'Billionaire boys club': the challengers lining up to face Trump in 2020

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/16/trump-2020-challengers-billionaires-tom-steyer-bloomberg-howard-schultz

'Billionaire boys club': the challengers lining up to face Trump in 2020

The last opponent Trump expects to face in the 2020 election is someone even richer – but Tom Steyer, Michael Bloomberg and Howard Schultz have all hinted at running

David Smith in Washington

Sun 16 Dec 2018 06.00 GMT Last modified on Sun 16 Dec 2018 10.42 GMT

Donald Trump is a billionaire, or claims to be. The last thing he is expecting from the 2020 presidential election is an opponent who is even richer. But one of the more unusual clusters in the putative Democratic field is the billionaire boys club: former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, hedge fund investor and activist Tom Steyer and former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz. Estimated combined wealth: $50bn.

If any or all decide to run, they will have a massive spending advantage over conventional politicians and be at liberty to carpet-bomb crucial primary states with advertising. But their deep pockets are also likely to produce a visceral reaction from leftwing activists favouring warriors against economic inequality such as Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

“I don’t think Michael Bloomberg is going to win Democracy for America’s endorsement anytime soon given his connections to Wall Street,” said Neil Sroka, spokesman for the progressive group. “It’s going to be hard for any of the billionaires given concerns over the influence the wealthy have over our politics.”

A recent straw poll by another liberal advocacy group, MoveOn, was led by Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke on 15.6%, with Sanders and Warren in the top five. Bloomberg ranked eighth on 2.71%, with Steyer in 23rd place on 0.28% and Schultz tied for 32nd and last place on 0.1%.

But these are early days and corporate titans can buy name recognition. Schultz, 65, reportedly plans to travel the country early next year to promote a book entitled From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America. Bloomberg, a businessman who recently re-registered as a Democrat, and Steyer spent heavily in the midterms to help Democrats regain the House of Representatives. Earlier this month they were on the ground in the key states of Iowa and South Carolina. Both have political causes that could make them stand apart from a highly crowded field.
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[Farmer-Rick]

1. Our worship of money is what got us Traitor Trump

If you pick a crazy idiot rich man, what do you think his priorities are? Certainly not the country.