Bloomberg, Hagel on a Dinner Date

[TwilightGardener]

--snip--
The perfect pair?


SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- As the 10 GOP candidates gear up for their first debate tomorrow night here, two other Republicans with potential White House ambitions had dinner 2,300 miles away.

In an eyebrow-raising move, Nebraksa Sen. Chuck Hagel and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- both independent-leaning Republicans -- supped together at the see-and-be-seen Palm Restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C, according to another diner.

That the two would share a meal together would alone be noteworthy, but that it would come on the night before their party's first debate and at such a conspicuous venue is downright mischevious.

Said our spy: "Seems like the Independent ticket to me."

Emails to spokesmen for the two were not immediately returned.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0507/The_perfect_pair.html
--snip--

[Ignacio Upton]

1. A Hagel-Bloomberg ticket would have a good chance of winning

While Hagel is insanely RW, Bloomberg is moderate (hell, more to the left than some Congressional Democrats) to assuage voters who might not otherwise vote for Hagel.

[trotsky]

2. Hopefully if they run as Independents

they'll pull more votes from Republickers than Democrats.

[Ignacio Upton]

3. I bet Lieberman will help them raise money

Feel the Joementum!:rofl:

[blm]

17. Lieberman would side AGAINST them, probably. The only Dem I see Lieberman

supporting would be Hillary, and if Hillary isn't the nominee, then Lieberman will support the GOP ticket.

[Zensea]

29. Bloomberg doesn't need Joe's money

and I doubt he would take it even if he did.:evilgrin:

[TwilightGardener]

7. I don't know about that. Here's the problem with them:

As someone said above, Bloomberg is practically a Democrat. He could certainly pull away some Dems who respect the good job he's done in NYC. Hagel is hated by many GOPers, but will attract some because of his conservatism. Both would appeal to Indies, which the Dems need. Both are against the war (I believe Bloomberg is, anyway), which takes away the Dems' big issue. Both are known for fiscal conservatism. And Hagel (he's my Senator, so I keep a close eye on him) has quietly been amassing policy positions on everything from global warming to immigration to health care. He's got many legislative irons in the fire, most having to do with the big issues of the day. He also was recently spotted with Gingrich speaking as a potential candidate to a big union group--he is definitely lining something up. These two could really screw us. I know Hagel has said publicly that he admires Bloomberg, so they're blowing each other kisses. They could run as the CEO-"Get-Things-Done" ticket.

[democrat2thecore]

9. True

Good analysis.

[BluegrassDem]

11. Possibly, there would be no victor in the Electoral College

Which means, the Democratic House would elect the next president, which would be a Democrat. I have a hard time EVER seeing an independent ticket win the EC. It's almost next to impossible the way it's setup.

[TwilightGardener]

12. Unity '08 is trying to get on the ballot in all 50 and gather delegates, and their

most popular guys right now are Bloomberg and Hagel--of course, they are both R's, which goes against the rule of having a mixed ticket, but Bloomberg could easily call himself an Indy.

[tritsofme]

31. Doubtful that there would be any problems in the electoral college

as the ticket would not be very likely to carry any state outright.

However we could have someone elected president with less than 40% of the popular vote.

[TwilightGardener]

32. I'm curious, then, as to why people run as Independents, if there is

no way for them to win. Hagel wouldn't be thinking of running if he didn't see a way to win--he's not the sort to do a vanity run or to "send a message", like Nader. He genuinely and sincerely wants to be prez, as a mainstream candidate. Probably same with Bloomberg (I'm not as familiar with him). Wonder how he and Hagel plan to overcome the odds?

[Zensea]

30. Bloomberg would make a very interesting candidate

The only reason he's a Republican was to run for mayor because he couldn't get the Democratic nomination in NYC because of the machine here.
Up until he ran for mayor, he was a Democrat and in terms of the national picture he really still is one. It's only because of the oddness of the New York City political scene that he is officially a Republican.

He would be a very dangerous candidate.
It's pretty obvious he couldn't be bought seeing as how he's already a billionaire.

If I were in the upper echelons of the Democratic party, I'd be talking to him behind the scenes. I hope someone like Charles Rangel is.

That all said, I don't think it's very likely that Bloomberg will run unless he feels that the Democrats are not putting up a decent fight. At least that's the sense I've gotten from what I've read of his statements the past few months. (sorry, I don't have any specific links to such statements though)

[AX10]

22. Hagel would like to see a Supreme Court of all Scalitos!

[TwilightGardener]

24. No doubt--he is sincerely 100% pro-life, no moderation there.

[Virginia Dare]

4. Very interesting, to say the least...n/t

[wyldwolf]

5. Frank Luntz believes Bloomberg could get 25% of the vote

[TwilightGardener]

6. Bloomberg could pay for it all, easily. This isn't good, I'm telling ya.

[democrat2thecore]

8. Be wary - a self-financed campaign by Bloomberg

Especially a possible Bloomberg-Hagel ticket could be very attractive to a lot of people. He would outspend both national parties and STILL be a billionaire. I agree with someone on NPR yesterday morning who said they thought Bloomberg would do much better than Ross Perot and '08 could be just the kind of year that a well-financed Indy ticket could WIN. Be wary.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. The stifling of dissent here for the GOP convention

that Bloomy oversaw was downright un-American, not to mention illegal.
He should never live that down.

[Nimrod2005]

15. AGREED!

[Nimrod2005]

13. PERFECT TICKET, as of today

They can win easily.

Anti war independent voters and all economic supply siders voters, my estimate? 55% or more of all votes.

The only people who would not vote for this ticket would be DUers and Moveon.org folks, us the 25-30% who live in the reality based world!!!

[TwilightGardener]

16. We need to dig up the trash on these boys, then. I have nothing

on Hagel, even though I live in Nebraska--besides the voting-machine thing, and that's pretty much an internet rumor and nothing more at this point. Maybe he's on the DC Madame's list! You know those conservative straight-arrow types--always the last you'd suspect, LOL!

[AlCzervik]

14. imo it's all about $$$ and Bloomberg can give it and raise for Hagel.

i bet Hegal is the only goper Bloomberg could actually endorse without vomiting.

[TwilightGardener]

18. Yup--I wonder who would be at the top of the ticket if they ran

together, considering Bloomberg would be putting up the bucks? I guess that makes Hagel his "bitch", LOL!

[democrat2thecore]

19. After that pathetic debate - this pairing worries me more than ever. -nt

[Colobo]

20. I wish they run

They would take votes away from Mitt for sure.

[TwilightGardener]

21. Yeah, but they might take votes away from us as well. I for one

am hoping they don't team up.

[Mojambo]

23. Two life long Republicans. What a great "Independent" ticket!

:eyes:

[democrat2thecore]

25. Except that Bloomberg is a RINO

A lot of people realize he is a Republican in name only. He has governed in a very progressive way in NYC and has been enormously successful. Even his earlier detractors have to admit he pulls together people and says, "Let's get to work and get this done." They listen. He's not for sale - they know that. Some say the most successful stint as Mayor since Fiorello LaGuardia. He worries me. Really.

on edit: The reason it worries me is I believe the country needs a Democratic administration more than ever in its history. Too much rides on '08.

[saltpoint]

27. Do I have it wrong that Michael Bloomberg was a registered Democrat

before the mayoral election between him and Mark Green?

[TwilightGardener]

28. Yes, I believe he used to be a Democrat--

interestingly, he recently decided to stiff the GOP by refusing to attend a big GOP dinner with the prez candidates. This was taken as a sign of a probable independent bid, from what I understand--he might just go back to being a Dem after all.

[saltpoint]

33. Thanks for that, wienerdoggie. Bloomberg is a smart guy and

seems to be a kinder mayor than his predecessor.

I worry that an independent run would siphon votes from the Democratic ticket.

But I don't have anything personal against Michael Bloomberg on the scale that I have against a Mitt Romney or a John mcCain or any of the other Republican candidates.

Bloomberg's in a position to keep us all on our toes for the next two years at least. And according to reports, he's saved up a couple of bucks to keep it lively.

[TwilightGardener]

36. Hi, Old Crusoe--

I pointed this out on another thread, but Bloomberg doesn't just have money, he has Bloomberg News--wouldn't be a fair fight! I think Bloomberg sounds like an all-right guy, though, and if someone had to take over the world with billions of dollars, I guess if it were him it wouldn't be the WORST thing--at least he's not a neocon (nor Hagel either, should he help Hagel into office).

[saltpoint]

38. I understand your points on Bloomberg -- and you're right about his

owning the news agency. I don't have it on my Favorites list but when I visit New York City, it's hard to ignore it.

On this dining event with these two, I'm still trying to guess which of the 2 called the other. It could be a case of two people wishing to try a good restaurant for the sheer love of a good meal.

But something tells me it might have had a political agenda.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Hagel wants Bloomberg as a veep candidate, or do you thik it's Bloomberg who's asking Hagel?

I still hope the Republican Party dissolves!

[TwilightGardener]

39. Since they chose a "see and be seen" restaurant on the night

before the R debate, I have a feeling they wanted to launch gossip. There was even discussion of what they ate in the WaPo gossip column--halibut, glasses of merlot, and mixed berries for dessert, LOL! They fail the "have a beer with" test right there--what a couple of metrosexuals! Hagel denies they talked about running as a ticket, but what's he gonna say? He's pretty much declared his independence from the GOP at this point--he burned bridges, shot his mouth off too much against Chimpy and Cheney, and there is no going back for him. He might have been planning to run as an Indy for a while. Same with Bloomberg, I think. He's been running around stirring up support for some sort of gun law, so that ain't gonna fly with the R's. Will be interesting to see if something comes of it--people have been putting these two together for a while, and they are old friends apparently. And I hope the GOP gets flushed down the turlet like the sorry turd it is.

[saltpoint]

40. wienerdoggie, you are all over this one, and I'm learning as I go about the

independent threat. I'm calling it a threat because I want no votes drained from the blue team.

Now. If there's a 3rd party run by Brownback or some other rightwing kook which drains votes from the RED team, I'm all for it! Bring it on!

'Appreciate the insights on the dining event with these two. I didn't even know they were pals, so I'm coming in halfway into the movie, sounds like.

Well. How will either of them appeal to Christian conservatives, just to ask a demographic questions. Bloomberg's a Jewish mayor of New York and Hagel's an anti-war anti-Bush Republican. Maybe they'll start a Metrosexuals for Jesus party. Which doesn't sound like anything I want a part of!

[TwilightGardener]

41. We here in Nebraska have known for some time that Hagel was

itching to run in '08--it was a matter of waiting and watching to see what he'll do, and everyone also wants to know what will happen to his Senate seat. An independent bid would suit him precisely because he HATES to pander--he is not skillful in that way, like a Romney or even a Clinton. It goes against his grain, and he's never attempted to kiss Falwell's or Dobson's asses, as far as I know. So that eliminates his need to suck up to the GOP base. like the rest of the sorry clowns last night. He's not a fundie, and as far as I can tell he doesn't give a crap either way about gay people. Bloomberg's Jewishness might put off some anti-Semitic jerks out there, so I don't know what would happen, but it would be kinda neat if this was the first year we had a woman, black, Latino, and Jew all running. And an old white guy will still probably win, LOL! Also chuckling at "Metrosexuals for Jesus"--that might stick!

[saltpoint]

42. I'd love to see some far rightwing kook jump in as a third party

candidate to drain away support from the Republican 08 ticket. They kind of deserve it, since they caged that dog and fed it rhetorical red meat for so long. Then if they nominate Giuliani, say, the far right isn't going to buy his gay rights and abortion positions, so they'd maybe nominate Brownback or someone even worse.

If someone even worse than Sam Brownback even exists, I mean.

Your description of the 10 on-stage GOPers last night as "sorry clowns" DEFINITELY works for me.

[TwilightGardener]

45. Brownback--Darwin Denier. Ugh! It'd be great if he third-partied.

[blm]

37. Bloomberg switched to Rep after 9-11 because NO ONE was gonna win then without

that magic R.

[saltpoint]

26. My best hope is that the Independent option won't materialize and

the Republican Party will dissolve.

That works for me.

[Milo_Bloom]

34. It could depend...

On the top of the ticket. Bloomberg on top would be VEERRY dangerous, since he is essentially a Democrat. I know that I would personally vote for him over many of the current Democratic candidates (Clinton, Edwards, Biden, Dodd).

However, if Hagel were on top, no way, besides the fact that he voted for the IWR, which immediately disqualifies him, his record... well, it ain't good.

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Chuck_Hagel.htm

(some highlights)

Rated 0% by the LCV, indicating anti-environment votes.
Rated 87% by the US COC, indicating a pro-business voting record
Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record
Rated 36% by the NEA, indicating a mixed record on public education
Rated 100% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-family voting record.
Rated 92% by CATO, indicating a pro-free trade voting record
Rated 12% by APHA, indicating a anti-public health voting record
Rated 0% by SANE, indicating a pro-military voting record
Rated 8% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-union voting record
Rated 22% by the ARA, indicating an anti-senior voting record

[TwilightGardener]

35. I disagree, Hagel would have more appeal at the top of the

ticket than Bloomberg--across the board. Bloomberg is a short Jewish guy, and not great-looking. I'm not saying that's fair, but looks/image are a factor. And there are plenty of Democrats who like Hagel (I confess I am one) because he has stood up to his party on principle, and seems to think for himself. The difference is that I am politically aware, and thus I know he's a right-wing nut (as you kindly point out--thanks). Many Dem and Indy voters may not understand this and make a mistake by voting for the MAN, and not his record. Either one of them, separate or together, have the potential to cause us problems, but certainly the odds are against them winning--it's only a matter of how much they pull away from Dems.

[illinoisprogressive]

43. Kerry and Obama were on one, too. Wondering what they were cooking up??

Heard they were laughing alot through the supper. They had to be getting devilish.

[OHdem10]

44. Unity 08 Maybe??

Unity 08 Group has been pushing their organization on
C_SPan recently.

This looks like the perfect Unity 08 Ticket

[democrat2thecore]

46. No denials from Bloomberg OR Hagel

I find it interesting that neither Mayor Bloomberg or Senator Hagel issued a "that's silly," statement today. This is real.

[democrat2thecore]

47. Weekly Standard runs Hit Piece on Bloomberg

Well, if Mayor Bloomberg needed support from the left (which he really doesn't) the Weekly Standard just gave it to him. The right-wing, neocon rag says Bloomberg has been a "mediocre" mayor. Seriously, I know of few politicians who don't agree he's been a mayor for the ages in NYC. I wouldn't mind him as President. The problem is we need a Democratic administration and he would give us a "unity" administration - you can bet on it. But this hit piece in their May 14th issue says all that needs to be said. If they hate him - he must be a pretty good guy.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=13602&R=11369F4F

[TwilightGardener]

48. Thanks for the link--

The Neocons must really feel threatened--it's pretty hard to call a guy a failure, with a "slender" list of achievements" when he is a multi-billionaire and has 70% approval ratings, but they sure try! If I wasn't so afraid he's spoil it for us Dems, I'd say go for it, Mike--just to spite them!

[democrat2thecore]

49. Self-made billionaire to boot -nt

[Milo_Bloom]

50. Why?

Why is this the case? 'The problem is we need a Democratic administration "

If he is pro all the important issues and will put sane judges on the bench, who cares whether he is Dem, GOP, IND, or anything else. If he can pay attention to facts and make decisions based on facts, science and real advice from real people, I will be more than happy to call him President. D or R.. who cares anymore, it is just a label.

[TwilightGardener]

51. So you would vote for him then? What if he had a conservative

like Hagel on the ticket--would that change your mind? Because it certainly gives me pause, at least in terms of SCOTUS appointments.