Sanders Sees Clinton Camp Attacks as Sign that 'Something Must Be Working'

[99th_Monkey]

Sanders Sees Clinton Camp Attacks as Sign that 'Something Must Be Working'
'Bernie is too liberal to gather enough votes in this country to become president,' says Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri
June 26, 2015 * Common Dreams * by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

In a move viewed as further evidence of Sen. Bernie Sanders' continued momentum in the polls and among potential voters in the 2016 presidential election, some Hillary Clinton supporters have gone on the offense against the self-described democratic socialist.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a Clinton backer, launched what The Hill described as "the sharpest attack yet" on Sanders in a television appearance on Thursday. "Bernie is too liberal to gather enough votes in this country to become president," she told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

McCaskill assailed Sanders for having "an extreme message" and being "unrealistic," while complaining that the media were "not giving the same scrutiny to Bernie Sanders that they are giving to certainly Hillary Clinton and the other candidates."

~snip~

Sanders subsequently struck back in an interview with Bloomberg Politics' Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, calling into question McCaskill's progressive bona fides. "Do I believe, in opposition to Senator McCaskill, that we need trade policies that are fair to the American worker, and not just benefit CEOs and large corporations?" Sanders said. "I plead guilty."

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/06/26/sanders-sees-clinton-camp-attacks-sign-something-must-be-working

[Autumn]

1. I also plead guilty

[CanadaexPat]

2. He's laid out some very specific proposals

Which you can agree with or not but they're eminently do-able. If he were making vague and grandiose promises you could stick him for being unrealistic but he's not.

[PatrickforO]

3. With the mood I'm sensing on the ground among Democrats I know,

I'm thinking epithets that used to work, like 'oh, he's too liberal,' and 'he's a (gasp) socialist!' simply aren't going to work.

The establishment knows, though, that if they allow Bernie to get his positions out there in the mainstream media, he will win. Because the truth is that he tells the truth, and his positions are virtually ALL favored by a majority of Americans.

[Vincardog]

4. Bingo got it in one

[daleanime]

5. +1

[Maedhros]

9. That, in a nutshell, is the basis for the Lesser of Two Evils Doctrine.

Once one realizes that the Democratic Party leadership doesn't want to elect Liberal or Progressive candidates, then it's easy to see.

In order to keep Liberals and Progressives from getting all uppity, they saturate left-leaning media with the mantra that we must hold our noses and vote for corporate Democrats, because Republicans are evil. The real solution - giving us candidates for whom we're excited to vote - is never given as an option. Fer Chrissake, it took an Independent running for the Democratic nomination to achieve that!

It's the opposite of Plato's Parable of the Sun - establishment Democrats urge us to remain in the cave, watching the shadows they make on the walls.

[antigop]

6. so who will be the next surrogate? Any guesses? nt

[Divernan]

11. When will Bill slip the leash & speak out?

They've kept him amazingly down low and publicly muzzled up to now, and it must be killing him!

The former president has not accompanied his wife on the campaign trail, and has rarely appeared with her in public since she announced her candidacy. In an interview with Town and Country magazine earlier this year, Bill said that his role would primarily be as a “backstage adviser.”

Bill Clinton’s campaigning for his wife backfired in 2008, when in South Carolina he seemed to attribute Barack Obama’s victory in the early primary state to his race. But the former president has a deep knowledge of the ins and outs of campaigning, having won large victories in both 1992 and 1996.

In early May, Bill Clinton’s chief of staff told the Washington Post that he is “not directly engaged in the campaign” but when his advice is asked for “he’s happy to give it.”

Mook also dismissed recent poll numbers that suggest Hillary Clinton’s favorability numbers are slipping. According to a CNN poll published last week, 57% of Americans think the former secretary of state is not trustworthy. “A lot of the public polling is not very reliable,” Mook said. “I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to it.”

http://time.com/3920153/bill-clinton-hillary-campaign-adviser/

Although the Clinton campaign spin is that "he is not directly engaged in the campaign", I'd bet the farm he is micromanaging it from behind the scenes.

[antigop]

14. Oh, that's rich! Bill"s chief of staff says that a lot of public polling is "not very reliable".

Thank you for that.

I'll have to remember that.

[antigop]

18. no, it's not Bill's chief of staff...it's HRC's campaign manager! nt

[Babel_17]

22. Of concern is the risk of voters thinking that Bill Clinton will be getting something of a third term

As some might remember, there was talk in the 90s of the Clintons being a team, and President Clinton giving HRC real authority/access to act on behalf of him. Voters might start remembering that and wondering just how much juice former President Bill Clinton would have in a President HRC administration.

I see this unavoidable speculation as being something that the HRC campaign will work to stay ahead of, and carefully manage. I think they'll want to portray Bill Clinton as available, but not omnipresent. He'll be impressed by, and admiring of, her campaign and just there to offer commentary and as one of HRC's advisers.

There's also going to be mention of how we've had a Bush, then a Clinton, then a Bush, and now maybe another Clinton. So some voters would appreciate seeing how HRC is more than a reiteration of her husband.

[Divernan]

23. Clintonian words and deeds

Officially, he's an occasional consultant. In reality he's likely bombarding her staff 24/7 with strong suggestions and instructions.

[Babel_17]

24. If so, that needs to be downplayed, and kept in check

A certain narrative is being projected, and while all campaigns have lots of puffery, the HRC campaign is sensitive to getting called out on reality not matching the rhetoric. Like I implied in another thread, I see the HRC campaign as vulnerable to what caused them problems in 2007-2008. There are people with tightly held authority, or at least control issues, in the campaign, and there's always a real risk that their unified message won't come across and/or they'll be working at cross purposes.
HRC has people intensely loyal to her, and dedicated to electing her. If Bill Clinton starts getting some other campaign workers to start orbiting him, and following his cues, that could cause serious friction.

[Divernan]

25. Infighting, back-stabbing & credit-grabbing - par for HRC campaign staff course.

And the larger the staff, the harder it is to keep it under control.

I think the award winning VEEP series on HBO captures the political realities quite well - the cynicism and two-facedness is amazing.

[Babel_17]

26. Great show, Season One is free on Amazon Prime

The staff takes to infighting like it's a fantasy football league. I'm still in amazement at the explanation of what a "corpse f******" entails. Definitely something to avoid and it came across as actually being something of a real thing. :eek:

[Divernan]

27. The line that broke me up was from the chief of staff

calling people to discuss a problem. Something like: "Time to grab your dick and join the circle jerk!"

[cantbeserious]

7. I Will No Longer Settle For The Lesser Of Two Corporate Evils - Go Bernie Go

eom

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. your consistent mantra so speaks for me as well.

[cantbeserious]

13. Thank You - I Will Keep Up The Cadence

eom

[swilton]

20. I'll third that!

[Enthusiast]

15. Me too.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

10. Claire so right wing!

[frylock]

12. We're seeing that effect here as well.

[Enthusiast]

16. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

[aspirant]

17. If they introduce Bill as the next Surrogate,

you can forget about the mantra that Hillary is running solo without any of Bill's messes.

[swilton]

21. Likewise the mantra that Hillary has made it on her own

i.e., is not the beneficiary of nepotism.....

I would also add - sort of related - but now we're hearing this talk of the poll numbers not being that reliable....etc., etc. - especially in this particular thread....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251415834

I looked at the infamous WSJ/NBC (unbiased ) that had Hillary something like 75% to Bernie's 15%.....Those were only the summary numbers....deep within those numbers was the sad truth that Hillary's negatives equaled her positives.....I think that her high poll numbers have been largely based firstly on her name recognition and secondly on her being the only candidate and running against the Republican clowns (er a the Republican opponent)....In other words, her supposedly unassailable numbers were manufactured and not based on what she stands for or running against any other Democratic opponent....

[L0oniX]

19. K & R