EKI & I made a BET*: Who will be the Democratic CANDIDATE?

Eki and I both want Trump dumped. He's put his money (100 €) on Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders.  I'm backing  Mike Bloomberg. Yeah. I know. He's going to buy the election. But it takes BIG money to run a presidential campaign. And he's spending his own. The others will be financed by super-PACs. Small donations from devoted donors won't do the job.  Blame the Supreme Court. When they gave Citizens United the green light, the big-bucks dam broke.  Now huge amounts of money fund campaigns.  Mike is my choice for a lot of reasons.

The Ghost Of Leonid Brezhnev (see notes.)

His three terms as mayor of New York were not 100%, but the 9 million-plus citizens, where minorities are in the majority, liked Mike. After the disaster of 9/11, he made city safer, more liveable, healthier (more people were covered by health insurance) and more fun. Tourists piled in, the economy improved.  Stop and Frisk was, and is, a big black mark. Meant to protect the most vulnerable people, instead the police harassed mostly blacks and Hispanics. Bloomberg apologized. But it was too little, too late. In spite of S & F, a lot of influential blacks, including many mayors across the country, are backing him.

He's got the best data-driven organization in the campaign. His anti-Trump ads have hit their target - the president took the bait. He flipped when he saw them on Fox news. If Bloomberg doesn't win the nomination (he's at 8% in the national polls), he has a Plan B -  support the Democratic nominee, fund Democrats running for the Senate and the House and voter registration. For years his foundation has supported climate change activists, access to better and more affordable health insurance and gun control groups. Mike Bloomberg made his  money the hard way – he worked for it. Now he wants to use it to beat Trump and TAKE BACK AMERICA.

*Eki bet 100 e that Trump would be impeached. I lost that one.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, internet

Next week: DAVOS: climate change was the theme and the wold's movers, shakers and multi-rich partied like there was no tomorrow

Note: 

I predict Bloomberg has no chance. I really do not think people want another billionaire to the white house. Maggy thinks he could win because he can afford to buy the election, i think he will lose because of that. We will see.

Times have changed. I think a solid fan base, enthusiastic crowds and real grassroots support both in real life and in social media are the key. Not the money (though Bernie's small donations do pile up to a considerable war chest).

Probably.

Also, i think the average Joe and Jane have really, really started to question is socialism such a dirty word after all. Roads, other infrastructure, law enforcement, military etc. are paid collectively after all - they are socialistic in nature. Why can the rest of the western world provide the citizens public health care, education etc., and thrive, but the richest country in the world can't? Is the ghost of Brezhnev really that scary?

And isn't it clear to everyone by now that Reaganomics failed, that cutting taxes for the rich accomplishes nothing but to fill their pockets? That despite trying for decades, no gold trickles down from the rich after all?

And then there's the environmental crisis. The libertarians that have successfully derailed the narrative for decades are finally losing the battle, despite the fortress of science denialism that is the GOP. The citizens are finally waking up. A winning candidate must have the environment high on his/her list.

This holds true for the USA as a whole, but even more so for the Democratic Party voters. To me, it looks like they are ready for a change, and a big one at that. I think the time is ripe for a truly progressive President. The only such candidates are Warren and Sanders.

...oh, progressive in the US terms. Here in Finland, and a lot the rest of the world, both would be considered centrists, perhaps center-right even.

CU
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Eki

"The Ghost of Leonid Brezhnev" is a composite image created from multiple source images from Pixabay and Wikipedia. Thanks to the authors.