Posted on 06/19/2007 3:40:02 PM PDT by neverdem
Associated Press
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the Republican Party on Tuesday and switched to unaffiliated, a move certain to be seen as a prelude to an independent presidential bid that would upend the 2008 race.
The billionaire former CEO, who was a lifelong Democrat before he switched to the Republican Party in 2001 for his first mayoral run, said the change in his voter registration does not mean he is running for president.
"Although my plans for the future haven't changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city," Bloomberg said.
The 65-year-old mayor has increasingly been the subject of speculation that he will run as an independent in 2008, despite his repeated promises to leave politics after the end of his term in 2009. He has fueled the buzz with increasing out-of-state travel, a greater focus on national issues and repeated criticism of the partisan politics that dominate Washington.
This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the Republican Party on Tuesday and switched to unaffiliated, a move certain to be seen as a prelude to an independent presidential bid that would upend the 2008 race.
The billionaire former CEO, who was a lifelong Democrat before he switched to the Republican Party in 2001 for his first mayoral run, said the change in his voter registration does not mean he is running for president.
Good riddance.
How popular is he with East Coast Democrats? I am not sure West Coast Dems know him that well. Glad he is obviously not liked by Republicans everywhere, LOL.
I can’t see this having any impact at all, except perhaps in NY, and it’s difficult to see who would benefit from it. Will more Hillary dupes switch their votes to Bloomberg, or will more Giuliani voters switch? Don’t have a clue, but my guess is that Hillary wins in NY either way.
Bloomberg is doing what he has done all along.
ANYTHING that will promote liberalism.
He never was a Republican. This is like the least news news story ever. He only ran as a Republican because there were 50,000 other Democratics running as Democratics and since there weren’t not Republicans running, he ran as that.
Why is the media so freaking stupid?
I wish they covered stuff like this on Fox News Watch and maybe I’d still be watching.
He appeals to just the neocommies, IMHO, a legend in his own mind.
Chrissy (excited): "We're all reacting here and putting on s____. We have nothing to of(fer)"...(notices camera light, more subdued)..."Welcome back to Hardball".Too bad he didn't finish saying "offer". It would have been great to have a clip of Chrissy saying "We have nothing to offer". Probably more truth than the PMSNBC circuits could handle.
After the Bloomberg segment: "I apologize for that. I shouldn't have used that word on the air. I didn't think I was. Things are breaking around here. We're trying to get this story on the air..."
Reminds me of Norm Coleman lately...
I remember Nelson Rockefeller trying to buy his way to the Presidency. Even money can’t buy votes sometimes. Bloomberg, Giuliani, Clinton, all are merely New York liberal wannabe candidates. All losers.
That's the way I see it! Hopefully your prediction is accurate.
Sorry, you’re mixing the Gubernatorial and Mayoral races..... Green and Ferrer were the main ‘RAT contenders in the NYC mayoral race in 2001. You’re thinking of Cuomo and McCall from the Gubernatorial election.......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_results_for_mayor_of_New_York
2001 Mayoral elections occurred while Republican incumbent Rudy Giuliani was term-limited. As Democrats outnumber Republicans by 5 to 1 in the city, it was widely believed that a Democrat would succeed him in City Hall. However, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a lifelong Democrat, changed his party affiliation a few months before the election in order to avoid a crowded primary and ran as a Republican. The Democratic primary, held on September 25, a few days after September 11 attacks, opened the way to a bitter run-off between Ferrer, a Hispanic, and Green, a caucasian, that left the Party divided along racial lines.
Eventually, with the support of Mayor Giuliani, Bloomberg won a very close general election.
If I were Bloomberg, I wouldn’t go anywhere near Fort Marcie Park. Remember what happened to Vince Foster?
A Bloomberg candidacy means a likely Hillary win (~75-80% chance or so). Anyone who says otherwise needs to stop drinking from the Kool-aid.
The record of incumbent parties who’ve held the White House for 8 straight years with major 3rd party candidacies is bleak.
Not to mention that Rasmussen and SUSA have both already tested out this race against Hillary and find out that Bloomberg takes votes primarily from Republican candidates and very little from her.
Granted, this is a pretty bad time for the Republican party and the shift probably wouldn’t be that great in a general election, but it is strongly likely to weigh against Republicans and thus guarantee her the Presidency b/c not that much is needed to push her over the line.
Just FYI.
-PJ
He annoyed the East Coast Dems when he left to join the GOP, but his policies are 100% nanny-state Dem, so they’ll probably forgive him. I don’t know about the West Coast. He has the money to buy himself name recognition, but I’m not sure he’d be able to pick up a lot of support there in such a tight time frame.
Still, I think he could find a fair number of disaffected liberals to vote for him anywhere. But I’d be really surprised if any GOPers anywhere, except for the most RINO of RINOs, voted for him. A lot will probably depend on who we finally nominate, however.
So Bloomberg is not a R
And Bloomberg is not a D
That makes is worthless a$$ a 0.
THIS IS NOT NEWS. And if Arnold is impressed with him, then he is also a zero. Again....NOT NEWS. But if he blows a billion dollars on a hopeless presidential run that is great because he is one scum bag that needs less money to push people around with. No longer a republican...GEEZ?
I have to admit, this is getting more and more "interesting!" (like the ancient asian curse... "may you live in interesting times.")
RINOS have no allegiance to anything, or anyone, but themselves.
I don't see how he could take votes from the Republican candidate seeing as how none of political views are Republican. If I were the Democratic candidate I'd be worried.
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