Other than Bloomberg having a lot of money, I don't understand why anyone would pick him over Biden

[Quixote1818]

or another moderate? Biden has a fraction of the baggage and some really great plans he has put forward and a ton of experience. I wish Bloomberg had just sunk his money into helping the Dems rather than jumping in to this. He will probably sink Biden who had a shot at a comeback if he was to do well in SC. That seems to be evaporating with Bloomberg stealing his thunder.

I guess some felt Biden wasn't performing strong enough and so Bloomberg was the backup quarterback? I don't get it. I like Biden a billion times better than stop and frisk Bloomberg. And I honestly gave Bloomberg a look a couple of weeks ago before determining he was pretty much my last choice.

That being said, I don't think Bloomberg winning over Bernie in a brokered convention will fracture the party that much this year. Trump is so extreme I think even some of the most ardent Sanders supporters would realize Trump needs to be stopped. It would be our job to talk sanity into them. Saying that as a Sanders supporter.

[RandySF]

1. Don't you support Sanders?

[Quixote1818]

2. Yes, I just added that. However, I haven't decided if I will vote for him.

Not fully convinced he can win. It's nerve wracking. There is so much on the line this year and I am a pragmatist in the end.

[still_one]

28. I think you are very wise because there is so much at stake. It isn't an easy choice either

the latest polls show trump at 49% approval.

We better have a strong nominee whoever that is

[Horizens]

3. Because

they think Bloomberg has a better chance vs trump.

[Quixote1818]

4. I can see how all the ads might give that impression. That he is powerful.

It just seems like his list of baggage is overwhelming but maybe Trump being insane and worse will neutralize that.

[radius777]

9. Biden has more baggage and is a gaffe machine.

The moderate lane was Biden's to lose and he has lost it.

I love Uncle Joe as much as anyone else - but he clearly has some age-related memory issues, in addition to just being a poor campaigner he's always been.

The voters in IA and NH recognized this, and moved to Pete and Amy (Bloomberg not on ballot).

The voters in the Supertuesday states also recognized this, and moved to Bloomberg, who has skyrocketed in the polls nationally in a short time.

Note it's not just about money because Steyer is barely registering nationally - Bloomberg is/always has been a pretty savvy and tough politician.

[Vivienne235729]

14. +1

[stopbush]

17. The crime bill and Joe's treatment of Anita Hill represent significant baggage to me.

But most of all, he just isn't a sharp as one needs to be to debate his rivals, or trump for that matter.

[uponit7771]

24. 30 yr old issues from Biden vs Mike Defending overtly racist policies like S&F last year and never

... apologized for racial profiling.

We don't need Trump light, people would take the original if there's a choice.

[thesquanderer]

44. If this interview were with Biden, people might say it was a campaign-ending gaffe

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287363762

It's where he said Xi Jinping is not a dictator. It reminded me of Ford saying there was no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. The interview gave him the chance to try to get out of it, and he just kept digging in deeper. If Xi is not a dictator, who is? If Biden had said, this, he'd be torn apart.

It's also where he said China is addressing climate change by moving coal plants out of the cities. No, that addresses localized pollution, but the plant contributes to climate change regardless of whether it's in the city of 50 miles away.

[still_one]

29. That is why it is a good thing he is in the debates

[Bettie]

5. He's the shiny object of the moment

and he's done some good ads.

Give it a minute.

[Dan]

6. To put it nicely,

Sometimes it takes a bastard to beat a bastard.

[Quixote1818]

8. If he gets the nomination I will take it. nt

[uponit7771]

23. That has never worked politically, humans have historically always chosen the bastard they

... already know vs the bastard they don't

[LongtimeAZDem]

7. I choose Biden over Bloomberg, but he has been pretty severely ratfucked at this point, and

he has shied away from going after Sanders full force, to his detriment.

Bloomberg, I suspect, has no such compunction, and his ad department is stellar.

[kiri]

15. 270 votes are all that matters

The issue is not which Dem has the best policies; not even who would be best to win support from the Congress and the country to institute good policies.

The ONLY thing is defeating Trump and the magats. All the rhetoric and great policies matter not a whit if Trump wins. And he has a good chance: Trump is thrilled to run against Bernie--Trump will hammer "socialist" and "left extremism". And promote fear. He is VERY good at this, and it works.

It only matters how the electoral college votes. Trump has a very dedicated army and lots of money. As of now, Trump will likely WIN Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida. That is more than enough to win. Voters in Calif and New England are written off and do not count. The popular vote does not matter. 270 Electoral college votes are counted.

No Dem is going to win RW evangelical voters, but it is conceivable that RW-EVs can be made to stay home. Stopping Repub GOTV is a noble objective. I do not see any Democratic candidate having a strategy to do this or to win in WI, PA, MI,...

Defeating McConnell is the 2nd highest priority. What are Bloomberg, Steyer, and the others doing to achieve this? Putting a lot of money into Kentucky would be better spent than on TV ads.

[Lexblues]

19. Bloomberg is not a billionaire by accident

The man is whip smart and he doesn't give a shit about anything except beating Trump. All the stuff he's said in the past will roll right off of him cause he knows and we know he's the only one that can hand Trump's ass to him on a silver platter.

[Bayard]

10. I'm not very happy about the Bloomberg ad

The ad showing him and Obama at opportune times. It might give the impression that Obama is endorsing him. Misleading.

[Skya Rhen]

12. I find the ad sickeningly manipulative.

[stopbush]

18. If that ad is misleading, you have a low threshold.

[Renew Deal]

11. Victory is what is driving most people these days

Policy has barely gotten attention in this race. Biden has looked weak for months and Bloomberg saw an opening. Now a lot more people see the same thing.

[ChazII]

13. I think you are right.

Bloomberg saw an opening and is taking his chance.

[jcmaine72]

25. But the question I have is this....

If your intention is to vote for someone who has a long, documented history of making racist, sexist and classcist remarks (some of remarkably recent vintage), and has a 12-year long record of defending the systematic civil rights abuses against POC, then what, exactly, do you hope to win?

[Renew Deal]

37. Bloomberg is MLK compared to Trump

And all of the candidates have flaws and have said or done things that they should regret. That’s part of being human. I’m not making excuses for any of them, but there is no perfect candidate.

[jcmaine72]

41. Pointing to what a shit heel Dotard is doesn't erase what Bloomberg has done.

Least of all, it doesn't explain how we, as Democrats, who are in principle and deed suppose to stand against all forms of racism and misogyny, would nominate a man with such an extensive, documented and indisputable history of racism and sexism. Sorry, it just doesn't.

[Renew Deal]

42. because people want to win.

It’s really that simple. You have Bernie in your signature. He has not been perfect his entire life on the topics of racism and sexism either. But you still support him. Why? It’s not because you agree with everything he has ever said and done.

[jcmaine72]

43. That's it?

I want to win, so I set fire to my own house?

I want to win, so I cut my own nose off to spite my face?

You'll have to trust me on this, but we can actually do better than Bloomberg. Much better. Yeah, I'm a Bernie supporter, but I will gladly and proudly vote for ANY of the other candidates should they win the nomination.

Give me Biden, Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, or, of course, my main man Bernie.

Please, and I'm actually begging my fellow Democrats here, don't give me this:

"We disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little".

Can we at least try to keep some of our principles intact as Democrats while attempting to defeat Dotard? Can we?

[Squinch]

26. Because failure means the loss of the Democracy.

[jcmaine72]

27. So does letting someone buy our elections. n/t

[Squinch]

33. That is really a silly concept. People will vote for him or they

won't. He's not buying anything. Clearly you won't pick him. Fine. Also proof that nothing is being bought and people are choosing him freely or not choosing him freely.

Is he spending obscene amounts of money? Yes. And until we overturn Citizens United that's what we have to do. Like it or not, that is the world we live in.

Filthy Donnie's war chest is enormous. I'm just glad someone is in a position to counteract that.

[Renew Deal]

40. I don't put much into this argument

If people want to vote for him, they should. He’s flawed, but so are all of them. What a lot of people here care about right now is electability. Bloomberg has run a smart race so far and looks like he can win.

[Awsi Dooger]

16. "Biden often sounds confused. Bloomberg is in his 70s but is still sharp"

I'll continue to repeat the words of the older white LPGA golf crowd in that Naples shuttle bus in November. It was the first time I sensed that Bloomberg might be viable.

I've attended golf tournaments since I was 8 years old. It is an overwhelmingly conservative demographic. Normally when that crowd discusses a Democratic debate it is in derisive terms. "I tuned in just to get a feel for what the lunatic party was saying."

I remember that exact quote from the 2008 primaries while walking toward the entrance of a PGA event in Florida.

If we nominate someone who is "too far out there," to use the words of that Naples crowd, we don't have any complaint in November.

[Voltaire2]

20. The memo went out.

[honest.abe]

21. Biden starting slipping in the polls with terrible results in IA and NH, plus Bloomberg's ads.

The main focus of most Democrats is defeating Trump. Bloomberg simply looks like a stronger candidate to many Dems.

[uponit7771]

22. K&R, Bloomberg is Trump light and people would rather have the real thing

[Squinch]

30. I love Biden. But he is the king of the unforced error and

his campaign has been lackluster.

I have seen him stumble through his own easily avoided errors twice before. And now he is running a campaign that does not understand the need for blanketing social media and for taking the fight to Filthy Donnie rather than his opponents. I don't believe he can be depended on to do what needs to be done to beat Filthy Donnie.

The rule of law is at stake. The Democracy is at stake. I need someone who knows how to get this done.

[Zolorp]

31. Biden faltered and Sanders must be stopped.

That's why.

[still_one]

35. We will see if the debate changes that. As for Sanders, none of the Democratic candidates, or the

media have given Sanders much scrutiny regarding his past. It will be interesting if Bloomberg brings that up during the debates, if Sanders responds to it, and if has any bearing on the polls

[samnsara]

32. my choice is still biden.. he interviewed for the job a few years back so hes got my vote..

..no need to see the debates or watch the polls. My minds made up...I know hes capable of the job from Day 1. But...if something happens and he chooses not to run for SOME unknown reason we have to have second choices. Bloombergs one of my 2nd choices as is Amy and Pete.

[still_one]

38. I will be voting in California on Super Tuesday, and I am voting for Biden. Not only becasue of the

reasons you gave, but also because of the polls it shows him doing the best against trump in the GE.

With trump at 49% approval according to the latest poll, we better select the nominee who can do the best against him

[Just_Vote_Dem]

34. I think the Bloomberg rise is due to the ads

Once he starts getting vetted that may change.

[evertonfc]

36. Fear that our party

Is about to nominate a Democrat Socialist, lose the GE and dozens of House seats. That's why. He can go the distance. I actually hope Biden wins but me and 6 friends voted for Mike

[still_one]

39. The polls so far indicate that out of all the Democratic candidates, Biden does best against trump

in the General Election.

With trump currently at 49% approval, we better choose the candidate that does best against trump