Voting for Bloomberg is the best way to defeat Trump?

[CTyankee]

That seems to be the reason for a friend of mine when i tried to get on team elizabeth:

Bloomberg seems to have a personal vendetta against Trump (due to past tangles with him in NYC). He uses his vast fortune to self fund his campaign (OK since Citizens United decision by SCOTUS). So he tears down Trump even if he doesn't get elected himself.

Even tho I understand his strategy I still argue for Elizabeth in our late primary in April. But he has an interesting strategy.

I'm not saying he's right but again it's Bloomberg's money and as long as he spends it tearing down Trump...

[Mike 03]

1. There's something to what your friend is saying, but

my theory is that he doesn't need to win the nomination to "defeat" Trump. The nominee will inherit Bloomberg's campaign machine, and I don't see Bloomberg ceasing in his efforts to defeat Trump.

There is a personal angle, IMO.

Admittedly, it's just speculation.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287420520

[CTyankee]

4. I don't think Bloomberg wants to win as much as he wants Trump to lose and also to spend

lavishly on ads that do more to tear Trump down than to build Bloomberg up.

I think you are right that Bloomberg realizes fully that the nominee will inherit the campaign machine set in motion by Bloomberg. He's out to get Trump and finish him off politically (IMHO). It's kinda Godfather-ish but makes perfect sense. He's gonna do a lot behind the scenes to set Trump's political demise in motion.

[sweetloukillbot]

27. The Bloomberg ad I've seen was pretty basic

I'm Bloomberg, I'm running for president.
Trump is a criminal and the Republicans in Congress are his corrupt enablers.
We must defeat them.

No policy, little about him. All about defeating Republicans.

[CTyankee]

28. that fits my narrative.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Voting for a Democrat is the best way to beat Trump,

and at this point I don't care that much which Democrat that is. I do not care much for Bloomberg but if he's the nominee I'll be happy to vote for him. I do like it that he's spending vast amounts of money bashing Trump (his ads are quite good), and those are bound to leave a mark no matter who gets the nomination. He has also promised to spend lavishly to support Democrats regardless.

[beachbumbob]

3. Bloomberg has no chance in many states that someone like Biden can win

so supporting Bloomberg is not in the cards

[CTyankee]

5. "no chance" is exactly the point. It's not gonna hurt, and can help, Biden.

I am still voting for Warren and still out on my own trying to persuade undecideds to VOTE ELIZABETH!

[beachbumbob]

6. not if democrats want to win in November.

the reality is what it is. A liberal Northeastern Republican (as a democrat) is of little interest to middle of road democrats in states like Iowa, North & South Carolina, Ohio, Florida, and could well impact democratic possibilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and clearly take Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Missouri, 100% out of play.

We must be honest with ourselves and understand america is NOT a left-center country but a center-left country and we need to have a big tent turn out in Nov 2020 across every region to have an overwhelming turn out of democratic voters

[CTyankee]

29. Is he advertising there?

[comradebillyboy]

7. I like Bloomberg but I doubt if he's the one to beat Trump.

[CTyankee]

11. He won't. He knows full well he won't. He's using his campaign which he can fund lavishly to

defeat Trump.

this is a strategy to have millions spent on defeating Trump's millions.

Sorry if I mangled the strategy here. Bloomberg has HUGE amounts of money which he can spend promoting his own campaign, but not others. His campaign is NOT to get him elected anyway, it's to defeat Trump.

[comradebillyboy]

18. I applaud Bloomberg for this...

[peggysue2]

8. I feel the same way about Bloomberg

Though he's not my candidate of choice, the man has said he's on a mission, nomination or not, to crush Trump and his minions. Whatever the cost.

Time will tell if Bloomberg keeps that vow but he certainly has enough money to spare, making Trump look like a pauper.

In the end, it's all about kicking Donald Trump to the curb.

[Thekaspervote]

10. This!!

[MineralMan]

9. The thing about Bloomberg is that he doesn't care.

He doesn't have to. He's running a TV ad campaign and is staying out of the fray. It's working. He's moved up into fourth place, passing by Mayor Pete on the way.

He'll just keep doing what he's doing. I doubt he thinks he'll win, but money speaks loudly to the folks watching their TV news on ABC, CBS and NBC. His ads are appearing during the news hours. More people watch just one of those networks than all of the cable news combined. Every day.

For what he's doing, it's a smart campaign strategy. He could pass Elizabeth Warren, too, before long, I think. He's targeting Super Tuesday, not the four early primaries. Interesting.

[CTyankee]

17. I don't know really what he would do if by accident he actually WON!

I think he figures he won't tho. He helps Elizabeth.

[MineralMan]

19. He also helps Biden, probably even more.

He has pledged to keep spending and advertising after the convention as well. So has Steyer. They're working hard to defeat Trump, and if you look at their ads you'll see that very clearly.

Bloomberg isn't planning to win, I'm sure. What he's planning to do is to be relevant. I think he'll succeed at that, frankly. Watch. By Super Tuesday, he will be one of the top four in the polls. Mayor Pete will not. Elizabeth Warren might not be, either, but she probably will, but Bloomberg might me #3 by then.

I expect Bloomberg to win some delegates. Not a huge number, but enough to take to the convention with himself, where his opinion of who should be the nominee might make a difference.

All I'm saying here today is to watch Bloomberg. He doesn't care about the early primaries one bit. He's focusing on Super Tuesday, and will then shift to the later primaries with his adds. He might just surprise some people.

Once again, the audience for broadcast network news, which is where he is advertising, is hugely larger than cable news channels. Hugely. And those network news viewers are voters, too. I guarantee it. If they weren't, they'd not be watching those news broadcasts every day. A lot of people just don't know they're out there. They are, and they vote.

[Drunken Irishman]

12. The issue with Bloomberg is that I don't see him playing well in states Democrats need to win.

I just don't see how he, unlike Biden, Bernie and Warren, can connect with working class voters in the three states Democrats need to win to win back the WH (PA, MI and WI). There's nothing there that tells me he could win even a sliver of those voters (which is all it may take). Especially with some of his stances as mayor (the soft drink ban being one).

I also don't think he'd do well with black voters and we need their turnout to have success.

I would say the latter point, that demographic, is Bloomberg's potential weakness and I'd point that out to your friend.

[CTyankee]

13. The point is Bloomberg doesn't plan on winning. That's not his endgame. His endgame is to defeat

Trump. He hates Trump. This is payback. He knows he won't win for all the reasons you have listed. But in the process he damages Trump badly so some other Dem candidate can win.

I don't think the guy is a saint but here he's doing a good thing.

[Drunken Irishman]

15. I don't know - I think he could be in it to win it.

[bucolic_frolic]

14. Bloomberg is old school main street civic minded Republican

Became popular about 1900-1910 with the birth of National Civic Federation, various Civic Clubs, City Manager forms of government as opposed to back room deals (which seems to be making a comeback in the Senate, but I digress).

It's not entirely about Trump for him, it's also the way he sees the world. NYC retains many old school reforms and organizations.

[CTyankee]

16. That's interesting, I didn't know about the history you tell. I like it.

I once lived and worked in NYC. I loved it a lot and still go back for museum shows but not enough. I like Mike's NYC accent in particular.

However, I'm older now and I want a WOMAN PRESIDENT. Did I yell that loud enough...sorry...

[bucolic_frolic]

20. a book recommendation

most of this history has been hushed up. corporations fought the red scare, starting about 1906 to 1920s. 1900 socialism was popular.

The Corporate Ideal in the Liberal State. James Weinstein. Not without controversy, but really fascinating. Corporations began health care, on site, nurses and the like, to co-opt radicalism, the Red Scare. National Association of Manufacturers - civic minded, and a bit liberal. This was the time org's like Kiwanis were founded. It was the Progressive Era.

[CTyankee]

22. I remember I had a bit of this history in a course in grad school. I found it interesting and

enjoyed the readiing I had to do.

[bucolic_frolic]

24. Then you probably know I'm playing fast and loose with memory

even if the dates are a bit wobbly

[CTyankee]

30. are you kiddin' me? Grad school is a distant memory...fond, but distant...

[delisen]

21. Bloomberg has more depth than a vendetta against Trump

He fully understands the threat Trump represents and the Russian threat, and comprehends how deep it goes.

He also doesn't like the wealth tax proposal-but he is essentially a patriot. He is going to try to get as many Democrats elected as possible.

[CTyankee]

23. Yes, I think it does go deeper than just a vendetta but I don't know very much at all about

Bloomberg.

Getting under Trump's skin constantly endears Mike B. to me...

[squirecam]

25. All his ads

Attack trump. Not any dem.

So I don’t see any problem.

[underthematrix]

26. Voting for a DEMOCRAT is the best way to beat TRUMP

This is what we must remember no matter who the nominee. As I said in another post, I believe most black people will choose between Biden and Bloomberg.

[Amishman]

32. Mayor stop and frisk? I doubt it

So many problems with Bloomberg I don't know where to start

[underthematrix]

35. LOL. black people believe in penance.

And he's got the means to do extraordinary penance.

[Autumn]

31. Only if you think voting for a billionaire who is what at one time would have been a moderate .

Republican is the one to beat Trump. Bloomberg spends money on Dems and but he also donates to elect Republicans.

Tom Steyer spends his fortune electing Democrats, he gives more money to Democrats than any other, including Bloomberg .

Billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist Tom Steyer, Democrats’ top campaign donor, is officially entering the Democratic field for President.

Steyer, a consistent mega-donor to Democrats cycle after cycle, is leading efforts to impeach President Donald Trump and to combat climate change by pumping millions of dollars into races and advertising efforts through his PAC, Need to Impeach, and nonprofit organization NextGen America.

He leads every other liberal donor, including Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, contributing almost $248 million cumulatively to candidates, PACs and other political organizations. Much of that cash goes toward PACs and organizations that spend money independently of candidates, including attack ads on Republicans.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/07/tom-steyer-enters-2020presidential-field/

[CTyankee]

33. I agree that steyer is the better billionaire.

I'm not voting for either.

It remains to be seen how all this affects the election. I like that Bloomberg is so concentrated on blasting Trump.

[Autumn]

34. I see a lot of Styers ads here and I've seen a few of Bloombergs. I think Styer is in it to make a

dent on Trump and push climate change. Bloomberg is in it to win. The one I heard this morning is that he is one who can reach common ground with the other side.