Anyone remember Steve Forbes?

[RDANGELO]

He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000. In 1996 he was pro choice and didn't get very far.; in 2000 he had switched to pro life. He had a lot of money like Bloomberg, and he spent a ton of it. This helped him get to a decent standing in the polls with the Republican voters. At some point he reached a ceiling; it didn't matter how much money he spent. He wasn't getting the nomination. I think that the same thing is going to happen with Bloomberg.

[marybourg]

1. So far today I've received a phone call and two

pieces of mail from Bloomberg. I’ve already mailed in my primary ballot. I voted for Biden, although I really prefer Klobuchar. I think he has the best chance of beating tRump and that’s all that matters to me.

[RDANGELO]

2. Pete was my favorite candicate.

[marybourg]

3. Fortunately for both of us,

Biden’s not a terrible second choice.

[brooklynite]

4. Steve Forbes hadn't previously been an elected official, and didn't commit to spending as much money

[RDANGELO]

5. I think that the way they are similar is that the electorate doesn't completely trust them.

[brooklynite]

7. I'm not aware that the electorate doesn't "trust" Bloomberg

Again, he was elected by Democrats three times in NYC. Other than some activists and people here, his polling has been largely affected by his debate performances.

[Bucky]

8. A lot of the Democratic base doesn't.

Mostly I worry about how he'll stand up against Trump. Not well, I don't think. We'll hear about harassed female employees one week, vicious stop and frisk stories the next, and union busting stories the week after that. Who know what else they'll did up on him. A man who runs a billion-dollar corporation is going to have a lot of vulnerable spots. You'll see our core constituencies bleed out from voting with Bloomberg atop the ticket

Then there's the concerned about how he would get the nomination. It would have to be at a convention, where he is going to have been throwing his money around. So you wouldn't just lose the election most likely, but he would ruin the Democratic brand. We'd be the party that's up for sale. So the youth vote and the progressive vote will be discouraged as well.

Bloomberg is the biggest mistake we can make

[BusyBeingBest]

15. I think Biden or Warren would be the biggest mistake, respectfully.

Because they seem at first glance like such obvious choices, and yet there's a hesitation to get behind either of them as a party. This hesitation is alarming. Even if voters overcome it for Super Tuesday and put either one on top, the doubts will linger. I think it's a gut feeling that they are going to stumble in the general election or be unable to attract independents. The safest choices in terms of everyone liking them and being acceptable moderates are Amy and Pete, but they are not going to get that far, they would need way more $$, organization and poll numbers than what they have now. Bloomberg hasn't had the time to build a lot of trust and goodwill yet, and it might be too late to do so now, but he does pretty well with latinos in TX (behind Bernie, according to a poll there) and not nearly as bad with African Americans as one would think. I don't think all is lost if he was the nominee, as you say, but it would not be a pretty process. Bernie is, for all his faults, a pretty strong horse, and is the person I think will prevail.

[left-of-center2012]

6. "He (Steve Forbes) had a lot of money like Bloomberg"

According to Google:

Steve Forbes net worth was $430 million.

Mike Bloomberg has $59.6 billion

[stopbush]

9. People aren't aware of the fact the the D party wouldn't allow Bloomberg

to run in their primary for NYC mayor, even though he was a lifelong Dem. That’s why he opted to run for the R nomination.

[Drunken Irishman]

10. Is that why he also endorsed Bush in 2004 and McCain in 2008?

[BusyBeingBest]

12. Usually when you join a political party, they expect you to endorse their presidential candidates.

Be kind of weird if you didn't.

[Drunken Irishman]

13. But I thought he just joined out of politics expediency...

Sure sounds like he was ideologically aligned with them.

[BusyBeingBest]

16. Fiscal conservative, definitely. Maybe on foreign policy, law enforcement issues.

In other ways, quite liberal.

[stopbush]

18. No, but it is why Biden didn't allow witnesses who would have confirmed Anita Hill's story

during the Clarence Thomas hearings.

See how bringing up the past works for every candidate?

[Drunken Irishman]

21. Ah yes. Because that's the exact same as supporting the last reelected Republican president.

Let's also not forget the money he sunk into reelecting Pat Toomey and other Republicans. It's clear he's still a Republican at heart.

[stopbush]

22. In the grand scheme of things, Biden's treatment of Anita Hill and the fact

that Thomas was confirmed to the SCOTUS is a much worse transgression than someone supporting a R candidate for elected office. Senators and Reps can be removed from office thru a simple majority vote. SCOTUS judges are forever.

[Drunken Irishman]

23. Biden opposed Thomas.

But hey, if you're okay supporting someone who actively worked to get guys like Toomey in PA elected, more power to you. Bloomberg is a snake. He's a more boring version of Trump.

[thesquanderer]

19. re: "the D party wouldn't allow Bloomberg to run in their primary for NYC mayor"

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. What was the reason the Dem party would not let him run?

[BusyBeingBest]

11. Steve Forbes was like Tom Steyer--very rich but never held public office.

That's quite different than Bloomberg. 12 years of elected public office is more than Pete and E. Warren have.

[TlalocW]

14. I remember Al Franken talking about him in his, "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big, Fat Idiot," book

He was concerned with how little he blinked and jokingly impressed with how whenever he laughed, he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth behind his front teeth. Franken assumed it was some of upper-class affectation.

TlalocW

[Denis Enko]

17. I Try Not To

[hangaleft]

20. I remember two things about Steve Forbes

1. He was goofy looking.

2. He was a one issue candidate — an advocate of the flat tax (as goofy as his appearance).