2020 Democratic presidential primary

Lol that calculator is great

It’s crazy they can generate that kind of revenue from taxing only 75,000 families

Also crazy is how many middle-class Americans would fight to the *DEATH* to allow billionaires to continue to hoard their megawealth.

Who else is going to consolidate things for us?

I've been pretty flip about the extent to which Bloomberg has a built in constituency among cable pundits, but this clip of a roundtable staring blankly as Todd explains how Bloomberg could do well in the primary and general is something else. pic.twitter.com/6emZOle8LR

— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) November 8, 2019

It seems pretty clear that Bloomberg has been tempted to run for a while, and the weakness of Biden has opened up a lane for him. Seems like he will also suck up some of the oxygen from Buttigieg. He might actually help Warren by offering the perfect foil.

lol

"There's no one else he can pick but Stacey Abrams."

"Why?"

bloomberg running on the "when i say subway, you say hero" platform.

It seems pretty clear that Bloomberg has been tempted to run for a while, and the weakness of Biden has opened up a lane for him. Seems like he will also suck up some of the oxygen from Buttigieg. He might actually help Warren by offering the perfect foil.

― o. nate, Friday, November 8, 2019 9:31 AM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Peter Beinart makes exactly this point about Bloomberg helping Warren and hurting Buttigieg:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/bloomberg-campaign-would-only-boost-elizabeth-warren/601660/

I know Bloomberg has long had a constituency in the pundit class as a benevolent technocrat monarch figure who would solve climate change through consensus and logic.

Yeah, the fivethirtyeight podcast talked a lot about how M4A really was the weakest point for the left candidates, since it really is unpopular, and has become a litmus test, and that it might be why Warren has stalled. But lo and behold, a bunch of billionaires bring the focus back on the fight against inequality and on the wealth tax, both of which are overwhelmingly popular. Good job, billionaires, you're really showing why you deserve all your money.

lord make it stop

Michael Bloomberg is the Antidote to Trump

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/opinions/michael-bloomberg-running-for-president-wierson-honan/index.html

I know many middle class nominal Democrats in NYC who like Bloomberg a lot better than the leftier DeBlasio but it’s hard to see how he wins a Democratic primary, even in his home state. As long as he doesn’t run 3rd party I wish him luck.

lol

"There's no one else he can pick but Stacey Abrams."

"Why?"

― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes), Friday, November 8, 2019 10:32 AM (thirty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

really begs the question of whether Chuck Todd is just so breathtakingly stupid as to think Abrams would ever in a million years agree to be Bloomberg's running mate, or whether he just can't comprehend black people having even the slightest bit of agency.

no it's truly Abrams duty to sign on with whatever dork wins the nomination

Always nice to spend time with supporters on the campaign trail. https://t.co/dCGncnhqZr

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 8, 2019

lol

That clip is amazing. Todd is in total missionary mode; he's rung these three's doorbell and is now asking them if they have heard the good news about Michael fucking Bloomberg as they make polite noises and slowly back away.

raises the question, too

ornaldo bloompberg

got his ass

Asked which 3 African Americans she’d want in her White House, @ewarren says she won’t name any current politicians, but drops @DevalPatrick’s name, adds “someone like” @MelodyCBarnes pic.twitter.com/wkDOwuUNRS

— Zak Hudak (@cbszak) November 7, 2019

He's against investing in tech education in public schools because -get this- "we invest in computers and then they're used for porn and to plagiarize homework" , verbatim.

I could spend a whole thread just on this but there's more to cover.

— Federica Pelzel (@federicca) November 8, 2019

is he wrong tho

Yeah that's ironclad tbh

If porn and cheating is wrong, do we want to be right?

I gotta say, my middle schooler is pretty adamant that the "every kid gets a school laptop" policy at his school leads to 75% of kids dicking around playing games all through class

school laptops should have screens on both sides so everyone can see what everyone else is doing

They have this at my son's high school and it's a fucking disaster. Not least of the problems is that the teacher's aren't adequately trained and have varying levels of tech savvy, which leads to online tools being used in very inconsistent and confusing ways.

I think the "handing out iPads" approach to Ed tech really sucks

it's also really shameful when some districts have money to had out iPads and in many others the teachers are forced to pay for their students' supplies

chromebooks, tech etc works fine in some classrooms (sometimes great), it really depends on implementation etc etc

Yes I should add that my middle schooler reports that some teachers are able to keep a lid on it and some teachers just can't but he's not really able to articulate what it is that the teachers who are good at keeping kids focused on class are good at -- like, he's definitely not saying those teachers are more interesting, he portrays it as those teachers being more "in control of the classroom" but he can't explain what MAKES them more in control of the classroom.

anyway

I bet Bloomberg withdraws again tbh. He's jumping in in Alabama, after a bunch of other states have already voted? He's not gonna have a prayer, he has no constituency, no signature issue, and the base absolutely hates him. He'll take a bunch of flak in the next few weeks, appear at the bottom of some polls, and then ditch it.

but he can't explain what MAKES them more in control of the classroom.

I assume it's because they're armed.

I bet Bloomberg withdraws again tbh. He's jumping in in Alabama, after a bunch of other states have already voted?

No, Alabama just has the earliest filing deadline (today), so he prioritized getting on the ballot there before he filed elsewhere.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/us/politics/2020-primaries-deadlines.html

but he can't explain what MAKES them more in control of the classroom.

it's called authoritah!

ah thx for the clarification jaymc

can't wait to see what his ground game in Iowa looks like

dropping hundred dollar bills from helicopter probably

https://i.imgur.com/pWIJX7B.png

wait, which guy is the maker? the one who owns buildings or the one who started businesses? and who is the taker? the one ripping everyone off or the one who took full advantage of the many tax benefits available only to the very wealthy?

oh wait - thought that said maker and a taker. faker, though. well, trump is the faker. ok, guess by process elimination, bloomberg must be the maker

god i'm so lonely

<3

I'm a maker I'm a faker I'm a midnight taker

Apparently the strategy is to basically skip the earliest primaries/caucuses where the other candidates have already built up big advantages, and go all in on Super Tuesday where the wide number of states in play will minimize the importance of old-fashioned person-to-person campaigning and maximize the leverage of big ad spending.

anyone want to participate in a wild friday night party game?!?!

surely they're polling bloomberg vs the rest of the field right now. who wants to guess how bloomberg will do in a national poll (which, yes, is pointless for primaries, but that's what the first legit polls will probably be)?

i'm gonna go with 4%.

Sounds about right.

National poll? I’ll go with 3%

same

3% only if he's had a chance to blow tens of millions on ads.

1% if you asked next week.

He'd only outpoll Steyer or Schulz with people who appear on Sunday morning talk shows, I don't think they have the numbers to boost him.