Bernie: As someone Who Lost Family in the Holocaust, Nazi Flag Waving at Rally Was "Unspeakable."

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday March 06, 2020 · 11:47 AM PST

2020/03/06 · 11:47

Some people describe Bernie as an old white guy, thereby erasing his Jewishness. Well, yesterday, a white supremacist waved a Nazi flag at the rally of man whose uncles and aunts were killed in the Holocaust. You cannot erase who he is.

Nazis are white supremacists. And to white supremacists, Bernie is not white — he is Jewish.

Moments after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took the stage at his campaign rally in Phoenix on Thursday night, the crowd was on its feet cheering madly for the Democratic presidential candidate.

But those cheers were swiftly replaced by deafening boos when Sanders’s supporters noticed that one man standing behind the senator in an upper section of the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum wasn’t waving a “Bernie” sign like many of those around him.

Instead, the man was holding a red flag above his head — and it was emblazoned with a swastika.

“It was absolutely wild,” Brianna Westbrook, a national surrogate for the Sanders campaign, told The Washington Post. “I never thought I would have seen a swastika at a political event. It’s gross.”

WaPo: ‘This is absolutely abhorrent’: Nazi flag at Sanders rally sparks outcry, concerns about safety

Dropping a Nazi flag in front of a Jewish candidate isn't rude or mean. And it's not just a message for Bernie Sanders.

It's a signal of intent. pic.twitter.com/46nVJrB4SG
Ã¢ÂÂ Alex (@JewishWonk) March 6, 2020

People reacted quickly.

The only before and after that matters. pic.twitter.com/Ndfv2hadg4
Ã¢ÂÂ Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) March 6, 2020

Bernie spoke out today about the Nazi flag waving.

As someone whose family was wiped out by Hitler and as an American, to have in this country somebody bringing forth the most detestable symbol in modern history is unspeakable. pic.twitter.com/0TySmmxhgh
Ã¢ÂÂ Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 6, 2020

Bernie will be the first Jewish nominee and president. Don’t reduce him to something he is not.

Bill Clinton is a Jerk, and it's not about politics.

TomP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 05, 2020 · 2:23 PM PST

2020/03/05 · 14:23

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - OCTOBER 09: Contributing editor at Vanity Fair, Monica Lewinsky speaks onstage at Day 1 of the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2018 at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on October 9, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Taking a break from the primary wars to talk about misogyny and decency.

God what an asshole Bill Clinton is. No sense of decency. And I mean as one is to another human being. After damn near destroying Monica Lewinsky’s life, he reduces her to any anti-anxiety medication. Stressed? Screw a star-struck intern half your age.

Bill Clinton claims that his affair with Monica Lewinsky was one of the 'things I did to manage my anxieties'.

The former President suggests, in an explosive documentary seen by DailyMailTV, that he had the fling with the ex-White House intern while he was in office because it helped with his own issues.

Bill reveals that at the time he met Lewinsky the pressure of the job made him feel like a boxer who had done 30 rounds and he looked at Lewinsky as 'something that will take your mind off it for a while'.

Daily Mail

People are not there to exploit to address your anxiety.

Bill was a serial adulterer.

He harmed his wife, daughter, Monica, and this nation.

I don’t care what your politics are — this guy is an entitled asshole.

And he still harms Monica Lewinsky with his comments.

Ady Barkan Endorses Bernie!

TomP for The Political Revolution

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 05, 2020 · 1:11 PM PST

2020/03/05 · 13:11

He had endorsed Warren. Now that her campaign is over, he is with Bernie.

@BernieSanders has done more than anyone else to build the movement for #MedicareForAll.

He has reshaped American politics. Reshaped what we think is possible. Reshaped how we dare to dream.

But, of course, it's not about him. It's about us.

And I'm all in. pic.twitter.com/u7Nctfhvp0
Ã¢ÂÂ Ady BarkanÃ°ÂÂÂ¥Ã°ÂÂÂ¹ (@AdyBarkan) March 5, 2020

All in!

Ady Barkin two years ago:

I meant what I said: I may be dying, but IÃ¢ÂÂm definitely not going quietly. #BeAHero pic.twitter.com/Hw5l5gBSkg
Ã¢ÂÂ Ady BarkanÃ°ÂÂÂ¥Ã°ÂÂÂ¹ (@AdyBarkan) July 13, 2018

He is a hero.

And when he endorsed Senator Warren.

YouTube Video

From a Bernie Supporter, Thank you, Senator Warren.

TomP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 05, 2020 · 8:45 AM PST

2020/03/05 · 08:45

election-day-elizabeth-warren-party-01-ap-jc-181106_hpMain_16x9_9921.jpg

I know it’s a difficult day for Warren supporters. I went through this with Edwards in early 2008 and Bernie in 2016. You fought your heart out for your candidate and now it’s ending, and it hurts.

I’m not here to tell you who to vote for — that is your choice.

I just want to thank Senator Warren. I saw this tweet and it expresses my feelings well.

Thank you @ewarren, her staff, and her supporters for running a strong issue based campaign that created space for supporters to build, not tear down.

Without Warren, there wouldn't have been the robust ideas primary which moved this country forward. https://t.co/40TXdWFpeX
Ã¢ÂÂ People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) March 5, 2020

And for decimating Mike Bloomberg. She was great, and it was the Lord’s work she did that night.

Warren supporters fought for change and a wonderful person. Hold your heads up high.

She is not finished and neither are you.

Regardless of who she supports in the primary, if anyone, or you support, we will be together in November to defeat Trump.

I was writing posts for Hillary in 2016, even though I was one of the more visible Bernie supporters here. I donated to her, even though I wanted Bernie instead.

Don’t let internet hate confuse you.

There will only be one nominee, and likely will be one many of us did not pick as our first choice.

Nonetheless, Senator Warren, Senator Sanders, and Vice-President Biden will work together to defeat Trump, no matter who wins the nomination.

Don’t be discouraged. Keep your hopes alive.

Update: Ilhan Omar:

LetÃ¢ÂÂs not undersell the power of Elizabeth WarrenÃ¢ÂÂs candidacy.

She set the pace for policy on everything from disability justice to racial justice to a wealth tax.

She is a giant of our movement. I can't wait for our progressive movement to build together. #ThankYouElizabeth
Ã¢ÂÂ Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 5, 2020

Update II: Telling your Warren stories in comments may help.

I’ll start. There was a debate this fall when all the centrists attacked Warren and Sanders about M4A, and they fought together against the attacks. I donated to both that night.

And I donated to Warren when she announced. Around that time.

But you folks canvassed, followed, worked hard. It helps to talk about it and see what you accomplished, even if it was not all you wished for.

Update III: From Senator Warren:

Our work continues, the fight goes on, and big dreams never die. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. https://t.co/28kyKe777L
Ã¢ÂÂ Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 5, 2020

Bernie's New Ads On Social Security and Trade, and Latest Cal. Results

TomP for The Political Revolution

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 04, 2020 · 12:39 PM PST

2020/03/04 · 12:39

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., gestures during a campaign rally Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Bernie's new ad on Biden and social security. https://t.co/KpukMa7cz1
Ã¢ÂÂ TomP__TomWells Ã°ÂÂÂ¹ (@TomP__TomJWells) March 4, 2020

In the 1995 comments, Biden suggests the U.S. should “freeze” federal spending, including Social Security, Medicare Medicaid and veterans’ benefits. He continues: “And I not only tried it once. I tried it twice. I tried it a third time. And I tried it a fourth time.”

CNBC

One of the 30-second segments is a near-duplicate of an ad Sanders released in January, which promoted audio of Biden’s remarks from the Senate floor in 1995. At the time, the former Delaware lawmaker was advocating freezing federal spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid during a debate over a balanced budget amendment.

“Well, we’ve got some bad news for them. We are not going to cut Social Security. We’re going to expand benefits,” Sanders says in the latest ad.

Politico

I understand that Bernie has this ad running in Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Washington reminding voters about his and Biden’s record on Social Security.

Another ad is about job killing trade deals:

YouTube Video

Another spot released Wednesday by Sanders’ campaign highlights a union auto worker hailing the senator’s longtime opposition to trade deals. The ad then flashes images of Biden and President Donald Trump as the auto worker criticizes “the banksters that have been robbing us blind and stealing our pensions and destroying our communities.”

Politico

And the latest on California:

90% reporting

415 delegates available

		Votes
Candidate	Delegates	Percent	Count
Bernie Sanders	155	33.6%	1,004,879
Joe Biden	93	24.9%	744,031
Michael Bloomberg	14	14.3%	426,954
Elizabeth Warren	9	12%	359,353

The battle has just begin!

Not me, Us.

This campaign is about asking one fundamental question: Which side are you on?

Are you on the side of the drug companies, the health insurance industry and the fossil fuel industry?

Or are you on the side of the working families of this country? pic.twitter.com/4SuKuSfg3M
Ã¢ÂÂ Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 4, 2020

Update I:

No final delegate vote. Cal still is counting mail in ballots.

But it looks close to a tie overall if current trends continue:

Separate by FOUR delegates if current trends hold (only Bernie and Biden are viable in CA): pic.twitter.com/O4UYi0bZsu
Ã¢ÂÂ Lisa Pease (@lisapease) March 4, 2020

About Sexism, Hillary Clinton, and the Presidency.

TomP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 04, 2020 · 9:33 AM PST

2020/03/04 · 09:33

I disagree with Secretary Clinton on many issues. I also have not appreciated her comments this year attacking Senator Sanders. That all said, however, I think history will judge her differently.

I think many of us underestimated how sexist this nation is with respect to electing a president. Look at the women running this time. None have come close. I know there are reasons for each one to have fallen short, and I’m a strong Bernie supporter, but Biden over Kamala Harris? Biden over Kirsten Gillibrand? Biden over Elizabeth Warren? Biden over Amy Klobuchar? In my view all are much better than Biden. Their views scan from center to leftish. But Biden is still standing and they are not (except Warren and she may drop out soon).

What’s my point? Hillary actually did very well in light of the sexism in this nation regarding electing our leader. The sexism is in men, but also many women.

I’m proud to have voted for the first woman nominee of a major party and who won the popular vote by 3 million votes. Her accomplishment shines in light of this years’ results.

Still disagree with her on many issues, but I think we should give her credit for almost breaking that glass ceiling completely.

Perhaps AOC or another will finally shatter that glass one day.

Warren Deserves Time to Think

TomP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 04, 2020 · 8:42 AM PST

2020/03/04 · 08:42

Any damage likely has been done, but it can be overcome.

A top Democrat and Warren confidant said she deserved the time to come to a decision on her own and shouldn't be pushed from the race. But the reality is clear: She has no path.

CNN

She does deserve that time.

The happiest I was this season was when Warren and Sanders worked together in a debate to defend M4A. I donated to each that night.

Before candidates announced, I wanted the two of them to get together and pick one, and I did not care which one, but that did not work out.

So give her time.

I have my preference on what she does, but she will decide on her own. If she does drop out, I cannot imagine her endorsing the person racist & sexist Mike Bloomberg endorsed today.

If she drops out, she either will endorse Bernie or choose neutrality as in 2015-16.

But she may continue also.

We’ll see.

Update I:

Bernie Sanders is asked if he and Elizabeth Warren have spoken. "We did speak on the phone a few hours ago," he says, and she is assessing her campaign and has not made any call at this point. It's important to "respect the time and the space that she needs to make her decision."
Ã¢ÂÂ Holly Otterbein (@hollyotterbein) March 4, 2020

Bobby Kennedy, a Ripple of Hope, and Dreaming of Things that Never Were and Saying, Why Not.

TomP for The Political Revolution

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday March 03, 2020 · 2:37 PM PST

2020/03/03 · 14:37

Robert F. Kennedy campaigns in Detroit, May 1968. Photo by Andrew Sacks/saxpix.com

On this day when some proclaim, no we can’t, don’t reach for the stars, settle for less, I have two snippets from Bobby Kennedy.

First, “a ripple of hope.”

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage such as these that the belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

YouTube Video

Second, dreaming of things that never were, and asking why not?

Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.

Robert Kennedy

From Teddy Kennedy’s eulogy to his fallen brother:

YouTube Video

Si, Se Puede!

Keep hope alive.

Yes, we can.

Not me, Us!

AOC: "I, for One, Choose Change."

TomP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday March 03, 2020 · 8:03 AM PST

2020/03/03 · 08:03

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 19: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorses Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at a campaign rally in Queensbridge Park on October 19, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. This is Sanders' first rally since he paused his campaign for the nomination due to health problems. (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

Which side are you on this Super Tuesday?

To defeat Trump, it is going to take progressive, mass-movement politics that expands the electorate and fights for working-class & marginalized people.

Turning back the clock may sound appealing to some, but we must recognize how we got here in the first place.
Ã¢ÂÂ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2020

I understand disaffected voters because I once was one.

As a waitress, IÃ¢ÂÂd watch pundits on TV talk about how we didnÃ¢ÂÂt need to improve the ACA much when almost no one I knew could afford insurance. Or theyÃ¢ÂÂd talk about how great the economy was when everyone I knew struggled./2
Ã¢ÂÂ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2020

And while folks on TV went on about how we donÃ¢ÂÂt need substantive change in America because things Ã¢ÂÂarenÃ¢ÂÂt that bad,Ã¢ÂÂ I couldnÃ¢ÂÂt help but feel lied to.

Mountains of student debt.
Friends working multiple jobs just to afford rent.
Not one person I worked with had insurance.
/3
Ã¢ÂÂ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2020

There will always be people who make the case against transformative change.

But today our generationÃ¢ÂÂs prospects are worse off than our parentsÃ¢ÂÂ. Today people are dying bc they canÃ¢ÂÂt afford insulin. Today the for-profit caging of people is normal.

I, for one, choose change.
Ã¢ÂÂ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2020

Choose change — Vote for Bernie.

What do they call doing the same thing over and over again,& expecting different results?

If we do not run a strong, progressive candidate that directly addresses the core crises Americans face, we take a major risk.

The time is now.
Vote @BernieSanders.pic.twitter.com/rzaKXx0Tk6
Ã¢ÂÂ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2020

Bernie's Multi-Racial, Multi-Cultural Coalition -- Now Leading with African American Voters.

TomP

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday February 24, 2020 · 1:07 PM PST

2020/02/24 · 13:07

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (2nd R), Democrat of New York, speaks alongside US Senator Bernie Sanders (2nd L), Independent of Vermont, and Representative Ilhan Omar (L), Democrat of Minnesota, during a press conference to introduce college affordability legislation outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, June 24, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Not me, Us is a multiracial, multicultural coalition.

The Nevada, New Hampshire, and Iowa results demonstrate it. So, too, does a poll out today:

A Morning Consult poll of 2,631 Democratic primary voters conducted Sunday, the day after Nevada held its caucuses, found 32 percent back Sanders as their first choice for president, widening the gap over former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to 13 percentage points — his biggest national lead of the campaign.

snip

The latest Morning Consult tracking poll also finds Sanders leading the field among black voters for the first time as the race moves to South Carolina, the second successive state with a significant black population that former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign views as a firewall. Thirty-three percent of black Democratic primary voters said they’re backing Sanders, compared with 29 percent who said Biden, within the subsample’s 4-point margin of error.

Morning Consult

On the Nevada results:

Sanders’s emphatic win in Nevada illustrated his potential to expand his coalition far beyond the ceiling of 25 percent or 30 percent that many party-establishment figures and commentators assumed he had. In Nevada, Sanders won with 29 percent of whites, 51 percent of Hispanics and 27 percent of blacks, according to entrance polls of Democratic caucus-goers. He won a staggering 65 percent of caucus-goers under 30 years old, and he carried every other age group except for caucus-goers over 65 years old, which former vice president Joe Biden won.

WaPo

Bernie thanks the coalition:

Bernie Sanders addresses supporters after CNN projects he will win the Nevada caucuses: "We have just put together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition, which is going to not only win in Nevada, it's going to sweep this country." #cnnelection https://t.co/2eC6AMtsoh pic.twitter.com/EZpfz2i0OD
Ã¢ÂÂ CNN (@CNN) February 23, 2020

Also endorsed by Barbara Smith, who helped coin the term “identity politics.”

Feminist scholar Barbara Smith on "identity politics" and why she supports Bernie Sanders for president: "He has a theory of change. Ã¢ÂÂ¦ He has an understanding of like why things are not working in our U.S. society." https://t.co/DsTAPU7oei pic.twitter.com/pT9YwIHnT3
Ã¢ÂÂ Democracy Now! (@democracynow) February 16, 2020

In 1977 I co-authored the Combahee River Collective Statement – a document that emphasized the overlapping forms of economic and social oppression faced by black women. The Combahee Statement coined the term “identity politics”, and it was instrumental in pushing the international left and other political movements to understand inequality as a structural and intersectional phenomenon which affects oppressed groups differently.

Those ideas continue to reverberate today. I am often disheartened, however, to see support for identity politics and intersectionality reduced to buzzwords. I am supporting Bernie Sanders for president because I believe that his campaign and his understanding of politics complements the priorities that women of color defined decades ago.

Guardian: I helped coin the term 'identity politics'. I'm endorsing Bernie Sanders

The Not me, Us movement is the Rainbow Reverend Jackson talked about over 3 decades ago. And Bernie endorsed Rev. Jackson also!

YouTube Video

Buying the Nomination -- Bloomberg Paying $2,500 per month to text for him to your friends.

TomP for The Political Revolution

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday February 19, 2020 · 11:43 AM PST

2020/02/19 · 11:43

Will the Democratic Party survive?

Bloomberg plans to pay people $2,500 a month to text about him https://t.co/3bjvq7fDun via @TheWeek
Ã¢ÂÂ TomP__TomWells (@TomP__TomJWells) February 19, 2020

From the article:

His Democratic presidential campaign team is putting out a call for so-called "deputy digital organizers" who will reportedly work for 20 to 30 hours a week and receive $2,500 per month in exchange for promoting Bloomberg via text each week to everyone in their phones' contact list, while making daily social media posts in support of his campaign, The Wall Street Journal reports. They'll also likely have to do some more traditional campaign work every once in a while like phone banking.

snip

One thing that's unclear is if the social media posts for the digital organizers should qualify as sponsored content on platforms like Facebook, which the Journal notes, is just beginning to grapple with the intersection of political advertising and influencer marketing.

Rick Pearlstein, who has written excellent books on the rise of the Modern Republican Party, notes that it is more than he is paid for a monthly column.

Signs of the (end)times: the amount I just heard the Bloomberg campaign is offering people a month to post on social media about him is the same amount I proposed to a media organization to be paid for a monthly column.
Ã¢ÂÂ Rick Perlstein (@rickperlstein) February 19, 2020

So when you get Bloomberg text messages, see tweets, or other internet messages, beware. Many are bought and paid for.

Bloomberg is racist, sexist, and classist.

As Kos said, if we nominate him, we are no better than Rs.

WaPo/ABC Poll shows Bernie with a 16% National Lead; another Poll shows California Domination.

TomP for The Political Revolution

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday February 19, 2020 · 8:05 AM PST

2020/02/19 · 08:05

MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE - FEBRUARY 11: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a primary night event on February 11, 2020 in Manchester, New Hampshire. New Hampshire voters cast their ballots today in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Bernie’s lead confirmed by multiple polls. Here is the latest from WaPO/ABC.

Bernie 32% with a 16% lead over second place. https://t.co/c5C3cuPVm0
Ã¢ÂÂ TomP__TomWells (@TomP__TomJWells) February 19, 2020

BREAKING: Bernie Sanders is soaring and Joe Biden has crashed in national preference for the Democratic primary, new @ABC News/WaPo poll findsÃ¢ÂÂwhile Iowa and New Hampshire helped clear room for a candidate not yet on the ballot: Mike Bloomberg. https://t.co/I2ciI4bOim pic.twitter.com/lsynMaYn1q
Ã¢ÂÂ ABC News (@ABC) February 19, 2020

And a California poll:

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has swept into a commanding lead in California heading into the March 3 Democratic presidential primary, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Sanders has the support of 32% of likely Democratic primary voters, more than double that of each of the four other candidates — former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg — who are locked in a statistical tie for second at around 14%.

San Francisco Chronicle

Hat tip to Wade Norris, who had an excellent post on the California poll yesterday. Bernie Sanders opens commanding lead in California (updated)

Not me, Us!!!!

Bonus update:

https://t.co/vQmW24pJp9
Ã¢ÂÂ TomP__TomWells (@TomP__TomJWells) February 19, 2020

Newer
Older

RSS