This past week, Michael Bloomberg filed paperwork in Alabama with the intention of laying the foundation for a potential presidential run in 2020. The decision has been lauded as a clever and well-executed political play by politicians on both sides of the aisle who were delighted to see yet another exorbitantly wealthy white man throwing his top hat in the ring.
Moreover, the idea of having Bloomberg in the Oval Office is a mouth-watering proposition for conservatives. In the current political climate, it is vital to have a candidate who can rally the Democratic party around a unifying message of social elitism, ethnic homogeneity, and the blue collar ideals embodied by a close relationship with Jeff Bezos.
One can only hope that Bloomberg doesn’t feel ostracized by the other democratic candidates. Getting onstage at a debate with more than one woman (and a woman of color, yeesh) is an intimidating prospect, and Bloomberg should be commended for that. Being a wealthy white man in Democratic party politics isn’t easy. Just ask Pete Buttigeg, Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Steve Bullock, John Dulaney, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Chuck Schumer, Jim Clyburn, John Kerry, Al Gore, Harry Reid, Rohm Emmanuel, Harry Byrd Jr., Bill Daley, Dick Durbin, The Cuomo Family, Pat Quinn, Chris Dodd, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pierce, Richard Nixon, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, JFK, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, or Rudy Guliani (he was a Dem until 1975, isn’t that a trip?)
In all seriousness, Bloomberg has no business running for President. He is an unnecessary addition to an already crowded field, and what he does offer in centrism he lacks in electability. His track record is too subject to scrutiny. His business ties to China will almost certainly be raised in any potential debates, and there is little he could do to combat allegations of a conflict of interest. His tenure as mayor of New York, while impressive in some regards, featured several policies that alienated voters of color — a key demographic that democrats will need to hold onto in 2020. His flip-flopping on the ballot (he has switched from Democrat to Republican to Independent and back to Democrat throughout his political career) will be seen as a commitment to centrism to some, and to many others an unwillingness to toe the party line. Not to mention the fact that his addition to the race puts him in direct competition with Elizabeth Warren, who has consistently commanded a large percentage of Democratic women and would likely hold onto them if challenged by Bloomberg.
In sum, Bloomberg’s bid is at best inadvisable and at worst harmful to the Democratic party’s attempts to unseat Trump. The Dems don’t need another wrinkled, white male face in the crowd.
Bloomberg is just a red-blooded, hard-working multi-billionaire trying to uphold America’s most time honored tradition: putting rich white guys in positions of power.
