Joe Scarborough's point on Michael Bloomberg this morning

[wyldwolf]

Bloomberg's original plan was to enter the race only if Biden appeared to be faltering. Biden didn't begin faltering, though, until Bloomberg entered the race. By doing so he might have brought about the conditions that were his yardstick for entering the race. Obviously his plan was always to enter the race regardless of Biden's performance.

And to just clear the air, I'm not a Bloomberg supporter but I do find the dynamics of the race a bit more fascinating now which I why I post about him.

Biden/Pete/Amy/Warren > Bloomberg / Steyer > Sanders > Gabbard.

[jcmaine72]

1. Yet, that's not the way some Biden supporters seemingly view it.

There are several Biden supporters here who are actively defending Bloomberg's inexcusable (for anyone else, that is) past while blaming Bernie and his supporters for fostering a toxic environment. Go figure.

[wyldwolf]

2. the only was I see past Bloomberg's (ahem!) issues is...

... and sorry.. if he's what stands between Sanders and the nomination. That's really just one step backward from what I hope is the Sanders' supporters plan: Bloomberg only if it stops a Trump second term.

Gabbard really doesn't exist.

[katmondoo]

4. With Bernie we lose

[jcmaine72]

8. With Bloomberg as our nominee, with his documented history of racism and sexism...

...we'd lose so much more, like our identity and credibility as the party that stands diametrically opposed to all forms of racism and sexism.

We can do better than Bloomberg. Any of the other candidates, including Tom Steyer, whom I wouldn't know by sight if he showed up at my apartment delivering pizza, would be better than this individual who represents everything we very recently stood against as a party.

[still_one]

7. true, but it is also true that Bernies past has not been scrutinized either by the other candidates

or the media

[BeyondGeography]

3. Biden was always a vulnerable front runner for a lot of reasons

I don’t want to enumerate them because he is an appealing Democrat who has run an honorable race. But it wasn’t rocket science to see that he would fade once voting started.

[Renew Deal]

5. I agree and the signs were there months ago

Small crowds. Bad polling. Baggage. Things haven’t changed all at once. The signs have been there. The “front runner” finished 4th and 5th in the first two states. That’s ridiculous.

[UniteFightBack]

11. He faded because a fake president smeared him with lies and his 'loyal' party deserted him. nt

[still_one]

6. Ironic. With Bloomberg in the debates, not only does that allow him to be vetted by the other

candidates, it also allows Bloomberg to vet other candidates who have not been particularly scrutinized by the other candidates and the media. I am specifically referring to Sanders

[honest.abe]

9. I dont think Bloomberg will attack any of the other candidates.

He will focus on attacking Trump and unity of the Democratic Party. However he will, of course, defend himself when attacked by any of the other candidates. But I suspect he wont give long detailed explanations for his past controversial comments and actions and will try to quickly deflect back to Trump. I think that might be a successful strategy.

[still_one]

15. If he did that I think you are right, it would be a successful strategy

[UniteFightBack]

10. Everybody should be listening to his point about the swing states and Bidens lead in them. nt

[Skya Rhen]

12. Joe Scarborough also pointed out that Blomberg is actually hurting Biden and helping Bernie run away

this thing. Wow - now they finally see the light????

[denem]

17. Biden helped Bernie run away with it,

by treating him with kid gloves throughout the entire campaign. He hammered Warren on Medicare for All, while praising Sanders for being honest about raising taxes.

[honest.abe]

13. I was getting concerned about Biden before I realized Bloomberg was a factor.

I love Joe but his campaign was lacking focus and enthusiasm and his odd comments on the trail were troubling. The one about the "dog faced lying.." one was really disturbing. I know he meant it as a joke but you cannot say that to someone who you dont know personally and might not get the joke.. especially a young woman. That tells me he might not have it anymore to be able to effectively take on Trump. Then his terrible results in IA and NH.. much worse that expected. Bloomberg didnt run ads in either of those states.

[lunasun]

14. Imo he has inserted himself in to the election just as primaries start and has hurt Biden's numbers

along with others running
I also read that he asked east coast donor pals to ease off on backing other candidates right now knowing other candidates need money to continue . He is more division for the party not less imo

[Mike 03]

18. I mostly agree with this. I posted this theory and got slammed for being naive.

Where I disagree is that if you look closely, Joe actually faltered before Bloomberg doubled his spending. Bloomberg saw something in Iowa he didn't expect to happen. One day we'll find out what he saw. Also keep in mind he is certainly doing extensive internal polling that might be more sophisticated than other campaigns are capable of.

Having said that, what surprises me is the aggression. Where I erred was in thinking Bloomberg wanted to stay in the background until much later. He's turned up the volume big time this week and we are told he will attack all the candidates tonight. I don't think that's the best tactic, but he's a genius and I'm not.

[thesquanderer]

19. re: "Biden didn't begin faltering, though, until Bloomberg entered the race"

I don't think Bloomberg was a factor in Biden's Iowa and New Hampshire showings.

[CalFione]

20. If Biden, Amy, or Pete want Bloomberg to go away....

...they have to do a much better job of taking down Sanders than they have to this point.