
Michael Bloomberg considers an independent presidential run - SCAQTony
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michael-bloomberg-considers-a-presidential-run/2016/01/23/1a0f4176-c1ee-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html
======
decentrality
Bloomberg $36.5b [1]

Trump $4.5b [2]

Clinton (household) $111m [3]

Bush $21m [4]

Context:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presiden...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_net_worth)

Sources:

[1] [http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-
bloomberg](http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg)

[2] [http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-
trump](http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump)

[3] [http://moneynation.com/hillary-clinton-net-
worth](http://moneynation.com/hillary-clinton-net-worth)

[4] [http://moneynation.com/jeb-bushs-net-worth](http://moneynation.com/jeb-
bushs-net-worth)

~~~
dannymick
Bernie $528,014

Source: [http://moneynation.com/bernie-sanders-net-
worth/](http://moneynation.com/bernie-sanders-net-worth/)

~~~
jmaygarden
What did he do with all his income? Senators make $174,000 per annum...

------
dev1n
What he did with the NYPD scares me a bit but I think overall he was truly
responsible for cleaning up that city (physically). He also implemented the
first "Data science" team for a city, which was used to prevent building fires
and sewage pipe bursts, among other things [1].

[1]: [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-
bloombergs-...](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-bloombergs-
geek-squad.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)

~~~
skatenerd
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NX7OA0/ref=dp-kindle-
re...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NX7OA0/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1)

------
Amorymeltzer
I'm torn on this.

\- I would LOVE to see a significant voice in politics outside of the two
parties.

\- He would only be capable of mounting a campaign outside the two-party
system due to his billions of dollars, which is exactly the problem.

~~~
golemotron
When Trump started gaining momentum I realized how poetic his success was.
Democrats couldn't say he was in it for the money and Republicans who thought
it was ok to have unlimited campaign spending couldn't complain either.

Plutocrat candidacies are the legacy of Citizens United.

~~~
tomp
> Plutocrat candidacies are the legacy of Citizens United.

Wouldn't he be able to self-fund his campaign even without Citizen United?

~~~
golemotron
Yes but I think we'll see more plutocrats running now. There's no possible
limit on them using their own money.

~~~
ende
This doesn't make any sense. Citizebs United had nothing to do with self-
funding a campaign. If anything a reversal on Citizens United would
incentivize more self-funded campaigns, as political speech by third parties
is what would be limited.

The concern with big money in politics isn't about the spending of the money
itself anyway, it's the alleged connontation of what that money is buying for
the other party. A self-funded candidate would be more insulated from such
influence, as such a candidate cannot exactly buy their own influence.

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lewisl9029
I'd love to see how well Trump, Sanders, and now Bloomberg, could do as
independents against the official candidates of the two parties in a 5-way
race.

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supster
@chamath called it? [https://www.quora.com/What-should-we-do-about-Trump-How-
bad-...](https://www.quora.com/What-should-we-do-about-Trump-How-bad-would-it-
be-if-he-became-president/answer/Chamath-Palihapitiya)

------
MichaelBurge
It seems like there are way more interesting candidates this election than in
the last few.

I wouldn't mind if either Trump, Rand Paul, or Bernie Sanders win. A glance at
his stance on the issues shows I probably wouldn't mind Bloomberg winning,
either.

------
iMark
Regardless of how it splits the vote, I have a hard time arguing against
anyone who pins their flag to the !Trump platform.

------
andrewclunn
If he does, he's just handing the election to Trump.

~~~
tomp
Why? Isn't he a republican? So, if he ran, he would be stealing primarily the
votes that would go to the Republican candidate.

~~~
teuobk
Bloomberg's views on guns are such that many Republican voters would refuse to
vote for him.

~~~
SCAQTony
But many Democrats would and many Republicans appreciate his pro-NSA stance,
his calling for the prosecution of Edward Snowden, and finally his pro Israel
government stance. Ultimately he is pretty right wing and his anti-guns thing
is consistent with all of the above.

~~~
donw
Is pro-NSA a Republican stance?

~~~
SCAQTony
Yes, I do think so: When Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Scott Walker,
Arguably Ted Cruz endorse NSA meta data collection, yeah, it's a safe bet that
it is a Republican position.

[http://mashable.com/2015/05/20/nsa-2016-candidates/#5BXfYekf...](http://mashable.com/2015/05/20/nsa-2016-candidates/#5BXfYekfzgqX)

Donald Trump Stance here: [http://truthinmedia.com/trump-supports-
reauthorizing-patriot...](http://truthinmedia.com/trump-supports-
reauthorizing-patriot-act-nsa-metadata-collection/)

