All IN
Mike Bloomberg is “all-in:” running for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. He committed $31 million of his own money to a media blitz beginning this week to start his campaign. His strategy: skip the “retail politics” states like Iowa and New Hampshire, and go for the “media” states on Super Tuesday and beyond. It’s a reasonable strategy for a man who is not likely to be popular with committed Dems.
Mike Bloomberg has a “diverse” (from a Democratic position checkered may be a better word) political past. A “life-long Democrat,” he switched to the Republican Party in order to run for Mayor of New York in 2001. After he left the Mayor’s office, he shifted to become an “Independent” until last year. Then he determined to become a Democrat again, not surprisingly, to take advantage of the opportunity to run for President.
Bloomberg is an “old-school” Republican’s dream. A self-made confirmed multi-billionaire (as opposed to a self-appointed questionable one like the President) his is a true “up by his own bootstraps” story. And he did it on Wall Street.
Bloomberg has “good” moderate Democrat views and has put his money where his views are. He founded “Everytown for Gun Safety” which collaborated with the “March for Our Lives” student led group after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shootings. His philanthropy also has gone to support climate change groups, anti-tobacco causes, and initiatives for innovations by city governments.
Money, a great personal story, and moderate Democratic views: what’s the problem Dems?
The Power of Primary
It is the nature of the primary process in America today, that the most motivated in either political party are the ones that show up to vote. On the Republican side that means that Trump supporters dominate. On the Democratic side it’s a bit more complicated. There is the Sanders/Warren Social Democrats, but there are also powerful minorities that have a big say in the Democratic nominee.
Black and Hispanic voters make up a large part of the Democratic electorate. In fact, it was the foreseeable fall off in black voter turnout from Obama to Clinton that made one of the differences in the 2016 election (among a whole host of other factors). For a Democratic Presidential candidate, minority voters are critical.
Bloomberg was the REPUBLICAN mayor of New York City. His policies included “stop and frisk;” when NYC Police would stop “suspicious” suspects, question and frisk them. The vast majority of those stopped were minority, young and male. That action put a lot of those boys and men into the Court system for minor offenses. In 2002, there were almost 100,000 stop and frisk stops. By 2011, when Bloomberg was completing his third term, there were over 685,000 stops. On average through those years, 90% of those stopped were innocent of wrongdoing (ACLU).
Stop and Frisk may be the threshold issue that many minority Democratic voters struggle to get past. Bloomberg’s stand on Medicare for All (he’s opposed) and taxing the wealthy (he’s in favor of some increase, but not a wealth tax) won’t resonate with motivated Social Democrats.
And his seventy-seven year old age is a definite turn-off to millennial voters – he’s another “old white guy”.
Dems for Bloomberg
So who likes him? For those Democrats so afraid of being outspent by Trump and the Republicans, Mike Bloomberg is the cure. And for those moderate Dems who are afraid of Sanders/Warren and unconvinced by the other candidates, Bloomberg may well seem like the “shining knight” they’ve been waiting for.
But there are three groups who absolutely love Mike Bloomberg. The first: actual moderate Republicans who cannot face voting for Trump again. Some of them may be willing to “cross over” and vote in the Democratic primary. Bloomberg, a lot like Bill Clinton in his day, is a moderate Democrat, even to the right of Joe Biden. In the present Democratic Primary field heavily slanted to the “left” he is probably the most “right” (not including Gabbard or Delaney).
The second group is some of the “moderate” media. Certain news commentators are jumping on the Bloomberg wagon; abandoning other moderates like Joe Biden. One of those, Tim O’Brien, author of a Trump biography (Trump sued him and lost) and formerly of the New York Times, has actually joined the Bloomberg Campaign. And, as one MSNBC commentator headquartered in NYC stated, “…he’s our Mayor.”
And finally there are those Dems who look at the current candidates and say: they might lose to Trump. They say: we’ve had a year of examination. Sanders/Warren are too socialist. Biden, missed his chance and is too old. And besides, he is Trump’s primary target. Yang and Styer, look like they’re running for fun. Klobuchar, Booker, and Buttigieg: are just not “heavyweights”.
But Bloomberg is the “Democrat’s Trump”. He’s got all of Trump’s attributes, without being Trump. And he has got enough money to buy the election.
Temptation
For some Democrats, it’s tempting. Bloomberg is a “safe” bet, perhaps even safer than Biden. For those who’ve spent each day for the past three years, waking up still in the nightmare of November 9, 2016 – and there are many – it might be enough.
Thank goodness for the primary system. Thank goodness that Bloomberg will have to go through the “fire” of campaigning, and not just buying ads on the media. We will see what Democrats think throughout the country, not just “old white men,” but young and women and black and Hispanic and gay. The Democratic Party is diverse, and driven, and smart. Bloomberg won’t buy them off as “ Our Trump the Good”.
At least I hope not.
