You wouldn’t feel like he was avoiding facing the other candidates?

I see no reason to. I didn't watch any of the Hillary-Trump debates because I already knew I was voting for Hillary. I didn't watch any of the early Dem debates this campaign because i was already set on Harris and I did stay with her till she dropped out.

I will still write in Andrew Yang.

not support him at all unless he ends up buying his way into being our nominee. In which case I will support him as I've said I'll support any other Democratic candidate.

My take: He's a good man with a genuine desire to protect the country, perhaps because it's been good to him. He's upper crust and a tad self-important, but it goes with the territory, he's entitled and has no orange dark side to his personality. I doubt he'll mix it up on policy in the primaries, he's there for insurance. Plus, he's doing such a good job of needling Trump and deploying assets as it is, why would he want to change?

That’s what he did in NY you know.

We really don’t need another authoritarian plutocrat.

might be an enlightened despot! It beats 4 more years of Trump

There’s nothing I can say to argue with stupidity like that.

Not in the primary

I have to pick up to 5 candidates for the caucus next week. Bloomberg isn’t on the ballot here, but if he was, I’d be less likely to choose him if he failed to show.

so, no.

It should change those that are considering it.

Nt

If that's his ploy though, it shows that he thinks he can buy the election.

He figures my state doesn't count. But I'd never vote for him anyway.

the only remaining alternatives are worse.

In that case, it won't matter to me that he had avoided debates. I already know enough to make that decision.

If he gets the nomination I will have absolutely NO problem voting for him in November. And I wouldn't need to see him debate Trump, but I am sure he would be happy to and that would be a very fun thing to watch.

I don't even see a need for the debates at this point. I know where everyone stands.

I remember in 2008 being so tired of debates by the time super Tuesday came. It was ridiculous when Hillary and Obama were so close on the issues.

OTOH, a lot of people are just starting to tune in now, so it makes sense to have a couple more debates. And I want to see how Bloomberg does, because nobody's had the opportunity to ask him tough questions yet or see how he might do in a debate against Trump. So that alone makes it worth having a couple more debates, IMO.

I'll be curious to see how the next three weeks play out.

Right now, I am highly disinclined to support Bloomberg in the primaries. I don't trust him to stick to the progressive policies he's recently come to support after opposing them for many years, and I don't like the way he is throwing his money around and bypassing the hard work the other candidates have done for over a year to get where they are. However, if he is in the debate I will watch with an open mind and give him a chance to change my mind. If he does not participate in the debate, I will be even more disinclined to vote for him because it would be yet another example of him using his money to bypass scrutiny by relying on paid media instead of participating in debates or interviews and answering tough questions like everyone else.

To put it more simply, I'm not inclined to support him, but if he participates in debates he gets the chance to try to change my mind.

Oh. And I want to see numbers too.

Let there be some direct accountability (He used to condescendingly lecture poor people about that incessantly). Why should he be allowed to just cruise control his way through a presidential primary without having to personally defend and account for his past and current positions through vigorous debate? That's not fair to the other candidates who are willing to debate their positions.

Let the other candidates and the media have a chance to ask him directly about his past, and this remarkable transformation of his from a one time tireless defender of stop-and-frisk, and two time endorser of George W. Bush, to a compassionate champion of civil rights, equality, or any other of our core principles we posses as a party that he now allegedly embraces. I'd give anything to hear that epic tale of spiritual transformation directly from him.

Cos I ain’t voting for him in the primary.

WHOEVER wins the Democratic nomination and is running against Trump gets my vote, my support, my time and my feet to walk and knock on doors...WHOEVER that is.

Satan wins by write in from angry Bernie Bros? Go Beelzebub!!!
A half-eaten ham sandwich gets the "D"? Lunch time in America!!
A seance over FDR's grave is the choice? Grab me a OUIJA board and meet me out back!!!

Fuck all this hand-wringing and bullshit...WHOEVER is the nominee is the choice, period, full stop, no questions asked.

is who that will be. Which is important because we all agree we have to choose the one most likely to win, but we don't agree on who that is.

And it is an odd choice to come to a website whose sole purpose is to debate Democratic policy and politics and demand that people stop debating Democratic policy and politics. This seems to be becoming a trend here.

If you feel like you have had enough of discussing Democratic policy and politics for the moment, I suggest you step away from the website whose sole purpose is the discussion of Democratic policy and politics until you feel you would like to go back to discussing it.

It always astonishes me that people love to pay attention to every day, to every detail, as if they matter in the slightest.

Fast forward to November. We're facing the overwhelming obstacle of trying to oust an incumbent.

That's all that matters. The gleeful mocking threads here regarding slogans. etc. merely serve to demonstrate the clueless nature of so many Democrats regarding the way this race will unfold.

An incumbent that is facing no primary himself, no 3rd party in the GE that will detract from his support base, and an economy that remains strong thanks to the SUPREME work of President Obama and the Democratic Party congress of 2008-2010.

I honestly don't get why so many seem to think this is going to be a cake-walk to oust him. Our history of elections most definitely does not support it. We should be fighting TRAMP and uniting like NEVER before to make this work.

If the debates to date had been more focused on how they were going to turn around the damage Trump did, foreign policy, cabinet choices, doable executive orders, handling of appointments.. things that are actually WITHIN the direct power of the presidency instead of congressional required policies centered around pandering and sowing discord between the candidates... Yes, I'd want him in it.

Bloomberg's entire appeal (for me at least) is NOT congressional bill passing fantasies that tries to pit him against other Democratic Party candidates.. it's his laser focused attacks on Tramp. The debates have been a ridiculous spectacle of a shitshow.

Now a Townhall.. yes, he needs to get in on those. It probably still wouldn't affect my support of him, but I would think less of him for avoiding those.

voters couldn't care less about them.

While Democrats debate policy, Filthy Donnie is literally using hitlerian mind- and crowd-control methods that appeal to his targets' guts.

Bloomberg is the only one who is using effective psychological messaging. He is actually undercutting the effectiveness of the above mentioned hitlerian tactics.

This election will not be won or lost on policy. We know that because Filthy Donnie HAS NO policies. It will be won or lost on flooding the electorate with effective messaging. This will be true until we overturn Citizens United. You may not like it. I certainly don't. But it is how things are now.

Our other candidates never seem to get this. Obama understood it but it was less sophisticated when he was running.

Bloomberg is the only one running a 2020 race. The others are running a 2004 race.

Said the debate affected their vote. I’d say that makes them meaningful.

because they don't want to admit that they didn't watch them.

Yes, if he avoided debates it would concern me for several reasons:

1. He's been good at presenting himself in atmospheres he controls, but we need to see him in an atmosphere he can't control.
2. This would be an avoidance behavior that would make me nervous. We all know whoever the nominee is has to go face to face with Trump (although I've been saying Trump would avoid debating Bloomberg if he can find an excuse).
3. He needs to show that he can work as hard as the candidates who have already worked so hard to get where they are. Bloomberg is campaigning hard now, but a big part of "working hard" IMO is participating in the debates and facing people who have questions and/or doubts about you.

It's also good for him, because he can explain and/or atone for some of the mis-steps he's made in public and get that out of the way.

Opinions made for me by someone else’s interpretation of what they say, or via some paid advertising firm, or from purchased endorsements.

me. I wanted Kamala. I prefer Liz to all the others but doubt she can win.

I really enjoyed that Rule of Law thing we had going on here till last month. More than anything else in this election - ANYTHING ELSE - I want it back.

I'm in a late primary state. All I care about is winning.

I seriously doubt that Iowa and NH represent the country.

I don't love Bloomberg, but so far he is the only one running a 2020 election. The rest are stuck in pre-Citizens United mode and don't seem to realize things have changed.

When I see how the candidates do after Super Tuesday I will choose. I hope we will coalesce strongly behind Amy or Joe because BS, if nominated, will lose. I doubt we will coalesce behind Joe or Amy. If we don't, I'll declare for Bloomberg.

Many here seem not to understand the stakes of this election. They are fighting the old fights. They don't seem to realize that the survival of the Democracy is in doubt.

Nothing matters but winning. Nothing.

I believe there were reports that a sizable number of voters in NH were still undecided right up to election day.

I don’t see any of the other candidates displaying what it will take to win. I still support Joe but I’ve been disappointed in his campaign so far.

unforced error.

I'd love to vote for him, but I don't think he'll get that far.

.

I'm just gauging the Anyone But Bernie level.

I've asked another who professed that and they would not say they would vote for him in the General.

.

to win the general election. I will vote for him if he is our nominee. I will encourage my family to do the same. However, that is it...

And no I’m not a “Biden” bro. In fact, I should probably switch back to undecided. I love Amy but she is a long shot. Bloomberg is another viable option for me.

I would never, ever, ever vote for Bernie in the primary though. Ever.

DNC did that????

He has been offered a CNN town hall slot the next day, but he still hasn’t accepted it.

What is his true and actual position in his heart and soul? I am with Joe Biden for the duration.

It won't affect my vote, but it might affect some others. He needs to be questioned about controversies in his past just like the other candidates. It's not fair to voters or the other candidates to just let him sail along on the strength of his tv ads.

He may be considering just sailing on...