Michael Bloomberg 2020 campaign megathread

[Adam Griffin]

Like, seriously, someone please explain to me how Bloomberg is trading at 13c on predict it and 7% on betfair.  

Looks like Bloomberg's already making campaign expenditures!


Anyway, this will either have no meaningful impact a la Schultz (likely) or it will weaken candidates like Biden and Buttigieg. I'm cool with it.

[Adam Griffin]

[Adam Griffin]

Median Bloomberg Voter

[Adam Griffin]

It's Bloomberg and Sanders now. Make your choice. If you support Bloomberg, then you don't actually care about sorting out any structural issues (or even elevating the discussion), whether they be social or economic: you just either care about "beating Trump no matter what" or hate Sanders so ferociously that you'll tear apart a 200 year-old party for the hell of it. I don't want to hear another complaint about big money, nepotism, sexism, racism, homophobia, general bigotry or injustice from anybody who pledges to support his guy from here on out. In just a week, more overt comments have been outed by him than by Trump or any other nominee of either party in the history of the Republic.

Best case, you'll beat Trump and put somebody in there who shares the same views but who will be competent enough to implement them. Worst case (and far more likely), 5-10 million Democratic voters stay home, vote third-party or vote for Trump out of spite. Either way, the Democratic Party will be dead for anybody who doesn't identify with it over more than simple brand recognition. Guess the Romney voters will have finally found their home!

Literally the only reason this guy is even being discussed is because of a coalition of rich offended Republicans who don't want to pay taxes and Baby Boomers who vegged out too much in front of the boobtube and saw too many of his ads on TV, buying the snake oil about how he's electable: because he has money after all! Even if the past 2 presidential victors won despite being outspent (Obama '12, Trump '16) in broad, two-faction spending.

This guy will destroy the Democratic Party. If your vision for the majority party of America is a coalition of rich people and low-information voters who'll stand by the brand no matter what, then love on this pathetic, unvetted oligarch. Love on the party that'll get 45% of the vote for a generation. 'Cause that's all you're getting, and that's all you deserve.

[Adam Griffin]

This self-defeating ego-trip was brought to you by Helping Trump Win Re-election to Own the Center-Left!

Word to the wise: this talking point has never persuaded a single voter, and is so cliche now that it probably hurts your argument. I gave up trying it in 2017 after hundreds of attempts resulted in literally no one saying, "you know what? you're right!" and literally everybody digging their heels in deeper. Please never canvass or phone bank using this argument.

Bloomberg has been excellent on gun control and global warming.  He's to the left of most Democrats on immigration.  He supports raising taxes on the wealthy and he'd also appoint progressive judges if elected and be better than Trump on almost literally every issue.

 

Also worth noting that most of Bloomberg's "progressive" issues aren't actually issues that directly motivate or inspire even a majority of Democrats. Gun control is basically now a prioritized social issue for suburbanites, global warming is a niche issue for left-wing environmentalists, and immigration reform isn't even rated among Latinos and Asians as their #1 surface issue. Even if most Democrats support these issues in broad terms, it's not something that genuinely motivates them or inspires them.

[Adam Griffin]

This guy will destroy the Democratic Party. If your vision for the majority party of America is a coalition of rich people and low-information voters who'll stand by the brand no matter what, then love on this pathetic, unvetted oligarch. Love on the party that'll get 45% of the vote for a generation. 'Cause that's all you're getting, and that's all you deserve.

The Republican utter lack of self-awareness remains breathtaking.

Are you just looking at my avatar and missing the joke, or are you just making a blanket assumption that I've been anything other than a Democrat for my entire life because I'm not chanting #VoteBlueNoMatterWho at deafening levels for hours?

[Adam Griffin]

Obviously, I would never canvass or phonebank with that argument  Telling people who are being stupid to stop being stupid never persuades people.  However, talking to someone on Atlas who seems to have already made up their mind is another matter entirely.  Also, I'd argue the idea that Bloomberg and Trump are basically the same is so absurd it doesn't really merit serious discussion.  If folks make posts on Atlas like the one Redjohn made; I'm not gonna mince words about what I think of their self-destructive, ego-fueled gift to the far right.

Well then, I guess you should acknowledge that it's just a cathartic experience for you and nothing more; if it's a bad idea/pointless to make such an argument to somebody who might actually be persuadable (through other means), then it's even more pointless to say it to somebody who has already made up their mind. The fact that you would make those comments in such a situation means it's not ridiculous to think you might make them in situations like I mentioned.

On a different note, gun control definitely excites suburban Democrats.  You may not like it, but they've become a key part of the party's coalition.  You can't beat Trump without them.  They're necessary, but not sufficient for Democrats to win in 2020.  

As for global warming, that's one of the most important issues currently facing the world.  Whether it motivates people or not, a candidate's views on it are pretty d*** important.

I literally said it was a "prioritized social issue for suburbanites", so not sure why you're repeating me as if I said something different? At the end of the day, though, these voters don't need to be excited or motivated: Democrats have limited political capital to spend, and spending it on groups that are a) already going to vote for us and b) have absurdly high turnout rates has a very rapidly diminishing return on investment. Plenty of disposable income and high educational attainment = no turnout strategy needed. Building the basis of our campaign around issues that people who are already with us and have guaranteed sky-high voter turnout rates is an act in pandering rather than electoral skill, and is obviously both a waste of investment and political malpractice (especially when such issues can and do hurt us elsewhere).

[Adam Griffin]

You can’t support Bloomberg and be a Democrat. Period. He’s literally worse than Trump in my opinion, if mostly because he’d be far more competent a Republican.

Well, let's see:

- Mike supports a 15$ minimum wage ["I've never been in favor of raising the minimum wage"]
- Mike supports immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship, plus statehood for Puerto Rico [doubtful, given he thinks Latinos "don't know how to behave" - though if he does, I imagine because he wants to hire them for less than the minimum wage]
- Mike supports higher taxes for the wealthy [Taxing the rich is 'about as dumb a policy as I can think of"
- Mike supports expanding health care [If you get cancer at 95, we should say "you’ve lived a long life, we can’t do anything"]
- Mike has a long history as an advocate for gun control [says a city mayor with guns all around his neighborhood]
- Mike has a long history as an advocate to combat climate change [says a city mayor whose neighborhood will get flooded]
- Mike is essentially a self-made billionaire, didn't inherit a fortune, pays his employees and campaign staffers a decent wage [the former is not a bragging point for a Democratic nomination; the latter is an expectation - and the wages are far above living wages and other campaigns so as to buy out talent]
- Mike actually knows something about foreign policy, doesn't embarrass himself [doubtful: just because he speaks in complete sentences doesn't mean he's more informed than somebody who is at least somewhat briefed daily on classified matters]
- Mike has acknowledged past mistakes, shown some self-reflection [one mistake - stop and frisk - and even then, his apology was basically "i'm sorry for the policy" without acknowledgement of what it did to hundreds of thousands of people]
- Mike has pledged to support any Democratic nominee including Bernie and is willing to outspend Trump in favor of Democrats (but is still accused of "wanting to buy the presidency") [that's a "buy-out" tactic: very doubtful he'll spend any money besides on the same pro-gun control candidates he did in 2018, along with probably throwing some money to the GOP like he has done in most cycles, unless he wins]

[Adam Griffin]

https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/1229369357471551488?s=19

Bloomberg's got a new ad criticizing Bernie's inability to control the Twitter mobs and get them to act like decent people. I don't approve of Bloomberg, but now that Sanders is seen as a front-runner, he is getting getting attacked as all front-runners do. In light of the culinary union situation it seems likely that he will face questions about this at the next debate.

...

Can't wait for Bloomberg's next hit social media video: a 47-hour-long slideshow in October of 2 million Trump supporters' quotes screaming "JEWS WILL NOT REPLACE US" and posting Merchant Man memes or whatever. If he thinks this stuff is criticism - 90% of which wasn't even aimed at him - then he's in for a world of surprises over the next few weeks and especially if he actually gets the nom.

[Adam Griffin]

These are also very deceptive.

As it has been pointed out, that healthcare clip you posted is very deceptive.

Harry Reid: "Mitt Romney paid no income taxes"

Also Harry Reid, later that week:

[Adam Griffin]

Is that supposed to be the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party?  Ironic how nobody on the right side has a red avatar.

Yes, it really says something when the people without D avatars have a more cohesive understanding of what constitutes a 200-year-old party than the people wearing the badge. Or in terms some will understand: electable!/independents/swing voters.

[Adam Griffin]

Will Bloomberg get to bring his own box to stand on, or will one be provided for him?

[Adam Griffin]

Will Bloomberg get to bring his own box to stand on, or will one be provided for him?

I will continue to believe Trump and Sanders supporters are the different sides of the same coin.

And that's why we'll beat him: real populists beat faux populists every day of the week!

[Adam Griffin]

Will Bloomberg get to bring his own box to stand on, or will one be provided for him?

Not sure about this one but I read somewhere that Bloomberg's driver license has an inflated number for his height.  Trump is wise in attacking Bloomberg on this topic as it will clearly get under his skin just like Bloomberg is right to attack Trump on how his net worth clearly outsize Trumps as that will get under Trump's skin.

Funny thing is, he's not even that short (I think 5'8"/5'9"? Of course that is "short" in politics) but it obviously gets under his skin: to the point that Trump attacked him once for it and suddenly Bloomberg decides he's going to spend big money even if Bernie is the nominee. It's obviously a really sore spot for him. Bernie of course shouldn't delve into it, but there are plenty of us who will have a good laugh.

I imagine Trump's strategy is going to be like the Key and Peele "leprechaun" video, where every time he gets mentioned, his height is referenced as being even shorter. I could see Trump easily talking about "two-foot-four Mini Mike" by the time October rolls around.

[Adam Griffin]

Sanders supporters: beat the sh-t out of dissenters and shoot the rich
Trump supporters: beat the sh-t out of dissenters and kick out all the Mexicans
Good and smart-brained moderates: these are the same thing

Fixed it for you. I've received many, many death threats from Sanders supporters since 2016, telling me I deserve to be shot during the "revolution," fantasizing about murdering my family, and accusing me of everything under the sun. And lets not forget the leftist blackshirt gangs that vandalized DC in January 2017.

LMFAO you're so full of s[inks]t

[Adam Griffin]

Sanders supporters: beat the sh-t out of dissenters and shoot the rich
Trump supporters: beat the sh-t out of dissenters and kick out all the Mexicans
Good and smart-brained moderates: these are the same thing

Fixed it for you. I've received many, many death threats from Sanders supporters since 2016, telling me I deserve to be shot during the "revolution," fantasizing about murdering my family, and accusing me of everything under the sun. And lets not forget the leftist blackshirt gangs that vandalized DC in January 2017.

LMFAO you're so full of s[inks]t

Shouldn't it be sh[inks]?

I've always used (first letter)[inks](last letter) myself.

[Adam Griffin]

Will Bloomberg get to bring his own box to stand on, or will one be provided for him?

I will continue to believe Trump and Sanders supporters are the different sides of the same coin.

And that's why we'll beat him: real populists beat faux populists every day of the week!

That's just not true. Right wing populism has pretty consistently beaten left wing populism around much of the world in recent years.

>"Pretty consistently"

And if left-wing populism can't beat right-wing populism, do you think limp-d[inks]ked milquetoast left-centrism can? Maybe all the people need to hear about is one more convoluted public-private partnership on HMOs or toll roads for them to tear off the chains of oppression forever!

[Adam Griffin]

It would be awesome if Joe's last great act of public service & major public appearance was to slay a billionaire oligarch at tonight's debate.

[Adam Griffin]

It would be awesome if Joe's last great act of public service & major public appearance was to slay a billionaire oligarch at tonight's debate.

I mean, the man couldn’t even slay Kamala Harris

Difference being between a frontrunner and somebody who's done; between attacking somebody who'd earn you "Racist! Sexist!" labels for three-quarters of what could be said versus somebody who has absolutely nothing behind which to hide. Joe could call him a "rich little f[inks]king midget-twerp GWB lookalike" and he has absolutely nothing to lose at this point.

[Adam Griffin]

LMFAO Joe is on fire today!

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1230207883721179136

[Adam Griffin]