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PA Democrats Don’t Trust Mike Bloomberg


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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-bloomberg-donations-to-republicans-angers-pennsylvania-democrats-2020-democratic-presidential-primary_n_5ddc548be4b0913e6f71f17f

 

 

Democrats In A Key Swing State Already Dont Trust Mike Bloomberg

The former New York City mayor, now a presidential candidate, spent millions backing Republicans in Pennsylvania, infuriating his new party.

 

By Kevin Robillard and Daniel Marans

 

Michael Bloombergs past efforts to support gun control by endorsing Republicans are already backfiring on his presidential bid in Pennsylvania, highlighting how the party-switching former New York City mayor and multibillionaire media mogul could struggle to win over his new partys partisans.

 

Bloomberg spent millions supporting two Republicans who support some gun control measures in the 2016 and 2018 elections, infuriating Democrats in the nations fifth-largest state and potentially hampering his ability to collect the states 153 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

 

In 2016, Bloomberg spent $6 million supporting GOP Sen. Pat Toomey. In 2018, his gun control group ― Everytown for Gun Safety ― endorsed incumbent Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, leading local activists to quit the group en masse.

 

In my opinion, it disqualifies Bloomberg as a Democratic presidential candidate, said Mike Mikus, a Democratic strategist who helped lead Katie McGintys U.S. Senate campaign against Toomey in 2016. He basically invested heavily in making sure Mitch McConnell stayed Senate Majority Leader.

...

(Bloomburg) spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention, enthusiastically endorsing George W. Bush for reelection. As recently as 2014, he donated $250,000 to a super PAC supporting South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top Trump defender, after Graham supported a bipartisan immigration reform bill. He also donated $500,000 to super PACs that supported the late GOP Sen. Thad Cochran as the Mississippian worked to hold off an arch-conservative primary challenger. (Both Graham and Cochran have A ratings from the National Rifle Association.)

...

In the 2018 election cycle, he backed Rep. Peter King, a Long Island Republican...

 

Liuba Grechen Shirley, a paid family leave advocate challenging King, sought Bloombergs support for her campaign, but says that he told her that he would be backing King...

 

Grechen Shirley considers Bloombergs decision unprincipled...

 

But his work in Pennsylvania ― a perennial presidential and congressional battleground ― was his most glaring break with Democratic interests, and the most jarring to the local party faithful...

 

Mikus said the ads, which were extensive enough that Toomey was able to temporarily stop airing ads in the Philadelphia market, were critical to Toomeys ability to outrun President Donald Trump in the states southeastern suburbs ― he won two counties won by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. (Its unlikely Bloombergs spending directly flipped the result of the race, though McGinty did outperform Clinton in the Pittsburgh area and in some rural markets.)

 

Those ads, that spending, was what made Toomey appear as a moderate, Mikus said. It was the suburbs that did us in, and Democrats have Michael Bloomberg to thank for that.

...

Two years later, gun control activists in the Philadelphia suburb of Bucks County lobbied Everytown for Gun Safety not to endorse Fitzpatrick over Democrat Scott Wallace. They sent letters signed by more than 50 members of Moms Demand Action, a branch of the gun control group, noting Fitzpatrick didnt support many of the groups policy priorities and questioning his opposition to concealed carry reciprocity ― the stated reason for a potential Everytown endorsement. Everytown endorsed him anyway, leading Moms Demand Action volunteers to quit the group en masse, form their own organization ― Orange Wave ― and back Wallace instead.

 

The group disbanded because we were left in the dark and expected to fall in line, said Allison Glickman, one of the co-founders of Orange Wave. It was upsetting, because Scott Wallace was clearly stronger on this issue.

 

Glickman said Moms Demand Action volunteers felt betrayed by Bloomberg, and added she was peeved the billionaire was using the groups email list for his presidential campaign.

 

Its frustrating that I recruited all these moms to fight gun violence, and now hes using it to help his presidential campaign, she said. And hes using it to help candidates who are horrible on this issue.

...

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who competed against McGinty unsuccessfully in the Democratic Senate primary in 2016, was more subtle.

 

As a Democratic candidate for president, Mr. Bloomberg makes an excellent Republican donor, he said.

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I am not aware of any other Democratic statewide Pennsylvania Democrats considering supporting Bloomberg, he said, before clarifying that he would work tirelessly on behalf of Bloomberg if he were to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

 

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This is going to be awesome watching him try and explain all of his past stuff. And many of us (well, just about all of us) can say -told ya so MDA. Youre being used-

 

To be honest, he actually damaged MDA by doing this. They can no longer say theyre non-partisan, as their (Everytowns) leader is using the membership pool to advertise/recruit for his presidential campaign!

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If Bloomberg is sometimes a Democrat o r sometimes a Republican does that mean he can check the “non-binary” box?

 

The Donald faced the same issues and won the nomination and the presidency.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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