Bloomberg: I suppose I should mention…
…that Michael Bloomberg seems poised to enter the presidential race as a Democrat.
A few observations:
—Bloomberg only recently became a Democrat about a year ago. However, he actually did what Churchill called “reratting”– that is, changing his political affiliation once and then changing it back again, because he’d been a lifelong Democrat until 2001.
—Bloomberg is short, which seems to matter in a politician (it’s not an advantage). He is usually reported as being 5′ 7″, but my guess is that he’s a mite shorter. This would make for an interesting juxtaposition with Trump, who has already nicknamed him “Little Michael.”
—Bloomberg is another old white guy (a Jewish one, at that). He is now 77 and would be 78 by Election Day 2020. He was born on Valentine’s Day, for what that’s worth.
—Bloomberg is another mega-rich man from New York City, although he grew up in Massachusetts.
—Bloomberg is considered a centrist, and compared to the group of Democrats running this year, he is.
Howard Shultz’s non-go isn’t enough for Bloomberg? Doesn’t learn him anything? Pffft . . . . Dipstick.
The significant thing about this is that Tom Steyer is also a billionaire and has gotten virtually nowhere because he’s spent all his money attacking Trump or promoting his own candidacy. I don’t think I’ve seen a single negative ad from Steyer.
I can’t imagine Bloomberg will take the same approach. He must know the only way he can get anywhere is to pull a Romney and just carpet bomb the other candidates with negative ads. THAT is where things get interesting because I don’t think Democrats will put up with that the way the GOP tolerated it with Romney.
Mike
i am 6’2″ and met him… he doesn’t come across that short, maybe he wears lifts
however, Guiliani is, i have also met him, and he has a club foot..
now if you really want short, go with martin Scorsese..
and a few weeks ago i bumped into chuck schumer who is between Guiliani and Bloomberg (and hunches over)
[hint: They were together with Ken Chenault of American Express that day]
Inquiring minds want to know: has Artfldgr ever met Kevin Bacon? If so, are we all both related and half-crazy (in a good way, of course)?
P.S. I haven’t forgotten that the dodger’s met Yoko Ono. I want a recording of that conversation. Documentary of the year, I guarantee it.
I heard on FOX Business today that some are thinking that this will cause a brokered convention and that Bloomberg would be a player, not necessarily a nominee.
‘It takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat.” Churchill sort of considered this a positive thing.
Winston Churchill switched [or what is called ‘crossed the floor’] from the Conservatives to the Liberals in 1904 and then crossing back again to the Conservatives in 1924.
Churchill was one of the most opportunistic politicians of the 20th century. He always positioned himself to get the maximum benefit for himself. That’s not a criticism. He knew early on that he wanted to achieve greatness. And so switching parties is one way to move up the ladder. Today its not fashionable because we have become so entrenched.
That is one reason that Bloomberg will likely not get any benefit from this. I guess he’s trying to grab the moderate independent vote that thus far favors Biden.
And interesting question is, given the current attempt to use the emolument clause to attack Trump, what happens to Bloomberg if he is elected. Bloomberg LLP is a partnership where Bloomberg owns a large part. If the definition of emolument being touted is correct, would Bloomberg have to divest all of his ownership in Bloomberg LLP? Would he be willing to do this?
I once heard Bloomberg speak at a University commencement. He came across as incredibly self-centered and full of himself — while giving a speech from behind a podium! I cannot imagine someone with that sort of stage presence doing well as a presidential candidate. Mayor of a city, yes, because he might look competent while his opponents did not, but not for president.
let’s throw another log on the fire, it’s smoldering, smoking and kind of stench so one more log should do the trick and get things going bright and shiny. Adding Bloomberg to the mix for the Dems have a better chance of winning reminds me of being asked, by my ex-wife, which outfit was best when we were getting ready to go to a party. She liked to get me cornered on decisions and get a little pissed off if I gave the wrong response so she would throw several outfits on the bed and asked, which one would be best and if I hesitated trying to figure out the right answer, because there always was one, she would throw another one or two out and then a bit louder, which one!
With the Dems, they are all on edge, devote every day to getting Trump and at the same time they, who ever in the hell they are (mostly lefty media), keep wanting to throw another leftie face at the wall to see if it sticks and like the rest of the pack they start sliding down. Take Bloomberg to Iowa and see who shows up and cheers without being paid, not gonna happen.
Bloomberg is preening, like a bantam rooster. He’ll never be the dem nominee. He has the same problem as Biden: old, white, and male. The democrats need to find a black, female, lesbian, socialist to run against djt. The ‘resistance‘ demands a woke candidate.
Right now it looks to me that Trump wins 35-40 states 11/20. But a lot can happen over the next 12 months.
It looks like Hillary is eyeing the Michelle Obama slot — “centrist” savior to a brokered convention — and I dare anyone here to dispute that Hill wants it.
Bloomberg was a worse Mayor than Mayor Buttplug. Totally unprepared for the flooding in superstorm Sandy. Snow removal troubles, too.
“It looks like Hillary is eyeing the Michelle Obama slot”
I can imagine Hillary wants it but…how?
The brokered convention fantasy is based on three assumptions:
1. There are at least three candidates with no one actually close to having enough delegates to win.
2. None of the candidates left standing are willing to take the VP slot and throw their support to someone else.
3. Somebody else emerges who sways delegates to their side as the voting continues.
#1 is actually becoming more and more possible with the increase in both essentially crowd-funded campaigns of low-dollar donors and billionaire candidates.
#2 is where the fantasy breaks down. There needs to be some reason for the top two candidates NOT to just team up.
And even if that happens, how in the world does Hillary accomplish #3?
Mike
Inquiring minds want to know: has Artfldgr ever met Kevin Bacon?
nope… not even close..
I used to do celebrity and fashion photography, ie. fashion week runway
Neo could put up images and things of mine, but wont…
dad was a photo touch up guy when i was a kid and family friends with the seymours.. famous for their russian ballet pictures…
so all my life i have had such people around, and not around, and around and not around.. very very very bizarre in some way
like bob from sesame street calling me to find out if i had anything to sell on joan rivers on the shopping network
or a photo of me with a beer on the stoop of sesame street at their xmas party, where i fell into an improv skit with madeline kahn over a swedish meatball, and was pulled off the table to go do the macarena with ruth buzzy
i had always wanted to do an american express commercial
put the people and such behind me that i have taken photos of
and say “you dont know me, but they do… ”
i am still friends with some of them… not many..
Kevin bacon was never at fashion week.. but the dalai lama was..
no, i just missed him… i had finished my film, and had no rolls, and he walked by me on the ny street with a small suitcase he was pulling.. i just went damn damn damn..
met barbara bush.. was friends for a short time with the clinton family.. took pictures of bill.. liked meeting mariel hemmingway… partied one night for a while with the daughters of patty hearst… met the Rand family by accident wandering around the plaza one night… chatted for a while.
growing up was interesting.. met the ladies from the magical forest with the pink squirrel… but dad used to complain to no end about doing work for Tony Randal, who wasnt acting much given his personality… family friend we knew and would stop by was a man named Herbert Stryker… you would know him better as Harry Reems from Deep throat… also met annie sprinkle… knew others who i cant mention as i met them at the Hellfire club… others at the Trapeze club… and used to do floor show at 8th street playhouse for rocky horror… even became a gardnerian priest for a bit. even have armor from when i fought with swords in the SCA and traveled to pensic war… where i met the social register deb i nearly married, but broke up (30 years later, its embarrasing my mom is still friends with her)..
those all were wild times compared to today.. eh
too hard to make up that stuff and have it ring true…
i even remember the 9th circle.. must have been one of the few straight men to ever go into that club… was good friends with herman slater, who wrote the necronomicon as a joke, and used to throw a wicked halloween party at his shop the magickal childe – then there was tim and morning glory zell and their shop
for the record the 9th circle was a very dark, very hard core gay mens club.. made cruising look like a family movie… the hellfire was a swingers club with three floors, gay on top, and two other floors depending on what you liked… trapeze was also a swingers club but for the wealthy… no, had no access to killing kittens that was after my day and on the other coast… before my time woudl be platos retreat.
there is a hell of a lot more..
but who cares?
MBunge: I said she’s eyeing the nomination, not that she has it in her pocket.
My scenario is that Democrats experience a moment of clarity, if you will, and realize that the current candidates are entirely no-hopers against Trump, then panic for someone moderate, with enough name recognition and muscle to go head-to-head with Trump.
Maybe that even happens before the convention, as Bloomberg and Steyer apparently believe.
You assume that Democrats are locked into the current candidates and their support is easily fungible between the candidates.
I wouldn’t assume that myself. Democrats are desperate, desperate to beat Trump bad. This isn’t an election that will be determined by the conventional wisdom.
hey.. i left out Sal and the bang gang la ra’s.. you can see sal doing the rocky horror introduction in the movie Fame.. the group was his sisters
these memories are very hard… so many who were there also and part of things are long gone now… tim and morning glory died… he stayed up all night doing blow at a pagan thing, and he fell asleep on the way home hitting a bridge post without even braking… Slater and his boys at the childe, along with everyone at the 9th circle, and many who worked for 8th street died of aids along with my cousin who went to juliard.. he was at alice tully hall and i performed at avery fischer hall.. i remember when my son was a baby, and i stopped by slaters to say hi.. he was already wasting… and there was a young gay man who wanted to hold my son who was not even two years old… i said sure.. he held him and made noises and gave him back, and broke down crying as we knew he had aids, and everyone wanted him gone and he was a paria.. 9th circle was closed and building destroyed.. 8th street playhouse was taken over by the drug dealiers who made rocky horror into some super perverse and not enjoyable thing…
then there was cassie… a 14 year old wanting to be with the big boys… she had a crush on me, and i was way too old… some boys in a car came by asking for her… she ended up raped and dead… heck, i remember the last days of studio 54 and the club kid scene too.. which meant i crossed paths with david alig..
years later being pseudo famous meant i had access in clubs… so i could get into the other doors to go to the special rooms of the limelight.. or would get a call from the owner of the [famous bar witheld]..
some of the famous who i am friends with still, am friends cause i never ask for anything, treat them like regular people, and when we met, i was invited.. i remember one asking. wheres your camera.. to which i said, i asked you if this was a working party or a party party, and you said party party… so the camera stays away.. given things i have seen..
i remember a very famous DJ.. all screwed up… he was a big timer too..
we had to take care of him, and get him into a car, and take him home..
like the 70s movies… he was gone gone gone.. his career could have been over that night.. i remember him coming back and offering me money.. i said for what.. he said last night.. i said the cab fare? thats only 10.. he said no, for all the other stuff.. i said what stuff.. he said the other stuff… took about 4 times before he realized “nothing happened”
there is a great tape of heidi klums father ripping me a new one when she and seal had the baby… nice apartment… she thanked me later.. lenny kravitz lived on the other side of the block.. nice guy
bloomberg, and scorsese, and chenault were announcing the reopening of the torch on the statue of liberty.. i got a special medal for that in the goody bag, and got to be one of the first up there…
here is a photo from a different photographer from that day
https://www.alamy.com/film-director-martin-scorsese-kenneth-chenault-ceo-of-american-express-and-new-york-city-mayor-michael-bloomberg-left-to-right-during-nov-25-2003-press-conference-announcing-the-launch-of-a-nationwide-fundraising-and-awareness-campaign-to-help-reopen-the-statue-of-liberty-which-has-been-closed-to-the-public-since-9112001-upi-photosezio-petersen-image257903732.html
in fact. i made very little money, i did it for the experiences
so much better than sitting in a bar, crying in your beer, and swatting barflys
one of the best i met and got to know for a day was Odetta
no one ever changed my life like that.. somewhere someone has a photo of me on her lap, and us smooching… i a young white lad, and her a quite old black woman… that was fun as we flirted for the fun of flirting and nothing else.. i cried and cried when she died..
i might have been friends with more, but with their numbers and such, i never knew what to say if i called.. our connections were tenuous at best..
im still signed to globe… still remember the night i met paul mcartney.. he was at cristies auctoning off his wifes belongings for charity…
so much..
yet.. so meaningless.
and transitory
i would have loved more to have one of my really good solutions made
but my partners have either cleaned me out till i was broke and had to climb up again
or they put me off till they disappeared, feigning belief as they were already ok, and it was too much work to do more
i have been homeless twice…
lost it all and made a million in the past 16 years, but have little to show for it
on my last making… only to insure my wife is ok when i am gone
so much more.. think i am lying?
i have never had a boring life, because i never sat around wondering what would happen if someone picked me… i just got up, went out, worked my ass off and did super quality work all the time without less.. so, i get picked.
now i am at the stage where life takes more away than it gives
and alone… so alone..
and so many dead.. so many..
since someone asked this now in an earlier post, and it wont be read… if i put it there for the 2nd time.. here it is
Steve57 on November 8, 2019 at 8:12 pm said:
Consequently I don’t wonder what is taking Barr and Durham so long to put a prosecution together.
i posted by neo missed it and i dint post again
they are moving to indictments and their investigation has expanded
you see, trump delegated the ability to declassify to Barr
so i guess its no holds barr (ahem)
President Donald Trump gave Attorney General William Barr “full and complete authority” to declassify information related to his inquiry into investigations of the 2016 presidential election.
which is why i said, they better watch out.. he has the power to declassify anyting he wants, and even for payback reasons… and if he loses, he will still be in office long enough to declassify lots of things… not to mention even worse for 2nd term on doing that.
he has a nuclear option no one really wants to talk about..
i know, i have tried 3 times
here is what i put up before, but i guess wasnt read
Chuck schumer said they have 6 ways to sunday to get him
i contend… not only can he declassify anything, and for any reason
but given the previous time that nearly happened and it nearly ended the existence of the CIA… they better watch out about scorched earth.
Artfldgr:
Your stories are fascinating and touching.
thanks
i think they are silly.. frivolous
as i pointed out.. i would give all that up for a few of my solutions to make it
or to have watched my son grow up instead of livig real life gone girl
or have my wife and i have a baby, and not have social justice games prevent it before we figured it out
hey.. you wrote about propaganda..
here is one i been coding for a while
putting aside the horrible end for that woman..
what party is Annie Hornish?
how many people erroneously think REP is not representative, but republican?
Anny Hornish is a democrat..
they been playing with peoples heads that way for a long time
and i noticed it a long time ago, and would even take a pen to insure i wasnt wrong
but you try to tell people there is this kind of game going on
they wont believe and they wont look or check
they took the time to smear republicans and hide the party of the woman whose dog murdered another woman, who was very old…
lots of tiny things like that add up as your conscious mind may not see or notice what your subconscious picks up and remembers invariably..
Artfldgr:
Who cares? We all care, but I know half-crazy when I see it, because I’ve been half-there. Since you can’t write a decent sentence, hire a biographer, and do it now, before you forget all these stories. I’d buy the book, and I’d bet bet you could retire on the advance — no kidding.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled channel.
Bloomberg is blatantly about as anti-gun as you can get. That alone, will make rational voters stay away in droves.
As to him being a centrist, well, yes, but compared to THIS crop, CHE is a centrist, and Marx is a right-winger.
I read that Streyer might well be running for president because of a gigantic loophole in campaign finance law about the amount of money a single individual can donate. When you collect money for your own campaign — and you are allowed to donate any amount you want of your own money to your campaign war chest — then once you drop out all of that money can be sent to any other politician or politicians without any limits. So if Streyer gives his own campaign, say, 100 million dollars, and then he drops out, he is free to “contribute” that money to any other politician he wants to. Note that none of the other democrat candidates ever say anything against Streyer. Come to think of it, this might also explain in part why in 2016 all the other republicans running for president held off attacking Trump for so long.
Bloomberg may have a similar maneuver in mind. Set up a dummy campaign, fill it with his own money, drop out when it goes nowhere, and then make massive unrestricted political contributions.
To me, Bloomberg is looking to fill Biden’s spot as his ship takes on water. He will be presented as the “moderate” alternative, and he has the name recognition that Steyer lacks. Ask the LIV on the street what the name “Bloomberg” means and they will probably respond, “Oh that successful investment company, sorta like the old Smith Barney.” They won’t necessarily relate the name to a gulp banning mayor of NYC.
Most everyone here and elsewhere give him a snowball’s chance, but I would wait and see what happens. Never underestimate the enemy, especially any Democrat.
Bloomberg is a cross between the worst impulses of nanny-statists and fascists.
Cornflour, i CAN write better, but to what end?
for me it’s substance over style..
for you, maybe its style over substance..
but note.. you want my words from me my way, or want someone else to write the movie of the week based on my life? so used to a varnished form, the unvarnished grates your way
hire a biographer? no one wants my solutions, and so no one pays
there is no such money.. nor would i want to do to my family what you propose
quite selfish if all there is, is odd living, and endless failure..
those things werent successes of a planed life, they were accidents of a person who got out and met the world head to head, toe to toe..
why dont you be my biographer? why not volunteer to pay or be the person who writes better who could organize the stories? or are you a critic, who wishes to be entertained.. i dont know..
your not the first to say that.
but such a story would be better if it had a happier ending..
dont you think? reading something that ultimately would slowly drag you down is not as enjoyable as you think when hearing the stories of the younger days
there is something sad and poignant when one gets old..
nanny-statists and fascists.
same thing..
like satan, lucifer, etc
Hey! This is about Bloomberg, so I’ll go there.
Bloomberg had one good idea about 40 years ago- terminals on stock-traders’ desks for real-time data, which led to the Bloomberg network and his current net worth of $53 billion.
He is no “moderate” except by comparison to the loonies now declared as Dem candidates. He believes in gun control and anthropogenic global warming, for Pete’s sake.
The super-wealthy elites all scare me. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Bloomberg et al. are all dangerous because they totally lack humility, gratitude, and grace. They will give us what we need, in their views, good and hard.
The skepticism here about Bloomberg’s chances surprises me. He is head, shoulders and torso above all the other Democratic candidates so far. And he has a lot of money, btw, did anyone mention that besides him? Yes, the primary voters are lefty-left, but this guy has plenty of left-wing ideas while still being a brain and a half ahead of Elizabeth Warren, much less Joe B. He would give Trump quite a battle, IMO.
Bloomberg had one good idea about 40 years ago- terminals on stock-traders’ desks for real-time data, which led to the Bloomberg network and his current net worth of $53 billion.
that wasnt his..
before he even existed doing that, i had a dow jones terminal in my parents house – it was of course not hooked up… but i aquired it..
the point was to dismantle it and check it out… which i did..
it had wire memory.. how cool is that?
Dow jones had their own terminals that were used at their offices.
but getting data out for others, that was Telerate!
NOT very original…
The needs of traders and portfolio managers were however neglected by both “Reuters” and “Dow Jones Telerate” which allowed a new niche financial data provider, Bloomberg to start taking market share with its Bloomberg terminal. Within Dow Jones, Telerate was gradually marginalized and the services were eventually integrated with those of Dow Jones Newswire.
having a memory that works like this and makes it easy to get the details others dont even know where to look… is quite the advantage… even when trading.. which i do… 🙂
Yes, Kai, a monied Leftie like Bloomie would be likely victorious over Trump, which simply once again shows how deep the rot is within the USA.
I am not skeptical about Bloomberg. I am frightened about our national future. The Gramscian Left has won: Globalism=Good, Nationalism=Bad. But globalism means planetary rule by communist China forever. This is not a Star Wars movie!
In Norway, that was the whole point of the slaughter of the young entitled Leftist elitists by Anders Breivik, though no one has had the bravado to say so other than to call him a right-winger. That was a one-man revolt. Must a violent revolution come here? Jefferson and other Founders surely anticipated that eventuality: Water the Tree of Liberty with the blood of tyrants and patriots.
Artfldgr:
I think that style and substance can work synergistically. Style helps people get interested and keeps them reading, and substance backs up style and makes the whole thing worthwhile. If I had to have one without the other, I suppose I’d choose substance. But why choose? Both is better.
Mr Bloomberg is
not
woke
enough.
How ironic that SJWs could become de facto guarantors of Trump’s reelection by pushing Democrats into insane fringe positions that inspire existential dread in the minds of normal unwoke voters.
I worked for Telerate at the time of the purchase by DJ. They had rejected the opportunity to buy for a significant amount less 2 years earlier, and somehow felt that they were forced into the deal. All press included a statement implying that losses were did to Telerate. Hell, when the DJ chopper fell into the river, the joke was ‘how are they going to blame Telerate for THAT?’
I still don’t understand how Bloomberg was elected mayor the third time.
Artfldgr could have a fun project by setting up an Instagram account, scanning in and posting some old photos, and then a few lines of text to go in with each picture. From what I’ve seen, there’s a lot of interest for things like that out there.
I hope Bloomberg gets into the race, as I feel that there is a need for more “normal” candidates out there. As a prominent businessman and former NYC mayor, he is as qualified as any other person.
I still think that the best Democratic candidate might be a Washington outsider (governor, businessman, or general) who decides to go big, with stealing Trump’s nationalist policies, and then repudiating the excesses of the Left (everything from PC to socialism to impeachment). Why not try winning by attacking the Left from the center? It’s so crazy it just might work!
And regarding Michael Bloomberg, I also wonder if the mainstream of the country really wants a Jewish President. He may have problems getting support outside of the northeast region. Bernie Sanders, in comparison, has been around a lot longer politically and is much better known, and so his Jewish background is not a major identifying factor.
As far as I can see, “plastic straw” Bloomberg has absolutely nothing to recommend him.
It looks to me like entering the race is some sort of vanity project for him.
Or, alternatively, as someone has asserted, the peculiarities of election funding laws might allow him to donate millions of his own money to his “campaign,” later on drop out of the race, and direct whatever is left of the money he donated to his own campaign, and any other money his campaign might have collected from anyone else, to any other candidate he wishes.
Thus, getting around the campaign finance laws that would not have allowed him to donate hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to a candidate.
neo on November 9, 2019 at 3:59 pm said:
Artfldgr:
I think that style and substance can work synergistically. Style helps people get interested and keeps them reading, and substance backs up style and makes the whole thing worthwhile. If I had to have one without the other, I suppose I’d choose substance. But why choose? Both is better.
oh i agree…
but if you require both… style isnt my forte
if it was, i woud be wealthy and able to sell my ideas
its like saying dance is great but only if you can go on toe
what about those who cant?
i can do style
i can do substance
but tend not to be able to do both in history given that the people i am writing to dont know it for me to be able to let go and be funny with references
so… their lack of knowing blows style
so does lack of space to do both if educating is part of it
kind of sucks
really sucks, given i can show you how to make a chip that can search IOT data for 100,000 255 targets that works in “clock speed + (255X8)”
if i could describe that well enough… well, i would be arguing with steyer directly