Posted on 02/19/2020 9:15:39 AM PST by Kaslin
It’s been a tough week for Mike Bloomberg. As Democrats were going to the polls in New Hampshire last Tuesday, video emerged of the former New York mayor defending his controversial stop, question, and frisk (SQF) policy by saying minority suspects should be thrown against walls. In addition, several stories came out with multiple allegations of sexism. So it’s no surprise that he is now… in second place nationally in a new poll and first in Virginia in another?
If the opposition research dump was meant to halt his rapid rise in the polls over the past two months, it didn’t work. Even though he is not on the ballot in Nevada or South Carolina, he seems poised to have a good Super Tuesday, which has been his plan all along.
Why? Because national polls are about to become relevant. If his 19 percent in the NPR/PBS/Marist poll holds up, Bloomberg has an excellent chance to surpass the 15 percent threshold most states have to get a share of delegates.
So how is Bloomberg surging and can he really win the nomination as a former Republican, former mayor of New York City? There are several reasons to believe that he can indeed. Here a just a few.
The central narrative about the Bloomberg campaign is that the $400 million he has already spent is the main reason for his growth in the polls. While that has clearly played a major role — his ads are ubiquitous — billionaire Democrat candidate Tom Steyer has also spent massive amounts of money and it hasn’t amounted to much. The ads are the equivalent of bringing the voters to water, but it’s Bloomberg who is making them drink.
In terms of his $50 billion fortune, it may be the fortune itself more than the ads it buys driving voters to him. First of all, it shows that he will be able to outspend Trump in a general election, as well as helping Democrat candidates down ballot. But also, the fact that his wealth dwarfs Trump’s may say to Democrats that he can hit Trump where it hurts.
The top concern for most Democratic voters, especially those not already in Bernie Sanders’s ideological camp, is: Who can win the general election? Bloomberg polls better than his rivals one on one against Trump, including in the battleground state of Michigan. But he has also been taking the fight to Trump and Trump has noticed. Their jibes back and forth show he is getting under Trump’s skin, and voters can see that.
In recent months the Bloomberg campaign has been hiring staff at an alarming rate. He offers very high salaries and has promised to pay through November even if he drops out. His hiring appetite has been so voracious that other candidates are struggling to fill their offices. And it’s not just political operatives — Bloomberg owns a media company and has access to all kinds of marketing talent. Already he is using Instagram influencers and other social media stars in a very modern push to sway voters.
One of Bloomberg’s odd political abilities is to tell voters things that they don’t want to hear without turning them off. As a mayoral candidate he was perfectly happy to support unpopular policies on smoking in bars, banning big gulps, limiting salt intake, and a host of other issues. Now past statements about cutting Social Security and reducing health care for the elderly are coming out.
But the positive side of this coin is that voters have never seen him as someone who panders to them. With the possible exception of his recent apology for SQF, he appears to say just what he means.
Bloomberg couldn’t have a bigger target on his body at Wednesday’s debate if he had Lyme disease. He will be attacked by everyone on the stage as an out-of-touch racist billionaire trying to buy the election. But don’t expect Bloomberg to shrink like a violet under the assault.
As mayor, he took on strong government unions in New York over and over and, not for nothing, he won three elections first as a Republican then as an independent in a city that is 5 to 1 Democrat. He is not a figure who backs down.
Bloomberg’s financial support for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national campaign to fight gun violence founded in 2006, has endeared him to dozens of mayors across the country. He already has the endorsement of 23 mayors, more than any other candidate. This can have a massive impact on get out the vote efforts in those cities. In addition, he is catching up to Joe Biden in overall endorsements that have dried up for the former vice president after his poor performances in the first two contests.
Now, to be clear, Bloomberg not only does not have a single delegate yet, he hasn’t been on a ballot, and won’t be on the next two. He is by no means the new favorite to win, and my colleague John Daniel Davidson makes very solid points about the headwinds he still faces. But this is not the pipe dream it seemed like two months ago.
The failure of the opposition research over the past week to stunt Bloomberg’s growth has been telling. Remember, SQF was a controversial policy when he ran for mayor in 2009 in a city that has high black and Latino populations. In addition, allegations of sexism might be blunted by the fact that he is trying to run against Trump, whom most Democrats also view as sexist.
Bloomberg has a long way to go. In many ways, he has barely even started his run for president. But aside from Sanders, it is hard to argue that any other Democrat in the race has a significantly better chance than he does. That could change fast, but for now, everything seems to be coming up Bloomberg.
He’s running ads here in NC with Obama telling everyone what a wonderful job he did as mayor .
regardless, the next dem who becomes president with both houses WILL end the republic
He can and is, even as we speak, buying talking heads from the MSM, DNC functionaries and democrat politicians.
He will win if no one on the Left objects. I don’t see that happening. The most vocal will be bought off, and the rest will be ignored by paid media shills.
I think he’ll be the nominee even if he doesn’t win a single primary/caucus.
Other than a rigged election..no one can beat Trump.
which is why the 2020 election will be rigged
No..
the reasons
1 A Mark
2 A Yen
3 A Buck
4 Or a Pound
5 A Buck or a Pound..
Huh?
Now that I'd like to see.
Bloomberg Derangement Syndrome? The USA has survived far worse. Of all the central planning tyrants running, Bloomberg would likely do the least damage.
Watch for a VP from a State the Dems will need to win. Blue State pols bring nothing to the table. He needs Florida, PA, Michigan, Wisconsin or Texas. I look for a VP candidate that may deliver their state. Even a VP from Texas could force Trump to spend more money and time there hurting him in battleground states. Trump can ignore California, DC et. al. they are already in the bank for the demo rats.
Bloomberg will not play as well in the South and in the midwest. His support of anti-gun measures plays well in Illinois and New York but not as well in PA or in Wisconsin. His support of radical issue groups like Planned Parenthood and pro-illegal alien groups doesn’t bother NYC voters but nationally it hurts him. Especially after what happened recently in VA and his support of the democrat takeover. I am not sure he will do as well as people think on super Tuesday. We will see.
Try it.
BUT. Berniebots will absolutely not vote for him. Other leftie Dems will be left unexcited by him. He will have a hard time turning out the black vote that Dems have to have to win. Hussein got it but Hillary didn't and neither will Mini.
OTOH, The unconstitutional, naked political impeachment has created broken glass Trump voters who are, as an old friend used to say, pissed off beyond the maximum degree of pissifissity.
It's a good thing that we remain concerned and anxious, it will motivate people to get to the polls.
The little guy is on my radio and TV constantly. The TV ads put in bold that he is a Democrat. He is such a fake and phony.
He’s running ads here in NC with Obama telling everyone what a wonderful job he did as mayor.
***
I wonder if Obama remembers he said basically once you have a certain amount of wealth you don’t deserve to have more. Is he is willing to ask Bloomberg if he thinks 64 billion is enough wealth?
Saw that ad today in Upstate New York - looked like an Omaba endorsement ad.
I think almost everyone either LOVES or HATES Trump.
Those who hate will turn out for the dem even if he’s far from their idea candidate.
I could be Very wrong.
It’s just a guess :)
Buy more ammo now, the shelves will be empty if Mini Mike gains the nomination.
“Jews aren’t Americans”
Oddly I’d put quite a few under the category of Americans, including the folks in my family of that ethnicity.
But not either of these two guys, who are clearly just doin’ time in the Imperial Nation until a better deal comes along.
And if you’d like to gush about what a Wonderful, True Blue Died in the Wool ‘Merican a guy like Bernard Sanders is, maybe you could relate to me his history of noble self sacrfice in service to the American nation, his unwavering commitment to its originators and their ideals, and his unrelenting love for the whole of The People who go back 10 and 15 generations and have nowhere else on the planet to call home, and haven’t for centuries.
Or perhaps you could see the similarities between a guy like him and Genrikh Yagoda, or Lev Bronstein, or even their spiritual heir Mr. Marx of the Imperial Library.
Tell me straight that it’s all a Blood Libel!, and there’s no such connection between Mr. Soft Commie (it won’t hurt when we bayonet you! Really!) and the wonderful figures who emerged from under the rocks (see? two can play that game!) in Revolutionary Russia.
As for the other guy, he’s merely an amoral Globalist, his home is wherever his Gulfstream is parked. If he gets a commercial opportunity to mess with a big organization like the United States, he’s cool with that - think of the long term opportunities!
But oddly I don’t recall hearing about how Mike was so enamored of the United States and it’s war on International Communism that he used his Electrical Engineering degree in 1964 to get a commission in say, the USAF and then put in a couple of years to advance the effort in Vietnam, which of course was getting started bout that time.
But he was cool mining the country to become one of the richest men in history, right? Ask not what your country can do for...oh, never mind.
So I’m gonna stick to my assessment of both of them: they’re AINOs, American in Name Only. Times get tough, both are gone the next morning to distant and more attractive shores. The geographical accident of their birthplace is just that.
I was raised Jewish in a totally Jewish community.
There are reasons why there are stereotypes about Jews (and I have tried in my life to avoid the obvious pitfalls—not always easy).
I was raised to believe I was better (smarter, more talented, less easily fooled, more skilled at business) than those “other people”.
I was raised to believe “they” could be easily conned, and there was nothing wrong with conning “them”.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
The arrogance of the leftists today strongly reflects (and was significantly influenced by) the negative aspects of the culture that I was raised in—but I was a rebellious sort and questioned everything.
Both Bernie and Bloomberg reflect those “Jewish values” I am discussing.
They honor being clever over hard work, and do not respect folks who work hard and play by the rules.
It would be a major disaster if either of them became President.
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