Bloomberg ditches the G.O.P.
Earlier today, I said Michael Bloomberg was my favorite Republican - one of the two I have any admiration for. That was pretty short lived. Bloomberg announced today that he is leaving the GOP. Independent run for the presidency, anyone? We'll see...
Addendum:
Dateline: Chicago, IL
Derek Phillips
The Ultimate Subway Series?
Coming out of nowhere and in one day making Fred Thompson yesterday's girl, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces that he's dropping his Republican affiliation to live as an Independent and he's more than hinted at the possibility of a third party run for the presidency.
That means we could potentially have an all-New York race for the Big Seat: Rudy (ex-New York Mayor), Bloomberg (current New York Mayor and billionaire), and Hillary (carpet bagger, yes, but also New York Senator). Hot damn, this is going to be a pisser!
But who does this help best? The Democrats. Back in 1992, Ross Perot exploited a fractured and dispassionate Republican base who distrusted George HW Bush and was apathetic about some upstart Arkansas governor making a darkhorse run from the Democratic side. Today, we see a similar paradigm in that there is no clear conservative leader in the GOP who has a chance in hell of winning a general election while there's a surprisingly strong Democratic roster who is politely nipping at each other while serving up very little red meat for Republican sharp shooters to bring up come October, 2008.
This shit just gets better every week.
Comments
Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat. In 2001 he wanted to run for Mayor of New York City. The Democratic nomination had a crowed field, and front-runner Mark Green was way ahead of the pack (because it was 'his turn'). Mike changed his party affiliation to Republican the day before he announced he would run for Mayor.
You're hoping he gets in because you think he will steal more votes from Republicans than from Democrats? The Republicans want him to get in because they think he will be the reverse-Ross Perot, and steal more votes from the Democrats than the Republicans.
I think he's got a good chance. We all should be glad to see a strong third party candidate come forward that could actually break this two-party duopoly.
See Bloomberg speak on Democrats & Republicans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRGX_Yej6Io
.
Posted by: Michael Bloomberg for President | December 19, 2007 1:56 AM
There's much more to the story than merely wanting to avoid the democratic primary. Mike Bloomberg's governing style has been to transcend partisan bantering and bickering in favor of results. Join the Draft effort at http://www.UniteForMike.com
Posted by: Andrew MacRae | December 19, 2007 9:50 AM