Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is set to participate in his first
Democratic debate on Wednesday, February 19 in Nevada, despite not being on the Nevada
or South Carolina ballot. He has instead chosen to enter the race on March 3 (Super Tuesday)
when states such as California and Texas will hold their presidential primaries. According to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Maris poll, Bloomberg is ranked 2nd with support from 19% of those
surveyed, compared to Bernie Sanders with 31%, Joe Biden with 15% and Elizabeth Warren with 12%. I was personally not surprised at his fairly high approval rating, because his absence during confrontational debates has left his campaign pretty much unchallenged. However, Bloomberg has been criticized outside the debates by fellow Democratic candidates for attempting to buy the White House, as he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on digital ads for his campaign. He has also been criticized in the media for past sexually inappropriate comments regarding women, as well as for his controversial ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy directed disproportionately towards Black and Latino people. Each candidate has the power to drastically change the course of America and its relationship with other nations, but many are still unsure of what Bloomberg’s true stances are.
Democratic debate on Wednesday, February 19 in Nevada, despite not being on the Nevada
or South Carolina ballot. He has instead chosen to enter the race on March 3 (Super Tuesday)
when states such as California and Texas will hold their presidential primaries. According to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Maris poll, Bloomberg is ranked 2nd with support from 19% of those
surveyed, compared to Bernie Sanders with 31%, Joe Biden with 15% and Elizabeth Warren with 12%. I was personally not surprised at his fairly high approval rating, because his absence during confrontational debates has left his campaign pretty much unchallenged. However, Bloomberg has been criticized outside the debates by fellow Democratic candidates for attempting to buy the White House, as he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on digital ads for his campaign. He has also been criticized in the media for past sexually inappropriate comments regarding women, as well as for his controversial ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy directed disproportionately towards Black and Latino people. Each candidate has the power to drastically change the course of America and its relationship with other nations, but many are still unsure of what Bloomberg’s true stances are.
Questions:
1) Other candidates have had the chance to voice their opinions and stand firm on certain
issues they prioritize. Will Bloomberg be at a disadvantage in this election for not having more
opportunities to do so? Why or why not?
issues they prioritize. Will Bloomberg be at a disadvantage in this election for not having more
opportunities to do so? Why or why not?
2). The minority vote has proven to be crucial in presidential elections, and Bloomberg has
attempted to appeal to this group of people. Do you believe Bloomberg’s past racist comments
will significantly impact his ability to secure the minority vote?
attempted to appeal to this group of people. Do you believe Bloomberg’s past racist comments
will significantly impact his ability to secure the minority vote?
3) Are people right to be concerned about Bloomberg’s excessive use of his wealth to win
the election?
the election?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEssentially, will Bloomberg be at a disadvantage for having
ReplyDeletepossibly fewer chances to voice his opinions to the democratic
side? Though the debates are useful for getting the word out,
that Bloomberg's assets allow him to create tons of ads, proving
essentially Mike Will Get It Done. Does this mean he's just
intuitively going to be able to buy the White House presidency,
never taking the opportunity to demonstrate the merits of his
dreamy ideals against opponents? This may be, but Mike Will Get
It Done. Will Bloomberg's past be troublesome for his campaign?
Discussion on this is varied, but one must also consider that
nevertheless, Mike Will Get It Done. We can see that Bernie is
thoroughly still beating Bloomberg, but Bernie only has a loyal
king's following dedicated to his ideals, whereas Mike Will Get
It Done. In short, despite all the negative press covfefe, the
legendary slogan Mike Will Get It Done shows it all.
Let's put the jokes aside for now. To be honest, Bloomberg
himself, in my eyes, is mainly running just to demonstrate to
individuals of the democratic party that they can't just win by
moving all the way to the far left. His support, despite his
strange campaign, clearly shows that the conservative left is
even now still an extremely important audience to appeal to. I
like to think he's less worried about the presidential election
for himself, and more focused on giving dems a better chance.
I believe that Bloomberg's underdeveloped policy stances and late entry into the presidential race would generally bode poorly for his campaign. His recent actions have given him a reputation for "buying his way in," which goes against the Democratic Party's values (such would be more tolerated had he been a Republican candidate). As Philip mentions, Bloomberg's position constitutes the right flank of the Democratic spectrum. Thus, I believe that his entrance will further dis-unify the already-fragmented agenda of the Democrats. Additionally, I believe that Bloomberg's racist comments will affect a small percentage of minority voters, but most people may still vote based on broader policy stances, as we have seen in past elections. Furthermore, I think that Bloomberg's wealth may serve as a lure to some middle-ground voters who may have been siding with Biden.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Bloomberg will be at a disadvantage too much because he spent a lot of money on advertising and seems like he has a lot more to spend. Additionally, like Nyela mentioned, him not being in the debates has allowed his campaign not to be attacked as much as the other candidates have. That being said, I do think that his past racist comments will negatively affect his campaign a little, especially because he is trying to appeal to the minority vote. However, as we’ve seen from the past few years, it is still possible for him to be president even with those racist remarks.
ReplyDeleteBased on how the Nevada debate went, Bloomberg will definitely be a target for all the candidates running against him. His past racist comments, allegations from women, and high fortune will also not make him popular amongst the Democratic party. During the debate, many candidates pointed out that he's basically another Donald Trump, only that this time he's trying to become president as a "Democrat". Although Bloomberg has spent millions on his campaign, I don't see him becoming the nominee.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that Bloomberg not having any debates aids in his campaign effort. As we could see with Elizabeth Warren, pressure during her debates actually led to her losing her lead and support in the presidential race. As long as Bloomberg does not have the other candidates pile on him, not being in a debate likely will be a benefit for his campaign.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do believe that Bloomberg's past stance on racial and gender issues will prove to be a big thorn in his side for his campaign, even if he has apologized, his actions and their effects remain, making it hard for him to overcome this.
There's definitely two sides to this debate on whether Bloomberg's wealth should buy his numbers in the polls. Judging by other candidates and voter's reactions. Many view his spending as an attempt to buy the white house, others see it as a generous proof of his dedication to the welfare of america.
In my opinion Bloomberg’s changing his stance on an issue is not necessarily a bad thing; however, it is something that his fellow candidates will attack him on. I do not believe that Bloomberg's previous comments were inheritably racist or offensive. I think that people interpreted his words out of context. I personally think that it violates civil liberties, invasion of privacy, and is overall an ill advised practice. However, how come we never mention the fact it is practiced by many other countries such as in many Middle Eastern and Asian Countries; not to say that is a good thing in fact it is quite the opposite. Corrupt or totalitarian governments often use methods of stop and frisk to subdue and limit the rights and liberties of their citizens. As far as Bloomberg's wealth, that is a personal thing that people need to decide for themselves, and not let other people dictate how they feel about that...
ReplyDelete