But seriously, if the whining from the Sanders camp actually convinces the DNC to exclude him from the debates, that would give him all the excuse he needs to do what I outlined.

I want to hear what he has to say. I've read his web site, and the positions there seem mainstream Dem. Silencing opponents is what Trump does. Surely Dems are better than that?

But whiners from a certain campaign sure do.

And what they don't realize is how you can never shut up a billionaire in an election. HE has way to much money to throw at it if the DNC decided to cowtow to the whiners and exclude him.

It is obvious. They'd rather silence him if they can. He'll expose Sanders like a peeled banana.

He has too much money at his disposal, all they can do is piss him off which will just make him louder.

Mix it up with the others. I was glad Steyers was there.

Joe Biden as our candidate I'm more than ready to consider ANY Democrat who I believe has a decent chance of beating Trump. At this point our ONLY goal should be getting the ignoramus out of the White House and, hopefully out of our lives for once and for all. If Bloomberg is the man to do that, so be it.

scrutiny?

It's true that he has not had to clear the same hurdle (number of donors) as other candidates, including several who have already been eliminated. Of course that's unfair. The money that dominates our elections means that the playing field is never level.

On the other hand, the polling demonstrates that Bloomberg's campaign is viable. It would be unfair to Democratic primary voters not to see him on the debate stage with the other candidates.

Democracy is messy. There is no perfectly fair alternative. I want to see Bloomberg on the debate stage.

Let Bloomberg directly defend his ideas and his past through rigorous debate with his fellow candidates. No one, no matter how many billon$$$ they have, should be permitted to simply cruise control it on easy mode through an election.

He was real big on pompously lecturing poor people and minorities on the concept of "direct accountability" when he was mayor of NYC. Let him now put his billions where his mouth is and be directly accountable to the people he's asking to vote for him. He must debate.

NO FREE PASSES!

Mixed messages...

Many of them were, as the OP noted, Sanders supporters. Can't really have it both ways.

Personally, I think he should be there, but many have insisted otherwise, somewhat laughably, because he doesn't meet the donor limits.