Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is considering entering the 2016 presidential race as an independent. CNN

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (right) with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus in 2011. US Navy photo.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seriously considering entering the 2016 presidential race as an independent candidate. CNN. Bloomberg has operatives working on seeing if he can get his name on the ballot in many states. He is expected to make a descion during march, well before the Republicans and Democrats choose their candidate. It has been reported that Michael Bloomberg is willing to spend up to $1 billion dollars on his presidential campaign. He is unhappy where the direction of the campaign is going and does not like how polarized it is. Sources say that if the race is between Bernie Sanders and either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, Bloomberg would enter the race but if Hillary Clinton is the Democrat's candidate or any other Republican wins the nomination, he will stay out. It is unclear how the election would play out if he entered the race. An internal poll conducted by Bloomberg suggested that he could steal votes away from Trump or Cruz but others, including presidential candidate Rand Paul, scoffed at the idea due to Bloomberg's support of gun control laws. Bloomberg has a strange history as a politician as he became New York's mayor as a Republican, but switched to an independent candidate during his third term. He also endorsed Barack Obama in 2012 and was courted by the Democratic party at one point last year for a possible presidential run. 

My Comment:

Wow. Somebody might enter the race that would knock Hillary Clinton out of my most hated politician running for president category. Seriously, if it was a choice between Hillary Clinton and Michael Bloomberg I would vote for Clinton in a heartbeat. And I think Clinton is a criminal that belongs in prison for the rest of her life and has a decent chance of starting World War III if she became president. She's still way better then Bloomberg. I never thought I would say that about anyone in this election, but it just happened. Bloomberg is that bad. 

Why do I hate Bloomberg so much? Well he is pretty much the only thing standing in the way between America and proper gun rights. The man spends millions of dollars on supporting gun control and sometimes he even has success pushing in new legislation. I don't know if I can say that the modern gun control movement would be dead without Michael Bloomberg but I do know that they would have a lot less money. The man is on a mission and that mission is to remove the 2nd amendment. If Barack Obama is an anti-gun president, then Michael Bloomberg would make him look like the president of the NRA. 

Bloomberg is also a multi-billionaire who makes Donald Trump look like he is working class. He's worth at least $41 billion, compared to Trump's $4.5 billion. And if Bloomberg were to run he could outspend anyone, even a billionaire like Trump or candidates backed by super PAC's. If he really is serious about spending $1 billion of his own money that is fairly unprecedented. In 2012 both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama spent about that much, and most of that came from donors. If Bloomberg could get additional funds then he could essentially buy the election, and that's if he only spends $1 billion. He could spend more, either from his own accounts or from donors, and if that happens he could win through spending power alone.

I don't think that will happen though. If Jeb Bush has taught us anything this election cycle, other then that he overcharges for Guacamole bowls, it's that money can't always help if your candidate is a dud. Bush had $100 million in super PAC funds and it hasn't helped him at all at the polls. He's currently sitting at around 5% and that is being generous. He's thirty or forty points behind Donald Trump and he doesn't seem to have a realistic chance of winning. Money alone can't win you an election. At the very minimum people have to like you.

So will Michael Bloomberg be the next Jeb Bush? I think so. I believe that he is seriously underestimating how much middle America hates him. He's a gun control zealot, which will piss off practically every Republican, many independents and a few Democrats as well. He also is famous for being the nanny state mayor of New York City, where he made it illegal to sell large sodas and was famous for violating civil and business rights. Everyone with a libertarian streak already hates him for that. And his stop and frisk policy in New York was condemned by the left as racist. 

I having trouble understanding who he thinks his supporters will be. I just can't see too many people that will like his platform or him personally. I guess he could siphon off a few disgruntled establishment Democrats and Republicans if Sanders and Trump are the candidates, but I can't imagine that it would be very many. Especially on the Republican side, due to his support of draconian gun laws. I'll keep repeating it, Republicans hate Michael Bloomberg.

And sure, Sanders and Trump's insurgent campaigns are working but I don't see a Bloomberg campaign working in the same way. On the left, Sanders had energized the youth vote who are sick and tired of the Democratic Elite and want all the promises that Sanders has made, such as free collage and debt relief. On the right, Trump has tapped into a genuine anger within the Republican base and has electrified the electorate by covering issues that everyone else is too afraid to talk about. I think it is safe to say that people are really excited for both candidates, and are willing to sacrifice to get them elected.

Are people really going to get excited for Bloomberg? He's pretty centrist on everything but gun rights and the nanny state but he has burned bridges on both the left and the right. The right hates him for his gun control support (among gun owners his name is synonyms with Satan) and the left hates him for his support of stop and frisk which the left claims is racist. I just don't see an issue that he can tap into. Gun control isn't popular and even if it was, why not just elect Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders? Hell, Martin O'Malley is running a campaign based on gun control and he is losing terribly, so that's not an issue that Bloomberg can win on. And his name recognition is acceptable, but it's mostly negative. I am guessing when asked "who is Michael Bloomberg" people will say "the guy who pushed nanny state B.S. in New York City". 

I am betting that this speculation will turn out to be nothing. Though Bloomberg may have convinced himself that he has a chance at winning the election, I can't imagine that the poll numbers will back him up. People want an outsider this election and I think Bloomberg is about as close to an establishment candidate an independent person can get. He won't get support and even if he does run, I can't imagine him winning.

But if he does win, I can't imagine what will happen. Nobody in either party will support him and he won't be able to accomplish anything. He'd be a lame duck president from day one, if not for the fact that he could issue executive orders like Barack Obama has done. And believe me, if Obama has abused the powers of his office, Bloomberg would be much, much worse...