Not Getting It
Wall Street Journal writer Jason Riley laments “Bloomberg’s past accomplishments in business and politics are liabilities among today’s Democrats.”
With that lead-in, Riley tries to explain Why Bloomberg’s Candidacy Is Terminal.
It isn’t that Mr. Bloomberg doesn’t have a solid record of accomplishments as a private citizen and elected official. He built one of the world’s most successful financial-media companies and is now worth an estimated $54 billion. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, last year he donated $767 million to various charities, second only to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. And as mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013, he oversaw an expansion of school choice for low-income minorities and sharp reductions in violent crime and incarceration.
Mr. Bloomberg’s problem is that these past accomplishments in business and politics are liabilities among today’s Democrats. To win the support of teachers unions, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have attacked the charter-school movement that Mayor Bloomberg championed. And the social-justice activists now ascendant in the party are far more interested in racial parity among people arrested than in reducing crime rates and keeping the streets safe. Progressives view the Mike Bloombergs of the world primarily as rhetorical punching bags who should have their wealth confiscated by politicians and then sprinkled among others in society who are considered more deserving.
Mr. Bloomberg is very much aligned with today’s Democrats on any number of other issues. He can check off all the right boxes on climate change, tax hikes and gun control, for example. But none of those views distinguish him in the current field or justify his decision to join the race.
Pandering to the Radicals
Riley is correct that a majority of Democrats don’t like Bloomberg.
So what?
Forget the Base
Why appeal to the radicals? Where are they going? I ask the same questions of Republicans and Democrats alike.
If given a choice between Biden or Bloomberg vs Trump, Progressives will vote for Biden or Bloomberg.
Q: Why?
A: Under no circumstances will they vote for Trump.
So how is Bloomberg a liability?
What About Independents?
Independents might easily vote for Biden or Bloomberg. In contrast, they might not easily vote for Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren.
In fact, Harris and Warren, darlings of the Progressives, might be the only people that Trump could beat.
These kinds of honest assessments get me in hot water.
Flashback 2008
In February of 2008, before Obama even won the nomination, I made this post: Obama: The Next President Of The United States
I discussed “Yes We Can“, an excellent campaign slogan, and concluded “Destiny: Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States of America.“
It was a political opinion, and a correct one. I didn’t even vote for Obama (I did not vote Republican either), but I was accused of being an Obama lover for years.
Hot water
I am again in hot water today. I responded to a Tweet about Kamala Harris. I called her unqualified.
Why? Because, and I explained, I do not believe she can be elected. This of course brought out all sorts of Tweets about me being a racist male, especially from a self-proclaimed black feminist.
Both Extremes
This post, no doubt will bring attacks from Republicans who believe Trump to be invincible and radical progressives on the other end.
Simple Question
Q: Why did Trump Win?
A: Democrats nominated, Hillary Clinton, the most radical lightning rod at the time. Then Clinton ran what is likely the worst campaign in history.
Let’s get to the heart of the matter.
Republicans Cannot Re-Elect Trump, Democrats Can!
Trump has upset so many people, even in his own party, that I believe the only way he can win is if Democrats nominated another lightning rod.
At the top of the list are Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris.
The US simply is not ready for an extreme radical leftist person like Warren.
Independents would not vote for her. Independents did vote for Obama, en masse.
Merely making such statements gets me in hot water.
But It’s not my desire to elect another white male boomer fogey. I could care less. I do care about ideas.
Candidate Appeal
I am a staunch anti-war, fiscal conservative, Libertarian, who does not give a damn about race, religion, sex, or age. I believe in equal rights. I also believe in the right to choose. If two women or two men want to get married, I believe it’s none of my business.
If either party nominated such a person, young or old, black or white or purple, I would vote for that person.
I believe many independents feel the same way.
None of these candidates appeal to me. Among other things, Trump fails the fiscal conservative test.
Electoral Crapshoot
Q: Once again, where are the radicals going?
A: Nowhere, in both parties. The core will vote core.
To win the election then, a candidate must appeal to the middle. Otherwise, it’s an electoral crapshoot as Democrats found out with Hillary.
So, if Democrats want to help re-elect Trump, they should nominate the most radical person they can find. One of them just backed out. Elizabeth Warren is still in the batter’s box.
This does not mean I back Biden. I don’t. Nor do I back Bloomberg. Nor do I back men.
I back ideas, not people. Age, race, or sex, does not matter.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
With Uncle Joe there will be no malarkey! No more shenanigans! We’ll go back to the swell old times, lollygagging around our record players, not those chintzy I-Pod thingamajigs. Uncle Joe is busting his chops for the US of A, the man is solid and he’s clearly cooking with gas! He’s such a dreamboat, he’s got most voters snowed on the first date… and he sure isn’t taking any wooden nickles. That dad-blamed orange man is gonna flip his wig when he realizes what he’s up against – it’s obvious that cracker doesn’t get the jive. Hot diggity dog, we’re gonna put the kibosh on that nogoodnik. And now Uncle Joe has to go and grab himself some shut-eye.
Are you kidding me? Bloomberg is in the race only to damage Trump. Here’s the “tell”. The only campaign-related pronouncements I’ve heard from him are related to Trump, and not any Democratic competitors. He knows he has no chance of becoming the Democratic nominee. What he does have are extensive business interests in China and Trump’s trade war threatens those very interests. If he has to spend a billion bucks to run his “campaign”, that’s simply a hedge against possible significant losses if the Chinese decide to punish American businesses because of the trade war. So maybe spend a lousy $500M to possibly save 10 times that amount. Like buying puts against a market decline. Smart, right?
And the beauty of this plan is that he can finesse the campaign-finance laws and spend as much as he wants. He’s a candidate for President, doncha know. So what if he’s not invited to the debates like the other Democrats? He can still wage a virtual guerrilla action against Trump and a compliant media will help all it can.
I agree entirely. Free and fair national elections, here and globally, are always decided by the largest block…the middle. Hillary’s political baggage and innately grating campaign style alienated just enough of the middle to lose it to The Donald.
It’s fascinating to watch them setting up for another loss now by infuriating independents, like me, who view the entire beltway goat rodeo attempt to oust Trump with disgust and contempt.
“Warren is the one” should be the campaign slogan…for Republicans.
Our elections are hardly free. In many respects, our federal elections are for sale to the highest bidder. So one has to wonder if they are even fair. Neither Trump nor his leading challengers among the Democrats get me excited. They all pander to their political bases. How is it that we managed to spend and commit around $6.4 trillion to the Middle East wars and still have households going bankrupt every year because of unpaid medical bills?
Clowns to the left of me…Jokers to the right…
Trump is sent by God, is the greatest president ever. I see that during his second term he will change the constitution so that he can be the president forever and pass his reign to his little son after his time. He will make China, ops I mean America, great again!
“None of these candidates appeal to me. Among other things, Trump fails the fiscal conservative test.”
There are no fiscal conservatives in a financial crisis. That is why global debt is now 255 trillion dollars.
Agree with Mish’s general premise but Bloomberg is a horrible candidate. He’s an arrogant, sanctimonious New York douchebag.
That doesn’t play well in the heartland.
I can agree with most of this, certainly. However, I think Biden as top D choice would push people the other direction. He’s tottering, doesn’t appeal to Independents very well, and then there’s that last worry: If he dies, who’s his second in command? The running mate will clinch it for him one way or the other. Bloomberg, on the other hand would run a tight show. I can’t really pin him down.
As for Harris or Warren, Independents are turned off. Trump may not have done what the R’s had hoped, but a known issue is better to deal with than an unknown, so to speak. I consider myself an Independent. The only D I found credible was Gabbard; I think it was her anti war stance. I didn’t know much else about her, honestly.
“I am a staunch anti-war, fiscal conservative, Libertarian, who does not give a damn about race, religion, sex, or age. I believe in equal rights. I also believe in the right to choose. If two women or two men want to get married, I believe it’s none of my business.”
Really? You would never be elected. We are tribal now, and if you want the vote of the middle class, the train left the station. The middle class are working in China or India. What we are left with are coastal elites who are currently employed and do not like the other tribe. Firmly entrenched are the people in institutions/administrations of the ruling tribe, and are not ‘elected’ to rule.
Equal rights? Remember, we are tribes. Only certain tribes have certain rights. Yours may not have all of them.
I suspect who the dems nominate won’t matter. It may just come down to how the economy is doing at election time. There’s a reasonable chance we’ll be in recession, and if we are, Trump will almost certainly lose. if the economy is doing fine, trump will likely win.
Talking about being conservative…here are my guidelines regarding life:
Polonius’ Advice to Laertes
Hamlet I, iii, 55-81
LORD POLONIUS
Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay’d for. There; my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch’d, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!
Trump’s in the same situation as Obama was in 12,permanently dead rotting economy,soaring deficits,depts.,gov’t hopelessly inept,fed printing money around the clock to buy time,stave off multiple collapsing bubbles,the only difference between now and then is central banks have opened the printing press spigots permanently monetizing, buying,owning,controlling well……….everything!
If you respond to Trolls like Mr Bean expect to get your comment erased when I remove the thread.
Mr. Bean, is of course another alias for Wagoner or some other jackass
I am happy to hear there are less jackasses than I presumed if users have multiple handles.
Mish, I do not always agree with you but I liked your comments on freedom and who you would vote for. As a Christian, it appalls me anyone who says they follow Christ attacks gay people who wish to marry. I believe in the Constitution and freedom for everyone who does no harm to others. Socialists control freedom and slowly bring nations into slavery. Let people live as they see fit. It is easy enough to tell someone you disagree, state your case, and let them ponder your argument to make a decision. No need to be a jackass!
“It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God.”
I think saying you support ‘the right to choose’ is an easy out. That’s not so much the issue; rather it’s whether or not taxpayer dollars should be spent to facilitate and execute abortions, and whether or not such procedures should be mandated (i.e. not allowing various clinics of hospitals to refuse service). In other words, we should have the right to choose both yes and no, not just yes.
Similarly with the gay issues: if people don’t want to bake a cake for a gay marriage because they think that’s sinful, that’s their right too. So the gays can get married, fine, but you can’t force everyone to think it’s a good thing. So again, there needs to be right/freedom to choose for all involved.
That’s a more reasonable – and libertarian – approach.
The radical on both sides have an edge because the moderates will go along with them, but the opposite is not true. That is how we ended up with Trump, radical right pick, but the radical left wanted Bernie and didn’t go along with the Hillary choice. I’m moderately left and from my limited knowledge so far I would pick Bloomberg. Just don’t know that much about him yet.
Mish: “I do not give a damn about … sex”
Are you sure?
I’m just waiting for the drama moment in January when Hillary steps in to “save the Democratic party and the nation”. All the Democratic theatrics were all staged for just that event and she’s been leaking the hints for a few weeks now.
“The US simply is not ready for an extreme radical leftist person like Warren.”
I don’t think you understand, Mish. Warren has a meme team, complete with manifesto that explains what a meme is! link to warrensmemeteam.com Trump had better watch out.
I would love to see some of those memes. I bet they are super witty 🙂
Brace yourself: link to warrensmemeteam.com
WTF, they are all doing the soyboy open mouth thing.
5’7″
The debates should be interesting … will Mike walk out awkwardly in platform shoes? … or will he carry a little stool to stand on??
You know that this means nothing if a SJW mob decides that they want your head?
Democrats would only have to nominate someone sane and moderate, e.g. the Governor of Montana that dropped out because he got no traction. Tulsi Gabbard is the only adult left in the room, but she is unlikely to get it. Biden is corrupt, senile, and creepy. Bloomberg and Yang would need to be like Trump, “Larger than Life”, but aren’t.
The Democrat Debates are no unlike a strange auction where they are trying to outbid each other on socialism. And the bid just keeps going up. When someone dissents, they are attacked.
The left is insane – they think they lost because they weren’t radical socialist enough.
They are not insane. They just like to use crazies to get in power.
“The left is insane – they think they lost because they weren’t radical socialist enough.”
Precisely what the discussion is about!
Nice summation
The left isn’t any more insane than the radical nut job right. Those are the voices you are hearing the most because they are the loudest. I’m left of center but rarely voice an opinion. I do get a little pissed when I get lumped together with a few outspoken nut jobs, as I’m sure you would too if you were given credit for all the stupid right winger nut job ideas.
“Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.”
― Franz Kafka
Yeah, I was hoping that Bullock would earn the nomination. It’s a shame that you have to pander to the extremes and say the craziest sh to get nominated these days.
The Democrats are doing a great job in ensuring Trump in 2020.