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Bloomberg will not run - letter to the public
mrussel1
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3/7/2016 The Risk I Will Not Take Bloomberg View
Americans today face a profound challenge to preserve our common values and national promise.
Wage stagnation at home and our declining influence abroad have left Americans angry and
frustrated. And yet Washington, D.C., offers nothing but gridlock and partisan fingerpointing.
Worse, the current presidential candidates are offering scapegoats instead of solutions, and they
are promising results that they can’t possibly deliver. Rather than explaining how they will break
the fever of partisanship that is crippling Washington, they are doubling down on dysfunction.
Over the course of American history, both parties have tended to nominate presidential candidates
who stay close to and build from the center. But that tradition may be breaking down. Extremism
is on the march, and unless we stop it, our problems at home and abroad will grow worse.
Many Americans are understandably dismayed by this, and I share their concerns. The leading
Democratic candidates have attacked policies that spurred growth and opportunity under President
Bill Clinton support for trade, charter schools, deficit reduction and the financial sector.
Meanwhile, the leading Republican candidates have attacked policies that spurred growth and
opportunity under President Ronald Reagan, including immigration reform, compromise on taxes
and entitlement reform, and support for bipartisan budgets. Both presidents were problemsolvers,
not ideological purists. And both moved the country forward in important ways.
Over the last several months, many Americans have urged me to run for president as an
independent, and some who don’t like the current candidates have said it is my patriotic duty to do
so. I appreciate their appeals, and I have given the question serious consideration. The deadline to
answer it is now, because of ballot access requirements.
My parents taught me about the importance of giving back, and public service has been an
important part of my life. After 12 years as mayor of New York City, I know the personal
sacrifices that campaigns and elected office require, and I would gladly make them again in order
to help the country I love.
I’ve always been drawn to impossible challenges, and none today is greater or more important
than ending the partisan war in Washington and making government work for the American
people not lobbyists and campaign donors. Bringing about this change will require electing
leaders who are more focused on getting results than winning reelection, who have experience
building small businesses and creating jobs, who know how to balance budgets and manage large
organizations, who aren’t beholden to special interests and who are honest with the public at
every turn. I’m flattered that some think I could provide this kind of leadership.
But when I look at the data, it’s clear to me that if I entered the race, I could not win. I believe I
could win a number of diverse states but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes
necessary to win the presidency.
In a threeway race, it’s unlikely any candidate would win a majority of electoral votes, and then
the power to choose the president would be taken out of the hands of the American people and
thrown to Congress. The fact is, even if I were to receive the most popular votes and the most
electoral votes, victory would be highly unlikely, because most members of Congress would vote
for their party’s nominee. Party loyalists in Congress not the American people or the Electoral
College would determine the next president.
As the race stands now, with Republicans in charge of both Houses, there is a good chance that
my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz. That is not a risk I
can take in good conscience.
I have known Mr. Trump casually for many years, and we have always been on friendly terms. I
even agreed to appear on “The Apprentice” twice. But he has run the most divisive and
demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears.
Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party, appealed to our “better angels.” Trump
appeals to our worst impulses.
Threatening to bar foreign Muslims from entering the country is a direct assault on two of the core
values that gave rise to our nation: religious tolerance and the separation of church and state.
Attacking and promising to deport millions of Mexicans, feigning ignorance of white
supremacists, and threatening China and Japan with a trade war are all dangerously wrong, too.
These moves would divide us at home and compromise our moral leadership around the world.
The end result would be to embolden our enemies, threaten the security of our allies, and put our
own men and women in uniform at greater risk.
Senator Cruz’s pandering on immigration may lack Trump’s rhetorical excess, but it is no less
extreme. His refusal to oppose banning foreigners based on their religion may be less bombastic
than Trump’s position, but it is no less divisive.
We cannot “make America great again” by turning our backs on the values that made us the
world’s greatest nation in the first place. I love our country too much to play a role in electing a
candidate who would weaken our unity and darken our future and so I will not enter the race for
president of the United States.
However, nor will I stay silent about the threat that partisan extremism poses to our nation. I am
not ready to endorse any candidate, but I will continue urging all voters to reject divisive appeals
and demanding that candidates offer intelligent, specific and realistic ideas for bridging divides,
solving problems, and giving us the honest and capable government we deserve.
For most Americans, citizenship requires little more than paying taxes. But many have given their
lives to defend our nation and all of us have an obligation as voters to stand up on behalf of
ideas and principles that, as Lincoln said, represent “the last best hope of earth.” I hope and pray
I’m doing that.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net
3/7/2016 The Risk I Will Not Take Bloomberg View
Americans today face a profound challenge to preserve our common values and national promise.
Wage stagnation at home and our declining influence abroad have left Americans angry and
frustrated. And yet Washington, D.C., offers nothing but gridlock and partisan fingerpointing.
Worse, the current presidential candidates are offering scapegoats instead of solutions, and they
are promising results that they can’t possibly deliver. Rather than explaining how they will break
the fever of partisanship that is crippling Washington, they are doubling down on dysfunction.
Over the course of American history, both parties have tended to nominate presidential candidates
who stay close to and build from the center. But that tradition may be breaking down. Extremism
is on the march, and unless we stop it, our problems at home and abroad will grow worse.
Many Americans are understandably dismayed by this, and I share their concerns. The leading
Democratic candidates have attacked policies that spurred growth and opportunity under President
Bill Clinton support for trade, charter schools, deficit reduction and the financial sector.
Meanwhile, the leading Republican candidates have attacked policies that spurred growth and
opportunity under President Ronald Reagan, including immigration reform, compromise on taxes
and entitlement reform, and support for bipartisan budgets. Both presidents were problemsolvers,
not ideological purists. And both moved the country forward in important ways.
Over the last several months, many Americans have urged me to run for president as an
independent, and some who don’t like the current candidates have said it is my patriotic duty to do
so. I appreciate their appeals, and I have given the question serious consideration. The deadline to
answer it is now, because of ballot access requirements.
My parents taught me about the importance of giving back, and public service has been an
important part of my life. After 12 years as mayor of New York City, I know the personal
sacrifices that campaigns and elected office require, and I would gladly make them again in order
to help the country I love.
I’ve always been drawn to impossible challenges, and none today is greater or more important
than ending the partisan war in Washington and making government work for the American
people not lobbyists and campaign donors. Bringing about this change will require electing
leaders who are more focused on getting results than winning reelection, who have experience
building small businesses and creating jobs, who know how to balance budgets and manage large
organizations, who aren’t beholden to special interests and who are honest with the public at
every turn. I’m flattered that some think I could provide this kind of leadership.
But when I look at the data, it’s clear to me that if I entered the race, I could not win. I believe I
could win a number of diverse states but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes
necessary to win the presidency.
In a threeway race, it’s unlikely any candidate would win a majority of electoral votes, and then
the power to choose the president would be taken out of the hands of the American people and
thrown to Congress. The fact is, even if I were to receive the most popular votes and the most
electoral votes, victory would be highly unlikely, because most members of Congress would vote
for their party’s nominee. Party loyalists in Congress not the American people or the Electoral
College would determine the next president.
As the race stands now, with Republicans in charge of both Houses, there is a good chance that
my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz. That is not a risk I
can take in good conscience.
I have known Mr. Trump casually for many years, and we have always been on friendly terms. I
even agreed to appear on “The Apprentice” twice. But he has run the most divisive and
demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears.
Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party, appealed to our “better angels.” Trump
appeals to our worst impulses.
Threatening to bar foreign Muslims from entering the country is a direct assault on two of the core
values that gave rise to our nation: religious tolerance and the separation of church and state.
Attacking and promising to deport millions of Mexicans, feigning ignorance of white
supremacists, and threatening China and Japan with a trade war are all dangerously wrong, too.
These moves would divide us at home and compromise our moral leadership around the world.
The end result would be to embolden our enemies, threaten the security of our allies, and put our
own men and women in uniform at greater risk.
Senator Cruz’s pandering on immigration may lack Trump’s rhetorical excess, but it is no less
extreme. His refusal to oppose banning foreigners based on their religion may be less bombastic
than Trump’s position, but it is no less divisive.
We cannot “make America great again” by turning our backs on the values that made us the
world’s greatest nation in the first place. I love our country too much to play a role in electing a
candidate who would weaken our unity and darken our future and so I will not enter the race for
president of the United States.
However, nor will I stay silent about the threat that partisan extremism poses to our nation. I am
not ready to endorse any candidate, but I will continue urging all voters to reject divisive appeals
and demanding that candidates offer intelligent, specific and realistic ideas for bridging divides,
solving problems, and giving us the honest and capable government we deserve.
For most Americans, citizenship requires little more than paying taxes. But many have given their
lives to defend our nation and all of us have an obligation as voters to stand up on behalf of
ideas and principles that, as Lincoln said, represent “the last best hope of earth.” I hope and pray
I’m doing that.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net
Post edited by mrussel1 on
0
Comments
But...if he legitimately believes that...I do give him credit for recognizing how dangerous Trump or Cruz potentially could be to the country.
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz. That is not a risk I
can take in good conscience."
Smart man!
Still not convinced he would win a single state but if I'm wrong...good. Glad he isn't running.
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
And while I fully agree that Trump and Cruz are the worst of the bunch, the one thing I personally hope for is that both "sides" are capable of reading this and doing a little inward examination. Unfortunately it's almost a sure certainty that both sides will only "hear" the message pertaining to the other side.
A guy grabs headlines because he is not running for president.
Ok....