Republican Operatives Try to Help Bernie Sanders: "We'll win every state if Bernie's their nominee"

[Bill USA]

Republicans aren't just hoping Bernie will be the Democratic nominee for president. They are pitching in to help him!
Republican PACs such as America Rising and American Crossroads, co-founded by Karl Rove as well as Sean Spicer, chief Strategist and spokesman for the RNC, are putting up ads and tweets attacking Clinton and promoting Sen Sanders. It's called picking your candidate, whereby a political party campaigns for the candidate they would rather face in the election.


"Sean Spicer, the chief strategist and spokesman for the RNC, spent much of the evening tweeting Sanders-friendly commentary on the debate, often with the pro-Sanders hashtag #FeelTheBern."

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-01-19/republican-operatives-are-trying-to-help-bernie-sanders

Republican operatives are having a strange crush on Bernie Sanders.

During Sunday night’s Democratic debate, the Republican National Committee made the unusual move of sending no fewer than four real-time e-mails to reporters defending the self-described democratic socialist from attacks by Hillary Clinton or echoing his message against her. Based on their content, one could be forgiven for thinking the RNC communiques came from the Sanders campaign.

One RNC e-mail, which was titled “Clinton’s Misleading Health Care Attack,” defended the Vermont senator from what it described as “the Clinton campaign’s inaccurate remarks on Sanders’ single-payer plan,” and quoted news articles that featured rebuttals of her arguments. A second message countered Clinton’s attacks on Sanders over gun control by pointing out her gun-friendly statements in the past. Two other e-mails sought to bolster Sanders’ case that Clinton is too close to Wall Street and the drug industry.

~~
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Meanwhile, American Crossroads, a group co-founded by Karl Rove, is airing an ad in Iowa bolstering a core tenet of Sanders’s case against Clinton: that she has received large sums of campaign contributions from Wall Street, and therefore can't be trusted to crack down on big banks. “Hillary rewarded Wall Street with a $700 billion bailout, then Wall Street made her a multi-millionaire,” a narrator in the ad says. “Does Iowa really want Wall Street in the White House?”

~~
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“In Iowa, American Crossroads is helping Bernie Sanders by depicting Hillary Clinton as a Wall Street insider,” Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, wrote on his blog.
(more)

Hmmmmm, I wonder how much of those donations Sanders got after the New Hampshire primary (which, by the way, was open to cross-over voters) were from Republican PACs?

[Skwmom]

1. Bullshit. n/t

[Bill USA]

8. I don't write for Bloomberg. It was their article.

[GreatGazoo]

47. Clinton has near zero cross-over. Sanders pulls Independents. They should prefer to run against her.

[mhatrw]

26. I want to see the numbers. How many ads has Rove run against Clinton in Nevada?

Show us the fucking numbers or this is just another bullshit hail mary "electability" fantasy.

[Bill USA]

50. matchup polls are meaningless as they don't show the effects of GOP demonization of Sanders. In an

Last edited Mon Feb 22, 2016, 06:40 PM - Edit history (1)

actual election they will have the gullible thinking Bernie will build a Kremlin on the Potomac and take all their pick-up trucks. There is none better than the GOP at demonizing their opponents.


here's Bloomberg's press contacts page, if you want to tell them what you think of their article: http://www.bloomberg.com/company/press-contacts/

[Ferd Berfel]

53. Double Bullshit! They want to run against Hillary

[kristopher]

2. Let me guess...

Hillary is a strong supporter of ethanol mandates, right?

[workinclasszero]

3. Running against Bernie is the republicans only

chance for victory

[litlbilly]

11. Really? Have you seen the GE polls? Bernie crushes all repubs, Hillary doesnt. Get your facts

right. Stop posting bullshit

[iandhr]

20. Dukakis was once ahead of Bush by 17.

How did that election work out.

[hifiguy]

24. Bush Senior had been VP for years

and could project something like an air of competence.

You HAVE seen what the Repig field this time looks like, haven't you? Fly-eating dingbats, every one of them. Next to them Bush Senior looks like Ike or George Washington.

[litlbilly]

25. different times. Why the hell would you even bring that up? try again...

[litlbilly]

27. Why not answer my question. Have you seen the GE polls? Who crushes all repubs and who doesnt?

[iandhr]

36. I think it is obvious I have. Which is why I referenced Dukakis "crushing lead."

Once the GOP runs 2 billion dollars worth of Ads using the phrase "increase government by 40% his polls numbers will fall at lightening speed.

[frylock]

39. To be fair, Dukakis' social media presence was really lacking.

[Bill USA]

57. matchup polls are meaningless as they don't show the effects of GOP demonization of Sanders. In an

actual election they will have the gullible thinking Bernie will build a Kremlin on the Potomac and take all their pick-up trucks. There is none better than the GOP at demonizing their opponents.


here's Bloomberg's press contacts page, if you want to tell them what you think of their article: http://www.bloomberg.com/company/press-contacts/

[EdwardBernays]

4. This same article from a month ago

Has been posted so many times...

And it's still BS.

[Gothmog]

14. GOP's Anti-Sanders ad is intended to help and not hurt Sanders

Karl Rove is running the standard attack ads against Clinton but other GOP types are trying to help Sanders also. The ad mentioned in the OP is really designed to help Sanders and not hurt him. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gops-anti-sanders-attack-ad-intended-help-not-hurt-sanders

About a month ago, a Republican super PAC launched a $600,000 ad buy that, on the surface, might have looked like an attack ad targeting Bernie Sanders. A closer look, however, made clear it was the opposite – the commercial, backed by a prominent Republican mega-donor, was actually trying to boost Sanders, not hurt him.

The ad called Sanders a “liberal” who supports tuition-free college, single-payer health care, and higher taxes on the “super-rich.” The intention was to boost Sanders in the Iowa caucuses, since Republicans see the Vermont senator as an easy target in the general election.

This week, it’s happening again. A group called Future 45 is running ads that, at first blush, seem critical. But the spots actually tout some of Sanders’ ideas that are popular with Democratic primary voters: an increase in the minimum wage, higher taxes on banks and corporations, tuition-free college, and universal health care.

And who’s Future 45? The Intercept reported yesterday:

Future 45 is [a super PAC] run by Brian O. Walsh, a longtime Republican operative who has in the past served as political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Most recently, he was president of the American Action Network, a dark money group that was the second-largest outside spender in 2010.

Over the last year, Future 45 has been funded primarily by hedge fund managers. Two billionaire Rubio-backers – Paul Singer, who runs Elliott Management, and Ken Griffin, who runs Citadel – have each contributed $250,000.

The overarching point is effectively the same as it was a month ago: Republicans are running anti-Sanders “attack” ads that are actually intended to help him, not hurt him.

As we discussed in the first go-around, this is part of a larger strategy in which Republican mega-donors try to manipulate Democratic voters because they see Sanders as a sure loser in November.

Karl Rove and the GOP mega donors know that Sanders is the weakest possible general election candidate and are running ads to help Sanders. The fact that some think that these ads are to hurt Sanders is sad but funny.

[EdwardBernays]

23. I believe if you check

Karl Rove is an idiot with no history of picking winners except for George Bush, who didn't even really win the Presidency at least once.

Karl Rove, like many Hillary supporters, thinks we're still in the cold war. And thinks that people are so stupid on 2016 that they'd vote for Trump or Cruz over Sanders... He's obviously wrong, as say all the polls.

Clintons own team predicted - repeatedly - that the more people got to know Sanders the more they'd reject him - they were wrong too.

And of course thinking that the right will be more motivated to vote because of Sanders than Hillary Clinton is obviously nonsense.

[frylock]

40. It's amazing how much stock Hillary Supporter puts into Turd Blossom.

This is the guy they're pissing themselves over? What the ever-loving fuck?!

[Bill USA]

51. Yeah, Bloomberg News just made it all up. LOL!!

[Gothmog]

5. Clinton Camp: GOP Attacks On Hillary Show They'd Rather Face Bernie In Fall

The GOP really wants to run against a weaker candidate http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-karl-rove-attack

The Hillary Clinton campaign on Tuesday said that recent attacks from conservatives show that Republicans are hoping Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will win the Democratic nomination because they believe he would be easier to beat in the general election.

In a Tuesday evening statement, the Clinton campaign's communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, mentioned an ad from the Rove-aligned super PAC American Crossroads, which accused Clinton of being in Wall Street's pocket. Palmieri said the ad suggests that Republicans want to face Sanders in the general election.

"While Senator Sanders tries to make a case on electability based on meaningless polls, Republicans and their super PACs have made clear the candidate they’re actually afraid to face. The Sanders argument falls apart when the GOP spokesman is trying to help him and the Republicans run ads trying to stop Hillary Clinton in the primary," she said in the statement.

Karl Rove is running an attack ad against Clinton in the Iowa primary. Rove is doing this for one purpose which is to weaken the strongest candidate

[book_worm]

6. That's just not true--Bernie would probably win at least 8-10 states

so he will do better than McGovern and Mondale and probably be on par with Dukakis.

[litlbilly]

7. OMG, can u believe this guy? How uptight are the Hillarites now? Diamonds will soon

be popping out of their butts

[Bill USA]

54. Litl; do you think Sahil Kapur, the guy who wrote the article, is an HRC supporter? Did he tell the

Republican to say that they would take all the states of Bernie was the Democratic nominee?

Did he 'invent' the facts, that American Crossroads, the PAC Rove co-founded, paid for anti-Clinton ads?


IF he invented these things, he can/should be sued. Is that you next step?

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

9. Oh, please.

Republicans aren't exactly known for good judgement.

[Cheese Sandwich]

10. Republicans clearly would prefer Hillary because her policies are so similar to theirs

[MohRokTah]

12. They would LOVE to run against Sanders.

An unvetted candidate is a dream come true for the Republicans, and the media is holding back the juiciest skeletons in his closet.

[hifiguy]

21. What color is the sky in the world you live in?

I am genuinely curious.

Running "experienced" McCain against "unproven" Obama worked out so well for them, didn't it?

[Politicalboi]

33. I love juicy skeletons

But Bernie ain't got any. Hillary on the other hand has closets full of skeletons and Big Bubba to worry about.

[JudyM]

41. Is Hillary not trying her damndest to vet him into oblivion?

[frylock]

44. Yeah, we've been waiting for months for that "little birdie"

Where is it? Team Clinton may want to hatch that egg tout de suite, because time is running short. chirp-chirp.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

13. They're very lost when it comes to feeling the pulse of America. This will be fun. nt

[Gothmog]

16. Why are College republicans voting or trying to vote for Sanders in the Nevada Caucuses???

Karl Rove is running the standard attack ads against Clinton but other GOP types are trying to help Sanders also. The ad mentioned in the OP is really designed to help Sanders and not hurt him. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gops-anti-sanders-attack-ad-intended-help-not-hurt-sanders

About a month ago, a Republican super PAC launched a $600,000 ad buy that, on the surface, might have looked like an attack ad targeting Bernie Sanders. A closer look, however, made clear it was the opposite – the commercial, backed by a prominent Republican mega-donor, was actually trying to boost Sanders, not hurt him.

The ad called Sanders a “liberal” who supports tuition-free college, single-payer health care, and higher taxes on the “super-rich.” The intention was to boost Sanders in the Iowa caucuses, since Republicans see the Vermont senator as an easy target in the general election.

This week, it’s happening again. A group called Future 45 is running ads that, at first blush, seem critical. But the spots actually tout some of Sanders’ ideas that are popular with Democratic primary voters: an increase in the minimum wage, higher taxes on banks and corporations, tuition-free college, and universal health care.

And who’s Future 45? The Intercept reported yesterday:

Future 45 is [a super PAC] run by Brian O. Walsh, a longtime Republican operative who has in the past served as political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Most recently, he was president of the American Action Network, a dark money group that was the second-largest outside spender in 2010.

Over the last year, Future 45 has been funded primarily by hedge fund managers. Two billionaire Rubio-backers – Paul Singer, who runs Elliott Management, and Ken Griffin, who runs Citadel – have each contributed $250,000.

The overarching point is effectively the same as it was a month ago: Republicans are running anti-Sanders “attack” ads that are actually intended to help him, not hurt him.

As we discussed in the first go-around, this is part of a larger strategy in which Republican mega-donors try to manipulate Democratic voters because they see Sanders as a sure loser in November.

Karl Rove and the GOP mega donors know that Sanders is the weakest possible general election candidate and are running ads to help Sanders. The fact that some think that these ads are to hurt Sanders is sad but funny.

[hifiguy]

17. They haven't looked in the Klown Kar lately,

have they?

[bunnies]

18. They wanted Obama in 08 too.

Remind me how that worked out.

[Jim Lane]

49. And many of us Democrats wanted Reagan to be the GOP candidate in 1980....

because it was obvious we could easily beat someone who was perceived as being so far from the center.

Sometimes, it seems, the electorate can be spooked about a candidate who's perceived as too conservative (Goldwater) or too liberal (McGovern). Other times, though, there's a widespread feeling that the country's on the wrong track. In those elections it's actually an advantage to be perceived as being somewhat outside the same-old-same-old business-as-usual crowd.

[UglyGreed]

19. Sure they would rather face this crowd

than this one

[litlbilly]

28. I bet the overflow bathroom was full:)

[UglyGreed]

30. You may be right

Billy!!!

[frylock]

45. Probably the longest line at that event!

[litlbilly]

46. :)

[DesertRat]

22. k&r

[ananda]

29. LOL

Considering every poll has Sanders beating any Reep nationwide,
well, all I can do is laugh.

[djean111]

31. If they were voting for Hillary we would be reading about her great crossover appeal.

Oh, and this is not in any way a reason to stop supporting Bernie, and start supporting Hillary. Because - issues.

[Kalidurga]

32. Republicons aren't exactly known for intelligence.

[jillan]

34. Hillary camp setting up a preemptive narrative incase they lose? Why else would they be spreading

this BULLSHIT!?

[pacalo]

35. The attempts to hurt Bernie are stinking to high hell.

[bvar22]

37. This may sound good, but ONLY if you don't look at the polls....

...which has Bernie beating the CRAP out of every Republican in the GE.

[frylock]

38. Republican operatives have been so dead-on right on just about everything lately too.

[SDJay]

42. Two Things

1. Those idiots worked hard to deliver Obama to the GE in 08. Nice move, morons.
2. If they're so good at politics these days, why does their candidate list and every debate look like a monkey shit fight at the zoo?

I'll put stock in anything these assholes think, say or do when they show any signs of competence, awareness, a relationship with reality or compassion. Pretty sure none of those things are happening anytime soon.

[Avalux]

43. So Dems and GOP are working together to denigrate Bernie?

Seems that way to me. But they better be care who they sell their souls to...they may not like the new owners.

[jg10003]

48. Great News: Let the GOP underestimate Bernie just like the establishment always has.

Both the DNC and the GOP, along with the MSM, have never understood Bernie's appeal. Let the GOP believe that HRC, with all of her baggage and unfavorable ratings, is a stronger opponent than Bernie. In 1980 the Dems wanted Reagan to win the nomination because they thought he would be the easiest to beat. Now it's time for the GOP to make the same mistake.

[AzDar]

52. Is it Opposite Day? It must be Opposite Day!

[kgnu_fan]

55. that is the way crooked operatives try to gather votes for Hilary...

[NurseJackie]

56. The old triple twist double back flip reverse reverse psychology ...

... trick, eh? Yeah, don't fall for it! It's a trap!

[Live and Learn]

59. Yep. nt

[SunSeeker]

58. K & R for exposure. nt

[mak3cats]

60. I hate Republicans, but I have to admit they're a lot better a psy-ops than we are...

...so they run ads against Hillary and supposedly supporting Sanders. So Dems get turned off on Bernie. And don't vote for him. And Hillary gets the nomination. And the Republicans get to run against her and all her baggage. And they win the White House. End of story.

[Recoverin_Republican]

61. another Republican stooge trying to 'line up' Bernie for the kill

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511491018

[Bill USA]

62. another GOPer "for" Bernie?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511569353

[Bill USA]

63. some more GOP efforts to 'line up' Bernie in their cross-hairs

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1744022