Monday, June 27, 2016

Jake Tapper questions whether Bernie Sanders is REALLY doing all he can to help defeat Donald Trump in 2016.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Sharing clips of Sanders earlier in the week admitting that “in all likelihood” he would be voting for Clinton in November, Tapper wondered if the candidate’s “hestitation” was sending the wrong signal to his supporters. 

“When your supporters hear you say ‘in all likelihood,’ your vote will go to Hillary Clinton, do you think they come away thinking that maybe you’ll run as a third party candidate? Maybe it’s not that important to you that she wins,” Tapper asked. ” I mean, there’s a hesitation there.” 

“Media focuses on politics as a game,” Sanders replied. “What we are talking about and what this whole campaign is about is transforming the United States. Dealing with the issues that led to Brexit. Understanding why the middle class continues to decline,” adding that he is trying to “build a strong progressive political movement that takes on big money interests.” 

“With all due respect, Senator, I’m not viewing this as a game,” Tapper replied. “I’m looking at the fact that I talk to your supporters all the time and many of them do not want to vote for Hillary Clinton, and they feel very negatively towards her. And if it is important to you, as you say it is, to defeat Donald Trump, I wonder if you are truly doing everything you can do to defeat Donald Trump.”

Sanders' response to this is to suggest that Hillary Clinton essentially needs to acquiesce to all of his demands in order to lure his supporters over to her side.

That is essentially political hostage taking, and Sanders well knows that if he were to really get behind Hillary in a forceful manner his cult would quickly follow.

And none of this is lost on the Republicans who now have a game plan for how to further disenfranchise Bernie-bots: 

The Republican National Committee is planning to cleave liberal voters away from Hillary Clinton as part of a campaign to counteract her forthcoming pick of a vice presidential running mate. 

In a detailed memo outlining its strategy to combat Clinton’s VP choice, the committee says it will frame the selection as both a cynical play to certain constituencies and as an emotional letdown for voters who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic primary. 

The goals, the memo says, are to “drive wedges between these top contenders and either Clinton and/or traditional Democrat constituencies, such as labor, environmentalists, and gun control advocates, and other traditional left-wing constituencies;” and “[w]here applicable, frame the choice as an insult to the large, deep base of Bernie Sanders supporters who are struggling with the notion of supporting Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democrat nominee.”

So essentially the longer Bernie hems and haws the easier it is for the Republicans to cause further divisions within the Democratic party.

In other news the rats are already abandoning the sinking ship which is the Sanders' "campaign."

Courtesy of Politico:

Sen. Bernie Sanders' national press secretary has decided to leave the campaign, she confirmed on Sunday night. 

Symone D. Sanders (no relation to the senator) said she was departing the campaign amicably.

"I believe my time at the campaign has come to an end," she told POLITICO. "I'm very proud of the work we have done and am now looking forward to helping elect down-ballot Democrats and do all I can to ensure a Democrat is the 45th president of the United States." 

Well it is nice to see that there is at least one person associated with the Sanders' campaign who is putting the country first. 

60 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:10 PM

    CNN? Really?

    Sanders is fighting for more of his policies to be included in the DNC positions.

    Minimum wage, climate change, healthcare.

    Things we all claim to support but don't hesitate to attack Sanders for fighting for them.

    Like with this CNN hit piece.

    Wasn't CNN ridiculed just a posts down for hiring Corey Lewandowsky?

    For that they're a joke but for this they are a respected news source? Which is it? You can't have it both ways.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous2:22 PM

      They don't call him "Jake Crapper" for no reason!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:30 PM

      @2:10
      "You can't have it both ways."
      Well,here you can when it fits the narrative...
      Never mind the mission statement.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous2:46 PM

      Anon at 2:10 pm. Hillary is also campaigning about minimum wage, climate change and healthcare. These subjects have also been part of the Democratic platform for decades. In earlier elections, climate change, as a topic, was preceded by improving air and water quality. None of these are new with Bernie Sanders. He just never paid attention to presidential elections before.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
    4. Anonymous3:31 PM

      Really, Beaglemom.

      I don't recall $15 minimum wage or single payer being part of the platform before. In fact the Dems abandoned universal healthcare pretty damned fast when the going got tough. And some of those points are only being talked about because of the pressure of Sanders campaign.

      I don't remember them all, just those three.

      But if it weren't for Sanders campaign I doubt many of them would be included.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous4:34 PM

      The Dems avoided the same mistake they made a couple decades earlier where they didn'dt pass a passable health care bill because they thought they could pass a better one. They lost that bet. This time they went for what they could get - and I suspect they saw it as the first domino and we would eventually get to single payer.
      Lucy

      Delete
    6. Anonymous4:34 PM

      this isn't about Jake Tapper. This is about Bernie playing chicken with the election.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous4:53 PM

      Except women's healthcare and reproductive rights, to Bernie those are unimportant.
      And I couldn't find anything on the internet today about Bernie supporting the supreme courts ruling. Maybe he was napping or maybe he and Jane were giving house tours.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous5:23 PM

      "Sanders is fighting for more of his policies to be included in the DNC positions. "

      Yes fighting for HIS positions, for HIMSELF".

      Delete
    9. Anonymous4:44 AM

      Because he would personally benefit from a $15 minimum wage and the end of fracking.

      Please.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous2:21 PM

    99% of us have our minds made up. Summer is a very busy time where few are paying attention. I knew a year ago who I was voting for, how about the rest of you?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous2:45 PM

      Actually, a year ago I was for Bernie, but after I watched HRC's 11-hour Benghazi testimony in November, I switched. Her foreign policy experience and knowledge are unsurpassed. After this Brexit fiasco, I especially want her as our President.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:55 PM

      I was most likely leaning towards Hillary, but entered the Texas election aftermath as an undeclared delegate. Bernie has shown me nothing, so at this point my vote will be for Hillary.

      Delete
    3. I voted for Bernie in the primary. But Clinton is the nominee, so I am absolutely voting for her. No question.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous2:24 PM

    I'm sick of hearing Sanders complain about his issues when Clinton is already in agreement with most of them. Education has always been a high priority for Clinton. If she thought it was possible to offer tuition free public colleges and universities, of course she would be on board with that. However, aren't most or all public universities funded by state budgets? I can just picture gop governors turning down free tuition similar to how many of them turn down funds from the federal government to provide Medicaid to their low income state residents.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous3:37 PM

      She is *now*.

      If Sanders doesn't keep up the pressure to embed them in the party platform you'll never hear them again.

      When did the party come out against fracking? I don't recall. And officially supporting a $15 minimum wage. When the fight for Obamacare was starting they threw away single payer pretty damn quick.

      Hillary is speaking about a lot of his issues because he's forced her to.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:50 PM

      3:37 - Are you a Democrat? If so, you are hopefully familiar with the longstanding excellent Democratic platform every four years. Lots of people work hard on it; Bernie is late to the Party.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:00 PM

      3:37 - The democrats didn't throw away single payer. They had to compromise with the repubs to get the ACA passed. Since congress is made up of dems and repubs, compromise is needed to get anything done. The more dems that are elected in November, the easier it will be to get important legislation voted on and passed. I used to like Bernie but now I see him as an obstructionist by his annoying "my way or the highway" attitude.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous4:59 PM

      @anon 3:37pm
      You are either not a Democrat or at least are an uninformed one. The process to set/change the platform isn't up to Hillary or Bernie, it comes from issues brought up to voting precincts around the country by the selected delegates. Maybe Bernie is imagining the communist party he quit in a hissy fit yrs ago, but the process to develop the platform or to make changes to it is a 4 yr process. It's a wonderful process, please join, become active, and you too can understand how it works.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous5:26 PM

      Anonymous3:37 PM,
      They didn't throw away single payer nitwit, they couldn't get it passed. If independents had voted for a Democratic congress and senate for two straight midterms, they might have gotten a lot closer to single payer by now. But they never own their responsibility and instead choose to blame Democrats.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous2:39 PM

    Hillary Clinton don't let Sanders hold you hostage to his demands. He is not a Democrat, if the Democrats lose to Trump the Democrats can put blame on the Democratic politicians who let Sanders run on the Democratic ticket as well as blame Sanders.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:42 PM

    Is Sanders still running around with his $38,000 a day Secret Service detail?

    WHY?

    Does the Secret Service motorcade makes him feel important?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:08 PM

      You bet it does. He imagines he's a revolutionary. Seriously.

      Delete
  6. Anita Winecooler2:58 PM

    I really think it's a riot that Bernie "thinks", in his noggin, that the second person in a two person race gets to make plans for how the woman who won will run her office, because, clearly it's no game to Bernie, and what does Hillary know? She's just a woman and needs advice from Bernie on how HE wants to run the country. "Political hostage taking" Mind if I steal that????

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:58 PM

    Soooo, basically Bernie is saying that Hillary has to meet his demands--the demands of a losing candidate from a small, non-swing state--or he'll instruct his supporters not to vote for her. He expects this even though he and HRC already have essentially identical platforms on domestic policy. (The only difference is Bernie's can't be paid for, and HRC's can.) If she doesn't align with him 100%, he'll throw the election to the Narcissistic Cheeto and blame HRC for it when the country dissolves into chaos.

    Sounds to me like somebody is on a little bit of a power trip.

    I don't believe for one second that this is about Bernie's precious issues or supporters. He wants to WIN, and he wants to have a shining page in the history books. He doesn't give two shits about poor people anymore... and I seriously doubt he's ever had any respect for powerful women.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous5:40 PM

      Bernie can be bought by the NRA.

      Delete
  8. Caroll Thompson3:45 PM

    I read just yesterday that over 80% of so called Bernie supporters were already supporting Hillary. So, basically Bernie is being left in the dust. The Dems have moved on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:25 PM

      I am a long time "dem" and I haven't moved on. Bernie is exactly where he needs to be.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:43 PM

      4:25 - Irrelevant? I agree. BS is exactly where he needs to be: Nowhere.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous5:02 PM

      I agree, irrelevant Bernie is where he needs to be, on the back pages. As for this campaign, the ladies have got it under control and without flailing fingers I may add.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous5:42 PM

      When you put "dem" in parentheses you gave yourself away. Don't you mean a "repug"?

      Delete
  9. Anonymous3:51 PM

    O/T Well there goes Track's gun collection:

    -------
    SCOTUS Rules That Domestic Abusers Can Be Barred From Owning Guns

    If you're a domestic violence offender, the Supreme Court says you don't have a Second Amendment right to a firearm.

    In a ruling announced Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law that would ban domestic abusers from owning a firearm. The 6-2 decision by the court said the law considers domestic assault a misdemeanor crime, which would prohibit any offenders from owning a gun.

    SCOTUS rejected the arguments that this should only apply to those who knowingly committed acts of abuse, not those who acted “recklessly.”

    “Congress’s definition of a ‘misdemeanor crime of violence’ contains no exclusion for convictions based on reckless behavior,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan, who delivered the court’s majority opinion. “A person who assaults another recklessly ‘use[s]’ force, no less than one who carries out that same action knowingly or intentionally.”

    Justice Clarence Thomas, of course, disagreed with the ruling.

    “Under the majority’s reading, a single conviction under a state assault statute for recklessly causing an injury to a family member — such as by texting while driving — can now trigger a lifetime ban on gun ownership,” Thomas wrote in his dissenting opinion. “We treat no other constitutional right so cavalierly.”

    Thomas felt so strongly about allowing domestic abusers to have guns that, during oral arguments in February, he asked his first question in 10 years.

    According to SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe: “This was the case of two Maine men who were convicted on state domestic violence charges and then found with firearms and charged with violating a federal law that prohibits domestic abusers from having firearms. The question was whether their convictions qualified under the statute.”
    The court decided that the convictions did, in fact, qualify.

    Advocates for smarter gun laws, like Everytown for Gun Safety, praised the court’s decision as a “victory for public safety.”

    Finally, some good news in the fight to keep guns out of the wrong hands.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/27/scotus-rules-domestic-abusers-barred-owning-guns.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:46 PM

      Ginni might want to protect herself. Oh, hell, who am I kidding? Go ahead Clancy and abuse her and then go buy a gun.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:39 PM

      This was a fairly narrow ruling adding "reckless force" to conditions that preclued an abuser from having guns. It doesn't apply to every/any domestic abuser.

      Delete
  10. When is dear old Bernie going to wake up and smell the coffee? If he doesn't soon grow up and face facts he will just sit and pout and Trump will win. If he wants to do all he can to see that Trump doesn't win, he needs to quit acting like a spoiled child similar to Trump and endorse Hillary and show the world and his people that he is serious about this. I am a Canadian grandmother and great-grandmother in my seventies and frankly I am very concerned about your choice of president. In my humble opinion, Trump is a very self centred, selfish, immature child. In plain English Trump reminds me of the class bullies I taught in my classrooms over the years.
    So Bernie, please do what needs to be done,endorse Hillary, campaign for her and then go home and put your feet up for a while, you're looking very weary these days.
    Elaine in Canada

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous4:07 PM

    This old grifter has a very murky past that none of his 'supporters' could ever whitewash.

    Nobody is talking about his tax returns either. Funny about that.

    If there was still journalism in the world Bernie Sanders would be sitting on his ass in congress, achieving zip.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous4:29 PM

      Thanks for the reminder. JANE SANDERS, WHERE ARE YOUR TAXES? And while I'm at it: DONALD TRUMP, WHERE ARE YOUR TAXES?

      Delete
  12. Anonymous4:12 PM

    @2:35
    As an American,maybe I'm tired of her shit.
    This today from the AP.
    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/775550d62ef8487a975a2a1c1c8b1100/more-clinton-emails-released-including-some-she-deleted

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous4:15 PM

    Today, I've uncovered a brand new gimmick called "cross-check." Another million people are literally being removed from the voter rolls. The Electoral College system makes vote theft fairly easy, and makes it profitable, because if you win a single state, you get all of its electoral votes. When they remove 1 million voters from such states as Ohio and North Carolina and Florida, these are the states that determine who becomes president. They have a new gimmick to remove people from the voter rolls secretly, quietly, people don't even know they've been removed.

    About one-third of Americans mail in their ballots, and if their vote isn't counted, they don't know it. We know officially that about 6 million votes never get counted. Almost all the votes removed are votes of poor people, African Americans, Latino Americans and Asian Americans. These are all basically Democratic voters. And it is not only the presidency, but the Senate which is up for grabs. Even though the Republican Party does not like Donald Trump, the problem is that they still have to control the election and steal votes, because they need to control the Senate.

    http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36580-greg-palast-on-us-election-fraud-and-neoliberalism-gone-amok-in-latin-america-and-greece

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous4:44 PM

      Huh. Here is California, we have our own system that you can find out if your vote has been received via mail. It's GREAT! Maybe other states should try it!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:20 PM

      In Ohio if you mail your ballot you can check if it was received. Received doesn't mean it's going to be Counted. They can toss your ballot for some petty reason and you'd never know it. Same with provisional ballots: they're not counted if the race isn't close.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:00 AM

      I think it's a great idea to be able to check if your mail-in ballot's been received. In Michigan We have no idea. I'd also like to be able to check if it's been counted. We know the ballot number after all.

      With all of the voting machine shenanigans it would be great if we all could go on line and check if our ballots have been counted. Ideally we'd also be able to check our votes were counted properly too.

      It's a shame that we have to be so suspicious of our votes. But our ballots are genuinely precious, our only way of truly participating in the process.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  14. Sanders doesn't give a toss about anybody but Sanders, his hypocrisy is breathtaking.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous4:42 PM

    4:12 - NO. ONE. CARES.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4:59 PM

    @ anon 4:12pm
    And I'm tired of your shit.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous5:27 PM

    Anonymous4:12 PM
    Fuck you. Fuck your stupid comments.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous5:37 PM

    Go on and vote for Trump or write Bernie's name in when you vote in November, 4:12. We don't give a shit what you do.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous6:16 PM

    "He wants to WIN, and he wants to have a shining page in the history books. He doesn't give two shits about poor people anymore"

    In my view this perfectly describes Hillary Rodham Clinton.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:16 PM

      Well, duh, what ever made you think she cares for poor people? Bernie wanted $15/hour minimum wage, Hillary said $12 is good enough. A regular person would have to work 3 months at $12/hour to afford one of her pant suit jackets.

      Hillary cares for one thing, winning POTUS, it's her bucket list #1 and dammit this time it's hers (or so she seems to think)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:44 PM

      $12 is good enough for the interns of Senator Hypocrite T. McDoubletalk (D-VT).

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:55 PM

      Poor Berners, so bitter, like their tears...

      Delete
  20. Anonymous6:29 PM

    Take another look at the Republican party and tell me again they have a brilliant plan to attract Liberals. Is it as good as the one where they put Palin on the ticket to draw in pissed off, butt-hurt Hillary supporters?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous4:29 AM

      Hahaha! I was a butt-hurt Hillary supporter back in those days. I was more of an independent voter and actually contemplated voting for McCain. Then Palin happened, causing me to heartily throw my support to Obama and to donate to his campaign. Now, I'm a Democrat and will not consider voting Republican. I hope the GOP has another "brilliant" plan like that!

      Delete
  21. Anonymous6:29 PM

    I know CNN has gotten pretty crappy, hiring Lewandowski and all, but I do love Jake Tapper -- he's a great reporter and interviewer (he did Trump on the "Mexican" judge LOL).

    Sanders is just being a jerk -- the primary results have gone to his head and he thinks he's in charge. He's not a true Democrat and if he doesn't get his way, petulant old fart that he is, he'll cause trouble. And if he doesn't properly direct his supporters and Trump gets elected, it's partly on his head. Way to go Bernie. Hope the Senate sits him in a corner for the rest of his time there. He deserves to be treated like a pariah by the Democrats.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous6:55 PM

    Since Bernie is still running for office, here is a revolutionary idea-release your tax returns. Show America all your Wall St investments, like Vanguard, yes they are still Wall St Bernie even if they are located in PA.

    You are burning up tax dollars on secret service escorts, what a political revolutionary.

    This old geezer better not destroy this election for the democrats with his arrogant, egotistical demands.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous7:02 PM

    Go home to your wife Bernie. That's if you don't throw up looking at her

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous7:38 PM

    Oh, 4:12, stop. You're not an American.

    I don't mean that as "you don't behave the way Americans should" or "you're not patriotic enough"' or any of that shit. I mean it literally: you are not an American citizen and won't be voting in this election:

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous9:19 PM

    Jake Tapper also went on a very ass-kissy hunting trip with Trump's jag off sons, and bragged "They are SICK shots!"

    So, there's that.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous4:13 AM

    One of my co-workers (a Sanders supporter) said yesterday that she doesn't feel she can vote for Hillary. I told her to hold her nose if she has to, but get out there and vote for Hillary in order to keep Trump out of the White House. Trump's speeches on minorities is creating a hate-filled environment that is starting to put our police at risk.

    My son is with one of the local police agencies, and he's had to put on the riot gear twice in nine days within the past two weeks. The first time was June 18 for a protest at the Verity Baptist Church, where Minister Jimenez said the Pulse Nightclub shooter didn't kill enough gays, and that all gays should be lined up against the wall and shot.

    The second occasion was June 26 at the California Capitol grounds, when members of the Traditionalist Worker Party (a white supremest group) clashed with anti-protesters. According to some reports I've seen, some of the white supremests were Trump supporters. At the melee, 10 people were injured, 7 of which were stabbed.

    In my opinion, Trump has set up the scenario where people feel that if he can get away with hateful rhetoric, then they can get away with it.

    Police work is dangerous enough without having to put yourself between two groups of protesters because some jackass fill the airwaves with his rhetoric. I'm going to vote no matter what. And, I've committed to a monthly donation to the Clinton campaign between now and the election. I'm doing everything I can to get Hillary elected, and sending "Mein Coif" back home after November 8

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous4:51 AM

      Wow. I'll bet she really appreciated that comment.

      She must just luuuuuuuv working with you.

      Delete

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