My hope for the debate is that Bernie and Mike will go after each other,

[pnwmom]

and afterwards the voters will think: oh, please. Give me Warren or Klobuchar or Biden -- anyone but these two.

[msongs]

1. watch out, could end up bernie/bloomie or bloomie/bernie. they will both need food tasters nt

[squirecam]

2. If they nuked each other, that would be fine by me. Except

Sanders won’t drop below his 25% base. The only other option for them is Warren. I think she needs to go after Sanders. I don’t think anything Bloomberg says will cause Sanders people to abandon him.

[UniteFightBack]

8. They would never abandon him for any reason. I'll just leave it at that. nt

[Cha]

4. Wow.. you're really putting it out there!

[squirecam]

5. This isn't a secret

Biden and Sanders both have to go after Bloomberg. Warren will too, although she really should be trying to get Sanders voters. Bloomberg has many things to answer for, so he can’t just cry trump and hope people won’t follow up.

[rzemanfl]

9. She's started-

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287534987

[apcalc]

6. +1 now there's a thought!

[BlueIdaho]

7. It's going to be interesting to watch...

If I had to predict, Sanders, Warren, and probably Biden will go after Bloomberg like a swarm of angry hornets. As for Bloomberg, I think he will answer every moderator question about his record - and spend the rest of his time attacking Trump. If that’s the case, Bloomberg’s support will only increase.

[Vivienne235729]

10. Bernie has already gone after him. Bernie supporters have gone after him. And Bberg?

Bloomberg's going after Trump and pushed back on bernie supporters going ape shit after his staffers. This is terrible optics for the Bernie campaign. I don't understand how they can't see that. Bloomberg's machine will kick into high gear in a few months and everyone will be going nuts here. I don't think Warren, Biden, and especially Klobuchar have the machine to get to the finish line. As much as people hate it and don't want to admit it, money COUNTS and goes a LONG way. Most people are swayed by soundbites and the sheer # of commercials they see. My first 2 picks are Biden and Warren, btw. Yang was 3rd and Beto was 4th. But seeing Bloomberg's machine the past couple of weeks, I see the writing on the wall. But no matter what, I stand behind ANYONE against Trump. ANYONE. Even Bernie.

[Swfladem]

11. Thoughts on Bloomberg

I have my reservations about a Bloomberg presidency. First and foremost, if wage inequality is one of the front issues, why do we have a top 1 percenter running on the democratic ticket? Has anyone stopped and given any thought as to why the billionaires are even wanting to be president? Secondly, of course Bloomberg will be going after Sanders. The billionaires are the ones who stand to lose out on a Sanders or even a Warren presidency. We don’t need to play a “we have our own billionaire and he’s richer than you” card to win back the presidency. We need to stick to our principles of being the party of working class America. Billionaires have tasted the very best that our country has to offer. Why then do they now want the laws? So they don’t have to pay their fair share. Before the corporate taxes of the Reagan administration, the billionaires did pay. Sometimes up to 80 percent of windfall profits. Teachers, police, firemen, EMS, and countless of other government officials were paid well. Mostly there was enough money to have those jobs. Warren, Sanders, Biden, and Buttigieg all have what it takes. Don’t let the top 1 percenters take everything. The Democratic Party is the last line against them.

[cynatnite]

12. He who has the gold makes the rules...

It's never been truer.

[TwilightZone]

14. "So they don't have to pay their fair share."

He wants to raise $5 trillion from increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations and from closed estate loopholes.

That would presumably include him.

"Michael Bloomberg said Saturday he would raise taxes on the wealthy, increase the corporate tax rate, and curb tax-free inheritances of large estates, elements of a tax plan that he says would raise $5 trillion over a decade.

Tax rates on low-income and middle-class Americans set by the 2017 Republican tax law would remain the same."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-01/bloomberg-proposes-tax-plan-to-raise-5-trillion-for-policies

[McCamy Taylor]

13. Won't happen. Mike's supports comes from people who despise Trump.

Bloomberg will keep his eyes on the prize and bring the debate back to Trump even if other candidates try to attack him. His job is to show Democrats what a good (yellow) pit bull he can be.