Since writing the piece yesterday about Bloomberg's campaign I've done some more thinking and reading. The best piece I came across was this one in New York by Eric Levitz. It's a long piece, totally worth reading all the way through, but this was the paragraph that made me stop and think. #
"The same personal fortune that would free the Democratic Party from cash constraints this fall would also liberate a President Bloomberg from partisan constraints once in office. If the plutocratic president decides to find common ground with a Republican Senate on Social Security cuts, what leverage will the Democratic Party have over 'their' White House?"#
I came up with a couple of solutions and a couple of conclusions.#
Insist that Bloomberg burn his bridges with the Republican Party. Go to Kentucky and campaign against Mitch McConnell, who is up for re-election this year. Campaign with Amy McGrath, his Democratic opponent. Help her with advertising and donate to her campaign. Do the same for all congressional Republicans, with an emphasis on the ones with the most tenure and visibility. #
Even better, Bloomberg steps back in favor of one of the current Democratic candidates. In other words fulfill the promise he made about funding the Democratic campaign against Trump even if he's not the nominee -- now. Take Bloomberg out of it. I think Klobuchar would be the best choice (more on that later). Now we can be sure the president will be a pure Democrat. #
The first conclusion -- who cares. The choice in 2020 is about the end of American rule of law. Who knows what the implications are of that. We've never had a lunatic autocrat or monarch with the economic and military power of the United States. In that context, who cares if it's the end of anything as long as we can vote him out of office in four years. (Also since he contributed to Democrats, he's going to have to work with a Democratic Congress, which as we know can be a good check on a legal presidency.)#
Another conclusion -- imagine a happy ending, and write the history of it, from 20-30 years out. Here's what I would write. 2020 was a pivotal election. The Democratic Party and the remnants of the Republican Party that still believed in the Constitution formed a bond, and elected a transitional president, Michael Bloomberg, a former Republican, technocrat, oligarch. This marginalized the extreme part of the Republican Party that was loyal to Trump. The Democrats won the presidency and Congress with huge margins, enough to codify the norms that Trump violated. After the election, the two groups went their own ways, forming two new parties, one liberal and one conservative, and the country evolved out of the insane partisanship of the 90s, 00s and 10s. #
Last update: Friday February 14, 2020; 10:18 AM EST.
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