How an unemployed 39-yr-old banker became a billionaire, 3-time mayor of NYC & presidential hopeful

[highplainsdem]

Business Insider article from Jan. 2 with a lot of background, and a lot of photos:

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-fabulous-life-of-michael-bloomberg-the-eight-richest-man-in-the-us-2015-7


And this quote from the article, from Bloomberg while he was NY's mayor:

Bloomberg also spoke to New York Magazine about readily using his wealth to achieve his end-goals, including to help win elections.

"If you really believe that you're making a difference and that you can leave a legacy of better schools and jobs and safer streets, why would you not spend the money? The objective is to improve the schools, bring down crime, build affordable housing, clean the streets—not to have a fair fight."

Link to the 2005 New York magazine article that quote is from:

https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/14573/index.html


While we might not want a billionaire candidate willing to spend billions of his own money on a campaign in any normal election, this isn't a normal election year. And if we don't beat Trump now, we may never see another genuinely democratic election in the United States.

And we know Trump will not fight fair, and he has Russian help, a weaponized Justice Department, and a compliant and complicit Republican majority in the Senate.

I'm glad there's someone like Bloomberg willing to spend however much of his own money he has to spend to defeat Trump.

Plus he's said he'll back the Democratic nominee even if he doesn't win the nomination. And I believe him.

[denem]

1. Bloomberg is my candidate of last resort.

A technocrat with a couple of liberal causes.

[highplainsdem]

2. More than a couple.

[denem]

4. Gun control; climate change,

life and death .... that's enough.

[highplainsdem]

6. Suggest you read the New York magazine article the OP links to, the second link there.

https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/14573/index.html

Frank Ombres is standing on West 34th Street, grinning broadly as thousands of his happy union brothers pour out of the Hammerstein Ballroom after a raucous event that’s part press conference, part TV-commercial shoot, and part union-hall blowout. Moments ago, Mike Bloomberg was onstage, bopping tentatively as “Welcome to the Jungle” screamed from the loudspeakers and carpenters and glaziers chanted “May-uh Mike! May-uh Mike!,” their enthusiasm stoked by the city’s humming economy and an open bar paid for by Bloomberg 2005. Turning his company into an international powerhouse earned Bloomberg the respect of his corporate peers. But nothing satisfies the ego of a pencil-necked plutocrat like soaking in the cheers of a theater full of burly construction workers.

Ombres is secretary-treasurer of Laborers Local 731, and after the rally, he’s telling a story about meeting Bloomberg in a slightly different setting. “He had us over to his house a couple months ago,” Ombres says. “All the union leaders. That was pretty cool. It’s a fancy place, but he’s a regular guy. He put on a good spread. And he’s come through for us. All we want is work and new members, and he’s got construction going for the next 50 years.”

Bloomberg’s charitable giving, like his dinner-party guest list, has changed, too. The number of groups receiving money from Bloomberg has swelled from nearly 600 in 2000, when he first ran for mayor, to 843 (totaling $140 million) in 2004. The mayor says the growth is a reflection of his extensive travels around the city, which introduced him to even more worthy organizations. Bloomberg also claims that giving to a wider array of causes—from stem-cell research to the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement to his ex-wife’s pet organization, Puppies Behind Bars—is an attempt to shield him from criticism that he’s playing favorites for political purposes.

-snip-

If there remain any doubts that Bloomberg is a liberal, his referencing of the ex-commie folksinger should erase them forever. But Bloomberg’s real religion has always been pragmatism. One warm November night last fall, Bloomberg went out to Cambria Heights, Queens, for a community meeting. After brief and unsurprising remarks touting his administration’s record on crime and education, the mayor opened the floor to questions. A woman named Anne Miller wanted to know when the weeds along Linden Boulevard would be cleared. “How does ‘by Monday’ sound?” Bloomberg replied crisply, drawing applause. Sure enough, the weeds were gone within days.

Attend any of these forums with Bloomberg—he’s held more than 80 in the past three years—and it’s hard to take seriously the charge that he’s “out of touch” with regular folks. Stiff and awkward? Sometimes. But whether he’s poring over 311 statistics, or answering dozens of e-mails from strangers each day, or touring booming neighborhoods on Staten Island and then instigating legislation to tighten zoning regulations, or insisting on personal responsibility for improving the school system, Bloomberg registers and responds to the concerns of common folks as if he were a one-man complaint department.

[democrattotheend]

7. I did a fellowship for another NYC union at the end of his term

And they sung a pretty different tune. He would routinely be booed when his name was mentioned. I think he's also been pretty anti-union at his company, especially when lawyers doing research tried to unionize (and the fact that lawyers were even trying to unionize says something about their working conditions).

Here's an article about his record on labor as NYC mayor: https://www.alternet.org/2013/07/mayor-bloombergs-record-new-yorks-unions-pretty-terrible/

His company does pay programmers well, often above market, but I don't know if that is true for lower-paid, lower-skilled workers.

[we can do it]

29. Still better than Tulsi.

[kelly1mm]

3. He will have to spend some of those Billions to explain away his ridiculed soda tax! Thats

What most remember him for …. Oh and don't forget stop-and-frisk …….

[mopinko]

11. i can defend a soda tax from here to breakfast.

we had one in cook co. it ended up repealed after a similar smear campaign. it is a simple and direct cost to cause tax. i am 100% for it.
singling out sodas here led to healthier options not only being on the shelf, but being front and center at the sort of quik marts and bodegas that too many depend on day to day.
and there were many debates about extending it to probably equally unhealthy options, but they got shot down. they didnt split hairs to say that a milky way is pure sugar, but a payday has protein. it wasnt some big over reach.
in cook county, diabetes costs us millions. all we did was advantage healthier options. and put the money into the costs we all pay.

one more example of the kind of smart policies i want to see.

[kelly1mm]

12. That will go over swimingly in WI, MI, PA, MN so you get started on that. Anything on stop & frisk?

[mopinko]

13. people were afraid, and he had a lot of academic backing. he apologized.

works for me.

[Cha]

20. the future of the USA and the Planet!

[kelly1mm]

25. You do understand that this election comes down to PA, MI WI MN, right? You think Trump

will not attack him with that? You think that will not resonate?

[gollygee]

27. Nobody cares that much about a pop tax in Michigan

LOL. We already have a high bottle deposit, and everyone's talking about extending it to water and milk/juice bottles.

I am not a fan of Bloomberg, but i think he'd do very well here. Even some of the things I don't like about him would make him do well.

[Sapient Donkey]

35. I saw a video of Bloomberg that rubbed me the wrong way

It wasn't just about the soda tax, but an overall view on citizens of the US, particularly the poor, that just doesn't sit well.

?t=325 (about 5:25 to about 8:00)

[emmaverybo]

5. I don't like the way he tried to "clean the streets."

[wisteria]

8. He wants to support our real Democratic candidates, I am all for him.

But, I will not vote for Bloomberg for President

[highplainsdem]

9. So for whom will you vote if Bloomberg is our nominee?

[wisteria]

10. I will write in Biden

[YOHABLO]

22. Did it occur that that would be a vote for Trump?

[Skya Rhen]

14. I won't be voting for a man that treated blacks inhumanely, through stop and frisk.

Link to tweet

[Duppers]

21. Prof. Jason Johnson stated the following

On msnbc Brian Williams show tonight; no clip yet, so I highlighted a chunk of what he stated on air and in the tweet below. He was emphatic that the AA community is supporting Bloomburg because they believe he can beat tRump and that's their #1 goal. I hope to find a clip of his great, surprising interview.


Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) Tweeted:
Imagine being a supposed spokesperson who thinks trolling on twitter is a job instead of addressing why black voters would rather support Bloomberg with his terrible record over Bernie who's been running for 5 years and can't break 19% AfAm support
https://t.co/xUdlwlNYtp

Link to tweet

?s=20





Personally, I've respected Jason Johnson for a long time.

[Vdizzle]

15. I've seen several of these pro Bloomberg posts today

The money must be flowing and the bots and trolls are out in full force.

Let me just say...


Fuck your couch.

[Duppers]

23. Then you must think Dr. Jason Johnson is full of crap.

Jason Johnson is an American academic, political commentator, and writer. He is the author of the book Political Consultants and Campaigns: One Day to Sell.

See my post above.

The reason I chose to support Biden is only because I thought he had the BEST chance of beating tRump. I truly do not care which Dem candidate wins the primary as long as they represent our BEST shot of kicking that orange pos out and doing what they can to facilitate his prosecution. I desperately want that evil pos imprisoned.

[phleshdef]

26. No, on this I think he is full of SHIT.

Fuck his opinion.

[Duppers]

28. 😄

Well, it's not exactly HIS opinion but what he has gleaned from sources. Wish he'd write about those.

Again, I do not care which Dem rips tRump out of the WH, just so it's done.

[Duppers]

30. Well, well, well

Did you hear Joy Reid this evening on msnbc? Guess you think she's full of shit too!

[Skya Rhen]

31. Joy Reid and Jason Johnson detested Biden since he entered last year. Watch some past MSNBC clips.

[phleshdef]

33. They can detest Biden all they want. They should still stand up against Bloomberg's racism.

Them being black does not give Bloomberg a pass.

[phleshdef]

32. Yes. If you defend someone who advocates police harassing young men of color...

...you are full of shit.

And don't get me started on Joy Reid and her past history of bigotry.

[Duppers]

34. Good Lord... Do educate me

Please. Any links I can read?

Thx.

[phleshdef]

36. Here ya go.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/27/17286392/joy-reid-msnbc-lgbtq-gay-hack

[Duppers]

38. Oh, homophobic does not translate to racism.

TY.

[phleshdef]

39. I didn't say racism, I said bigotry.

[Duppers]

37. Just to be clear: Joy was not defending..

police harassing young men of color. Far from it. What she said is that poc are beginning to support Bloomberg in significant numbers. Not one word from her defending his past history, which, by the way, he has apologized for.

Again, I support Biden, but will accept apologies from MB in order to clobber the Putin-wannabe. ANYONE to defeat (& prosecute) tRump & his admin.

[phleshdef]

40. Well I missed that, so my apologies.

In my defense, I'm distracted by New Hampshire coverage right now.

My problem with Bloomberg's statements was that it seemed pretty clear that he believes what he said as a matter of personal philosophy, not just bad policy. Sometimes an apology is adequate. But I don't trust his apology. He was all in as a neocon Republican not THAT long ago. I find it hard to believe that someone at his age is going to do a true 180. It happens (Robert Byrd changed a lot after his grandson was killed in an unfortunate accident). But he needs to do more to earn my trust. I'm definitely not voting for him in the Ohio primary. I wouldn't feel any shame pulling the lever for Biden, Warren, Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Steyer or even Sanders (who think will get crushed in a general). But as it currently stands, voting for Bloomberg would make me feel very dirty.

[Cha]

24. Here's a clue.. maybe you shouldn't be "just saying" that?

[SunSeeker]

17. "If we don't beat Trump now, we may never see another genuinely democratic election"

I agree, and I am terrified.

[Moostache]

19. I would vote for Bloomberg-Steyer ticket...ANYTHING is better than status quo...

Literally ANYTHING...