the Democratic nominee, I will work and vote for him because, whatever his flaws, they in no way compare to those of the square peg in the Oval Office.
12
I’m continually puzzled by Ross Douthat’s apparent indifference to the grievous damage Trump’s Republican Party is doing to the country. It’s clear he’s no fan of Trump, but any discussion of candidates who might run against him carries the same “one might argue” tone. I really think Mr. Douthat thinks the Trump phenomenon is no big deal.
Michael Bloomberg may be all the things he’s said to be here, but he’d be a normal President. Who does Mr. Douthat think is a GOOD candidate? It’s an important question.
12
Mr. Bloomberg’s tweet 2 days ago in response to Trump was all I needed to see to support the man. From where I sit, he is remarkably and effectively public minded, and he’s the only candidate willing and able to go toe to toe with Mr Trump.
I also defy Mr Douthat to name a modern president who wasn’t power mad. The contest is so preposterous, it requires a certain madness to compete.
I wish that Mr. Bloomberg wasn’t a billionaire buying his way into office, but for all who haven’t noticed, this nation and its democracy are in extremis because of Mr Trump. Any qualms we may have should be shunted aside for the one existential goal of removing him from office.
I would also suggest that either a Bloomberg/Harris or Bloomberg/Abrams ticket would be almost unstoppable.
20
@Tom Bourdeaux Bloomberg/Harris would be a great ticket - absolutely unstoppable! I don't understand the fascination with Abrahms. She's not ready for the Presidency, not even in 4 years.
4
Still no mention of climate change. At this point I would accept an authoritarian approach to climate change. Republicans cried about FDR penchant for authoritarianism. When it concerns the unfolding global disaster, I'll take the velveteen fist.
7
If the election choice is between two New York billionaires, Trump wins.
Strong economy voters will stick with the original and progressives stay home.
I hope city Dems have learned from 2016. Bloomberg is doubling down on the same strategy. The guy didn’t even bother to show in the Midwest.
5
Trump is not a billionaire. This is a contest between a billionaire many times over, and someone who has gone bankrupt six times and is not a billionaire.
This is also a contest between someone who still has all his marbles and someone who is so ill he struggles thru every speech.
This is not a contest for the presidency. This is a contest to determine if America will uphold the democratic values and rule of law we used to assume were part of what made us great or if we will forsake our values and submit to an authoritarian fascist.
Vote blue no matter who.
14
And voters who want to move left and return to normalcy at the same time should unite behind Warren, the one candidate who actually shows us how she will effect big structural change, while actually being able to win the votes of undecided and swing voters, who will never in their wildest dreams vote for a Socialist.
PS - she keeps getting left off of political polls, despite the fact that she finished 3rd in Iowa. Please hold the media accountable when they ignore her.
11
At this point what’s the point. No one in this election on both sides should actually be president.
6
That’s how we ended up with Trump. Vote blue no matter who. A change in Senate majority from red to blue would be really good for America.
Vote blue no matter who.
8
Would be authoritarians do not build state -of the art oncology centers, or co-found and fund a national gun control movement,
or fund education to find out what works and what doesn't.
Bloomberg may be on the Upper Eastside charity circuit, but he does a lot more philanthropic work than other billionaires - or possibly on a par with Bill Gates. And his new tax plan appears to be serious about addressing the ever-widening inequalities in our economic system.
Bloomberg has his faults, but being a dictator wannabe isn't one of them.
24
@SCZ none of these things contradict the clear authoritarianism that is central to his record — in fact, philanthropy has hugely authoritarian implications, as it puts decisions about what is created and funded in the public interest in the hands of the super rich instead of in those of public servants or the public at large, as taxes, for example, do. Bloomberg is a portrait of oligarchy, don’t delude yourself otherwise.
5
Despite the NYT endorsement I'm still supporting Mayor Pete. I wouldn't mind a Pete Amy ticket. He is the most creative, visionary, and wise candidate running with the most unifying responses to every question.
5
@REK ... and most likely to get Trump re-elected
2
All these events for years can be condensed down to what is a desperate attempt by Wall street to stave off a rebellion against them. It was Sanders and Warren who stuck up for everyday Americans, then Bloomberg infiltrated. Bloomberg famously abused the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrators with his "Private Army", the NYPD. Bloomberg and Republicans are counting on everyone forgetting the past, or reading accounts of it that have been rewritten
12
Only the Bloomberg campaign -- far more technologically savvy, intelligent, rational and competent -- can save Democrats from themselves. Leave it up to the Bidens, the Sanders and the Warrens, you'll have four more years of Kafkaesque Trumpism. Not maybe everything you want, but better than the alternative.
25
I generally agree with Ross but he's as wrong on this as he is essentially depicting Pope Francis as sacrilegious because of his progressive and pragmatic views of how the Church should conduct itself and recruit clergy. Anyway....having lived in New York and voting for Bloomberg I can attest he is an effective and extraordinarily competent leader. To refer to him as an oligarch is an insult. The man has earned every single nickel he's made and has given away billions of his wealth (today's Times cynical linking of his generosity to his political aspirations notwithstanding). Bernie can't win because Americans are not ready for "democratic" socialism.
Pete's too inexperienced, Joe's out of gas, Amy is clever but Bloomberg's accomplished far more administering the second most difficult political entity in the country, after the country itself. Is he perfect? Of course not. Is he better than any other Democrat. Of course. Can he beat Trump? Tough call but certainly more easily than any other potential nominee. The GOP has auctioned its soul to political vulgarity. Nominating anyone other than Mike will ensure the Democrats lose theirs to an unacceptable political philosophy or will guarantee Trump's re-election. Now, does that seem like a difficult choice?
32
Bernie is not a Democrat. Mike is. Mike wasn't. But, now he is. Mike the better billionaire in this race. Mike's message to seniors is simple. Social Security pay raise. Dental, Eye, Ear added to medicare, and national retirement plan. He got my vote even before he asked.
34
Bloomberg also has the possibility of bringing centrist Republicans out not only to vote for him, but to at least consider serving in his cabinet. He seems to be confident enough in himself to be willing to listen to views other than his own. At this point, I am an anyone but Bernie Democrat.
22
Right on target. But I'm not sure how "competent" he would be. He basically got bored his last term in New York and stopped paying attention. If the Democratic elite manages to railroad through his nomination it will be a suicidal move as everyone remembers that Bloomberg hosted the Republican National Convention in New York in 2004, caring zero what New Yorkers thought.
11
For once, I agree with Mr. Douthat. Although I will vote blue regardless of the nominee, Bloomberg will be a difficult pill to swallow for all the reasons listed here, and more.
11
Playing into the Republican playbook, the Democrats demonize the candidate they don't support by drawing an equivalence between said candidate's flaws and those of Trump. Does Mr. Douthat really believe it's not just as easy to find Bernie flaws that are at a Trump-muck level? The difference between our Democratic candidates and Trump is that while each Democrat has a FEW flaws comparable in level to Trump, Trump has a character that is nothing but flawed. If, as Democrats, we compare the candidates we don't support as Trump-like, we will doom ourselves to a second Trump presidency. As a wise person once said: "The enemy of the good is the perfect."
10
I think Ross is conflicted here. A social progressive who is super effective, competent, smart, strategic, with plenty of money (read Bloomberg) is ultimately super scary for Ross because Bloomberg could actually engineer a White House win, a Senate flip and hold the House, and usher in serious social change that Mr. Douthat really does not want to see. It is becoming clear that Bloomberg could actually beat Trump and all those donations that otherwise would be needed to fund a presidential campaign could instead be given to progressive Senate candidates and flood those races, picking off Republicans like Susan Collins. Bloomberg could spell the reversal of not just Trumpism but the end of national Republican prominence across the board.
24
Bloomberg does not want to be president. He's nearly 80 years old and worth $60B. If he spends $1B to keep Warren or Sanders from being president that is pretty cheap insurance to protect $59B. He saves his fortune and he saves the US and global economies from going down the drain as they would if any of the "free" stuff Dem candidates won the presidency.
7
A Bloomberg Presidency would say terrible things about our republic and about the influence and the corruption of wealth in politics.
But at least his presidency would be more endurable than the current one, and might even help heal the partisan divide in our country. Bloomberg is more of a desperate last ditch hope. I.e. if everything goes wrong, at least some sort of normalcy will come back.
What worries me is this rumor that Hillary Clinton might be Bloomberg's running mate. If she does, it will vindicate pretty much everything that drove me to Sanders in 2016.
7
I just read the NY Mag Intelligencer interview with Mr. Bloomberg that is linked in this column. Until I read Mr. Bolomberg's comments about China, I had thought that he might be a suitable candidate for the Democrats.
Not any longer. There seems little question that Mr. Bloomberg is enamored of Beijing, and may well be beholden to China in ways that require close scrutiny.
12
i think the writer of this article is missing much of mr. bloomberg's positive aspects....Bloomberg donates billions to worthy causes, including education and environmental intitiatives, long before enterting this campaign. I believe his motivation is selfless and it is to save America from the looting destructive administration and it's spineless enablers...He is trying to save America because in his judgment, none of the existing candidates could beat Trump and the machine behind him. I think this write and other critics, are simply jealous of someone's success and are trying to minimize the capacity and ability it takes to achieve it. Mr. Bloomberg did well in business by providing value to people...no hustle, no grifting, no stealing....an honest exchange. that is what commerce and economic well being is all about.
21
By definition, anyone running for president is power hungry. After all any one wishing to become the most powerful person on earth is seeking the ultimate in power. Not sure what makes Bloomie more power hungry than any other candidate.
24
Maybe what we need at this point is a fist in a velvet glove - it is going to take a herculean effort to straighten out the mess Trump is leaving behind. I want someone with some experience who could jump in there and start moving things back to some semblance of normalcy. While I would vote for any Democratic nominee against Trump, I really want someone who can accomplish something. Sanders I am fearful won't really be able to get his agenda even partially into law. His legislative accomplishments over 30 years are next to nil. Of course it really all hinges on the Senate, because if it stays in GOP control it doesn't really matter who is sitting in the White House - McConnell will stymie any legislation that actually moves the nation forward.
14
Thank you for a well written opinion discussing Mr. Bloomberg. As late as last night, I was ready to go with Bloomberg. This is because I was impressed by his media campaign and what I had read about him. Now I know that things are different than what they seem and have a better understanding of what Mr. Bloomberg has in mind, and I don't like it one bit. After reading your article and watching Amy Klobuchar earlier today in Meet the Press, I am leaning more towards her and Sanders. Actually, I have mixed feelings as to a Democratic win, and that may all be for the better because when the economy tanks, and it will, Trump will be in power and he will have to take the blame as he was the one who created this monster.
7
Why would anyone with a even the tiniest bit of decency, compassion or integrity prefer Trump over any candidate running. The answer is, that if they had any of these qualities, they wouldn’t.
24
Hmmm. Chaos and corruption vs. competent centrism. Power seeking goes with the job so don't hoist that flimsy petard. It took Nelson Rockefeller to reign in Robert Moses -- a master builder in New York who lost his way. An equally strong leader must be in the arena against this incarnation of a NYC 'master builder' -- our current "Phony in Chief". Change is organic and comes from the ground up. Hence, the 'wokening' you refer to will still be percolating within State Legislatures and Congress. Social change runs on its own timeline and is not dependent on the titular leader. There are no other viable choices at this point. Bloomberg is credible. If the NY Times profiled how the Donald has distributed his charitable dollars, we would still be asking Mr. Douthat for subway fare. We like Mike.
23
From the Television actor Billionaire Trump, elected with a Billion dollars worth of free Television airtime for help, to a Billionaire Television network owner Bloomberg with a Disney executive on his Board, it appears the fix is in for the election. Did "The Wall" street become appalled at their kind, Trump, and did the Hampton's crowd decide Bloomberg was to bloom? Is Bloomberg the M.I.C. choice going ahead? Two things should be occurring; who is behind the Television industry, and are they dedicating excess airtime to any candidate, or was that why Bloomberg is spending many millions for TV ads? If we are faced with the choice of two possibly deliberately opposed Billionaires with Wall street connections, why should we vote after all these years of alarms about economic inequality, or is that why the choice would exist?
1
"Democrats who prefer a return-to-normalcy campaign should unite behind a normal politician like Amy Klobuchar."
That seems like good advice but how does uniting occur? In 2016 there were only two candidates running after Iowa, one more moderate and one more progressive, so uniting behind a candidate was easy. Now there are at least five more moderate candidates and two more progressive candidates. Maybe Nevada, South Carolina, and Super Tuesday will bring much more clarity but maybe not.
1
I'm a progressive who will vote for Warren in my state's primary. However, if Bloomberg gets the nomination, I will vote for him in the general election.
I'm practical and realistic and I know the differences between Trump and Bloomberg. They may both be power-hungry plutocrats and have harassment problems and racist problems but Bloomberg is not a con-man and Trump is. Simple facts on which to make a decision.
40
Well, i’m voting for Bloomberg for 2 reasons - he is the Democrat most capable of winning and he is the Democrat most capable of winning.
That he will do the best job compared with the others - that’s a given.
39
When Bloomberg threw his money in the ring I was appalled at the idea of buying an election. Then my head cleared and I realized that...that is what we do and have been doing for years. The Kochs give millions, big business spends and sends lobbies, TV reporters add up monies collected by candidates on a daily basis, "and the money kept rolling in" [Evita]. So, there are no differences here in terms of spending in our elections, its common practice and accepted. Theres the rub. I have always believed in systems similar to England or Canada, but here the tail is wagging the dog.
16
That doesn’t make it acceptable, nor does it mean that we should just throw up our hands and not try to change it.
1
@jdoe212: Whatever piles up more money becomes a runaway positive feedback process in the US.
"Democrats who want to leverage Trump’s unpopularity to move the country leftward should support Bernie Sanders" -- only if they _also_ truly think Sanders has best chance to beat Trump. If they don't, how can they think voting for Sanders would "move the country leftward"?
11
Looks like Mr. Douthart is setting the case to justify a principled Republican to actually vote for Trump rather than any of the probable Democrats left standing. We know Bloomberg will be in it till the end and the others are being painted as socialists (none actually are) or have the kind of baggage that will keep social conservatives from voting for them. Karl Rove, Bill Barr and Reince Preibus couldn't have done better.
5
Ross you're pretty good at using hyperbole, but you're aren't convincing me.
Bloomberg will make the best candidate and the best president if elected. He has the smarts, he knows what he's doing. He will unlike Trump hire smart capable people to run the government.
Bloomberg has been so successful not because has money but because he knows how to pick the right people. That made his company successful. His increasing worth is all a byproduct of good management. That's what this country needs more than ever.
30
Where Bloomberg is dangerous is that he looks at government as a business. Trump - at least - had absolutely no idea of what he was getting into. Technocrats are much more dangerous in that they believe that what they say is right and will carry things though regardless of the cost. Trump can change his mind on any topic in. a millisecond... I may sound crazy, but a despot can have more human qualities than an expert... Between both, I might just support the current President.
3
@Alex C Or maybe Bloomberg has so much money that he doesn't care about gaming the system. Maybe he really does want to pay it back. We sure wouldn't have a grifter up there.
4
What we do know, is that Bloomberg has been at the right place at the right time too many times, for it to be a coincidence. He makes doing business look easy.
I am worried about the economy, and I am sure I'm not alone. Trump can still crash it. Especially with our deficit go up 25% for the first quarter of 2020.
I suspect ideologies will go out the window for the chance to have someone in office who has the Midas touch. It seems like a no brainer.
14
Mr. Douthat almost said it. "Bloomberg presidency will feel (no Ross IT WILL BE) less institutionally threatening, less constitutionally perilous, than the ongoing wildness of the Trump era — in addition to delivering at least some of the policy changes that liberals and Democrats desire."
18
Ross Douhat turns out to be another great Trump enabler, thank you very much. None of the current Democratic candidates for president, except for Bloomberg, has a chance to win against Trump.
31
I don't see Bloomberg as particularly power hungry as the headline suggests. I don't believe he would run at all if it wasn't for D. Trump. I believe defeating DT is his overriding goal and if he himself is not the nominee he will use his wealth to help the person who is.
37
Ross Douthat's motives are suspect when he elects to offer recommendations for the Democrat nomination.
21
You do know that making sound public policy has precisely nothing to do with clever turns of phrase, Mr Douthat.
You’re an operator and a pundit in this play beneath the Proscenium upon the stage overlooking the Swamp and its fetid stench that is choking what’s left of representative government to serve the only Freemen in this Bold New Republic — the wealthiest political donors.
Here’s a fine thought for you penned by the inventor of Separation of Powers doctrine that Madison admired and attempted to translate into our Constitution:
“The tyranny of a prince is never so dangerous as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.”
Montesquieu had a way with words. You do, too. Perhaps, consider using them for some purpose other than stirring the pot to annoy the “libs.” The effect of the professional pundit class in this nation’s political discourse seems some days to frustrate us to the point of apathy. That’s quite dangerous, too.
13
No one kow tows to super-rich oligarchs as much as Republican politicians do. Given Mr. Douthat's sympathy with a lot of supposedly conservative talking points, his warning about Mike Bloomberg rings hollow. And this article never connects Bloomberg's name to any particular scandal.
Mr. Douthat's article is the merest attempt to make a bugbear out of Mike Bloomberg. He'll have to try harder than he did in this article.
13
Ross Douthat exposes his raw biases. Over-complicating which democrat has the best chance of beating Trump is not helpful. Is his column really supporting Trump? Having earned money over a lifetime of hard work, innovation, and ingenuity while surrounding himself with equally talented people is a plus. Being rich his way represents the American dream and is admirable. Unlike Trump, he didn’t get a multimillion dollar start and several bailouts from his father. He also didn’t refuse housing to people of color and he hasn’t gone through multiple bankruptcies; he’s a real business success and far more different from Trump than similar. One crucial difference includes his willingness to apologize for and reflect on a problematic policy that did harm to black and brown communities. Most importantly, he’s human. Trump has demonstrated his inhumanity and even cruelty for years. We are in the midst of a national and constitutional crisis. It is mystifying that Douthat would use his bully pulpit to tear apart a candidate who may be able to reverse the terrifying course we are on. This is no time for ideological or theoretical musings. The moment calls for unity and pragmatism.
18
I do not know much about Bloomberg but he is definitively a good choice. So what if he spends a lot of his money. He is decent and smart. Trump is spending a lot of American oligarchs money and he is destroying this country while cashing in through obscene tax cut for real estate moguls.
I like Bernie but he is too radical. We need to attract the independents.
19
The Democratic presidential nomination candidacy of Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg demonstrates Mr. Bloomberg’s unfitness for the Presidency in this era. Bloomberg is a decent man and a highly competent moderate politician. However, he is a billionaire entrepreneur who is a poor fit to lead America in an era that calls for an end to our government’s nearly 40-year fascination with supply-side economics. This economic theory has virtually destroyed the American Dream for the majority of Americans who, unfortunately, make up the middle and lower working classes. Bloomberg is unlikely to implement policies that will reverse our embrace of “Reaganomics,” often called “Trumponomics” today, after President Trump’s similar tax-cut bill, which also blessed the wealthy and large corporations to the detriment of the working classes. What is worse, however, is Mr. Bloomberg’s arrogant, late entry into the race fueled by his casual expenditure of hundreds of millions of his own dollars for advertising to introduce himself to voters outside of the New York metropolitan area. If Mr. Bloomberg was serious and this run more than a mere vanity exercise by a rich, older man whose best days are behind him he would have put together a campaign over a year ago. Mr. Bloomberg should know that the Left’s renaissance occurred because most Americans are hurting financially. If he really cared about them he would use that ad money to create a fund for struggling American workers.
4
@Howard Gregory .... "Bloomberg is a decent man and a highly competent moderate politician."....Which compared to Trump practically qualifies him for sainthood.
6
@Howard Gregory
It is interesting to look at the recommend buttons on the comments. Those against Bloomberg are getting zilch; those supporting Bloomberg are climbing high. Hmmm. And this coming from the NYT group. I just ordered a Bloomberg bumper sticker! I'm a former Biden supporter. Will you join me?
6
It won't be with my vote... Buying an election is right up there with Russian interference as far as I'm concerned...
9
@ Missy. As long as Citizens United is the law, unfortunately money, and lots of it, is necessary to win elections. Who would you rather have - a candidate who relies on donations, dark money, and SuperPAC’s, and therefore is beholden to those people, or a self-financed candidate who owes no one and no one owns him? Bloomberg has actually done a lot for others both in public office and as someone who donates hundreds of millions to non-profits that support education, justice reform, social and racial equity, women’s rights, gun control and climate change causes. On the other hand, Trump has had enormous financial troubles and relies on mega donors (just this week he raised $10 million at a billionaires’ fundraising dinner) and has many entanglements with Russian mobster oligarchs. Trump has never donated any of his alleged millions to anyone or any cause, and had his Foundation shut down for fraud and financial irregularities.
Not voting for the Democratic candidate, Bloomberg or otherwise, is a vote for four more year of Trump’s corruption and self-dealing.
17
@J. Silly me, wasn't Bloomberg a republican that recently changed to democrat? And how about the head of the DNC who broke the rules to let Bloomberg skip all the rules the others were following. The ones following the rules are also good people that have served their country well. I would say decency before money or our country is lost.
2
Accusing Bloomberg of being power hungry means you are accusing anyone who is running for President as being power hungry. Let’s have a more rational reason than that for attacking Bloomberg.
17
An ancient Wall Street billionaire with a lot of baggage, a thin skin, an authoritarian streak, and recent Republican Party membership on his resume might not be the answer for Democrats. Just a crazy thought.
8
@Victor Roberts
Not to mention his 'what I said is not what you heard' approach to distancing himself from his own words.
That is called gaslighting and Bloomie seems to have
perfected the technique. In a way, it's worse than The
Donald's outright and outrageous lies, because it puts
the burden of doubt on the hearer, not the speaker.
1
This column lands squarely in the realm of right-wing disinformation masquerading as legitimate commentary. The The goal of course is to try to prevent a Bloomberg nomination, since Trump would go down in flames. Bloomberg is the real deal in every way that Trump is a phony. The Republicans know that very well, and fear it.
15
Conservative whining syndrome here.
Look at it this way.
You're saying a President Bloomberg would be like taking two to three steps backwards in history; many gains achieve would be lost. Now consider President Fearless Leader.
Just how many steps backwards has he actually accomplished in 3 years ?
1) Decimated our intel Agencies,
2) Gutted the professional staff of the FBI
3) Stacking the courts with ultra-consevative judges with little to no experience,
4) Using sympathest in the DoJ to reopen investigations, not of the substance of closed cases but of the conduct of the prosectors and their methods,
5) Stealing money Congress authorized to be spent by Agencies to build his wall they refuse to fund.
6) attacking our allies as if they were are worst enemies while wining an d dining those who really are our enemies.
And the list goes on more than the number of characters I'm allowed to use here.
SO if it were up to me, I'd settle for taking 2 or 3 steps back, thank you.
14
MSM are about to delve into Bloomberg's comments on women. Far worse than anything Trump said as Bloomberg would castigate his own employees to the point of being sued and settling multiple discrimination lawsuits.
Bloomberg is another Republican now apologizing for his past to ward of the left wing haters. Also he is an old rich white billionaire. How can the Democrats support that in this day and age of identity politics. Bernie is going to be railroaded again.
5
@Mr Chang Shih An ....Bernie wasn't railroaded before and he won't be railroaded now. If it wasn't for the non-democratic caucus states he would not even be a contender.
1
Democrat advice to working people: let's replace the foul billionaire with another foul billionaire! Working people have no interest in supporting either party of the ruling rich.
5
If that’s the case, how exactly did Trump get elected?
2
Without endorsing Bloomberg--I am a Warren diehard--this is dead wrong. As you'd expect when Douthat--who's probably closest to a 19th century Bourbon restorationist in Third Republic France--presumes to advise the Democrats.
Trump is President Fee-Fees, just as he was in business and his personal life: everything he says and does aims to fill the unfillable hole left by his horrible parents. He's utterly incurious and both ignorant and contemptuous of norms, precedent, institutions, history.
Bloomberg, for better and for worse, is all about those established power centers, the customs and folkways. Actually that's second; data and evidence is first. To put it mildly, he has his biases, the most foundational of which is for unfettered capitalism. And he's roughly as sexist and racist as most really rich men of his age.
All of that might well be disqualifying. I admired most of his mayoralty here--but I'm a well educated white professional. And it all makes me uncomfortable.
But if he wins, it will be as the anti-Trump. He'll have run and won on competence, comparative decency, and to do one or two big things--most likely on guns and climate. He'll have Dem congressional majorities well to his left that would constrain him. And he'd more likely serve one term than three, quite possibly by choice.
11
Mr Bloomberg has a large fleet of private jets. He is also a helicopter pilot with a wonderful top of the line chopper
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2013/08/mayor-bloombergs-new-7-million-helicopter.html
One of the chief problems with activism about climate change is that the most prominent activists and their most prominent opponents all live the same sort of life, indulging themselves in every way and ignoring the rest of us. The hypocrisy is too obvious.
6
A bigger problem surrounding climate change is the argument that because rich people like Bloomberg fly private, we should not enact sensible policies and pursued green initiatives. It’s the sort of mindless what-aboutism that infects too much of our public discourse these days.
2
@Ross As if Trump is not a power-hungry plutocrat. This is America.
7
Bloomberg's novel approach to securing the nomination is "I'm not focusing my ire on Democrats, but squarely on Trump."
Makes sense, and is arguably the definitive approach for this particular season.
14
If money is what's needed to beat Trump, then I don't have any problem accepting Bloomberg's. We can fix election finances once we secure that we have a country to vote in.
In addition, I think he would likely make a good president and I felt this way for many years.
He has excellent ideas about education, he has been talking about education for poor kids for a long time, rather than free college tuition which at best works only for those that graduated HS.
He will be good for healthcare without making me loose my private insurance.
16
@Lili Borensztein
Yeah, anyone that compares teachers to the NRA and wants to double class size is going to be good for education.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/nyregion/bloombergs-remarks-on-teachers-draw-scrutiny.html
2
We can't believe in fair elections and have Michael Bloomberg, too.
There is only one fair way to elect our officials. This allows the candidates equal funds to run their campaigns.This thinking has nothing to do with Socialism, but It has everything to do with fairness.
I write this as a business person who understands money and competition.
We can't have fairness in our election process with wealthy candidates like Bloomberg, Steyer, or anybody else spending their own money. Private money doesn't belong in our elections. We need public funding, only .
Citizens United is simply an unfair money proposition, not to be used for electing anybody, anywhere,anytime.
We can't have our Bloomberg cake--- and eat it too.
M.W. Endres
8
I am a former New Yorker who has lived in Virginia the past 30 years. I am eternally grateful to Bloomberg for supporting the campaigns of 19 democratic candidates in 2019, which has led to democratic control of the General Assembly. We are already seeing major legislative reform in women's reproductive rights and equality, gun control, health care, etc. Bloomberg's funding is being well spent to challenge Trump and the far right wing of the Republican Party.
21
@RBC
Nice, the Republican donor has switched sides at the end of his life. He can continue to fund progressive causes and issues; but that doesn't make him Presidential material.
5
@Dobbys sock ... "He can continue to fund progressive causes and issues; but that doesn't make him Presidential material."...It is hard to tell from the comment if you are referring to Bloomberg or Sanders.
1
I don't trust Douthat's motives - not for a second. He will write of his "concerns" for any Democratic candidate and, in doing so, irresponsibly play his part in re-electing the maniac in the White House. Anyone who wastes his or her opportunity to do what they can to diminish and defeat Trump is part of the problem. Shame on this writer.
28
The power of a Bloomberg nomination will actually make it easier for the rest of us to understanding at least in part, why the white evangelicals would support a sniveling unprincipled man like Donald Trump. We would be forced to decide if indeed the country i.e. United States constitution is more sacrosanct than our own fears of losing an election... it may be a period for reconciliation...
7
Alarmist nonsense from a Republican apologist and pro-Catholic moralizing pundit. The last time I checked, New York City is still standing and thriving after Bloomberg's terms in office. His administrations were well-run and staffed with competent people.
I like Bloomberg's stance on climate, gun-control, social security, and other issues and I am confident he can restore a sense of decency, honesty, and fairness that has been devastated under Donald Trump.
If swing voters look open mindedly at Bloomberg, they will like what they see. No unpopular positions like Medicare for All, Healthcare for Illegal Aliens, abolishing ICE, free college for all, or reparations for slavery. Whether or not those positions are right is secondary - they are deeply unpopular.
Most importantly, Bloomberg is the only candidate in the Democratic Party with the resources and temperament to take on Trump's re-election machine, which is massive and well-organized. And between choosing an imperfect candidate like Bloomberg and an autocrat and reckless incompetent grifter like Trump, the choice makes itself.
31
@Bear Hunter
A spectacular commentary! You nailed it on every level.
4
I would replace Trump with my dog Bailey.
I would prefer Warren, but I would vote for Bloomberg in a New York minute.
26
One advantage Michael Bloomberg has over other democratic candidates is he knows Donald Trump. Bloomberg has known Donald for years. They are both New Yorkers. Michael knows first hand how Donald operates because he has had to work and socialize with Donald. So, Mike knows how Donald's brain works and who Donald knows and probably has a pretty good idea of how much money Trump actually has.
And, Donald, of course, knows Michael pretty well. But I would guess that Trump has a lot he wants to hide from the public. And, Bloomberg knows where Donald has buried the bodies. So, it often takes money to understand money and Bloomberg has the money and the knowledge that money can buy.
Also, Bloomberg knows technology. He runs a business that is based on technology. He knows how news is gathered and goes out. He probably has more knowledge and sophistication than any other candidate, including Trump, on how to time ads and how to release news. I don't think the mistakes that were made by the Hillary campaign with her servers will happen with the Bloomberg campaign servers. If there is another Cambridge Analytica incident I think the Bloomberg campaign will know about it before any other organization and take action to expose or counter the situation.
So yes, money gives people power. It is how they use that money and power that is important.
22
@E. Rich I wouldn’t be surprised if Bloomberg has spent a lot of money finding out all that is discoverable about Trump. It is probably information that has not yet seen the light of day and any and all of that information should be out in public.
3
I’m not voting for Bloomberg. If a billionaire can buy the election, let’s stop pretending that we live in a democracy.
15
Thank you Ross. First agreement ever with you. Voters are easily swayed by the money, success and power Bloomberg has achieved and ignoring his horrific swipes at Democratic values. There can be a reckoning of vote counts after Super Tuesday, where lesser Candidates turn their numbers over to another Candidate besides Bernie. Not at all a Bernie fan, but he is way less scary than Bloomberg. Two NY billionaires screaming at each other is a nightmare Americans should avoid.
15
I have no doubt that, as President, Bloomberg would use all the means and influence he could to get things done. So did Lyndon Johnson and FDR. That is what it takes.
24
@Want2know: Poor Mitch McConnell has to raise other people's money to trickle down on the Senate.
6
Isn't the real question we should now be asking whether a president is a good idea? Does it make sense to separate executive power from the direct control of the people's assembly and vest that power in a single person who operates largely independently of that assembly?
There is another common system of democratic government, the parliamentary one, where executive and legislative power both rest with the parliament. That parliament sets policy and oversees the executive ministries, but much of the actual executive function is left to professionals hired for the task. Parliament enacts law and sets policy. It provides oversight. And it directs the actions of the executive bodies. But those bodies themselves are best seen as servants of the parliament—functionaries more than rulers.
I increasingly see the American presidential system as highly flawed—a mistake, really, of our Framers who maybe were not distanced enough from the notion that a king was necessary and maybe too afraid that a people's assembly would devolve into a mob. Thanks to the separation of executive power from the people's assembly and the placement of that power in a single person, what we have in an America is an elected king, but a king nevertheless.
17
Wow, this is some original thinking. Very nicely said.
I do wonder if the failure to convict the criminal in office in this instance is enough to throw out what was a reasonably functional separation of powers that has worked. Parliamentary approaches have some serious issues. See Netanyahu, as one example.
4
617to416: No thanks. Canada's dominion status as an institutional monarch has resulted in a parlimentary fiction that it is only sentimentally attached to Britain's roysl family, when in fact you have a system of legalized privileges supporting its visitors Harry and Meagan, Elizabeth, Phillip and the rest of her idle family and their brood. Your Prime Minister or executive also is elected by his or her party members, not directly by citizens or even provincial electors, and the parties are loyal to and subordinate to your foreign sovereign who reigns even after the Prime Minister is long gone from the government which supports the idle and parasitic class. Worse, your legislative Senate is a lifetime appointed Court just as your Judges on your Supreme Court, and yet you also fail to understand how appointed legislators conflict with the very essence of democratic political equality. Our President has none of the legal protections from prosecution for crimes as a British Monarch in Canada.
4
@617to416
I grew up in an ultra conservative province where the estate system predated the French Revolution and theocracy was very real at the citizen level. The church did health education and welfare.
We just passed another Freedom From Religion Law.
When America made itself a nation under God whether you are atheist, believer or zealot it betrayed its humanist foundation.
Government of the people by the people and for the people is not subject to divine blessing or cursing.
A king by any other name is still the king and the men that slew Charles the first knew regicide was an abomination in God's eyes.
Sic Semper Tyrannis is much more than the state motto of Virginia.
George III was just a banal human being afflicted with a psychological illness but even in 1775 he had far less power than Donald J Trump.
George the Third reigned over Britain but the East India Company ruled the world and taxed everybody else's tea.
Taxation No Tyranny Samuel Johnson
https://www.samueljohnson.com/tnt.html
2
Ross forgot one major point... Bloomberg jumped into the race and is spending many millions of his own money to save the country from its downfall. It’s clear from anyone paying attention that it’s not simply about a thirst for power. If it were, he would have entered much earlier.
1159
@Alexandre Leal
Seeing that Sanders could actually end up the democratic nominee, the elites convinced Bloomberg to run. He’s not trying to save the country from Trump. He’s trying to save the elites from Sanders.
92
@MD
I am far from being a "elite" but Sanders is my very last choice. I was a Sanders supported in 2016 but watching him after he lost to Clinton I was disappointed. Watching him this time around I have been even more disappointed in him. I would take Bloomberg over him in a heartbeat. If Sanders did get the nomination I would vote for him.
75
@Alexandre Leal Bloomberg jumped into the race to save himself from progressive candidates. All it took was the proposal of a wealth tax, which polls well over 50% popularity, to make him feel the need to jump in spend the change he found in his couch to buy the presidency.
No thanks. It's less a thirst for power than blatant wealth-preservation.
32
"Will the Democrats try to replace Donald Trump with a power-hungry plutocrat?"
I ardently hope so. This is an intervention, not an election. Bloomberg is the same bitter medicine as Trump, but in a higher dose, and without the toxic side effects.
678
@brian
The only power hungry plutocrat is Trump though I suspect that he is only a pretend billionaire.
The right fears Mike more than anyone else.
They are even resorting to getting Republicans in South Carolina to vote for Bernie in the coming primary.
They want to reelect Trump.
We must do whatever it takes to stop them.
33
Nope, it’s just an election. And we don’t have to sell our souls to win it.
8
@brian So the purpose of this election is revenge on the Republicans? That would make sense (immoral sense, but sense nonetheless) if it weren't the case that Bloomberg's presidency would be good for the rich and bad for Democrats.
8
Interesting that conservative Mr. Douthat is a better democrat than many Democrats.
If a democrat is a person who is willing to defend the rule of the people against the rule of the plutocrats.
8
Bloomberg is everything Trump is not. He was not borne into wealth. He made his wealth the old fashion way. he earned it. So he knows what it is like to not have money and to have money. Unlike DJT who has never had a period in his life where he didn't have money. Everything Donald owns he got from the monies left to him by his parents.
So all plutocrats are the same. Some are bad because they use their money to financially benefit themselves. Others use their money to benefit other people. Mike Bloomberg is using his money to benefit our country.
To be prejudice against Bloomberg because he has lots of money is nonsense. He made his money, until I find out otherwise, honestly. He is not perfect so who is in this world.
22
Yes, there are obviously concerns about Bloomberg. They're warranted and Democrats are all-too-aware of them. But these are extraordinary and perilous times for democracy and constitutional government in this country. Trump has taken a Republican Party that was already ethically and intellectually bankrupt and turned it into a quasi-fascist personality cult. What many Democrats keenly understand is that a strong hand may be required to get the country back to normal. Let's face it, you just can't play nice with these people. As distasteful as it might be, if it takes a plutocrat to do the job ... so be it.
14
Your exactly right...The rest of the Democratic candidates look like sheep to Trump...
3
Sorry that Bloomberg "...nomination would pull the party back toward where it stood before the rise of Bernie Sanders and Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, and..."
A 90% chance of that is clearly superior a 10% chance that Trump is re-elected.
8
LauraF,
Democrats get one shot at obtaining my vote, mess up and the other party will get my vote.
Ross frames the issues very nicely. It's a good news. bad news story with Bloomberg. From the perspective of a democrat, it's mostly a good news story and worth the risk of electing a level-headed plutocrat. For one thing, Bloomberg will be able to put in place a senate and house that supports his legislative objectives by indirectly funding state-level campaigns and targeting those in congress who frustrate his goals. The Koch's of the world and others in Bloomberg's circle will stay on the sidelines as long as Bloomberg does nothing to overtly undermine their interests which just so happen to align with Bloomberg's interest. This may seem like a down side to Bloomberg but it comes with a progressive silver lining.
All in all, the democratic party would be wise to roll the dice with Bloomberg. He's a good bet.
8
This gets at the heart of the issue: which candidate will rally the greatest support to defeat Trump. Someone like Bloomberg will do well with independents and moderates. But he will likely turn off a lot of young progressives who will not want to vote for another billionaire (a real one in this case). And unless he commits to an African American running mate, his chances with that community are sketchy at best.
So Amy K. is looking better and better. And she's a woman. Right now this country needs a mother to put the house back into order.
2
Right. And I'm not going for the velvet fist. Yeah, the Bloomberg money makes it easier to defeat Trump. and we all want for politics in this our republic to be easy, right? No--wrong. Mr. Douthat uses a delightful phrase, "congressional abdication." That sloth-filled descriptor will reappear under Bloomberg as well. In today's front page story regarding Bloomberg's pressure on liberal think tanks and organizations is mention of the aid Bloomberg promises in the near future. Namely, in the 2020 election, conditioned by his nomination, he will financially support all down ballot Democrat nominees; if he is not the nominee, he will support swing state Democrat races crucial to Trump's defeat. What that bodes for the 2022 midterms under a President Bloomberg is precisely what we see in the Republican machine: the danger of being "primaried" because you advocate policies counter to the boss. That's how plutocracy works. That's the velvet fist. Get to work, folks. It's OUR republic, and we're the only ones who can preserve it.
6
I disagree with Douthat. Urging Democrats to choose Amy Klobuchar or Bernie Sanders over Michael Bloomberg overlooks that the three of them may not be electable in a race with Donald Trump. For Klobuchar, being female and polling in low single digits should be a clue enough that she's not viable in a general election. For Sanders, being a socialist whose plans will upend parts of the American business sector will prove too threatening to those with investments, especially retirees and those likely to lose jobs. For Bloomberg, it's early to know how strong his candidacy can be but he's not as exciting a media person as is Donald Trump. That matters. Overall, Trump, with rising poll numbers, presiding over a good economy for many who are sure to vote, and willingness to do anything to be reelected, makes him the most electable at the present time.
3
Yes, there is an overwhelming desire among democrats to beat Trump. But if this desire is across the democratic spectrum then the SIMPLEST solution is just to show up in November and vote blue across the board. In primaries try to aim in the middle. Cross out Bernie and Bloomberg and pick Warren, Klobuchar or Buttigieg.
Any questions?
2
@CarolinaJoe I wish the world was as simple as that. Money will play a big part in Donald's campaign. He is using and will use this money to continue to spread falsehoods.
To counter this false information takes money to run ads and a strong network of professionals to run a campaign. Donald has the advantage because he can tweet every hour of the day about every subject. So, you have got to run continuous ads to counter his falsehoods and expose his lies. By putting information in ads in front of voters on television and online weakens the impact of those tweets. The other democratic candidates are good people but they don't have the time to set up the system Bloomberg is getting in place right now. And that system is needed. That system needs cash and flexibility and Bloomberg has the cash and flexibility
4
I regularly read Mr. Douthat's columns, even though I often disagree with him, because of his intelligent and often unique perspectives. However, I am somewhat frustrated by his tendency to not commit to any particular position. He is constantly suggesting that, "liberals should...," "moderates should...," "conservatives might well...". Maybe like a lot of us, he simply has not made up his mind yet. But since his distaste for Trump is obvious, I would like to know what HE intends to do about it.
2
For all those supporters of Mayor Pete, whose city has a population of 100K and had police and African-Americas issues, as a New Yorker I have no questions about Bloomberg's ability to govern the whole country. Mr. Douthat's article is as magical thinking as Sanders magic wand solutions. No perfect candidate exists but one who is intelligent enough to recognize that the country is sliding into dictatorship and is willing to spend his own millions to stop that slide deserves to be given credit for being a patriot. And if you don't think that beating Trump is issue number one then you have not been paying attention to our dictator-in-training's actions over the last three years. Trump is not a candidate running for re-election he is, along with his cult followers, as grave a danger as any facing this country and must be stopped. So Bloomberg 2020 sounds right to me and I'll be confident that the USA will survive which I consider the tantamount issue up for election. And with Warren as his VP I will know the country is in good hands for tomorrow and for the next decade.
9
@Michael
You cite Mayor Pete's issues with police targeting African-Americans, but ignore Bloomberg's odious stop-and-frisk, which he's only apologized for when he's entertained presidential runs (politically convenient)? Add to this Bloomberg's issues with sexism at his company and imperial 3rd mayoral term, lacking required public referendum & he's a non-starter for Democrats. Mike is a Republican, not what the Democrats need or want, esp. buying his way in.
3
I saw a national poll on Meet The Press today. It showed every Democratic candidate beating Trump. What I found most interesting was that Trump got 42-44% against every Democratic candidate. This means his base will vote for Trump regardless of who the Democratic candidate is. The critical issue then is identifying which candidate is most capable of drawing away Republicans who cannot vote for Trump and moderates that will not support a candidate that supports free college and open borders. That person is Mike Bloomberg. Is he without flaws ? of course not. But his strengths far outweigh the flaws and unlike our President, he acknowledges when he makes a mistake. We need to restore respect for our Democracy. Vote for political purity and we get four more years of what we dislike so much.
13
@Lorraine H.
There is one important question that these poll don’t address. How many never or rarely voting Americans will show up this time around. My expectation is that there will be few millions of them to reach high 50s percentage, or maybe even 60%. Most of them motivated to get rid of Trump, of course.
So, face it. As was said, Driven Snow is not running. In my opinion, Mike Bloomberg is tantamount to the Second Coming. So confident and secure, he can, for instance, apologize for mistakes! What? Isn’t that un-American? Observe Douthat et al. already quaking fearfully and propagandizing, way up here in February no less, and showing their contempt for our collective intellects – that we can’t see through what motivates his “advice”.
16
Bloomberg has problems with African-Americans, and now the Washington Post is giving him problems with women, too:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/michael-bloomberg-women/
Many say he is not a “real Democrat”, that in ordinary times he would never be considered for the democratic nomination.
However, Trump is not a “real” Republican either, and these are not ordinary times.
We should not be looking for a saint. Saints don’t make good leaders. We need a tough-as-nails fighter to defeat the greatest threat American democracy has seen since the Civil War.
Think about why Democrats flipped 40 GOP seats and won the House in 2018. It is because moderate independents, never Trumpers, Republicans with buyers remorse, and suburban soccer moms decided to vote for the Democrat instead of the Republican for the first time in their lives.
For voters like those, being a former Republican is a plus, not a minus.
But what about “real Democrats” who recoil at nominating and electing a former Republican billionaire, who alienated millions of African Americans with stop-and-frisk?
No one can change the past. All Bloomberg can do is promise that he has learned his lesson and will do better in the future.
The best possible way he can do that is to choose Stacey Abrams of Georgia as his Vice President, and promise not to run for reelection in 2024. She will get out the vote!
Mike is tough and smart and can win. FDR was filthy rich too, and he did all right!
8
@We the Purple
FDR was far more Democratic. Bloomberg is a Republican, and imperial to boot.
1
Thanks for the “ advice “, Ross.
Vote BLUE, no matter WHO.
6
Titanic, meet Iceberg.
Good Luck.
5
I know Michael Bloomberg doesn't want to hear this, but he would make a great Vice Presidential candidate. Question is, who tops the ticket? No point in running with either Saunders or Warren. A Biden/Bloomberg ticket is too 'old white guy' heavy. Besides, Biden is done. Buttigieg really is young and inexperienced. Klobuchar? I say, go with Michelle Obama and reignite the Democratic Party.
If this sounds crazy--or unrealistic--wait until the convention is deadlocked, there is no clear primary winner, and the Party is split in two.
@michael
Mike is not interested in working for others. Why should he do that? He will make a great president!
I trust him to pick an effective running mate: Eric Swalwell, Michael Steele, someone like that. A gentleman. Smart. Knowledgeable. Courteous. Etc.
3
If the democrats choose any other candidate other than Mike Bloomberg, they will be voting for Trump to be president for life.
Take that to the bank and quit daydreaming about the tooth fairy.
9
@Consiglieri
Bloomberg has more baggage than Bernie.
2
@Consiglieri
Agree, 100%.
(I think many/most anti-Bloomberg comments are coming from Russian bots, Republican bots, and/or Bernie bros.)
10
Give me a break, Mr Douthat. You talking about a candidate and his wokeness when you support the Republican Party is laughable.
I’m a proud feminist. Mayor Bloomberg is a flawed man and was a very good mayor. Was he perfect? No. He would make a good president, and is light years ahead of the cave man in the White House and all of his Republican friends in Congress and his cabinet destroying our democracy.
Thanks for reminding me why I never click on your columns. I won’t be making that mistake again for a while.
12
I don't understand why the NYT so prominently publishes op/eds which so blatantly ignores material facts Here are two sentences from Wikipedia that destroys most of how Douthat paints Bloomberg's personality and interests:
"Beginning in 2004, Bloomberg appeared on Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of top 50 Americans who had donated the most money that year.[10] Between 2004 and 2011, Bloomberg was listed as a top 10 American philanthropist each year."
10
Nothing to see here. Keep moving. This week the RNC and its mouthpieces like Douthat see Bloomberg as the greatest threat to four more years of the destruction of America from within by their favorite President, Trump. Next week it will be someone else. Next week’s column will employ slightly different Party-approved epithets against one or more Democratic candidates designed to convince the dupable that Trump, demonstrably intellectually, morally, ethically and temperamentally unfit for any office, is America’s “best bet”. Oh for the return of the days when Republicans like Douthat still pretended to care about America and Americans, not just about Republican Party power.
8
Ross,
You seldom, if ever mention A-Bombs. Or H-Bombs. Maybe you don’t think about them. Trump is obviously much more likely than anyone else to drop one, or a lot, in a fit of instability.
3
As usual, you choose to find negative things about Bloomberg, when he is the only sensible candidate
7
This column is highly deceptive. If you want to find out what a candidate believes today, digging up something that happened 20 years to make a point is pretty thin stuff. Yet Ross along with much of the media keeps going on and on about the exact 3 or 4 items that can be used to derail Bloomberg's campaign. No one talks about his obvious talent for finding the best and the brightest to work for him, his ability to change him mind in the face of uncomfortable or new facts or the policies on his website. Instead we have the usual right wing false equivalence argument that Mike is like Don because they both have a lot of money. Frankly, Ross, like the rest of the republicans are scared still of a politician that can beat them at their own game - buying elections. Do you really prefer 4 more years of lawlessness in the White House, an endless stream of lies and insults to a rational data and fact based president?
8
Bloomberg may be a plutocrat, but Trump is a psychopath.
Trump’s psychological state presents an imminent danger to America and to the world. So say a group of 650 psychiatrists, who recently submitted a petition to the House Judiciary Committee. https://dangerouscase.org/petition-to-the-judiciary-committee/
This is a key passage:
“What makes Donald Trump so dangerous is the brittleness of his sense of worth. Any slight or criticism is experienced as a humiliation and degradation. To cope with the resultant hollow and empty feeling, he reacts with what is referred to as narcissistic rage. He is unable to take responsibility for any error, mistake, or failing. His default in that situation is to blame others and to attack the perceived source of his humiliation. These attacks of narcissistic rage can be brutal and destructive.”
Unfortunately, Trump's outbursts are likely to get worse.
We need to get rid of Trump and his GOP apologists.
Vote Blue, no matter who!
12
I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Douthat’s analysis.
5
There is a rather terrible truth that no matter how bad circumstances happen to be they can be worse. Bloomberg may be another autocratic personality who will strive to defy the limits upon the President if he is elected. But the facts are that Trump is doing damage to our government under law which threatens all of our liberties, so allowing him to be re-elected for fear of someone who might be as bad is unreasonable.
3
The thought of us picking an oligarch to save us from another oligarch is so depressing.
8
So many platitudes. So much fear mongering. So little evidence to back it up. You need to do better, Ross, if you expect to have a voice that matters between now and November.
4
For me, it is all about the climate. And Bloomberg has a proven track record fighting coal. He is self made, wealthier than Trump, and smart -- I would give anything to hear him debate that "born on third base" bombastic con-man in the White House.
11
This is exactly the kind of false equivalence that got us Trump in the first place. Be clear: one is a hubristic fire chief; the other is an arsonist.
10
Is this what our democracy has come to? The last election was won by a rich man, self funding. Now the Democratic Party thinks it might be a good idea to run another wealthier man to represent us??? What is the point of these primaries if someone can just cruise in and market themselves?
I’m dismayed to hear pundits putting down candidates like Amy and Pete because they might not have enough money. What about ideas and integrity?
8
@JLeesland JL, in a better world we could have a contest to pick a qualified Democrat to run against the Republican nominee but in this case we can't take any chances with Bernie or Pete. In my view they are not electable.
They will not get the votes needed in the Midwest. It's just too conservative.
Bloomberg has a lot of issues but the one thing he has is the ability to go up against Trump and beat him.
3
@JLeesland: I think there is a general shortage of vision. There have to be unifying concepts, like every citizen of age deserves equal representation at the federal level, because all are shareholders in the federal government,
@JLeesland
Amy and Pete don't stand a chance of ending the Trump/Republican assault on our poor country.
2
I would love to beat Trump but I have to ask myself at what price? If Bloomberg is allowed to remake himself as our savior from another billionaire then what? If Bloomberg is allowed to play master of the universe can Jeff Bezos be far behind.Trump is doing what he does because rich people don't think the rules apply to them. If Bloomberg is sixty times richer than Trump are we in store for someone sixty times as arrogant as Trump? New Yorker's know Bloomberg gentrified Brooklyn,Harlem and The South Bronx at the expense of the people of color who lived there. Stop and Frisk had little to do with taking guns off the streets it had to do with power and intimidation. Bloomberg's gang,The NYPD, was going to make it safe for wealthy whites to take the ghettos back. Bloomberg may have had a chance to atone himself with me but his campaign of getting Black big shots to endorse him in mass seams a little too cute by a half. His apology days before he needs us to vote for him is insulting.We have survived Trump for four years and I like others wish he would just go away but he is the devil we know.Bloomberg sixty times richer than Trump may be the devil we don't know.I am getting the sinking feeling that Bloomberg is playing us. After gentrifying Brownsville,Harlem and The South Bronx are we ready for him to gentrify the country? Sure Bloomberg has played nice with some of his money but some of his polices were not very very nice for people of color. Can a Leopard change its spots?
7
What utter nonsense. Just look at the good causes that Bloomberg has given $10 billion to. Name one other person who has opposed the gun fanatics as strongly as Bloomberg, certainly not one of the other candidates.
"Mike will place a 5% surtax on incomes (capital and labor) above $5 million a year to fund improvements in infrastructure, education, health care and more." Does this sound like someone protecting the rich?
4
@desertstraw
Yes, it sounds like someone protecting the rich. The rich don't have income. They have investments.
5
Mike will save more than he spends on this election if his wealth tax goes
through compared to a Warren or Sanders wealth tax. Just a good business investment.
And if it costs the Democrats the election... which it might, Trump will continue to work for the one percent so it’s a win win proposition for a billionaire.
Not good for the rest of us though.
4
I’m going to make this simple: We already have a predator of females in the WH.
While Bloomberg may be a tad bit classier, smarter and better at business and governance; the volume of his insulting comments, punitive actions, NDAs, and out of court settlements involving female employees, tells me all I need to know. Sure, he can apologize for Stop & Frisk as he can explain away his party jumping. He did great things with Everytown. But YEARS of a toxic attitude towards women cannot be covered up by a golden rug or an apology.
It is as ingrained in him as it is in Trump.
6
What else have we got? Biden appears weak, Bernie and Warren are too left, Klobuchar and Mayor Pete are appealing, but I think Trump would chew them up and spit them out. Blumberg is tough, is willing to spend his own money and paired with an appealing Veep like Klobuchar could win.
5
If Bloomberg is what it take to be rid of Trump -- I'll risk it.
7
Mayor Pete has my heart, Warren second but at this point in history Bloomberg will get this Californian's vote during the primary. After that, Vote Blue no matter Who.
8
Any self described liberal or moderate who supports Bloomberg is to be permanently placed on a "Pay No Mind" list from this point forward. They are just embarrassed republicans, a cowardly fifth column for the GOP who flatter themselves with the belief that they are so superior to the tacky NASCAR dads they despise so much. To vote for him to believe that being black is probable cause for police searching, that a dogmatic police state is preferable if it means making a city exclusively to upwardly mobile white professionals.
It doesn't matter though because Democratic turnout would be somewhere around 15% if it was the general between him and Trump. The map would resemble 72 or 84, and Trump wouldn't need any disinformation to depress turnout, he'd just have to tell the truth. So M4A is unrealistic but Bloomberg is going to somehow take away all the guns and soda and beat Trump running on that program? I'd love it if for once we can have an election where at least one candidate wasn't in Epstein's black book.
5
This is all so pointless and irrelevant. Trump is gone be or get reelected regardless of howmany $ are spent. Second this dems infighting is one of the reasons. Third this is a not a democracy whoever provides the best salesmanship wins and this is why Obama won.
Hilarious Ross.
Replacing Trump with a power hungry plutocrat?
That is Trump, with the added baggage of corruption, treason, breaking the rule of law, the Constitution, western democracy and undermining our Bill of Rights and national security.
This is a war for the soul of the Republic and the rule of law.
Mayor Bloomberg, the Democrats running, and the majority of Americans understand the stakes.
The impeachment trial of Donald Trump, who has now admitted his guilt but claims unlimited power, show Republicans in Congress are no check on this out of control despot- with the admirable exception of Senator Mitt Romney.
Trump acts like a crime boss and caters to dictators. Trump’s actions prior to the election show what he would be unchecked by anything whatsoever if he cheats his way back into office.
Kudos to all patriots who provide resources and join the fight to stop an unstable corrupt would-be dictator in office, including Mike Bloomberg.
3
Bloomberg is smart enough to see that this is do-or-die for our democracy -- which is more than I can say for the entire spineless Republican senate (minus Mitt). Why is the new hobby of the NYT opinion writers beating the drum with the message that he and his money are bad? This is no vanity project. Mike has pledged to put his money to work beating Trump even if he loses the nomination. He's an experienced politician. The number one goal of all true American patriots should be getting Trump out of office. And to me, Mike stands the best chance. Experienced, smart, caustic, with endless resources he's willing to put to work. A moderate. And unlike the rest of the democratic field, he's too smart to get lost in the weeds by issues that don't consume the majority. And he gets under Trump's skin. In a debate, he will run circles around Trump.
6
As usual, Ross paints a clearer and more insightful picture of the current electoral climate than much of the liberal punditry.
As much as liberal Bloomberg supporters are loathe to admit, both New York billionaires are a lot more similar than they appear. They're both authoritarians; they both think the little people should be grateful to the oligarchs running things; and they both stridently support racist policies. In short, the Bloomberg boom comes across as the mask slipping off a lot of liberal Dems.
Left unsaid is the effect Bloomberg would have on turnout in a general election: nonwhite voters are a crucial - perhaps the most important - constituency of the Democrats. They simply cannot win a national election without them. Bloomberg may be polling decently among blacks, but how long will that last once people across the country learn of his strident defenses of racist police tactics? (seriously, the language with which he defended these policies is execrable). It's frankly amazing to me that Democrats are even considering getting behind a candidate who has been so damaging to their most important voter bloc.
I guess the critique of Dems of only paying lip service to their nonwhite voters is a lot truer than some think. Not only that, by choosing Bloomberg, Dems would leave no doubt that they are okay with the US officially becoming an oligarchy (ironically, the party that can't shut up about Russia will be welcoming a system of government not too dissimilar).
2
Do we have a potential Faustian bargain?
1
Not sure I see much in Bloomberg. He seems to be good at hoarding money, but this idea that he and Hillary Clinton are going to be on the same ticket. That is a non-starter. I will do everything in my power to fight that ticket. And by even bringing it up he has basically destroyed his campaign's credibility. Anyone who allies themselves with Hillary seems to take a nosedive in the polls. Hillary said she was supporting Warren for a little bit, then poof, Warren goes down in the polls. Warren is clearly the best candidate to take on Trump. She would humiliate him in a 1 on 1 debate, she has the most clear vision, and I think its time that Warren and Sanders campaigns sit down and have a conversation so that we can guarantee an easy pathway to the nomination, and a beat down of President Trump in the election. Warren is the only guaranteed win against him, but she needs to play it right. Bloomberg won't get people out there homes. He has very little charism, and if his idea of a good idea is allying himself with Hillary Clinton then he is even stupider than he comes across in interviews. He does not have the charisma, he does not have the vision, and he just wants to keep things the same. That is the only type of candidate who can lose to Trump (or as I like to call him, Caveman) and unfortunately, outside of Warren all I see is a ton of candidates who have the perfect profile to lose to what should be really easy opposition. Buttitgeig? Give me a break
1
Please get real, Mr. Douthat. Surely you must have studied some history and have some realization about the precariousness of the time we're in. As James Carville put it so succinctly on MSNBC the other day, there is only one, and only ONE priority: get Trump out of the White House. Unless you want to continue to have a second virtual autocrat in the White House as we do now. If you can read and have the powers of observation (which I question) you must know that Russia is critical in this story -- in fact it is their greatest achievement. Get real, people. Find a candidate who can WIN over Trump. The only one I see is that great New Yorker, Michael Bloomberg! I know we won't be sorry.
6
I think beating Trump is job 1.
I like all of the mainstream Democratic candidates but I am not sure that they can beat Trump and his base.
Maybe we need a benevolent despot to restore America from Trump’s vision of “greatness”.
Don't forget David Brooks in that list of:
" the rest of the conservative chattering class so obsessed with telling Democrats who to nominate in the presidential election?"
His column the day after acquittal established his charter membership.
1
The most recommended comment, one by Juvenal, asks, "Why are Ross, Bret and the rest of the conservative chattering class so obsessed with telling Democrats who to nominate in the presidential election?"
I would suggest the likely answer is quite simple: it makes for good clickbait. Online columnists are functionally, even if not literally, paid by the eyeball, not by quality. Look at the number of comments and recommends here. That's a lot of eyeballs. And here we all are, clicking on the bait.
1
Ridiculous. Governance only becomes an issue if Trump loses. Any realist who loves Sanders (an oxymoron) has not through the consequences of his nomination - he can't win
That Bloomberg may have many significant personal and business flaws which might make him unappealing omits discussion of his most important strength - he can beat Trump. For all the gobbledygook out there about each Democratic candidate's ideas for governance, they are all closer to one another than any one of them is to Trump. While intra-party squabbles are (and will remain) present as to several serious concerns, suffice to say that each Dem candidate cares far more about global warming, gun control, education and health care (notwithstanding the author's attempt to ignore Bloomberg's actual record on the issue) than Trump does.
Defeat Trump so that negotiations between Dems and Independents can actually occur. Otherwise, the voters' valid complaints about Trump's horrible policies and management will simply continue for another four years. Bloomberg, who will choose between Susan Rice (foreign policy, woman of color), Amy Klobuchar (midwest and sensible) or Stacy Abrams (super smart, progressive balance to ticket, woman of color) is the obvious and most potent combination to prevail against Trump. Just stop with analyzing Post-Trump disputes and focus on winning this election. It's really not that difficult to do.
.
4
Mayor Mile on a Roll
Consider the Bloom, as rich as Croesus,
Richer than Trump, that’s his whole thesis;
No bankruptcy filings, no real estate schools,
He’s all understated plays inside the rules;
Not out in the open, no daylight for Mike
When mistreating women, he’s not quite the fright
Of Trump in his heyday targeting stuff
Wherever he can, out plowing the rough;
Bloomie’s to love, stop and frisk ‘stead of grope-
If he gets in, he’s the best we can hope…
2
“To choose Bloomberg as the alternative to Trump, then, is to bet that a chaotic, corrupt populist is a graver danger to what remains of the Republic than a grimly-competent plutocrat...”
Strong words for an individual who has repeatedly defended some of Trump’s more horrid policy decisions. But I suppose the sidelining of one’s values is a small price to pay for a judiciary loaded up with religious zealots.
And whatever criticism that anyone may have, regarding wealthy people buying major media outlets, it’s best not to throw stones from a glass house.
2
The cadence of this article is scared of change & has a bag full of ready made labels to rationalize his inability to write an op-ed offering solutions. Maybe it’s wrong of me to share my rebellious view since I live in a state of dissatisfaction with language. At times I feel alienated, cut off from others & myself within language. While the contented are untroubled, & most people are inclined to passively read this op-ed & remain silent. We live within language and it's use is an integral part of the human condition, yet our way of life is something we find hard to see. Ross Douthat uses Bernie Sanders as a way to peddle ready made answers to our current political predicament. Maybe Mr Douthat knows as long as there is language it will confuse us, we will face the temptation to misunderstand. And there is no vantage point outside it. There is no escape from the language-games and use of labels then, but we can forge a kind of freedom from within them. Unfortunately, we are far away from adopting a process that creates an inner peace for all. Noble sentiments at times create the biggest pitfalls & challenges to a more peaceful existence. If things are to continually improve, we must take a multi-disciplinary approach to how we think. Sharing abstract beliefs is only possible if we believe in the rule of law promoting individual liberty. American citizens like me might first need to ‘be stupid’ or embrace our insignificance - Instead, I'm voting for Mike Bloomberg in 2020!
1
In 30 years of reading the NYT, this may be the most unsubstantiated and results-oriented opinion piece I’ve read. So Mr Douthat didn’t see it coming and now wants to stretch all logic to convince us that it is a bad idea for us to rally behind the one candidate that is most capable of defeating Trump and whose policies are most likely to advance our nation?
What precisely is wrong with supporting centrist policies and competent leadership? How is extreme Nativism and populism better than technocratic competency? Why shouldn’t we support socially progressive policies, economically sound management, and be ok if we push back on all extremes - including polarizing identity politics and partisan tribalism that Trump as well as the far left are creating?
And, yes, there is a most fundamental difference between Bloomberg and Trump (besides that one is competent, successful, charitable and filled with integrity and the other exaggerates his success and fully lacks the other traits). Bloomberg respects the rule of law and recognizes nobody is above the law. Trump does not. That is enough to find it abhorrent for Mr Douthat to try to claim that Bloomberg’s administration would in any way resemble Trump’s lawless reign!!!
6
“Mini Mike” like Trump, has a mega ego. Trump the Master of the Underworld bully knows he is doing evil, and when caught blames his minions or his favorite “Obama did it.”
Mike, a Master of the Universe, believes his financial success proves his infallibility. In the face of a Federal Court ruling detailing the unconstitutional harm inflicted by stop and frisk policing, Mike rebuked the judge and appealed. His recent apologies ring hollow. As the tactic has been reduced, the crime rate has correspondingly diminished.
While Mike the Mogul pursued the unconstitutional, harmful and ineffective tactic which resulted in the confiscation of very few firearms on the streets of the Bronx, he failed to detect the biggest theft in history being perpetrated by his fellow Masters of the Universe on the gilded paths of Wall Street. Ironically, the business that made Bloomberg wealthy is the very newsroom whose beat is the neighborhood where those crimes were taking place, but the diminutive self styled Clark Kent somehow missed that scoop. A dose of reality may be Mike’s kryptonite.
1
Ross's column underscores, unfortunately, this country's desire for an authoritarian left or right in the White House. Democrats more than Republicans because of the their statist tendencies are very prone to this as long as they sound calm.
2
I will take uber competence and a velvet fist any day over the lawlessness of the cult of Trump. Sanders and Klobuchar are fine potential candidates; ditto Warren and Buttigieg. But I have no confidence that any of them can defeat Trump, who clearly pretends to a throne. If Bloomberg is our best chance to get rid of Trump, then that’s where my vote goes. Priorities, Mr. Douthat. Priorities.
4
None of the alleged comments by Bloomberg about women rise to the level of Trump's behavior and words. Admiring a woman's body (in terms that would not have seemed unusual 20 -30 years ago) is not at all the same as advocating sexual assault ("grab 'em by the...)
2
@aholianmode
What about the 'kill it' admonition to the recent hire, when she revealed her pregnancy to His Goatiness ?
Two witnesses have corroborated her account, one
who was present at the time and another in an office
not far away, with whom the woman spoke (wondering
if he had heard Bloomberg as well) right after the incident.
There doesn't seem a Democratic candidate out there who can reasonably satisfy all of theses conservative pundits. I am convinced that now that trump has stood them up on their ear that they don't know what they want and can't tell up from down. This Democrat knows only one thing, if the Democrats run a dead dog, the dead dog gets my vote.
5
Ross’ snarky hostility to social, gender, and racial equality aside, he seems to miss the point that we already have a rich person’s vision emanating from the White House. In other words, it isn’t so much how wealthy a candidate is (they are all far more rich than the vast majority of the rest of us, except maybe Pete), as it is what the candidate says and does for us as our president. A middle class person who acts like Trump is still a jerk, and a wealthy person who acts like Bloomberg is still largely a good person. We all, and Ross in particular, would do well to get off the opener about Bloomberg’s wealth and start the conversation with his actions, be they stop and frisk or center/progressive social views. (I guess you can’t talk about his center/progressive social views without talking about his philanthropy - which is of course talking about his money. But again, it is what he does with it, not that he has it.)
1
This article sounds like a MAGA advertisement. Trump will handily defeat Sanders or Warren and actually get the true majority vote this time around. Not sure what Trump will be like if he actually wins the most votes, but it could only get worse I think.
Few Democrats I personally know think they could stomach voting for either Warren of Sanders, but some of my left wing friends are all in. Will the Democrat party take a page from the playbook of the GOP Tea Partiers, and try and run the most radical they can?
1
It is imperative we take back the Senate. Otherwise, it will be no different under Bloomberg or any other Democratic president. If we can win Maine, Colorado, Arizona & Kentucky it will change our immediate future for the better. Recovery takes patience.
3
I'm sure you have given this column much thought, but I wonder whether you are still a Republican and dislike anyone who can defeat Trump. I wish Bloomberg would donate some of his millions to defeat McConnell while he's winning support for himself. America could return to a democracy.
Please. Gimme a break. Stop it. We need to depose a President that is an existential threat.
Unite! No side quarrels. Basta!
Purity issues, no thanks.
If one lets the perfect become the enemy of the good, she plays Trumps game.
4
Sexist Malel Billionaire Temptation? Nothing tempting about those adjectives.
Warren President, Klobuchar Vice President with a potential future as president, Warren recognizes that American cannot be transformed in 100 days - or 4 years. It first must be rescued.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
3
Which presidential candidate or president is not power hungry?
1
If the choice for the Democratic Party nominee in the 2020 Presidential election were solely up to me, I would take a deep breath, wipe the sweat off my brow, and pick Joseph R. Biden, Jr. He is a good and honest man, he has an incredible amount of experience working in public office in Washington, D.C. (he served 36 years as U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware and 8 years as Vice-president in the Obama Administration.)
Since he spent almost his entire life earning a government salary, it is rather obvious that he has no interest in using the Presidency as an opportunity to make his fortune. After 44 years as a Federal employee he appears to have no special agenda in mind: he doesn't refer to himself as a "Socialist", nor does he tell voters that the country needs a "revolution".
In fact, the only agenda Mr. Biden has is to win the election, "beat Mr. Trump like a drum", and win the down-ballot elections for the Democrats.
Sadly, the choice for the Democratic nominee in the 2020 Presidential election is not solely up to me and it appears that Mr. Biden's chances are not what they once were.
Therefore, I shall support Michael Bloomberg, because he appears to care about everything that Mr. Biden cares about; the only agenda he has is to win the election, get Mr. Trump out of office, and win the down-ballot elections for the Democrats.
2
Ross, you miss the point entirely. You're still looking at the upcoming election as a policy election. It's not about that at all. This is about the soul of America. Are we a fascist country or not?
Despite your strong anti Trump position, you have not taken the plunge. In every discussion of Trump, you need to recognize the core choice. Am I willing to vote to end the 240 year American democracy, or do I vote to eradicate the fascist menace.
There is only one fascist candidate in 2020. There is no candidate in the Democratic field who is a threat to American democracy, least of all Bloomberg. Comparing Bloomberg to Trump is a sucker's move. Nothing in Bloomberg's political past suggests he is anything at all like Trump. There is nothing in Bloomberg's business or personal history to suggest he is anything at all like Trump.
You and the media need to wake up and stop doing the hatchet job of "fair & balanced" attacks, as you all did against Hillary Clinton in 2016, and bang away at the only real issue facing the American electorate in 2020. DO I VOTE FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY OR DO I VOTE FOR AMERICAN FASCISM?
5
Bloomberg is a 1%er and will take up for the 1%. The main difference in him and Trump is, he's not crazy.
2
Three words- barking carnival clown. No one else is going after the T in this way and it's making that man hollar. Love it!
4
As many of you do, I avidly read the comments to get perspectives on where the wind is blowing. Just want to remark, that of the thousands of comments, the reactions to this article and Bloomberg are the best written, intelligent opinions EVER!. I didn't see one of the derisive,personal insults that are only testimony to passive/aggressive personalties that have nothing to say. What a pleasure to see hundreds of likes,liking Bloomberg in rational arguments and correct English! Heh, how about Val Deming, for VP, she was outstanding at the impeachment debacle .?
4
Bloomberg may not be perfect, but at least he’s not a complete embarrassment to the nation and the world, he can write and speak a grammatically correct sentence, he actually went to college, he’s a legitimate self-made success, he’s not a deranged, bloviating, mentally challenged psychopath who holds rallies to rail against the ‘Deep State’ and the ‘enemy of the people,’ and he has the wisdom and inclination to put America back together after the seismic misery that Trump has wrought.
7
Consider the source of all the Bloomberg bashing, the trolls are out there so keep your eyes open on twitter and facebook. He would be a good choice for President.
5
Donald Trump 2020.
1
@KMW KWM Sorry for your loss.
2
So Bloomberg would not be the nominee because "...would put a sharp brake on the two major post-Obama trends in liberalism: The Great Awokening on race and sex and culture, and the turn against technocracy in economic policymaking."
Maybe it is time for a deviation from those trends towards prosperity, especially for the poor and middle class, and the environment.
2
Nice article. Given a choice between Trump and anyone else who would you pick? Refining that choice further, do you believe Sanders or Warren will attract the upper middle class, or wealthier Independents, disgruntled Republicans, or moderate Democrats?
This is about electability, putting the brakes on our plunge into autocracy, and repairing damage to our allies, and terrible messaging to our foes.
Whether passing a purity test or walking on water, Dems will never have a perfect candidate. What we have now are two economic non-starters who would drive us further into debt, a former mayor who couldn’t wait a few years to gather experience, a moderate or two with minimal name recognition and some etceteras.
Bloomberg has bona fides, warts too, but isn’t crazy, stupid, inept or psychotic. He’s made policy mistakes that he’s acknowledged. Maybe not often enough for some. But the guy with the job now is a sadistic, intemperate, dangerous person, who if he wins in 2020 will be totally unchained.
6
While Ross Douthat portrays Bloomberg as a cloaked Caesar, enlightened despot would be more apt and really, he is more of an acute organizer/selector of intelligent staff to achieve goals in concert with the common good than anything else, a trait that defies pigeon-holing. He is, by far, the most universal of the Democrats, not being stuck on, or constrained by some ideology, and fully cognizant of what it takes to get from here to there. Remembering that New York City is The United States in miniature and his success as Mayor, he is by far the best candidate for the office.
5
Given a choice between an enlightened despot (the worst that can be said of Bloomberg) and an unhinged lunatic despot (the best that can be said of Trump), I’ll take enlightened in a heartbeat.
2
How many of these comments are genuinely arms length and how many are agents of the man? It’s quite frightening to ponder as you read.
2
@Patrick From Oz: One just has to judge information by its consistency with reality here, although many won't judge information until they know where it comes from, which is hard to pin down.
Bloomberg's top asset with American voters is the solid way he dealt ewith rampant street crime in Gotham.
Some pollster should ask NY residents if they'd like to see him back in City Hall.
The fact that he feels he has to renounce that success is simply today's sign that he Democratic Party is heading straight down the pipes, never to be heard from again.
3
Despite his appeal on a number of issues, Bernie Sanders cannot beat Trump - period. He does not appeal to a wide enough audience, including some Democrats. Warts and all, I would hands-down vote for Bloomberg over Trump. I think he is the only Dem who has a chance. Perhaps a Bloomberg/Klobuchar combined ticket?-But please NOT Hillary as VP! She would turn off a lot of Democrats that I know personally - lots voted for Trump in 2016 since they do not like her - that would be a stupid move on Bloomberg's part (if he chooses Hillary as a running mate).
6
That Mr. Douthat would characterize the current siege on American institutions and ideals by the corrupt and malevolent Republican mafia organization as any kind of a comedy is an insult to the El Salvadoran refugees forcibly returned to their country by the current administration who have all been subsequently killed.
4
It is remarkable that many of the "Times Pick " comments have completely failed to acknowledge , or perhaps even comprehend your well reasoned arguments against Bloomber. Yes, the centers of power (NY Times) will shamelessly push his candidacy as a once in a life time opportunity (no journalism here). An opportunity to eliminate what is "left of our republic"
1
Klobuchar? No thanks! Give me Mayor Pete’s steady hand, his intelligence, calm demeanour, reassuring calmness and forward vision.
Help his campaign by donating at:
Peteforamerica.com
1
Smearing Bloomberg as an oligarch is repulsive. Bloomberg is a patriot.
Bloomberg could be sitting on a yacht. He needs this presidential campaign like he needs a hole in his head.
He is clearly brilliant and an incredible leader. It would be great if the author spent any time getting to understand how Bloomberg started his business from scratch after being laid off. He succeeded taking in much bigger competitors because of his talent and grit.
This anti-success mindset (not dissimilar to the attacks on Buttegieg) is extremely depressing.
9
Vote the way you want. Your ballot is secret. Don't be intimidated by columnists, television talkers, angry red/orange faced politicians, et al. You are free.
2
He makes a good republican candidate. They should run him
3
Amy K. has my vote.
1
He was always a plausible candidate. He also displays megalomaniac tendencies which makes him an undesirable POTUS. Democrats have nobody that’s attractive. A very weak bench has yielded a very shallow candidate pool.
Mayor Mike for the elites and billionaires in 2020. He pretty much wrecked Manhattan
2
It's an Oligarch's World, Russ. Bloomberg will get instant respect from Putin, Xi, the Saudi King, the North Korean Madman, Turkey's Erdogan and so on.
What Bloomberg must do now to secure his political ascension is pledge to hire a greater number of minorities to his cabinet than any previous president, including VP.
Deval Patrick, Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, even Cory Booker --- these are all deserving of consideration.
Thank you.
2
It's time for democrats to remove their rose colored ideologic glasses-- we don't have the luxury of backing a candidate running on a platform whose issues endear us. This is the first election in my life of 50 plus years that I honestly don't give a fig about where any candidate stands on anything--I just want someone who can beat Trump & remove that whole rotten administration, & the person who can do that is Bloomberg. He's Trump's worst nightmare because he's far, far richer, far more successful--a truly self made man, better looking, can expose more warts from Trump's time in NY....checking all the boxes of what gets under Trump's skin. And if his money buys him the presidency, so be it. Democrats--wake up & smell the coffee.
7
Mr. Douthat, save your political persuasion for your fellow Republicans.
They're the ones who need to be persuaded that their favorite president is a serial liar, an opponent of science, a threat to Constitutional democracy, an enabler of racists, and a partisan of "soak the poor and help the rich."
5
"The Democratic fear of a Trump second term"
News Alert Ross.: The World fears a Trump second term
6
Trumpers welcome a Bernie candidacy and fear a Bloomberg one. Doesn't that tell you all you need to know?
9
@Mike Allan If Bloomberg is the nominee will the Bernie Bro’s support him? If they stay home in big numbers then DJT is re-elected IMO
While no one with the money or power that Bloomberg has is free from corruption, Bloomberg's motives are as pure as anyone's in the democratic primary. He signed the Giving Pledge https://givingpledge.org/ and appears to making efforts to live up to it with his giving through Bloomberg Philanthropies. While his tenure as mayor of NYC was not perfect, he was effective on delivering on the objectives of improving education and reducing poverty (as a republican, no less). While some (Ross) may have doubts about his commitment to Obama era "wokeness" on race and sex, Bloomberg is savvy enough to address these issues head on and make them a key part of his campaign messaging.
Bottom line, Bloomberg is one of the more credible democratic candidates and has more crossover appeal than anyone else in the democratic primary race.
3
I don't know all that much about Bloomberg. What I do know is that none of us is the person we were 10, 15, 20 or more years ago. If we are supposed to forgive Bernie (and all the other candidates) for all of their previous regrettable choices then why can't that be universally applied? Isn't it possible that some men have learned not to be pigs? We as Democrats many times bet that racists can learn new ways. Everyone comes with a past, everyone should have learned hard lessons in life. I'd bet that not even Ross was born perfect.
2
FDR and JFK cane from big money. Give me a break, Ross. So predictable that NYT would go into attack mode. For Gods sake, the man is trying to stop climate change, stop gun violence, and grow jobs. Bloomberg is the only thing giving this moderate Democrat hope we can beat Trump and have a leader who can unify and lead us back to One Nation, Indivisible.
5
Don’t usually agree much with Douthat. He nailed this one.
2
I suspect Ross Douthat has other reasons for not wanting Michael Bloomberg in the race, first and foremost among them that Bloomberg won't try to remake the United States into a theocratic autocracy while the incumbent, Donald J. Trump, is pulling out all the stops to do just that. Why not be honest about it?
5
His "imperial instincts, his indifference to limits on his power are conspicuous".
Politico article:
"... Bloomberg’s 2020 campaign ad touts that he “took charge” of New York after 9/11.
What Bloomberg doesn’t mention: He leaned heavily on an endorsement from Rudy Giuliani, the then-NY mayor who is now Trump’s personal attorney, to win that post... chastising his Democratic opponent for being “no friend of Rudy Giuliani.”
Giuliani is just one of many skeletons in Bloomberg’s partisan closet..... he’ll have to explain the millions he’s spent putting Republicans into office, including contributions backing more than a dozen current and former members of Congress.
He switched parties several times …. endorsed Bush in 2004, and John McCain and even held a fundraiser for a House GOP member as recently as last year."
So, he's been a Repub, an Independent and now a Dem. He's trying to buy this election. Why not? Our politics are so dominated by big money---legally.
Bloomie has spent over $350 million on ads so far.
Forbes-- He's "Spent 1,200% More Than Sanders On Facebook Ads in 2020.
The media is making big profits from Bloomie
Politico- His ...." big-spending, shock-and-awe TV ad campaign has made politicking more expensive for everyone from his 2020 rivals to Senate, House and state legislative candidates around the country.
Eight weeks into his presidential campaign, Bloomberg has already spent more money — $248 million — than most candidates could spend in years."
3
I’m not a Bloomberg fan, but Ross sounds afraid of him, that he might win. So I’m warming to Mike
3
Why is everyone dining on Bloomberg? He hasn’t won anything yet! Let’s spend ink and oxygen on candidates who are actually getting votes please.
2
Every time I read an article like this I know the end result...Democrats fool themselves into thinking the country wants a far left president. Please face reality...support Bloomberg so have chance to remove Trump.
5
"return to normalcy" campaign? What is that? We should return to anything but. Barack Obama wasn't Normal. JFK being a Catholic wasn't Normal either. FDR was hardly Normal.
Bernie Sanders is Just Fine.....Thank you
1
Now you're resorting to Trump tactics...be fair.
Ross -- Thank you and all the other "conservatives" who have given us Citizens United and Shelby -- the first opening the political door to untold millions of unaccountable money in US elections; and the second, gutting voting rights and making it again allowable to make sure that "those people" can't vote. And, be honest -- what Trump policies do you actually oppose? You love his judicial appointments and you are drooling at the possibility of .... finally... over turning Roe v Wade. You have a problem with Bloomberg? Really?
3
Whether you like him or not, no one else can come close to spending the amount money needed to counter Russian and other trolls who are spreading false information in support of Trump.
Bloomberg is basically Trump lite.
1
Once again, a Bloomberg story where the comments are spammed with declarative pro-candidate signoffs that sound fake as a three dollar bill. It almost sounds like Bloomberg is paying for these articles so his employees can make these “I like Mike” comments.
5
Bloomberg donates over $320,000 to the DNC and they change the rules so he can be in the debates , ignoring the others who had to bow out because of the DNC rules - this is very corrupt. The oligarchy is trying to get what it always wanted a racist Republican that tweets nicely vs a crazy racist Republican in the general election. The Democratic Party is dead if they install Bloomberg as the nominee.
4
“Will the Democrats try to replace Donald Trump with a power-hungry plutocrat?”
At least he is OUR plutocrat, and shows no signs of being an amoral, power-hungry psychopath. This column is in fact a good read, on that it indicates that the Trumpkins may be genuinely scared of the guy; and that when they go nasty on him, he will fend it off better than Biden has done.
7
MB will win the primary.
2
And lose the war...
1
Will Bloomberg disavow the support of folks (including voters) who supported his stop and frisk policies?
Hearing Bloomberg mea culpa, that seems like a lot of racist support for him and his policies. No?
1
Mr. Douthat: As a New Yorker, I know that everything you have said about Bloomberg is true.
4
I'll take Bloomberg anyday, against the most evil criminal in the history of the United States currently in the WH.
Bloomberg would in fact hire the smartest people for his cabinet and national security positions. he has zero insecurity about this.
7
If the point is to defeat Trump and put a mature, rational leader into the White House, then the Democrats have to nominate someone who can actually win the election and govern responsibly. To me, Bloomberg is the only candidate to date who might be able to accomplish this. I wonder why the NYT (in both its reporting and opinion pieces) seems so resolute against a his candidacy. Do you really think Sanders, Warren, et al could win a national election? Oh yeah, you're the guys who reported that Hillary had a 92% lead over Trump four days before the 2016 election.
4
Donald Trump will likely continue to sell more subscriptions to the NY Times than Bloomberg. The NYTimes has financially greatly benefited from Trump's presidency, and fragmenting the Democratic party will ensure Trump's re-election.
3
It's a strange day when I can read one of Ross Douthat's op-eds and nod in agreement. I take his warnings seriously. Bloomberg is offering Democrats the chance to fight fire with fire when it comes to Trump. The problem is, no matter who wins, we will still have one big fire. (And no, Sanders is not the solution--to any Sanders' backers out there.) Bloomberg has been running his life like an emperor. Putting him in the presidency carries big risks I'm not ready to take.
3
Yes, BLOOMBERG may share the authoritarian instincts of Trump, but his positions on gun control and climate change are not the same as Trump, so, he will be an improvement over Trump if that would become the reality. At this point, I am just thankful that Bloomberg is spending hundreds of millions of his own money to attack Trump. The DNC and the candidates owe Bloomberg a debt of gratitude and they should focus on their own messages instead of bad mouthing Bloomberg.
6
Whatever it takes to beat Trump in 2020 as Trump is well on his way to establish a dictatorship and if Bloomberg is the best one to defeat Trump so be. We know Trump for who he is now and we also know Bloomberg for 3 terms as mayor of New York someone who knows how to administer govt as opposed to a carnival barker under the yoke of Putin who risks war with Iran to suck up Saudi Arabia and Israel where is son in law invets in settlements and has BIbI as his godfather.
4
Are any of the Democratic party candidates without flaws? No. They have all said and done stupid things. They are human, are they not? The present resident in the White House is a monster compared to the worst of them. I will vote for whomever the Democrats nominate. We must stop this self-destructive desire for purity and perfection.
Trump must be defeated!
4
Why did the NYT write such a complimentary article about Bloomberg 's philanthropy on 2/14, but not cover the breaking story on his misogyny dating back 30 years (Washington Post 2/15)???
2
30 years old is not the same as dating back 30 years.
The only thing that would be achieved with Bloomberg would be a return to normalcy. Beyond that there would be no change and change is what we need to meet the challenges of the rest of this century. But if he was the only one left I would vote for him.
With that said, Democrats still have choices and it would be wrong to panic. Trump is his own worst enemy and will continue to make mistakes. Beating Trump must remain the focus. Whoever the Democratic nominee they will have my vote.
3
Thanks for this. I was beginning to fall for him, but something in the look on his face - just something - held me back. You articulated it. Voting for Bloomberg to save us from Trump would be the same as voting for ANYONE to "save us" from whatever. It's a trap.
2
@actualintent ; "Salvation" is supposed to deliver after death.
No, it’s not a “trap.” Bloomberg has flaws, but, I believe, unlike Trump, has has learned from his mistakes. Heck, he even apologized. Trump has NEVER apologized for anything. He referred to himself as a “King,” trying to quote Emerson.
1
This is well written. Yes I have thought about Michael Bloomberg's autocratic bent, and have written NYT comments about it several times to no avail. There would be bad with the good with him, but far better than a Trump. But to take advice from Ross Douthat on how to select the Democrat nominee is beyond folly. It is to listen to the fox opine of the chicken.
7
Ross, it appears you are suggesting a divide and conquer for the Democratic party (Bernie or Amy). I think you have it wrong, the party that divides get conquered. Maybe you should think things through more thoroughly before you publish your thoughts. Just saying.
1
Ross is right on the money.
3
The pure poetry of it all is too hard to miss. Bloomberg and Sanders are two old wise men - and Jews. There's a good chance this simple fact will lure religious Jews away from Trump. Evangelicals might very well go for the Jewish connection as well, amazingly.
White Nationalists? Yes. Even these folks (many of whom are hidden among us) could easily vote for either of the two old white guys, Jews or not.
The short answer is that Bloomberg or Sanders could indeed win the day, in that either one of them could help break down the cult.
1
Wow! Well done. Punch in the Establishment's face! Take that, Tom Friedman! Well done critique of the Imperial, imperious Bloomberg. Trump may be rude and obnoxious, but he's mainly interested in appearances. Bloomberg knows how to take over empires --and that ain't good for the rest of us.
1
"Mini Mike" vs. "Barking Clown Don": 2020 will be a NY schoolyard pick...sad, but true. Let's see what the country decides.
Hmmm... So the NYT conservative columnist is suggesting Democrats choose not Bloomberg, but one of two candidates - Sanders and Klobuchar - who cannot beat Trump? Yes, I certainly trust his opinion on this!
8
A Klobuchar/Sanders ticket could definitely beat Trump. Why choose? There is power in coming together.
At least get a sense of how poor a debater Mike is before anointing him savior. He’ll lose for other reasons though...
1
Do you NYT columnists read each others' work?
Look at Maureen Dowd's column today. She points out that Bloomberg, unlike Hillary or Jeb or Marco or Lindsey, will get in the mud puddle with Trump and spit in his eye. And, as he has said, one of the candidates in the fall will Actually BE a billionaire.
This is reminiscent of the Pied Piper of Hamlin; the townspeople would do anything to get rid of the rats, but when they found the guy to do it, they complained about his methods and objected to his fee.
4
Bloomberg doesn’t need power. He already has everything he could ask for. He can do literally anything he wants 24 hours a day. He could sit on the beach all day and have a team of 100 servants cater to his every whim.
Instead he is spending his own money (not other people’s so he is beholden to no one) to save our country from fascism.
He is a national hero. And he has my vote.
7
Bernie is an easy GOP target with zero chance to win in November. Young voter turnout? Please......check IA and NH.
Amy is a non-starter.
Earth to Ross: Do you want to win, or yell at people in restaurants for four more years, while the GOP writes laws and appoints judges?
5
@Henry
I think Ross wants a Republican in the White House, even if it's Trump.
3
Oh, that picture kinda gets the essence, doesn't it?...."Children of the night...What music they make!"
1
He doesn’t need the office to enhance his “brand”.
He doesn’t dab in real estate and has no eye on erecting a Bloomberg Tower in Moscow.
He will not lie more than 16,000 time in his first 38 months in office.
He will not put kids of color in cages.
He will not compromise our national security by insulting our allies, cow-towing to our adversaries or be ridiculed by leaders around the world.
He will not tweet.
He will not see very fine people in the Klan or other fascist groups.
He will not let the earth continue to disintegrate.
He will not obstruct justice, abuse the office, be impeached or be
the subject of an investigation by a special prosecutor.
He will bring decency back to our country and to the Oval Office.
He isn’t perfect. He is the obverse of Trump.
Yes, search and frisk was wrong, he’s made mistakes, he’s said some things that were wrong. No excuses.
He can defeat the incumbent. Who’d you rather call “Mr. President?
13
If the best the Democratic Party can do is a septuagenarian ex-Republican billionaire, where lies its future? Spare me, please.
4
RD knows the devil when he sees it!
As for me, I would like to vote for someone who is NOT a rich, white guy. Bloomberg running on not being Trump is not enough for me by a long shot. But, let's face it, I WILL vote in November for whoever runs against DJT.
4
Come on Mr Douthat, no potential Democratic candidate is good enough for you. Bernie is too socialist, Bloomberg is too capitalist. Why don't you just come out and say you are happy with Trump?
8
Anything is better than a second term for Trump! Anything.
8
This hit piece by Douhat seems written for and by Trump.
6
a bloomberg - romney ticket ?
Finally, a Douthat column one can agree with. And what a pity so-called "liberals" aren't and haven't been pointing out much the same.
Of course, Bloomberg's reach is long: just look at the comments in this newspaper. Persons, purportedly from all corners of the country, seemingly infatuated with this whining New York billionaire, who they deem a "patriot".
What can't money buy? If you said the "presidency", you'd be wrong.
2
Boy, the Bloomberg influencers are out in force in the comments. Bernies's fans must be taking the night off and relaxing a bit
2
Funny how the Republican columninsts in this paper keep fretting about who the Democrat will be. I wish they'd admit they'll vote either Republican or third party again, and move on to other things - like the rotten state of their own party.
1
I’m really confused by the flood of support for Blumberg in the NYT comment section. My gut reaction is that I don’t trust him at all.
The far left will not support him. Black people will not support him. He has a ton of baggage, and he has yet to get any really media scrutiny.
He is a far, far cry from a sure thing.
4
@Zoe The Dem Party doesn't need the "far left" to win in November. They are concentrated in blue states and cities that will remain blue without them. Black voters of all stripes are flocking to Bloomberg: https://www.thedailybeast.com/are-black-voters-quietly-turning-to-mike-bloomberg
2
“ANY Functioning Adult 2020!”
2
It's not surprising that Mr. Douthat would prefer Sanders to be the Democratic candidate. Bernie is dividing Democratic voters, and Bernie's Bernie-or die-supporters could sink the election in favour of Trump.
3
Bloomberg is at least as divisive as Bernie if not more.
1
We don't need one multi-billionaire with an 'acceptable' manner screaming at another questionable billionaire with no manners or principles. Douthat is right and I go for Sanders.
A lot of us 'centrists' actually would like a President that is 'ferociously competent'. Amazing that you can wordsmith such an enormous compliment into degradation. Bloomberg comes about his concern for the common man honestly and consistently. To which of the hundreds of charitable organisations he has given hundreds of millions of dollars to would you object? I think that his plans for saving Social Security and shoring up the lower and middle classes are adequately 'liberal' for us 'centrists' as well.
12
If Republicans in the Senate had not been so spineless this would not be so concerning. There used to be a thing called checks and balances. Like trickle down economics and Citizens United, the legal theoretical fantasy of the unitary executive is well on its way to being a reality. Thanks conservatives. In the new world you helped create Ross, Bloomberg may be an authoritarian, but he’s my authoritarian. You reap what you sow, friend. Now stop expecting Democrats to save you from yourself.
11
@Eric: The US president is God's own oracle now. Hallowed be His name.
It strikes me as funny that so many opinion columns in this paper (can we still call it a “paper”) focus on all the Democratic candidates for president— their pluses and minuses, strengths and weakness, what and who “they represent”— when in truth every single column would basically be doing a public service if they just said “Yeah, you can pretty much pick the name of any one of the Democratic candidates blindfolded out of a hat and you’d be doing the country and future generations all around the world a huge favor.”
13
“Populist in the White House”? At the end of the week, your populist proposed reducing Social Security and Meducare. Ross, see if you can make sense.
13
Mike Bloomberg has made some racist comments and approved of stop and frisk among minorities. He bought his third term as mayor and is buying his way into the Democratic nomination. He is very liberal and supports progressive causes. President Trump will hound him on this and win any debates they may have. President Trump is a pro at debating and has won every single debate in which he has participated. He will out debate Mike Bloomberg each and every time.
3
That’s pretty funny.
2
@KMW: Trump will out-macho Mike.
2
@KMW
Trump couldn't debate his way out of a paper bag.
Have you read his error-riddled, garbled, nonsensical Twitter rants? He speaks his own native tongue like not-very bright eight-year old.
3
In my humble opinion, the diagnosis of concern about a "power-hungry plutocrat" is lame. In the cases of both Sanders and Bloomberg, America is simply not ready for a Jewish President.
@Edward R. Levenson I have no idea about Mikes religion, all I see is another lying billionaire who wants to rule us. Show us your taxes Mike then I might vote for you.
1
And you Democrat’s feared Trump?
Bloomberg will put a crown on his head and buy off anyone who might disagree with him.
It seems that Hillary Clinton is already in line for a royal title.
5
@Rose M: Mike probably doesn't want to be president himself. It is an enormous ceremonial obligation.
1
I have been a democrat ever since I becaame a US citizen in (19)76. But I think Bloomberg is the one candidate who can defeat Trump. If he.she were any other of the 16 other Republican contenders in 2016, I would not be for Bloomberg. But we have a lawless dictator who claims to be rich with his (mafia)business skills and we need a Real billionaire with public administrative experience, being a mayor of NYC that is bigger than most of state governors. A well known indian saying is "use a thorn to remove a thorn". Bloomberg should show us his tax return to expose the Don the Con;s fraud and send him and his family (may be not his former two wives, and even Melania) to jain to share with Weinstein.
4
In answer to your question Ross, yes to Bloomberg.
7
Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t you used this space to plead with Dems to nominate a “centrist” ?
4
This is the first and only time I have ever agreed with Ross Douthat and on this first occasion, I agree with him entirely.
7
I don't support Bloomberg for the reasons you mention. He's an answer in need of a question. But I disagree wholeheartedly that he is equivalent in danger to Trump. If he somehow managed to get the nomination I would support him fully to replace the dangerous despot we currently have. Bloomberg might like power and be more adept at wielding it, hut he is nothing like the crazed maniac Trump.
5
That should be convincing enough. If Ross Douthat is trying to undermine Mike, then Mike is the guy who can beat President Dotard.
9
This article is full of over generalizations and mentality herding. I am quite tired of opinions and people falling for red camp vs. blue camp rhetoric. I am an American voter, I can think for myself, and I like Mike.
9
Ross Douthat and Charles Blow. one from the right and one from the left (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/opinion/michael-bloomberg-stop-frisk.html) attack Mr. Bloomberg from all directions, but say pretty much the same thing.
Mr. Douthat sees a chance for the Bloommberg nomination: "The only way they (= "social progressives and socialists") will fail is if Bloomberg succeeds in casting himself as the unusual answer to an unusual incumbent."
In that case "social progressives and socialists" have a lot to worry about.
Democrats who prefer a "return to normalcy" campaign and candidate, says Mr. Douthat, should support Ms. Klobuchar.
That would be the logical choice. And just how logical are the Democrats of late?
2
The centrists' reaction to Bernie's surge and their determination to maintain the party status quo against all the evidence that it simply is not working is now reaching the level of mass hysteria. They are laser-focused on Trump and on getting him out to the exclusion of any other consideration -- they don't care how they do it, what policies or Faustian bargains they have to sign onto to do it, what precedents however ill-advised they have to set to do it, or how many souls they have to sell to do it. That anyone would think the way to fight Trump is to nominate an arrogant plutocrat just like him in Bloomberg . . . well, it's "ends justifies the means" on steroids. It all reminds me of this famous scene from A Man for All Seasons:
William Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”
Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper: “Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!”
Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down -- and you're just the man to do it -- do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?"
3
Who has a better shot at winning in November. An unlikable curmudgeon socialist or a guy who’s been successful with everything he’s put his mind and money towards?
9
@Midwest Josh
The socialist who is the best liked and most trusted politician in America. You knew those things are true, right?
1
Ross: nice try. Bloomberg is the only candidate so far declared who has a chance to rid the Nation of the cancer that is Trump and Trumpism. Never in my 75 years have I seen a situation when the imperative was: remove a President who is a threat to the Republic. Sanders is Trump's dream opponent. Bloomberg is Trump's worst nightmare. Mike: get it done!
12
@06Gladiator
Sanders is not Trump's dream opponent. Trump knows that Sanders has a base as loyal to him as Trump's own base. That is something no other candidate can claim and Trump can see that Sanders is far more popular (once you leave DNC-land) than anyone else. Sanders has polled considerably ahead of Trump consistently since 2016. No one else can claim that, either.
Sanders biggest obstacle is not Trump; it is the Democratic establishment that has been trying to tear him down for years. If they could put the good of the country before narrow self-interest, we could unite and win. They cannot and it is both their shame and our collective albatross.
3
@nora m
Perhaps. But bear in mind that Bernie is only running as a Democrat out of expediency. The Democratic party has legitimately had no reason to support him in the past. He was not one of them.
@nora m
Base versus base is not the issue. It’s the former Trump voters or those who stayed at home that will determine the outcome. I will vote for Sanders if he’s the nominee. But he will lose I guarantee you. And if Bloomberg is the Democratic nominee and Bernie supporters stay home, then Trump’s re-election is on their heads. And I for one will never let them or Bernie ever forget it.
2
Wow! Did you write this with a pen or a hatchet? Obviously you are from the left left and have no idea of how a real economy works. Mike,by the way, knows that. The idea that we can just pay everyone a minimum is $15 -$20per hour without consequence to the economy is naive beyond belief. The notion that the economy owes everyone a living wage is an invention. The revisionism of history and the persecution of individuals under new and frankly odd standards for behavior is appalling. Elect Bernie if you dare. You will find him to be the candidate of zilch. That is the change he will be able to push through zilch. American is not about socialism. We are about free enterprise and personal responsibility. You do not have a birth right to free college free medical good jobs etc. Wish it were true. Try gum drop land...
1
"...with a populist in the White House," You mean an pseudo populist.
You-know-who loves the "uneducated..." - the object of his fake populism, the better to woo his clueless tribe.
At least Bloomberg is not a madman - "velvet fist" or not.
And as Bloomberg said early on, before the disastrous election of 2016, he "knows a con man when he sees one."
4
Here is an obituary of a man who understood physics but could not accept that physics is all there is.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/science/the-rev-george-c-coyne-dead.html
3
Another left wing impractical NYT opinion. Who cares about truth and the rule of law.? While Trump doesn't, evidence strongly suggests Bloomberg does. Most of us will accept some strong determined leadership that respects the truth , rule of law and the preservation of our system. Unfortunately, Russell. since truth and law apparently aren't fundamental for you ,just vote for Trump
2
@Chad Clark : FYI: Ross Douthat is not "left-wing". Quite the opposite.
1
Well-written as always, @RossDouthat, but the hidden message is that you want the Democrats to lose.
7
Let's pray not if people hear and read about the racist and sexist things Bloomberg has spewed and done!
Like how Bloomberg habitually degraded women and made lewd comments around co-workers that 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."
Or how Mayor Bloomberg spearheaded Stop and Frisk which between 2003 and 2013 made 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!!!
4
A pro -science, pro-public health, pro-gun reform, pro-environment guy who is efficient and has solid governing experience and rich enough that he cannot be bought? Oh my, what a TERRIBLE fate for the nation! Seriously Ross, are you now a Trump sycophant too, trying to find him the easiest opponent?
9
Stop lecturing Democrats.
Start introspection on your own party.
Trump is not a populist. He is a tyrant and the Republican Party, in its cowardice, is supporting him.
Look in the mirror and stop the lecturing.
6
Sanders is a fraud. At least Bloomberg doesn’t pretend to be something he’s not. I’d vote for either but I don’t think sanders has a chance so I’ll support mike.
5
Trump denies the climate crisis exists and is actively promoting fossil fuels and the destruction of the environment. Hence I will vote for any Democratic against him, from Elizabeth or Bernie to Clarabell the Clown. And that includes Bloomberg.
That said, I can imagine supporting him if I couldn't get one of my top five choices, starting with Warren and Sanders. Needs must when the devil drives. And Trump really is Satan.
3
All politicians are horribly corrupt. Not one is even remotely honest, empathic, or cares about the little guy. The only way to square the circle is to vote for the person who benefits them, and their interests, the most. In '20 that's gonna be Trump for most people. If the economy goes south then maybe Bloomberg has a shot.
1
Gee, I agree with Ross! Will wonders never cease. I expected homage to the Great Mayor; I got a caution instead.
The differences between Trump and Bloomberg are more about style than substance. Unfortunately, the American public still falls for well-designed advertising, which is why it is absolutely imperative to have him on a debate stage with people who are capable of vetting him for the voters.
As we know, Stop and Frisk was a disaster embraced by the white elites who still don't understand that the decline in crime was a national event, not the result of a racist policy. A quick re-reading of Freakanomics can explain it.
His treatment of women was sexism on steroids. I am waiting for a video or photo of Trump, Clinton, Bloomberg, and Jeff Epstein smiling together. I bet one exist. They thought they were cool; they were just predators - with none disclosure agreements.
As for his third term in office, see what money can buy! Note, he closed the door again when his term was over so no one else could do the same.
The DNC is no doubt relieved that he is doing so well as Biden fades. It matters not to them that he shares Trump illiberal temperament. Their jobs will be safe. What's not to like?
Some may call it democracy; I call it plutocracy. We would exchange and unhinged incompetent autocrat for a competent one and call it progress.
@nora m: Do you think the Beatles were sexual predators? Girls sure swooned over them. Clinton had a similar effect.
Michael Bloomberg is certainly the Democrat's best hope to send Trump packing and it is high time for President Obama to get off of the sidelines and come out in public and say so. It is no secret that Obama's neglect of the Party caused the loss of numerous elected offices, so now he has a chance to make it right.
A Bernie Sanders candidacy in the general election could easily produce the most catastrophic of outcomes; a Trump Landslide so it is imperative that the moderate majority of Democrat's come together NOW for Bloomberg.
7
I have seen Obama endorsing him on TV spots.
@Dadalaz: Obama has yet to fully digest how he allowed himself to be used by the Republicans in the 2008 election.
@ dan Cokinos
Obama has not endorsed anyone yet. It’s just a random clip of Obama speaking in a different context.
If you want to see a lot of dems stay home on Election Day, nominate Bloomberg. He is the walking embodiment of the natural tendency of free market capitalism to embrace a fascist police state.
3
Doubthat seems to be fooled by Bernie calling himself a socialist, yet acting as a liberal Democrat.
@Archipelago: Public sectors of mixed economies raise money by taxation to spend on the general welfare. That is socialism.
2
Oh my my, first there was Charles Blow, now Ross Douthat sounds like a reasonable person; NYT, I like that you have a variety of thought this election period; love that Charles and Ross are voicing differing opinions.
I could never vote for Bloomberg because I remember how badly he treated black folks like me.
Amy Klobuchar is my choice for President, or else it is Trump 2020 and I don't care what the Bernie Bro's or the Neoliberal or Republican lite pundits will say otherwise; choice means choice.
1
@JRS
"Amy Klobuchar is my choice for President, or else it is Trump 2020 ."
I doubt very much that Ms. Klobuchar would feel good about her being your choice next to Mr. Trump. It would be anathema to her.
LauraF,
Democrats get one shot at obtaining my vote, mess up, again as in 2016 and the other party gets my vote; get organized and get a grip on reality; extremists can not win.
Who here has EVER made a decision based on what Ross Douthat thinks? Why would/should we start now? He is just another self-important pundit who does not publish his batting average, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
2
@Theod are you advocating an echo chamber that is absolutely sealed, instead of 99% sealed?
1
they can replace Trump with a septic tank. I don't care. Just replace Trump.
6
Anything & anyone will be much better for the country than the immoral & divisive narcissist Trump..
4
He is really a republican, period!
2
@Rosemary
And Bernie is really an independent, and Trump has always been a Democrat.
The question is, who would be the best choice to steer your country out the quagmire in which it is currently stuck?
1
As a general rule I pay no attention whatsoever to republicans telling democrats whom to vote for. But I will say this:
There is no chance, no chance at all, that I will trash my sacred vote by voting for a racist New York billionaire to replace a racist New York billionaire.
Just say no to oligarchs.
4
@Concernicus
I despise Bernie as much as you do Bloomberg but against Trump I'd hold me nose and vote for the Senator.
Ross, some day I hope you will reveal the candidate whom you would actively support. To the best of my knowledge, no one is suitable to you. In fact, even the current pope does not meet with your approval.
If the only who does fit appears only in your mirror, by all means share your recommendations, experience and costs with us at your earliest convenience.
1
“Social liberalism and technocracy, hawkish internationalism and business-friendly environmentalism, plus a dose of authoritarianism to make the streets safe for gentrification.” <— Yes, please! That sounds like a _beautiful_ combination to me....I’d also be very happy with Klobuchar or Buttigieg.
3
I find it very hard to believe that someone who has been generous with his wealth over the years is going to be worse tyrant than a narcissistic opportunist like Trump. Maybe you know something about Mr. Bloomberg that I don't, Mr. Douthat, but you don't get my bet.
4
Can't wait to vote for Mike! Anyone that's lived in NYC knows Mike and knows he gets things done unlike the current mayor, um...
2
Bloomberg is a different type of authoritarian nightmare, on a par with Trump, but maybe more so. His actions and policies have shown him to be racist and lacking empathy.Beware the Bloomberg wolf in barely evident sheep’s clothing!
3
I can't mention the "S" word here so I won't but if if Notorious B gets the nomination half the progressive Democrats will sit out the election. Hence, 4 more years.
I can't stop laughing at the irony, a moderate Republican Vs. Trump and they will still call themselves Democrats. Over on Drudge they're saying Notorious B is considering HRC as a running mate. How Republican can you get?
The Democrats are being split by the left and the Republicans will eventually settle down with each other but in the mean time AOC is preparing to get Chuck Schumer's seat. Somehow I don't think of OAC as a globalist. Bloomberg however....
Ok I'll say the "s" word: Soros. The election is between him and the remaining Koch. Sounds right? And America has nothing with it. Why's that?
2
Bloomberg is sly like a fox, a good one. He knows he'll never get the nomination, but is overtly drawing attention to Trump's shortcomings (idiocy) more aggressively than the legit candidates so far will, or can afford, to. Take a look at his TV ad comparing snippets of previous presidents' finer speeches with the illiterate and vulgar bits from DJT's. If Bloomberg throws his money behind the ultimate Democratic nominee, up to or exceeding that of the RNC spending, and with smart media placement, he may save us from another four years of damaged democracy. For that I'd forgive him from whatever nastiness lurks in his own history.
2
@Nancy Rea Not sly, extremely intelligent unlike Trump who is well I can’t even say where his intelligence lies but it’s certainly at the bottom. Trump is a Putin pawn and is manipulated by appeal to his vanity. Bloomberg know what he is doing and how to do it.
1
Interesting essay; thanks.
1
What a lot of rubbish -- a smear, actually. While I'm no big fan of Bloomberg for President, Mike was a darn good Mayor, pragmatic, competent, fair, always open to criticism, and of course, non-partisan
2
So 64 women have SUED Bloomberg for inappropriate behavior and discrimination. In his quest for power, this plutocrat will pay the ultimate price. Women will be energized against him and his legacy is now tarnished forever. How dumb does he think we are?
5
@karen Beck Apparently not as dumb as someone who thinks that a fake Indian who favors wealth confiscation and open borders - pardon me, "decriminalization" of illegal immigration - has any chance against Trump.
1
Is Bloomberg paying for these comments? Worth investigating.
4
@Mary Nope. I’m female and will vote for Bloomberg. Trump and women? Anti women rights, hookers. Come on the list is too long.
1
@Mary
Don't be silly. I'm Canadian, and I think Bloomberg would be a far better President than Trump. I think he could beat him, too.
2
Here we go again. In 2016 the NYT implied equivalency between the Clinton Foundation and Trump U. There is none, of course. Now implying equivalency between Bloomberg and Trump. Purely apart from responsibly and morality, don’t you get tired of being wrong?
3
Liking Bloomberg to Trump is nonsense. One is brilliant, focused on reasonable choices about threats to our nation, and the other is simply terrible in every "demented" dimension. Bloomberg has a long history of working to improve climate change, reducing gun violence, and making rational economic and business decisions for New York. I can only dream of Bloomberg as the next president. Trump cannot complete a rational paragraph off the teleprompter revealing for all to see and hear, impaired cognitive function. Bloomberg has it right; Trump is a carnival barking con man with a long history of terrible judgement. Bloomberg is imperfect but rock solid and Trump is perfectly awful in every way.
5
Bloomberg also buys support from his largest benefactor.....the Media. Millions in ad revenue, and their going to bad mouth him??
We might just want to slow our roll re Mike.
3
Mike Bloomberg is not a "power-hungry plutocrat."
Nice alliteration, Ross, if you're trying for style, but way off the mark in terms of substance.
3
Be very careful, people of my own bubble who read the NYT. Ross has made a very good point. Maybe Bloomberg has had a come-to-Jesus conversion, but his racist and misogynist comments of the very recent past suggest more than a few transgressions. And he can wield immense power because he has both enormous wealth and brains (unlike you-know-who). Do we really want that? Deals with the devil never end well.
3
@WomanThinking I agree. Let's all sit on our hands and wait for the perfect unicorn candidate to appear.
2
My memory may be a cloudy-- but did Douthat write columns like this when Trump was running and did he couch those columns with with false equivalency and faint praise for Trump?
Another propagandist, another attempt to destroy the meaning of words. That is what propagandists do folks - destroy the meaning of words as to render debate unintelligible.
As I have explained to Mr. Brooks the current POTUS may be a demagogue and klepto - but he is most certainly not a "populist." He just pretends to be one on TV. As in most things with him it is a fraud.
Please stop destroying the word "populist" like that!
3
Cheap shots, when you should have focused on what he did for New Yorkers, especially the poor, uneducated, and those of need of housing.
Get your priorities straight, Mr. Douthat.
2
I hear that Bloomberg is considering Hillary for his running mate. OMG! That would make Trump INSANE! Whether it's true or not I love the irony of it so much it makes me giddy! The "barking clown" will explode in Times Square!
2
Bloomberg may be an oligarch and plutocrat but next to the degenerate dictator in waiting that is Trump, he is a breath of fresh air.
3
How old will he be at the end of his four year term? Eighty-something? He'll be "one and done", for sure, but at least he will see us through our current nightmare. I for one am sick and tired of the pompous perfectionists who have hijacked the Democratic Party. Whatever happened to competence? Better "the Pied Piper of Vermont" than a self-made man? Enough!!!
3
Trump is an existential threat to the country and, indeed, the globe. He is a petty, mean-spirited grifter who is clearly not playing with a full deck. Unleashing him for a second term will only magnify his virtually infinite flaws. Everything is for naught if Trump is not defeated, so I will support whoever seems likeliest to achieve that.
5
Beware Augustus!
2
As a democrat I find it just a revolting thought to vote for somebody who basically buys the election with his own money
2
",,,,a power-hungry plutocrat." Now I'm even more strongly supporting Bloomberg, knowing that Mr Douthat is scared to death of the idea of him being the nominee. Mr. Douthat would be more than wont to find one Democrat that he'd come out and say "yes, I like him and I'm going to vote for him." No, that won't happen and therefore every column he writes is biased so why should it be published in this paper and why should I take the time to read it? In fact, I didn't. I read the heading and formulated my comment, knowing full well who I was writing about and their political agenda. As to Bloomberg, he’s my choice to take down our gangster-president, and it it costs Bloomberg $1 billion to do it - or $20 - I couldn’t care less, please spend Mike!!
4
Bloomberg has generally embraced with startling competency “Spikism.” He does the right thing.
There is one thing that Bloomberg can do if he gets the nomination that no other potential nominee can do:
Offer to pay off all of Trump's debts and kick in a few hundred million to sweeten the deal in return for Trump tweeting "Vote Bloomberg!" and withdrawing from the race.
Elections? Who needs them?
1
So who’s your choice, Ross, Benjamin Disraeli?
3
It's uncanny how the Bloomberg shills materialized en masse a few weeks ago in these comment sections, even when the articles made no mention of him. They insist over and over that he's a candidate who can take on Trump and win.
Is THAT how desperate you Democrats have become? You want to back the Republican who didn't register as a Democrat until 2018? Who helped reelect Bush Junior? Who defends stop-and-frisk to this day behind closed doors? Who thinks Xi Jinping isn't a dictator? Mr. "Throw the kids against the wall?"
"Vote blue no matter who" is the rallying cry lately, and I'll reluctantly oblige this November. I'll also not vote for Bloomberg if he is the Democratic candidate. Because he isn't blue. Trump is a wolf and Bloomberg is a wolf in sheepskin.
2
@Sam the Slam
"Vote blue no matter who" is the rallying cry lately, and I'll reluctantly oblige this November."
"I'll also not vote for Bloomberg if he is the Democratic candidate."
You contradicted yourself here. Just saying.
This piece is ridiculous. Bloomberg is competent, experienced, intelligent, philanthropic and effective snd imperfect just like the rest of humanity. Oh yeah AND he’s sane AND he won’t sell out his country. While I didn’t agree with all of his policies he is unquestionably the best bet to beat Trump.
6
I guess St. Francis of Assisi is not available but I bet that if he were would could get some negative columns about him. But hey, wasn't there great concern about another presidential candidate who " was a pal of a terrorist" and who attended services of a Black minister who had some nasty words to say about the good old USA?
3
It is astonishing how low our standards are. In fairness, until recently I was as bad as many of Bloomberg’s defenders. As a white person I had no idea just how bad stop and frisk actually was until I started reading about in in the past week or so.
Bloomberg is better than Trump on global warming, which is a crucial issue, so I will vote for the lesser evil if I have to. But there is absolutely no reason or excuse for why it should ever come to that. It will be a damning indictment of both the Democratic Party and its voters if we pick this racist, misogynistic warmonger with no respect for the poor or civil liberties to be our standard bearer against Trump.
2
I am not Amy Klobuchar but she approves this advertisement.
Actually, I think she might not approve it because it's such a vicious hatchet job.
At this point I would replace him with a squirrel.
2
There must be some gripe The New York Times has with Bloomberg. This is like the third or fourth anti-Bloomberg article I have read in this paper. I just have a hard time believing that they cannot see that this guy has the best chance of beating Trump for the White House. He's already deep in Trump's head and will drive him crazier than he already is.
4
Ross - you are so incredibly disappointing. The alternative is another 4 years of the current debacle. Spare us.
3
No the alternative is a highly qualified democratic candidate who will beat Trump.
But if you want four more years of Trump go ahead and vote for Mike.
2
Ross, here's all you need to know: Bloomberg is "ferociously competent," as you say, and honest, and Trump is abysmally dumb and crooked. Bloomberg thinks before acting; Trump acts without thinking. Nothing else matters right now but ejecting the clown in our White House. The other candidates running cannot gather enough support among Democratics to beat the buffoon; Bloomberg, while not perfect, offers the country the best chance of defeating Trump.
8
Bloomberg is an anti-populist. He is a globalist of the first order. If you didn't like the sound of TPP, he is your worst nightmare.
This will likely be the dirtiest presidential campaign ever in our country. The low ball Trump will do anything to get re-elected. I
2
Oh, there are a hundred reasons to choose Bloomberg over Trump, but let's leave it at their demeanor. Trump is vindictive, nasty, mean-spirited, immature, sexist, racist, and he lacks self-control. Trump is downright dangerous. How many times has he insulted world leaders? There is a reason Democrats are touting the slogan: ANYONE, BUT TRUMP.
3
It’s stunning, the level of Ross Douthat’s gall.
Especially given his ducking the various questions.
Which side are you in, Ross? Who’re you voting for? Which Pope do you support?
Yeah, thought not.
3
Bloomberg has his warts. Money, like power, corrupts. Still, he is a philanthropist and Trump is a misanthrope.
2
Ross, are you joining that part of the Conservative fear-mongering sect, now that there is a viable Democratic contestant? I'm surprised you didn't invoke the Hillary Spectre story that has just emerged! Plutocrat? To your credit at least you didn't offer the hackneyed 'elitist' moniker - oh wait, you did.
Bloomberg gives to charities - Trump raises donations for sick kids and vets and is fined $2M for irregularities. Also had to settle for $25M due to Trump University scam right before the last election.
Bloomberg is self made and an effective leader - let’s get off this stupid storyline
5
If a Trumpist like Douthat doesn't like Mike, it's a good reason to support the Mayor.
3
Here’s a nonprioritized list of 12 ideal qualities for US Presidents, followed by a noninclusive selection of exemplars since 1960 (we’ve had 11 Presidents since 1960):
1. The appearance of “common man” qualities (GRF, JEC, WJC, GWB).
2. Charisma (JFK, BHO).
3. Superior intelligence (JFK, WJC, BHO).
4. An awareness of one’s limitations, and skill at recruiting people to compensate for them (RWR).
5. A capacity to think - never publicly - only to oneself and one’s aides - with depthless cynicism, in packaging that others publicly call “strategy” (RMN, WJC).
6. Demonstrable empathy (JEC, RWR, BHO).
7. Superior oratorical skills (JFK, RWR, BHO).
8. A masterful ability to twist the right arms in the Congress, to get “higher angels” legislation passed, bipartisanly (LBJ).
9. Ability to cultivate/strengthen key foreign alliances (RWR).
10. The hide of a rhinoceros, impervious to pecking birds on one’s back, hatred, etc., and seldom whining about it (RWR, BHO).
11. A stable, low-turnover Cabinet (GHWB).
12. The appearance of unimpeachable ethics (GRF, JEC, BHO)
Donald J. Trump is 0 for 12 - the only President who is, since 1960. It’s time to get rid of him.
Bloomberg’s the only candidate who can beat Trump, and Trump knows it. Bloomberg and his record manifests the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th (as NYC’s Mayor), and 12th qualities above: he’s 6 for 12.
The Democrats need to get real and dump their “Democratic Socialist” candidate (Bernie), who’s as narcissistic as DJT.
4
Bloomberg reminds me of Winston Churchill
1
This for all the Bloomberg "maybe" supporters. The fence sitters. Men, their egos, and their misogyny.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/michael-bloomberg-women/?itid=hp_hp-top-table-main_bloomberg-9a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans
A "return-to-normalcy?" Forget about Klobuchar. Here is a topic for another column: is "normalcy" a word, or a Warren G. Harding neologism-malapropism. Too bad Safire is no longer with us.
1
'a history of racial and religious profiling and sexist misbehavior.'.....What a joke. Compared to the present occupant of the White House, Bloomberg would qualify for sainthood.
4
Mr. Douthat is stretching the English language like taffy when he describes Trump — who lost the popular vote — as "a populist in the White House."
2
GOP zero purity tests, unstoppable.
DNC daily purity tests, Identity politics, PC extreme culture.
Who's your money on?
1
Mr. Bloomberg may not be the tallest person in the room but he is head and shoulders over over "Mini Brain/Heart/Soul/Compassion Trump". You could probably replace "Mini" in my description of Trump with the word "NO".
Most vile President ever.
3
Stop it!
Mike Bloomberg is our only hope to dump Trump.
What are you doing?!
Discrediting the strongest candidate to save our democracy?
Say it!
You’d like 4 more years of Trump?!:
5
Mike is not the strongest candidate. I think he is one of the weakest and am definitely advocating for him not to be the democratic nominee. So much is at stake in this primary. We don’t need to be shooting our selves in the foot yet again!
1
"....a socialist winning primaries...". Seriously??? There has been 1 botched caucus and 1 primary. Bernie barely eeked out a 1.4% win ( in his friendly neighboring state) over Mayor Pete, they both got the same # of NH delegates and Pete's got more delegates overall to date.
What is this so early craziness in the MSM about which candidate is leading/winning?
And why don't you (or some earnest journalist) do a similar vetting of the "socialist winning primaries"? The guy who never answers a question he doesn't like and gets a pass every time. The guy with the nasty, aggressive base (sound familiar) for whom he takes no responsibility. The guy who spent 20+ years enthusiastically praising every failed "socialist" dictatorship, especially Fidel, and also the USSR, until he re-branded himself as a democratic socialist. The "other angry old white guy" with 60 years of the same talk and so incompetent/uncompromising/die-hard idealogue he has zero actual accomplishments for almost 40 years in government.
What's truly scary is that Trump, his campaign mgr., his "dumb and dumber" sons are openly encouraging their MAGA supporters to vote for Bernie in the open primary states. They want him to be the Dem nominee. Which means you may be ultimately right about the "socialist winning primaries"....
Right now: I'm ABB (Anyone But Bernie).....and all in on Mike.
1
Trump is the worst president we have ever had, and that hardly begins to describe how despicable he is. Bloomberg would be far, bar better despite his shortcomings. What else is there to say?
3
Calling Trump a populist is like calling a mirage an ocean. To summarize, Trump passed the biggest tax give away to corporations and the wealthy under his sole legislative achievement. To pay for the resulting debt increase, he is looking to make cuts to social security and medicare (America's social safety net). In addition, he is supporting a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare) which will result in the loss of health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions and dependents on their parent's health insurance policies. Lastly, he just tightened the requirements for both food stamps (approx 700,000 people will lose access to proper nutrition) and medicaid which will adversely impact the most vulnerable in our society. Trump runs as a populist and governs as a plutocrat.
2
I hope Mike Bloomberg believes the wise are people who understand how and why things are since normally, we call ‘bad’ whatever is bad for us, and good whatever increases our power and advantage, but to be truly ethical means rising above these local concerns.
It might all sound forbidding, but I’m crazy enough to envision a philosophy as a route to a life based on freedom from guilt, from sorrow, from pity or from shame. I’m hoping Mike Bloomberg’s virtuous attempt at politics doesn’t overlook – like me and so many philosophers/politicians before and since – that what influence people’s choices isn’t just reason, but far more importantly, emotion, belief, fear and tradition. Despite unveiling The Greenwood Initiative, Mike Bloomberg’s work so far, hasn’t convinced but a few to abandon traditional politics and to move towards a rationalist, wiser system of belief. I’m with Mike, but most people don’t see America the way I do. Unlike me, many American sympathize with Ross Douthat and don’t find Bloomberg’s tweets and press releases comforting or think he has a restoring take on life. Bloomberg’s initiatives is viewed by skeptics as mirky ideas from another billionaire in a political sea of mud. Whereas, had Bloomberg been alive the 19th century, Hegel and Wittgenstein would’ve taken an interest in Bloomberg, but I’m afraid intellectual nostalgia 2020 won't defeat 2016 populist nostalgia (MAGA)
Power hungry plutocrat? Ross! Oh wait, Ross is an opinionater. Opinions definitely do not need a factual basis, just a wish to make an impressions, a smear for instance. At the outset Ross might have declared his love for Pete or Bernie.
1
“There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party … and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat.” — Gore Vidal
2
Sometimes in order to spot a fake, you have to see it next to the real McCoy. I’m tired of the purity tests and even more exhausted with idealism. When they go low, we go high. Okey dokey....
Mike Bloomberg understands one thing the occupants of Twitter sphere and the media don’t; this isn’t about healthcare, civil rights, global warming and whatever boutique issues you come up with. If we lose this election all those aforementioned issues are in the wind. This election is about who we are, not what needs to be done.
Get Trump out of there, remove Bill Barr, and last but not least unleash a fair and independent Justice department on the cynicism and arrogance that have led to anyone and everyones criminality in this administration and the GOP.
Sometimes harmony must exist without justice ie. Richard Nixon. Not this time. This time there needs to be a full reckoning, and only a man with his own wealth and power is going to be able to get it done.
6
I guess we know who the GOP fears now, right Ross?
4
I cannot read another. NYT OpEd denigrating Bloomberg. Why are you tearing down a candidate more electable than many of the democratic candidates? And “power hungry” that’s not how most of us are seeing Bloomberg.
4
Reading the writer's bio was enough for me:
"a co-author, with Reihan Salam, of “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream” (2008)".
Go Mike 2020
3
Now is the time to dig back into Mike's background. Enough there to throw a real monkey wrench into his presidential ambitions.
1
@Nick
“Now is the time to dig back into Mike’s background. Enough there to throw a real monkey wrench into his presidential ambitions.”
Really?!
We’re you here in 2016?
Should a billionaire become President by buying out his
competition; I think the answer is NO !!!
Should billionaires and huge PACs buy out the way to
the Presidency and Congressional seats in our Legislative
Branch: I think the answer is NO !!!!
Should your vote count against a billionaire's vote: I think
the answer is YES !!!
Should your vote count against the so called "personhood"
of big Corporation PAC money: YES !!!
Well then: Let's make your vote count against Trump or
Bloomberg or Citizens United: How to do that..and I leave
this up to all the candidates running for POTUS and for
the House of Representatives and for the Senate; and I
leave the answer of how to make your vote count against
one big PAC or even one billionaire who might become
a autocratic President like Trump....
Any answers from the commenters here....about how to
return to a fair campaign ; so that your vote counts just
as much as "Trump's or Bloomberg's or Citizens United
Hope there is an answer because we all need an answer.
3
The Portable Bloomberg — The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg (White Mountain Press)
“I know for a fact that any self-respecting woman who walks past a construction site and doesn’t get a whistle will turn around and walk past again and again until she does get one.”
You are making a conclusion out of thin evidence. Mike managed to get the law changed for a third run for mayor but remember he got voted in. Bloomberg media is no NY Times, Washington post or Fox News and it’s not behind his presidency. Just don’t see the connection with Xi and comparison to Trump Putin! Democrats are not like republicans and can’t be cowed to bend every which way to mikes liking if he becomes president.
1
Sorry, Ross. But you are about the LAST person Democrats should take advice on their nominee from
4
We don’t have a populist in the Whitehouse, we have a corrupt, grifting plutocrat masquerading as a populist who has done nothing for the people other than foment division and fan the flames of hate while he robs us all blind.
4
Climate change is the overarching challenge the world faces. This is in Bloomberg's wheelhouse. We should be so lucky to have him elected President of the United States this November.
I know some Bernie supporters will rightly point out that Senator Sanders' plans get an "A" grade from Greenpeace.
Wonderful! But a plan that doesn't have a snow ball in hell's chance of passing through the U.S. Senate literally is not worth the paper on which it is printed.
Mike 2020.
4
A power hungry plutocrat, Ross?
I assume you are referring to Trump.
As a right wing columnist you are obviously not friendly to someone who will destroy Trump and his Republican goons.
I love Mike in part because he will use all his resources of which the financial are just a small part, as we all will soon learn, to take out Trump and win back our country.
6
But Ross you say that like it was a bad thing,"and root liberalism once more in professional-class interests and a Washington-Wall Street mindmeld."
1
Articles about Bloomberg are suddenly flourishing. The media, even the media I trust most follow the money men most. For no good reason. Media from all walks got us Trump because he was rich and famous. Not again.
Bloomy, Bernie, Biden, and Trump should drop out. Ill health and questionable capacity matter. The B's have more to offer US by not being the POTUS.
Nothing matters more than caring about all of US.
First thing: Delete Donald Trump and the MOB GOP.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-Ue5F57dZMU
2
Mike Bloomberg is a cantankerous old man who should be thinking of retirement. He does not have the temperament to be president nor the personality.
1
Democrats need to wake up. Fast. There are worse things than Donald Trump being reelected--one is compromising your principals so often and so thoroughly you no longer have any principals.
If Trump wins a second term let it be with Democrats fighting for what they believe in NOT what some rich racist-misogynist billionaire tells us is best.
2
Only a conservative catholic could compare Trump and Bloomberg, as though they were equally dangerous options. I hope Mayor Mike is NOT the nominee, but his 3 terms as mayor, despite the term-limit extension and the stop-and-frisk gestapo tactics, were notable for a smoothly functioning and prosperous city, even if "the little people" were forced to accept the usual trickle-down. And while I confess to ignorance about Bloomberg's #metoo issues, to mention ANYONE besides Roger Ailes in the same breath with Trump on that front is slander. There are alot of reasons to hope for Biden or Klobuchar or (please, please!) Michael Bennett, but to pretend that Bloomberg is in the Trump class of megalomania sounds like republican propaganda...
1
Michael Bloomberg was a Republican then an Independent then a Democrat.
Michael Bloomberg has always been a socioeconomic political color camouflage pattern changing cephalopod chameleon.
Blooomberg's primary job has been a corrupt crony capitalist corporate plutocrat oligarch gilded age robber baron malefactor of great wealth aka multibillionaire media mogul.
If the Democrats lesson learned from the loss of Hillary Clinton in 2016 is to have two bombastic bloviating 70+ New Yorkers who are even older and more experienced than Donald Trump then all is lost.
Because the most loyal and long suffering base of the Democratic Party is black African American particularly black African American Protestant women. Although Hillary Clinton won 92% of black African American vote in 2016 including 88% of black men and 95% of black women, turnout was down 11% from peak Obama
Obama/Biden won 43% and 41% of the white European American vote in 2008 and 2012. Clinton/ Kaine won 42% of the white European American vote in 2016. Trump/ Pence won 58% of the white European American voting majority including 62% of white men and 54% of white women.
2
as a life long independent, i voted for Anderson rather than Reagan, I am shocked by the current democratic talking heads/ policy wonks. They really don't get it. My brother is a teacher and a life long democrat in New Hampshire. He will vote against Sanders. I am gay and will vote for Trump before Sanders or Butt-edge-edge. Country first. I live in NYC and have lived with Mike and he is not perfect. Let's elect him president and put Trump in the waste bin of history....
1
I'll take an oligarch's velvet fist over Tump's horror show anytime!
2
Sorry Ross Douthat, but it will be President Bloomberg. and perhaps VP Amy or Pete. Bernie is a nice guy but we don't need another screaming ideologue in the White House. We want your tyrant out of the White House and a decent, generous, compassionate person like Bloomberg. Your negative info campaign in your column does not due him justice. He earned his money honestly and is giving most of it away, unlike the Trump you seem to always support. Shame on you and your column. Are you perfect??? Have you never made any mistakes and apologized for them like Mike?
4
You are right, not only has Bloomberg tempted me, but he has converted me. I will vote for this man no matter what retrograde pundits may say. He is the best hope to defeat Trump, he did an excellent job as Mayor and Just like Trump support is blind, my support for Bloomberg is based on reason. Go Bloombito go!
4
“But with a populist in the White House”
That is not what is in the White House
3
Douthat proves in no uncertain way, that it’s not Trump we should fear, but the people who proclaim his pathology publically only to use the shadow it casts to pursue under cover their own personal agendas. This is one of Douthat’s more unpleasant columns.
3
That "dose of authoritarianism" is what scares me about Bloomberg. New Yorkers saw it at work when he dismantled a progressively elected community school boards (with Albany's complicity) and turned it into his own fiefdom. It did not improve public education for the children, alienated families and communities from their schools, and removed a pathway for grassroots candidates to public office. This disenfranchisement too, speaks to Bloomberg's comfort with racist policies as most of the families in NYC are brown or black.
But what really scares me about Bloomberg is that he is a media mogul and a potential employer of any journalist. Ross Douthat is one of the few who dares challenge him. I see this is at work even in the online Comments section of the NYT -- my own criticisms of Bloomberg usually don't get published. If Bloomberg becomes president we might as well read Pravda.
1
NYC is unique among cities in the US.
It has five resident mafia families with which Trump is very familiar - as to their tactics and parlance as well.
Trump used the Mafia term " rat " to describe his ex-atty Michael Cohen after Cohen testified implicating Trump in various shady - if not illegal activity.
Everyone living in NYC knows what a " rat " is and knows the consequences.
Outside of NYC - not so.
The term " rat " is equivalent to calling for one's *destruction*.
Cohen served Trump faithfully for over a decade and yet in NYC parlance Trump decreed the destruction of Cohen.
Political rat-enemies in NYC aren't given harsh rebukes.
They are destroyed by ANY and ALL means - no gutter-inhabiting political thug is off limits in abetting this destruction.
Trump will declare the dem's candidate a RAT.
ONLY Bloomberg has the indigenous NYC armor-plate to withstand Trump's Machiavellian assaults and beat him - and beat him badly.
Any and all of the other dem's will utterly wither within the first week of their NYC initiation.
3
An employee stated that Bloomberg told her to kill her fetus. A witness stated that he asked her if she would kill the fetus.
Either way, this is a disaster for Bloomberg. Would love to see Amy Klobachar finally go on the attack and knock him off the debate stage.
1
@Erik
If Trump is re elected we will degenerate into a christianist theocracy.
Who would you allow to babysit your children or grandchildren — Michael Bloomberg or Donald Trump? The answer is the person you should support for president.
H. Clark,
how about neither.
3
@H. Clark
Good question. Michael Bloomberg.
1
Those terrible far left Democrats!
They want universal healthcare like all the other first world countries.
They want to continue public education with two years of trade school or community college.
We are the richest industrial country on the planet GDP / capita. But we have poverty those other countries don't and the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Those terrible liberals want to protect the air and water and stop global warming.
They want to give women birth control so they don't have unwanted pregnancies and don't have to consider having an abortion.
Shades of Karl Marx!
We pay around $11,000 per capita for healthcare compared to the $5,500 the other first world countries pay.
They get universal coverage and we have parts of the US with infant mortality rates of a second world country. Seriously, look it up.
With the savings to healthcare, we could pay for the additional two years of education.
And maybe that would decrease poverty and crime. Then we would get more people working and paying taxes instead of paying for welfare and prison.
I can't believe how far left these new Democrats want to take us.
What would the Founding Fathers be saying today?
In the meantime, the 2017 Republican tax bill just increased the deficit.
Again.
The deficit is increasing from $600 Billion to $1 Trillion.
To be paid for by ourselves, our children, and grandchildren. Every Republican senator voted for it. Not one Democratic Senator voted for it.
5
Bloomberg’s not a Temptation, he’s a turn-off.
Opponents can just run ads quoting his offensive talk.
Times article: Bloomberg’s Team Calls His Crude Remarks on Women ‘Wrong’
“If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they’d go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale’s.”
And…”purportedly Mr. Bloomberg’s sales pitch for his eponymous computer terminal, said the machine will “do everything,” including oral sex, although a cruder term was used.”
“I guess,” Mr. Bloomberg was quoted as saying, “that puts a lot of you girls out of business.”
A pregnant employee alleged Bloomberg told her, “kill it,” referring to her baby, and grumbled about the number of pregnant women at his company.”
On Nov 17, Mara Gay of NYT editorial board wrote, "Bloomberg Apologizes for Stop-and-Frisk at Just the Right Time.
He'd long defended it, but in 88 % of stops, there was no arrest.
"New Yorkers had been stopped by the police more than five million times. An entire generation of black and Latino children had grown up accustomed to getting “tossed” by the police on their way home from school."
So, Bloomie like Trump throws put-down insults at various groups they see as inferior and vulnerable -- women and other races-- to build themselves up for power. Then lie and blatantly mislead--their privilege as they see it.
Americans can't tolerate another Trump type, and further reduced standards in our politics. Trump should be an aberration.
3
Bloomberg: Infinitely better “power plutocrat” than the one we have, who is a certified liar and cheat.
Wj’y bother with any of these people when we have Bernie? Millions of people sending him their lunch money can be trusted.
Bernie 2020. No more junk.
2
Think you totally ignored all of Bloomberga stands on many many issues. Gun control, climate change, women’s rights, education, immigration and so much more. Encourage you to spend more time researching these and you may find yourself more aligned than you think.
1
Okay you Dems who think Bloomberg is the solution. Exactly, specifically why do you think he could beat Trump? ? I would never vote for a racist. I wouldn’t even have lunch with a person who dictated “stop and frisk”. His attitude towards women? Unbelievable. He can’t apologize and expect us to respect that apology. He turned Manhattan into an island for the very wealthy. Now isn’t that nice. It is obviously beneath him to go out and shake hands with Americans and answer their questions. Savvy? We don’t need his corporate savvy. Respecting that is absurd. It doesn’t apply to being a public servant. We need someone who understands the constitution and why it has worked so well. We need someone who respects the limits of the power given to them and knows where that line is. We need someone that has always been a Democrat. Why would he have any loyalty to our values? He’s a Republican calling himself a Democrat because he has to in order to run against Trump. So there’s the first con. He’s not really a Democrat. Why would I vote for a Republican? Because he is reaching across the isle? Yeah the Republicans will love him because he is a Republican! Dah! If the Republicans want a better Republican president, let them get some spine and do something about it without our help. Democrats made a big mistake moving so far right and we have paid for it and are now remembering who we are and moving to the left. Dems gird your loins and vote for someone of you own party.
3
@Susan. This letter perfectly expresses the type of Democratic purity tests that gave us Trump in 2016 and will ensure a Trump victory in 2020 unless Dems wake up and work for the eventual nominee, whoever it is. Dems, don’t let the perfect defeat the good. You are probably not going to get your perfect nominee and even if you did, they (gender neutral pronoun) probably couldn’t beat Trump. Dirty tricks are effective and bullies like Trump know how to use them. Focus your litmus tests on the down-ballot races and don’t abandon the Dem. nominee because of some squeamish sense of distaste or misplaced party identity. The top of the ticket needs a fighter who can confront Trump on his own terms and win. Douthat points out several similarities between Trump and Bloomberg. Maybe it takes one to know one, but don’t be fooled by false equivalencies. Trump is a false prophet—a master conman, grifter, and unindicted criminal. Bloomberg may not be perfect, but he is none of those things. He is the real deal and, unlike Trump, he’s smart enough to learn from his mistakes.
And as to voting for a “real” Democrat, Trump voters don’t seem to care that he switched parties. Why should Democrats?
2
wow , Ross is so scared he's making believe he cares about progressives . Bloomberg's must really have something going for him.
3
What is wrong with the NYT that they constantly pick apart Dem Candidates?! You would NEVER see Fox take down Trump- and there is a lesson there. This is an election to save our republic- the most important of our era- and this division is your contribution? Excellent way to ensure the Corrupt Toddler gets re elected. And Bloomberg IS the person to defeat him. Ideally with Klobuchar at his side.
3
@Lauren Parker Are you basing this on polling or is this just your "gut" telling you that a former republican will be the best representative for the democratic party and to run against a wildly popular republican President? Yes, I can see Bloomberg flipping swing states and winning disaffected voters-- delusional.
1
After reading the WPost on the way he treated woman within his firm, he's an absolute monster. Talking about making a deal with the devil. Here's an excerpt from the suit filed by Garrison.
"When Bloomberg noticed Garrison standing nearby, he asked, “Why didn’t they ask you to be in the picture? I guess they saw your face.” Continuing his penchant for ridiculing recently married women in his employ, Bloomberg asked plaintiff, “How’s married life? You married?” Plaintiff responded that her marriage was great and was going to get better in a few months: that she was pregnant, and the baby was due the following September. He responded to her “Kill it!” Plaintiff asked Bloomberg to repeat himself, and again he said, “Kill it!” and muttered, “Great! Number 16!” suggesting to plaintiff his unhappiness that sixteen women in the Company had maternity-related status. Then he walked away."
2
This is a weak opinion piece. You do not make a compelling argument. Politics is a nasty and expensive business; or haven't you noticed? He was elected in NYC 3 times. He must have been doing something right.
2
Two things I have learned in my 80 years.
You take the best you can get … And you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.
Vote Bloomberg!
5
Trump fools some of the people all of the time, but that makes him a charlatan who has shamelessly mastered grievance politics.
Please stop referring to him as a populist. He is not one.
2
“More than any other contender, his nomination would pull the party back toward where it stood before the rise of Bernie Sanders and Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, and root liberalism once more in professional-class interests and a Washington-Wall Street mindmeld.”
That would be wrong...?
Where are Mike TAXES. He said he'd release his taxes where are they?
Is Bloomberg just another liar?
1
Never has Mr. Douthat's hatred of liberalism and personal freedom been more nakedly expressed.
Dan Kravitz
1
Sadly, it is true that your past, no matter how you might have grown up since then, when you run for office, in the age of digital media, will all be front and center. It isn't looking good for Michael Bloomberg, seeing as he so publicly, and arrogantly, admitted on his 48th. Birthday Party, how he was always on the lookout for sex, the real word he used, which couldn't be put in this comment, and it isn't the way I personally ever talk about sex. The Washington Post has published the booklet, "The Wit & Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg," which isn't what with his years as both a businessman, and Mayor, should go in a booklet like that. Very sad! Before he even decided to run, he himself, should of put out the whole booklet, and explained where he was coming from, and why he was so arrogant, and misogynist. I remember when Bill Clinton, and Hillary were sitting for the interview on 60 Minutes, I wanted him to come out, and say that he was a serial adulterer, as it was pretty obvious. I wanted to vote for him because of the atrocities in Bosnia, and I did, but because he never really owned his horrific sexual advances, he ended up repeating the same behavior as President, in Washington, and I couldn't vote for him a second time. Sadly, that is his legacy, big time womanizer. I guess, it is going to be Pete Buttigieg or Amy Klobuchar for me.
1
Yes, whatever works.
We’ve got to end the freak show in Washington. I like Mike.
3
For once I agree with you Ross!
1
Outsiders -- flyover folks -- may see some Warrenish creativity in B's new image.
Ross doesn't have a side. He just wants to watch the train wreck that follows.
I'm willing to take a big gulp and support Bloomberg to defeat the death star that is Trump and Trumpism.
2
Bloomberg has grown on me over the years. Would love to see him on a stage against Trump. His arrogance has always made me uncomfortable with him, but he’s pro environment and put big $$$ behind that and he’s gone full blast against the NRA... that alone would make him super attractive to me as the new man in the Oval.
1
Boy, this is the weekend of trashing Bloomberg. Both NYT and WaPo are running stories that amount to essentially Bloomberg bad.
At least they are not saying, "Trump Good".
But I would like to see a constant barrage of 1) Where is the unaccounted for Trump inauguration money? 2) Where are Trump's tax returns? 3) What is going on with the many cases of Sexual Assaults by Trump? 4) Where are the transcripts of Trump and Putin's conversations?
You want me to go on?
And cheap shot with the picture for this Op Ed. Cheap shot.
2
So some Democrats think that the only way to get rid of the megalomaniacal gangster in the White House is to nominate a plutocrat who wants to buy the country? Listen, people, if that happens we have truely hit bottom. Our country is turning into a theatre of the absurd, or worse.
Ross Douthat -- a man who thinks a medieval institution like the Catholic Church is a model for society -- lecturing progressives on who their candidate should be. That's rich.
2
This is how the Roman Republic died— it brought in plutocrats to tame disorder, and they made themselves Emperors
Revelation of 25 year old lawsuits against MB in the Post and now this rant against him in the Times. The hatchets have been sharpened and the blades beginning to cut.
1
I would vote for Bloomberg in a New York minute!!
3
Sadly, this article is very aligned with what’s coming out in the left-wing media right now Wake the (expletive) up Democrats. Bernie et al have already lost this election with the politically inept open boarder/free health care for illegals nonsense.
It's very simple for me. I will vote for the person with the best chance to beat Trump. That looks like Bloomberg right now.
2
This may be the first time I actually agree with one of Ross’s columns ( with the exception of the ridiculous line about Trump being a safer bet) 
1
Voting for Bloomberg is like the old joke about a man propositioning a woman (ladies forgive the sexist overtones, it isn’t the point of this comment)
So a man asks a woman he is attracted to “would you have sex with me for $100”? “No of course not, she says, how dare you I’m not a prostitute”! Well the man asks what if I gave you a million dollars”? She answers, well for a million dollars, I’d do it”. So it isn’t that you aren’t a prostitute the man says, it’s just a matter of how much.
If Bloomberg had the wealth of mere mortals he probably would have fared as well as Deval Patrick or Michael Bennet and he would be out of the race like they are.
I suspect that his arrangement with Abrams for vice has been in the works since she passed on that Georgia Senate seat. It's colludy and smells of his money. And I am so perfectly fine with it. If he can get her on the ticket -- knowing that he'll only serve one term at his age -- it's game over for the nomination and the general both.
His next move, as he tackles divestiture from his business empire, should be to pledge most of his fortune to worthy, progressive causes. Yet another golden stick to club daddy's-dime donnie over the head with. Class warfare, i.e. showing what it looks like to have some.
Then I can't wait for the debates. Or, more likely, the announcement that ddd has copped out of them. Either way.
Mike's not my hero either, folks. Yet. But he will be, come November, if we use our heads. So please, let's all get over it, whatever it is. We can save the republic, and enjoy a fun, schadenfreude-filled ride from here to there.
1
Third parties are generally founded on ideas that elites are neglecting, "like the combination of economic populism, social conservatism and America-first foreign policy that propelled Donald Trump to power."
No Trump was propelled by lies and stupidity.
1
You New Yorkers hate EVERY mayor you’ve had since LaGuardia. Every. Single. One.
"Economic populism, social conservatism, and America first foreign policy propelled Trump to power..."
"Ross speak" for hate speech, blatant racism, misogyny, transfer of wealth to the uber wealthy, stupid, expensive (to the American people) trade wars, corruption of the justice dept. etc. etc.
Why do I immediately suspect Ross is trying to scare us (ala trump) because he thinks MB could beat DJT?
2
It's stunning how many Bloomberg stans occupy this 5-star comment section. I for one will NEVER vote for an oligarch, not the toxic tweeter, nor the "velvet fist". #NeverTrump #NeverBloomberg And I'm not alone. Bloomberg would set back people-empowered economic progress and racial progress for a generation. His foreign policy hawkishness will deliver more unnecessary death. No. No. No. Say no to Bloomberg. He's not a savior.
1
Trump is INSANE
Bloomberg is SANE.
let's start and stop right there!
2
Dont often agree with Ross but he nails it here. If Trump is Caligula he's Augustus
Forgive me if someone out of the 1515 comments so far has raised the point that the very reasons mentioned in this article may also be, for some people, reasons to vote for Bloomberg.
Still and all, it appears that Bloomberg is Trump lite.
Bloomberg may have the money and wherewithall to buy the presidency and dethrone Trump, but do we really want him prying into our private lives with his mad obsession with technology or implementing his stop and frisk policies nationwide?
Bloomberg is a different kind of autocrat with his tax on sugary soft drinks and association with the nanny state. If anyone else was in the White House Bloomberg wouldn't stand a chance in the race for the presidency and given his track record with women and race relations I'm not so sure Democrats nevermind progressives would be so forgiving.
At the end of the day, it's not the candidate who will defeat Donald Trump, but rather the voters themselves. There are no compelling candidates to stand against Trump this cycle, most likely because they were all too wise to enter the Trump twitter fray, preferring instead to wait until 2024. Democrats and Independents will decide this November if they have had enough of Trump and vote accordingly. If their candidate concerns get in the way, we'll get another 4 years of Trump. It's as simple as that.
I hope this time around Democrats can forgo the lofty idealism and syrupy platitudes of promises that will be impossible for the eventual nominee to keep. ( Medicare for all just isn't going to happen) The most important thing of all is winning the general election in November. This time I hope the Democrats can rally around Mike Bloomberg. Trump is clearly nervous about the prospect that Bloomberg really can win it all and become the 46th president.
Annalies,
Bloomberg will not win NC, everyone, even in Virginia knows that Bloomberg will take your guns and your soda pop away.
Bloomberg was able to fund other Democrats to victory in Virginia and NJ but when he on the ticket everyone knows what he is; a powerful oligarch who can attend to buy our government; Trump will win unless Amy Klobuchar is on the top of the ticket with a reasonable Vice President.
Is it too late to edit my iPhone.
Your essay makes me support Bloomberg
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",,,,a power-hungry plutocrat." Now I'm even MORE strongly supporting Bloomberg, knowing that Mr Douthat is scared to death of the idea of him being the nominee. Frankly I continue to be disappointed that The New York Times allows a columnist to write op-ed pieces about politics when they know full well that the predisposition of the author is totally contrary and biased towards the subjects he writes about. I mean to say that Douthat would be more than wont to find one Democrat that he'd come out and say "yes, I like him and I'm going to vote for him." No, that won't happen and therefore every column he writes is biased so why should it be published in this paper and why should I take the time to read it? In fact, I didn't. I read the heading and formulated my comment, knowing full well who I was writing about and their political agenda.
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so you want Trump re-elected ... why not just say it?
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No more New York billionaires which troubling records regarding young black men as President. That goes for Trump and Bloomberg both.
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I usually don't agree with Ross Douthat, but I agree with this column 100%.
I agree with Ross Douthat. God forgive me, but I do.
Bloomberg is a hard NO, NEVER for me.
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Mel,
Bloomberg could change NYC to red; might match upper NYS as no other politicians have done recently.
A false comparison. Bloomberg is not the left’s version of Trump. Trump is a twisted thing unto himself. To find parallels you have to look to clowns like Berlusconi and assorted faux populists from other banana republics.
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Republicans in lockstep to ensure their continued destruction of America as we've known it; Democrats dithering over who is pure enough to be the nominee. Crazy time. Job 1, and job-infinity, is to dump Trump.
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Whenever you consider the perceived faults of any of the Democrat candidates, you have to take into consideration the character of the "gentleman" they'll be up against. Whatever his flaws, Bloomberg at least has principals and stands for causes that most Democrats approve of. Trump is a narcissistic, race baiting, draft dodging liar. There's a lot of room between that type of character and any of the Democrat candidates.
The Democrats have to recruit a Republican to run for them because their Democrat candidates are all crooks or kooks, and he has a lot of money.
Desperate much?
I wouldn't call it temptation more like desperation...
Bloomberg is a desperation vote for black voters and for me.
I'm white and nothing separates me from black who are sophisticated, savvy, forgiven and very hopeful & kind people.
Just like all other spectrum of human colors, they come in many different shades.
So Bloomberg is a big dilemma for everyone who votes.
Maybe we should be more pragmatic just like black people, who have it in abundance through every stage of life and struggles for equality, but I have a feeling, that now they reached the moment of taking power in their hands,
just like all rainbow of all our colors...
We all feel this big moment in time, and bracing and fear to make a wrong choice.
I trust the black people wisdom and will follow the Bloomberg desperation vote, if he wins...even I'm truly progressive.
But Bloomberg understands how to shrink trump to his true lilliputian, dwarf size...he just called him fat and stupid in response to his small-minded tweets.
His fortune plays a huge role and let's address issue of money in politics after 2020, after we beat trump, since it goes against every progressive mentality.
Money corrupts!
But we should vote for anyone who wins!
We will prevail!!!
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Well written. well said.
Making me sick Ross. All your arguments are trash unless someone - whoever it is - can actually beat someone who uses every dark tool in the tool kit (lies, intimidation, lawlessness, vote hacking/suppression/manipulation, etc.) to win at any cost. He's the only hope out there. Every candidate has flaws; few have the proven experience to win AND be effective.
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The best bet of the likes of Douthat is to focus on the GOP. Through their negligence they have insidiously foisted on the country the most corrupt president ever.
A socialist or gay or centrist Democrat is likely to be better than the narcissist currently occupying the WH.
Cry for the beloved country
Ross, you and everyone on the Republican side seem quite scared of Bloomberg, and I know why. It’s because you have supported Trump, who is a crook and a thug, and you and your Republican apologists have morally failed to check his transgressions. The only thing that would prevent the Democrats from winning in 2020 is if they are too dimwitted to nominate someone besides Bloomberg.
Bloomberg is an advocate for climate change mitigation, gun control, health and nutrition standards, is pro-science, is firmly an internationalist, and a proponent of the rule of law. He is a truly self-made billionaire, cut from the “pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps” cloth you Republicans once held sacrosanct and yet now you spit upon out of sheer hypocrisy. Yes, he is no saint, but with Trump on your side you have no less than the Devil as your friend.
It is an easy decision for me, and I have already voted for Bloomberg in our primary here in California. I look forward to voting for Bloomberg in November and righting the great American Republic.
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Even this "power-hungry plutocrat," as you call him, would be better than the power-hungry kleptocrat who now prowls the White House. Bloomberg is not nearly as power-hungry as Trump. Nor is he a corrupt, unhinged, vindictive serial liar who believes he has "an absolute right to do whatever I want."
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Are you writing articles telling republicans not to vote for Trump?
A “power hungry plutocrat?” The fact that you and others of the Trump apologists class are so worried about a Bloomberg candidacy that you have to take a page from his playbook of hypocritical assaults, tells me everything I need to know.
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If you're going to be mentioning "sexist misbehavior" why not write multiple columns on Trump's.
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Trump has a good chance to be re-elected if Sanders and/or Warren and an even greater chance if "Amy" or "Pete" are the nominees of the Democratic Party. The articles attempting to disparage Bloomberg due to sexual misconduct are pathetic.
Billionaire Shmillionaire. Who cares? Bloomberg has given away more money to charity than Donald will ever see. You need Mike if you want to win. Simple.
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"...his nomination would pull the party back toward where it stood before the rise of Bernie Sanders and Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, and root liberalism"
Sounds good to me.
In a capitalist economic system, money is power, and Bloomberg has an enormous amount. If he were the Democratic nominee, he could be expected to spend two to three billion dollars on defeating Trump. The latter has power, too, the power of the demagogue and the bigot. He would be likely to invoke a "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" tactic,claiming that Bloomberg is part of an international cabal of Jewish bankers, including George Soros, who are trying to take over the world. They are already taking shots at each other. It would be an ugly campaign.
Trump is a neo-isolationist. He doesn't care about allies, believing that with an ever-increasing defense budget, including now a space force, America can defend itself. Bloomberg is a liberal internationalist, believing in a foreign policy that depends on allies and goes back to Harry Truman and Dean Acheson.
Unlike Bernie Sanders, neither is building a movement that will live after them.
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At least he's our power hungry plutocrat
Trump and his Russians benefactors are going to wipe the floor with anyone except Bloomberg.
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Bernie Sanders is much too polite when he debates. But the next debate is his chance.
Bloomberg supported George W. Bush twice, supported Rudy, gave a huge amount of money to Republican senatorial candidates, and supported the Iraq War. Trump likes Putin? Bloomberg likes the Chinese Communist Party.
He settled sexual harassment charges with over 40 female employees, and you know a lot more were harassed. He told a subordinate to "kill" her fetus. He stopped and frisked blacks and Hispanics millions of times using the phrase you shove them up against the wall, and mostly busted them for drugs. Meanwhile, the white guy in Greenwich Village could carry a pound of cannabis in his backpack with no worries.
Finally, he is spending billions of dollars to get elected, including spreading it around to ensure he gets endorsements.
Here's your chance Bernie for a knockout punch. Now or never.
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