2016: Bernie Sanders among top 25 of Congressional recipients of NRA donations

[pnwmom]

Last edited Mon Feb 19, 2018, 06:12 PM - Edit history (2)

There are 538 members of the House and Congress, and Bernie was in the top 25. This is bound to come up if Bernie decides to run again in 2020.

I am surprised that a person who made a point of rejecting PAC money (except for the nurses PAC) accepted money from the NRA.

ON UPDATE: In the same year that Bernie was accepting direct donations from the NRA, he slammed Hillary for attending a fundraiser held by Jeff Forbes, a lawyer who had (till 2015) included the NRA among his lobbying clients. He said: "Hillary should stop taking NRA lobbyist money" at the same time that he was taking money directly from the NRA.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lawmakers-who-take-the-most-money-from-the-gun-rights-lobby-2017-10-03

Gun-rights groups donated nearly all their money in 2016 to candidates running for president, leaders in Congress and candidates in key Senate races. More than 98% of the contributions went to Republicans.


Other top recipients in 2016 included House Speaker Paul Ryan and swing-state senators such as Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Both senators won closely fought election battles last november to help Republicans retain control of the Senate.

The only non-Republican in the top 25: Bernie Sanders, a Senate independent whose state, Vermont, has a strong hunting tradition. He accepted $11,129 in cash. Sanders, of course, challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s presidential nod.

https://nypost.com/2016/03/15/bernie-slams-hillary-for-taking-money-from-nra-lobbyist/

Bernie Sanders turned the tables on Hillary Clinton on gun control Monday, questioning why she’s planning to attend a March 21 fund-raiser in Washington co-hosted by a former NRA lobbyist.

“Hillary Clinton should stop taking NRA lobbyist money,” tweeted Sanders, linking to a Huffington Post story about Clinton accepting money raised from Jeff Forbes, a lobbyist for the NRA Institute from 2009 to 2015.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. And NRA got money from Russia, dont forget that.

[Tiggeroshii]

6. So by extension he was a russian plant? When he endorsed hillary, did that make her a russian plant?

[dawg day]

44. No, it means he took a lot of money from the NRA.

I'm not sure why? Plenty of hunters in his state, no doubt, but is there a gun manufacturer there?

[Bluepinky]

55. Bernie Sanders took NO NRA money in 2016, per opensecrets.org.

The NYPost article cited is from 2016, not sure why it’s recirculated now. The information given in the initial post is wrong.

[Honeycombe8]

71. You are correct. The article seems to be WRONG. nt

[lapucelle]

141. According to Open Secrets, BS took $11,129 from gun rights lobbyists in 2016.

The NRA dedicated $19.7 million dollars in 2016 to specifically defeat HRC.

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2016&recipdetail=S&mem=Y

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/11/the-nra-placed-big-bets-on-the-2016-election-and-won-almost-all-of-them/

[Bluepinky]

145. And per your link, Hillary took over 26,000 dollars from the same sources.

The money is from gun rights groups, not NRA. Sanders has a D or D- rating from the NRA and was given NO money by the NRA in 2016 (per opensecrets.org). Read the responses on this thread.

[lapucelle]

147. Yes I know. HRC received over $1M from gun guntrol groups as well.

And the NRA spent $20M to defeat the Democratic nominee in 2016. It's difficult to gauge a politician's actual commitment to a cause based on who gave them money during an election cycle. That's what makes a legislator's voting record so important.

Sane gun regulation that respects second amendment rights is a core Democratic party value. The gun control plank in our 2016 set forth concrete goals:

Preventing Gun Violence
...To build on the success of the lifesaving Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, we will expand and strengthen background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws; repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to revoke the dangerous legal immunity protections gun makers and sellers now enjoy; and keep weapons of war—such as assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines (LCAM's)—off our streets.

It's a shame that swing voters weren't paying better attention in 2016.

[Bluepinky]

148. You are right. There seems to be too much money given by too many groups trying to buy votes.

[lapucelle]

150. That's why we need to be aware of who casts the pro-gun votes in Congress.

There's nothing wrong with voter education.

[R B Garr]

173. Yes, the gun votes will remain while the empty attempts

to smear Hillary with “illusions” are being exposed — especially by the Mueller indictments — to be the divisive methods used by Russia to influence our election.

[lapucelle]

149. As per the Congressional Record,

some politicians vote with the pro-gun lobby and some vote against it. I think that's what all voters should be aware of going forward.

[brush]

30. Whoa! Hands off, a certain senator from a small state can't be criticized here.

[Eliot Rosewater]

32. I want to see tax returns also...yep.

[Gothmog]

35. Same here

[lunamagica]

86. So do I

[jrthin]

101. Why can't we see them? What is the explanation given? nt

[calimary]

127. Good questions. I too want to see tax returns.

Whose do you think we’ll see first? Bernie’s or trump’s?

[Old Vet]

52. Aint that the truth brush.........

[4nic8em]

161. Please don't

disparage the small geographical footprint of the State of New York...it appears unbecoming...

[brush]

170. New York is actually pretty big state.

[AlexSFCA]

80. yep and he shamelessly voted against russia sanctions. will never forget this career defining vote

[NurseJackie]

91. That was a disappointment. It revealed much to me...

... and I have to say, it diminished my opinion of him.

[Gothmog]

2. K&R

[LexVegas]

3. Not surprised at all. nt

[leftstreet]

4. self delete

[mwooldri]

5. But did Sanders get an A+++ rating by the NRA?

I don't know, so I'm asking.

[leftstreet]

10. No. he gets a D-. Several Democrats get As though n/t

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/02/15/52-senators-have-an-a-minus-nra-rating-or-higher-including-four-democrats/?utm_term=.5ffc29f6a893

[Ms. Toad]

12. His highest ranking (from 1992 to present)

Is a C-

Several F ratings.

[pnwmom]

13. Why did take more than $11K from the NRA at the same time

he was saying that he was only getting individual donations -- not money from PACS?

[R B Garr]

19. Transparency is apparently a one-way street.

Amazing.

[Ms. Toad]

21. Don't know the answer to that.

I was just answering the question about the rating because it was easy to find - and I was surprised they are funding him when they are clearly not getting much return on their money.

[pnwmom]

22. I was surprised, too. He made such a point of not accepting PAC money, and then he turns

around and takes money from the NRA.

[unc70]

37. NRA or some other gun rights group

Using open secrets, a quick glance does not show Bernie with any donations from the NRA. He apparently received donations from some other group in the broader “guns rights” category.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

67. Why haven't you corrected that it wasn't NRA money?

[melman]

84. Because bashing is more important than being accurate or truthful

As always.

[Honeycombe8]

74. Well, it was from the gun lobby. Clinton got more than twice that: $26,713.

$11k and $27k really are peanuts for a Presidential campaign. Can't buy an ad with it. Maybe it would pay for a few people to lodge and eat for a few days.

Your title to your post is wrong, though. You should correct it. He's not in the top 25 of lawmakers who got $ from the NRA. That's just wrong.

[lapucelle]

143. HRC recieved over $1,000,000 from gun control advocates in 2016,

and the NRA spent almost $20,000,000 to defeat her in 2016, doubling what they spent against President Obama in 2012.

Although I'm sure nothing untoward occurred in 2016, going forward I think the FEC needs require disclosure of the source of all small dollar donations. What's to stop multiple foreign bots from clicking a $10 donation button 1,000 times in the course of an hour? We need full transparency in election funding.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/issues/guns/

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/11/the-nra-placed-big-bets-on-the-2016-election-and-won-almost-all-of-them/

[Honeycombe8]

179. And double the amount of Sanders' from gun lobbyists. The OP's post was false.

Sanders was not in the "top 25" of lawmakers who got donations by the "NRA." That was the point I was making.

I'm not a Sanders supporter. Never was. But the OP is blatantly false and seems to have been done intentionally, since I and others have told her she's wrong & to correct it, but she has done so. Her title does not come from her links...she made it up. Then, she fails to point out that in the list that Sanders is in, Clinton is in the same list several spaces ABOVE him.

It's irrelevant who else they got donations from. That's not the subject of hte OP.

[lapucelle]

181. What's really relevant is how our elected representatives vote on gun issues.

As for the money in politics, we need politicians who are accountable. This is especially true now that it appears that Russia funneled money to Trump via the NRA. It's especially easy for foreign adversaries to corrupt the process through numerous small donations which are allowed to remain anonymous.

[lapucelle]

183. MarketWatch is wrong?

"The list of lawmakers who get most of campaign cash from the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups reads like a who’s-who of the Republican Party."

snip=======================

"The only non-Republican in the top 25: Bernie Sanders, a Senate independent whose state, Vermont, has a strong hunting tradition. He accepted $11,129 in cash. Sanders, of course, challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s presidential nod."

As I've already stated, the way a legislator votes on gun issues is the best barometer of his or her commitment to ending gun violence. We need to pay better attention going forward.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lawmakers-who-take-the-most-money-from-the-gun-rights-lobby-2017-10-03

[Honeycombe8]

187. Yes, Marketwatch gives the wrong impression...

Bernie is not in the top 25 of "lawmakers who get the most of campaign cash from the NRA."

Bernie is in the top 25 list of SENATORS, and not even close to the top 25 of "lawmakers" who get such donations. And for some reason, both the article AND the OP don't mention that Clinton is ahead of him in that list.

It also implies that the NRA was the donator. Not true. It was from the gun lobby...meaning it was a PAC or individuals.

The OP's title was that BERNIE was in the top 25 of CONGRESS PEOPLE to get donations from the NRA. Which is false.

This is why we should rely on NEWS organizations for factual articles.

In the end, $11k is not much at all for a Presidential candidate. The amt Clinton got (more than twice that) was also not much.

So this was a hit post, it seems. I'm no Bernie supporter, but I do like facts. There are no important facts here as pertains Sanders & the NRA.

[lapucelle]

191. Eight of the people on the MarketWatch list serve in the House

1.Paul Ryan
2. Ryan Zinke
3. Martha Mc Sally
4. Joe Heck
5. Mia Love,
7. Kevin McCarthy
8. Will Hurd

The MarketWatch Report (published by Dow Jones) appears to be accurate in its characterization of these politicians as members of Congress, rather than as limited to senators.

[sl8]

192. That particular list does include both Senators and Reps, but if you extend it to the top 25,

Sanders wouldn't be on it.

Sanders is #24 in the list of the top Senate recipients. If you include members of the House, there are 68 Representatives that received more than Sanders.

From https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2016&recipdetail=S&mem=Y

All Senators
Candidate Amount
1. Cruz, Ted (R-TX) $362,103
2. Rubio, Marco (R-FL) $176,030
3. Johnson, Ron (R-WI) $165,498
4. Paul, Rand (R-KY) $143,690
5. Toomey, Pat (R-PA) $79,908
6. Portman, Rob (R-OH) $64,877
7. Ayotte, Kelly (R-NH) $64,796
8. Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) $52,380
9. Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $49,430
10. Burr, Richard (R-NC) $47,300
11. Isakson, Johnny (R-GA) $41,050
12. McCain, John (R-AZ) $38,260
13. Thune, John (R-SD) $32,460
14. Hoeven, John (R-ND) $26,900
15. Shelby, Richard C (R-AL) $21,150
16. Moran, Jerry (R-KS) $20,350
17. Lankford, James (R-OK) $18,950
18. Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) $18,950
19. Lee, Mike (R-UT) $18,625
20. Crapo, Mike (R-ID) $17,850
21. Cornyn, John (R-TX) $16,200
22. Boozman, John (R-AR) $15,785
23. Scott, Tim (R-SC) $15,500
24. Sanders, Bernie (D) $11,129
...

From https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2016&recipdetail=H&mem=Y

All Members of the House
Candidate Amount
1. Ryan, Paul (R-WI) $171,977
2. Zinke, Ryan K (R-MT) $79,068
3. McSally, Martha (R-AZ) $77,063
4. Young, Todd (R-IN) $73,785
5. Heck, Joe (R-NV) $69,020
6. Love, Mia (R-UT) $61,900
7. McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) $42,000
8. Hurd, Will (R-TX) $35,850
9. Yoder, Kevin (R-KS) $34,050
10. Poliquin, Bruce (R-ME) $32,400
11. Coffman, Mike (R-CO) $30,843
12. Calvert, Ken (R-CA) $30,466
13. Comstock, Barbara (R-VA) $30,407
14. Royce, Ed (R-CA) $27,100
15. Boehner, John (R-OH) $27,025
16. Tipton, Scott (R-CO) $25,550
17. Scalise, Steve (R-LA) $24,550
18. Pearce, Steve (R-NM) $23,219
19. Zeldin, Lee (R-NY) $21,480
20. Joyce, David P (R-OH) $21,400
21. Guinta, Frank (R-NH) $20,200
22. Duffy, Sean P (R-WI) $20,180
23. Goodlatte, Bob (R-VA) $20,000
24. McClintock, Tom (R-CA) $19,650
25. King, Steven A (R-IA) $19,405
26. DeSantis, Ron (R-FL) $19,219
26. Messer, Luke (R-IN) $18,600
27. Katko, John (R-NY) $17,900
28. Paulsen, Erik (R-MN) $17,900
29. Young, David (R-IA) $17,250
30. Valadao, David (R-CA) $17,200
31. Amodei, Mark (R-NV) $17,000
32. Smith, Adrian (R-NE) $16,700
33. Hardy, Cresent (R-NV) $16,650
34. Conaway, Mike (R-TX) $16,550
35. Shuster, Bill (R-PA) $16,450
36. Desjarlais, Scott (R-TN) $16,050
37. Walberg, Tim (R-MI) $15,675
38. Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) $15,600
39. Graves, Tom (R-GA) $15,400
40. Blum, Rod (R-IA) $14,794
41. Issa, Darrell (R-CA) $14,545
42. Bishop, Rob (R-UT) $14,500
43. Chaffetz, Jason (R-UT) $14,500
44. Latta, Robert E (R-OH) $14,500
45. Buck, Kenneth R (R-CO) $14,444
46. Black, Diane (R-TN) $14,375
47. Scott, Austin (R-GA) $14,301
48. Tiberi, Pat (R-OH) $14,300
49. Olson, Pete (R-TX) $14,250
50. Culberson, John (R-TX) $14,200
51. Garrett, Scott (R-NJ) $13,850
52. Stefanik, Elise (R-NY) $13,736
53. Hudson, Richard (R-NC) $13,500
54. Long, Billy (R-MO) $13,400
55. Mullin, Markwayne (R-OK) $13,150
56. Denham, Jeff (R-CA) $12,800
57. McHenry, Patrick (R-NC) $12,700
58. Harris, Andy (R-MD) $12,422
59. Walters, Mimi (R-CA) $12,250
60. Cuellar, Henry (D-TX) $12,099
61. Aderholt, Robert B (R-AL) $12,000
62. Peterson, Collin (D-MN) $12,000
63. Farenthold, Blake (R-TX) $11,800
64. Reed, Tom (R-NY) $11,800
65. Marino, Tom (R-PA) $11,775
66. Barton, Joe (R-TX) $11,200
67. Fleischmann, Chuck (R-TN) $11,200
68. Kelly, Mike (R-PA) $11,150
...

[lapucelle]

193. It's stunning that BS got more special interest gun money than Senators

25. Cochran, Thad (R-MS)
26. Cotton, Tom (R-AR)
27. Heller, Dean (R-NV)
28. Corker, Bob (R-TN)
29. Daines, Steven (R-MT)
30. Cassidy, Bill (R-LA)
31. Graham, Lindsey (R-SC)
32. Heinrich, Martin (D-NM)
33. Sasse, Ben (R-NE)
34. Alexander, Lamar (R-TN)
35. Gardner, Cory (R-CO)
36. Manchin, Joe (D-WV)
37. Vitter, David (R-LA)
38. Fischer, Deb (R-NE)
39. Inhofe, James M (R-OK)
40. Ernst, Joni (R-IA)
41. Donnelly, Joe (D-IN)
42. Flake, Jeff (R-AZ)
43. Heitkamp, Heidi (D-ND)
44. Risch, James E (R-ID)
45. Tillis, Thom (R-NC)
46. Barrasso, John A (R-WY)

I wonder why Schumer, Franken, Feinstein, and Gillibrand didn't even make the list?

[ehrnst]

188. Because bashing is more important than being accurate or truthful

And when it comes to HRC, bashing is the norm....

[Exotica]

137. that 11K was the total going back to 1990, cumulative, also if you count the House

and not just the Senate (he is 120th in the Senate since 1990), he is not even in the top 700 in Congress (your title says Congress), let alone in the top 25

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100210257890#post113

[lapucelle]

144. Here are the numbers for the 2016 cycle only.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/11/the-nra-placed-big-bets-on-the-2016-election-and-won-almost-all-of-them/

[Exotica]

153. that is just a link to an article, i will show you exactly what I mean from their database

they co-mingle things when a person is a member of congress but also has run for POTUS

here is the link for ALL cycles (cumulative totals in gun lobby money (not all is from the NRA) given directly to a candidate for the last 28 years (since 1990)

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=Q13&cycle=All&recipdetail=S&sortorder=A&mem=Y&page=1

All Senators

Candidate Amount
McCain, John (R-AZ) $618,113
Cruz, Ted (R-TX) $460,367
Rubio, Marco (R-FL) $244,019
Paul, Rand (R-KY) $231,587

snip

Obama, Barack (D) $44,371

snip

Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) $33,713
Murkowski, Frank H (R-AK) $33,700
Fischer, Deb (R-NE) $33,335
Gorton, Slade (R-WA) $33,300


snip

Helms, Jesse (R-NC) $11,400
Sanders, Bernie (I-VT) $11,129


snip


notice those totals, that is all moneys given to Obama, Clinton and Sanders since 1990, no matter what race (Rep, Sen, POTUS)


now here is 2008 POTUS

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2008&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U

Presidential Candidates

1 McCain, John (R) $515,128
2 Thompson, Fred (R) $75,575
3 Romney, Mitt (R) $72,675
4 Giuliani, Rudolph W (R) $50,450
5 Huckabee, Mike (R) $25,300
6 Paul, Ron (R) $24,813
7 Obama, Barack (D) $22,337
8 Gilmore, Jim (R) $16,950
9 Hunter, Duncan (R) $13,009
10 Tancredo, Tom (R) $7,625
11 Clinton, Hillary (D) $7,000
12 Richardson, Bill (D) $2,750
13 Edwards, John (D) $2,550
14 Nader, Ralph (I) $2,450
15 Brownback, Sam (R) $1,950
16 Barr, Bob (L) $1,000
17 Thompson, Tommy (R) $500
18 Baldwin, Chuck (3) $250


now 2012

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=Q13&recipdetail=P&sortorder=U&mem=N&cycle=2012

7 Obama, Barack (D) $22,034

and finally

2016

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=Q13&recipdetail=P&sortorder=U&mem=N&cycle=2016

Presidential Candidates

1 Trump, Donald (R) $814,236
2 Carson, Ben (R) $119,566
3 Walker, Scott (R) $39,510
4 Fiorina, Carly (R) $32,517
5 Bush, Jeb (R) $31,490
6 Clinton, Hillary (D) $26,713
7 Kasich, John (R) $20,399
8 Huckabee, Mike (R) $11,751
9 Sanders, Bernie (D) $11,129


do the maths

Totals since 1990

Bernie

Sanders, Bernie (I-VT) $11,129

all from 2016, but still it is only 11,129 usd total from 28 years (that's like 750th in overall Congress/Potus)


Hillary

total since 1990 all races

Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) $33,713

2008 she got 7,000

and in 2016 $26,713

adds up


and Obama

total since 1990

Obama, Barack (D) $44,371

7 Obama, Barack (D) $22,337 2008

7 Obama, Barack (D) $22,034 2012

adds up all around


the OP misrepresented pretty much everything

Bernie is well past 700th place in government elected officials when it comes to total gun lobby money (when you add house, POTUS, Senate totals together)

The OP also said it was NRA money, when it was a mixture

and its disingenuous to try to tar him with 11K when Hillary got around triple that (in less time too) and Obama almost 4 times as much total in even less than Clinton, let alone Bernie

I am not a Sanders fangirl, I supported and voted for Hillary in the primaries, but these false and divise attacks on Sanders is ripping the party apart

I want to focus on 2018

not beat dead horses and rehash 2016 primaries

Bernie has close to zero chance of ever being POTUS, shredding things up only hurts us Democratic Party members and the country

I hope you can see where I am coming from

[lapucelle]

165. "Do the maths"?

"Maths"?

"I hope you can see where I am coming from."

Yes, I can see where you're coming from.

[Exotica]

167. what?

I grew up in the UK

is there a problem?

[lapucelle]

169. Ive already answered your question.

I do indeed see where your’re coming from.

[Exotica]

171. ok, thanks

[guillaumeb]

177. This should be a separate post to counter the misleading information here.

[EffieBlack]

108. I seem to recall him blasting Hillary for taking Wall Street money but when she

asked him to point to any vote she took or decision she made that carried their water and he wouldn't/couldn't do it.

In other words, if Wall Street "milioonaires and billionaires" were giving out grades, she likely would have gotten a D or and F. But that didn't stop people for insisting that she was in their pockets.

But now we're supposed to give Bernie a pass because, even though he took NRA money, he got a bad grade from them? Sorry, not gonna do it.

[Tom Rinaldo]

168. Facts matter

I'm been through this thread and nowhere is the claim that he took "NRA money" substantiated. That is among several misleading at best claims made. Many Democrats took more "gun lobby" (term never defined) money than Bernie did - including it seems Hillary herself.

And scale matters also. If we are to look at appearances alone, it's pretty hard to bribe the most popular politician in a state with the $11,000 is reported to receive. Collecting millions of dollars in speaking fees has more of an appearance of a potential conflict of interest,

[R B Garr]

172. Lol, Love these obvious diversions into speaking fees

as if that is supposed to shut people up about Bernie’s gun voting record.

Speaking of those diversion tactics, Bernie’s campaign is noted in the Mueller indictments as being helped by Russia. Even though Bernie’s message was that Hillary was owned by Wall Street, he was either unwilling or unable to substantiate that smear.

It’s a good thing Mueller’s indictments are putting an end to those empty “illusions” about Hillary. His voting record is still there, though.

[Tom Rinaldo]

178. "blasting Hillary for taking Wall Street money"

That's not my quote. It's from the post I responded to. I didn't bring up the matter, that post did, and I wasn't diverting from anything, just responding to the point being made. Hundreds of hours of Sanders speaking are available in video and audio records. I challenge you to find even once when Sanders said Hillary was owned by Wall Street. That was never close to being the message of his campaign, which rather focused on economic issues like Medicare for all and free college tuition, both of which he was attacked over for being pie in the sky ideas. But I guess you are just going to hear what you want to hear.

I will note for the record that I am only responding to your recollection of the primary campaign here and made no attack on Hillary over her conduct either during it or after.

By the way I think a prior D grade from the NRA for Sanders sounds about right. I prefer an F grade. I preferred Hillary on gun issues during the primary over Bernie and I said so here at the time. Congress collectively has had at least an A minus grade from the NRA for a long long time. I wasn't worried about Bernie vetoing any progressive gun legislation that came out of Congress should he have become President, but yes, if that was the only important issue to focus on during an election campaign, I would have supported Hillary in the primaries instead. Should Sanders run for president again I will, in context, weigh his prior gun positions against him. There would be other factors to consider as well.

I'm sorry, but I didn't let Russian bot attacks against Hillary turn me against her, and I'm not going to let Russian bot "support" for Bernie turn me against him either. Those bots had their own agenda which in both cases was to hurt Hillary and our democracy, and sow disunity among Democrats too gullible to apply critical reasoning or check sources. Bernie wasn't calling the shots in Russia, unless you are implying that he was in on it, but you wouldn't do that because that would be a smear and I know how much you dislike smearing people.

[R B Garr]

180. Hillary called them "artful smears" and I agree with her. Mueller's indictments

are proving her correct. The smears were there, and they were obviously heard by the Russian meddlers, as well, since they supported Bernie's campaign which was a source of divisiveness that helped them put Trump in the White House. That is the reality we are all seeing now that is acknowledged by the intelligence community. No need to go back and rewrite history about Bernie's obvious insinuations that Hillary was influenced by Wall Street donations. It was obvious what he meant, but he was unwilling or unable to substantiate it.

There were also debates where he attacked...ah, nevermind. Mueller's indictments are the reality now.

No one needs to "check sources" when we listened to the man himself.

[Tom Rinaldo]

185. This whole thread is premised on "artful smears" of Sanders

Not retracting that evidence shows that he got no donations from the NRA and damning him for accepting less money from the same "gun related" sources than Hillary received money from are just two obvious examples of that.

I took objection to your saying his campaign theme was that Hillary was owned by Wall Street. If true that would be a powerful charge, even if it wasn't his campaign theme. Charges of various sorts however did fly from both directions, as is often the case in primaries

For the record, if Sanders was insinuating anything it was that it is hard to not be influenced by people from whom you accept very large amounts of money from. First and most important, even an overt claim that someone is influenced by a special interest is a very different charge than saying that they are owned by them. Republicans have long held that Democrats were owned by Big Labor, which was false. Realistically though Democrats were influenced by Labor, but that is not the same thing at all. It could just mean that Labor always had access to Democrats who accepted their money, to plead their case on issues with no promises made in return. In the case of Unions it is clear that Democrats never were owned by them. Sanders did not insinuate that Clinton was owned by Wall Street. He said that he liked her, and that she was a million times better than the Republicans they were both running against. And now this thread insinuates that Sanders is owned by the NRA even though he earns a D grade from them. The NRA would love to have a high profile Democrat who they could give an A grade to. Sadly for them Sanders does not qualify because their grade scores are based on how different politicians vote with them on specific issues and Sanders votes against the NRA far more often than not. True ,Hillary votes against them even more consistently, and full credit to her for earning an F grade, but the record in no way shows that Sanders is in bed with the NRA.

Yes of course, all in opposition to Democrats winning will attempt to exploit any splits among us that appear, and splits among us ALWAYS appear during hotly contested primary races. That was true when Hillary ran against Obama also. On the other side George Bush Sr. decried Reagan's "voodoo economics" and ended up as his vice president. That's politics in the big league. What was different this time was the Russian attack on our democracy which weaponized every fissure they could find.

The other thing that is different this time is that some of those who strongly supported a "losing" Democratic nominee for President remain hyper vigilant for any opportunity to cast her opponent for the Democratic nomination in a negative light well over a year after the 2016 election. I have refrained from criticizing Hillary for mistakes she might have made in her campaign that made it easier for the Russians to help steal the election. She is a masterful politician and a strong public servant, and no one will ever be perfect. Instead I try to stay focused on the united fight we must wage against the Republicans, Hillary and Bernie supporters alike.

[R B Garr]

186. Trump copied his attacks on her. That says it all.

Trump amped it up a bit, but it was the same underlying message. The Mueller indictments also say it all. She was targeted, and the divisiveness fomented from Bernie’s campaign put Trump in the White House. It’s hard to argue with the FBI investigation exposing this. Others heard the Wall Street fraud
/corruption message; hard to say we didn’t hear what we heard.

It’s been going on two years and I’ve still heard plenty of negativity about Democrats, so..

I’m sure what you are seeing is exposing hypocrisy. When you accuse others of all manner of immoral and illegal things, then people start exposing or questioning you, too.

[lapucelle]

195. Examining a voting record on guns of 25 years standing is not a smear.

It could be a question of judgement and having the courage of one's convictions.

[lapucelle]

194. A politician's voting record speaks for itself, whether or not there is money involved.

That is a question of judgement.

[Ms. Toad]

184. As I said in response to another poster

I answered a specific, factual, question because it was easy to find an answer.

I said absolutely nothing at all about whether either candidate should get a pass.

[pnwmom]

14. Those D's weren't running for President on a no-PAC campaign. nt

[leftstreet]

17. I hope he spent his $11k wisely

[lapucelle]

142. He didn't get a good grade, but he passed.

[MineralMan]

7. Really? In 2016?

Very disappointing.

[Eliot Rosewater]

9. Voted no on russian sanctions

sigh, wake up

[NCTraveler]

8. He has "evolved".

[Blue_true]

15. But Gillibrand did not.

She did some pro tobacco legal work 20 years ago, some today are ok with claiming that she make her staffers smoke.

[NCTraveler]

18. Solid.

Was she mentioned in the op?

[LanternWaste]

45. Was 'evolution'?

"Was she mentioned in the op?"

Was 'evolution'?

[NCTraveler]

48. Yes.

A common term for a change in position. Said term is one hundred percent in-line with the topic of the op and my highlighting he has changed since then.

[ehrnst]

189. In other candidates it's called "pivoting"

Because reasons.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Thanks for the reminder. This was out there when there was question about his . . . . .

. . . . . weasel sounding words when there was some issue about guns and Vermont. Not sure what the underlying issue was but I doin recall Sanders being sympathetic to the NRA and getting money from them.

[hueymahl]

16. This clinched it - Im voting for Hillary in the primary

Thanks for providing such a timely and relevant article. I might have voted for Bernie without this piece of information.

[LexVegas]

20. Yeah...nothing in the news about guns recently.

[hueymahl]

23. Just another hit job

Any excuse to bash Bernie.

[LexVegas]

24. Yeah, nothin' wrong with taking a little NRA money.

[Exotica]

26. whether you are pro Bernie or anti Bernie, you must admit it is incredibly stupid for him

to take NRA BLOOD MONEY.

[hueymahl]

102. See Post 38 - if right, Hillary took twice as much

See how fun it is to bash Democrats?

I wish all you Bernie haters would just find something new to obsess over.

[Exotica]

105. Shame on her too then (btw, I am not a Bernie basher)

I supported Clinton and voted for her in the primaries and general, but never Bernie bashed anywhere. I am a pragmatic issues person. I would have voted for Sanders if he had won the primary. I vote Democratic only, anything else is madness in the times we all live in.

I know it will never happen, but I fully support a repeal of the 2nd Amendment. It is becoming a suicide pact.

[Exotica]

113. I also went and looked at Senators all the way back to 1990

These were the top Democratic Senators in terms of gun lobby money

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=Q13&cycle=All&recipdetail=S&sortorder=A&mem=Y&page=1

Specter, Arlen (D-PA) $47,900
Nelson, Ben (D-NE) $46,250
Obama, Barack (D) $44,371
Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) $33,713
Reid, Harry (D-NV) $30,250
Breaux, John (D-LA) $23,800
Donnelly, Joe (D-IN) $22,400
Manchin, Joe (D-WV) $20,700
Johnson, Tim (D-SD) $20,500
Hollings, Fritz (D-SC) $17,800
Dorgan, Byron L (D-ND) $14,800
Baucus, Max (D-MT) $14,250
Sanders, Bernie (I-VT) $11,129
Heitkamp, Heidi (D-ND) $8,000
Pryor, Mark (D-AR) $8,000
Conrad, Kent (D-ND) $7,000
Heinrich, Martin (D-NM) $6,500
Warner, Mark (D-VA) $5,500
Heflin, Howell (D-AL) $4,950
Gore, Al (D) $4,250
Bradley, Bill (D) $4,050
Kerry, John (D-MA) $3,250
Edwards, John (D) $2,550
Tester, Jon (D-MT) $2,500
Begich, Mark (D-AK) $2,000
Daschle, Tom (D-SD) $2,000
Ford, Wendell H (D-KY) $2,000
Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) $2,000
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) $2,000
Udall, Mark (D-CO) $1,500
Miller, Zell (D-GA) $1,000
Webb, Jim (D-VA) $500
Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL) $50


In the House

Peterson, Collin (D-MN) $96,500
Rahall, Nick (D-WV) $81,900
Mollohan, Alan B (D-WV) $79,800
Boyd, Allen (D-FL) $78,600
Skelton, Ike (D-MO) $78,350
Holden, Tim (D-PA) $76,950
Lucas, Frank D (R-OK) $73,324
Boucher, Rick (D-VA) $71,600
Dingell, John D (D-MI) $61,500
Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) $58,815
Ortiz, Solomon P (D-TX) $57,150
Hilliard, Earl F (D-AL) $56,050

[hueymahl]

118. Thanks - good info

Like I said, there are some on this board that have an almost deranged obsession with basing Sanders. I did not mean to imply you were one of those poor souls.

[Eyeball_Kid]

128. So Sanders picked up 11k from "the gun lobby" in 26 years.

That's under $500.00 a year. That's about the cost of a NYT subscription for a year! And the NRA gives him a poor rating? That's gratitude for you.

[Exotica]

138. If you count all of Congress, going back to 1990, he isn't even in the top 700

go to my link and look for yourself, so, so much of the gun lobby money goes to Repuggies

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

151. Details, details!! Let's bash the country's most popular politician some more!!

Bernie is a shining example of what Democrats should strive for in representing the progressive ideals of the working class.

[Exotica]

155. I am not bashing him, I am defending him against this (IMHO) false attack (numbers wise)

and I am not a Bernie person

I am trying to brings facts and reason into this

see here:

I explain the numbers fully

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=10261050


all that said NO DEMOCRATIC candidate should ever take any NRA blood money, not Hillary, not Obama, not Bernie, no one, no matter what

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

158. Yes I know Ex, I wasn't referring to you at all... sorry for the confusion.

Your facts are dead balls on.

[lapucelle]

164. Any politician's record on guns is an important detail.

Here's what the 2016 Democratic Party platform said about guns.

Preventing Gun Violence
With 33,000 Americans dying every year, Democrats believe that we must finally take sensible action to address gun violence. While responsible gun ownership is part of the fabric of many communities, too many families in America have suffered from gun violence.

We can respect the rights of responsible gun owners while keeping our communities safe. To build on the success of the lifesaving Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, we will expand and strengthen background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws; repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to revoke the dangerous legal immunity protections gun makers and sellers now enjoy; and keep weapons of war—such as assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines (LCAM's)—off our streets.

We will fight back against attempts to make it harder for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to revoke federal licenses from law breaking gun dealers, and ensure guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists, intimate partner abusers, other violent criminals, and those with severe mental health issues. There is insufficient research on effective gun prevention policies, which is why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must have the resources it needs to study gun violence as a public health issue.

[R B Garr]

175. ++++great reminder about the 2016 Democratic Party

platform.

[LanternWaste]

47. No more and no less than "any excuse to defend tin gods"

"Any excuse to bash Bernie..."

No more and no less than "any excuse to defend tin gods."

It's pretty much six of one and half a dozen of the other... and each equally petulant.

[unc70]

25. Still voting Bernie in primaries - remember her emails

Seriously, why are we dredging up and refighting the primaries again? This thread reads like the stuff I see from the RW. Or threads from the primaries here. Enough!

[R B Garr]

28. Still voting for Hillary! Its not only men who lost

by millions who should be getting nonstop promotion. Hillary beat them both.

[unc70]

31. You seem to miss sarcasm

[sarah FAILIN]

36. New developments lead to discussion.

I'd rather k own all the facts even if it's too late to act on them. In the future it might make a difference

[pnwmom]

40. Bernie has been taking steps to run again, so this is about 2020.

If he runs again, his past positions will be an issue. Every candidate's past positions will be an issue.

[NastyRiffraff]

50. Except for Bernie!

Everybody else will be rightfully scrutinized, but we're supposed to politely ignore Bernie's um--awkward positions.

[oasis]

90. Bernie needs to release his tax returns before any 2020 run announcement.

Why hasn't he done so already?

[R B Garr]

104. Amen. Way past time to produce those taxes. nt

[Lil Missy]

106. This has nothing to do with Primaries. It's about who takes donations from the NRA.

[unc70]

109. Open secrets shows no NRA donations to Sanders in 2016 cycle

The article cited references donations from “guns rights” groups, not the NRA. If you search for the NRA and Sanders during the 2016 cycle, there is nothing.

This OP and related ones are hit pieces on Sanders in the style of the last primaries. Whatever the current aim, it is factually incorrect, the title is false, and the motives are suspect.

[R B Garr]

116. You are mistaken. His record has been off limits. It is

only coming up now because of the recent gun violence and Mueller’s indictments that highlight the Russian’s help.

I have never seen so much bullying to get people to ignore a politician’s gun voting record. This has nothing to do with the primaries. Sarcasm again?

[unc70]

117. You need to read the other posts in this thread

The donations to Sanders are not from the NRA but from other “guns rights” groups. And, Clinton received more than twice as much from the same groups.

The OP and the articles cited are deliberately misleading.

[R B Garr]

124. It is not about the primaries. nt

[samnsara]

27. at least the W$ $ they all hollered about, didnt kill anyone.

[nycbos]

29. Follow the money.

[Motley13]

34. Bernie has a D rating with the NRA

good site


http://www.margieroswell.com/map_of_nra_grades_for_senators

FL - Rubio B
Nelson F

[lunamagica]

89. A D is still a passing grade. Nothing but an F is acceptable

[sl8]

38. 2016 Presidental candidate recipients:

From https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U

Presidential Candidates

Rank Candidate Amount

1 Trump, Donald (R) $814,236
2 Carson, Ben (R) $119,566
3 Walker, Scott (R) $39,510
4 Fiorina, Carly (R) $32,517
5 Bush, Jeb (R) $31,490
6 Clinton, Hillary (D) $26,713
7 Kasich, John (R) $20,399
8 Huckabee, Mike (R) $11,751
9 Sanders, Bernie (D) $11,129
10 Jindal, Bobby (R) $7,200
11 Johnson, Gary (L) $7,105
12 Christie, Chris (R) $7,050
13 Perry, Rick (R) $5,400
14 Santorum, Rick (R) $3,390
15 Webb, Jim (D) $500
16 Stein, Jill (3) $260

[4nic8em]

43. So, according to this link...

Hillary actually received more donations than Sanders from "Gun Rights Industries"? I have to agree with some on this board...that surely is some interesting statistics. (I wanted to play too..)

[Honeycombe8]

107. Yes. Other posts in this thread have been discussing this. nt

[dawg day]

46. There's sure a big jump from the "biggies" like Trump down to the rest.

It could be the NRA is just trying to muddy the water, but why should Dems accept any from gun advocates? It's not like this little bit would make any difference.

[Go Vols]

57. ty

[egduj]

63. Well, that just took the air out of this thread.

[jalan48]

68. Wow! Hillary took more than twice as much as Bernie?

[TomCADem]

39. What Was Bernies Position on Guns and Product Liability Suits?

Any link between donations and his position?

[aikoaiko]

41. I don't think it was the NRA, but some other gun rights group.

When you search under Gun Rights donations, you see Bernie's name pop up with the $11,000

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2016&recipdetail=S&mem=Y


But when you search under NRA donations during the 2016 cycle, you don't see Bernie's name.

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000082&cycle=2016&state=&party=&chamber=&sort=N&page=3


I wonder who it was.

[thesquanderer]

163. Not NRA. Could be National Shooting Sports Foundation and/or Safari Club Int'l

The OP mischaracterized the article. The article does not say "NRA," it says "gun lobby" and it says "NRA and other gun groups" -- and if you click through to the source data, it shows that that the NRA gave about $10k to all Dems combined (and so on its face could not possibly have given $11k to ANY single Dem), while Safari Club International gave about $30k to Dems and National Shooting Sports Foundation gave about $22k.

This means that, while we can't fully determine the exact breakdown from there, Sanders' $11k and Clinton's $26k of contributions would have had to have come more from the other two organizations than from the NRA. If I had to guess, I would say Sanders' support was probably more from NSSF, as they are centered not far from Vermont, and I think are focussed more on local as opposed to international hunting.

[NurseJackie]

42. Wow. Interesting.

[JDC]

49. I think the post is inaccurate

From the article:

Tops among Democrats in taking in gun-lobby funds was Rep. Henry Cuellar, a centrist Democrat from south Texas. He collected $12,099.

So he's below this Democrat. How can he be the only non-Republican in the top 25 if Cuellar accepted more?

Bernie is in the top in the Senate only. You mention 538 members in Congress, leaving one to think he's in the top 25 of 538. Again, not true.

Also, per this same website: candidate Hillary took $26+k to Bernie's 11k (as a candidate) from the gun lobby.

Don't get me wrong, I'm completely against him taking the 11k and her taking the 26k and I cannot stand the hipocrysy you rightly point out. I also don't want to re-hash the primaries. But this needs the appropriate context and what I am reading from the source and subsequent opensecrets.org - from which marketwatch pulled their numbers/stats - this has much more to it that needs to be shown to all. I've included the reference materials below.

Full disclosure. Only voted for Hillary in primaries and general. Not a Bernie guy. Just a facts guy.


https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2016&indexType=i

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2016&recipdetail=P&mem=N&sortorder=U

[pnwmom]

54. The chart from the Center for Responsive Politics lists members of the House AND the Senate.

So the total is 538.

[JDC]

59. Ok. But Cuellar took 12k and he is a Dem.

Why isn't he on the list and in the top 25? He took $1000 more.

Or am I missing it still?

Thx

[JDC]

60. Peter Collins D-MN also took 12k p/ The Center

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=Q13&cycle=2016&recipdetail=H&mem=Y

[Honeycombe8]

72. The article is wrong. It says Sanders is in the "top 25." He's not. nt

[Honeycombe8]

75. Your post says he's in "top 25 of Congressional Recipients from the NRA." That's false.

It was from "the gun lobby." And he is far from being in the top 25 of "congressional recipients." He is in the top 25 of "Senators." And Clinton is several slots above him in that list.

[Bluepinky]

51. The NYPost article you cite was from 2016, why are you posting now?

Also, you’re wrong in your statement. Per open secrets.org, the NRA did not donate any money to Bernie Sanders in 2016.

[pnwmom]

53. Because of the shooting in Florida, and the Russian connections, the NRA is a current issue.

The chart on which I based my statement comes from The Center for Responsive Politics.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

65. So did Hillary take more?

[Honeycombe8]

77. Yes. More than double the amount: $26,713.

Neither amt is very much. A Presidential candidate can't do much with $11k or $26k. Trump rec'd over $800k, by comparison.

BTW...it was from the gun lobby. Not named to be the NRA specifically.

Oh, and Jill Stein got $260. $260? Why did the gun lobby even bother with that?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

66. But it wasn't NRA money, was it?

This thread is an embarrassment. Or at least it should be.

[SixString]

76. The $11K didn't come from the NRA.

The OP doesn't mention the $74K Bernie got from gun control advocates.

1 Sanders, Bernie (D) $74,219
2 Bennet, Michael F (D-CO) $42,962
3 Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT) $18,165
4 Rubio, Marco (R-FL) $3,950
5 Cruz, Ted (R-TX) $2,566


https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=Q12%20%20&cycle=2016&recipdetail=S&Mem=Y&sortorder=U


https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?cycle=2016&ind=Q12

"Gun control advocates have favored Democrats almost exclusively with their contributions over the years, but outside spending by new groups formed in the wake of highly publicized mass shootings has been a game-changer in terms of amounts invested on this side of the debate."

[Honeycombe8]

73. The Marketwatch article you quote is wrong. You need to fix that in some way or delete it.

It says Sanders is in the top 25 of NRA recipients. On the fact of things, he couldn't be, since he rec'd only about $11k.

I'm no big Sanders fan, but the article is wrong.

[left-of-center2012]

58. "Vermont, has a strong hunting tradition. He accepted $11,129 in cash."

Eleven thousand dollars?

The torch and pitchfork crowd is gathering!

[former9thward]

61. You will never give up fighting the 2016 primaries.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

69. I think they are going for the record.

Japanese holdouts (残留日本兵 Zanryū nipponhei, "remaining Japanese soldiers&quot or stragglers were Japanese soldiers in the Pacific Theatre who, after the August 1945 surrender of Japan ending World War II, either adamantly doubted the veracity of the formal surrender due to dogmatic militaristic principles, or simply were not aware of it because communications had been cut off by Allied advances.

Some continued to fight the enemy forces, and later local police, for years after the war was over. Others volunteered with local independence movements during the First Indochina War and Indonesian War of Independence.

Intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda, who was relieved of duty by his former commanding officer on Lubang Island in the Philippines in March 1974, and Teruo Nakamura, who was stationed on Morotai Island in Indonesia and surrendered in December 1974, were the last confirmed holdouts, though rumors persisted of others.

[Quixote1818]

79. You would think they would be more angry at Obama as he was 10 times

as tough on Hillary as Sanders ever was.

[Decoy of Fenris]

62. Nice article. Shame it's probably written by the Russians.

The article is intellectually dishonest on several levels, sub-categorizing Sanders until he's the only possible person to meet their criteria. As mentioned upthread, there are Democrats who have taken more (Including Hillary Clinton) but the article neglects to mention them, as Sanders has his own individual group of "Non-Republican", "Congressional member", "Non-Democrat" "Running for President". With that set of criteria, of course he'd top that list; he's the only one in it.

Also, picking nits, "Pro-gun" does not equal "NRA". There are several left-wing pro-gun groups in the northeast, but this article files them under "NRA", as do you. Tsk tsk.


The article's numbers are true, but the spin and writing is straight out of Russia Today. One could almost question the motives for posting such an easily-spotted and obvious bit of propaganda, правый товарищ?

[egduj]

64. Deceptive.

Purposefully?

[melman]

83. Of course

Always.

[bullwinkle428]

70. Article also states that Chris Van Hollen took over $104,000. Is there a big rush to

primary him? Of course not, nor should there be one.

[CentralMass]

78. Opensecrets.org disagrees.

Last edited Tue Feb 20, 2018, 02:38 AM - Edit history (1)

According to opensecrets no Senate democrats (including Bernie) received money from the NRA in the
In the 2015-2016 cycle. In fact only republican senators received $$. I looked back to 2002 and Sanders has received no contributions.

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000082&chamber=&party=&cycle=2016&state=&sort=A

There were a few on the house side including Tammy Duckworth.


Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) House $3,500
Cuellar, Henry (D-TX) House $3,000
Peterson, Collin (D-MN) House $2,000
Walz, Tim (D-MN) House $2,000
Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL) House

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-nra-money-20171003-story.html


"8:23 a.m., Oct. 4: This post has been updated to remove a reference to NRA spending attributed to support of Bernie Sanders after Opensecrets corrected its database to remove a figure characterizing money the NRA spent in opposition to Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the Democratic primary, as spending in support of Sanders. Sen. Sanders has received no direct support from the NRA."

[pnwmom]

82. That's pretty funny. They want us to think that spending AGAINST Hillary Clinton in the primary

wasn't the same as spending HELPING Bernie.

Most of us aren't that stupid. They were right the first time.

[CentralMass]

98. I think that they were pretty clear that the NRA was spending money to beat Hillary

It was however unsoliciated.from the Sanders campaign

That in like asking if a bear sh.ts in the woods..

[hueymahl]

103. What a bunch of doublespeak

First you post an article claim the NRA directly contributed to his campaign. Then, after being called out on it, you now claim that because the NRA ran hit-pieces against Hillary in the primaries, that is the same as Bernie taking it.

No it is not.

He could not return it if he tried.

STOP ATTACKING DEMOCRATS!!!

[pnwmom]

110. Bernie left the Democratic party after he lost the primary. If he had stayed in the party,

I'd feel very differently about him. Now it appears that he's trying to draw people away from the party, not trying to strengthen it.

[hueymahl]

119. I want some of what you are smoking

You start with BS sources and false information. When shown evidence that you are wrong, you double down. When you finally concede the point, it is move the goalposts time.

Its time to focus on our true enemies. Let it go.

[thesquanderer]

160. Spending FOR Trump does not equate to spending FOR Sanders...

...even though both are spending AGAINST Hillary.

(Not to mention that much of that spending was presumably after Sanders was out of the race.)

[lunamagica]

85. Whoa, when someone posted here this would be a bad week for Sanders

They weren't kidding

[X_Digger]

93. Or..

(I like that one better.)

[lunamagica]

95. First old footage. Then old questionable polls

[CentralMass]

99. Sander and his campaign received no money from the NRA.

[George II]

197. By law no candidate receives money from the NRA. But, many organizations set up....

either PACs or 501(c) organizations. The NRA has both but contributes primarily through their 501(c).

The NRA gives very little directly to any candidates through those entities. Instead they contribute lots of money to other organizations who contribute to candidates.

Sanders received money from Gun Rights advocates. According to OpenSecrets.org in 2016 Sanders was #24 of all Senators with respect to contributions from Gun Rights advocates.

His contribution total was between those of republicans Tim Scott and Thad Cochran. He received more contributions than any other non-Republican (i.e., Democratic / Independent) Senator and more than twice the next highest Democrat, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. In fact his total contributions were just a few hundred dollars less than ALL other Democratic / Independent Senators combined.

[melman]

87. This is false

As you are well aware.

[sarcasmo]

88. This is why many of the Bernie Bros were Russian bots.

[melman]

96. That is really fucking low

[samir.g]

97. Taking money from the NRA is low

Voting to shield the gun industry is low.

[jrthin]

100. I agree. nt

[melman]

111. So you post something untrue and refuse to change it when corrected

Again.

[aikoaiko]

112. Why did you fabricate that Bernie received money from the NRA?

That's not what the article says and you've been shown evidence that your claim is untrue.

[pnwmom]

114. Apparently you didn't bother to read the article:

Other top recipients in 2016 included House Speaker Paul Ryan and swing-state senators such as Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Both senators won closely fought election battles last november to help Republicans retain control of the Senate.

The only non-Republican in the top 25: Bernie Sanders, a Senate independent whose state, Vermont, has a strong hunting tradition. He accepted $11,129 in cash. Sanders, of course, challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s presidential nod.

[aikoaiko]

140. Apparently you didn't notice that they said gun rights groups, not the NRA

When you go to opensecrets and look at the NRA specifically, Bernie's name is no where to be found.

See post 41.

When I made that post I assumed that you had assumed gun rights groups was only the NRA, but you didn't fix your OP.

[Demsrule86]

152. He shouldn't take any money from any gun rights group...No Democrat should.

I pledge that I will not vote for a candidate in the Democratic Party presidential primary of 20 who continues to take gun rights money in any form from any group including but not limited to the NRA...going forward. I won't hold them accountable for the past-new slate Democrats. I also will vote for any Democrat who took money from anyone (including Satan) in the General...I would vote for a yellow dog in the general if he has a 'D' next to his name and crawl across broken glass to do so. Also, taxes must be released or a candidate should not be permitted to run in a primary...any candidate. We can't call out Trump if we are doing the same thing.

[aikoaiko]

162. Some groups are more moderate and support gun control even though they consider....

....themselves gun rights groups. The Liberal Gun Club comes to mind.

[pnwmom]

120. From the article:

Other top recipients in 2016 included House Speaker Paul Ryan and swing-state senators such as Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Both senators won closely fought election battles last november to help Republicans retain control of the Senate.

The only non-Republican in the top 25: Bernie Sanders, a Senate independent whose state, Vermont, has a strong hunting tradition. He accepted $11,129 in cash. Sanders, of course, challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s presidential nod.

I don't know why the chart from the Center for Responsive Politics and Open Secrets have conflicting information, but it's not because I had any intention to deceive.

[CrawlingChaos]

121. The article is false and misleading and has been shown to be so

But you haven't changed your OP to reflect that.

[Decoy of Fenris]

123. Did you know the Russian troll factories target sites like DU with propaganda hit-pieces?

Sadly, it's been recently discovered that Russian sympathizers can also be hired within America to disrupt and misinform our populace. I suppose everyone has a price.

[Julian Englis]

132. The article is correct. Politifact has noted the NRA has NOT regarded Sanders "as an anti-gunner"

Yup, Sanders has a record of compliance to much of the NRA's agenda.

As Politifact, concluded,

"An attack ad said, "Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill -- background checks and waiting periods."

The Brady bill imposed a five-day waiting period for would-be purchasers of handguns. Between 1991 and 1993, Sanders voted against it five times. He did, however, vote for a version of the bill that imposed instant background checks, and against an amendment that repealed state background checks.

Experts noted Sanders’ votes were representative of Vermont’s gun owners and gun laws. Since the 1990s, his record on gun control is mixed.

We rate the ad’s claim Mostly True."

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jul/10/generation-forward-pac/did-bernie-sanders-vote-against-background-checks-/

[Hortensis]

176. Crawling, I didn't see that THIS part was false. I read

some time ago that Sanders was among recipients, just not how he placed on a numbered list.

As for Sanders' gun record, the excuse is always that Vermont has many rural dwellers and hunters and that his votes reflect the needs of those. That would be fine with me if it held together.

However, the needs of hunters are no excuse for opposing a 5-day waiting period for purchasing hand guns. THAT was serving himself by serving his donors in the gun lobby and the NRA.

[melman]

122. The Center for Responsive Politics and Open Secrets don't have conflicting information

The Center for Responsive Politics and Open Secrets are the same thing.

[phleshdef]

129. That happens to this poster with their Bernie obsession all the time.

Their BS is constantly ripped to shreds and they will never admit when they are wrong.

[PatrickforO]

126. Interesting. Not saying it is good, or excusing hypocrisy, but...

Let's put this in perspective.

Bernie got $11,129 in cash...

John McCain got $7.74 million.
Richard Burr, $6.98 million.
Thom Tillis, $4.41 million.
Cory Gardner, $3.88 million.

Etc.

Until you get to Bernie with a huge $11,129. Yeah, he probably should not have taken that money. No doubt of it. But, geez. And what a big, huge, long thread with comment after comment after comment.

Bernie's one of our best people. He's not perfect but he is one of the good guys.

[fleabiscuit]

131. If one identifies with white male history he may be a good guy. nt

[Demsrule86]

154. I would say one thing Sen. Sanders did vote in 2005 to give gun manufacturer immunity Some

Democrats did too. As a House member he also voted against the Brady act. Hillary Clinton was in the Senate at the time and voted against it. Vermont has a tradition of hunting and I get the problem. But this is a new day and I want any candidate to commit to ending gun violence by strict gun control and also to end the immunity Gun manufacturers enjoy.

[ehrnst]

190. But I'm sure that Bernie's motives for that vote were very, very

different than the Democrats who also voted for the bill that contained gun manufacturer immunity.

Because reasons.

[Demsrule86]

196. I want every Dem who voted for that bill and Sen. Sanders to support

stopping immunity...and they should be prepared to legislate this should they have the opportunity.

[vsrazdem]

130. Is this Russian bots trying to stir up more slop.

[fleabiscuit]

133. Is English your second language?

[sheshe2]

134. :)

[fleabiscuit]

135. Hey sheshe!

LOL

[sheshe2]

136. Hey, flea.

Love and saying good night.

[vsrazdem]

139. No, as a matter of fact my ancesters have been here since the 1600s

And am a Daughter of the American Revolution. What is your point?

[fleabiscuit]

182. That's cool. My ancestors were there to greet them. nt

[DLevine]

146. What you claim is just not true.

Bernie did not take money from the NRA, although he and Hillary both took money from gun rights advocates in 2016.

Bernie was not among the top 25 of Congressional recipients of gun rights money (let alone NRA money). Not even close.

[Demsrule86]

156. Hillary was supported by the Brady foundation...she took money form anti-gun organizations.

Also she voted against giving gun manufacturers blanket immunity. Sen. Sanders voted for it in 2005. That is just the facts.

[DLevine]

166. What you say is true. What the OP claimed is not true. nt

[thesquanderer]

157. I'm not going to hit the Alert Abuse button, but...

...exactly what purpose does this post serve (particularly in its "updated" version), if not to bash Sanders (breaking the rule: "Don't bash Democratic public figures...This rule also applies to Independents who align themselves with Democrats (eg: Bernie Sanders)," or to break the rule that says "Don't keep fighting the last Democratic presidential primary" (much of the post is specifically about a Bernie vs. Hillary argument)?

[liberal N proud]

159. BS is not as righteous as the BoBs want him to be

I could never vote for him, for the 2016 and this too.

[Devil Child]

174. I knew this when I voted for Sanders

Doesn't bother me at all and would vote for Sanders or Clinton no matter how much NRA funds they accepted.