Bloomberg spent $12 million to re-elect Rep Senator Pat Toomey (PA) in 2016

[melman]

WASHINGTON — In 2016, Democrats thought they had found the perfect candidate to win a United States Senate seat in Pennsylvania and put them within striking distance of taking back the majority. But Katie McGinty, an environmental policy expert with degrees in chemistry and law, ran into an overwhelming obstacle: Michael R. Bloomberg’s fortune.


The former mayor of New York poured in $11.7 million to help re-elect the Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Toomey, who had led an effort, albeit unsuccessful, to expand background checks for gun purchasers, a top priority of Mr. Bloomberg’s.


Mr. Toomey won by less than two percentage points, handing a key victory to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell: The Republicans held on to control of the chamber by two seats. At the time, it was the most expensive Senate race the country had ever seen, and Mr. Bloomberg’s money was one of the largest influxes of outside influence.


As Mr. Bloomberg begins his campaign for the White House with a promise to spend as much as it takes to defeat President Trump, his Democratic rivals are accusing him of trying to buy his way into the Oval Office. But his political spending on behalf of Republicans is also coming under attack from Democrats who say that his overlapping political goals with Republicans in Washington, and in particular with Mr. McConnell, are disqualifying.

“For many he went too far when he gave money to Pat Toomey,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic consultant and former senior aide to Harry Reid, the previous Senate leader, pointing out that Ms. McGinty also favored stricter gun regulations and that the race was so close.

“He tries to play both sides, and he ends up burning Democrats,” Mr. Manley added. “If that makes you feel good, I’m glad. But the reality is there are no free shots.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-republicans-donations.html

[George II]

1. You realize that Michael Bloomberg is a candidate for the DEMOCRATIC nomination for President right?

The former mayor of New York poured in $11.7 million to help re-elect the Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Toomey, who had led an effort, albeit unsuccessful, to expand background checks for gun purchasers, a top priority of Mr. Bloomberg’s.

[Autumn]

4. Yes, all our candidates are running for the DEMOCRATIC nomination for President. Some of them

don't work to elect Republicans.

[George II]

6. You're correct, and only one supported the murderous dictator Fidel Castro.

[Autumn]

10. Ah yes the communist Boogyman. That dog don't hunt George.

Only one of them supported George Bush. Bush is a little more relevant.

[George II]

12. Thousands of Cubans died at the hands of the Castro regime. That's not "rofl" worth. Sad.

[redqueen]

25. How many died in the second gulf war? nt

[Tiggeroshii]

54. Hundreds of thousands -including innocent people were killed

Because of the Iraq War.

[brooklynite]

20. Neither does a previous donation to a Senator most Democrats haven't heard of.

[liskddksil]

22. $12 million in Ads that basically swung the election away from the Democrat

and perhaps helped cost Hillary in Pennsylvania as well. No big deal.

[Autumn]

23. I'm a DUer, I've not only heard of Mr. Toomey, if that who you are referencing, I paid attention.

[brooklynite]

29. The fact that you are a DUer means that you are not an average voter...

[Autumn]

32. No but I pay attention to average voters on other platforms.

[brooklynite]

34. "on other platforms"

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287468035

[melman]

28. So last night you were saying things that happened in 2004 don't matter. Now we're up to 2016...

...and it still doesn't matter. When do things start mattering?

I mean, if helping McConnell maintain the GOP majority doesn't matter what in the fuck does matter?

[liskddksil]

30. +++++

[showblue22]

27. The dog my not hunt for YOU

But it does for millions other Americans, especially in Florida.

[Autumn]

33. Florida isn't the only state that votes.

[showblue22]

35. I only said ESPECIALLY in FL.

[Autumn]

36. I don't need to use any qualifier like "especially". Where I'm at? That "communist dog don't hunt.

And the "socialist dog" whistle won't even get the dog to sniff.

[showblue22]

38. It should

They're both Bernie's own words.

Sanders says, "I remember how impressed I was by the Cuban Revolution, Communism and Fidel Castro."

[Autumn]

39. It doesn't. Someone can tell a young Bernie supporter he's a (Gasp) not a dem he's a socialist and

that younger supporter will say, "Okay, then that's what I am. A Socialist". And then go on to ask how he and some friends can sign up to phonebank with their cell phones.

[showblue22]

41. I'm 33

Is that not considered young today?

[Autumn]

43. To me, everyone is young.

But then you aren't a Bernie supporter, and that's an example of who I was talking about. As an older woman, I don't ask people their age.

[LanternWaste]

37. We often dismiss the sins of our Sacred Cow as irrelevant.

yet more often than not, indict our opponents for the same or lesser.

[liskddksil]

5. How'd that endorsement work out? What gun reform measures passed with Pat Toomey's

leadership? Why was Democrat Katie McGinty not worthy of support?

[George II]

9. In other words, if a cause isn't going to prevail early on, don't bother at all. That sounds like..

...the justification by someone for some of his bad votes in the House and Senate.

[liskddksil]

11. No. Toomey was always going to be a vote for Moscow Mitch who would block any gun reform

no matter how small. Bloomberg showed poor judgement if he expected Pat Toomey to do anything but support Moscow Mitch.

[Tom Rinaldo]

14. No. It means think again about helping elect someone who will vote for "Moscow Mitch"

to control the Senate.

[Demsrule86]

48. It is all about beating Trump...if it is Sanders/ Bloomberg...I choose Bloomberg...I still think

it will be Biden.

[thesquanderer]

44. McGinty would have been strong on gun control too. So it seems like...

..something more than just that was behind Bloomberg's huge support for Toomey.

[MyOwnPeace]

2. BOOM!

That kills any interest I may have had in his campaign. I had assumed that the Russian interference is what put Patty back into office, but obviously this support didn't hurt.
Toomey is such a disaster - and a dedicated Trump tool.

[liskddksil]

3. Glad to hear. I've been trying to spread the word these last few months

to little avail. Not just Pat Toomey. Add Scott Brown, Susan Collins and numerous other Republicans in state legislative and congressional races as late as the 2018 cycle.

Toomey and Collins, itself cost us Merrick Garland and gave us Gorsuch and Kavenaugh. Add to that Bloomberg's earlier endorsement of George W. Bush, which gave us Roberts and Alito. Bloomberg's endorsements gave us nearly the entirely Conservative Majority of the Supreme Court that are primed to gut Roe V. Wade.

[MyOwnPeace]

8. You should have seen the garbage..........

Patsy sent me when I complained about DeVos being the Secretary of Education. It was obvious that he was writing a script from the "for-profit" education industry. What a disaster this clown is to Pennsylvania,

[comradebillyboy]

7. Bloomberg is still preferable to Sanders in my book.

[Amimnoch]

16. yep.. 100%

Let's see.. helped get Toomey elected in 2016 on one hand or helped get Trump elected in the other.. let's think on this.. which one was worse??

Yeah, Bloomberg is MUCH more viable in my book than BS ever will be.

[Autumn]

19. I know, I saw that post of yours

[PADemD]

15. Admiral Joe Sestak (Ret.) would have beat Toomey

The Democratic Party would not support him because he beat former Republican Arlen Spector. They put their support behind Katie McGinty.

Former Representative Sestak won his Congressional seat in a heavy Republican district. I firmly believe he would have beat Toomey.

[liskddksil]

17. I agree that Sestak might have been the better choice for Democrats, but still no excuse for

someone like Bloomberg supposedly concerned with gun reform to endorse a Republican, who would be an automatic vote for Moscow Mitch. We've seen the results, all gun reform blocked for the foreseeable future.

[Demsrule86]

46. Did you ever hear of the Manchin Toomey bill? It would have blocked private party gun sales

without a background check.

[liskddksil]

53. Get back to me when Moscow Mitch brings Manchin Toomey (from 2013)

or the much better House Passed bill (from 2019) up to a vote.

[sarisataka]

18. Could it be argued

That if it wasn't for Bloomberg's efforts in this case, and his previous successful efforts to get Republicans elected to the Senate, that there would have been witnesses allowed in the impeachment trial? That perhaps even been a Democratic majority leader? That Obama's nomination to SCOTUS would not have been shelved until after the election?

His butterfly effect has already left its mark.

[liskddksil]

21. Absolutely.

He endorsed Collins in 2014 and Toomey in 2016, who were basically the deciding votes for Kavenaugh and helped to block Garland and get Gorsuch. Add to that his 2004 endorsement of George W. Bush, and we got Roberts and Alito, basically almost the entire conservative Supreme Court Majority.

[sarisataka]

24. It is often forgotten

He opposed Mark Pryor in the Arkansas race in 2014 helping tea partier Tom Cotton take the seat.

[backtoblue]

26. +++++

[delisen]

56. Bloomberg was so powerful he got Bush re-elected?

Glad Bloomberg is going all out for Democratic party now!

[liskddksil]

57. I'm a proud Democrat and I'm not going to reward him for his long history of supporting Republicans

not to mention right-wing policies like charter schools, standardized testing, stop-and-frisk etc.

[MyOwnPeace]

58. Thank you.............

even MORE reasons to question his positions/motives.

[showblue22]

31. When you consider who would be best for our nation as a whole.

I pick Bloomberg, regardless of who he has supported in his past. For reasons I can not express here. IMO Bloomberg who is a nominee for the democratic party would in the long run be safer for progressive causes. In other words, after Trump and this imminent threat to our democracy is over, picking up the pieces for progressive causes will be easy if it's Bloomberg vs Bernie.

[beachbumbob]

40. I perfer to vote FOR democrats to be our presidential nominee, just saying

[Zolorp]

42. Don't care, he's still higher on my list than Sanders.

Sanders berned a lot of bridges over the past five years.

[Demsrule86]

45. Toomey was good on guns...this is why Bloomberg supported him....

But no matter what you say, I want to win...if it comes down to Sander's and Bloomberg, I vote Bloomberg...but I still think Biden beats Sanders.

[liskddksil]

49. How is a Republican Senator who is an automatic vote for Moscow Mitch good on guns.

There won't be any gun control with a Republican Senate. Anyone who favors gun reform and supports Republicans doesn't show good judgement.

[Demsrule86]

50. He sponsored a bill with Manchin to make it law that private gun sales require a background check.

[liskddksil]

52. Which won't go anywhere in a Republican controlled Senate as evidenced

by the last few years of inaction.

[MyOwnPeace]

60. Ironic - around "Groundhog's Day" we talk about these guys............

BOTH are like Punxsutawney Phil - they "bravely" poke their head out of the ground, look at what's seemingly safe, and then scurry back into the safety of their own dark, hidden cave. NONE of these characters show ANY courage or conviction that makes them worthy of honor. At least Phil inspired the making of a movie that celebrates a reason to have a party in the middle of winter.

Manchin claims to be a Democrat but keeps breaking the hearts of Democrats by voting for issues that he believes will allow him to keep his job in a deep red state.

Toomey is a "Turtle Soldier" who every once in a while ventures out of his cave and pretends to care about issues that would actually benefit the majority of Pennsylvanians instead of his own favorite 1% banker friends. He dares to do that (it makes great headlines on his "Letters to my Fellow Pennsylvanians" ) because he KNOWS that ain't no way in hell is he gonna' get in trouble for "voting the wrong way."

They both need to go. We need to fight for what is right and kick these carpetbaggers to the curb!

GET OUT THE VOTE - get 'em gone!!!!

[Ace Rothstein]

47. That's why he is at the bottom of my list, just below Biden and Gabbard.

[RandySF]

51. Calm down

Bloomberg is softening Trump up for us.

[Progress_Dem]

55. And some question

why a Democratic voter would struggle with Bloomberg being our nominee??

[Bradshaw3]

59. Toomey voted against witnesses and will vote for acquittal

So there is that when people try to minmize what his long-standing and well-funded support of repubs has meant and continues to mean even today.

[liskddksil]

61. Yep. Not to many that Susan Collins (who he also supported over Democrat

Shenna Bellows) in 2014 and Pat Toomey were deciding votes for Kavenaugh and their votes for majority leader Moscow Mitch helped block Merrick Garland. His earlier endorsement of President George W. Bush gave us Roberts and Alito.

[DeminPennswoods]

62. McGinty was just a terrible candidate who ran an awful campaign

Completely bland and foisted onto Dem voters. Toomey was beatable, but she never gave one good reason why Pennsylvanians should vote for her. I kid you not, her campaign ads consisted of her reciting her upbringing as the youngest of 10 kids, Dad a cop, Mom a waitress. If she had run TV spots emphasizing her background, she might have won. Few voters knew anything about her background in chemistry and law although she was somewhat known for being state environmental officer.

Toomey sat on the fence about whether he supported Trump or not. Only at the very end when the die was cast did he say he supported Trump.

I'm with the poster above who believes Sestak would've beat Toomey.