5 ms·

Michael Bloomberg considers an independent presidential run

45 points by SCAQTony 11y ago

dev1n 11y ago
What he did with the NYPD scares me a bit but I think overall he was truly responsible for cleaning up that city (physically). He also implemented the first "Data science" team for a city, which was used to prevent building fires and sewage pipe bursts, among other things [1]. [1]: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-bloombergs-geek-squad.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-bloombergs-...
- skatenerd 11y ago
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NX7OA0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NX7OA0/ref=dp-kindle-re...
decentrality 11y ago
Bloomberg $36.5b [1] Trump $4.5b [2] Clinton (household) $111m [3] Bush $21m [4] Context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_net_worth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presiden... Sources: [1] http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg [2] http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump [3] http://moneynation.com/hillary-clinton-net-worth http://moneynation.com/hillary-clinton-net-worth [4] http://moneynation.com/jeb-bushs-net-worth http://moneynation.com/jeb-bushs-net-worth
- dannymick 11y ago
  Bernie $528,014 Source: http://moneynation.com/bernie-sanders-net-worth/ http://moneynation.com/bernie-sanders-net-worth/
  - jmaygarden 11y ago
    What did he do with all his income? Senators make $174,000 per annum...
- JustSomeNobody 11y ago
  Well, he certainly has enough to buy the Presidency.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
Amorymeltzer 11y ago
I'm torn on this. - I would LOVE to see a significant voice in politics outside of the two parties. - He would only be capable of mounting a campaign outside the two-party system due to his billions of dollars, which is exactly the problem.
- golemotron 11y ago
  When Trump started gaining momentum I realized how poetic his success was. Democrats couldn't say he was in it for the money and Republicans who thought it was ok to have unlimited campaign spending couldn't complain either. Plutocrat candidacies are the legacy of Citizens United.
  - tomp 11y ago
    > Plutocrat candidacies are the legacy of Citizens United. Wouldn't he be able to self-fund his campaign even without Citizen United?
    - golemotron 11y ago
      Yes but I think we'll see more plutocrats running now. There's no possible limit on them using their own money.
      - ende 11y ago
        This doesn't make any sense. Citizebs United had nothing to do with self-funding a campaign. If anything a reversal on Citizens United would incentivize more self-funded campaigns, as political speech by third parties is what would be limited. The concern with big money in politics isn't about the spending of the money itself anyway, it's the alleged connontation of what that money is buying for the other party. A self-funded candidate would be more insulated from such influence, as such a candidate cannot exactly buy their own influence.
  - artursapek 11y ago
    > Democrats couldn't say he was in it for the money People run for president for the money?
andrewclunn 11y ago
If he does, he's just handing the election to Trump.
- mandeepj 11y ago
  how?
  - andrewclunn 11y ago
    By enabling him to win New York, which would otherwise be a Democratic lock.
- tomp 11y ago
  Why? Isn't he a republican? So, if he ran, he would be stealing primarily the votes that would go to the Republican candidate.
  - teuobk 11y ago
    Bloomberg's views on guns are such that many Republican voters would refuse to vote for him.
    - SCAQTony 11y ago
      But many Democrats would and many Republicans appreciate his pro-NSA stance, his calling for the prosecution of Edward Snowden, and finally his pro Israel government stance. Ultimately he is pretty right wing and his anti-guns thing is consistent with all of the above.
      - donw 11y ago
        Is pro-NSA a Republican stance?
        SCAQTony 11y ago
        Yes, I do think so: When Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Scott Walker, Arguably Ted Cruz endorse NSA meta data collection, yeah, it's a safe bet that it is a Republican position. http://mashable.com/2015/05/20/nsa-2016-candidates/#5BXfYekfzgqX http://mashable.com/2015/05/20/nsa-2016-candidates/#5BXfYekf... Donald Trump Stance here: http://truthinmedia.com/trump-supports-reauthorizing-patriot-act-nsa-metadata-collection/ http://truthinmedia.com/trump-supports-reauthorizing-patriot...
supster 11y ago
@chamath called it? https://www.quora.com/What-should-we-do-about-Trump-How-bad-would-it-be-if-he-became-president/answer/Chamath-Palihapitiya https://www.quora.com/What-should-we-do-about-Trump-How-bad-...
iMark 11y ago
Regardless of how it splits the vote, I have a hard time arguing against anyone who pins their flag to the !Trump platform.
MichaelBurge 11y ago
It seems like there are way more interesting candidates this election than in the last few. I wouldn't mind if either Trump, Rand Paul, or Bernie Sanders win. A glance at his stance on the issues shows I probably wouldn't mind Bloomberg winning, either.
lewisl9029 11y ago
I'd love to see how well Trump, Sanders, and now Bloomberg, could do as independents against the official candidates of the two parties in a 5-way race.

45 points by SCAQTony 11y ago

dev1n 11y ago

What he did with the NYPD scares me a bit but I think overall he was truly responsible for cleaning up that city (physically). He also implemented the first "Data science" team for a city, which was used to prevent building fires and sewage pipe bursts, among other things [1]. [1]: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-bloombergs-geek-squad.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-bloombergs-...

skatenerd 11y ago
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NX7OA0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NX7OA0/ref=dp-kindle-re...

decentrality 11y ago

Bloomberg $36.5b [1] Trump $4.5b [2] Clinton (household) $111m [3] Bush $21m [4] Context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_net_worth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presiden... Sources: [1] http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg [2] http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump [3] http://moneynation.com/hillary-clinton-net-worth http://moneynation.com/hillary-clinton-net-worth [4] http://moneynation.com/jeb-bushs-net-worth http://moneynation.com/jeb-bushs-net-worth

dannymick 11y ago
Bernie $528,014 Source: http://moneynation.com/bernie-sanders-net-worth/ http://moneynation.com/bernie-sanders-net-worth/
- jmaygarden 11y ago
  What did he do with all his income? Senators make $174,000 per annum...
JustSomeNobody 11y ago
Well, he certainly has enough to buy the Presidency.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

Amorymeltzer 11y ago

I'm torn on this. - I would LOVE to see a significant voice in politics outside of the two parties. - He would only be capable of mounting a campaign outside the two-party system due to his billions of dollars, which is exactly the problem.

golemotron 11y ago
When Trump started gaining momentum I realized how poetic his success was. Democrats couldn't say he was in it for the money and Republicans who thought it was ok to have unlimited campaign spending couldn't complain either. Plutocrat candidacies are the legacy of Citizens United.
- tomp 11y ago
  > Plutocrat candidacies are the legacy of Citizens United. Wouldn't he be able to self-fund his campaign even without Citizen United?
  - golemotron 11y ago
    Yes but I think we'll see more plutocrats running now. There's no possible limit on them using their own money.
    - ende 11y ago
      This doesn't make any sense. Citizebs United had nothing to do with self-funding a campaign. If anything a reversal on Citizens United would incentivize more self-funded campaigns, as political speech by third parties is what would be limited. The concern with big money in politics isn't about the spending of the money itself anyway, it's the alleged connontation of what that money is buying for the other party. A self-funded candidate would be more insulated from such influence, as such a candidate cannot exactly buy their own influence.
- artursapek 11y ago
  > Democrats couldn't say he was in it for the money People run for president for the money?

andrewclunn 11y ago

If he does, he's just handing the election to Trump.

mandeepj 11y ago
how?
- andrewclunn 11y ago
  By enabling him to win New York, which would otherwise be a Democratic lock.
tomp 11y ago
Why? Isn't he a republican? So, if he ran, he would be stealing primarily the votes that would go to the Republican candidate.
- teuobk 11y ago
  Bloomberg's views on guns are such that many Republican voters would refuse to vote for him.
  - SCAQTony 11y ago
    But many Democrats would and many Republicans appreciate his pro-NSA stance, his calling for the prosecution of Edward Snowden, and finally his pro Israel government stance. Ultimately he is pretty right wing and his anti-guns thing is consistent with all of the above.
    - donw 11y ago
      Is pro-NSA a Republican stance?
      - SCAQTony 11y ago
        Yes, I do think so: When Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Scott Walker, Arguably Ted Cruz endorse NSA meta data collection, yeah, it's a safe bet that it is a Republican position. http://mashable.com/2015/05/20/nsa-2016-candidates/#5BXfYekfzgqX http://mashable.com/2015/05/20/nsa-2016-candidates/#5BXfYekf... Donald Trump Stance here: http://truthinmedia.com/trump-supports-reauthorizing-patriot-act-nsa-metadata-collection/ http://truthinmedia.com/trump-supports-reauthorizing-patriot...

supster 11y ago

@chamath called it? https://www.quora.com/What-should-we-do-about-Trump-How-bad-would-it-be-if-he-became-president/answer/Chamath-Palihapitiya https://www.quora.com/What-should-we-do-about-Trump-How-bad-...

iMark 11y ago

Regardless of how it splits the vote, I have a hard time arguing against anyone who pins their flag to the !Trump platform.

MichaelBurge 11y ago

It seems like there are way more interesting candidates this election than in the last few. I wouldn't mind if either Trump, Rand Paul, or Bernie Sanders win. A glance at his stance on the issues shows I probably wouldn't mind Bloomberg winning, either.

lewisl9029 11y ago

I'd love to see how well Trump, Sanders, and now Bloomberg, could do as independents against the official candidates of the two parties in a 5-way race.