It Looks to Me Like Bernie Sanders Is Very Worried about Bloomberg

[MineralMan]

It's Monday and the Sanders' third team of campaigners and cheerleaders is posting all sorts of picayune "facts" about Bloomberg all over the Internet. Anything they can find and any talking point being put out there is being posted willy nilly to try to attack Mike Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg isn't attacking anyone but Donald Trump and running all those ads doing the same.

Mayor Mike seems to be putting the fear in the Sanders ad hoc campaign team. It almost seems like someone is desperate to try to shut Bloomberg up. Why, I can't imagine, since he's doing the most effective job of attacking Donald Trump of any of our candidates, and without attacking any other Democrats at all.

I wonder if Bernie knows what his amateur supporters are up to?

Oh, well...

[bluewater]

1. Biden, Klobuchar hit Bloomberg's record ahead of Nevada debate

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar took aim Sunday at former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ahead of this week’s Democratic presidential debate.

Bloomberg hasn’t yet qualified for Wednesday’s NBC News and MSNBC debate in Las Vegas, but has through Tuesday to meet the party’s criteria.

With that potential clash looming, both Biden and Klobuchar criticized Bloomberg in interviews with “Meet the Press” at a time when the former mayor faces increased scrutiny over past comments about race, policing and women at his eponymous company.

“$60 billion can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can't erase your record. There's a lot to talk about with Michael Bloomberg,” Biden said, approximating Bloomberg’s net worth.

“You take a look at the stop-and-frisk proposals. You take a look at his ideas on redlining he's talking about. You take a look at what he's done relative to the African American community. I'm anxious to debate Michael on the issues relating to, you know, what we're going to face in Super Tuesday.”

“It's going to be awful hard to go out and win those — the base support of the Democratic party, the African Americans, Latinos and working class white folks, and put that coalition together. That's how you win an election. You put that coalition together,” he added.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/biden-klobuchar-hit-bloomberg-s-record-ahead-nevada-debate-n1137506

So EVERYTHING you just said concerning Sanders applies to Biden and Klobuchar too, right? Right?

[MineralMan]

7. Actually, yes, it does, wherever it applies.

It is a mistake for Democratic candidates to focus on attacking other Democratic candidates. We all have one common enemy, and that is Donald J. Trump. That's who Bloomberg is attacking. Maybe everyone should join in on that instead of fighting with other Democrats.

That's what I think.

[sprinkleeninow]

72. I haven't said a word until now. Upsetting (mild description) that these are appearing on a

nationwide program such as this badmouthing another DEMOCRATIC contender. Regardless.

This is an abnormal time we find ourselves in.

Throw mud at and attack the orangeous one and his minions. This conduct is reminding me of 2016.

I'm getting disgusted.

Have held back negative words referencing Sanders.

[stopbush]

59. Does Biden get a pass for his awful treatment of Anita Hill all those years ago?

His actions were worse than anything Mike is accused of, as said actions helped put Clarence Thomas on the SCOTUS.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/politics/joe-biden-anita-hill.html

[jimfields33]

75. Warren hit Bloomberg with the truth

Everything she said about Bloomberg was truthful and perfectly done.

[DanTex]

2. LOL.

[bluewater]

5. It's amazing how many Biden supporters are bailing to Bloomberg already.

Only a few of them have had the courage to actually change to him as their preferred candidate though.

[MineralMan]

11. Well, my plan is to vote for Joe Biden on March 3.

If I change my mind, you'll see it at the bottom of my posts. Until then, you can see who I'm voting for.

[bluewater]

19. Excellent. But consider how the Bloomberg posts are under cutting Joe's campaigns.

Not yours in particular, but many others certainly have.

So many include phrases like "Well, if Joe can't do it...".

Those give the impression that Joe's campaign is already doomed.



Which, honestly, I do not think is the case. I expect Biden to outperform Bloomberg on Super Tuesday, and that will be a good thing for our party.

Best of luck to you and your candidate on going forward, especially on Super Tuesday.

[melman]

69. Is that why you keep spamming the board with links to Bloomberg's site?

Three so far today.


https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287526015


https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287525372


https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287525574

[MineralMan]

78. Posting things from a Democratic candidate's websites is not spamming.

Are you not interested in the Candidates' positions?

I sure am.

The three links you posted are all different, and lead to different pages on his site. The first one was a general link to the site. The second was a link to his education policy page. The third was to his tax plan.

Are you really accusing me of spamming for links to a Democratic candidate's website? Really?

That seems very strange to me, somehow...

[Demsrule86]

28. I am for Biden but if he falters...you will see me change...no problem with it. want

win a general. I should add Warren too because with the right VP Warren could win.

[stopbush]

63. My preferred candidate was Kamala, but I'm for Mike now.

Hoping for a Bloomberg/Harris ticket.

[aikoaiko]

3. A lot of people are worried about Bloomberg using his billions

To buy support.

I think everyone should.

[HarlanPepper]

4. I think his campaign is really scared of Bloomberg

So are some of his supporters here as evidenced by the threads.

[left-of-center2012]

6. But, but, but ...

Didn't you hear (read) that if elected President,
Bloomberg will change the Constitution and run for a 3rd term (at the age of 86)?

[MineralMan]

8. I did not even post in that ridiculous thread.

Uff da.

[PufPuf23]

66. Bloomberg did change the rukes in NYC that allowed him a

3rd term as mayor.

If elected POTUS, doubt if Bloomberg will go 2nd much less 3rd term because of his age but, like Trump, Bloomberg will attempt to extend his impact. Playing with fire as Bloomberg is more a wealthy narcistic opportunist than a real Democrat.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

74. He can't change the rules as in NYC because the rules are in the Constitution.

I don't care how rich he is, he won't be able to buy a Constitutional amendment - even assuming he's still around and wants to run for a 3rd term at the age of 86.

[PufPuf23]

77. The 2nd sentence as my post is the more important as

we probably agree that there is zero chance Bloomberg if elected POTUS tries for a 3rs term. I would wager he would not try for a 2nd term.

"If elected POTUS, doubt if Bloomberg will go 2nd much less 3rd term because of his age but, like Trump, Bloomberg will attempt to extend his impact. Playing with fire as Bloomberg is more a wealthy narcistic opportunist than a real Democrat."

WE do not want an extremely wealthy person to buy POTUS. Isn't Bloomberg something like the 9th wealthiest individual in the World?

[Devil Child]

9. A Democratic candidate who isn't worried about Bloomberg is being naive & undermining their campaign

[NurseJackie]

10. You can smell the fear.

I wonder if Bernie knows what his amateur supporters are up to?

I've read those posts too... it's smells of fear and regret and gin.

[MineralMan]

14. The sour, sweaty smell of despair and anxiety?

And how about that group with the coffin at a Biden rally? I'm sure that was an amateur effort. I hope so, at least.

[NurseJackie]

16. Didn't even know how to spell "Knell". Pathetic.

[MineralMan]

20. I missed that, somehow.

As in "death knell?" Rhymes with "smell," doesn't it?

[NurseJackie]

23. Yeah... that's exactly it.

Some rube thought it was "nail". Confusing "death knell"... the bell... with the proverbial "nail in the coffin". So, it's not only Tea Party morons who misspell protest signs.

[pandr32]

31. You would think someone noticed and told them

[MineralMan]

83. "Death Nail," eh?

Maybe there some confusion with Jesus or something?

[HarlanPepper]

18. So terrified are they

That they are alerting on posts that say how terrified they are.

[NurseJackie]

22. Let the hand-wringing begin.

[highplainsdem]

13. Not just his supporters. Sanders himself took shots at Bloomberg during his speech at the Democratic

Party gala in Las Vegas last night. I don't think the gala was intended as a forum for Democrats to attack one another (I havem't heard of the other candidates who were there using it that way), and it may have been what prompted Fred Guttenberg to tweet again today about supporting other Dems but never Sanders.

[MineralMan]

17. Well, I suppose that Bloomberg seems most threatening to the person

who considers himself the front-runner, despite having 2 fewer delegates than the one supposedly in second place.

Primaries are coming up that could easily shift things around pretty dramatically. Maybe there's reason for some flop sweat right now.

[highplainsdem]

21. Sanders has been outspending his rivals except for Bloomberg. He'd like to keep the money advantage.

[MineralMan]

25. I've noticed that there's one Sanders ad being run during the

news hours here in the Twin Cities. I haven't seen ads from any of the other candidates other than Bloomberg, who has been running a whole series of ads for more than a month on all broadcast network affiliates. At least Mayor Mike has one competitor here who is advertising.

[highplainsdem]

29. Politico had some stories on how much money Sanders burned through the last quarter of last year and

early this year. He spent quite a bit more than he took in during the 4th quarter. I'm guess he was planning on an early enough advantage that he wouldn't need to advertise as much later.

Bloomberg's ability to fund his own campaign would've wrecked that plan.

[MineralMan]

36. Yes. There really aren't any limits on self-funded campaigns

when it comes to advertising. That definitely gives Bloomberg an advantage, and he's using that to attack Trump.

His ads are awfully good.

[highplainsdem]

34. Link to one of the Politico stories:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/01/bernie-sanders-fec-spending-110157

[dumptrump1]

15. as right he should be

Bloomberg has what it takes to win! Go bloomberg!!

[lapucelle]

24. Bloomberg is going to hit the fiery junior senator hard on his abysmal gun record. N/T

[MineralMan]

27. I doubt it. He's more about hitting Trump hard on guns and everything else.

He isn't attacking any Democratic candidates, and I don't think he plans to.

[lapucelle]

38. On the debate stage...Bloomberg will not go negative on Democrats in his ads. N/T

[MineralMan]

39. I'm betting he doesn't do it in the debates either.

His strategy seems to be very well-developed and solid.

He will get attacked in the debates, but I predict he will not respond in kind. Instead, he'll answer challenges cleanly and fairly well and move on to his plans.

I suspect he's unshakable in person. He has a lot of experience, really.

[lapucelle]

42. It will be interesting to see Bloomberg on the debate stage.

If opponents go negative and he stays positive nonetheless, it will say a lot about both the candidate and the man.

[MineralMan]

45. Bloomberg reportedly has a quick wit and a good sense of humor.

We may see that come into play in a debate. Certainly he knows what issues will come up. So, he may have a ready response that gets a laugh to attacks on him. Wouldn't surprise me, but it sure would disarm the other candidates.

That's what I'd do, if I were him, anyhow. I'd have a full set of one-liners ready to go for every potential attack.

[MichMan]

68. What one liner would be appropriate when asked about his racist stop & frisk policy ?

[MineralMan]

85. "I have apologized publicly for that on more than one occasion."

No laugh line there, but that's all he needs to say. It's a one-liner, but not funny, because that is what he has done.

[lostnfound]

26. Bloomberg is scared of Bernie or Warren winning.

I remember when he was thinking about getting in the race. He was motivated by fear of a Warren presidency, according to the Guardian.

From October:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/20/michael-bloomberg-still-looking-at-a-presidential-run-but-only-if-biden-is-out?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

“Bloomberg’s disagreements with Warren are stark. In January, when he was considering a run for president, he described Warren’s wealth tax proposals in extreme terms .“

[whathehell]

30. Exactly..he wants to make sure he & his Wall St. buddies don't

have pay more taxes on their Sacred Billions.

[lapucelle]

40. That's not true. Bloomberg has released his tax plan. N/T

[whathehell]

46. Does it include a 2% Wealth Tax?

[MineralMan]

48. Look just below at my post from his website.

[whathehell]

64. Yeah, but when 164 Women file 40 Sexual Harassment/Discrimination

suits against you, it gives.me a lot of pause.

[lapucelle]

49. No. It includes a 5% wealth tax.

[MineralMan]

51. I don't think they really want to see his tax plan.

Isn't that strange?

[lapucelle]

56. It is even stranger than "your mileage obviously varies".

[MineralMan]

57. Not a single comment from any of them.

Funny!

[whathehell]

53. So he's out Warren-ing Warren?

That's hard to believe.

[lapucelle]

58. Here's Bloomberg's tax plan.

https://www.mikebloomberg.com/policies/tax-policy

[MineralMan]

50. Yeah. I posted it downthread.

So far, though, nobody has commented on his plan. Odd.

[MineralMan]

32. Hmm...here's Bloomberg's tax plan

It sounds like a plan to add more taxes on the wealthy to me. What do you think?

https://www.mikebloomberg.com/policies/tax-policy

Mike’s Plan:
Make high-income households pay their fair share
Mike will reverse the Trump tax cuts for high-income earners, restoring the top rate on ordinary income from 37% to 39.6%.

Impose a new tax on the very rich
Mike will place a 5% surtax on incomes (capital and labor) above $5 million a year to fund improvements in infrastructure, education, health care and more. This will affect less than 0.1% of taxpayers.

Mike’s tax plan will generate $5 trillion in revenue to pay for public investments like health care, infrastructure, education, climate resilience, and affordable housing.

Tax capital gains more equitably
Mike will tax the wealthy on equal terms with workers. He’ll tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income for taxpayers above $1 million. He’ll also introduce strong new measures to prevent tax avoidance.

Close loopholes
Mike will attack the loopholes and complexities that benefit the wealthy at the expense of working families. His plan will close the “pass-through” 20% deduction that lets many rich taxpayers pay less, and he will end the “like-kind” provision that lets real-estate investors defer tax indefinitely.

Make corporations pay their fair share
Mike will raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and increase the minimum tax on foreign income. He will also apply the minimum tax on foreign income on a per-country, rather than global, basis. He will prevent companies from shifting reported profits to foreign tax havens, tighten rules on transfer pricing and the reporting of foreign taxes, and apply pressure to countries that act as tax havens. He will take the lead on cooperative international efforts to defeat profit-shifting.

[sheshe2]

86. That sounds like a great plan to me.

That's for posting!

[MineralMan]

88. That's how it seemed to me.

I particularly liked the 5% surtax on income for the $5+ million crowd, and the taxation of capital gains at the income tax rate for those over $1 million.

That would raise a pile of money that could be used for good things, I'd think.

But, hey, what do I know?

[Demsrule86]

61. No he is scared of Trump winning if Sanders or Warren are the nominee...mostly Sanders though.

[earthside]

33. We all better be worried.

Bloomberg as presidential nominee of the Democratic Party will mean low turnout and a Trump triumph.

If the Democratic Party becomes the party of a billionaire, plutocratic, corporate elitist ... well, what's the point anymore?

[lapucelle]

43. No it won't, no it won't, and no it won't. N/T

[whathehell]

52. Yep..Many might not want to hear it, but

a LOT of Democratic women will not vote for a man who's had almost 40 Sexual Harassment & Discrimination suits filed against him.. That's hardly the "Anti-Trump" they'd be looking for.

[stopbush]

67. Were those lawsuits filed directly against Mike, or were they filed against

corporations he owns or is involved with? There’s a significant difference.

[whathehell]

73. Some were filed against him, some against his company,

but numerous reports accuse him of "creating a toxic, sexist
workplace culture" and a "sexually charged nightmare" for women.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bloombergs-sexist-remarks-fostered-company-culture-degraded-women/story?id=67744180

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/09/mike-bloomberg-comments-women-metoo/570448/

https://www.businessinsider.com/bloomberg-built-a-toxic-sexually-charged-nightmare-for-women-2019-110

[melman]

35. It's not Monday

[Devil Child]

37. Yep, still a few hours to go!

[MineralMan]

41. You're right. I've been in my office working today.

Seemed like Monday to me.

See, I have to fly to California on Friday and I have a deadline to meet by the end of the week. so I'm working on Sunday.

My 95-year-old Mom is getting worse, so I'm flying out there to see her. It could easily be the last time I see her while she is still alive. My father, who is also 95, is very worried about her. It could be a false alarm, but might not be. My Dad's not a very good judge when it comes to health matters.

Her round-the-clock health care people don't seem that concerned, but you never know. She doesn't recognize me any more, but I can usually jog her memory about having a 74-year-old son after a while..

So, please excuse my mistake.

[melman]

55. They don't let us on the third team unless we know the days of the week

So don't mention it. I am here to help.

[MineralMan]

91. Of course you are.

Yes, indeed, you are.

[sheshe2]

89. My best to you and your parents, MM.

I know how hard it is.

[MineralMan]

90. Thank you very much.

It's very difficult times for my folks right now. And there's not a thing I can do about them being 95 years old, either. I'll thank them for my genes, though, and hope I make it that long.

[cwydro]

93. Hang in there.

Been there, done that.

It’s very difficult, no matter how long they live - you don’t want them to go.

[MineralMan]

95. So true.

[Autumn]

44. This amature Sanders supporter is paying close attention to the primary.

And I'm going to post everything about Bloomberg I can find. Not because I fear him but because I'm a Democrat and I like to learn all I can about people who think they may want to govern me. YMOV

[MineralMan]

47. OK.

[jcmaine72]

54. We should all be worried.

Bloomberg is the living antithesis of everything we've stood against as a political party for decades.

[lapucelle]

62. No he isn't. N/T

[jcmaine72]

70. You have Bloomberg supporters here admitting he's a racist, but that it's okay because....

...he has $60 billion to spend on winning our Presidential election.

If that's what we stand for as a party now, what we embrace, what we celebrate, then you're 100% correct.

[lapucelle]

79. There are "Bloomberg supporters here admitting he's racist"?

There are also "Biden and Klobuchar supporters" saying some pretty inexplicable things here as well.
Sorry, but most people are not that easily played.

And spare me the apocryphal angst about the Democratic Party. I've been a member, a volunteer, an activist, and a steward of its mission and platform for 40+ years.

[jcmaine72]

84. So, just to be clear, you're fine with this statement?

"Is Bloomberg a racist? You betcha. But he's a racist with $60+ billion to spend who may enable us to claw our way back to a semblance of democracy."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287525737

Tell me, in all your 40+ years as Democratic Party member, volunteer, and activist, did you ever think you'd see such a statement made and embraced by people calling themselves Democrats? Perhaps you should share my angst.

With all your decades as a member, volunteer and activist within our party, I find it curious that it was my post you took umbrage with, and not the aforementioned quote.

Oh well...

[Aaron Pereira]

76. That he is. Dem voters will never send him to the convention with the most delegates.

He can advertise all he wants but his own record; cutting Social Security, misogyny, bald racism against blacks and latinos will negate every dollar. it's not going to happen.

[Scurrilous]

60. When I saw this AK poll it was obvious Bloomberg's attacks on Trump were working.

Last edited Sun Feb 16, 2020, 06:44 PM - Edit history (1)

He' s advertising heavily in the South. Places such as AK where no one is campaigning yet. The #1 issue among black Voters? Trump. So go against Trump and -

AK 2/11 - Bloomberg 20, Biden 19, Sanders 16, Buttigieg 16, Warren 9, Klobuchar 5, Yang 2

NC 2/12 - Biden 24, Sanders 20, Bloomberg 16, Warren 11, Buttigieg 8, Klobuchar 3, Steyer 4, Gabbard 2

FL 2/14 - Bloomberg 27, Biden 26, Sanders 10, Klobuchar 9, Warren 5, Buttigieg 11, Steyer 1, Gabbard

GA 2/14 - Biden 32, Sanders 14, Bloomberg 14, Buttigieg 5, Warren 4, Klobuchar 3, Steyer 2, Gabbard 1

Two firsts, one second (tie), and one third.

Target Trump and move up.

[Kaleva]

94. interesting

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

65. I don't think Bloomberg is very concerned about what other candidates

or their surrogates have to say about him. I'm beginning to think he's more interested in crushing Trump than in actually winning either the primaries or the GE. So no matter what Bernie or anybody else says (and he does seem to have a skeleton or three in his closet), he's the nasty-ass Honey Badger and he don't care; he's focused exclusively on Fat Nixon's jugular. I have to think there's something personal that happened in NYC because Bloomberg clearly loathes Trump and is willing to spend whatever is needed to take him down. I'm not a Bloomberg fan but I'm glad to have a honey badger on our side.

[MineralMan]

87. Yes, I think you're right about that.

He has promised to continue campaigning against Trump, even if he is not the Nominee. I think we should all be pretty grateful that he's spending his own money to do that.

As for his chances at the nomination, I don't think they're all that good. However, if he amasses a bunch of delegates, it might put him in a position to recommend how they might vote on a second ballot. That might be really important at the convention, I think.

If I were another candidate, I might think twice before attacking him based on inaccurate information. I might even tell my supporters to avoid that sort of thing, actually. But, that's just me, and I'm not a candidate for anything at all.

[emmaverybo]

71. I am too. His foreign policy stances need much closer examination.

[MineralMan]

81. Whose stances? Bernie's?

Can you be more specific?

[emmaverybo]

92. Bloomberg's.

[evertonfc]

80. This party will nominate

a rich guy over a Democratic socialist every day. It's a lab8el we will own for decades. Sanders will wreck us