How Bernie Sanders broke his first Campaign promise

[FrenchieCat]

Bernie Sanders announced clearly in his Campaign announcement that he would run a Clean campaign. He said,

“As someone who has never run a negative political ad in his life, my campaign will be driven by issues and serious debate; not political gossip, not reckless personal attacks or character assassination.”
https://berniesanders.com/bernies-announcement/

But since, Bernie Sanders’ campaign has indeed been one that invites and includes political gossip, reckless personal attacks and character assassination at every turn. In fact and unfortunately, it has been shocking to many as to the depth of negativity and the frequency of unfounded name calling Bernie’s supporters have pushed. Even non-partisan bistanders are calling it one of the most negative campaigns in Democratic primary history.

Day in, and day out, the comments made on internet, at the end of every blog and positive articles are both vile and extreme. Clinton endorsers are met with personal verbal abuse normally only found on Republican hate sites The tweets of Ms. Clinton’s lack of honesty, the insinuations that she is in the pocket of big banks, are a daily refrain. Comments on her appearance, her demeanor, and even the sound of her voice liter the discussions of her debate performances and town halls. The politics of guilt by association run rampant and unchecked. The intentional personal smears that she is untrustworthy and unlikable, are pointed to as evidence that she could never win a general election. The request of her speech transcripts (the video is out there, and has been for some time) reminds one of the email attacks pursued by corporate media and Republicans.

In so doing, the Bernie campaign, its surrogates and supporters have rightfully earned a reputation of savaging Hillary Clinton in every way deemed possible, rivaling only that of the Republicans 25 years of smears in its intensity. For proof, one only needs to peruse social media to verify the Sander’s campaign of personal destruction; both on a personal and a policy level against Sanders’ rival.

During the nationally televised speech Sanders gave on the eve of the Iowa Caucus, the hate fermented by those in the Sanders’ camp was in full display. The supporters’ chants of “Liar” referring to Hillary Clinton, as Sen. Sanders spoke, and were clearly auditable, and were not hushed in anyway.

Further, the politics of guilt by association are lobbed at those who have the temerity of supporting Hillary Clinton. A picture of Howard Dean sitting next to a Goldman Sachs employee provokes derision of Howard Dean as a stooge, a two-faced corporatist, and a lackey. Hillary Clinton is held to a level of scrutiny normally only seen in a general election. The request for her speech transcripts reminds one of the email attacks pursued by the media and Republicans.

So how does a man running on honesty and integrity, and who promised a positive campaign allow his campaign to become as toxic as his as become, against someone he publicly claims to respect and admire? Because Bernie Sanders is, regardless of what he claims, first and foremost a politician. Anyone fooled that this isn’t a campaign that will say and do whatever is required to get it done, hasn’t been hanging out on the Internet.

Far from Sen. Sanders’ first promise that he would run a positive campaign, his campaign has been artfully doing anything but. Make no mistake, Bernie Sanders is well aware of what his supporters are doing, even as they will claim that he has no control over what they are saying and doing. This may very well be the case, as the leader of his Revolution, he is responsible for not calling out his supporters and reminding them that he has promised to run a campaign devoid of politics as usual. Having others do one’s dirty work, does not absolve the man or his campaign of accountability, nor should it allow Sen. Bernie Sanders to claim that he is fulfilling one of his first campaign promise, because clearly, that promise has been broken.

[warrprayer]

1. Now you know

How the working poor have felt for the last 35 years.

[FrenchieCat]

6. And you are blaming this on Hillary Cilnton?

Or both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?

[kjones]

18. Everything is someone else's fault when you're a Bernie supporter. nt

[shenmue]

7. You do know this is the Clinton group, right?

I am the working poor.

[Cha]

16. Oh Bulloney.. don't try to deflect from BS breaking his campaign promise.. he shouldn't have made

it in the first place.

[Stuckinthebush]

2. He's fooled a lot of people into thinking he isn't a politician

His campaign has become very toxic as have many of his supporters.

[pandr32]

9. He is not only a politician but a career politician.

His campaign uses a simplistic message to connect with people and then rounds it out with political rhetoric and one-liners. He is woefully inadequate in most foreign and domestic policy and would need to appoint establishment advisers to help skirt him through issues as they come up. He will be basically learning along with the rest of us if he were to win the presidency (far-fetched)--not much of a CIC.
His economic message (the meat and potatoes of his "expertise&quot would be served much better if he were the head of a committee (like the Senate Budget Committee that he is a ranking member of) or perhaps as an economic adviser in some capacity, or perhaps serve on the Economic Policy Council. He is over his head thanks to his grandiosity and out-of-control ambition.
His bid will go down in the history books, and he certainly will have brought some capital to whatever he does next...but he will never be President.

[HillDawg]

12. Very very

well said!

[pandr32]

14. Thank you

[BlueCaliDem]

3. Righteous!

Last edited Sat Feb 6, 2016, 04:18 PM - Edit history (1)

to Frenchie!

Sanders can continue to deny that he's running a clean dirty campaign, but with angry Jeff Weaver at the helm, nobody outside of the Bern-bubble is buying it. I'm sorry, but when you have high-level staffers sneaking and skulking around and downloading files of your opponent and then, when asked to return those files or they'd get locked out, it takes a special set of brass-ones to then come out to an eager pack of pro-GOP media-wolves NOT to announce an apology but to threaten a lawsuit!

I stood there, beside my son, and watched as reporters tried to get an answer out of Sanders as he whisked passed them, and all they got was, "A presser is comin' up. All will be made clear", or something to that effect.

Then, when that promised presser arrives, we get an angry Weaver, and I nudge my son and say, "Sanders is angry about this break-in of Hillary campaign files and he's definitely going to have his chief campaign manager apologize and tell the media that all files have been either destroyed or returned and those sneaky managers fired."

Imagine my shock when, instead of an apology, Weaver comes out swinging, telling a half-truth that they're going to sue in order to get the site unlocked because they have NO IDEA why they've been locked out! Really? Debbie Wasserman-Schultz explained that they had a full 48 hours to either return the files or destroy them, and to provide to the DNC proof of it. This, of course, Weaver "omitted" in his presser as he indulged in the attention he was getting.

That's a show of lack of integrity, and since he's still Bernie's chief campaign manager, that tells me Bernie is a-okay with it.

[Treant]

11. That was the moment

when I went from neutrality on Sanders (a point where either would be fine for the nomination) to active dislike and disapproval. And at that moment he also became unacceptable to me for the nom.

We do not need another Nixon.

[BlueCaliDem]

13. That was the moment for me, too, Treant. And to think I was a Bernie supporter back in May

last year, but sobered up quite quickly a month later. I didn't support him afterward, but I didn't think ill of him, either. I simply believed that he didn't have the coat tails in Congress to get anything through that he was promising.

It was when Weaver came out in that presser after the - for me - shocking revelation that high-level staffers in the Sanders campaign had illegally accessed Clinton campaign files...and then the circus that followed without Weaver getting fired. It was then when I decided Sanders isn't what he's projecting himself to be, and that he was unacceptable to be the successor of President Obama and head of the Democratic Party.

[Thinkingabout]

4. Yes, he has broken this promise.

[Gothmog]

5. Bernie is just another politician and has gone negative

[72DejaVu]

8. Why did he hire such things?

Weaver and Devine had the reputation of being dirty players, but Mr. Clean hirred them anyway. Either he intended a negative campaign or his judgment is far too poor to trust him in the seat of power.

[pandr32]

10. He is not stupid and really, really wants to win

He knows his goons are needed. As long as he, personally continues to pretend he is "authentic" he seems to believe it is all just fine. His image is what he is marketing...it is a veneer just like those fake fronts on old West towns used in TV and movies.

[Cha]

17. Because BS says a lot things.

[mcar]

15. K&R

[McCamy Taylor]

19. In the first debate, the only time Sanders smiled was when he looked at Clinton.

That smile said more than his words ever will. That smile was genuine. It said "I love you, Hillary!"

Everything else is an artful charade.