Will a Bloomberg campaign help us or hurt us more?

[Quixote1818]

Several analysts argued that a three-way race with Mr. Bloomberg running as a third-party candidate could ultimately prove more of a threat to Democrats than to Republicans. Until he ran for mayor in 2001, Mr. Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat, and his success in New York reflected his ability to draw Democratic votes: he is for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/us/politics/20mayor.html?ex=1339992000&en=67a20666eda9dfcf&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Are there any states that he could cause to tip to the Republicans? If so which ones?

[corkhead]

1. Still too early to know.

[onehandle]

2. HURTS! The GOP base Hates him. Fickle Dems would lean to him

Extending GOP rule for EIGHT MORE YEARS.

Believe it.

[Quixote1818]

4. I think he is going to run heavy on immigration

That might pull away a number of Republicans.

[mmonk]

3. Hard to tell.

Depends on the democratic party nominee.

[autorank]

5. Gore - Bloomberg? K*R

I think Bloomberg alone might hurt us. I also think it's a non starter.

He's a very successful and bright guy. He's also doing the right thing, something that many
other Republicans should do.

I want him to support Gore who I want to be our nominee. If he does that, he will have performed a
great service.

Think how bad it will be if this is just the start. Who else is there? Hagel, Snow, Collins to start.
Specter does really random things (he's consulting Scottish parliamentary law on this no doubt).

Good event for now though.

[Labors of Hercules]

15. One word: LIEberman.

I don't trust turncoats, even if they do say they're turning back from the dark side.

[IChing]

6. I think Rudy is turning into dead meat and is self destructing.

and Republicans that were attracted to him for
his social issues will flock to Bloomberg.

It will depend on how the TV media play his appeal to voters.
Bloomberg has his own TV station and media outlets so he
has an advantage over any independent push.

He has no name recognition to speak of outside of New York but could
influence the outcome of the primary there.

[MADem]

11. Ross Perot had no name outside of E Systems and TX, either.

But he managed to make his name a household word in a nanosecond, AND he managed to pull votes from left and right, using CHARTS!!

And look what he said recently:

Perot is a billionaire with an estimated current net worth of around $4.3 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 57th-richest person in America. When asked on CNN if he would get into the 2008 presidential race, Perot asserted: " I see no political fortitude in any of the candidates. I think I might just have to run."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot

[Catherine Vincent]

7. Is he officially running for prez? n/t

[Quixote1818]

8. No, it just seems thats what he is up to. Who knows. nt

[MADem]

9. Definitely hurt. The prochoice, pro-gay marriage, fiscally prudent Mayor will

split the liberal to centrist vote, leaving all of the righties, nutjobs, mouthbreathers and fundies to march to the polls and install President fucking Romney.

And then, we're totally fucked.

This whole 'Indy' thing is cause for concern. Real concern.

Anyone who doesn't think it could happen should just ask Poppy Bush. He never thought skirt-chasing, draft dodging Clinton could beat him, even with his weaknesses, until Ross Perot stole the votes he needed.

[dkofos]

10. It will probably hurt less than Clinton or Obama winning the presidency

[MADem]

12. You think President Romney isn't problematic for us? Because liberal Bloomberg will split the

centrist to liberal vote, leaving the GOP to mop up. And we could end up with President Mitt in the WH.

That's some BAD news, there....

[TahitiNut]

13. It very much depends on who the candidates are, imho.

Obama-Bloomberg-Giuliani ... nope.
Clinton-Bloomberg-Thompson ... yep.

It all depends.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Help. The more choices the better for the voters.

It's called democracy. A far from perfect idea, but better than most.

[Freddie Stubbs]

16. Depends on what stances he takes on the issues and

which issues he emphasizes in his campaign.