Michael Bloomberg could launch a brand new political party — a "robust centrist movement" — if he decides to jump into the 2016 presidential contest, conservative political pundit Morton Kondracke writes in the Thursday edition of
The Wall Street Journal.
"This deeply polarized country needs one," Kondracke writes. "If offered a viable alternative — well-funded, activist, idea-rich and populated by political heavyweights — I think millions of unhappy moderate centrists would rally."
Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and former New York City mayor, said this week he is seriously considering throwing his hat in the ring.
"[He] closed New York City's $6 billion deficit in 2002 and left his successor with a balanced city budget in 2013. He battled teachers unions to improve New York public schools, and championed tough anticrime and antiterrorism policies.
"He's emphatically pro-business and pro-free trade. He is not, in other words, a knee-jerk liberal. He is a moderate," Kondracke writes.
"Bloomberg is a major philanthropist, having given away, so far, $3.7 billion. Spending $1 billion to save the American political system from extremism would be the best act of philanthropy I can imagine."
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