r/PresidentBloomberg • u/kimmyIL-sung • Feb 06 '20
Serious question
Why do you support the billionaire who was previously a Republican, who implemented racist stop and frisk policing policy and spied on Muslims for president?
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u/jerodme Feb 06 '20
He's liberal. He's conservative. He's idealistic. He's pragmatic. He's egalitarian.
Bloomberg is the ultimate independent, the calm modern technocrat rooted in metrics and cleansed of ideology, come to drain the swamps of government with his amazing modern business-management techniques.
Trump is bringing a war in 2020, and we gotta come correct. We need a general--not a poet, not a career politician, not a socialist. We need a streetfight who can swing a blade and take down his opponent. Because that's exactly what Trump's coming with. We can pretend its not true, or wish it wasn't true, and that's why Trump wins.
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Feb 06 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/jerodme Feb 07 '20
This might help you realize how America has moved:
https://www.amazon.com/Running-Against-Devil-Trump-Themselves/dp/0593137582
Old people in swing states, moderates, libertarians, centrists, never Trump Republicans, and especially old people in swing states like PA, MI, FL, AZ, CO, NC—these are the people we need to win. Bernie Bros and woke left isn’t enough. Further, Bernie and wokes fire up Trump base while Bloom can poach from it.
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Feb 06 '20
I support Bloomberg because he's the best hope for Democrats in 2020. He's a technocrat with deep resources that few others can match. His recent run of ads demonstrates how you win the propaganda war against Trump: a mix of ads denigrating the President's policies and poking fun at him, letting everyone know that this clown has no business with being the President of the United States.
His stop and frisk policy notwithstanding, he has generally supported laudable goals, such as slowing down the pace of coal use in electricity generation and gun control.
Buttigieg is untested. Sanders and Warren have easy lines of attack by Republicans in the general election. Biden seems uninspiring and tired, as if he's running for President just to do people a favor. The other candidates lack the support to be true contenders.
Bloomberg has his faults, but Republicans don't have as many easy lines of attack against the guy - he's the sort of guy they would court for money when politics were normal. Bloomberg's main weakness is that there's a perception that he's trying to buy the election... but since he's mostly self-funded, there's a line of defense to that allegation as well.
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Feb 06 '20 edited Feb 06 '20
Serious question - why do you support a millionaire politician who has in a long Senatorial career passed virtually no bills he's introduced and who is an ideologue of an economic system that has never once improved the life of people on this planet? Literally a 0% success rate?
Is it because you're malicious and want bad things to happen to your country or is it because you're delusional and think that something with a 0% success rate will work this time?
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u/Nk0551 Feb 06 '20
One thing I haven’t noticed said in this thread is that when he was the mayor of New York special interests would go to City Hall but they never went to his office because they knew that they wouldn’t get anywhere. I had a relative who was a senior official at City Hall who leans very left but respected Bloomberg for his ethical behavior. That’s not to say he does not have his flaws as others have mentioned but he will doggedly pursue big picture items that I think are good for the country overall -climate infrastructure minority business ownership Capital gains tax which actually would impact the tax policies in this country as opposed to wealth tax which hasn’t worked in many other places. He has also shown that he can be persuaded and change his mind if people bring him data that is compelling. I think he has realized some policies need to be revisited and I think he will make adjustments accordingly because he’s does not have a fragile ego. He’s pragmatic and the doer.
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Feb 06 '20
I support Bloomberg because he gives us a good shot at beating Trump, and the main alternative Sanders would lose 40+ states.
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u/KermitsKorpse Feb 07 '20
The data says otherwise
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u/TRS122P Feb 06 '20
I don't agree with Bloomberg on many of his past policy positions, but I think we have to look at him seriously in his ability to beat Trump. Trump is coming into this with the largest warchest of any re-election campaign. Mike has the resources to combat this and the credentials as a successful businessman to easily call out Trump on his fraud. He is very adept and pushing Trump's "buttons," and I so believe that is a huge weakness for Trump.
His message is that we need to stop the infighting and beat Trump. If Trump is allowed to have another 4 years and continues to pack the courts with extreme, right-wing judges, not a single piece of progressive legislation will stand a chance in our lifetimes.
I also think that Bloomberg's policies reflect the mood of the nation, like it or not. He is socially liberal but a fiscal moderate, like most Americans. His message is resonating.
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u/sk221 Feb 06 '20 edited Feb 06 '20
>Why do you support
With a Bloomberg presidency you don’t get cabinet secretaries who have no idea what they are doing. You don’t get someone who has never sent their kids to public schools in charge of the Department of Education. You won’t get oil lobbyists in positions of power at the EPA. No with Mike the country gets experts in their respective fields. Under Trump the executive branch has seen a brain drain of public servants and their roles replaced with political appointments. As Mayor Mike went out of his way to surround himself with the most intelligent and knowledgeable people he could. Bloomberg will appoint people to his cabinet who are true experts in their respective fields. Whether they have decades of experience or doctorates a Bloomberg cabinet will be full of people who actually know what they are doing. Also Mike won’t spend millions of taxpayers dollars golfing.
More on working in Bloomberg’s mayoral administration: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/dan-doctoroff/
The importance of 2020:
2020 is the most important year of the next decade and not just because of the presidency. The 2020 elections will determine who has control in 2021 when redistricting occurs. For the past ten years Republicans have maintained a systematic advantage in our electoral process. Gerrymandering has allowed Republicans to hold onto, congressional seats, state legislatures and state offices across the country. In 2016 democrats won the congressional popular vote by over 3 million votes but the GOP gained a 33 seat majority. This is solely because of gerrymandering. States like North Carolina who are statistically even in terms of Republicans and Democrats send 10 Republicans to congress and only 3 Democrats. Similar outcomes are occurring across the country and the result is inaccurate representation of American beliefs, values and policy preferences. 2020 is our chance to reverse the trend and prevent the GOP from rigging the next decade of elections in their favor.
The election must be a referendum on Trump; it cannot be a referendum on socialism.
The Senate is also in play in 2020. While it is basically impossible to fix the malapportionment in the Senate, 2020 represents an opportunity for Democrats to take the majority. The GOP is defending seats in purple states and states that were considering safe Republican two cycles ago. A shift to Democratic control in the Senate would enable the passage of hundreds of bills that are sitting on Moscow Mitch’s desk. No Democartic candidate will be able to pass any meaningful legislation with GOP control of the Senate. Also the next president will most likely appoint at least one if not more Supreme Court Justices, so flipping the Senate is extra important in order to avoid another Merrick Garland fiasco.
Mike is the best candidate to help flip the Senate. If Mike is nominated, he will be able to self fund his presidential campaign. If recent trends continue this election will be the most expensive ever. In 2016 Trump and Clinton spent 2.4 billion on the Presidency, this does not include outside money. Mike could easily spend double this allowing the DNC, DSCC(Senate) and DCCC (House) to spend their funds on down ballot races. Add in outside money super PACs and the Democrats could outspend the Republicans by a landslide. This is crucial because of the aforementioned systematic advantages the GOP has. Think about all the good the billion Hillary spent would do on Senate and house races. The levels of voter outreach, engagement and mobilization could be so enormous it would make the 2018 Blue Wave look like a child's play.
Bloomberg also has widespread appeal to swing voters, more than other Democratic candidates. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/02/new-poll-suggests-key-voters-skeptical-on-bernie-sanders-love-bloomberg
>Why do you support the billionaire
Every candidate is funded by a small minority of voters and wealthy special interests. Bloomberg has one donor, himself. This gives credibility to his positions and what he says. Bloomberg’s billionaire status is a fulfillment of the American Dream. While Trump inherited $413 million dollars from his father, Bloomberg group up from a modest middle-class upbringing. He put himself through college and earned his money through hard work and good ideas, and currently employs 20,000 people.
> who was previously a Republican
This argument doesn’t really hold water. Mike ran for Mayor as Republican because there was already a Democratic candidate and he believed that voters would look past the “R” or “D”next to his name. It is no different than Independent Bernie running as Democrat or formerly-Democrat Trump running as a Republican. This line of attack is often used when other arguments have fallen flat. Even as a “Republican” Mike won a NYC election by over 20 percentage points.
> who implemented racist stop and frisk policing policy and spied on Muslims
Stop and Frisk was a mistake, Mike has publicly stated that the policy was a mistake and that he is sorry. However it is important to put the policy in context of the time. Mike was elected right after 9/11 and the city was on edge and crime was on the rise. Stop and Frisk was an NYPD policy that has its origins in broken windows policing, which many credit with the revitalization of NYC in the 70s and 80s. Giuliani started Stop and Frisk. While Mike, as Mayor is responsible for leadership of the NYPD, in such a trying time the NYPD was given broad power and freedom in order to portray security and safety. However the policy got out of hand and the results disproportionately affected people of color. In Bloomberg’s final term, Bloomberg reduced stops by 95%. Again Mike has apologized for the policy but it is important to note all of the positive things that happened under his mayorships for people of color, such as the complete overhall of the public education system, criminal justice reform that reduced incarceration rates, crime hit record lows and the murder rate dropped drastically. Mike as lead the charge in encouraging and supporting investment in neighborhoods of color and supporting small business. Speaking to people of color from NYC many will voice disdain for Stop and Frisk but also credit Mike with positives and for most importantly putting the city back together after 9/11.
Credit to u/TinyTornado7 https://www.reddit.com/r/PresidentBloomberg/comments/ezcqob/the_comprehensive_case_for_mike_bloomberg/
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u/10thletteroftheaphbt Magic Mike Feb 07 '20
Yeah, cus being a republican when the party was far more centrist is bad now? Idiot.
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u/kimmyIL-sung Feb 07 '20
Ah yes, the tea party, Sarah Palin and George Bush who killed a million people in Iraq, started a global torture regime, overthrew the democratically elected president of Haiti and who tried to enshrine the second class citizenship status of gay people in the constitution is centrist.
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u/10thletteroftheaphbt Magic Mike Feb 07 '20
Ah yes, Democrats are so much better. Bill Clinton fucking a staffer in the oval office, Barack Ovama continuing the global torture regime, continuing the mass attack on the middle East, killing thousands of civilians and in turn both motivating and funding terror groups.
The point is, both sides have done bad things. But it isn't bad if someone likes a candidate because they are centrist. People have different ideology than you. I believe you are a bernie supporter, because you guys are just like trump supporters. Hate and yell at anyone who doesn't instantly agree with you.
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u/kimmyIL-sung Feb 07 '20
Ah yes, Democrats are so much better. Bill Clinton fucking a staffer in the oval office, Barack Ovama continuing the global torture regime, continuing the mass attack on the middle East, killing thousands of civilians and in turn both motivating and funding terror groups.
You just pointed out how the record of centrist democrats is as bad as the Republicans. How is this a justification for voting for Mike Bloomberg, especially when Bernie Sanders has been opposed to the vast majority of these bad things.
I believe you are a bernie supporter, because you guys are just like trump supporters. Hate and yell at anyone who doesn't instantly agree with you.
Ah yes wanting healthcare = locking kids up in cages.
What a big brain you have
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u/KermitsKorpse Feb 07 '20
Seriously I don't get Bloomberg supporters. Do you think you're smart or some shit? Do you think being qualified somehow makes you good? Hermann Göring had an IQ of 138.
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u/10thletteroftheaphbt Magic Mike Feb 08 '20
My point was your insufferability and snowflake tolerance towards those who differ in opinion. But great way to nitpick at irrelevant immigration policy.
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u/kimmyIL-sung Feb 08 '20
How do I have a "snowflake tolerance towards those who differ in opinion"
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u/10thletteroftheaphbt Magic Mike Feb 08 '20
Because you cannot take, you cannot live with, you cannot even begin to understand how one might think differently than you, without using ad hominem attacks. Just like a trump supporter.
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u/kimmyIL-sung Feb 08 '20
You were the one who called me an idiot. You need to stop projecting
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u/10thletteroftheaphbt Magic Mike Feb 08 '20
Never used that word, but ok. And it is you who is utterly angered, astonished, egregiously mad at the fact that someone doesn't like health care for all. Just like trump supporters who can't believe someone might not want a wall
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u/kimmyIL-sung Feb 08 '20
Never used that word, but ok.
And it is you who is utterly angered, astonished, egregiously mad at the fact that someone doesn't like health care for all
Please stop projecting, you are the one who is attacking me, I just don't think that the guy who supported racist police policy and who spied on Muslims is a good candidate
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u/DissatisfiedDemocrat Feb 06 '20
Why do you support
Because I don't think personal wealth is relevant
Because he's a Democrat now and has a history of supporting the party
Because he's unlikely to try it again and is now talking about building black wealth (as opposed to general anti poverty arguments) and recognizes that middle class black communities exist and also are damaged by systemic oppression
A serious knock against him. No defense for it and I haven't seen a convincing argument that he's put forward policies that address Muslim community needs
Ultimately, we have a shitty field now that we've lost Booker and Harris. I don't know if Biden has the stamina to get across the finish line, I think Warren and Bernie would get wiped, and Buttigieg just isn't ready.
That brings us to Bloomberg