Bernie slams Democrats' 'corporate wing' as it warms to Warren

[ehrnst]

Bernie Sanders on Wednesday lashed out at the “corporate wing of the Democratic Party,” seizing on a report that centrists in the party are coming around to Elizabeth Warren as a compromise nominee if the alternative is Sanders.

Link to tweet

“The cat is out of the bag. The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is publicly ‘anybody but Bernie,’” Sanders wrote on Twitter, sharing a POLITICO story headlined: “Warren emerges as potential compromise nominee.”

POLITICO’s report details how many moderate Democrats, united in their opposition to Sanders, are increasingly gravitating toward Warren as a more acceptable general election rival to President Donald Trump who could still harness the energy of the party’s progressive coalition.

Centrist think tank Third Way, which notably criticized Warren in a 2013 op-ed that highlighted intra-party divisions, has since praised parts of her candidacy and highlighted perhaps the most glaring distinction between Warren’s and Sanders’ campaigns.

“One is a Democratic capitalist narrative,” Matt Bennett, a co-founder of Third Way, told POLITICO. “The other is a socialist narrative."

Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir Wednesday at Third Way on Twitter, writing that the organization’s “approach antagonizes no one, stands up to nobody and changes nothing.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/19/sanders-warren-2020-election-1370530?fbclid=IwAR1uJqKfOHfcpALey6OhlgZgMJQszbyI-h48--pYzYoKpdnmO-irAhsGx_c

[redstatebluegirl]

1. Just go away Bernie.

[Thekaspervote]

84. Agree!! And the sooner the better

[Turbineguy]

2. Trump is

in with a good chance.

[ehrnst]

17. ??

Not sure what that means in relation to the OP.

[True Blue American]

3. Elizabeth Warren

Was the one who created the Consumer Agency that Trump has gutted!

[ehrnst]

12. Apparently supporting Elizabeth Warren is supporting "anybody" but Bernie

Last edited Wed Jun 19, 2019, 04:32 PM - Edit history (1)

That shows some real respect for her, doesn't it?

[True Blue American]

18. Yes,

What is wrong with Democrats jumping on each other?

BTW, I am being honest, I do not consider Bernie a true Democrat because he will denigrate them every chance he gets. Not my idea of a true Democrat.

If this is reported, so be it,I am not going to lie. He has bad mouthed Biden over and over, as he did Hillary in the last election. A very poor loser and user.

[brush]

60. Agreed. He can't help himself. He did this all during the last campaign.

[dem4decades]

62. If Bernie was a true Democrat he'd run as a Democrat for the Senate.

He chooses not to, so as a Democrat i don't feel he deserves the benefit of my support over true Democrats.

[trueblue2007]

97. I AGREE WITH YOU: BTW, I am being honest, I do not consider Bernie a true Democrat

HE ISN'T

[Me.]

56. Can I Get An Amen With That

[yardwork]

104. How dare we suggest that a woman can be president.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

4. Pity party?

The young Turks and pakman should have some interesting content in a few hours.

[Kahuna7]

28. Oh boy. The long knives are going to be out now. nt

[crazytown]

80. Ask and you will recieve

[we can do it]

5. So sick of NottaDem and his divisive BS

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Go away, Bernie, and stop pretending to be a Democrat

when all you do is bash the party because it hasn't adopted your peculiar ideology.

[Irishxs]

8. Agree, agree, agree!

[comradebillyboy]

73. 'Peculiar ideology', I like that phrasing.

[LibFarmer]

7. Bernie's scorched earth policy

Drive all the Democrats down so they cannot win the GE. Now he is maligning Senator Warren.

It has worked before so he keeps on repeating the strategy.

[True Blue American]

20. Really exposing what he really is.

[Kahuna7]

30. He's been getting dragged on twitter all day.

[True Blue American]

33. I wish I could

Say I am sorry, but, Nah!

[Kahuna7]

34. Even JD and Bernie surrogate Waleed Shahid (probably former surrogate) joined in the dragging...

Link to tweet

[ehrnst]

46. That's gotta smart. (nt)

[George II]

9. Isn't BS the one who bragged about being the first to sign the Unity Pledge and cajoled....

....the other candidates to sign it too?

Did he read it before he signed it?

[ehrnst]

36. Well, you know, this doesn't really count because REASONS!! (nt)

[comradebillyboy]

44. Surely you are not surprised. But it's telling that Warren is the

first to be directly attacked by Bernie himself.

[mcar]

53. What he really meant by signing the pledge is...

Waiting for that spin, George.

[yardwork]

105. Goes to the issue of trust, don't it.

[Bleacher Creature]

10. I guess "corporate wing" essentially equals anyone who doesn't support Bernie.

Fortunately, his declining poll numbers give me hope that he'll be no more than an afterthought soon enough.

[Blue_true]

87. Yes, the Senator and his followers use corporate very loosely.

Pretty much anyone who is even mildly out of step with them.

[JaneQPublic]

11. Bernie didn't mind corporations when he sold his book to one...

...and became part of the 1 percent.

All his paranoid talk about "the system is rigged against me!" sounds too much like Trump.

[Gothmog]

13. This will be fun to watch

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[ehrnst]

14. CFPB is such a corporation-friendly bureau isn't it?

And she actually got it into existence, unlike other career politicians who have been on the Hill much longer who talk about such things, but never seem to deliver.

[True Blue American]

39. 30 years

And now one of dem evil millionaires!

[ehrnst]

42. Due in part to Amazon and WalMart no less. (nt)

[sheshe2]

48. Yep...

Elizabeth Warren is not a corporate Democrat
Sen. Warren is anything but a corporate Democrat. She has been arguing for breaking up the big banks, eliminating student loan debt, and arguing against economic inequality for decades. It is laughable that the visionary behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could be called a corporate Democrat. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are fighting for the same voters in the Democratic primary, and Warren is winning.

These sort of attacks make Bernie Sanders sound desperate, as his second run for president is not turning out as he expected.

From one of Gothmog's links.

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/06/19/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren.html

[sheshe2]

49. Yep...

Elizabeth Warren is not a corporate Democrat
Sen. Warren is anything but a corporate Democrat. She has been arguing for breaking up the big banks, eliminating student loan debt, and arguing against economic inequality for decades. It is laughable that the visionary behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could be called a corporate Democrat. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are fighting for the same voters in the Democratic primary, and Warren is winning.

These sort of attacks make Bernie Sanders sound desperate, as his second run for president is not turning out as he expected.

From one of Gothmog's links.

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/06/19/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren.html

[NastyRiffraff]

15. We saw this coming, of course

It's absolutely no surprise that the first signer of the Unity oath would trash Elizabeth Warren, who, rightly or wrongly, is seen as the closest to Sanders ideologically. (I'm one who thinks that's wrong, actually. Elizabeth is a Democrat.) Bernie will trash anyone, regardless of ideology, whom he sees as a threat to his limitless ego and ambition.

[ehrnst]

16. +1000. (nt)

[sheshe2]

50. +1000

[revmclaren]

65. +1000.

ONLY!!! 2019 and beyond.

[R B Garr]

70. ++++++++a billion

Amen

[yardwork]

106. Also, Bernie seems to have a problem losing to women.

Sexism is a huge problem in this country.

[comradebillyboy]

108. I'm surprised more folks haven't noticed this.

[yardwork]

118. I'm not surprised, unfortunately.

Sexism is so deeply ingrained and pervasive in this country, even among many who consider themselves progressive.

[George II]

19. He just doubled down on this in a similar tweet. Why does he feel the need to ask that question?

Link to tweet

[True Blue American]

22. What does he think Elizabeth is?

What did Bernie ever do to break up banks in his 30 years in Congress?

Republicans refused to let her run her own Agency so she took them on, ran for Senate and became a thorn in their side!

[ehrnst]

26. She is someone who dares to think She is more qualified than He is to be POTUS

rather than fall in behind him.

If one thinks that anyone who disagrees with them in any way, on any issue is "corrupt," then one will say that about someone who they agree with 99% of the time.

That's what black/white, dualistic thinking gets one - alienating themselves from real allies who could help one make their ideas a reality.

It's just sad, because of all the wasted potential.

[True Blue American]

32. I love how

Bernie talks about Democrats stealing his ideas. Those have been Democratic values ever since I can remember, and trust me, that has been a good while, now!

[tishaLA]

52. "She is someone who dares to think"

....the rest of your post is right, but that's all that needs to be said.

[ehrnst]

54. +1000. (nt)

[George II]

29. The answer to the question:

"If we nominate a progressive who supports M4A, breaking up the big banks and taking on the billionaire class, whomever that is, will you support them against Trump?" is:

Yes, I will vote for Elizabeth Warren.

I'd like to ask him, if we nominate anyone but you, will your three top campaign staffers vote for that nominee or will they vote for Jill Stein like they did last time?

[NastyRiffraff]

117. Elizabeth has been fighting big banks since she's been in Congress

While Bernie was busy naming post offices.

[mcar]

59. I had noticed that only Sanders supporters asked that question

Now Bernie himself is doing it. I tend to think the question should be asked of him and some of his supporters.

[Cha]

93. What?!

[TreasonousBastard]

21. Warren is not simply an alternative to Bernie. She IS a "Bernie" who makes sense and can...

actually get things done. She is taking the best of Bernie's vague ideas, stripping the rhetoric out, and showing the way to get things done.

I have absolutely no idea how she would stand up to Trump's horseshit, or manage to get much of her agenda done, but I would love to see her give it a shot.

(Insert obligatory "I will vote for any Democrat" wording.)

[True Blue American]

23. I think Elizabeth would do quite well

Against the Trump Bs!

[ehrnst]

38. +1000. It is beyond the pale to suggest that she is a "corporatist" candidate. (nt)

[George II]

43. The majority of our candidates, maybe just about all of them, are not "corporatist" candidates.

I don't know much about the bottom half, but none of our top 10-12 are. To be honest, I don't even know what a "corporatist candidate is!

[emulatorloo]

77. Warren is tough and knows how to get under Trump's skin. She got him against the ropes

several times in 2016 as a surrogate for HRC.

[Blue_true]

88. She will kick Trump's ass in every debate. nt

[msongs]

24. bernie loves lockheed, a corporation. nt

[ehrnst]

35. Well, he's fond of that Lockheed Martin F-45 bomber contract, clearly

for someone who claims to be very "anti military industrial complex," at least when it's not pumping money into Vermont.

Basing strategic nuclear F-35s in Burlington raises three grave concerns. First, Vermont’s Air Guard could participate in, or initiate, a nuclear war if ordered to deploy by the president. Second, Vermont’s F-35s would become a target. Where the nuclear bombs are stored is immaterial because in strategic targeting, the delivery vehicle is the target. Bombs without aircraft pose no threat to the enemy.

https://vtdigger.org/2019/02/10/rosanne-greco-f-35-nuclear-weapon-mad/

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/12/why-bernie-sanders-is-backing-a-15-trillion-military-boondoggle.html

[George II]

45. And his constituent in his own home town are up in arms about it:

https://vtdigger.org/2019/06/05/joe-randazzo-f-35-even-worse-thought/

[Gothmog]

25. someone's extra grouchy today. Must be Warren passing him in the polls

Link to tweet

[empedocles]

27. We've seen this 'pattern' before - it usually gets worse and worse

[ehrnst]

31. And we know how it ends. (nt)

[George II]

37. One of the good things about this, to me at least, is that he's forgotten about Biden.

[ehrnst]

40. It will be interesting to see how he handles having more than one opponent.

Especially one that his fans stated that they would TOTALLY support if she ran for POTUS....

[True Blue American]

41. For now!:(

[mcar]

47. Warren is the "corporate wing" of the party?

[EveHammond13]

51. why is he always so angry and mean

[George II]

57. I think envy and regret are part of it - envy that our Democrats are getting more attention and...

....support, and regrets that he didn't join the Democratic Party decades ago.

[ehrnst]

61. I find it puzzling why so many think that he's some sort of zen master

When I can't imagine that he has meditated at any point in his life.

[True Blue American]

68. :)

[Cha]

119. omg..

smdh!

[True Blue American]

66. Because that is

What he is!

[betsuni]

55. What happened to "I welcome their hatred"?

"The cat is out of the bag" isn't very FDR.

[lapucelle]

85. ...

[betsuni]

92. Omygerd, a McDonald's bag. That cat is beholden to corporate interests.

ESTABLISHMENT.

[sheshe2]

58. Not a good look slamming the senior Senator from MA.

Massites like myself love Warren.

[True Blue American]

67. I am a Buckeye

And have admired Elizabeth ever since I first heard her. And dumping Playgirl Brown was a sight to see!

[sheshe2]

72. Playgirl Brown.

[True Blue American]

94. Didn't he pose for Playgirl?

I know he was a model.

[sheshe2]

100. Close.

It was 'Cosmo'. Cosmopolitan where he did his 'spread'.

[True Blue American]

102. :)

Wonder if Brown and Melania ever posed together?

[sheshe2]

103. Perhaps.

It is a small world after all.

[Cha]

63. BS and his "..corporate wing.." labels lol

Link to tweet

[nolabear]

64. Talk about divisive. How can he even pretend to be a Democrat?

Name calling within the party reeks of “My way or the highway” attempts to redefine a party he’s not even a part of. It’s a tad scorched earth.

[R B Garr]

69. Tone deaf again. Like I give a shit about the "billionaire" class...

Enough.

[Gothmog]

71. Sanders wants Democrats to think that Warren's gains are a function of moderates. They aren't

I am amused that sanders is so upset but sanders claim that moderate Democrats are the reason for Warren's rise is false. sanders is losing liberal members of the party https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/19/sanders-wants-democrats-think-that-warrens-gains-are-function-moderates-they-arent/?utm_term=.d25c4a40d7a0

Shortly before that poll came out, Sanders’s campaign lifted up a report from Politico that seemed as though it might help explain Warren’s improved position: She was gaining support from what Sanders called “the corporate wing” of the Democratic Party. Which is to say the party’s more moderate, less progressive arm, the segment of the party that, in Sanders’s framing, will pull out all the stops to curtail his economic revolution.....

It doesn’t take much reading between the lines here to understand Sanders’s argument: Centrists are circling around Warren (per Politico) because they are afraid of legitimate progressive positions like his own.

Setting aside the question of how robustly Sanders’s big-ticket policies differ from Warren’s, there’s another, bigger problem with that argument: It’s not what polls show is happening.

Link to tweet

?
And so it does. In Monmouth’s polls over the past few months, Warren’s surge has been a function of voters who identify as liberals. In April, she earned 8 percent of the vote among those who identify as liberal. In the new poll, she moved into a tie with former vice president Joe Biden.

Biden’s in the overall lead in national primary polling because he fares much better than Warren, Sanders or anyone else among more moderate Democrats. In the most recent poll, Biden gets 40 percent of the moderate vote to Sanders’s 10 percent and Warren’s 6.

[ehrnst]

75. Thank you, Goth!

Now an OP:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287156682

[Gothmog]

90. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

91. Here is some more

Link to tweet

[True Blue American]

95. I am a very Moderate

Democrat who has little use for the extreme right or left. And I would bet there are more of me than the others. Extremism in any form is not my bag.

[ecstatic]

74. Lol! That doesn't make sense. EW has

similar positions with realistic implementation ideas. Bernie doesn't know how to realistically execute his own ideas. That is why people who would never consider Bernie have flocked to EW.

[Blue_true]

89. Plus, she scares the shit out of corporatists.

They would rather hug an angry, hungry grizzly bear than her.

[True Blue American]

96. He can not even answer the questions.

How can he describe his policies? Elizabeth can answer and explain in detail.

[fleabiscuit]

76. I don't think that's going to help him climb up out of his current 5th place standing. nt

[Tiggeroshii]

78. Wonderful!

Eventually third way will have to concede that their ideal politics is not much cared for by the vast majority.

[ehrnst]

79. But he's absolutely wrong. Her base is liberals, not centrists.

Sanders wants Democrats to think that Warren's gains are a function of moderates. They aren't.

In Monmouth’s April poll, Warren was running fifth, with 6 percent of poll respondents identifying her as their preferred candidate. In the new poll, she and Sanders are essentially tied.

Shortly before that poll came out, Sanders’s campaign lifted up a report from Politico that seemed as though it might help explain Warren’s improved position: She was gaining support from what Sanders called “the corporate wing” of the Democratic Party. Which is to say the party’s more moderate, less progressive arm, the segment of the party that, in Sanders’s framing, will pull out all the stops to curtail his economic revolution.



It doesn’t take much reading between the lines here to understand Sanders’s argument: Centrists are circling around Warren (per Politico) because they are afraid of legitimate progressive positions like his own.

Patrick Murray, who runs the Monmouth University Polling Institute, noted on Twitter that the Politico article relied on the opinions of a few people in determining that more-moderate Democrats were lining up behind Warren. One, for example, was the co-founder of a centrist think tank that, Politico’s Natasha Korecki and Charlie Mahtesian write, “is learning to live with Warren.”

Murray noted that Monmouth’s polling paints a different picture than Politico’s interviews would suggest.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/19/sanders-wants-democrats-think-that-warrens-gains-are-function-moderates-they-arent/?utm_term=.15c7825c7015

[Tiggeroshii]

81. I dont see him saying what you are saying he is saying

He said they are publicly anybody but bernie which is true. There is nothing about moderates fueling Warrens rise in that tweet. Just that he scares corporatists so much they are considering somebody they fear only slightly less than him : Warren. In fact none of their support has in any way benefitted Warren and Bernie doesnt seem to have implied as much.

[ehrnst]

99. His tweet calls her supporters in the Democratic party "The Corporate Wing"

Which, I suppose, makes him look like he isn't losing liberal Democrats to her.... only the impure, "corporatist" Democrats - which seems to mean those that disagree with him.

You seem to be missing the link he included as "proof" of that in his tweet, an article titled:

Centrists are coming around to Elizabeth Warren as an alternative to Bernie Sanders

Sanders followed up by saying that he was “committed to supporting the nominee” before launching into another attack on Third Way. To some, however, the backtrack rang hollow. “This would make sense as an explanation if the piece were about Third Way Democrats saying they want ‘anybody but Bernie.’ But the piece is actually about various establishment Democrats saying they really like Elizabeth Warren,” noted Pod Save America host Jon Favreau.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/06/bernie-sanders-third-way-elizabeth-warren

Others have called him out on this mischaracterization:

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[SidDithers]

82. LOL. OK...nt

Sid

[NYC Democrat]

83. This guy has literally no idea how to coalition build.

Hey genius, you and Warren are running in the same "Lane" so to speak. attacking her as some evil neoliberal shill isn't exactly gonna plug that leak of supporters from you to her.

[betsuni]

86. Barney Frank:

"Bernie alienates his natural allies. He is completely ineffective as a lobbyist because he offends just about everyone. His holier-than-thou attitude -- saying in a very loud voice he is smarter than everyone else and purer that everyone else -- really undercuts his effectiveness. To him, anybody who disagrees with him is a crook; there are no honest disagreements with people. Bernie's view of the world is that the great majority of the people agree with him on all the issues and the only reason he does not win is that the Congress is crooked."

[True Blue American]

98. Thank you, Barney!

[ehrnst]

112. And as Sanders supporters like to say: He doesn't change. Ever. (nt)

[SunSeeker]

107. Bernie's strategy is not working. Time to fire the campaign manager. nt

[ehrnst]

111. But that would be admitting that he made a mistake.

And that is inconceivable!

[kcr]

109. Knew this was coming

Surprised it took this long.

[honest.abe]

110. Bernie is going for broke with that statement.

and I guarantee he will go broke.

[Gothmog]

113. From Nate Silver-Warren is hurting sanders

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

114. From Nate Silver-Warren is hurting sanders

Link to tweet

[ehrnst]

115. That certainly puts Bernie in an awkward position.

He has always accused anyone who is running against him of being "more corporate" or "more corrupt" than he is, and it's going to be very, very difficult for him to accuse Warren.

So he tries instead to go appear to go after the "corrupt corporate wing of the party" for "promoting her" rather than him, but it's still a backhanded insult to Warren.

He can't say that tweet wasn't trying to equate Warren with the "Corporate wing of the party" whose mechanations are apparently are the only preventing him from being #1 in polls, and not Warren's actual appeal to liberals.... as the data show.

And the twitter response from his followers has been to bash Warren as a "Third Way darling" so he certainly had the effect of making her the bad guy.

He missed and it hit him in the foot, although I don't think he would ever conceive of the possibility of any decision he makes being a bad one.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

116. Say what?