I’ve never been a Bernie Sanders fan or supporter, and my apathy turned to genuine dislike and distrust when he did what he did during the 2016 election. I’m not going to relitigate that sh-t, but he and his Bernie Bros were a–holes to Hillary Clinton. Bernie was an a–hole again during the 2020 Democratic primaries when he told Elizabeth Warren that she could never win because she’s a woman. Bernie then, improbably, became Joe Biden’s strongest soldier, endorsing Biden swiftly in 2020 and largely signing off on President Biden’s agenda. Bernie was even briefly taken off my sh-tlist in recent weeks because he was strongly defending Pres. Biden while several elected Democrats were publicly disloyal and trying to push out Biden. Well, it’s time for more Bernie BS. Now that President Biden has withdrawn from the race and Democrats and lining up behind Kamala Harris, suddenly Bernie has qualms. I’m sure his qualms have nothing to do with his belief that the rest of the country is as sexist as him.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a Friday interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi explained why he has yet to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president, suggesting he wants first to see more specific commitments from her on issues important to the working class. The Hill reported this week that Sanders is looking to shape Harris’s campaign, and that he had held off on an endorsement in part to exert some pressure on the vice president to adopt some of his priorities.
Sanders in the interview made it clear he will work to elect Harris, noting he is taking part in events in Maine to do so. He said he wanted to do everything he could to defeat former President Trump and to make Harris the next president. But he said he wanted to get more specific commitments from Harris on issues such as expanding Medicare and Social Security before providing an official endorsement.
“I think it’s important for some of us to say look, we know that there’s a lot of big money in the Democratic Party,” Sanders told Valshi. “We want to make sure that the vice president is listening to the working class of this country, to the progressives as well. These are not radical ideas and I would hope very much we get specificity,” he added.
Asked about what issues he’s looking for commitments from Harris, Sanders talked about the need to lift the income cap on Social Security in order to expand it. He also said Medicare should be expanded to cover dental and vision. He said all student debt should also be forgiven, and that there should be a cap on rents in the United States. Sanders did not suggest he needed specific commitments on all of these issues, and he offered no criticism of Harris in any of his remarks.
“I have talked to the vice president and look forward to speaking to her in the near future,” he told Valshi when asked if he was having a discussion with Harris. “Yeah, that conversation is going on.”
At this point, withholding the formal endorsement hurts Bernie Sanders more than it hurts Kamala Harris, especially since he’s clearly saying that he will campaign for her and he wants her to win. It’s funny that Bernie’s acolyte, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, figured out how to play the political game better than Bernie. AOC’s IG Live – in which she showed public support for both Biden and Harris and expressed her hope that Biden would not be kicked out of the campaign (because it would mean they would try to pass over Kamala) – made her seem more loyal to Biden than most Democrats. Then right out of the gate, AOC endorsed Kamala Harris and clearly plans to work with Harris’s campaign and hopefully Harris’s administration. Bernie’s trying to do this half-assed “I don’t really endorse her even if I want her to win” thing when the election is only 100 days away.
Meanwhile, Bernie also spoke at a townhall in New Hampshire on Friday, and this is what he said about VP Harris: “She is not going to win this election and she is going to have a very difficult time winning unless she begins to speak forcefully about the needs of the long-neglected working class of this country.” For the love of God. It really seems like he just has an issue with female politicians.
Update: Sanders seemingly softened his language around VP Harris on Sunday, emphasizing once again that he wants her to win and that he will campaign for the Democratic ticket, but he’s still playing fast and loose with the “formal endorsement.”
Bernie dragged out the 2016 primary and didn’t endorse Hillary when it was clear he had no chance of winning.
In 2020, he told Warren a woman couldn’t win.
Now, Bernie won’t endorse Kamala despite having no policy differences with Biden.
There seems to be a common theme.
— Adam (@AdamJSmithGA) July 26, 2024
I want to thank the 800 people in Portland, Maine who joined me this morning at a high-energy rally.
We must defeat Trump, elect VP @KamalaHarris, and create a government that works for all, not just the 1%. pic.twitter.com/l4CJnfo9yI
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 27, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- United States Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent of Vermont), speaks on lowering healthcare costs during an event in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus Featuring: Bernie Sanders Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 03 Apr 2024 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- United States President Joe Biden and US Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent of Vermont), shake hands during on event on lowering healthcare costs in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus Featuring: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 03 Apr 2024 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- United States Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent of Vermont), during the White House Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday allowing him to halt some asylum claims at the US-Mexico border, seeking to curb migrant crossings and address one of his biggest liabilities in the election campaign against Donald Trump. Featuring: Bernie Sanders Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 04 Jun 2024 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
Bernie doesn’t count for anything anymore.
And he really never did. He was just a place for similarly sexist, “liberal,” dude bros to find a home. And it pisses me off that Democrats have always given him so much airtime when he’s not even a member of the Democratic Party.
Didn’t see your comment while I was writing mine.
I said the same thing about BS not being a member of the Democratic Party, only much further down.
I’m tired of this.. get on board or get the hell out of the way, we have to much at stake. Bernie isn’t going to change my opinion, but the media focusing on him is a distraction from serious issues and it needs to stop.
But that’s why he’s such an asshole, because he knows the media WILL be distracted by him. He gets attention and power and then gets to take credit if any of his ideas happen to be Kamala’s platform anyway.
I have a friend who insisted if Biden announced last year he wasn’t running for a second term he would go down as the greatest president ever. I strongly disagreed because I knew vainglorious Bernie would challenge VP Harris, the rightful heir, in a nasty primary where he would do everything possible to tear her down. I’m so glad Biden made his dropping out contingent on VP Harris becoming the nominee.
I was born and raised in Vermont I now live in NC and Bernie is good for one thing and one thing only and that is getting the potholes filled on busy Burlington Vermont streets when he was mayor. I have absolutely no use for him and his dislike of strong women who are in politics.
Bernie has never been the sponsor of a major piece of legislation. He’s all hot air.
I don’t know much about him or his career (am a Brit) but its obvs to me that he’s sexist See You Next Tuesday – he won’t endorse her because she’s woman running for the highest position in the land, a position that he clearly feels should only be held by a man. He can take his ‘concerns’ and shove them. Given the support she’s been getting from the voting public (inc. Republicans) she is in a very strong position to prove him so very wrong.
To put him in context, he is our Jeremy Corbyn.
NO he is NOT. Jeremy Corbyn is nothing like Sanders, despite the media working overtime to equate them a few years back. I cannot stand Sanders; my feeling is that he is a big fat phony and quite the opportunist. Heck, he’s prattling on about endorsing Kamala Harris and he’s not even a member of the Democratic Party! How self-important is that? Add to that, yes, he IS sexist.
Jeremy Corbyn is as straight as an arrow, highly principled and the real deal. And definitely not sexist. In fact, he has consistently been a champion of women, and not in the patronising way.
We have the same in France : Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Dude is clinging to the little power he has and only death will make him let go. It’s especially embarassing when they’ve got a political party full of other people who are just as competent.
Yo, Bernie, Jon Stewart, come gather each other and then sit in a corner and STFU until the adults are done. We have bigger problems right now than your overinflated egos.
Bernie is a sexist asshole and isn’t even a Democrat. He’s all-in with Biden but suddenly has concerns about Harris, who’s running on the same platform (or one even more to the left)?! I really dislike this man. He’s a desperate for relevancy shit-stirrer who has never even passed one piece of legislation in his entire career. Again, sit down and shut up.
All of this. Plus, he has a bad record on gun control. Why? Because Vermont is a largely rural state with a lot of hunters. And Bernie caved on that issue because he wanted to keep getting elected by them and stay in power. He’s no purer than any other politician and I’m sick of his sanctimonious, irascible “independent” schtick.
Several labor unions have endorsed Kamala Harris so WTF is he talking about? Oh right, he’s a sexist POS who hasn’t accomplished anything. He’s doing this because he’s a contrarian and whatever relevancy he’s had is waning. She’s raised over $200 million so endorsing her is not wanted or needed.
Exactly! And holding his endorsement hostage until he gets what he wants makes him look like a spoiled baby who thinks he’s in control when he’s really not. As you said about her fundraising volunteer mobilization, she doesn’t need him for anything. He’s so irritating.
When he says working class, he means white working class, white, no college. His issue is not just sexism.
Hmm I didn’t notice he didn’t endorse her officially. I have read him talking about her candidacy positively though. At the end of the day, it is politics. He wants some promises in exchange of his endorsement, which doesn’t make him look good, because the other guy is Trump who is gonna destroy everything. AOC handled this situation beautifully. She communicated what is going on behind the scenes and didn’t join the others to sh*t on Biden. She also endorsed Kamala quickly. AOC really understands the danger better than Sanders.
Democrats should remind people that Bernie Sanders doesn’t speak for them, as he’s an Independent.
And maybe someone should remind BS that Kamala has her own positions and opinions and doesn’t need to bow to anyone.
I don’t have a problem with this. To me, this is respecting Kamala Harris as a serious candidate. She isn’t Joe Biden and I would want to hear her own voice on the issues instead of just assuming she’ll be Biden 2.0. And the thing is that Trump has made deep inroads into the “working class” – I’d also like to know what Kamala has to say about that.
First of all, Bernie needs to include the word white when he’s talking about “the working class,” because that’s who he’s actually only referring to – working class white people. Same for the Orange Menace, but we know he does that as a dog whistle.
Second of all, Kamala Harris was already a presidential candidate on her own so Bernie should be aware of her positions independent of the Biden-Harris administration. He could also call her and have a conversation with her privately if he’s not aware and can’t wait for the convention. Bernie is doing this publicly because he wants relevancy and power in a party that he’s not even a member of. He didn’t do this when Biden ran so why does he suddenly have “concerns?” Hmmmm, I wonder.
Not necessarily – the polls have been showing Trump inroads into Latino and Black communities as well, especially among men. This has been a worry in Democrat strategic circles. And the white working class are people, too. There’s no way Trump will actually address their issues, so what other party is there?
As for Kamala Harris’s previous positions, that was then. Since then the world overall has changed appreciably. She’s had 4 years of experience in the White House – what are her thoughts about domestic and foreign policy now?
And finally, this isn’t just about endorsing Harris. This is also about negotiating a platform. When Bernie endorsed Biden it was after having worked with him on crafting a policy document for Biden’s platform – he didn’t have any concerns because they had already been negotiated (never mind if they were achieved). The party is united in not wanting Trump, but it’s not on a lot of other issues. Harris will have to figure all that out.
@Eurydice, 🎯
@ Eurydice agreed.
And the “Bernie isn’t a democrat!” line is getting old. He voted 91% in line with Biden during his presidency which is more than some actual democrats.
Also, it’s weird how beholden some folks are to their labels and party politics. Partisanship is not helpful right now as the goal is to broaden the coalition and that includes appealing to independents. A vote is a vote at the end of the day—it all helps Kamala win.
Living in Europe, a lot of his ideas make sense (because some of them exist here). What doesn’t make sense is that he considers himself a feminist, but constantly says things that show him as the opposite. That is absolutely part of his issue with supporting Kamala Harris. I’m willing to bet that another is that the progressive branch of the Democrats backed Biden, and they didn’t get anything out of it politically speaking. So now that Harris is (essentially) our nominee, he hasn’t gained anything and he’s sore about that. There is nothing to be gained by not supporting Kamala Harris by now; it sounds like sour grapes.
I don’t agree with the progressives not getting anything from Biden administration. Both AOC and Bernie had participated in policy recommendations to Biden. There was a joint task force with the progressives and Biden passed public investment bills. But, since this is all boring staff, no one paid attention. It isn’t Trump altering the hurricane map with a sharpie at the end of the day.
Clarification: after the debate, progressives were the ones saying that Joe Biden should stay. They did not benefit from that.
“Progressives” did get something from pleading for Biden to stay in the race. Call me cynical but I believe they thought Biden would lose to Trump. A totally demoralized Democratic party would be decimated in the election and their wing would then have clear sailing against the “establishment” wing. They would loudly fight back against Trump while the establishment tried to pick up the pieces. Then, in 2028, assuming there would even be an election, one of their own would have a clear path to run for president. I have always thought the Sanders wing was playing the long game by advocating for Biden to stay in the race. And, for them, the long game goal is taking over the Democratic party.
@Brassy Rebel, what the hell? Progressives are not some James Bond villains. They supported Biden because Biden supported them. Biden listened to their ideas. He didn’t push them out to the side as extremists. Why would they backstab someone who actually passed progressive bills? Also, AOC’s fear was if Biden steps down, the donors are also gonna get rid of Kamala. Since Kamala got the support from voters, AOC and other progressives are fully supporting Kamala. From what I understand, Bernie is asking for some promises in exchange of his endorsement. There is no 5-10 year long term plan-to-power here.
I said I was being cynical. You offer a much less cynical take. But they’re all politicians and there is always a long term plan for power. Doesn’t make them “James Bond villains”. It makes them politicians. They very much want control of the party.
Progressives got major progressive legislation, out of Biden—almost more than anything since the New Deal. Go back and check your sources.
Ugh if he’s STILL out there saying she won’t win unless she does xyz, then yeah, he hasn’t changed. I appreciate Kaiser reminding me of the Bernie timeline since 2018. I forgot how he was with Elizabeth Warren. Add it all up and he’s going to pull the same crap this election. He is cemented into this way of thinking, so it will thrill me to no end to see the look on his face when Kamala wins.
Bernie bled away support and votes for Clinton and helped to let Trump in office, and I will always side-eye him for that. He’s never accomplished anything tangible in office other than obtaining power for himself. Now that our choices are Harris, who people are enthusiastically supporting, or a tinpot despot, he needs to sit down and be quiet.
I mean, I think he should be cautious here given, but that’s not really a fair appraisal of his legislative record. He’s quite famous for getting more roll call amendments through than any other representative, and he’s sponsored quite a few successful bills (Cancer Registry Amendments Act, added rural funding provisions to the ACA that got conservative Democrats on board, etc.) He’s also quite famous for being able to secure funding for Vermont constituents in a lot of bills. The fact that he’s had any public influence as an independent speaks more to his aggressive principles than anything else.
Of course Bernie is trash. But do tell me how President Obama is the real problem here. 🙄
Does it really matter what he thinks? He is a big name, but he is independent, so what influence does he really have now?
I used to be a Bernie supporter. when my congressional district was redrawn due to gerrymandering, there were a few good women in the race and Bernie actually found a man to endorse that didnt even have a website or come to the debates. that endorsement put him in 1st place in the polls at first because of the name recognition of his supporter. im not even sure that guy wanted the job.
but he tweeted his endorsement???
Yes, that confused me too. His July 27 tweet that did so is included in Kaiser’s article. Or am I missing something? Certainly not trying to be snarky, just genuinely confused.
I have mostly succeeded in putting this creep out of my mind, although he briefly reappeared in 2020 to run for president–again. But I am always annoyed at how when people talk about why HRC lost in 2020, Sanders is never mentioned. Because he is the main reason. She sat down with him and literally made deals with him before he gave a grudging, half-assed “endorsement”. He can have several seats.
I have never ever understood the attraction to Bernie Sanders. I just didnt get it then and I still don’t to this day.
White dude with progressive ideas and an anti-establishment image.
Progressive except when it comes to electing women, apparently.
My dude, I agree with you on the issues, but can we not feed into their rhetoric about big money until *after* the election is over? Once this woman in in the office, we can rip her apart the same as everyone else.
F*ck Bernie Sanders.
That’s all I will ever say about him after 2016.
This is how trump won the election last time. Praying he doesn’t have the Bernie bros platform this time to split the vote. Anyone who has a sexist base like this willing to dox supporters of female candidates is no progressive. He’s not the voice of the working class. He claims to be the voice of white working class men with his whole chest.
He’s done nothing for my state.
I think this has to do with unions and potential VP picks, a couple of whom lean more towards the corporate/business community. While other unions have endorsed Kamala, the UAW has not yet. I see this as UAW and Sanders warning the campaign not to just give lip service to strengthening unions before the elections.
Yeah, this is what I think as well. I believe that Bernie is just using what leverage he has to try and push Kamala’s policies to the left.
If Bernie Bros II f*ck up this election AGAIN they might as well go buy some MAGA hats and quit pretending to be “Democrats.” With friends like them who need enemies.
The vast, vast majority of Sanders supporters in the primaries did not vote for Trump in 2016 or in 2020. People blaming Hillary losing solely on Bernie are overlooking other factors some of which Hillary herself identified in her book. Russian election interference; James Comey leaking that the FBI was looking into her emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop; the media crowning Hillary months in advance based on flawed polling; Hillary failing to campaign to the level she should have in key states or do what she needed to turn out black voters; voters being suspicious of her due to all the baggage she carried from the Bill Clinton presidency; Jill Stein siphoning off votes; on and on. Yes, there was a primary where someone dared to run against her but there are often contested primaries.
🎯
This is the first time I have read a post,then read the comments and disagree with every single one of them.
BS runs for President so he can write books and make millions He knows he has no chance of winning, but the coffers need filled somehow, so he bashes the “1%” as he squeezes every last dime out of his followers.
When there was pushback about his money grab, he said, “I wrote a best-selling book. If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.” This is how out of touch he is with the struggles of Americans.
Biden stepped down because people were saying he’s to old. Bernie is old also. And he knows it. That’s why he supported Biden. And that’s why he’s talking bad about Kamala. Her being there makes people question his mental stability. Which they should.
I’ll confess to being a Bernie Bro back in 2016 and during most of the Trump years. But I’ve since moved on. I will always be grateful to him for his relentless support for Medicare-for-all, lowering of prescription drug prices, and for keeping his foot on the necks of the greedy oligarch billionaires and bankers. Yes, I still love Bernie. But Trump and the Republicans are such an existential threat to our democracy that I think Bernie’s stance in not endorsing Kamala is misguided. What Trump plans with Project 2025, will destroy this country irreparably. For example, with what the Supreme Court is right now, what difference does it make if we pass Med-for-all? And with the government being decimated by Trump, should he win, what difference would it make if Congress passes any bills favorable to the poor? Wake up Bernie!
He’s absolutely right. He should try to squeeze whtever progressive agenda he can, out of Harris. But this is how the absurd “endorsement” game is played, so he’s playing it.
I think it’s a generational thing as much as anything else. Bernie’s 82. He’s not even a Boomer. He’s Silent Generation. He’s done a lot of good in his years but time is passing him by. Bernie marched with MLK, but he’s got a huge sexist blind spot and always has. That may have been pragmatic and realistic based on the electorate back then. I hope it’s out of date now.
The entire Silent Generation is less than 5% of the population. Boomers are 20%. Gen X are 19%. Millennials are 21%. Half of Gen Z are old enough to vote in this election and their actual voter turnout was 5% higher than Xers or Millennials at the same ages.
Progress happens one funeral at a time. It’s so sad that most people seem to become unable to change their beliefs and grow after a certain age. You can’t change them and you can’t disenfranchise them, so you just have to wait for time to take their vote away.
Yeah, what a jerk:
But he said he wanted to get more specific commitments from Harris on issues such as expanding Medicare and Social Security before providing an official endorsement.
“We want to make sure that the vice president is listening to the working class of this country, to the progressives as well. These are not radical ideas and I would hope very much we get specificity,” he added.
Yeah, Bernie can take several seats. He and his Bernie Bros are practically no different from the MAGAts. They’re no less bigoted than MAGAts. They spew the same misogynistic rhetoric.