Yeah, lobbying to get on the debate stage before his first contest was an operational-level error......
Posted on 02/21/2020 5:13:02 AM PST by Kaslin
Wednesday night in Las Vegas, Mayor Mike Bloomberg learned what it is like to be thrown up against a wall and frisked.
At the opening of the Democratic debate, his first, Mayor Mike was greeted by his nearest neighbor on stage, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with this warm welcome:
"We're running against ... a billionaire who calls women 'fat broads' and 'horse-faced lesbians.' And, no, I'm not talking about Donald Trump. I'm talking about Mayor Bloomberg."
Bloomberg was not only charged with misogyny and sexism but racism for his stop-and-frisk policy, which the NYPD pursued during his three terms as mayor. By Bloomberg's own admission, stop and frisk singled out black men between 16 and 25.
Undiscussed were the positive results of the policy.
Gun homicides in New York fell to levels below those attained by his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani. And if those most often frisked were black and Hispanic men, the lives saved and the woundings prevented were also mostly those of people of color.
Yet, a question that remains after this debate was one that was puzzling even before the debate.
Why did he do it? Why did Bloomberg, who is not on the Nevada or South Carolina ballot, decide to join the debates before these contests?
Today, the mayor's campaign is probably buying tens of millions of dollars in ads to undo the damage done to him under the remorseless fire on his character, campaign and record from his rivals Wednesday night.
These attacks were predictable and predicted. Why did he submit to this? Who counseled Bloomberg to climb into the ring?
By investing $350 million in ads in primary states since November and crafting scheduled appearances while avoiding adversarial talk shows and candidate debates, Bloomberg had propelled himself from nowhere into the top tier of candidates in every state on Super Tuesday.
Why did he abandon a winning strategy to walk out, unprepared, onto a stage full of enraged and exasperated rivals who think he is buying and stealing a nomination for which they have fought for a year?
Why did he volunteer to enter a forum where he had to know his rivals would become a flash mob before he answered his first question? This was campaign malpractice of historic dimensions.
It is going to take hundreds of millions of dollars in new ads to undo the damage done to Bloomberg's reputation among the millions of voters who got their first impression of the mayor from the debate.
Where does the race stand before Saturday's caucuses in Nevada?
Sen. Bernie Sanders, his energy restored after his heart attack a few months back, his lines honed by a year's repetition, was at the top of his game Wednesday night, fending off attacks and fighting back with a passion and ferocity that Bloomberg never exhibited.
With his popular vote victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, five national polls showing him taking the lead from Joe Biden, and contributions pouring in from his huge army of small donors, Sanders is the favorite to win in Nevada and man to stop.
But after Super Tuesday, March 3, he may be unstoppable.
A new Washington Post poll Wednesday shows Sanders with a huge lead among young voters and in a statistical tie with Joe Biden among African Americans. And he is flush with cash.
March 4 could see Sanders with an almost insurmountable lead that could have him enter the Milwaukee convention with a majority of delegates or a plurality so huge as to make it politically impossible for his adversaries to gang up on him and take the nomination away.
For who would be the beneficiary of such a robbery on the convention floor? The same Bloomberg his rivals described Wednesday night as a misogynist, sexist and racist.
Bloomberg's campaign is sounding the alarm that Sanders could soon amass an insurmountable delegate lead if the Democratic field stays split, and is urging the other candidates to drop out.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Vice President Biden are being told that if they do not get out of the race and clear the lane for the mayor, they will get a socialist as their nominee, and the party will deserve the fate November will bring -- a second term for Trump.
Bloomberg's strategist Kevin Sheekey was pointedly warned by staffers on Thursday:
"If Biden, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar remain in the race despite having no path to appreciably collecting delegates on Super Tuesday (and beyond), they will propel Sanders to a seemingly insurmountable delegate lead by siphoning votes away from (Bloomberg)."
As the other candidates cannot beat Sanders, Bloomberg's campaign is saying, they should step aside and clear the field for Mayor Mike. This would call for a spirit of self-sacrifice and measure of esteem for the mayor not evident on that stage Wednesday night.
Bloomberg looked positively stupid on that stage last night. He seemed as if he were on Mars or something.
Trump surrogates now need to loudly compare Bloomberg to Harvey Weinstein. Both powerful and wealthy men abused women and then silenced their misdeeds with non disclosure agreements. Torment Bloomberg with demands to know just what is he hiding. Scream loud and often that he must let all the women speak and tell what really happened. Start a “Tell the Truth Mike” campaign.
Yeah, lobbying to get on the debate stage before his first contest was an operational-level error......
Ummm ... Won’t that cause the media to bring up Trump’s past, which hopefully has gone away.
Not for someone with all that money.
However, I’m not sure that those numbers who vote, but don’t really follow politics know or care about debate performances.
Few people see the debates. Lots of people see his ads.
Us political wonks don’t really grasp just how utterly ignorant of the political landscape most people really are.
It completely removed this absurd veneer of invincibility that people have been putting on this guy in the press as well as even on FR.
I said a little while back that he was like an officer in the old days that bought his commission because he was rich enough to buy new uniforms, guns, the finest artillery, and he could pay for what would be a massive army of mercenaries.
The problem is that Bloomberg avoided all fighting for months, and all of his “troops” were just there for a paycheck, and not to die for him.
So the moment battle-tested candidates got their first shot at him, his massive war machine collapsed instantly.
Now he is rich enough that he could just buy and equity another army. The question is will anyone show up to vote for him to lead them?
He actually won the debate in the second half. The experts are wrong.
He actually had a few really good moments. What’s telling is his best moments got the worst reactions from deluded morons in the audience. So the debate was very bad for hm in the primary but might actually help him in a General.
“Few people see the debates. Lots of people see his ads.”
Only people between the ages of 55-up would ever be in this specific group.
Lots of people will see LOTS of that debate through alternative means.
So who would be the beneficiary of a naked robbery on the convention floor?
One and the same.....Mr Bloomberg....labeled a misogynist, sexist and racist....all the things Democrats despise.
But.......Bloomberg's campaign is ready to roll.
Strategists are sounding the alarm that heinous socialist, Sanders, could soon amass an insurmountable delegate lead.
What to do?
Bloomie's is urging the other candidates to drop out......
......which, by the way, is a classic, one used by political tricksters to get the whole stage to yourself.
Well, I’m 66 and I see it all. And a lot of us older people have the time and inclination to educate ourselves. Meanwhile, I’m around a lot of young people that live through their phones and the apps on it. They ignore the political crap and focus on the cultural stuff. Well, the ones that are not political wonks do, anyway. The ignorance on display with this group is truly shocking. It’s the old joke about them knowing nothing, but they can tell you what their favorite celebrity had for breakfast every day this week.
Trump cannot do it himself. However he has already weathered the bimbo storm. People have already factored his personal behavior. This issue however will hurt Bloomberg badly with Democrat primary voters. Publicizing it endlessly makes a Sanders candidacy and a Democratic debacle in November more likely.
These were the most watched debates with over 33 million viewers. (Vs. 12 million for the others.) This would require another 200 million dollars to overcome, which he can do if he wants. What Bloomberg doesn’t have is any debate skills. This is because he never had to develop any. Who will debate a guy who probably fires anyone who doesn’t instantly toe the line? He has never had any opposition to deal with. Trump would eat him alive.
Bloomberg has a frail, elderly person’s mouth. Just appearance wise, his mouth looks like my Grandma’s mouth when she was about 85.
Compare that to Trump’s mouth. Just appearance, not considering anything either one of them says.
Trump’s mouth projects absolute confidence. The shape of his teeth and how he speaks plays into this.
Trump’s entire appearance is absolutely unreal for his age. That dude is a stud, pure and simple.
When I look at Bloomberg, I see a frail old man who somehow looks like a little kind wearing Angus Young’s school uniform at the same time.
Trump is the Alpha of America. That is all there is to it.
Oh, I don’t think he will be the nominee. I think he is that candidate that everybody on the other side “thinks” can beat Trump, except they don’t plan on voting for him. I’ve met Bernie supporters. They are exactly what you would expect. What kind of democrat is a Bloomberg supporter? Labor Unions? Feminists? Lesbians? Homosexuals? Housewives?
I just don’t see it. I don’t think he would have a prayer in any primary other than the votes he would get from those that are just frustrated with the choices they are being given in the other candidates.
Were I a property owner in Milwaukee, I’d darn sure make certain my insurance premiums were paid in full. If DNC/Nanny steal this nomination from Sanders all hell will break loose.
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