I never expected to like Mike Bloomberg – much less consider supporting his presidential bid. I haven’t made any final decision and it is still very likely I will simply sit out this election. But I cannot help feeling happy that Bloomberg is running for president for the following reasons:
Reason #1 – He has made the Democratic primary race interesting
Up until the last debate, the Democratic primary was a tedious affair of endless arguments about how Bernie Sanders is going to pay for his Medicare For All, Warren’s stupid lies and Biden’s gaffes. The candidates hardly vetted each other and instead chose to focus their energy on proving they hate Donald Trump more than the others. It was all very dull until Bloomberg appeared on the debate stage and the claws (in Warren’s case literally) finally came out. I realize that the faint of heart were appalled that candidates were attacking each other instead of Trump. But that’s what primaries are for: to expose the warts. Or do Democrats want Trump to do the exposing in the general election?
Reason #2 – He could make late entries fashionable again
There was a time in American politics when a candidate could enter the primary race late or even after the first contests were in the books and still be considered viable. Robert Kennedy entered the race in March 1968 after the New Hampshire primary. Governor Jerry Brown entered the race in March 1976 after several contests had already taken place. Bill Clinton announced his candidacy in October 1991, lost the first four contests and went on to win the nomination and the presidency. Lately, we have been stuck in a cycle where candidates run for two years only to have the pundits rush to declare the race for the nomination over after Iowa and New Hampshire. If Bloomberg can restore a more sensible and shorter primary cycle, more power to him.
Reason #3 – He has the potential of being the wrecking ball for the Democrats as Trump was for the GOP in 2016
Lets set aside for a moment the fact that Trump has governed like a Jeb in office. During the 2016 GOP primary, he was a wrecking ball tearing down many of the myths about the Republican Party. For years, we were told that social issues were central to the GOP. Much of the primary debates were taken up answering questions about how old the earth was and what would you do if you child was gay. Trump came along, marginalized social issues, waved the rainbow flag and gave Peter Thiel a prime time speaking slot on the final day of the GOP convention. We were told that GOP voters universally backed the never ending global war on terror. Trump came along, accused George W. Bush of lying about the WMDs in Iraq and went on to win all the delegates in South Carolina – allegedly Bush Country.
Bloomberg has the potential of doing the same to the Democrat Party. Ever since Trump gave his Mexican rapist speech, the Democrats have been decrying the meanness and racism of the president’s rhetoric. Bloomberg is on record saying that blacks and Latinos don’t know how to behave at work and mocked trans rights. To this day, Democrats list among the reasons Trump is unfit to be president his comments about p-grabbing on the Hollywood Access tape. Bloomberg has his own history of colorful quotes about women and allegations of sexual harassment. If Bloomberg manages to win the nomination, it will show the Democrats aren’t as woke as they pretend to be.
Reason #4 – He will expose the power of money in politics
In a way, Bloomberg has already done so. Deval Patrick also announced his candidacy late November but was forced to drop out three months later. Bloomberg, instead, was able to reach into his very deep pockets, saturate the airways, social media with ads and three months later he is considered a strong contender for the nomination. Not only that, he was able to change the rules for participating in the debates. Having billions at one’s disposal makes a difference – a yuge difference.
While Bloomberg was mayor of New York City, he implemented the controversial “stop and frisk” policy. A policy that has since been denounced as racist and certainly a deal breaker when it comes to winning black votes – or is it? Bloomberg has been sharing his wealth with black leaders and activists, among others, and his generosity has been rewarded with several endorsements. Is it possible that if the check is large enough all is forgiven?
Reason #5 – He cuts out the middle man
I saved the best for the last. For decades, I deluded myself believing that the power in our republic rested with “We the people” – that who we elected as president mattered. I am ashamed to admit that I believed the rhetoric of “this is the most important election in our time” every election cycle. Thankfully, I have woken up. It’s not the people who set the agenda, it’s the donor class. Think about it. For years Democratic voters worked hard to achieve universal healthcare. When the Democrat Party controlled Congress, had 60 votes in the Senate and the White House, what did they get for all their hard work? A plan that originated from the Heritage Foundation – a conservative think tank.
The same applies to the GOP. How many times have Republican voters backed candidates who promised to secure the border and implement E-Verify? How many times have voters backed candidates promising to bring the wars to an end? I have lost count. No matter who we elect, the same neoliberal policies of open borders, free trade and military intervention continue uninterrupted.
It will not be the Joe Bidens or Pete Buttigiegs who will set the agenda. They are just the front men hired by donor class to create the impression that our vote counts. Even if an outsider like Bernie manages to get elected, he will be stymied. Heck, they are already tagging him and his supporters as Putin’s puppets – a tactic that paralyzed the Trump administration early on. This is the beauty of Mike Bloomberg: he cuts out the middle man. No need to have phonies or actors pretending to be charge. Just have the donors run for office. They are the ones who have been charge anyway.
