With Hillary as front-runner, Mike needs to step in [What planet is this guy living on?]

Times Ledger ^ | June 13, 2015 | Tom Allon, president of City & State NY, 2013 Republican and Liberal Party-backed mayoral candidate

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I’m a Democrat and I am very concerned about the upcoming presidential election. Our country’s ability to tackle all kinds of inequality—racial, gender, economic and the list goes on—largely hinges on the outcome of the 2016 election, and on whether or not Democrats prevail.

I want to make clear that I don’t think all Republicans are completely misguided, just many of them, such as union-bashing Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and polarizing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and thuggish New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Moderates like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio—although too far to the right on many issues for me—at least offer new ideas on education and immigration.

But we saw what eight years of George Bush–Dick Cheney did to our country—an economic near-collapse, a rush headlong into a calamitous war and a rightward tilt of our Supreme Court.

So the stakes are high in 2016. It is easy to find fault with some of President Obama’s policies and methods—particularly in Middle Eastern foreign policy and his ability to negotiate with an intransigent Congress—but history will almost certainly be very kind to him. His landmark health care plan will one day be hailed as being as revolutionary as Social Security. Obama rarely gets enough credit for bringing America back from the brink of economic collapse early in his presidency with his steady stimulus plan and strong monetary policy.

Ironically, the first president of African-American decent hasn’t done enough to help the underclass in this country and the huge gap of economic inequality has widened. There has been a surge of activity around the country around the minimum wage, but this is not nearly enough.

There has been no attempt to address America’s unfair tax code, no attempt to make higher education less expensive for middle-class and low-income families or reform the predatory college loan program.

There also is the proverbial elephant in the room: the presumptive—and seemingly only—Democratic nominee for president, Hillary Clinton.

I am a fan of Hillary’s because she is progressive without being dogmatic and polarizing; she is extremely competent and has invaluable experience on foreign and domestic issues; and she is battle-scarred and has been tested in public life for three decades.

But.

For all her experience and intelligence, I worry that Hillary is not a great candidate or campaigner. I worry there is much Clinton fatigue in this country. I worry the media and the public will focus on the wrong things and damage her electability. I worry she will stumble late in the campaign. I worry there is no Democratic back-up plan.

So I will join the small but growing chorus of those who are saying, “Run, Mike. Run!”

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is perhaps the only other supremely qualified moderate in public life who could lead this country. He has the intelligence, the independence, the wealth, the team and—most importantly—he was great when holding the second hardest job in America for 12 years.

I’m debating whether it would be better for Bloomberg to jump into the Democratic primary soon, so Hillary has a real challenger to sharpen her campaign and message, or whether he should wait until early 2016 to see if Hillary flounders.

An advantage of being a multi-billionaire is he doesn’t have to do fund-raising and can snap his fingers and have the finest minds in our country help him deliver his centrist, no-nonsense message. His business skills will surely help in the increasingly competitive global economy. His crime-fighting record will help ensure America stays safe. His blunt and honest way of governing will help us on the world stage, as America’s hegemonic powers begin to recede.

So, even though there has been no official word from Bloomberg, I would bet many Americans would love to have another choice in the Democratic primary. Bernie Sanders is a smart, outspoken lefty who speaks truth to power, but he has no chance of being the next president. Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee have impressive records and may be rising stars, but it is doubtful either is ready for prime time.

I hope Hillary Clinton continues to hone her centrist but populist message and gains overwhelming support, but I would sleep better at night knowing that Bloomberg is ready to step in at any time to ensure we don’t have a Walker or Rubio presidency.

Run, Mike, run!

[SWAMPSNIPER]

[RetSignman]

I think he would be a great running mate for Trump.

[HarleyLady27]

I'm right there beside you on this one....wow....what a p o crappola.....

[jz638]

I think a Bloomberg run would be a great idea. Any time the gun grabbers and their money to part ways, it’s a good thing, and any time wealthy New Yorker arrogance encounters flyover country sensibilities, it’s even better.

[muir_redwoods]

The fact that this brain-damaged idiot can see Bloomberg as a moderate telos you how far left the democrat party has gone.

[onedoug]

What’s this guy smoking?

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Wow I found my old Photobucket account and looky here what I found. Anyone remember this? I am going to clean it up, enlarge and send it or give it to every Hitlery voter I can think of.....

[ROCKLOBSTER]

For 32 years?

Circling the globe with presidents?

Livelihood?

Six figures no doubt. You’re telling me Hitlary actually did something right.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

One down, 13 million, 999,999 to go.

[x]

What's the problem? He likes Bloomie. He agrees with Bloomie. He wants Bloomie.

If you always pick candidates based on who'll actually run or who can win or who will do the best job, you can criticize him, but if you pick your candidates based on whether they agree with you on the issues or on the kind of impression they make on you then aren't you in the same boat?

Well, okay, maybe you're not with him on the luxury yacht SS Blumenthal, but you're making the same kind of decision he's making.

[Stand Watch Listen]

On FReeper LUCY T's homepage...

we all need to be reminded of our unvetted candidates…

Who said it?

1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
A. Karl MarxC. Joseph Stalin
D. Barack Obama
E. None of the above

2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...... And to replace it with shared responsibility, for shared prosperity."
A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. Barack Obama
E. None of the above

3) "(We).....can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."
A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. Barack Obama
E. None of the above

4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own ... in order to create this common ground."
A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. Barack Obama
E. None of the above

5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."
A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. Barack Obama
E. None of the above

6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."
A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. Barack Obama
E. None of the above

Answers
(1) E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005

As reported by the Associated Press, Sen. Clinton said, "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
Hillary Clinton (I think Karl Marx said that first)

[fieldmarshaldj]

Ponzi scheme.

[Impy]

Bloomberg is no greater a challenger to Hillary than O’Malley or Sanders.

I hope he runs, as an indie, which would guarantee our victory, run Mike run!! Lol.

[RipSawyer]

“Ironically, the first president of African-American decent...”

I know some decent “African-Americans” but Obama is not among them.

[RipSawyer]

You are a very kind person, you were nice enough to err on the low side.

[Mark17]

You are a very kind person, you were nice enough to err on the low side.

Yes, I know. It is a character flaw on my part, to err on the low side. I actually meant 100%, I just wanted to give that 1% the benefit of the doubt. All I can say is, I'll try not to make that mistake again. 😂