Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No one could have predicted…

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Republicans in disarray!

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

This really is a full service blog.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Nothing worth doing is easy.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

White supremacy is terrorism.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Election Year Open Thread: Good for Mike Bloomberg

Election Year Open Thread: Good for Mike Bloomberg

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Stacey Abrams will not be Bloomberg’s VP, if only because his chances for the nomination are vanishingly small. But if her local paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is correct, Bloomberg was responsible for about a third of the funds Fair Fight raised to fight voter suppression during the second half of 2019. For that money, not to mention the money he’ll be expected to donate in the future (and that his support will produce from other donors), she’s willing to give him a spot at her invite-only summit. Who knows, he might learn some important leassons… as might the reporters who’ll follow Bloomberg, who wouldn’t have shown up otherwise.

It’s purely transactional, on both their parts. I’m sure this is actually comforting to Mike — he’s a self-proclaimed Data Guy, for whom transactional is easy, unlike all that grip’n’grin stuff natural politicians find fulfilling.

Reader Interactions

24Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    now one of the most sought after surrogates

    One might even say she’s become the surrogate motherlode.

    ;)

  2. 2.

    Felanius Kootea

    Good news because Republicans win in part by cheating and Democrats ignore voter suppression at their own peril.

  3. 3.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Bloomberg is also running an ad positioning himself as the defender of Obamacare, citing a bunch of statistics about expanding health care as mayor that make wonder how much he did, and how much O’care did while he was mayor, but I’m too lazy to check it out.

    I don’t like him much, but giving a big check like that to Abrams is a good move

  4. 4.

    hells littlest angel

    Good for him. It’s nice when old white guys running for the Democratic nomination do good.

  5. 5.

    Emerald

    Absolutely, take the money, Stacey! I can’t see her as anybody’s VP for two reasons: she isn’t qualified (yet) and what she’s doing with her Fair Fight work might be more important than anything else happening this year.

    Republicans can’t win a fair fight. You go girl!

  7. 7.

    Sister Golden Bear

    In the words of the famous/infamous California pol Big Daddy Unruh:*

    If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women and then vote against them you’ve got no business being up here.

    *Unruh was referring to lobbyists, but the same principle applies here.

  10. 10.

    James E Powell

    $5M is real money. What will it take to get him to do the same in other states?

    Like maybe paying the court costs of the people in Florida who are trying to vote?

  11. 11.

    Mai naem mobile

    I like Bloomberg. I know he ran as a Republican as NY Mayor and the extra term. I know about the wall to wall ads he bought.  I know he’s rich and has Wall Strèet connections etc. but we could do a lot worse than Bloomberg. Right now my top three are Warren, Biden and Bloomberg. I like Klobuchar but don’t know if she comes across as too midwestern hockey mom. Fuck Bernie. Mayor Pete. Seriously?  Small town mayor who looks like he is 16?  Blòomberg has dealt with Trumpov in NYC. I worry about him being short and a New Yawk City Mayor. I wonder about antisemitism in this country but I figure somebody who is not going to vote for Bloomberg based on his ethnicity wasnt going to vote for a Dem anyhow. He’s self made and he’s ambitious and willing to do what it takes. Nothing wrong with that.

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Heh: Who Needs a Dad When You Have a Donny Monster?

    The Minnie voice had a shelf life, so when it stopped being effective, I had to improvise. It was the weeks before Thanksgiving so I said I was Thanksgiving Monster and asked her to teach me her bedtime routine. She was excited at the new bedtime partner and jumped to teach him. She peppered him with questions like, “What do Thanksgiving Monsters eat?” The Monster replied: “Sticks and mud, isn’t that what you eat?” She was amused and soon after, peacefully sleeping.

    But once Thanksgiving came and went, she no longer took interest in a Thanksgiving Monster. So I shifted to a more generic Monster. A Monster for all seasons. I called him Donny Monster. My daughter and Donny Monster got along really well. Maybe too well.

    It was the week of my birthday and she wanted Donny Monster’s help to draw an invitation for Donny Monster to come to my (Daddy’s) birthday party. It was a real snake-eating-its-tail situation. She explained to Donny Monster (me) what Daddy (also me) looks like. I want to clarify that it wasn’t a Birthday Card for me (Daddy) but rather an invitation for Donny Monster to come to my party. Essentially, my daughter preferred a fictional character I play to her actual dad (me).

    One night as I acted out the character of Donny Monster my daughter got quiet. Solemn. “Donny Monster, my Dad is gone.” This was news to me, her present Dad. “My Dad is dead.” Also, news to me, her living Dad. “Will you be my new Dad?” My portrayal of a fictional nighttime routine Monster was so convincing I lowered my daytime approval rating. I acted myself out of a job.

    But as my daughter drifted off to sleep, I could think of worse ways to spend my life. I put together a nighttime snack of sticks and mud and settled in for the night.

  16. 16.

    daveNYC

    I would be far more enthused about Bloomberg as a Republican candidate for president.  He wouldn’t be a great president, but at least he’d be one who shares some of my policy goals and who would be willing to work with Democrats to achieve them.

  17. 17.

    artem1s

    @Mai naem mobile:

    He’s self made and he’s ambitious and willing to do what it takes.

    this. I’m sick to the teeth with the notion that you can run a government like a business.  Or that a business man will make a good legislator.  It’s a ridiculous fallacy that has been foisted on us for decades.  It takes unique skills to navigate public service life.  When I hear ‘run it like a business’ –  I hear Ken Lay claiming he’s not responsible for the CFO’s decisions.  I hear Romney saying corporations are people too!  I hear the asshat currently in the WH claiming he makes the best deals!  Sorry, it’s time for the ‘businessmen’ to step aside and admit there are more qualified people running, even if they aren’t as well versed in being born rich and stealing other’s labor and wealth.

  18. 18.

    sdhays

    @daveNYC: THIS! Being a Republican was good enough for him when he was mayor, and he would be a lot more interesting as a Republican candidate for President (and have the same chance of getting the nomination).

    But at least he’s kicking some change to actual critical Democratic infrastructure rather than merely lighting money on fire buying ads that will never pay off.

  19. 19.

    sdhays

    @Mai naem mobile: He’s said some pretty misogynist things, pretty recently if my memory isn’t betraying me. His tenure as mayor of NYC was mixed, at best.

    He is a Republican. Graded on that scale, he’s not too bad, but I he’s pretty terrible when considered for the Democratic nomination.

  20. 20.

    Another Scott

    @sdhays: He’s in the race because he’s afraid of Warren.  That’s enough of a reason for me to say, No to Mike.

    We don’t hire plumbers to do brain surgery, or brain surgeons to do plumbing.  Skills and aptitudes in politics matter much, much more than finding ways to wrangle the system to make a bazillion dollars.

    The press likes Bloomberg because he can and will spend a bazillion dollars with them for ads.  Full stop.  It’s not a reason to consider giving him our vote.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  23. 23.

    Exregis

    Bloomberg is a Republican only because the Democratic mayoral primary field was crowded with name candidates and the Republican primary was not. His credentials on racial and female issues are mixed, but he certainly has long supported many core Democratic principles. (When a reporter commented how interesting it would be to have two New York billionaires—he being one—battle for the presidency, he asked who the other one was.)

  24. 24.

    tam1MI

    I’m not a huge fan of Bloomberg, but I’ll vote for him if that’s what it takes to deny Bernie the nomination.

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