MIKE CAN WIN

A Bloomberg advisor says America is hungry for a nonpartisan problem-solver

It remains to be seen whether former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will run for President as an independent. However, it is clear to Bloomberg and to many Americans that our country needs real leadership from outside of the highly polarized, hopelessly partisan Democratic and Republican Parties.

Indeed, the latest Gallup polling shows that fully 60% of Americans believe that the two major parties have done “such a poor job” that we need a third option.

Bloomberg would be the candidate for Americans who are tired of Democrats and Republicans promising the impossible while delivering the inadequate, and who understand that the two major parties and the Washington political class have failed our country so miserably that our economy and national security are now deeply threatened.

America is more polarized than it has ever been before, thanks to the Republican and Democratic Parties. Just look at the ongoing primaries, which have deeply divided the country when what we need most, and what Americans across the political spectrum are calling out for, is leadership, unity and forward-looking policymaking.

Specifically, Americans are desperate for a President who can bring our country together, solve our problems on a nonpartisan basis, get the economy working again and provide global leadership that keeps us safe.

Bloomberg is an enormously successful mayor of New York City, and one of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs. He has a proven record of growing the economy, creating thousands of jobs and achieving results with bipartisan solutions from outside of Washington.

I have worked for Bloomberg with pride for 17 years, I advised his three successful campaigns for mayor of New York City and I remain in his employ as a pollster. I have found him in private to be exactly the way New Yorkers have found him as a leader — completely honest and forthright, a straight-shooter who makes decisions strictly on the merits.

Bloomberg is a political outsider who has never taken a dime of campaign contributions, but has taken on special interests and the Democratic and Republican establishments to do what is right and achieve real results. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he implemented world-leading anti-terror policies that kept New York City safe for 12 years, and he knows that good ideas to create jobs, grow the economy, lower crime and improve public health are more important than politics or ideology.

Bloomberg is exactly the kind of leader we need for America. As an entrepreneur, he started in a one-room office and built one of America’s most successful and innovative companies, one that employs thousands of hardworking people. As mayor, he created jobs and opportunity with smart pro-growth policies, balanced budgets, record low crime, public health initiatives and sensible social policies.

Bloomberg isn’t a Washington politician, he’s a problem solver who is independent of special interests and political parties, fighting for common sense solutions to our problems and making government work for the American people, not lobbyists or ca- reer politicians.

Some pundits have argued that a Bloomberg candidacy would be nothing more than a Democratic spoiler, siphoning voters away from Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders and handing the presidency to Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. These pundits misjudge Bloomberg’s widespread appeal that transcends and belies liberal or conservative dogmas.

Indeed, a study conducted by Frank Luntz found that not only does Bloomberg have the support of nearly 30% of the electorate before even announcing a candidacy, he actually “takes a higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats when the GOP candidate is Trump or Cruz.”

In fact, as a Morning Consult poll recently found, most Americans don’t know much about Bloomberg, especially compared to the Democratic and Republican candidates for President, who have been relentlessly campaigning for nearly a year. If Bloomberg makes the case about who he is, what he stands for and what he has accomplished in the public and private sectors, voters of all political stripes will respond enthusiastically.

This was the case in 1992, when Ross Perot ran in similar circumstances, when the nation was highly dissatisfied and the two parties had disappointed most Americans. Perot had little name recognition when he announced but was polling in the mid-20s by April, and in the high 30s by June when he dropped out.

Similarly, John Anderson’s campaign in 1980, which faced numerous organizational and financing challenges, was quickly polling in the mid-20s after his announcement. Independent candidates like Anderson and Perot, while ultimately unsuccessful, illustrate how a forward-looking, serious, and demonstrably independent candidate can make a case to the voters that is convincing and compelling, and generates significant support.

Voters then and now want a President who does the right thing and delivers real results, regardless of what special interests, political parties or ideological extremists want.

Bloomberg has made this case successfully before in three campaigns for mayor of New York City. He put it best himself, when he declared his independence from both political parties in 2007:

“America, the most wonderful country in the world, is at a crossroads. The politics of partisanship and the resulting inaction and excuses have paralyzed decision-making, primarily at the federal level, and the big issues of the day are not being addressed — leaving our future in jeopardy. We can accept this, or we can say ‘enough is enough,’ and together, build a bright future for our country. I believe we can turn around our country’s current, wrong-headed course, if we start basing our actions on ideas, shared values and a commitment to solve problems without regard for party.”

America needs a proven independent and Washington outsider like Bloomberg if we are ever going to solve our problems. The Democratic and Republican Parties have totally failed America, and our politics gets more dysfunctional every day. The 2016 election is already turning into a joke and the primaries have become a circus, even though the challenges America faces today are more serious than ever.

Bloomberg is a pragmatic political outsider and doesn’t care about partisan games or Washington insiders. He cares about what works for regular people and what will make this country better and stronger. Only an independent President who will bring people together, fight for common sense solutions, make government work for the people, and isn’t beholden to Washington special interests or political parties can solve our problems. That’s Mike Bloomberg. Schoen, an advisor to President Bill Clinton, has advised Michael Bloomberg in his campaigns since 2001.