If Mike Bloomberg is the Democratic nominee, will you vote for him in November?

Joe is a whole other kettle of brain worms

I would say that I aspire to a kind of "zoomed-out" perspective that I have imagined people with a lot more education than I have, or far more knowledge of history, political science and sociology might attain... but which probably requires oracular levels of foresight, actually.
And I do feel quite powerless, not because I live in a state where one guy is going to win, but most of my hopes are tempered by a sense of inevitability on this ridiculously grand scale. I tend to want to limit my influence, rather than further it anyway, because I don't think I'm really smart enough to predict the consequences of what I might be inclined to do (though I do realize this is going to go down like a lead ballon).

I probably prioritize the preservation of American democracy over other issues at the moment, which is to say that I do believe it's under threat. I have tended increasingly to place "protest votes" for longshot candidates far to the left of "Establishment" Democrats in local, statewide and national elections, perhaps moronically. But I do not think I've been radicalized and do not even consider myself to be liberal, honestly. My very limited understanding is that in order to prevent the erosion of democracy, I should hope for leaders to be elected who do not regularly violate political norms. Both Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg have shown a frightening willingness to violate them and in my view, present a serious threat. I also prioritize political stability and for this reason favor incrimental progress, or for progressive changes to establish a secure foothold, over revolutionary action that threatens the stability of a government or political system. That's a pretty big deal, and it's something that I think most people in this country take for granted.

My refusal to vote for Bloomberg is not based primarily or exclusively on desired ideals, individual needs or personal experience. I worry that American voters are willing to give up the forest for the trees, but I also recognize a very real need to localize my own perspective and come down to earth a bit. Or a lot.

glad we got this out the way, let's relitigate this again at the DNC

i will def be voting Bernie in the FL primary in a few weeks.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html

It was during his 12 years at City Hall that Mr. Bloomberg wrote the playbook for propping up allies and co-opting opponents with a mix of political and charitable giving. Even as he spent $268 million on his three campaigns and made $23 million in campaign contributions to others, his philanthropy gave away $2.8 billion, much of it to civic and cultural groups around New York.

In all, by his own accounting, Mr. Bloomberg has given away nearly $9.5 billion since 1997, at an annual rate that has increased more than a hundredfold. In 2018, the year before he announced for president, he spent nearly $770 million. Last year’s $3.3 billion figure probably included a $1.8 billion donation to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, announced in November 2018. Even without it, his charitable giving roughly doubled.

Asshole

Voted no. I’m in a real immanentize the eschaton mood this weekend!

I have absolutely no idea, but if I don’t vote for the person who gets the democratic nomination, I’m still showing up to vote for every candidate on the rest of the ticket

That could be the worst effect of a terrible pick for the presidential candidate nomination, suppressing turnout on house and senate elections.

‘Orientalizing’ Bloomberg with the epithet ‘oligarch’ is what’s really going on here.

— Jeff Stein (@SpyTalker) February 15, 2020

Othering Bloomberg

I still haven't seen anybody actually endorse Mike Bloomberg besides Mike Bloomberg, @FuckJerry/@KaleSalad/etc, and Barbra Streisand apparently

Lucy McBath.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/politics/8550216/john-mellencamp-mike-bloomberg-endorsement

I guess the thrill of living was gone

Anyway, yes. I live in a swing state. Bernie or Mike, Liz or Pete, Joe or Amy, I don't care, I will sprain my wrist pulling the lever for them.

*ominous voiceover*
"BERNIE SANDERS"
*unflattering picture of Bernie*
"HE SAYS HE'S NOT DONALD TRUMP. BUT HAVE YOU EVER SEEN HIM IN THE SAME ROOM WITH DONALD TRUMP?"
*music mood change/picture of Michael Bloomberg golfing with Trump*
"Michael Bloomberg is the only candidate we can be sure is not Donald Trump."
*Michael Bloomberg facing the camera*
"Hi, I'm Michael Bloomberg. And I'm the best candidate to take on Donald Trump. Because I'm the only candidate who is definitely not Donald Trump."

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Mind boggling some people are willing to take % of risk towards another four years of Trump.

again this question is premature

but as a 'solution' to Trump, this is mindboggling

on immigration, criminal justice reform, and foreign policy, bloomberg might be a more competent trump as president

its a moot pt bc this shriveled piece of shit will not win the nomination

El Tomboto wd also be more competent

The single most bizarre thing Bloomberg did is get the city charter changed so that he — but only he — could run for a third term, with the previous two-term limit coming back once his twelve years were done.

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 16, 2020

It's crazy and worrisome to see the universal meltdown over Bloomberg. I choose to be optimistic and take it as a sign that his sudden rise is a flash in the pan and that voters are primed to vote against him. But if he can buy his way to a nomination, the Democratic party will truly be broken.

its a moot pt bc this shriveled piece of shit will not win the nomination

― majority whip, majority nae nae (m bison), Sunday, February 16, 2020 7:50 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Said this a lot in 2016

I can get over being outvoted by a real rival candidate. But out of all outcomes I can’t abide some Republican waltzing in and buying the party off.

If it makes you feel better, Republicans don't think he's a Republican and never did

If no one can beat a shitty old billionaire in the primaries maybe no one was apt to beat the even worse shitty old billionaire in the general.

Well they’ve been allowed to drive most of the political messaging in this country, might as well let them assign party membership.

republicans also think they're not racist, what republicans think doesn't matter

its a moot pt bc this shriveled piece of shit will not win the nomination

― majority whip, majority nae nae (m bison), Sunday, February 16, 2020 7:50 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Said this a lot in 2016

― ℺ ☽ ⋠ ⏎ (✖), Sunday, February 16, 2020 6:57 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

sure, the difference is that trump led in the polls non-stop within 2 months of announcing by appealing directly to the gop base and getting a boatload of "earned" media coverage. bloomberg punted on the early states and is hoping to win big on super tuesday by blitzing the airwaves where he is polling 3rd or 4th in every state, and he's facing a headwind of negative oppo research that alienates the dem base. im not saying its impossible, its just come on...

i'm less concerned about potential the effect on the 2020 election than about the longer-term effect of the example bloomberg is setting to anyone who still believes that electoral democracy is a form of government worth pursuing.

I still haven't seen anybody actually endorse Mike Bloomberg besides Mike Bloomberg, @FuckJerry/@KaleSalad/etc, and Barbra Streisand apparently

― like, I’m eating an elephant head (katherine), Saturday, February 15, 2020 8:00 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-endorsements/democratic-primary/#MichaelBloomberg

If George W Bush is the Democratic nominee, will you vote for him in November

Also Kirk Douglas on his deathbed: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/michael-douglas-claims-kirk-douglas-last-words-backed-mike-bloomberg-2020/

booming thread:

I'm about to head off to Spain, to promote "Contra los zombis," the Spanish edition of "Arguing with zombies." And I realized that this is an occasion to talk about walking dead ideas about the housing crisis, like this one 1/ https://t.co/uSKxysQYrN

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) February 16, 2020

Yes. Because the alternative is Donald Trump
And two-three conservative Justices and countless federal justices.

Yes. Because the alternative is Donald Trump
And two-three conservative Justices and countless federal justices.

what on earth are you talking about

Dubya was worse than Trump on the whole tbf

Bloomberg at best would probably appoint justices in the mold of Anthony Kennedy. You won’t get any liberals.

How do you know for certain?

bc he’s a republican

Exactly.

Dubya was worse than Trump on the whole tbf

Depends on the metric. Dubya directly responsible for more loss of human life, but Trump & Co. are wrecking the norms we live by.

Dubya is worse as of now because of what he did, Trump has created the potential for things to be persistently worse for well after he's gone.

I really want the Presidency to shrink in power

hard to imagine Bloomberg nominating a judge who had the slightest chance of voting with the conservatives on 2nd amendment cases

Or alienating the part of congress he will need the most.

If George W Bush is the Democratic nominee, will you vote for him in November

Won't happen, but honestly, yeah, I would!

Though I would much prefer Bloomberg.