[MrTotality]

Just reading at CNN that Bloomberg has officially dropped out of the republican party and is now listed as an unaffiliated political member. He just had a recent interview with the governator about a possibility of running together, with Arny as VP. I have also heard Chuck Hagel.

What do you guys think, Is Bloomy and his money worth a look? As a native NYer I give him just as much credibility as Rudy and with his $ you never know.

[MrTotality]

man 12 hours later, and the tumbleweed roles by

[joecski]

Originally Posted by MrTotality

man 12 hours later, and the tumbleweed roles by

Sorry about that, just woke up! Bloomy and his $5 billion dollar net worth could take a stab at the white house, but I doubt he will do much. He is way too liberal for the republicans(anti-gun and pro-abortion) and the dems don't trust anyone with that much money, especially since he left the democratic party to run for mayor of NYC as a republican because the field was less crowded(?) and now has left the republican party for pretty much the same reason. I can't see anyone trusting him, he might jump to the socialist party next if he thinks it will win him the primary. Seriously, he would only siphon votes from the dems, like Nader, because he is too liberal for the conservative republicans, even with the his business background. I say he should stay home and save the cash.

[MrTotality]

Originally Posted by joecski

Sorry about that, just woke up! Bloomy and his $5 billion dollar net worth could take a stab at the white house, but I doubt he will do much. He is way too liberal for the republicans(anti-gun and pro-abortion) and the dems don't trust anyone with that much money, especially since he left the democratic party to run for mayor of NYC as a republican because the field was less crowded(?) and now has left the republican party for pretty much the same reason. I can't see anyone trusting him, he might jump to the socialist party next if he thinks it will win him the primary. Seriously, he would only siphon votes from the dems, like Nader, because he is too liberal for the conservative republicans, even with the his business background. I say he should stay home and save the cash.

Interesting.....


I think he actually might stand a chance due to his money. If he comes in as an indy, which he most likely will, then he stands a shot, especially with a legit VP candidate. (what a run on sentence)

I think he might hurt both. Its funny to me that the candidates who get the nomination might not have even declared yet (Thompson and Gore)

[zbtboy]

It will be interesting if he indeed runs as an Indy. He could really shake up the way the other parties run their campaigns as it would be even more important to get the base out due to potential losses with the moderates. I'm not really sure where he would take the votes from, Dems or Republicans so that's going to be interesting to watch as well. From a Civics point of view this will be fun, but in the real world it probably won't affect much.

[Nullifidian]

Originally Posted by MrTotality

Just reading at CNN that Bloomberg has officially dropped out of the republican party and is now listed as an unaffiliated political member. He just had a recent interview with the governator about a possibility of running together, with Arny as VP. I have also heard Chuck Hagel.

What do you guys think, Is Bloomy and his money worth a look? As a native NYer I give him just as much credibility as Rudy and with his $ you never know.

Arnold can't be a VP candidate for the same reason he can't be a Pres candidate. In order to be a VP you must be a natural born citizen of the US. That means you either have to be born in the US or one of your parents has to have been a US citizen. Arnold fits neither of those descriptions; he was born to Austrian parents in Austria. He become a naturalIZED citizen and thus cannot run for President or Vice President.


Anyway, if Bloomberg really is running as an independent, this seals the deal for the Democratic party. i.e. it means whoever wins the Democratic Primary will be our next president.


Get ready for President Hillary Clinton.

[MrTotality]

Originally Posted by Nullifidian

Arnold can't be a VP candidate for the same reason he can't be a Pres candidate. In order to be a VP you must be a natural born citizen of the US. That means you either have to be born in the US or one of your parents has to have been a US citizen. Arnold fits neither of those descriptions; he was born to Austrian parents in Austria. He become a naturalIZED citizen and thus cannot run for President or Vice President.


Anyway, if Bloomberg really is running as an independent, this seals the deal for the Democratic party. i.e. it means whoever wins the Democratic Primary will be our next president.


Get ready for President Hillary Clinton.

I am not sure you are right about this. The discussion was about VP. You might be right, consdiering if something happens to the PResident and the VP takes over. COuld be interesting, however if he runs I see Hagel as the running mate.

I also dont think this necessarily leads to Hillary taking it. I think Maya Mike has a legit shot

[Nullifidian]

Originally Posted by MrTotality

I am not sure you are right about this. The discussion was about VP. You might be right, consdiering if something happens to the PResident and the VP takes over. COuld be interesting, however if he runs I see Hagel as the running mate.

I also dont think this necessarily leads to Hillary taking it. I think Maya Mike has a legit shot

He only has a shot if he runs as a Democrat, and then he has to actually win the primary. If he were to run as a Dem and win the Dem primary, he would be our next president without question. The problem there is actually winning the Dem primary.

If he runs as an Independent, he will lose. Plain and simple. No Independent can or ever will win the Presidency. Ever. Our system is not built that way.

If he runs as an Independent, he will take away all the moderate Republican votes and most of the fiscally conservative Democrats. There aren't too many fiscally conservative Democrats though. There are a TON of fiscally conservative republicans who don't give a crap about social issues. Bloomberg would get all of them. That would split the Republican party. I'm guessing Bloomberg would get about 60% of the Republicans to vote for him. Maybe more. He'll probably win a few states. First time ever IIRC an Independent will have won any states.

The end result though will be Hillary with about 40% of the vote, Bloomberg with about 35% of the vote, and the Republican candidate with 25%.

Remember to keep in mind, a lot of people think of Hillary as "Mrs. BILL Clinton". People still love Bill. I guarantee if Bill could run again he'd win easily.

[joecski]

Originally Posted by Nullifidian

He only has a shot if he runs as a Democrat, and then he has to actually win the primary. If he were to run as a Dem and win the Dem primary, he would be our next president without question. The problem there is actually winning the Dem primary.

If he runs as an Independent, he will lose. Plain and simple. No Independent can or ever will win the Presidency. Ever. Our system is not built that way.

If he runs as an Independent, he will take away all the moderate Republican votes and most of the fiscally conservative Democrats. There aren't too many fiscally conservative Democrats though. There are a TON of fiscally conservative republicans who don't give a crap about social issues. Bloomberg would get all of them. That would split the Republican party. I'm guessing Bloomberg would get about 60% of the Republicans to vote for him. Maybe more. He'll probably win a few states. First time ever IIRC an Independent will have won any states.

The end result though will be Hillary with about 40% of the vote, Bloomberg with about 35% of the vote, and the Republican candidate with 25%.

Remember to keep in mind, a lot of people think of Hillary as "Mrs. BILL Clinton". People still love Bill. I guarantee if Bill could run again he'd win easily.

I'd disagree with a couple of points here, I don't think the Republicans would flock to Bloomberg, the social issues would kill him just as they are dooming Guilianni now, and the fact that he has flip-flopped parties would be a major no-no. Conservatives are just that, and they value loyalty and trust, and Bloomberg has neither.

As for Billary, she gets the democratic nomination in a landslide, because people LOVE Bill. He would be elected leader for life by the people in this country if that was an option.

[Nullifidian]

Originally Posted by joecski

I'd disagree with a couple of points here, I don't think the Republicans would flock to Bloomberg, the social issues would kill him just as they are dooming Guilianni now, and the fact that he has flip-flopped parties would be a major no-no. Conservatives are just that, and they value loyalty and trust, and Bloomberg has neither.

As for Billary, she gets the democratic nomination in a landslide, because people LOVE Bill. He would be elected leader for life by the people in this country if that was an option.

I think you're missing something important. Very important. Most people who vote republican in the general election do not vote in the primary at all. It has long been known that the primaries are run by the extreme members of each respective party.

The OVERWHELMING majority in this country do not have an official party affiliation and thus CANNOT vote in the primaries.

[joecski]

Originally Posted by Nullifidian

I think you're missing something important. Very important. Most people who vote republican in the general election do not vote in the primary at all. It has long been known that the primaries are run by the extreme members of each respective party.

The OVERWHELMING majority in this country do not have an official party affiliation and thus CANNOT vote in the primaries.

I concede that most people won't/don't vote in the primaries, but I still stand by the basic premise. Southern republicans are not going to vote for a rich, carpetbagging, turncoat New Yorker. Bloomberg will get trounced by the RNC's media blitz, and the only votes he gets will be from states like New York, Mass, and California - democratic states anyway! Can you see Bloomberg winning in the midwest or south? I can't.

There's a reason the south has determined every recent presidential election, and this election will be no different. Fred Thompson would walk away with the election, and he hasn't even declared yet.

[MrTotality]

I dont think Thompson will take it. We still dont know what Gore will do, and if he is in, I think he willmost likely take it.

[Nullifidian]

Originally Posted by joecski

I concede that most people won't/don't vote in the primaries, but I still stand by the basic premise. Southern republicans are not going to vote for a rich, carpetbagging, turncoat New Yorker. Bloomberg will get trounced by the RNC's media blitz, and the only votes he gets will be from states like New York, Mass, and California - democratic states anyway! Can you see Bloomberg winning in the midwest or south? I can't.

There's a reason the south has determined every recent presidential election, and this election will be no different. Fred Thompson would walk away with the election, and he hasn't even declared yet.

I think you overgeneralize Southern "Republicans." Many don't want an increase in states rights and a decrease in the size of the federal government more than anything else. Bloomberg represents that.

As long as he runs his campaign in a way Ross perot did with an "it's the economy, stupid" tagline, he'll get the majority of Republicans voting for him. Basically just refuse to address any of the "social" issues they try to sling at him.

[zbtboy]

Originally Posted by joecski

I concede that most people won't/don't vote in the primaries, but I still stand by the basic premise. Southern republicans are not going to vote for a rich, carpetbagging, turncoat New Yorker. Bloomberg will get trounced by the RNC's media blitz, and the only votes he gets will be from states like New York, Mass, and California - democratic states anyway! Can you see Bloomberg winning in the midwest or south? I can't.

There's a reason the south has determined every recent presidential election, and this election will be no different. Fred Thompson would walk away with the election, and he hasn't even declared yet.

...The RNC attacking him would effectively end any chance for Rudy. Bloomberg has a MUCH better record in NYC than Rudy ever had and is much more liked.

...The South is no longer as important to Dems as it once was. They can and will continue to loose the deep south but as long they win more in the South West and take back Ohio they'll do just fine electorally.

...Thompson isn't as conservative as he looks or people believe him to be. I think people will be shocked when they start looking at his record.

[zbtboy]

Originally Posted by Nullifidian

I think you overgeneralize Southern "Republicans." Many don't want an increase in states rights and a decrease in the size of the federal government more than anything else. Bloomberg represents that.

As long as he runs his campaign in a way Ross perot did with an "it's the economy, stupid" tagline, he'll get the majority of Republicans voting for him. Basically just refuse to address any of the "social" issues they try to sling at him.

I think Bloomberg will take from both parties though. He'll pretty much take the middle of the road people who are sick of partisan politics. Now that will probably hurt the republican party more since a lot of people are fed up with this administration and now have someone else to vote for.

[Frank Costanza]

Originally Posted by zbtboy

I think Bloomberg will take from both parties though. He'll pretty much take the middle of the road people who are sick of partisan politics. Now that will probably hurt the republican party more since a lot of people are fed up with this administration and now have someone else to vote for.

I think the opposite. I think he would take considerably more from Hillary whose approval rating in terms of general election is extremely low.

The same people who elected Bush twice will vote for someone and I can tell you right now, they wouldn't vote for Hillary at gun point. In fact Hillary on the ticket would energize the conservative party more than anyone.