The bloomberg candidacy. He is bypassing the caucuses and primaries. His eye is on super tuesday. Our phone lines are open, 202 7488001 is the line for republicans, 202 7488000 if you are a democrat and 202 7488002 if you are an independent. We are also taking her text messages, that phone number is 202 7488003. Be sure to tell us where you are texting from and your good name. Good sunday morning. We begin with president ial politics. We are in the february season of caucuses and primaries. All eyes are on the nevada caucuses a week from saturday. Virginia is a key state for bloombergs super tuesday strategy. If there is a state or Democrat Michael bloomberg could expect a return on investment, it is virginia. By investing millions, bloomberg helped democrats take back the statehouse last fall with full control of government in virginia, democrats have started pushing through legislation on everything from gun control to gayrights. The state could serve as the centerpiece of the strategy of Michael Bloomberg, looking to compete in the 14 states that vote on tuesday, march 3 super tuesday. His longtime investment has helped with fans and local officials. Counted on him as a supporter. The campaign to take on the nra, advanced aggressive control legislation in the general assembly. That story focusing on Michael Bloomberg. Last night at a state party dinner enrichment, Michael Bloomberg had this to say. [video clip] virginia is still very much up for grabs in 2020. We are not waiting until the general election to organize here. We have already knocked on 32,000 doors in the state, made and than 72,000 phone calls i have hired staffers to work right here in virginia. [applause] i want you to know i am here to stay know better who comes out on top of the primary. We can elect democrats up and down the ballot. [applause] and say goodbye to donald. Host that was Michael Bloomberg and that is available on our website, cspan. Org. Headline, sharpening attacks on bloomberg as he continues to rise in the polls. Bloombergs 2020 rivals are sharpening their attacks against him, underscoring his greatest strength in the primary race. Bloomberg has assembled a fearsome Campaign Apparatus that includes hundreds of the Democratic Partys top strategists. He has put more than 350 million into an Advertising Campaign that has lifted him in the polls. He has also apologized for several racially charged controversies for his time as mayor of new york city. Polls show him cutting into joe biden;s support among black voters. Is taking place on wednesday evening, msnbc is the sponsor of the debate. Youin in philadelphia, do support the bloomberg candidacy . Caller yes, he has a data machine that is out of this world and he has the resources to go against trump. American and stop and frisk does not bother me. He followed the law because he thought that was the best thing to do at the time. Host do you think this is an issue among africanamerican democrats in the primary . Republicans will try to make it an issue. But from my point of view, i dont think it is an issue. We are dealing with trump and all of the things he does being president. I am ready to listen to somebody else, no matter if they did one thing in their life that was not a good judgment at that particular time. As long as they came to realize that it was not the best decision they made, and they try to reconcile it. Host lets go to john in philadelphia on the republican line. Good morning. Caller good morning. Ago i wassay 10 years a democrat, Union Democrat all my life. I changed to republican to vote these guys out. And to have that opportunity. Hillary, to my surprise, i dont know if this 2020 race will be as crazy as last year i mean, as the last president ial race. Thingerg, it is the same money. Same thing as donald trump. Money versus money. Very annoying right now. The Democratic Party, they can beat trump. They can beat him, but they have to come together more on the issues and there are a lot of issues. The system is a failure. Climate change is what is trump doing . Done a good job with the economy. Could the democrats do that and change the policies . That is all i have to say. Thank you. Host thank you for the call. He mentioned Hillary Clinton. A headline getting a lot of attention over the last 24 bloomberg isl considering Hillary Clinton is a potential running mate. He is with her, writes the New York Post. Bloomberg could team up with Hillary Clinton to try to take down donald trump by making her his running mate. Found they polling would be a force. His Communications Director did not deny the rumor of the matchmaking effort, saying we are focused on the primary and the debate, not vp speculation. Broke theter drudge news, bloomberg posted a message about working with female colleagues. He said i would not be where i am without my female colleagues i have had. The headline from the New York Post is Hillary Clinton is being considered as a potential running mate for Michael Bloomberg. New jersey, independent line, good morning. Caller good morning. I wanted to point out as the previous caller stated, the stop and frisk was started by Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, who i support, is the one who inherited it and ultimately stopped it. It should be pointed out that trump has indicated on sean hannity that he would like to see stop and frisk implemented nationwide. Just given Michael Bloombergs most recent comments in retaliation to trumps tweets, i thought he handled them masterfully. The only thing i have heard so far from the other candidates with respect to trump that is they would beat him like a drum. That did not carry the day. Thank, cspan. Host thank you for the call. In stateto ben college, pennsylvania. I want to start by saying i am a President Trump supporter. I plan on voting for him. I agree with the gentleman from pennsylvania who said Michael Bloomberg has the resources. I cant get on snapchat, youtube, facebook without seeing one of his ads. I admit, they are catchy. He definitely has the best ad campaign going, even though he is not participating in the early states or the debates. Host next from michigan, robert, you are on the air. Good morning. Caller the best thing the Democratic Party could do for america is all the money they are going to spend on is going to trump win by a landslide. They dont have a chance. Thank you. Host this is from rebecca on our twitter page. Tom steyer cant make any headway but bloomberg is coming up fast. Tony is next from kansas city, missouri. Good morning. Caller thank you for taking my call. Supporter butden his lackluster campaign, he makes no sense. I have given my support to bloomberg. He would be the savior for the Democratic Party this time. Warren, Bernie Sanders, they would be a disaster. We need someone to get this crazy man out of office right away. Host according to cnn, the onomberg staff, 2400 people the payroll for Michael Bloomberg, spending close to 400 million in advertising and vowing to spend more than 1 billion to win the nomination. The Republican Convention is in late august in charlotte, north carolyn. Buffalo, new york. Good morning. Caller good morning. I am a big fan. This is the first time i have tried to call. I enjoyed the way you monitor the calls. I like the idea of bloomberg. I think all of this stuff before is a waste of time. Get 40 or 50 emails a day, and i am not kidding. I get that many emails per day requesting money. I think it is a total waste of time what the candidates do. None of these debates mean a thing because they get 30 seconds to answer this, 20 seconds, it is ridiculous. The real way to get to know candidates is what bloomberg did last night, what some of the candidates have done when they do town halls. I am interested in mr. Bloomberg because he is a successful businessman, he is not a liar, he does not tweet. To me, he is a decent human being and he would lead the country well. Host thank you for the call. Dont be a stranger. How much snow in buffalo . Caller it has been a mild winter. Rains, snow, and then it and then it is gone. Is inof the snow we get the southern area, which is our ski country. We dont mind it there. Were praisingans trump for using his own money. They say he cant be bought. Now the same republicans are criticizing Michael Bloomberg for doing the same thing. Ofconsin, the hometown former House Speaker paul ryan. Good morning. Caller good morning. The former town where he used to live. I think he moved out closer to you guys. I am looking forward with bloomberg getting in, i have always been a fan of him when he was mayor of new york city. I dont agree with all of his positions but i think it will elevate the campaign. I think trump is very scared of him because he understands how tough it will be against him. Finding out this morning, from your program, of Hillary Clinton being a possible running mate. Examplethat is a great of the intelligence of Mike Bloomberg. To build that huge network, i watch a lot of cspan, i watch a lot of bloomberg tv also, i just cant wait. What he is going to do with the debate stage, and he has racial problems he had in new york city, but he also was looked up to in new york city because he did stop murders of blacks against blacks and he expressed that view. There are some pluses on there. He has apologized for not understanding the black issues. As far as running the city, i think he is looked up to very well. Host you mentioned Hillary Clinton. It might have been a trial balloon by the Bloomberg Campaign, but what is your reaction to her being on the ticket with Mike Bloomberg if he is the nominee . Caller i think they would be formidable. She is a high intellectual like he is. Genuine insincere, his outlook on things. His idea on guns, that is an issue that has taken down a lot of democrats. I think bloomberg is not an ideologue. He has been a republican, now he is a democrat. I dont think he has changed his views on things. I think being in new york, he knows Hillary Clinton because they both worked on the same issues and stuff. Andooks at her for respect he understands women and respects her viewpoints. I think it is a brilliant move. I think he picked her because he likes her, and he likes her because of her work ethic and her intellect. Bloombergt vote for because of his views on certain issues, but i have a tough time with trump, also. How thet waiting to see campaign goes. It is kind of exciting. I am kind of a political junkie. I just think it will be good to watch. Host thank you for the call and you get a front row seat to the campaign here on cspan. Timee live at 5 00 eastern on infrastructure. The Democratic Candidates are on the campus of unlv. It is also live on cspan radio. Tomorrow, we are live with a Pete Buttigieg rally in crescent city, nevada. We will have the results and the speeches next saturday. This headline from the Las Vegas Review journal, so far the thousands turning out for the first day of early caucuses in nevada, more than 10,000 turning out yesterday, some waiting in line for up to three hours. After that, we are onto South Carolina for the primary on saturday, february between knightsbridge 14 states going to february 29th. After that, 14 states going to the polls on tuesday. Caller i am in georgia, i am a libertarian. I am inclined right now to vote for him to help save the Democratic Party from themselves. Of fun it will be a lot to watch. I think i will buy some stock in Orville Redenbacher popcorn. He has the money, he has the moxie, he is from new york. Unlike the guy before him, i think it will be a really Interesting Campaign coming up. If he gets the nomination, it will be even more interesting. I disagree with the hillary idea completely. Host would that be a dealbreaker for you if she is on the ticket . Caller i might still vote for him if she is on the ticket. She wont be on the ticket in march. As far as who i would vote for in november, that is a different story. Right now i am a libertarian. Voteht be inclined to libertarian this time. I despise trump. He is a despicable human being. I would love to see him defeated. I can live with bloomberg. We know he is a capitalist part we know he is a capitalist. He would be better than the other democrats. Tweet or a text message. He says no, the money is what the dnc wants. The voters want bernie. Lets see how the dnc thanks. The socalled stop and frisk policy put in place under a number of new york city mayors, including Michael Bloomberg, has been the source of a lot of attention, with Michael Bloomberg apologizing for that policy. He addressed the issue enrichment yesterday. [video clip] many of the ways we tried to reduce gun violence was right, and we did reduce murders by 50 in new york city. There was one approach that i deeply regret. It is the abuse of the Police Practice called stop and frisk. I have gotten a lot of grief for it lately. I defended it too long because i did not understand the unintentional pain it caused young brown and black men and their families. I should have stopped it, i did not and i apologize for that. [applause] sometimes we make a mistake and i think the sign of leadership is standing up and learning and doing it better. I spent a lot of time with black leaders and community members, i listen to their stories, i heard their pain, confusion and anger, and i have grown from that. Let me make it clear. Those of you who want to know, as president of the u. S. , i will work to dismantle systems plagued by bias and discrimination. I will invest in communities who have received the brunt of these systems for generations and i will put this work at the top of my agenda. Host that was Mike Bloomberg in richmond, virginia yesterday. Texas, democrat line, your view on his candidacy . Caller good morning, cspan. Host good morning. I emailed him in new york when he was the mayor. All of this money, i dont like him. , who knows what he really is. He is all over the place. , iont like any democrat call them extreme right wing democrats. Host who is your candidate . Caller Elizabeth Warren. I think she is a centrist. I dont see her as far left wing. I dont like pragmatist people. They reign on our parade. Bloomberg is trying to do what he is doing. The democrats are looking to get together and get enough delegates to take over the convention if nothing else. It iss is from interesting to read the stories on the Iowa Caucuses that are coming out. Front page of the Washington Post, an indepth look at exactly what happened at the Iowa Caucuses. They crashed under the dncs watchful eyes. We saw the email from troy price, the former chair of the Democratic Party because of the errors that led to significant delays. Vermont, democrats line, the bloomberg candidacy, what you think . Caller thank you for accepting my call. Previouse with the callers about Michael Bloomberg. I am africanamerican and i i dont they will think africanamericans will vote for him. I think they will be able to see through him. I just like to make that comment. I disagree with the previous callers on that point. Host a couple of text messages. Nathaniel in new jersey says i think when a politician looks back at his past political positions and says he is wrong, that is a sign of good character. Bloomberg is a person who can beat donald, the king of fake news, trump. I can see the ticket being Michael Bloomberg and kamala harris. Tweet, tom steyer cant make any headway because bloomberg is coming up fast. This story is on the front page of the New York Times, here is some of the details from a team of reporters. 2018, emilys list had a dilemma with Congressional Elections approaching and a battle over judge Brett Kavanaugh overweight, the democratic womens group was hosting a fundraising luncheon and new york. Among the speakers, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor who had donated 6 million over the years. Bloomberg made blunt comments itd interview expressing skepticism about the me too movement and questioning Sexual Misconduct allegations against charlie rose. Emilys list officials seriously debated withdrawing bloombergs invitation. According to three people familiar with the conversations. The group decided it could not risk alienating Michael Bloomberg. The women in the audience wore black to show support for Christine Blasey ford. Stor