People are Lying when they say Bloomberg is not hurting Biden

[bluewater]

It seems Bloomberg's sole purpose in entering the 2020 Democratic Primary was to siphon off support from frontrunner Joe Biden and split the moderate field. Allowing Bernie Sanders to move ahead of the fractured field.

In any case, regardless of Bloomberg's intentions, that is exactly what he is doing.

Looking at these poll trackers, we see Bloomberg's rise is directly due to siphoning votes away from Joe:

https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/national/

Biden's campaign will revive in Nevada and SC leading into Super Tuesday, where he will get a significant number of delegates but not as many as he would have if Bloomberg didn't decide to enter the race and ruin Joe's chances.

Thanks to Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders will emerge from Super Tuesday as the single candidate with the most delegates.

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. "His sole purpose was to siphon off support from Biden"

I love the Onion.

Thanks for the linkless post.

[bluewater]

3. the polls are what the polls are

https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/

Bloomberg goes up, Biden goes down in a 1:1 ratio.

I bet Bernie Sanders is overjoyed about that.

[HeartlandProgressive]

2. Some people won't be able to handle the truth.

But Bloomberg is only making it easier for Sanders.

As a progressive, that makes me smile.

[Demsrule86]

6. I am a progressive and I am not smiling because winning an election is what counts... and looking

at the states, Sanders is too far left to win...whoever doesn't win by super Tuesday needs to drop out (moderates) so we can field a nominee who can beat Trump...and that isn't Sanders.

[bluewater]

9. Blame Bloomberg than for ruining Biden's chances with inaccurate ads

Even Joe has remarked on Bloomberg's ads not being accurate:

Link to tweet

Joe Biden on Mike Bloomberg’s ads: “You’d think that, that Mike was Barack’s vice president.”

[Demsrule86]

11. I could also blame Buttigieg and Klobabchar...but it is a waste of time...if Biden fails and I hope

this does not happen,I will vote for Bloomberg in Ohio. I have hopes for Carolina...no idea about Nevada...hate caucuses...But my mind is made up, we have to end the orange menace...Bloomberg is not my first choice, but he has way more chance of beating Trump than Sanders who IMHO has none. Should Warren surge, she has my vote...with a good VP in terms of the mid west like Tim Ryan, she would win a general.

[redstateblues]

4. News Flash- The Democratic field was fractured before Bloomberg started running ads

Mayor Pete, Klobuchar et al were siphoning off moderate Bloomberg actually has a chance to stop Bernie

[bluewater]

7. NEWSFLASH: Bloomberg damages Frontrunner Joe Biden.

To the point where Biden is no longer the frontrunner.

The facts are what the facts are.

People can see that for themselves looking at the poll trackers:

https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/national/

[highplainsdem]

12. Bloomberg wasn't on the ballot in Iowa and New Hampshire. If Biden had done really well

there, then run into problems later where Bloomberg's on the ballot, your argument that "Bloomberg damages frontrunner Joe Biden" might make more sense.

IF Biden had done well in those first two states, Bloomberg wouldn't be polling as well as he is now.

My preference is still Biden. I wish he were still the frontrunner.

But I don't think he'd be the frontrunner after those Iowa and NH results even if Bloomberg wasn't running.

[Demsrule86]

5. So are Buttigieg and Klobachar...and they have no shot at the nomination IMHO.

We need all but one of the moderates to drop out.

[liskddksil]

17. Except Pete is actually leading in delegates to get the nomination nt

[Demsrule86]

22. Pete is not making it to the general...he doesn't have AA support...it is over for him in Carolina

and other diverse states...all he does is help nominate Sanders by staying in and helping Trump win...as Sanders loses a general.

[liskddksil]

24. 10% in Virginia in a poll today and moving up

nationally as well.

[Celerity]

21. Lol @ demanding the delegate leader drop out now.

I am not saying Pete will win the nomination, not saying that at all, but this attitude is exactly why Biden is in big trouble now. It is presumptive and sounds to me like a built-in sense of both dismissiveness and entitlement.

The more I see of Bloomberg, the more I like Biden if Pete falters, but if Biden cannot overcome Pete and Amy with ease, well that doesnt exactly bode well for the Trumpian bloodfest ahead for our nominee.

[frazzled]

8. In my opinion, one of the things that most hurt Biden

was the impeachment process. Despite the fact that the media discounted the Republican innuendo about his and his son's roles in Ukraine, I think a lot of people felt that this would nonetheless be heavy baggage to counter in the general election. The innuendo alone is more than anyone wants to deal with when the objective seems to be "beat Trump" above all else. That, together, with his uneven performances in debates (although which of the candidates has not been uneven).

I have another observation that counters the general narrative that has been set up: that is, "moderate" vs. "progressive." There's another split that seemed evident to me in the first two contests: age vs. relative youth. I mean, let's be real: four of the major candidates (Biden, Sanders, Bloomberg, Warren) are in their early to late 70s; the two relatively younger candidates who rose to top level in the first two primaries are in their late 30s to late 50s (Buttigieg and Klobuchar). I think there's a younger-older split going on as well, even if people don't realize it themselves. Oddly, younger people are trending toward the oldies, while older people are trending toward the younger ones. Go figure. I think a part of it, at least for those who are older, is that they are subconsciously thinking: none of these people (like myself, or myself in a decade or so) would be hired for a top level new job (maybe they'd be put on a board of directors, but they wouldn't be chosen as the CEO running a big company), or even most any old job. It seems the only job you can go for after 60 is president!

[highplainsdem]

13. I do think Biden has been hit hardest by an ageist argument focusing on "gaffes" that are really

mostly his editing what he's saying due to his stutter, automatically avoiding some words when he gets to one he knows he's likely to stutter on. (Something I hadn't been aware of myself till I read what an expert on stuttering wrote about it. I could see he was often editing what he was saying mid-sentence, but I didn't understand why.)

He was hammered on that relentlessly, even though Sanders and Bloomberg are older -- and Sanders has had a heart attack -- and Warren is almost as old.

There was some recent polling showing that a significant fraction of Democrats are less likely to vote for older candidates. I agree with you that the ageist bias is helping Buttigieg and Klobuchar.

[randr]

10. Trump destroyed Biden with the usual bullshit

It hasn't helped that Biden has not hit back effectively.

[customerserviceguy]

14. That was his plan from the beginning

He figured Joe Biden would stumble, no other moderate candidate would do well, then he could swoop in with the MoneyMobile and "rescue" us.

I was hoping Pete could be the beneficiary of a Biden misstep if it was to be, but it's not happening that way. Of course, I was thinking Amy had no chance of breaking out of low single digits, and I'm glad for her that she has, and would welcome her as the nominee, but that doesn't look likely either.

[jmg257]

15. Interesting. Do you think he's propping up Sanders to help trump in the long run (i.e. GE)?

It seems Bloomberg's sole purpose in entering the 2020 Democratic Primary was to siphon off support from frontrunner Joe Biden and split the moderate field. Allowing Bernie Sanders to move ahead of the fractured field.

[madville]

19. That's my theory

I think Bloomberg wants Sanders to be the nominee and for Trump to win because it all comes down to the bottom line and he may think Trump is good for business and his wallet.

[jmg257]

23. Yeesh - lets hope not. That is scary.

[loyalsister]

16. He blurs the line

between permitting, enabling, endorsing, and defending white supremacy and Trump's vicious brand of bigotry. In the end, we are considering nominating policy makers who have supported a system of white supremacy in their own ways from different domains. Bloomberg's official policy was limited to one large city he led, however it was also the setting where popular culture has been setting a tone via cops shows like NYPD Blue, and the Law & Order franchise, thus perpetuating the sentiment across the country and globe constantly through entertainment. Similarly, the 1994 crime bill set the tone that led many states to follow the tough on crime path that exacerbated mass incarceration of Black and Brown people. Klobuchar's reach was not nearly as extensive when she was a prosecutor, but every indication is that she conducted her duties without reservation or questioning the potential for injustice.
We have a lot of work to do I turn my attention to local politics when the national scene depresses me.

[Kaleva]

18. I see no evidence that Biden votes went to Bloomberg in Iowa or NH.

[CalFione]

20. Amy, Pete, and Joe need to "make a deal" after SC

They need to coalesce their vote behind one of them. That person would instantly be the leading candidate.

After SC, we'll know which of the three has the most momentum going into Super Tuesday. And the other two need to bite the bullet and make a deal to endorse the one that can win.