Will Bloomberg be the Overnight Sensation Come Super Tuesday?

He's coming March 3rd. Be scared, be very scared. Be angry, very angry. As much as I'd like to go to a ridiculously priced Rage Against the Machine concert (and I really, really, really want to go see them), I'm gonna donate money to Bernie instead. Please vote for the only possible left alternative to Bloomberg and Trump. It's our chance of a lifetime. Think we can wait another four years or more? I don't.

He's unrepentently racist. He even doubles down on racism:

Hopefully, the Black community will not waste their votes on Bloomberg or his class collaborators Buttigieg, Biden, Warren, Klobuchar but who knows with shills like Don Lemon who defends stop and frisk:

Well, we'll see how it all pans out soon enough come March 3rd when most voters will have already voted in their primaries. It's now or never.

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Wally's picture

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21 users have voted.

@Wally
His ads make it look like Obama endorsed him, which helps huge in the south.

The real questions are 1) does Obama approve of Bloomberg using him in this manner (maybe he really does support him in private)?, and 2) will the other candidates point out that Obama did not endorse Bloomberg (adn when)?

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19 users have voted.
QMS's picture

@Wally
used to be here alot
thanks

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13 users have voted.

question everything

k9disc's picture

@QMS

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7 users have voted.

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

moneysmith's picture

Had lunch yesterday with a low-info friend who I'd been preaching Bernie to for the past year. She kept saying she thought he really cared about people and had good ideas, and she even wanted to go to a local rally he was doing last month, so I thought she was solid.

But yesterday she tells me she sent in her mail-in ballot and voted for Bloomberg. She claimed she didn't know why she did that, but it was done. I suspect she heard something on MSNBC/CNN etc. that changed her mind. But FFS,Bloomberg?? Seriously?

So I share your concerns about Super Tuesday:-( Now off to the Twitter machine!

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27 users have voted.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare

edg's picture

@moneysmith

You can't turn on hardly any channel without being bombarded with Bloomberg ads. For low info voters, that makes him the logical choice.

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18 users have voted.

@edg
Democracy can't work with a population of credulous robots.

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15 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Mark from Queens's picture

@edg
watch tv and listen to/watch advertisements?

Am I really the only one who, a) doesn't watch tv (or even own one) and b) has purposely made a concerted effort to not take in any advertising whatsoever, to the degree that it's possible?

Now of course it's literally impossible to be 100%. Not in this fucked up predatory dystopia in which product placement and other nefarious subtle worming into your conscience that advertisers and gov't/media propaganda are relentlessly barraging us all, preying upon oour insecurities and vulnerabilities. But I'm damn close.

Folks, what's so goddamn hard about conditioning oneself to mute the sound and avert one's eyes at the very instant a commercial threatens to crash into your conscience?

They only can occupy space in your mind if you let them. All day long I see glimpses of shit, along the street, highway, in stores, online - that I instantly turn my gaze from. If it's on in a store I'll just go into a public rant making fun of the stupid, in-store ad shit or whatever. I'll do almost anything to get people to start seeing and thinking differently of this chronic consumer advertising propaganda marketing nightmare dystopia that we've apparently accepted as part of the natural scenery. It's unnatural and sick.

I'll say it again: the poison of tv and all corporate media, including commercial radio and newspapers, social media advertising is among the very biggest problems to getting a better world.

Start building up your defenses to this bullshit.

It's easier than you think.

Damn, this shit is depressing...

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25 users have voted.

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

moneysmith's picture

@Mark from Queens so I haven't seen Bloomberg's ads. Mr. Moneysmith tells me they are quite shiny and persuasive, perfect for those whose lips move when they read.

The only thing that keeps despondency from taking over is remembering how Meg Whitman blanketed the California governor's race a few years ago with something like $150 million worth of ads -- and lost. She was a Republican in a strongly Democratic state, but the nauseating number of ads she ran could not have helped. Hoping little Mikey follows her to the graveyard of failed campaigns.

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12 users have voted.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare

k9disc's picture

pop up, and holy shit were they stupid. Like absurd -- complete idiocracy -- and insulting. Like they did harm to me and my intelligence, and I only watched a couple of them.

I have been off the corporate media teat for a long time, and every time I see commercials there are months or years between. They have leapt several very stupid sharks, maybe sharks with laserbeams, each time.

This last assault was unreal though. And people actually watch them. It's insane and, I think, it makes people insane. So scary to think that we are subject to the whims of people who can stomach this shit.

Drumpf will spend a billion on "disinfo" this election cycle, so says the Atlantic or some other "respectable" journal while our friendly Democrat Oligarch, Bloomberg says,"Hold my beer."

I don't have much faith nor hope left.

@Mark from Queens

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9 users have voted.

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

CS in AZ's picture

@Mark from Queens

We have a nice big-screen TV, which we enjoy immensely for watching movies, select TV shows, and YouTube concerts, which I especially love. ALL of the TV content we watch is 100% ad-free. We pay subscriptions to YouTube, Netflix, CBS All Access, and Amazon Prime to ensure we don’t get our shows polluted with ads, all for less than half what we used to pay for cable. I have not seen even one campaign ad this entire political season. It’s not hard to still enjoy TV and avoid the advertising without getting rid of my TV. And yes, before we changed to pay for ad-free shows, music, and movies, we practically wore out the mute button.

I’ve even found (by happy accident) a local FM radio station that is completely free of any advertising or talking of any kind. It’s a miracle. They play oldies rock (70s and 80s, mostly) and are not always on the air, but having music with zero ads or DJs talking is such a blessing, it’s the only station I have programmed into my car radio now.

Advertising is mind poison. I make every possible effort to keep it out of my eyes and ears entirely. When anyone starts a sentence with “have you seen the commercial where...” I stop them and say “No. I haven’t seen it. I don’t watch any advertising.” This does often get me funny looks, but I could not care less. Nope, the only poison I intentionally consume is alcohol. My choice, because I feel it does me more good than harm. Unlike TV and radio advertising.

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9 users have voted.
Daenerys's picture

@Mark from Queens I hate advertising. I haven't had tv in years, and all the advertising is one of the reasons; there's very little actual show content any more. There are a very few shows I'll watch, but I have an internet source for those. Like my dad always said, if I'm interested in buying something I'll do my own research and find it myself thank you very much. Kill your tv and open your mind.

And just for the record, my feelings about Bloomberg:

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13 users have voted.

This shit is bananas.

QMS's picture

@Mark from Queens
haven't turned on the tube
for years, no longer remember how
news is inner-tubes selectively
radio is portugese
music is sirius
if bloomie buys a run against trumpet
stepping on democratic ideals
smashing our hopes for bernie
commercial interests thrive
we the people lose

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3 users have voted.

question everything

@Mark from Queens I do not get slaughtered by advertisements.
I listen or watch cable YV in dentist's offices, or a sport's bar in an airport.

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0 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@moneysmith

She claimed she didn't know why she did that, but it was done

That totally explains why the voting behavior of a high percentage of Americans defies any sort of rational analysis. WTF are/were they thinking has no answer because they don't think. They're like the supermarket impulse shoppers.

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3 users have voted.
Wally's picture

[video:https://youtu.be/kwjYsWjG-7A]

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19 users have voted.

@Wally
And it wasn't Russian Facebook ads or economic theory.

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16 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Mark from Queens's picture

@Wally
Elated to see that he didn't pull any punches on taking it to Bloomberg, especially that high-ranking member of the Black MisLeadership, Al Sharpton, was seated right next to him. Curious to hear what he said.

This morning on WBAI's morning activist show they were talking about the horrendous plight of Ramsey Orta, who filmed the Garner murder, and how he's been targeted by the NYPD and now back in solitary confinement on bogus trumped-up charges. One person was talking about how Sharpton had led his family to believe he would take care of them but sold out to the establishment. I saw evidence of his pernicious effect on quelling legitimate activism and fronting for the cops. Wrote about it here for the Pestilent Neoliberal Cesspool.

Fucking NYPD thugs.

This whole Bloomberg thing is going to remind a lot of folks here about all the shit he so callously did and was dismissive about.

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10 users have voted.

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Looking at two outcomes which I don't see as bad. Bernie gets the nomination. Good. Bloomberg gets the nomination and the democratic part implodes with the possibility of a replacement Left party.

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13 users have voted.
Wally's picture

@MrWebster

You think Bloomberg (or Trump) is going to let the left flourish or survive for that matter?

And then there's the matter of approaching climate catastrophe.

I only see one option for the left.

If we don't approach it like the Battle of Stalingrad, our goose is cooked.

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12 users have voted.
burnt out's picture

I won't be too surprised if Bloomberg manages to buy it. He's got boatloads of money to continue his media blitz for however long it takes to convince an extremely gullible American electorate that he's the one. They're being sold a bottle of snake oil but vast hordes of America will not be able to see that, hell, many won't see it even if he gets elected and doesn't follow through on his promises. Look how many still believe Obama was some kind of American savior, or the Clintons, Reagan for crying sake, etc, etc, the list of pols that have duped us (and contunue to dupe us) is endless. Seems to me people will believe anything if they see it on teevee enough times. Hell they've been selling wonder/miracle/amazing/incredible fat reducing pills for $19.95 on the teevee as far back as I can remember. Take these pills and continue to eat whatever you want and watch the pounds roll off. They rename them about once a year or whenever the sales start to drop off and roll out a new spokesperson but the lines change not a whit and they again sell like hotcakes. Bloomberg knows his chance of selling his bullshit gets better with every ad he runs. And what's a few hundred million when you've got sixty some billion to play with? Peanuts. We've got our work cut out for us. It'll be the upset of our lifetimes if we pull this off but if we don't it probably won't matter after that what we do. I for one will just shut out as much of the noise as I can and concentrate on taking care of those around me.

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24 users have voted.

All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth. John Lennon

Raggedy Ann's picture

he might support Bloomberg. I questioned the decision and by the time we were done, he was off Bloomberg. Geez! Shok

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20 users have voted.

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

@Raggedy Ann
is the most important thing. WTF, Bernie?

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8 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Wally's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

Never mind.

[video:https://youtu.be/OjYoNL4g5Vg]

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3 users have voted.
Raggedy Ann's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness
I watched Bernie's last rally the night before the NH vote and that was his focus and I thought - get off it Bernie and get back on your message of helping the 99%! I might need to email his campaign.

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10 users have voted.

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Wally's picture

@Raggedy Ann

. . . than I am about Trump. But it sure seems like right now, Bernie's the only way to stop him.

If the real left can't stop Bloomberg from buying the Democratic nomination, what are the chances that same left, sitting out from the election, can stop him from beating Trump?

Bloomberg has more money than Trump and God. He has to be short circuited now before Super Tuesday which is now only a couple weeks away.

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7 users have voted.
Raggedy Ann's picture

@Wally
His history is catching up with him.

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1 user has voted.

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Wally's picture

@Raggedy Ann

I thought Biden was gonna be the guy to beat. But Bloomberg has changed all that.

Those incessant political ads and his ground and press game for Super Tuesday, I think, are going to push him numbers up and up.

Black commentators and professional/managerial class Black folks who listen to them seem to be making "but Trump" excuses all over the place, even regular guests on Rising that I used to think were ok folks.

We'll find out in a couple weeks come Super Tuesday. I've never hoped I'm wrong so much in my life.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

@Wally
he will go anywhere once his policies are talked about more and more. He will flame out. I might be wrong, but I don't think so. Biden is hanging on because that's all he knows how to do.

If you watch/listen to Democracy Now!, there was a guest who was a council member with Mayo Cheat. More people will hear how he treats the black community in South Bend and he will flame out, too.

These are my $.02, but I've been in this rodeo before.

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1 user has voted.

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Wally's picture

@Raggedy Ann

We won't really know the full results 'til March 4 on which day I will be crunching all the info I can before I open up my mouth (bits and bytes) about Bernie's chances. I may "disappear" at that point.

I just posted a listing of all the primaries/caucuses through then with delegate counts and open/closed primary designations in the comments under konundrum's new essay. I'll betcha Bloomberg's gonna buy a lot of the conservative-leaning independent votes in the open primaries.

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1 user has voted.

Here we are, watching the very people who have been saying "Bernie isn't even a Democrat!" The people who who say "Vote Blue no matter what!" The people who supposedly care about and represent the views of minorities. And their answer? Our racist Republican is better than their racist Republican.

These people should be ashamed to say these things publicly, and yet they act as though they are the reasonable people in the room. Just a stunning lack of self awareness.

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22 users have voted.

@konondrum “Yeah, he’s a racist Republican oligarch but he’s OUR racist Republican oligarch.” (Except he really isn’t. Sigh.)

It bummed me out that people think this way. At least I can appreciate the irony in that many of the “deplorables” gave a very similar reason for supporting Trump. (He may be a entitled elitist billionaire twit, but he’s MY entitled elitist billionaire twit.)

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3 users have voted.

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

WoodsDweller's picture

We've got Steyer spending nearly as much (in the same stratospheric neighborhood anyway) yet getting single digit returns in the first two states.
We saw Biden leading the polls for a year, yet collapsing once the actual voting started.
I believe, with no more evidence than the rest of you have, that there's a relatively low cap on the number of Democratic primary voters that are interested in being represented by a billionaire, and further that Bloomberg is sharing that lane with Steyer.
People may or may not know that Bloomberg is a racist, or that he used to be a Republican, but they all know he's stinking rich.
So we'll run the experiment and see if democracy was nothing more than a marketing slogan to promote plutocracy.

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20 users have voted.

"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

QMS's picture

@WoodsDweller
but bloomie has billions, plus the media
plus very expensive thought control
minions on his 'campaign'

flooding the voters with manufactured
temporary solutions to problems most
had not even considered

it's all about the almighty capitalist consumption
not democracy, not voter integrity
not even representation of
shared values or concerns for common
interest

the super rich won't share their spoils
money trumps democracy again

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5 users have voted.

question everything

This was the case with Planned Parenthood, teachers union, and SEIU.

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13 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

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13 users have voted.
Wally's picture

Many, many, many thanks and kudos to Benjamin Dixon for digging up that now viral Bloomberg video and now racheting up the hashtag:

For those of you who are tweeters, go for it. This needs to be BIG and pronto.

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12 users have voted.
Mark from Queens's picture

@Wally
It has the potential to break Twitter, if blacks even give a shit to tell them on social media or even have the time to get on Twitter (many young ones are though). I hope this fucking EXPLODES (and think it will).

I can't type fast enough to recount all the shit that he's fucking lorded over in his pampered palatial position of power which has ruined this city.

Heard firsthand stories of it from people and from going to all these powerful marches and speeches that sprung up during a prolific time of BlackLivesMatter here.

There was another great Twitter outpouring during the time of the police murder of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner that blew up the totally lacking in awareness decision by the NYPD to promote a hashtag of something like #MyNYPD. Started collecting tweets for an essay at TOP but never got around to it. Some really brutal photos and videos of hospital beds with young men shown with their heads disfigured and on tubes, etc.

That needs to happen again. Their racist Stop & Frisk (part of the larger discredited Broken Windows bullshit) is psychological warfare.

Personally, and I've said this from the very beginning since this racist oligarch Neoliberal douchebag with the personality of a soggy pretzel's announcement:

He's. Absolutely. Going. No. Where.

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11 users have voted.

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Wally's picture

@Mark from Queens

. . . about Bloomberg going nowhere. But like Lee Fang notes in the tweet on the top of this essay, he's got mucho money for commercials and a strong press/ground operation going all out in the non-Texas/California states on Super Tuesday. I shudder to think what the buzz will be if we wake up on Wednesday Morning, March 4th to find that Bloomberg has taken the lead in delegate count.

I told myself I wouldn't send Bernie any more money until the results of March 3 come in. That's 10 states and 52% of all delegates (including those already apportioned out in the first four primaries). I figure it's now or never so I'm gonna send one more $27 contribution coz I'm pretty much tapped out and I'm really scared of Bloomberg what with his neocon sensibility regarding issues of war and peace even more so than his racist outlook in the US.

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8 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@Wally

Michael Bloomberg’s Campaign Is an Insult to Democracy

But the audio also shows us a second thing, which is a sense of his governing philosophy. Bloomberg believes it’s necessary to use brute force to address social problems. If you juxtapose this audio with his justification for his other signature policy, the soda tax, you notice the same level of paternalism. In order to address the bad eating habits of the impoverished, Bloomberg proposed to tax them for those habits. It demonstrates a particular view of government. We can either use the government to promote general welfare by addressing the underlying systemic issues that cause poverty and violence, or we can use the government to punish populations for their own good. For Bloomberg, it’s the latter.

Members of the black caucuses across the country are endorsing Bloomberg. Smh.

Lots of people came into Blow's tweet and said that Bloomberg apologized and it's time to move on because We Have To Beat Trump! Sure just move on from being physically assaulted by cops and living with the stress from it. Or reading day after day how another cop got away with murdering an unarmed black person. If you didn't live through it shut the f up and listen to those who did and how it affected them. There are plenty of people telling their tales of what happened to them. And Sandra Bland should never be far from anyone's mind. That would never have happened to a rich white person.

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6 users have voted.
boriscleto's picture

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10 users have voted.

" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

TheOtherMaven's picture

@boriscleto @boriscleto

Can you possibly upgrade to the 21st century, or should we leave you stuck in the past with all your bad rich-bastard ideas?

Oh by the way, how many here remember Allan Sherman's "Bye Bye Bloomberg"?

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5 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@TheOtherMaven

.... that Bloomberg single-handedly ended smoking in restaurants across America. There was a hint of worship in his voice.

Was Sherman's jingle around that time?

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3 users have voted.
boriscleto's picture

@Pluto's Republic I remember during his second or third term he made it an issue. He was upset he couldn't have wine at Central park concerts...

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2 users have voted.

" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

Pluto's Republic's picture

@boriscleto

...sold in Manhattan. Or was that a copycat ruler?

I don't remember the wine in Central Park issue. Although I do support his position on that one.

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1 user has voted.
Azazello's picture

I love that phrase. It's Hamilton from Federalist Number 24.
Yes, it's an experiment, can a Republican oligarch simply buy the Democratic nomination, but there's another experiment going on too, that is, does the picture-box still have the power it once did ? Millennials are now the largest voting bloc in the country and they don't watch TV like the Boomers do. We'll see what happens.

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9 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

snoopydawg's picture

@Azazello

Both his and Bernie's are in almost every ad before Rising starts. Same with Jimmy's show. Mike was in Utah last week and Pete is coming Monday. The comments in the Pete news were very homophobic and quite sad to see.

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5 users have voted.
Azazello's picture

@snoopydawg
I never see any ads online 'cuz I have an adblocker.

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2 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Pluto's Republic's picture

There's no real workaround to push back on the Bloomberg strategy, which has been precisely configured from Day One. I've been hesitant to mention it because I don't want to discourage the People's growing identity with the Authentic Left — the Left that exists outside the Democratic Party — just as Bernie Sanders exists outside the Democratic Party. The Left at-large needs to reorient itself as the "Outsider."

Within the polarized, non-consensus design of US politics. it is not really possible to create a new, major political powerhouse without tearing another one down, and stomping on it, with prejudice. After the election, turning the Democratic Party into a pile of rubble will be a top priority. Historically, that Party is a suppression chamber for the Left and carries the forever-stench of corruption. Beginning in 2021, the 'outsiders' or the true Left must immediately coalesce into voting-coalitions in order to vote-block Democratic candidate into losses and tip the Party into systemic failure. Meanwhile, the People's (replacement) Party will be open to former Democratic candidates who would like to win elections for a change. An authentic People's Platform will be front and center, defining the Party's purpose and vision.

Meanwhile, the Left should fully support Bernie. Although we're working with probabilities (rather than possibilities) at this stage of the game, certainly not every possibility has been accounted for. There could be a Black Swan out there that lands on Bernie's podium and flies him to the White House. If you're delegate-counting and checking the odds, well then you know the bar is very low for keeping Bernie under 50 percent in the Primaries. And, by my count, there are at least twelve primary states that will proactively make sure this is the case. Something tells me, also, that Super Delegates will deploy earlier that anticipated. Mr. Bloomberg is not investing to lose. He's investing to purchase the Presidential nomination, which happens to be for sale to the right candidate.

It is admittedly demoralizing to consider the Trump-Bloomberg race. The major players in the sitting government (largely consisting of former intelligence agents and assets) will defend Bloomberg's right to do so. Of course, either way, Israel wins, and the mad dream of global Empire is still intact. Until the facts and goals behind this top-heavy operation (government) are perfectly clear to every American, we will all continue as mere passengers on this cruise ship.

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15 users have voted.
Wally's picture

@Pluto's Republic

. . . turning the real left into a pile of rubble will be a top priority.

You wrote:

After the election, turning the Democratic Party into a pile of rubble will be a top priority.

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3 users have voted.

@Wally Pluto's Republic clearly stated,

Meanwhile, the Left should fully support Bernie.

(PR please forgive me for jumping in like this. There seems to be a misconception floating about, and it's important that we understand each other.)

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4 users have voted.

Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl

Wally's picture

@laurel

That Rising "Stop and Frisk" video that konondrom posted above, with two regular guests on the show defending Bloomberg, blew my mind.

Bloomberg will go all out to wreck the real left. Trump just figures he can use us.

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2 users have voted.

@Wally of the viewer. They are exceedingly sophisticated. They operate almost at the level of hypnotism. I have seem them on YouTube book-ending some of my favorite alternative media videos, and was simply astounded at their effectiveness. It's like they reach into the American psyche, particularly the liberal psyche, put their finger on your fondest desires and reassure you that yes, Mike Bloomberg will make it happen. Earnest, sincere music in the background. They plant this notion quickly and then get out. You're left with a strong, unsatisfied sense of longing. It is the opposite of rational argumentation. Our founders would, well, faint if they could see it. (Any Comm Studies students lurking about? Bloomberg's rhetorical strategy would make a terrific masters thesis -- if it's not too obvious, that is.)

The only strategy that I can, at present, come up with would be to rip the mask off through either parody/ridicule or simply warning people not to believe them. I'd love to see his ads parodied about. The point would be to jolt hypnotized viewers awake.

Wonder if Bloomberg is enriching Frank Luntz for this bit of devilry? Am beginning to loathe Mike Bloomberg.

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8 users have voted.

Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl

@laurel I've seen a Bloomberg ad, and my reaction was anger and disgust.

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1 user has voted.

@tle because it was obvious to me how manipulative they are. But all efforts at persuasion are conducted with a specific audience in mind. Bloomberg's ads, so far, are not speaking to us. His meteoric rise in the polls speaks to their effectiveness.

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1 user has voted.

Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl

@Wally if Bloomie had quietly sent a check to the guy on the left or the charity of his choice on his behalf. Similarly he paid off the Rev Al a few yrs back to quiet the Rev on teevee about how Mike was handling racial issues as Mayor. Would also not surprise me if Mike had paid off a couple of those CBC members, and maybe a black mayor or two somewhere in the land.

The Rev believes Mike's stop and frisk is harmful "but not fatal", which is in keeping with the Rising panel of guests sanguine attitude.

As for ads, the Rs almost always do it better, they get it. It's NOT about reaching the rational mind, making rational arguments, or noting a candidate's 7-point plan on such and such. Effective advertising is about reaching people on the emotional and subliminal levels, in addition to enhancing name ID. Dems always think it's about winning a rational debate on points, like Mo and Jo Blow in Peoria are sitting there with a pad and pencil comparing candidates 7-pt plans and scoring by the half point.

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4 users have voted.
Wally's picture

@wokkamile

I mean look at the politics of The Hill from a historical perspective before Rising came about.

There's no guarantee that Krystal will be around forever or even another month.

And I've been watching the first episode of the Survivor 20th anniversay show on demand tonight and saw my first Bloomberg ad during a TV show. It was ALL Obama giving him love, love and more love unlike the commercial I saw online the other day where Obama was just a part of it. Obama hasn't protested in about a week now. Seems he's in for Bloomberg. Sorry Joe but you already knew there ain't no such thing as virgins in politics. The world is cruel.

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2 users have voted.

@Wally that The Hill, being a small-c conservative oriented news outlet, hired one of the most effective true progressive voices in KB and gave her an important job. Compare with Msnbc, which has fired nearly all of its progressive hosts, and neutered its few liberals.

The Hill would do well not to kill the golden goose as Rising probably brings them many more people to their website. And the combination of the progressive KB and her co-host the reasonable conservative guy has worked so far. They are youthful and not the usual shopworn political analyst hacks we see on the other shows.

As for Obama in the Bloomie ads, it's probably considered fair game so long as no official endorsement is indicated and the material is truthful. Obama is in an awkward position, having said and done all those things wrt Bloomie (Obama always wanted to be liked by Republicans), and considering that Mike might actually end up being the nominee. So pushing back too hard against it, requesting Mike take down the ads, might be a step too far politically and legally in terms of free speech.

It is an effective and clever political stroke by Mike to incorporate Obama w/o having the benefit of his actual endorsement. He does badly need AA support to win the nom, and this is as good a way as any to get it. Looks like he's hired some very good ad people.

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2 users have voted.
Pluto's Republic's picture

@Wally

By default, from the very beginning, the Democratic Party's purpose was to crush the Left. (The Left was the voices of slaves, ignorant workers, women, low-wage immigrants.) The crushing of the Left by pretend liberals goes without saying, when you say 'Democratic Party'.

I'll try to clarify that.

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11 users have voted.
Wally's picture

@Pluto's Republic

But my view is predicated on one step at a time, eyes on the prize, and my sense that it's now or never and that later will be too late. If Bernie can't pull off the miracle, I can assure you I will never actively do anything to cast negativity towards the left on what happens afterwards. I'll probably mostly be drinking beer and watching old sit coms from the 60s and 70s, doing family stuff, and pretty much being like everyone else in my rust belt urban neighborhood.

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7 users have voted.
Pluto's Republic's picture

@Wally

It is in everyone's interest that your view prevail.

I'm merely proposing a Plan B that can capture your momentum — just in case. Forewarned is forearmed. There's no time for down time.

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7 users have voted.
Wally's picture

@Pluto's Republic

. . . if Bloomberg gets the nomination, so it goes. It's really difficult for me to imagine Bernie endorsing and working in behalf of a billionaire, especially Bloomberg. I know he's pledged to support the nominee, but jeesh. Bloomberg? I can't say I'd feel bad about the spectacle of Bernie delegates staging a walkout at the convention.

If Brana's thinking third party this year, he's gonna have to really ramp it up come March 4th in the event Bernie decisively loses the delegate lead.

Whatever, if Bernie can't pull off the miracle, good luck with Plan B.

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@Pluto's Republic
folks need to go forward with eyes wide open, hopeful, yet steely-eyed.

I've been thinking for quite a while now that in many ways 2020 is going to be one of those pivotal times in history. I also think that a new party will be one of those pivot points.

But first, there are other matters at hand. Other things on the front Berner, if you will.

Thanks for the great comment, as usual, my friend.

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11 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

had repeated just after winning the NH primary that he'd support anyone who becomes the nominee! as to your comment about the Dems wanting to Crush the Left, i'd submit that the D party has contained the actual dissident radical left, or in the parlance: 'the democratic party, where all good social movements go to die'.

imagine that the disaffected had voted Green decades ago. where might we be? one actual-factual socialist ran last time: ajamu baracka. one is running for the nomination this year: howie hawkins, admittedly his spirit's not on fire...

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5 users have voted.

Last November when Michael Bloomberg made his presidential campaign announcement, Michael Tracey warned us about Bloomberg: Mike Bloomberg, supreme authoritarian, joins the race! (You can do mundane tasks while listening to the entire 28 minute audio) --

Michael personally experienced one of Bloomberg’s signature acts – his middle-of-the-night raid on the original Occupy camp at Zuccotti Park on November 14, 2011. This was done on Bloomberg’s direct order which violated a court order, issued the same day, that Zuccotti Park must be kept open to the public. He overrode that court order and shut down all the surrounding streets. The NYPD beat people up, threw them around. Bloomberg bragged about “his own personal military force.” Journalists, including MSM journalists, were arrested.

Bloomberg is authoritarian and lawless. From the way he grabs a friendly dog by the snout to the way he brushes aside Democratic primary process and muscles (buys) his way into the contest, to the way he smashes citizen opposition, Bloomberg is the fascist that the DNC has tried to make of Trump. Bloomberg is the real thing and the DNC is running him. His ads are very effective, pretty little lies, and imo he represents a clear and present danger to the nation.

Chris Hedges took part in the Zuccotti Park protest. I hope he will speak out on the dangers presented by Mike Bloomberg.

Michael's Zucotti Park account begins about 1 min. 45 seconds in --

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=druJpKgSgks]

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17 users have voted.

Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl

@by now #14.1 to prove that the Democratic Party is attempting to turn the true left into a pile of rubble?

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9 users have voted.

Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl

Wally's picture

@laurel

There's a chance he can do it through the convention and even more so beyond if he wins the nomination.

And I think this go round, he actually has a better chance than 2016. At least at this point in time. The next couple weeks are pivotal.

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6 users have voted.

combo1.jpg

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Pluto's Republic's picture

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18 users have voted.
QMS's picture

if they can get away
with it

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3 users have voted.

question everything

orlbucfan's picture

his crapo commercials down here in Florida for weeks. They are low rent in quality and insult the viewer's intelligence. But, looking at my state's governors and senators, corrupt stupidity is in. Rec'd!!

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5 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

gulfgal98's picture

@orlbucfan I do not have tv...we cut the cord ten years ago, so I have not seen Bloomberg's ads in my own home, but when I recently visited my elderly mother in central Florida, Bloomberg's ads were all over the tv. And while his ads may insult knowledgeable voters, they are very compelling to the elderly and casual voters.

I think people underestimate the power of Bloomberg carpet bombing the air waves with his ads. It is very frightening to consider, but the reality is that Bloomberg could carry the Florida primary as well as some other super Tuesday states.

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2 users have voted.

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

wendy davis's picture

there's been no mention of bloomie as an AIPAC zionist/anti-iranian, which bother me horribly, but yes, much like the Trumpeter. i did some poking around and found some info on that, too much to share it all now.

(JTA) — The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has sent five questions about anti-Semitism and Jewish issues to all of the registered presidential candidates from both parties. You can read Vice President Joe Biden’s responses here and Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s responses here. Feb. 11, 2020 [writtn pap answers, no paragraph breaks, ugh!]

Bloomberg: I opposed the Iran deal, but the way Trump left it was wrong also jta, jan. 22, 2020

"Try as we could, we could not pin down a position for Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who was not included in the last debate, where he might be forced to elaborate a position on one of the burning issues of the day. (He has high enough polling numbers to qualify for a debate, but has not crossed the outside contribution threshold set by the Democratic National Committee because he is bankrolling his own campaign.)

The story noted that in 2015, Bloomberg was skeptical of the emerging nuclear deal that traded sanctions relief for Iran for a rollback in its nuclear program. And he was peeved by the way President Barack Obama sold it to the public, which Bloomberg decried as divisive.

After the Jewish Telegraphic Agency published the story, a spokesman for the candidate got in touch to clarify where Bloomberg stands today.

“While the agreement was not perfect — it did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program, and it gave the regime political cover to step up its aggression in the region — the U.S. had an obligation to keep its word once the agreement was in place,” the spokesman said. “The U.S. withdrawal has allowed Iran to abandon its own obligations under the deal and has left the world with few tools to stop it.”

The spokesman also said what Bloomberg would do to redress Trump’s withdrawal from the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, going into more detail than most of the other candidates.

“The first thing to do is re-establish the coalition that realized the danger of Iran marching toward a nuclear weapon. Collective pressure will be needed to change Iran’s behavior,” the spokesman said. “This should be the starting point for the use of diplomacy. We should also be prepared to employ the leverage that sanctions have provided.

“Next, Iran must come back into compliance with the JCPOA requirements. That will require addressing the advances it is likely to make between now and next year — advances that could shrink its breakout time. After rejoining, in order for any new arrangement to be sustainable, we must also be ready to address other inadequacies in the deal, which include the need to extend fast-approaching sunset clauses, curtail Iran’s ballistic missiles, end its destabilizing regional activities and institute more intrusive monitoring.”

but of course, iran has never wanted a nuclear bomb, and was always in compliance with the IAEA, until the nation began enriching to a higher level given 'no sanctions relief'.

dunno who manage his twitter account, but the saddest one i'd seen yesterday was john melencamp saying 'he won't be indebted to any one' )self-financing) or close to that. oh, laird; here it is: jan. 11:

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2 users have voted.
Wally's picture

@wendy davis

Good songs back in the day, shitty politics now.

Oh well, he'll be in the money now, being paid for handsomely for his betrayal of working people which he sure as hell ain't anymore. Blood money.

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2 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@Wally

just his point of view. one of my favorite subverivie musicians, including at Farm Aid, for years. this is from 2016.

[video:https://youtu.be/tEX3Z8BEL0U?t=3m]

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Wally's picture

@wendy davis

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kic1wyYI6k]

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boriscleto's picture

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3 users have voted.

" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

Bollox Ref's picture

Best to give him his bicorne now, declare him Napoleon IV, and get on with our lives.

Vive L'Empereur!

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2 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.