'The hubris is unbelievable': Dems seethe over Bloomberg GOP donations

[JoeOtterbein]

(Disclaimer: the article is written by this DU poster's daughter)

[link:https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/26/bloomberg-republican-endorsement-2020-073807|

Good luck explaining the Scott Brown endorsement against Elizabeth Warren.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN 11/26/2019 05:21 AM EST

Michael Bloomberg’s debut 2020 campaign ad touts that he “took charge” of New York in the wake of 9/11.

What Bloomberg doesn’t mention: He leaned heavily on an endorsement from Rudy Giuliani, the then-New York mayor who is now President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, to win that post. Bloomberg trumpeted his support in TV advertising and direct mail, chastising his Democratic opponent for being “no friend of Rudy Giuliani.”

Giuliani is just one of many skeletons in Bloomberg’s partisan closet. As he pursues the Democratic presidential nomination, he’ll have to explain the millions he’s spent putting Republicans into office, including contributions backing more than a dozen current and former members of Congress.

The billionaire businessman, who has switched parties several times throughout his political career, endorsed George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, contributed to John McCain and even held a fundraiser for a House GOP member as recently as last year.

snip

more at link

[groundloop]

1. We don't need another opportunistic billionaire

We have plenty of good candidates to chose from already, no thanks.

[Kurt V.]

2. i once took an online 10 part course on the history of empire. kinda geeky i know.

but nearly every demise of empire is hubris.

[George II]

3. Bloomberg switched parties twice, not several times. That's less than at least one other candidate.

[LongtimeAZDem]

7. That's kind of unfair; the other guy didn't REALLY switch

[George II]

8. You're right, in a way, but the other guy belonged to a different party about 40 years ago.

[LongtimeAZDem]

9. Good point; I was thinking of the one that keeps switching back

[Blue_true]

12. Huh?????? nt

[BeyondGeography]

4. $11.7 mn for Pat Toomey

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-republicans-donations.amp.html

How anyone on this board can support or even tolerate this guy amazes me.

[George II]

11. I don't know where that $11.7 million figure came from but he has supported Toomey....

...due to his advocacy for tougher gun control laws, Bloomberg's "pet" issue, but he also gave almost $5M to Maggie Hassan to defeat Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire.

He also spent more than $100 million on Democratic House candidates in 2018 in races where republicans were the incumbents. Here's a summary of some of his other contributions to progressive causes:

$161,182,374.00 Total

$5,803,125.00 Women Vote!
$250,000.00 With Honor Fund
$250,000.00 West Main Street Values
$1,540,727.00 VoteVets.org
$3,125,735.00 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Action Fund
$3,650,000.00 Planned Parenthood Votes
$22,500,000.00 Senate Majority PAC
$15,000.00 Leaders in Education PAC
$112,581,727.00 Independence USA PAC
$2,768,000.00 House Majority PAC
$250,000.00 Change Now PAC
$25,000.00 Protecting Our Vote

He's also given almost $10 BILLION to various causes, including almost $2B in 2018 to Johns Hopkins University for student aid—the largest private donation ever made to a higher education institution (his contributions to Johns Hopkins is now more than $3.3B)

People bash him for his address at the 2004 republican convention, but forget that he spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention on behalf of Hillary Clinton.

One can find a lot worse "Democrats" and people than Michael Bloomberg.

[BeyondGeography]

13. It's in the linked NYT article

WASHINGTON — In 2016, Democrats thought they had found the perfect candidate to win a United States Senate seat in Pennsylvania and put them within striking distance of taking back the majority. But Katie McGinty, an environmental policy expert with degrees in chemistry and law, ran into an overwhelming obstacle: Michael R. Bloomberg’s fortune.

The former mayor of New York poured in $11.7 million to help re-elect the Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Toomey, who had led an effort, albeit unsuccessful, to expand background checks for gun purchasers, a top priority of Mr. Bloomberg’s.

Mr. Toomey won by less than two percentage points, handing a key victory to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell: The Republicans held on to control of the chamber by two seats. At the time, it was the most expensive Senate race the country had ever seen, and Mr. Bloomberg’s money was one of the largest influxes of outside influence.

What more do you need to know?

[ritapria]

5. Bloomberg has contributed to Orrin Hatch and Richard Sheby

All that dough to Pat Toomey …. Well , I guess we should be grateful Mike didn't contribute part of his vast fortune to Jesse Helms or Strom Thurmond .. He does have standards after all …

[appalachiablue]

6. 8th richest billionaire in the US; Dems can select a real candidate for now

[CanonRay]

10. Just another self interested billionaire

Fuck him. But thanks for the 35 mil in Trump attack ads.