The Sanders crowd is highly emotionally invested in this Vatican story.

[Buzz Clik]

Sanders's lie is the second of two huge fibs in less than a week.

That's gotta sting.

[upaloopa]

1. Has Bernie lost control of his campaign? I am beginning to think he is being used

by some as a cash cow.


It is all circus at this point. He was punked into saying Hillary is unfit.

Seeing how his followers act and how Devine and Weaver say he is going to the convention, I think Bernie is being used to raise cash for them to spend on themselves.


I don't think Bernie is running the show.

[NurseJackie]

47. Interesting observation. I think you may be onto something.

There's a good argument to be made about that, especially considering that the recent flurry of attacks and "missteps" (for lack of a better word that won't be hidden by a jury) seem to be antithetical to Bernie, and could therefore be attributed to someone else who's in charge.

[stopbush]

2. INALIBSI

It's not a lie if Bernie said it.

Get used to it.

[Cha]

3. And, the subway token.. that was uncalled for.. lol

your sig line is understandable..

[wildeyed]

4. Apparently.

I was just on a jury where they straight up called you a liar, then self deleted the OP I don't even know what they are going on about these days.

[BlueMTexpat]

5. This was not a politically savvy move, IMO.

Apart from Bernie's erroneously letting it be known to the media that he was invited by the Pope, NO candidate for US President should ever reach out to a foreign Head of State during an election. BIG NO-NO. The Pope is a religious leader. But he is also a foreign Head of State.

I'm not saying that Bernie or his campaign reached out to the Pope himself, but many will infer that he did - both to his and the Pope's detriment.

Pope Francis and his people will likely be as upset about this as they were about the Kim Davis imbroglio.

To me, it reinforces the idea that Bernie really has no clue how to deal with the world outside the US. He is just not ready for Prime Time at all.

[LAS14]

16. Do you have a link to where...

... Sanders actually said the Pope invited him?

[BlueMTexpat]

20. No, I cannot find a specific

link to where Bernie specifically said that the "Pope" invited him. But Bernie did say that the "Vatican" which many if not most, immediately associate with the Pope inviting him. In fact, here is a BBC headline that actually says that: US election: Bernie Sanders invited to Vatican by Pope http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-35999269

In fact, if you use the search words "Bernie+Sanders+Pope+invitation, you get a whole slew of article on Google: https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#tbm=nws&q=bernie+sanders+pope+invitation+

While the articles themselves contain more facts and nuance, the distinct impression left is that the Pope invited Bernie from which one might infer that the Pope is a "fan" of SBS.

Bernie himself has let this impression remain and, so far as I can see, his campaign has not really clarified it. At best, this is disingenuous, at worst ... well, let's hope that it's not the worst. Perhaps in the meantime there have been clarifications from Bernie or the campaign that I have not seen.

[riversedge]

24. Sanders said, “this is an invitation from the Vatican, from a pope...Vatican distances from Sander

I posted this elsewhere. -if reported accurately, then:

81. Sanders said, “this is an invitation from the Vatican, from a pope...Vatican distances from Sander.....then Sanders later drops the 'pope' when he speaks about this.

So, Sanders name drops the pope-the Vatican calls him on his big fish story--and then Sanders drops the word -pope-the next time he speaks. got it!

I think that name Lombardi is the same man who sent the memo about Kim Davis.



http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-04-08/sanders-accused-of-discourtesy-in-seeking-vatican-invitation



.............Respect for Pope

Sanders earlier on Friday said, “this is an invitation from the Vatican, from a pope that I have enormous respect for in term of the level of consciousness that he’s raising on the need to have morality in our economy."

The office of the pope moved quickly to distance the pontiff from Sanders’s visit. Father Federico Lombardi, the Pope’s spokesman, said Sanders had been invited “not by the pope but by the pontifical academy of social sciences.” Lombardi told the Italian news agency Ansa: “For the moment there is no expectation that there will also be a meeting with the pope.”
.................

Sanders told reporters in New York on Friday that he is “very excited about this invitation from the Vatican to participate in a major conference dealing with how we can inject morality into today’s economy.”.................

[BlueMTexpat]

27. Thanks for finding that, rivers.

So it seems to be even worse than I thought.

You are correct. Lombardi did send the memo about Kim Davis: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/02/_statement_on_popes_meeting_with_kim_davis/1176270

Bernie is now swearing that the invitation "came out of the blue," according to the NYDN: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bernie-sanders-accepts-invitation-meet-pope-francis-article-1.2593187

Margaret Archer, however, is sticking to her guns.

[riversedge]

25. see my post a few downstream

[jsmirman]

40. Check out this clip from his appearance on The View

Joy says, "you're meeting with the Pope?" "Pope Francis has invited you..."

Bernie: "Yup."

I'd feel bad for him if his campaign hadn't gotten so dirty since March 15th.

[LAS14]

48. I'm 72, so I think I can speak...

.... from experience. I wonder if Sanders' repeated gaffes over the last week or two are revealing a slowing down of mental processing? I'm not suggesting any disease or anything. I just know that in my own case I can't always think of all the answers as quickly as I used to.

[Iliyah]

6. Before the Bloomberg article I'm pretty sure that they contacted the Church

before the release of it. So therefore, yes, it fact.

[liberal N proud]

7. Now they have a source that said that it is untrue that it is untrue

They don't know which way it's going.

But Saint Bernie is their hero and they will worship him.

[Buzz Clik]

8. Asking for an invitation to a conference is routine, and the invitations are given routinely.

However, to run around thumping your chest afterwards declaring one's importance is really poor form. To add on a layer of partisan politics is just shameful.

[LiberalFighter]

11. I would also think that now is not the time to make a trip out of the country.

[Hekate]

26. Not to mention the Pope is not pleased to be dragged into our partisan politics

A few days ago we had a post on our front page claiming the Pope had "endorsed" Sanders. How dumb do you have to be ... oh never mind.


Watch the birdie

[Lucinda]

9. The campaign is trying like crazy to change the headlines

and it looks like they have caused a power struggle in the Vatican to come into view.

While they aren't responsible for the infighting in Rome, the misrepresentation of the invite sure has caused some international tension. That isn't good foreign policy Bernie and staff!

[dubyadiprecession]

10. Desperation is what drives the BS crowd...

They are worried that they may not get enough catholic voters in NY to turn out for BS.

[Koinos]

12. Millennials are not very religious, by and large.

I'm not sure that Catholics will help him all that much anyway, since they are mostly older voters.

"Millennials leaving church in droves, study finds"

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/12/living/pew-religion-study/

In fact, pandering for Catholic votes could lose him some atheist/agnostic votes.

[otohara]

15. Oh Good

I was just about to post something about this - my son the Millennial told me this AM his Facebook page was lit up with Pope/Bernie news and his atheist friends were all thrilled about this supposed coming hail Mary "endorsement".

[Koinos]

18. Your experience sheds a whole new light on things.

They like the pope, if the pope likes Bernie. Otherwise, not so much. If the pope says this whole thing was not his idea, he too may get thrown under the bus. My little brain can't handle all this confusion.

[beaglelover]

13. I know! On another board when I pointed out to a Bernie Bro that St Bernard was not going to meet

with the Pope, he responded to the effect of, 'of course the Pope will meet with him! How could the Pope pass up the opportunity to meet BERNIE!!!!!!' I was like, Jesus Christ!!!

[oasis]

39. That is just the kind of mindset many of them have.

Bernie, all seeing, all knowing, omnipotent and the whole enchilada.

[Surya Gayatri]

14. Some real hysteria on display...

[Her Sister]

17. Lots of Catholics in NY!

Just saying!

[Koinos]

19. Very true, but O'Malley is no longer in the race.

[Her Sister]

23. In reference to BS going to meet the pope

[Koinos]

32. It probably wouldn't even help if Sanders were a Catholic.

I don't think Catholics are going to flock to Sanders just because he went to Rome for an "economics" conference. The Pope certainly isn't going to endorse him for president or renounce Clinton. Moreover, Catholics won't vote for a Catholic, just because he is a Catholic; and Sanders is not a Catholic. Maybe some few Irish Catholics would have voted for O'Malley, who is Irish and a devout Catholic. But I don't see what Sanders gets from this trip, except jet lag and a few days away from the campaign trail.

[misterhighwasted]

37. "Sanders is not a Catholic" and he's not a Democrat either!

He is a good talker!

[Cha]

41. Except when he had to answers questions for his interview from the NYDN.

Then he didn't have much to say.

[Koinos]

43. That's why I used the subjunctive.

I don't think he knows anything about Catholic social philosophy or theology either, so he will be like a square peg in a round hole at the conference he is supposed to attend.

[misterhighwasted]

45. Ahh but the tales he will tell to his diciples back home

..and wait till the pics are out!!
PR 101

[Hekate]

21. They're highly emotionally invested in everything

Watch the birdie

[Koinos]

33. Investing more in logic and math would help their cause.

[Fla Dem]

22. It sure looks like pandering. To up and leave your campaign for 4 days right at a critical time.

Is he trying to get the Catholic vote in NY? Trying to pad his foreign affairs portfolio? A very curious move. Has he ever attended any other gatherings on social, economic, and environmental issues, in his 25 year congressional career?

[KittyWampus]

34. Yes, he's given a number of speeches here and there. It's all he's good at>>>

giving speeches. Because we just found out he can't answer in depth questions about much of anything.

[Squinch]

28. They have two speeds:

Sleeping and hair on fire.

[DawgHouse]

29. First the bird and now the Pope.

Clearly, he is the chosen one.

[liberal N proud]

30. The BSer are sure of it.

[pandr32]

46. Yep! Being "Jewish" too...the Messiah at last

[BlueMTexpat]

31. Although this link is from a pro-life source

not known for their support of Dem candidates in general and thus should be taken with MORE than a grain of salt, they are charging that Bernie "invited himself."

http://www.lifenews.com/2016/04/08/bernie-sanders-invited-himself-to-vatican-event-official-calls-it-a-monumental-discourtesy/

Bernie may have sown the wind to reap the whirlwind here. However this happened, it shows bad judgment in the middle of a political campaign, IMO.

[Buzz Clik]

35. +1

[Historic NY]

36. Wait until they find out the Pope will be in Greece.

[misterhighwasted]

38. They were notified. Reuters is now under the bus and they're going directly to

..the Catholic News for their source.
It looks like Catholic GDP over their.

[TMontoya]

42. Because

They are literally praying for a miracle lol.

[geek tragedy]

44. A complete fustercluck. If he's going to actually attend the conference rather than

just fly to Rome to be in the same metro area as the conference, he'll need to take 2-3 days off the campaign trail.
Right before the NY primary.

[SharonClark]

49. They are emotionally invested in Sanders, period

Many Sanders supporters have given time and money to a candidate for the first time and when people do that, even if it is very little, they become invested in the campaign.

They are invested in the Vatican story because the BS campaign has instilled in them that they are victims who get no respect. They believe the Vatican invitation elevates Sanders so it elevates them as well. Sanders does a lot of ego stroking, Hillary doesn't.