Good posts here. I'll try to summarize a bit.
I think that when Biden was getting beat in the early primaries, Dems do what they do, they freak out, especially when beating Trump really was and still is the overriding focus of the day. And they saw Bloomberg as sort of an alternative. Not so much because of Bernie's policy stance. But didn't know if he would have the best chance of beating Trump.
I think Bernie would have done fine going up against Trump. He has midwest strength, and also has a strong unshakable base like Trump. He definitely had less possible paths to victory than Biden, since FL would have been out of the cards entirely for him. The socialist/communist smear from Trump would have been more effective against him, but Bernie also is a fighter and more of an unorthodox opponent that would have served him well.
That said, Bloomberg looked to some like a candidate that could take it to Trump on almost every level, with unlimited cash and lots of crossover appeal. But the Floyd protests this summer would have been really bad news for him. I don't think he would fare well in the midwest, although I think he would win FL, so his paths were also very limited.
Bloomberg said he would spend anything to defeat Trump. Throwing out a billion dollar number. We haven't seen that. That's disappointing, because hell. we only have one shot here. But he has thrown in 140 million, and raised money to pay for 32,000 ex felon fines. And we should be happy about that, cause he could have done nothing. I hope to see a little more from him. Even if it's blanketing PA with ads on how to properly do mail in voting or something. We shall see.
The ACA may not be totally dead. If Biden wins, changes can be made that could circumvent the current challenges. But of course, new bullshit challenges will arise, and the only way to keep it, and many other things from being completely destroyed is expanding the court. I for one think we will see M4A in our lifetimes. It's inevitable. I may be wrong. I hope not.
As for the country after Trump. Who knows. I personally think that there are gonna be SO many Republicans in DC, that will be thrilled that he's gone. It will be like escaping from an abusive relationship.
But it will take time for the 36% of the country to be deprogrammed from the cult. And it may never happen, because I think it's very likely someone like Don Jr. could lead a fairly real third party of conspiracy theorists in the years ahead. Splitting the Rep party as we know it. If Trump continues to do rallies and starts Trump TV with all his crazy shit. Then I don't see how you don't get a full on 30% of the electorate splitting from "traditional conservatives" who now number maybe a million people, because whatever they once stood for has been completely shit on and discarded because of Trump.
And not to like you need any other scary news, But Ol' Donnie Sr. could run again in 2024. Just sayin.