michael bloomberg

Last week, Vanessa Williamson of the Brookings Institute wrote about the political force of Bloomberg's tactical charity. Bloomberg gives far more than Trump, but with much the same self-serving motives. "In his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination," wrote Williamson, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already spent nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, more than that of the major Democratic candidates combined.

By now, we’ve all seen the utter obliteration of Michael Bloomberg in the last Democratic debate, an individual used to a room full of yes-men finally out from behind of his money and into the arena of give and take. And take, he did; if he was a mop, the floor would have been spotless. Relax; I do not think it is inappropriate for a member of the humble proletariat to take pleasure in the humiliation of an oligarch.

Paradise lost. One misstep is all it takes to take the proud down low.by Thomas NeuburgerWhom the gods would destroy, they first make proud.—With apologies to Henry Wadsworth LongfellowThis is a small point that leads to a larger one.

Trump and Bloomberg had a dysfunctional relationship that goes back decades-- friends, rivals, allies, enemies. The used to play golf together, although Bloomberg is still whining that Trump always cheated, something Mini-Mike has in common with everyone else who ever played golf with Trump. Bloomberg wound up with 20 or 30 times more money than Trump, so he won. He became mayor of the city they both lived in. He won.

Julia Carrie Wong, reporting for The Guardian-- $45 Million in 90 days: How Bloomberg Bought Your Facebook Feed-- wrote that "In the first six weeks of 2020, more than 1.6 billion of the 2.4 billion presidential campaign ads shown to U.S. Facebook users were from the Bloomberg campaign.

Break out the pussyhats and vuvuzelas, folks, because the neoliberal Resistance is back, and this time they’re not playing around. No more impeachments and investigations. It’s time to go mano-a-mano with Trump, and they’ve finally got just the bad hombre to do it. No, not Bernie Sanders, you commies. A battle-hardened Resistance fighter. El Caballo Pequeño! El Jefe Mínimo! Subcomandante Michael Bloomberg!

You Brexit, You Bought It (February 6th)

Billionaires should not existBloomberg couldn't hide behind his half billion dollars-- so far-- in TV and radio ads on Wednesday nigh, although he did run a fake Obama endorsement ad just as the debate was starting. But that didn't save him from what his get-rich-quick campaign advisors apparently failed to adequately prepare him for.

Yesterday I got an e-mail from a progressive member of a listserv I'm a member of. I'm not sure if he's a Bernie supporter or an Elizabeth supporter but I'd guess he's backing one of them. He wrote that "some grassroots organizers have compiled a social media toolkit and are planning a twitter storm from 12-2 pm CST to highlight Bloomberg's terrible record.

Yesterday, in his often excoriating music business newsletter, Bob Lefsetz set his sites on... oligarchs in politics. "You’ve got to be rich," he wrote. "And it always comes down to who you know." That could've easily been the opening lines about a music business post.