# So is this Bloombergs plan **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 1, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332 "2020-02-01T15:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/21 "2020-02-01T20:09:02Z")
Why? I told you there were rumors that I read about. If you don’t believe me then I doubt there’s much reason to continue discussion. Why would you talk to someone you believed is a liar? Edit to add: The quote from a Bloomberg (unnamed) aide was posted in mainstream press. I have seen these banal requests for cites go on for years on the sdmb and have never seen them meaningfully advance any discussion. I suspect you’re disinclined to believe Bloomberg’s aides, but for some reason you want to “make me” go dig up an old quote that you yourself would’ve seen if you say, read the New York Times during the month of January, specifically January 11th. It’s silly. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/22 "2020-02-01T20:09:51Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Something else to keep in mind about Bloomberg is he entered the race when Biden was at a really low point. Mike isn’t actually an idiot or an evil guy, he looked at Biden’s struggling poll numbers, and the fact of the matter is anyone who has seen previous Biden runs for the Presidency knows Biden is a lackluster campaigner. Not just at the glad handing and speechifying, but at building a campaign organization. At fundraising. He’s **never** been great at this stuff, Biden’s political career has mostly been about leveraging power in the U.S. Senate and then being a party elder perfectly positioned to make a pretty good “Elder Statesman” Vice President for Obama. > > Mike had a genuine fear that given Biden’s weak campaign chops, poor fundraising, that he could be near a collapse. Bloomberg does genuinely want Sanders to not win (I’m on the same boat, not only will Sanders be a terrible general election candidate, he would be a terrible President–no Americans should want him to win); and I think Bloomberg mostly stepped in so he could be like “here’s Mike” after Biden collapsed. > > But Biden recovered from his lowest point and has held steady with around 25-30% of national polling. His fundraising is still lackluster, but it’s enough to be viable. So now Bloomberg is in the weird position that his campaign may actually siphon enough votes away from Biden that it cripples his chances to win the primary when Bloomberg gets delegates of his own on Super Tuesday. > > There have been some lightly leaked rumors that Bloomberg may be interested in ending his campaign and building for himself a sort of “Financier-in-Chief” role for the Democrats instead of continuing as a candidate himself. But we’re at a weird inflection point where I don’t think it’s clear to Bloomberg himself yet if Biden is really going to hang in there, so he doesn’t want to withdraw too soon only to see Biden collapse after say, a narrow win of South Carolina (my prognostication is if Bernie wins IA/NH and gets within 10% of Biden in South Carolina Biden’s campaign falls apart pretty bad.) Not only was Biden slipping but Pete was rising. Bloomberg’s timing was right around that DMR poll showing Pete leading Iowa. I wish wish wish wish Biden (and Bernie) would have rode off into the sunset and sat this one out. Damnit Joe, you’ve been in the Senate since Nixon was President. Even the 1990s were light years ago in politics. The loud activist progressive Democrats don’t give a fuck about where politics was at during the crime bill and Anita Hill. They know that you are EVIL and that’s that. Moderate liberals like myself are looking for something different now and to move forward. That’s why Buttigieg and Harris caught my eye. Bloomberg is the last thing I want as well and I hope he does bow out if Biden looks more viable. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/23 "2020-02-01T20:17:31Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > So, no cite? > > And I understand it means nothing to him. But if he were actually interested in dropping out and just wounding Trump for the eventual nominee, why wouldn’t he run an ad directly attacking Trump, instead of building himself up? That doesn’t strike me as someone who “may be interested in ending his campaign,” as you claim. I’ve seen things like there on Political Wire and other blogs myself, I’ll try to find one next time I see it. The main reason is that Bloomberg could have pulled a Steyer and run enough fundraising ads to meet the donor standards. So, as of now, he had no interest in getting on the debate stage which leaves the waiting in the wings theory with some support. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/24 "2020-02-01T20:17:56Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Why? I told you there were rumors that I read about. If you don’t believe me then I doubt there’s much reason to continue discussion. Why would you talk to someone you believed is a liar? I’m not calling you a liar. You made a statement I had not heard before and I simply asked for a fucking cite so I could read it for myself. This place is about fighting ignorance, and if you could’ve produced a link, it would’ve actually accomplished the fighting of my ignorance. Hey, I heard rumors that Biden will resign the minute after he takes office, should he win, and hand the presidency over to his vice president. Is it kosher for me to post that with no accountability, or should I get my panties in a wad too if someone asks for a cite? ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/25 "2020-02-01T20:18:36Z")
You seem pretty worked up about it. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/26 "2020-02-01T20:32:43Z")
When I’m trying to have a discussion with someone in good faith, and ask for a cite, but they tell me it’s my responsibility to verify their claims, yeah, I tend to get a bit cranky. I do believe I’m starting to get a better picture of the person I’m interacting with. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/27 "2020-02-01T20:43:00Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I’m not calling you a liar. You made a statement I had not heard before and I simply asked for a fucking cite so I could read it for myself. This place is about fighting ignorance, and if you could’ve produced a link, it would’ve actually accomplished the fighting of my ignorance. > > Hey, I heard rumors that Biden will resign the minute after he takes office, should he win, and hand the presidency over to his vice president. Is it kosher for me to post that with no accountability, or should I get my panties in a wad too if someone asks for a cite? Ok, but what about my point that Bloomberg made no attempt to meet the donor requirement to get on the debate stage? Andrew Yang will be up there next debate while Bloomberg won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/28 "2020-02-01T20:43:53Z")
There’s this January 11th article in the NYT. > **[Michael Bloomberg Is Open to Spending $1 Billion to Defeat Trump (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html)** > > The Democratic presidential candidate said he would spend big even if the nominee was someone he had sharp differences with, like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. The paragraph that I think is being referenced reads: “His aides have indicated that Mr. Bloomberg is not inclined to keep pouring money into an extended contest with Mr. Biden and would instead reorient his campaign into an organization dedicated to battering Mr Trump, should the former VP emerge as the leader in the race” But I don’t interpret that as Bloomberg intends to drop out. He’s once again making it clear that his priority is getting Trump out rather than getting himself in, but he’s made that clear already. Time will tell. I guess I mostly think Bloomberg’s entry into the race is significant because up until the time he entered the race, I didn’t think any of the Democratic candidates had a shot in hell against Trump. But I think Mike and his billions and a data-driven approach and the analytical infrastructure he has in place now means that the Democrats have an actual chance. I’m much less depressed about the whole thing than I was a month ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/29 "2020-02-01T20:47:51Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Ok, but what about my point that Bloomberg made no attempt to meet the donor requirement to get on the debate stage? Andrew Yang will be up there next debate while Bloomberg won’t. It looks like he might have a shot. > **[Democrats Can Qualify for the Next Debate by Winning a Single Delegate in...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/us/politics/next-democratic-debate-qualify.html)** > > Candidates like Andrew Yang and Michael R. Bloomberg, who were excluded from the last debate, can take a new path to the stage for the next one, to be held Feb. 7 in New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/30 "2020-02-01T20:49:53Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Ok, but what about my point that Bloomberg made no attempt to meet the donor requirement to get on the debate stage? Andrew Yang will be up there next debate while Bloomberg won’t. I don’t think he cared. Unorthodox? Sure, but skipping the first four states in favor of the more delegate-rich states in Super Tuesday and beyond is unorthodox too. But, hell, this isn’t even the only debate in February, and it sounds like the party is adjusting the qualifications for the ones later in the month. Those are closer to the primaries he’s competing in anyway, if he chooses to participate. ETA: What Ann said, too. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/31 "2020-02-01T20:58:23Z")
I don’t want a really young guy but can’t we have someone born after the Korean War? Yang and Mayor Pete were born after Korea but neither one of them is going to be the nominee. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/32 "2020-02-01T20:59:37Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > There’s this January 11th article in the NYT. > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html) > The paragraph that I think is being referenced reads: > “His aides have indicated that Mr. Bloomberg is not inclined to keep pouring money into an extended contest with Mr. Biden and would instead reorient his campaign into an organization dedicated to battering Mr Trump, should the former VP emerge as the leader in the race” > > But I don’t interpret that as Bloomberg intends to drop out. He’s once again making it clear that his priority is getting Trump out rather than getting himself in, but he’s made that clear already. > > Time will tell. I guess I mostly think Bloomberg’s entry into the race is significant because up until the time he entered the race, I didn’t think any of the Democratic candidates had a shot in hell against Trump. But I think Mike and his billions and a data-driven approach and the analytical infrastructure he has in place now means that the Democrats have an actual chance. > > I’m much less depressed about the whole thing than I was a month ago. Thanks for posting that. But like you, I’m not interpreting that as Bloomberg secretly wanting to end his campaign. I see that as someone who is willing to step aside if the writing is on the wall, and throw his considerable wealth into the fall election(s). But, seriously, if there are rumors of Bloomberg wanting to end his campaign for president, I’d love to see/read them. Especially interested as I continue to figure out who I’m going to vote for. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/33 "2020-02-01T21:05:27Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I don’t want a really young guy but can’t we have someone born after the Korean War? Yang and Mayor Pete were born after Korea but neither one of them is going to be the nominee. Deval Patrick (1956), Tom Steyer (1957), Amy Klobuchar (1960) Take your pick. The young-but-not-too-young candidates like Harris, Booker, Beto, Castro and Gillibrand were all driven out by because people evidently liked the seniors more. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/34 "2020-02-01T21:05:40Z")
doubt Bloomberg stays in after super Tuesday unless he does really well that day. Deval Patrick (1956), Tom Steyer (1957), Amy Klobuchar (1960) are not winning the nomination. One of them only wins if the all top guys/gal die or quit. I guess I should have said a leading candidate born after Korea. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/35 "2020-02-02T01:30:05Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > doubt Bloomberg stays in after super Tuesday unless he does really well that day… Which he could. And if not he is committed to helping whoever the candidate is beat Trump. Not to being a spoiler or causing the likely nominee to waste resources. FWIW Bloomberg has a long history of spending large amounts of his money for political causes. Those causes have not been fighting against progressive taxation.[They’ve been](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/12/michael-bloomberg-2020-campaign-political-donations-history-winning.html) > [@](#): > > a total of $8 billion on issues he cares about, including curbing deaths from tobacco (nearly $1 billion), traffic ($259 million), guns ($50 million), and opioids ($50 million), as well as combating climate change ($500 million). > > Those donations show some of Bloomberg’s priorities, but his donations to political candidates are better indications of whether his money has the power to swing an election. A man who prides himself on his independence, Bloomberg has retained more control over his spending than other megadonors have, picking and choosing relatively moderate candidates who appealed to him and growing more aggressive each election cycle. > > The result: Bloomberg has largely backed winners. According to the FEC filings from Bloomberg’s personal contributions and, more significantly, his political action committee, Independence USA, candidates he’s supported have won 45 of the 54 (often highly competitive) races he’s spent money on. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/36 "2020-02-02T06:34:03Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Something else to keep in mind about Bloomberg is he entered the race when Biden was at a really low point. Mike isn’t actually an idiot or an evil guy, he looked at Biden’s struggling poll numbers, and the fact of the matter is anyone who has seen previous Biden runs for the Presidency knows Biden is a lackluster campaigner. Not just at the glad handing and speechifying, but at building a campaign organization. At fundraising. He’s **never** been great at this stuff, Biden’s political career has mostly been about leveraging power in the U.S. Senate and then being a party elder perfectly positioned to make a pretty good “Elder Statesman” Vice President for Obama. > > Mike had a genuine fear that given Biden’s weak campaign chops, poor fundraising, that he could be near a collapse. Bloomberg does genuinely want Sanders to not win (I’m on the same boat, not only will Sanders be a terrible general election candidate, he would be a terrible President–no Americans should want him to win); and I think Bloomberg mostly stepped in so he could be like “here’s Mike” after Biden collapsed. > > But Biden recovered from his lowest point and has held steady with around 25-30% of national polling. His fundraising is still lackluster, but it’s enough to be viable. So now Bloomberg is in the weird position that his campaign may actually siphon enough votes away from Biden that it cripples his chances to win the primary when Bloomberg gets delegates of his own on Super Tuesday. > > There have been some lightly leaked rumors that Bloomberg may be interested in ending his campaign and building for himself a sort of “Financier-in-Chief” role for the Democrats instead of continuing as a candidate himself. But we’re at a weird inflection point where I don’t think it’s clear to Bloomberg himself yet if Biden is really going to hang in there, so he doesn’t want to withdraw too soon only to see Biden collapse after say, a narrow win of South Carolina (my prognostication is if Bernie wins IA/NH and gets within 10% of Biden in South Carolina Biden’s campaign falls apart pretty bad.) The only problem with this analysis is that it isn’t true. Biden has never been below 25% in national polls, and for about the last six months he’s been holding steady in the 25-30% range. The candidate who WAS doing well when Bloomberg entered was Warren, who peaked in the low 20s and had moved into second place at that point. But she was still trailing Biden. Which mean that my question to the OP is still, if he wanted to ensure a centrist President, why wouldn’t he just spend his money supporting Biden? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/37 "2020-02-02T16:48:43Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Which mean that my question to the OP is still, if he wanted to ensure a centrist President, why wouldn’t he just spend his money supporting Biden? Because siphoning enough delegates off to lead to a brokered convention where he can then offer financial incentives to the democrats will give him more power and influence in the democratic party. Plus Biden seems to have a cap the same way Bernie has a cap. Biden’s base is democrats over age 50. Since nearly half of voters are under age 50, then Biden will have a cap on how many votes he is going to get. The democratic party is starting to become fairly evenly divided between progressives and centrists, which means getting a majority of votes may not be possible (Hillary and Sanders ended up being 55-43 for Hillary, and the voters have moved to the left since then). ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/38 "2020-02-02T18:04:38Z")
How exactly do you expect this “offering of financial incentives” to go down? Secret bribes or an offer to fund a massive campaign against Trump? Cuz, he did one of those already. There’s obvious reasons why Bloomberg got in the race. He thought it was a weak field that needed a livelier moderate candidate and he wanted to show the best way to take on Trump. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/39 "2020-02-02T18:50:47Z")
That is an extraordinarily generous assessment of Citizen Bloomberg, that he simply oozes civic virtue and good intentions. I don’t know much about the man at all, but am eager to be reassured, if you have such. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332/40 "2020-02-02T20:02:47Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > How exactly do you expect this “offering of financial incentives” to go down? Secret bribes or an offer to fund a massive campaign against Trump? Cuz, he did one of those already. > > There’s obvious reasons why Bloomberg got in the race. He thought it was a weak field that needed a livelier moderate candidate and he wanted to show the best way to take on Trump. He could offer jobs and financial assistance to a lot of delegates. He could offer to self fund his campaign if he is nominated. He could offer over a billion dollars for the presidential race, senate, house and various state and local races too. I think doing this would give him more power and influence within the democratic party than just starting a superPAC for Biden and putting half a billion dollars in it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-this-bloombergs-plan/847332.md?page=3)