Bloomberg declares his independence

Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg added a little intensity to the will-he-run-for-the-presidency talk Tuesday night by announcing that he's leaving the Republican Party.
Bloomberg, who endorsed George W. Bush's reelection while hosting the Republican National Convention in New York in 2004, now says that he wants to move beyond the world of partisan politics. "Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles, and that good ideas should take precedence over rigid adherence to any particular political ideology," he said in a statement last night.

Bloomberg said that his "plans for the future haven't changed," but what that means depends entirely on what his "plans for the future" have been. As Walter Shapiro reported in Salon the other day, Bloomberg has waved off talk of a presidential run, but his "top political advisors make scant secret that they are currently plotting ways for him to enter the 2008 White House field as a problem-solving independent, socially liberal and fiscally responsible."

It could be an uphill run, at least if voters in Bloomberg's home state have anything to say about it. In a new Quinnipiac University poll released this morning, New York voters were asked to name their favorites in a hypothetical three-way presidential race among three New York-based candidates. The result: Hillary Clinton leads the pack with 43 percent, Rudy Giuliani -- whose South Carolina campaign chairman was indicted yesterday on cocaine charges -- comes in second with 29 percent, and Bloomberg brings up the rear with 16 percent.

-- Tim Grieve

Mega-Nader
by Devilstower

Imagine Ralph Nader, only sane. Wait, that's too tough. Imagine Ross Perot, only sane. Or... hold on a sec.

Launching an independent bid for president requires that you first have an ego slightly larger than Mt. Rushmore, and a grounding in reality somewhere near that of Peter Pan. Reading the list of the third party candidates over the last few decades doesn't present a picture of good-hearted little guys trying to shrug free of a rigid, corporate-sponsored system. It's more of a rogue's gallery, filled with would-be czars and ayatollahs (thought the Personal Choice Party did offer the prospect of Vice-President Marilyn Chambers).

So if Bloomberg is really sane, then surely he'd never make that jump, right? He may have billions to toss around, but there's a limit to what even dollars can bring. What might him think that an independent run is possible? You.

Well, not just you. Here, let me get out my patented Romper Room magic looking glass. It's you, Kenny. And you, Susie. And you, Bobby. And... you get the idea. Don't expect Bloomberg to jump into the campaign any time soon. He won't make an announcement this week, this month, and probably not this year. First he's counting on you to do his work for him.

He's counting on you to get tired of all the fighting generated during the primary season. He's counting on you to buy into the mud slung by the same corporate interests from which he will then claim to be oh-so-independent. He's counting on you to indulge in "I'll never vote for X" talk, and slice and dice potential nominees so that they all stagger into the convention bleeding from a thousand wounds.

He's counting on you to be so sick of the process, that he can go around the process, jumping in at the time when the media has dragged out every skeleton back to kindergarten. Is that a winning strategy?

Maybe. If you help.

But he's one thing that's sure: the one way for the minority of hard-right Republicans to end up victorious in 2008, is to take the majority and split it in half. A President McCain might never get 50% of the vote, but if he can get into office with only 34%... Right now, the Republican campaigns are looking at Bloomberg's potential entry as a clear sign that God is on their side. They're rubbing their hands together and chuckling like Mr. Burns on a bender, seeing this as their best opportunity to avoid disaster. They likey Mikey.

I absolutely believe that if Bloomberg were to enter, the Democratic nominee would still win the race. But I'd just as soon not roll those dice. And the best way to do that is through maintaining Democratic solidarity, by making it clear that the support will be there for the Democratic nominee, even if that nominee isn't your first (or second, or third) choice.

And the best way to court disaster, the best way to boost the chances of President Rudy, or President Williard, or President Tancredo, is to start dropping hints that if your favorite doesn't get the nod, you just might flip the switch for Bloomberg. That's just what he -- and the Republicans -- are dying to see.

So please, before you press the button on that "Bloomberg is great!" diary, remember that the title might as well be "Hey, I'm so ticked that things aren't going exactly my way that I'm willing toss Republicans a rope in a year when we had our best chance this century to get the neocons out of power." And don't be surprised if those responding treat your diary exactly that way