Why Bloomberg 2020 would be doomed from the start

Michael Bloomberg is considering a run for president as a Democrat, despite the small fact that he opposed nearly every progressive principle out there.

The ex-New York City mayor and billionaire businessman has spent the past few days rejecting his former GOP ties, lobbying for gun control and touting a Democratic House takeover across the West Coast. Then, he went on to question the #MeToo movement, defend New York's much-decried stop-and-frisk policy, and slam liberal stances on big business in a Friday interview with The New York Times.

Bloomberg has spent his life toggling between political parties, previously identifying as a Democrat, Republican, and now an independent. And in another ideological twist, Bloomberg announced in June that he'd give $80 million to centrist candidates in 2018, mostly aimed at flipping the House for Democrats. That same middle-of-the-road messaging has dominated his Bloomberg's consideration of a 2020 presidential run, though he told the Times he'd probably "have to run as a Democrat" if he wanted to win. He's popped up at gun control rallies over the past few days, and he has always championed environmental protection.

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Yet in his Times interview, Bloomberg also slammed Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) corporation-busting plan. He decried "outrageous" police violence, but maintained New York's stop-and-frisk policy didn't violate privacy rights like so many civil liberties advocates claim. And he claimed he "didn't know how true" all the sexual harassment allegations against disgraced CBS broadcaster Charlie Rose were, but he'd prefer if we "let the court system decide."

These views add a few asterisks to Bloomberg's Democratic bona fides — and probably don't bode well in a climate where progressive insurgents keep taking down their solidly centrist foes. Read more at The New York Times.