As former Rep. O’ Rourke and Mayor Bill de Blasio sensibly cut their losses by dropping out of the 2020 Presidential race, former Mayor and multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg may soon step in to fill the void.
While Bloomberg has not formally entered the race yet, The New York Times reported that he filed the appropriate documents on Nov. 6 for Alabama’s Democratic primary. Too bad now is perhaps the worst time for Bloomberg to oh-so nobly volunteer as tribute.
Despite leading in various polls, frontrunners Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders still raise doubts regarding whether they are electable in swing states as their progressive ideals like “Medicare-for-all” are catapulted to the party forefront.
Despite gaining media attention in debates, moderates like Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Mayor Pete Buttigieg still struggle for a real breakthrough among voters.
How ironic that Bloomberg is also not as well positioned as he thinks he is to secure the Democratic nomination. For one, candidates who share his similar characteristics are already running, The Washington Post also reported.
As a moderate, former Vice President Joe Biden is still likely to retain votes in Nevada and South Carolina despite the Ukraine investigation. As a billionaire, Tom Steyer also does not mind spending endless cash on campaigning. As former mayors, Sen. Corey Booker and former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro served Newark and San Antonio well. As an elderly white guy, the options even transcend party lines.
Perhaps the only thing that would potentially distinguish Bloomberg from his competitors and appeal to voters is his impressive executive record as a socially liberal and fiscally conservative contender.
As former mayor of New York City, Bloomberg’s 127 PlaNYC initiatives helped combat climate change and prepare for the large influx of immigrants into the city. His efforts for increased gun control are admirable, including founding Everytown for Gun Safety to rival the National Rifle Association and pushing for universal background checks. He even turned the city’s deficit into a $3 billion surplus. No one should question Bloomberg’s fitness to assume Office as he is more qualified and capable than other candidates, minus the Great Soda Ban Fiasco of ‘13. Yet his journey towards the presidency will end before he reaches the finish line.
Perhaps most damning is his support for the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, which almost always targeted Blacks and Hispanics who did nothing wrong.
Good luck to Bloomberg gaining black and Hispanic votes as his strategic plan to run a “broad-based, national campaign” provides little opportunity for him to take accountability or apologize for such racial profiling.
Skipping early voting states like South Carolina, where blacks compose about 60% as reported by The New York Times for The Washington Post, of the Democratic electorate, and focusing on Super Tuesday states, where people probably do not know him, does not help either.
Perhaps arriving to the partyfashionably late may not be so cool.
