Bernie: I Wouldn’t Continue Obama Legacy

[cosmicone]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/10/22/bernie-i-wouldn-t-continue-obama-legacy.html

Despite Vice President Joe Biden’s plea for the next president not to “undo” the legacy of President Obama, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders told MSNBC on Wednesday that his presidency would be a “course correction.” During an interview with Chris Hayes, the self-described democratic socialist confessed that while he is a “personal friend” of Obama and Biden, Sanders wants a “political revolution” to undo the power structure controlled by “corporate America and the Koch brothers and the corporate media.” This is at odds with how major-party presidential candidates tend to wholeheartedly tout their predecessor’s record as part of their campaign.

[haikugal]

1. Good...

[Ferd Berfel]

49. Zackly. Once the TPP shit hits the fan Obamas name will be mud - like Wild Bill

We need another FDR, We cannot survive another Clinton

[uponit7771]

69. We need an FDR congress, something Sanders down plays in his call for unicorns to appear out of no..

... where with the aide of "revolution".

For all he's chided Obama for Sanders was calling for Obama to be primaried because he's weak and never went and got that FDR congress so a left agenda could be passed.

I don't see Sanders being the leader he's chided others for not being

[840high]

76. Absolutely correct.

[cascadiance]

103. Exactly! Hillary might want to work with Republicans to pass TPP! Bernie proudly won't!

... when he's representing people and not the corporate people, who Hillary is just as likely to go the route of Obama in redefining her campaign statements on what she actually does with Free Trade stuff the way Obama did with his nebulous "promises" to "renegotiate NAFTA", leaving out the part that he wanted to put NAFTA on steroids to work with Republicans to throw away American jobs and our the sovereignty of our government to corporate America the way they have been paying corporate Dems and Republicans to do for them.

And following even Reagan's better record of prosecuting bankster crooks from the Savings and Loan era would be better than Obama's justice department which Jamie Dymond's laughing at along his way to the bank with his bucket loads of fraud money that he's thrown a few over to the side to pay his fines that don't bother him one bit. Holder's back working for those he was really working for as the pseudo AG where he really worked more for Wall Street's benefit than Americans.

[Ferd Berfel]

118. Hillary helpped create the damn thing. She'll finish the job

[underthematrix]

2. LOL! Keep talking Bernie. Keep talking.

[ljm2002]

19. Thank you for your comment

[JonLeibowitz]

21. +1

[DisgustipatedinCA]

78. He bought that reply--now and in the future.

[MelissaB]

25. Sanders wants a “political revolution” to undo the power structure controlled by “corporate America

and the Koch brothers and the corporate media.”

That's bad, eh? That's undoing what Obama has done, eh?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

80. Looks like she isn't following his legacy on Iran

re today's comments on sanctions

[cascadiance]

111. DWS already broke with Obama moreso than Bernie did on that issue!!

Perhaps DWS and Hillary are also a team in how Hillary feels the Iranians were one of her "worst enemies" in the way she answered one of her first debate questions.

[Thinkingabout]

3. I guess getting and keeping healthcare for Americans is important to some

People but it is for myself though I already had health insurance. Yes we need to continue the Obama legacy.

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. Well ... That ought'a lock down the (President) Obama coalition! eom.

[Dawson Leery]

8. LOL!

[underthematrix]

28. Yep that should do it! LOL!

[leftofcool]

31. I think so.

[KittyWampus]

33. If this is an actual quote… it's the perfect ad to run against him.

[R B Garr]

45. Yes! And there are so many counter-intuitive

sloppy messages from him that are low-hanging fruit and could be thrown back at him, but they are all just applause lines now since no one can vet him because ----poor Bernie.

[Rose Siding]

81. I want YOU on the communications team

The ad would write itself, wouldn't it?

[Number23]

120. You are 100% correct

[uponit7771]

55. +1

[Bobbie Jo]

70. That ship has sailed. nt

[MoonRiver]

5. Wow he sounds just like an Independent

oh wait...

[Chef Eric]

15. Yes, an independent thinker...

not reliant on focus groups and not influenced by corporate campaign contributions.

[stevil]

42. Yeah

He'll be independent of the nomination before long if he keeps on like this....

[tazkcmo]

101. Back to the Borg! n/t

[winter is coming]

6. I'm not sure why this is news.

Anyone who's followed Bernie's campaign should understand that he's aiming for "course correction" instead of "status quo".

[haikugal]

54. Yeah, but that doesn't support the corporate wings need to dis Bernie.

[uponit7771]

59. This is news because Sanders is going to need people in the Obama coalition to win and

... saying that he's against Obama isn't going to get him that coalition.

To me, Sanders was never the leader he's been expecting out of Obama or many others...

Many in our country who were leaders of "revolutions" were rarely people of high station, Sanders couldn't get a revolution in his own state...

Chiding Obama as the status quo and a non change agent is counter productive at best

[Dawson Leery]

7. Bernie is going to lose the General.

Democrats are the incumbent party. After 8 years, swing voters tend to look for change. You better make the case for continuation and improvement rather than change. If you make the case for change, you are making the case for a Republican administration.

Take the ACA and improve it. Take the Dodd-Frank bill and improve it.

[winter is coming]

12. That makes zero sense.

If swing voters are looking for "change" after 8 years, trying to sell them on something they don't want (tweaks) instead of something they do (substantive change) sounds like a good way to lose.

[floriduck]

89. Did you actually expect

a logical, coherent message from a Hill supporter? Their marching orders are to make shit up, anything negative about Bernie, rather than discuss positives about their candidate.

[Chef Eric]

16. So, you think Sanders will win the nomination!

If he does win the nomination, he will NOT lose the general, even if he continues to make the case for change rather than improvement.

That's because most people are smart enough to understand the difference between smart change and idiotic change.

[uponit7771]

60. He should have ran as an independent... Telling America "I'm different from those guys in my party"

... isn't a strong case to make in regards to change

[DisgustipatedinCA]

79. No, I think we'll be fine with him running as a Democrat. He's doing just fine.

[cascadiance]

106. Yep, I'm betting FDR's finally smiling in his grave that Democrats finally have a decent candidate..

... that has more of his beliefs in fighting against the economic royalists instead of getting in bed with them!

[DisgustipatedinCA]

108. I think FDR would wonder how people got so wrapped around a party loyalty axle...

...when the party is sick and dying.

[cascadiance]

112. Polls say he will do better than Hillary does...

And Hillary people were saying earlier that we should just be paying attention to the polls then. Why aren't you paying attention to them now and now that Bernie's the better bet by the numbers than Hillary is now.

[Vattel]

9. I think he would continue Obama's legacy on most issues.

He would definitely be more aggressive in fighting oligarchy though.

[lunamagica]

10. K&R. He really know how to attract AA voters, doesn't he?

Just in case it wasn't clear, the title of my post was pure sarcasm

Keep talking, Bernie!

[Dawson Leery]

13. +1

[Number23]

18. It's not just AA's. Obama has about a 80+% approval score from ALL Democrats

So to say you don't want to carry on the legacy of someone with those kinds of numbers and you're running as a Democrat makes very little sense at all.

[1StrongBlackMan]

20. How many candidates lost elections in 2012 and 2014 ...

running away from President Obama's "legacy"?

One would think that one seeking the Democratic nomination would seek to continue what a majority of those in the party are happy with.

I guess not.

[Autumn]

98. Are you are good with Hillary running away from Obama's legacy of peace and diplomacy?

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/266173-clinton-calls-for-new-sanctions-on-iran

Hours after the U.S. dropped sanctions on Iran as part of the nuclear deal, Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Clinton called for new sanctions on the nation for its ballistic missile program.

Clinton on Saturday praised President Obama for securing the safe return of four U.S. citizens and implementing the Iranian nuclear deal, but warned that all concerns about Iran are not assuaged.

“Iran is still violating UN Security Council resolutions with its ballistic missile program, which should be met with new sanctions designations and firm resolve,” she said.

[1StrongBlackMan]

117. Despite the cherry-picking,this does not represent HRC ...

running away from Obama's legacy of peace and diplomacy.

But you know that.

[lunamagica]

22. Right. I mentioned AA voters specifically since they are so desperate to get them

I can only imagine him touring AA universities in SC (as he plans to do) and telling them that.

Stupid, stupid move on his part.

[uponit7771]

63. Yeap, some people live in a bubble & think others hate Obama & dem establishment as much as they d0

[JustAnotherGen]

119. +100

[uponit7771]

61. +1

[thereismore]

11. There are things that need to be changed. nt

[uponit7771]

65. Hopefully we can continue and build open a good thing, Sanders isn't calling Obama's legacy a good..

... a good thing but the "status quo".

Sanders has been calling Obama weak et al for a long time, his criticism has been seldom supportive even to this day

[Warren Stupidity]

14. Whut? He wants to undo the power structure

controlled by corporate America? Oh fuck that. I'm switching to Clinton 'cause she will preserve the kleptocracy.

Thanks for clearing this up. I had no idea.

[MelissaB]

30. Yup! Sign me up for keeping the power structure controlled by “corporate America and the Koch

brothers and the corporate media. After all, that's exactly what the article said.

Me thinks somebody needs to work on their reading comprehension. (Not you Warren Stupidity)

Direct quote from the article:

"... Sanders wants a “political revolution” to undo the power structure controlled by “corporate America and the Koch brothers and the corporate media.”

[Motown_Johnny]

17. So you consider Koch brothers style politics to be Obama's legacy?

If so, I disagree.

[MelissaB]

27. Exactly!

Quote from the article:

"... Sanders wants a “political revolution” to undo the power structure controlled by “corporate America and the Koch brothers and the corporate media.”

[Proserpina]

47. Okay, then who let the Koch Bros. run rampant across the country?

[Motown_Johnny]

97. The Citizens United decision by SCOTUS. What do you think Obama should have done?

It isn't as if Congress would have passed legislation to stop it.

A Supreme Court decision trumps executive orders.



This happened while Obama was President, but it is not his legacy.

[cascadiance]

109. Well, he shouldn't be listening to the remnants of the DLC that was built with Koch brothers money!!

... and people. Then perhaps we wouldn't have the f'd up free trade CRAP that he's been pushing harder than even the ACA (which he didn't bother even trying to negotiate a public option on, when negotiating everything he could get with TPP, etc.)

[Motown_Johnny]

115. I am against all our crappy trade deals dating back to NAFTA,

but to conflate that with the political structure that the OP was talking about isn't honest.

[m-lekktor]

23. Thank baby jesus he won't and that is why I support him!!nt

[lunamagica]

24. That's why you support him, but it will turn off the Obama coalition.

No way he can win without them.

[Schema Thing]

43. Nah. Obama has no bigger supporter than me (save for people crushing on him)

and I'm not turned off by it in the least.

[leftofcool]

26. Not a problem since he will never be President.

[lunamagica]

37. +1

[JRLeft]

29. It's obvious quite a bit of people in this thread want more corporatism.

SMFH! Wake the fuck up!

[brewens]

32. I consider a good part of Obama's legacy to be the ACA. Really only so far as he proved we could

a national health care reform package passed, rather than just continuing the looting. It needs to be converted to a single payer system though. Getting us started will be a big part of Obama's legacy.

[in_cog_ni_to]

34. "Sanders wants a “political revolution” to undo the power structure controlled by “corporate America

and the Koch brothers and the corporate media.”

GOOD! It's exactly what we need! So, you support the Koch Brothers, Citizens United and our Corrupt Corporate Owned MSM. At least you admit it.

The truth shall set you free!

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[cosmicone]

41. ummmmm yeah

something that no president has ever been able to accomplish before

But mighty Bernie can do it like Superman and Batman combined.

[JRLeft]

102. Why try anything, just let 1% do whatever they want until this earth dies.

Democrats should go away, elect the people who will give everything away immediately. This is what you want, why let it happen incrementally, let's get over with now. Bow down to TPTB, right?

[cosmicone]

104. the 1% and 99% is a false premise

Neither are stable groups.

However, even in one assumes they are, bringing the 1% down to the level of 99% is a fool's errand. We should work on taking a few of the 99% and moving them up to make a premise of 10-90 or 20-80.

Hating rich people is never going to solve problems.

[JRLeft]

110. I do not hate rich people, he'll I was told that I was rich on this board.

I thought I was upper middle class.

[immoderate]

107. It's what happens when an idea's 'time has come.'

Can presidents only do what presidents have done before?

Don't forget the Green Lantern!

--imm

[rbrnmw]

35. That so go over well with PoC, Women

and really most Democratic voters

[whatchamacallit]

36. A president with his own vision, who aspires to be more than the custodian of his predecessor's

oh noes!

[nc4bo]

38. Course correction, yes that's what's needed......

Absolutely, right back into the hands of the many ordinary Americans.

[cosmicone]

52. See post no. 48 n/t

[nc4bo]

86. One ft. can be the difference between riding on

blacktop or crashing over a cliff.

[Enrique]

39. what would be the point of Bernie otherwise?

if someone wanted a continuation of the Obama legacy, why would they not vote for Hillary, who has nearly exactly the same policies as Obama?

By the way, there's a lot to be said for the Obama legacy, just like the Bill Clinton legacy.

But there's a lot to be said against them, and that's exactly the point of Bernie Sanders.

[uponit7771]

72. There's a lot to be said against every great presidents legacy... that goes without saying or should

... given the facts of history.

NOT ONE of the presidents could throw stones and not one of the candidates can throw stones either.

All of come short in some way,

The point of Sanders SHOULD be he can get more done but that's not what I hear on the case for him.

[ucrdem]

40. But he's the real Democrat we're told.

Still trying to figure out that one.

[NorthCarolina]

85. Still trying to figure it out???

Wow, perhaps you just aren't familiar with any pre-Clinton era Democrats. Bernie is much closer to the Democratic Party I grew up with than Hillary, or her husband, are.

[Proserpina]

44. Thanks to the gods and goddesses and Bernie Sanders

No nation has ever been in greater need of a "course correction" than this one.

[Nonhlanhla]

84. As someone who grew up in apartheid South Africa

And lived through the major course correction of the early 90's, I find your statement very amusing...

[Proserpina]

90. Was South Africa in a position to loose Nuclear Winter on the entire Globe?

And don't think that in the bowels of the Pentagon and the CIA they don't recalculate that scenario at least once a week, every week.

This nation is a very dangerous one, to every living thing on the earth, because we have in places of power some very dangerous people, unscrupulous and cruel. The only way it could be worse would be to bring Kissinger back. Or Brezinski.

[Nonhlanhla]

93. Of course not

but that was not the point you made. Your statement that NO nation has EVER been in GREATER need of a course correction just struck me as funny.

[Autumn]

46. Sounds like a good idea to me. This country is in need of a course correction.

Wall Street and the 1%ers can't have it all. The big banks need to be broken up and regulated. We need healthcare reform to replace Insurance finance reform. No Democrat should complain about undoing the power structure controlled by corporate America and the Koch brothers and the corporate media, they have fucked over the American people long enough. Fuck them and their money grubbing, enabling politicians they own. It's time for someone to bring change.

[cosmicone]

48. Course correction

is just changing the bearing and/or altitude of a plane by a bit.

Making it nosedive is not considered a "course correction" but then again, that is what the Germanwings pilot did.

[Autumn]

56. Planes are not the only things that one can change the course of and changing the course does

not require a nose dive or an itsy bisty change. Try thinking outside the box and stop pretending that change that will benefit the American people is going to be a fucking nose dive disaster. Here's what will be a disaster, more of the same. When it comes to leadership, leaders are always course-correcting. You can always change the course of a route or direction followed, especially if the course isn't working.

[floriduck]

92. I'm beginning to think Third Wayers like

the poster above you are actually moderate Republicans. Their thought process is definitely consistent with the GOP but they mysteriously want to cling to the Democratic name. Very bizarre people.

[Autumn]

95. It's truly frightening to see all of the RW points being used

to justify Hillary's positions and to trash Bernie's positions. It's very strange.

[ucrdem]

50. If dog forbid Bernie won the WH, here's how it would go down:

1) Something horrible happens in the ME on day one.
2) Bernie sends in the bombers.
3) And the special forces.
4) And the drones.
5) And the ground troops.

Four years later, he loses in a landslide and Jeb takes over. Repeat 1-5.

[cosmicone]

51. what?

No dancing like a chicken with its head cut off between steps 1 and 2 which makes the SOD and Joint chiefs to intervene?

[Proserpina]

91. Pardon my scoffing

[dorkzilla]

53. You act like that is a bad thing

Sounds great to me!

GO BERNIE!!!!

[ucrdem]

57. Remember when Shrub said no to the Clinton legacy?

It was a very bad thing.

[dorkzilla]

64. What?

Bernie said he wants a “political revolution” to undo the power structure controlled by “corporate America and the Koch brothers and the corporate media.” - and you show a graph showing, potentially, how the Clinton Administration’s NAFTA treaty had a disastrous effect on employment in the U.S.

I do see the slight uptick under Obama, but TPP will show that graph tumble off the cliff yet again.

Makes perfect sense.

[ucrdem]

68. You left out the eight years between Dem administrations. nt

[Empowerer]

96. Yes - I also remember the last time a Dem nominee said no to the incumbent Democratic president's

legacy.

It didn't work out so well ...

[Autumn]

100. What about a dem running away from Obama's legacy of peace and diplomacy?

Is that a good thing?

[uponit7771]

71. We'll see how that plays in SC, this should be Clinton's one and only commercial and people ...

... understand politics a lot more than they do reflexive haterade

[Gothmog]

62. Sanders is wondering why he is not appealing to African American voters

[uponit7771]

73. African American voters haven't heard this part of Sanders yet... I think Sanders should quit

... while he's ahead on this issue.

What was it a weak ago Sanders was saying how much he supported Obama etc...

I think they know its an issue now and is going to equivocate on this later on

[cantbeserious]

66. Excellent News - Go Bernie Go

eom

[cosmicone]

99. Remember this when someone accuses POC

of having Stockholm syndrome.

They seem to be far more astute in reading Bernie Sanders than the "OMG it is Bernie the Messiah" crowd.

[uponit7771]

67. I don't see Sanders being the leader he has called Obama to be. I think Sanders will face a huge...

... backlash if he ever got into office and wasn't a 200% difference from what Obama has done.

[jwirr]

74. Once again Bernie speaks clearly to the issues. Our party is

at a crossroad. Either we continue down the road toward corporatism and bills like TPP or we turn toward rebuilding our country so that all people can prosper.

As far as the ACA I think the passage of that program was just working toward a better system. The presidents legacy will be just like others who have moved this program along. And we still have a long way to go.

As to the 2008 Recession. He did work to stop it from becoming a Depression. But we are still setting on the edge of the cliff. There is nothing to keep it from happening again nor is there anything to keep us from having to bail out the too big to fail banks again.

I do not want Bernie to continue in his legacy. I want more.

[MisterP]

75. the legacy where he got everyone excited and then dumped them once he crossed the doorsill?

the legacy where he very carefully created a "veal pen" to pretend to listen to his backers' *urgent needs* while actually reducing everyone's contributions to
the legacy where he let the GOP run circles around the mooing dinosaur of a party that openly didn't care about winning as long as it could blame the electorate?
the legacy where he pranced around with the usual wars and offshoring, plus the ongoing mass incarceration, extortionate health and education?

[DisgustipatedinCA]

77. And that's why lots of us are voting for him. nt

[Fantastic Anarchist]

82. This is a GOOD thing.

[EdwardBernays]

83. Good

No one wants to say it but...

Hillarys Campaign manager who owns a lobbying firm with his brother, is one of the biggest corporate power brokers in Washington.

His lobbying firm represents things like military weapons manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and Saudi Arabia.

"Podesta previously served as Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton and Counselor to President Barack Obama.[3] He is the former president and now Chair and Counselor of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., and is also a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. He was a co-chairman of the Obama-Biden Transition Project."

CAP runs Think Progress. The head of Think Progress is also part of Hillary's campaign team.

Why are "super-lobbyists" in these positions of power in all of the Democrat administrations?

What does it mean to have someone that represents billions of dollars of weapons sales, brokers by the government, as the advisor to the President?



Honestly - America needs a huge course correction.

Bernie is the only hope for even a small change from the status quo.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

87. What is it with Hillary supporters acting like a move to the left is treason?

[cascadiance]

105. They must have been reading too many Texas schoolbooks, instead of real history books...

... to know what Democrats really used to stand for before the DLC infected it with its corporate cancer.

[Jack Rabbit]

88. And what is wrong with that?

Neoliberalism is an unsustainable set of policies where polluters can make an end run around a sovereign state's laws and get the taxpayers to fines for depriving the corporation of "expected" profits, where crooked can make the same end around a sovereign state's right to regulate that industry, the dismantling od such state regulations ushered in the meltdown of 2008. What did Obama do about that? He certainly did not get his Attorney General to prosecute Wall Street criminals like Legs Dimon and Pretty Boy Lloyd and they and the other Wall Street banks have done nothing to mend their way.

While President Obama has much to be proud of as president, such as the ACA and the Iran nuclear pact, his hands off approach to corporate wrongdoing and ever encouragement of future corporate dominance of power that corporate leaders have demonstrated again and again they have neither the wisdom nor discipline to use well, is not going to be looked upon kindly by history. His legacy, in fact, will be all the worse if neoliberalism is allowed to continue destroying middles classes and the environment.

I'll take the political revolution to put an end to these unsustainable and corrupt policies. It will be a lot better to elect a president who supports it rather than one who opposes it, but the political revolution will happen in any case.

[grasswire]

94. CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING nt

[Bleacher Creature]

114. This is Sanders in a nutshell (and why I prefer HRC).

Last edited Sun Jan 17, 2016, 09:02 AM - Edit history (1)

I know that he's using the word "revolution" as a figure of speech, but it perfectly exemplifies why he has absolutely no business running. The system was always designed to prevent anything even resembling a revolution, which is why it's so difficult and arcane to maneuver. President Obama fought the good fight on a number of issues and, in most cases, chose to walk away with something - even if it wasn't 100% of what he wanted - rather than nothing.

People like Sanders look at this progress as a failure, which is why he wants to tear it all down and start over. It's also why he encouraged a primary against the President in 2012.

President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and most loyal Democrats see the Obama legacy as huge step forward, albeit nowhere close to perfect. We see it as something to build on in the future, particularly when the next opportunity arises. It's not defeatism. It's just reality.

And someone who only became a Democrat six months ago simply doesn't get it.

[redstateblues]

116. K&R