I sort of wish Wisconsin wasn’t in play in the presidential election, but here we are. I work very hard and do enjoy my evenings at peace with Wheel of Fortune, and perhaps a sporting event on TV. Sadly, my peace at home has been trifled with for the past several months, and I fear it will be a nonstop blitz until November.
As of now, we are getting crushed with a massive ad buy from Bloomberg. And that’s it. Bloomberg is everywhere. And no other candidates (including Trump) on the media I consume, at least. Upon questioning the spousal unit, who watches things on TV that are apparently called “shows”, of which I have never heard of, she reports that it is all Bloomberg all the time too. She also inquired as to who this guy is and I simply told her “nobody you need to be concerned with”.
As of several months ago we had ads from some different candidates. I remember ads from Robert Francis O Rourke and a few others but none of the buys have been as massive as this salvo from Bloomberg.
That’s all I got for now. More to come as the campaign develops.
He’s also buying lots of ads on Texas television as well. It’s unclear to me why he’d want to do this, but someone else speculated that he’s building a network for future use by himself or other candidates. My wife and i don’t watch much television, but we watched “Jeopardy!” all four nights it was on, and that Bloomberg ad with the nurse who raved about Obamacare ran constantly. We’re in Austin, so I suspect the ad buys are taking place in all the major Texas cities. It’s unclear whether he’s buying ads in the smaller, more conservative markets such as Amarillo, San Angelo or Tyler.
Bloomberg might actually be a decent president since he has substantial high-level executive experience. OTOH he wasn’t a particularly good mayor, his authoritarianism is despicable and he buys into The Global Warming Crisis and other own-goal leftist crusades. Like Rahm Emanuel he looks OK mainly because most of the Democratic Party’s other candidates for the job he wants look much worse. Unlike Emanuel he will be running against a Republican incumbent with a good record. I don’t think Bloomberg will win but I think it’s a mistake to write him – or any of the other Democratic presidential candidates – off.
The thing that I have seen reported is that Bloomberg bought a s**tton of TV advertising in Texas, and even some on the streaming video sources, possibly had his rally reported in the local print media … but the Daughter Unit and I managed not to hear a single word about his gracing us with his presence. Until after he had been and gone…
I guess we were watching other streaming channels without paid ads, we weren’t watching broadcast channels, or reading the local printed tree-killer. Did all that Bloomberg manage to do was to spend a metric s**tton of money, without reaching anyone but a handful of die-hards at all?
Is the traditional means of campaigning via a massive media ad purchase essentially a waste of time? I’m betting that it is, and that no one really wants to acknowledge this.
Welcome to NH
I don’t know what Bloomberg is doing, but he’s certainly not running for president, and somehow he’s apparently spent in excess of $100M doing it. Is he trying to build a media network or further his activist networks or something? The man’s got more money than he’ll ever be able to spend, maybe he has Soros envy or something.
Stephen Taylor
He’s also buying lots of ads on Texas television as well.
Bloomberg will have trouble getting traction in Texas after saying the following about the shooting at the Dallas area church. Michael Bloomberg’s outrageous response to the Texas church shooting.
Had the congregation not been armed, how many of the congregation would the gunman have killed before police came? A dozen?
“…that Bloomberg ad with the nurse who raved about Obamacare ran constantly.” – This is the one he is hammering in Wisconsin.
We were in California for Christmas and saw lots of ads by Steyer, who has even less chance than Bloomberg. Since my TV watching is mostly football (LSU game), I see little of these ads.
I don’t think Bloomberg is an attractive candidate. His only appeal, I think, is in contrast with the other Democrats. I think this will putter along and we will end with a brokered convention and a “selected, not elected” choice.
Hillary seems unlikely but Warren is the Hillary surrogate and, if she fails, I could see a Hillary boomlet. The Democrats are close to conceding the election with the impeachment. I assume the impeachment is probably directed as much at the Supreme Court appointments as the election.
I believe Biden is running to protect himself (and his son) from legal peril due to their corrupt dealings with Ukraine. If he really wanted to run the time to do it was 2016. But indications are that there was a Obama/Clinton “deal” and Joe wasn’t going to be able to sabotage that.
I believe everyone else is running:
1. to raise their profiles for future office, whether that means the presidency or more likely cabinet posts
2. because Biden is clearly not well and is not a sure thing to even be capable of making it through the campaign
It seems difficult to believe that the Democrat party could take the risk of nominating Biden, just due to his health.
I have no idea what is going to happen. My guess is still that the Dems are trying to make it so that they can pick someone at the convention, if they can make something, anything, stick against Trump in the meantime. Hillary! would be happy to jump in and run a few month campaign, if that were to happen. I don’t think they’ve done nearly enough laying of the groundwork for Michelle!, and other than that I don’t see any possible options they have, which is pretty pathetic to say for them.
I remember the one thing that marred the broadcast final game of the 2016 World Series was the barrage of all-Hilary political ads.
The Democrat clique is reminiscent of the end of the Soviet Union, when one grey septuagenarian would replace another as Maximum Leader. Talent & vigor had been systematically run out of the Party Establishment. Certainly, the Democrats are ripe for their very own Putin-style hard-charger with a plan. But the Democrat Convention would be more likely to rally behind Saint Greta or Megan Markle, damn the Constitution!
There must be a lot of seething discontent within the great mass of ordinary Democrats — the people who look back to JFK with longing. But the ordinary pro-American Democrats have been disenfranchised by the plantation-running anti-American extreme Democrat activists.
There must be a lot of seething discontent within the great mass of ordinary Democrats — the people who look back to JFK with longing. But the ordinary pro-American Democrats have been disenfranchised by the plantation-running anti-American extreme Democrat activists.
I suspect that many of the people with doubts have switched parties. Conservative Democrats, or at least Democrats who dislike the intolerant Left, became Republicans. Republicans who loathe Trump voted Democratic. Successful political parties change with the times. Political demographics are no more static than are economic ones. Yesterday’s poor person may be today’s wealthy, or at least middle class, one. Yesterday’s soccer-mom supporter of Democrats and wet Republicans may be today’s Trump-supporting populist. The Democrats are behind the political power curve at the moment, but this won’t always be true.
“seething discontent within the great mass of ordinary Democrats”…take what a 70 year oldster who likes to stay at home most of the time with a grain of salt but, if the few Dems I’ve come into contact with are typical, they are largely oblivious. When I look at acquaintances that are Democratic, without fail they happen to be in groups that depend upon a government entity (one could say “you and I”, whoever we may be) for their paycheck. My friends are my friends but I am reluctant to make new friends with a leftist bent…I really don’t wish to associate with members that support what I see as a suicide cult.
tyouth20
” When I look at acquaintances that are Democratic, without fail they happen to be in groups that depend upon a government entity (one could say “you and I”, whoever we may be) for their paycheck.”
That is not my experience…I know people who are Dem, ranging from moderate Dem to rabid Dem, who are in fields including sales, startup management, healthcare, art (nonsubsidized), and aviation.
Heard on the radio today that Bloomberg has now spent over $200M.
It’s all very strange, because he’s not even trying in any early states.
I meet all kinds. Most are decent people who to my mind are ignorant and misguided. I’m guessing they have similar thoughts about me. Conservatives do themselves no favors by thinking the worst about all leftists — some deserve it, most probably don’t. The media, including conservative media, including some prominent right-of-center bloggers and talk-radio hosts, are not our friends. The online-media business model depends on over-generalization, polarization, and conflict. One of the best parts of Lee Smith’s “The Plot Against the President” is his explanation of the extent to which the anti-Trump conspiracy has been driven by the business dynamics of online media. As Glenn Reynolds says about race relations, in the real world people mostly seem to get along even if they disagree about politics.
Heard on the radio today that Bloomberg has now spent over $200M.
Steve Hayward today posted a column today posing a theory that Bloomberg is thinking about a 3rd party run.
Maybe he thinks he cam draw NeverTrumpers and Democrats who are not as far left as the present field.
I doubt it would work but it might explain some things he is doing,
All I can think of is that Bloomberg and Steyer are part of the plan to keep Biden from clinching the nomination. Once the other remaining jokers start dropping out,
they’ll still be there to win some delegates and force a contested convention. He has zero constituency to enable a 3rd party run.
Conservatives do themselves no favors by thinking the worst about all leftists — some deserve it, most probably don’t.
Sorry, Dude, but nearly every self-described “Democrat” these days is either an evil charlatan or a Useful Idiot.
It doesn’t matter if their “hearts are in the right place” when they cannot be bothered to exercise their franchise with the least measure of rational sense. They are defacto toxic humans, no matter their intents… Because they enable some of the most vile, power-hungry people in this nation.
Just look at what is happening in Virginia if you think we are not standing at a national precipice thanks to Democrats.
I can see no way to avoid another Civil War if things continue.
If you think ads in Wisconsin are pervasive, you should have been in Iowa for the past six months. Not just TV, but cable, internet, billboards and the phone never stops ringing.