LINK The false choice of Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign - Vox
As the article states, this is the inevitable result of our system.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I happen to totally disagree with the basic premise.
The Donald already set the precedent.
Get used to billionaires running for president; already a huge percentage of Congressmen are millionaires.
The Republicans have removed all barriers to campaign contributions. Modern American politics is awash in dark money, and the Koch brothers were only the tip of the iceberg.
The only way to fight fire is with fire, in this case.
Identify a like-minded billionaire, with a mind of his own and genuinely progressive, whose right on the issues and sincere about it, and back him.
He won't be taking bribes and won't have contributors banging on the Oval Office door in the middle of the night demanding their pound of flesh.
Democrats have to admit they're losing every battle at this stage in the war; they must make a strategic retreat, regroup, and take back power by all means available.
That's what 'they' are doing. Time to get off their principled perch and get down in the trenches for some hand-to-hand combat.
(Sorry for all the military lingo but this IS war after all.)
Storm1752
Level 8
Feb 22, 2020
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1of5:
That's a total missanalysis of the problem.
"That fires to big! What'll we do? Here's a storage tank of fuel, let's throw that on the fire and see what happens"
Fighting fire with fire scorches the earth and leaves one without anything left to protect.
@1of5 Well, yes, you're supposed to put a fire out, not confront it with another fire. I think you get the gist of what I'm saying, though.
Instead of putting Mike down for being a billionaire, please note there's nothing inherently WRONG with making a lot of money; it's how you make it.
Unlike Trump, by all accounts he did so honorably, and that very fact won't be lost on a lot of people.
Bloomberg is right on the issues; yes, it's an indictment of the system-- you have to either be a whore or super rich to run for president these days. Republicans made sure campaign financing crashed and burned. That horse has left the barn, though, and the 'rules' are the rules, at least for now.
One way to get things back on track, obviously, is to elect Democrats and other progressives to office, and the only way to do that, equally obviously, is to VOTE and get independents to VOTE for progressives.
I love all the Democratic candidates; any of them is fine with me.
But Bloomberg is the one I consider most electable.
I think whoever it is, except maybe Sanders (who would be my first choice otherwise), will win.
Just my opinion.
1of5:
@Storm1752 I get the gist, and that's what I think is wrong. You've always needed to be a narcisistic who're to run for national office - it's the money that's the problem. Not that he has it (totally different discussion) but that elections are buyable by anyone with the cash.
This issue isn't about Trump, it's about how our elections are financed and how if things don't change we're going to be an oligarchy.
You know, much like Russia is.
@1of5 Yes, and I said the present 'rules' (or lack thereof) call for buckets of cash with which to brainwash people into voting for the lucky candidate showered with such beneficence.
(The REAL problem is people are so easily brainwashed, but that's another topic.)
Btw, we already ARE an oligarchy. It's just that now they're running for office themselves?
If Mike's an oligarch, at least he's OUR oligarch!
Just kidding, the real oligarch still hide behind politicians.
I think.
There is a wide range of false choices on the Democratic side from grandpa Biden to little Buttigieg including other wanna bes like Tusli Gabbard and the dropped out also ran horses like the hoopla king Beto O'Rourke. There is no dearth of false choices on our side.
I think we must realize that 2020 is a forgone conclusion. The symbol of Democratic vitriol and meanness.... the crow walker and older than Egyptian mummy Pelosi has offered the re-election of Trump in 2020 on a silver platter to him.
Let us be realistic. Let us focus on winning state houses, the Senate and House or at the least not lose more seats in the Congress and survive the coming of the 2020 backlash of the conservatives, moderates and independents.... and hope that some good caliber like Gavin Newsom from California will come and rescue us from miseries in 2024.
St-Sinner
Level 9
Feb 21, 2020
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1of5:
Oh, Beto. I'd already forgotten him.
I still think the timing of impeachment in the house was designed for flipping the Senate, not the presidency. Think it will work, too.
House Speaker has tons of power, but can still only do so much. Reach for the brass rings you can get and all that pragmatic shit.
I couldn't disagree with you more.
I see why you're considered a troll.
OF COURSE we (not you, apparently) have to take back everything from the school boards on up, but that doesn't mean just give up on the presidency...what is wrong with you?
And calling the Democrats' highest elected officials "fossils" is not helpful.
Sure they're losing every battle at this stage of the war, but it's still early, believe it or not.
Stop being too subtle and clever by half. It's sickening to apparently have a mole in our midst, and to see first-hand how slick Republicans can be in using 'divide and conquer' strategems to divert attentions from the root cause of this crisis:
the "vast right-wing conspiracy" Hillary talks about, which calls for worm-like burrowing into every vulnerable crevasse, gradually exploiting every fissure in an already diverse and fragmented coalition, and eventually--they fervently hope--destroy it brick by brick.
Who is 'they?'
The oligarchs, in my opinion, who have already succeeded in so many ways to sieze power, and will stop at nothing to finish off democracy once and for all.
I wonder if someone recruited you to your cause, or you're a 'true believer...,' OR are you as blind as you sound, OR are you 'one of the gang' yourself?
Or am I way off the mark?
That's okay, I'm often mistaken.
@St-Sinner Who told you a robber doesn't like being called a robber? Do you know some?
Prostitutes? They prefer other names, I'm sure. Besides, there's nothing inherently wrong with being one; it depends on context.
You don't like being called a troll? Or a mole? Too bad.
Your "truth" is counterfeit. Blaming Democrats for losing ground in a system rigged by Republicans is like blaming a lion for getting shot on one of those rigged 'trophy hunts;' it's as bogus as blaming a stooge for getting beat by a card shark. Neither the lion nor the man playing his hand honestly stands s chance.
Instead of blaming Dems, blame the cheaters. Come up with some constructive ideas.
You don't think the senior Dems don't know what's going on?
Forget the prople who watch Fox News and the dittoheads; they're hopeless.
But there are plenty others who aren't brainwashed or stupid who know what's going on, too, and will come around if given a great alternative.
That'll happen or not regardless of what YOU think the "truth" is.
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