Bernie criticizes opponents based on the issues. Their response is to assassinate his character.

[HerbChestnut]

Seems fair.

[comradebillyboy]

2. I watched a Bernie rally where one of his surrogates called his opponent

a corporate whore as Bernie looked on and smiled.

[RandySF]

4. Yep, NYC.

[ehrnst]

6. Yes, there's that. (nt)

[George II]

3. Yes, but he's got an inner circle to do all the rest. Check out these twitter accounts:

https://twitter.com/davidsirota @davidsirota

https://twitter.com/ninaturner @ninaturner

https://twitter.com/briebriejoy @briebriejoy

Just 28 minutes ago, again with that extremely truncated video:

Link to tweet

[ehrnst]

9. Indeed. Having one's surrogates do the attacking while the candidate hangs behind

and sees which way the wind blows before saying anything is a very status quo way of campaigning.

Link to tweet

Bernie Sanders Just Hired His Twitter Attack Dog
David Sirota had been working unofficially for Sanders while savaging the other Democratic candidates on Twitter.

[TidalWave46]

5. Comparing your opponents proposal to the 9-11 terrorist attack is not policy based.

Spreading doctored videos about your opponent is not policy based.

Calling others "elite" is not based on policy.

Sanders called Clinton "unqualified."

He said that Clinton wanted to bring "oligarchy" to the US.

Sanders went after the Clinton Foundations charitable donations.

Those who support Sanders the most seem to know him the least.

To be fair to your point, character is extremely important when it comes to picking the President. Character is the main reason Sanders is last on my primary list. I think this is the first time I have seen someone try to avoid looking at the character of their candidate.

[George II]

14. That was David Sirota's handiwork.

[George II]

40. Yeah, the Clinton Foundation has paid out close to $2 BILLION to good causes around the world....

...over more than 20 years, and NONE of the Clintons (Bill, Hillary, Chelsea) have been paid a penny in salary.

The Sanders Institute, on the other hand, paid out only a few hundred thousand dollars, more than 20% of that to Jane's son, and was shut down in barely a year.

Sure Bernie, go after the Clinton Foundation donations.

[SidDithers]

7. Sure. Go with that...nt

Sid

[beastie boy]

8. Let me venture a wild guess about your definitions:

Calling Warren a capitalist is based on issues, and calling Bernie a socialist is character assassination.

Did I get it right?

[George II]

10. Three hours ago:

Link to tweet

A bit about Saagar Enjeti, on whom David Sirota relies on for his smears:

Saagar Enjeti is co-host of the Hill.TV news show Rising with the Hill's Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti. He is also a media fellow at the Hudson Institute* where he co-hosts The Realignment Podcast. Saagar has appeared on C-SPAN and as a panelist on Fox News. He previously worked as White House correspondent for The Daily Caller and reported from the Pentagon as foreign affairs correspondent for The Daily Caller News Foundation.

*The Hudson Institute is a politically conservative, 501(c)(3) non-profit American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. Can you make that an OP?

[George II]

20. You can copy and paste it and make the OP, okay?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. Pretty please?

[ehrnst]

11. You mean like this?

Bernie Sanders Just Hired His Twitter Attack Dog
David Sirota had been working unofficially for Sanders while savaging the other Democratic candidates on Twitter.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/sanders-promised-civility-hired-twitter-attack-dog/585259/

[Squinch]

12. '

[Scurrilous]

13. Sure....

Turner:

"Will our community side with former Vice President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly betrayed black voters to side with Republican lawmakers and undermine our progress?” Turner wrote in a published op-ed in South Carolina’s The State newspaper."

Volunteer script:

"The script instructs Sanders volunteers to tell voters leaning toward the Massachusetts senator that the ‘people who support her are highly-educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic no matter what’ and that ‘she's bringing no new bases into the Democratic Party,’” Politico writes."

I see no issues discussed...only smears.

<snip>

"If this all sounds familiar, it’s similar to what we saw in 2016.

Sanders, his supporters and his surrogates — like Weaver and Turner — go on the attack; Sanders downplays or dismisses the attacks; and the party becomes more divided.

And the memories of 2016 remain Sanders’ top challenge in winning the Dem nomination and uniting the party in 2020.

“Doesn’t surprise me about Bernie,” Iowa state Sen. Claire Celsi, a top Warren supporter, told the New York Times. “He went straight to the gutter with Hillary. More of the same.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/bernie-sanders-goes-attack-reviving-memories-2016-n1114341

[Sloumeau]

15. Bernie may be clean, but as for his surrogates...

that may be a different matter.

[Cha]

17. uh.. BS hired them.. he knows what they're doing.

[Midnight Writer]

16. Bernie needs to prioritize his "opponents".

If nominated, he will need the support of these "corporate Democrats".

If elected, he will not get change by haranguing the people he needs to make change.

[ritapria]

18. Elizabeth Warren's accusations that

Bernie sent out his supporters in Iowa to trash her campaign is patently untrue ………….She knows Bernie didn't produce some damned document and order his volunteers in Iowa to distribute it's talking points ..That is a silly proposition and she knows it ...Then to exploit this non-scandal for fundraising purposes.. Very Sad.. ..BTW , there was nothing in that document that was not true ..

[Cha]

21. Oh I believe EW over BS.

[booley]

23. Is what you believe in line with the facts?

Personally I can see Warren hearing this for the reporter for the first time and reacting out of anger. I like warren but she is easy to goad into reacting.

It was POlitico trying to stir up crap between Warren and Sanders. Not the first time btw.

[Demsrule86]

32. That is truly a shitty thing to say about Warren...and I am not even a supporter. I don't think it

is true either.

[TwilightZone]

39. "easy to goad into reacting"

Posts like this are why Sanders' supporters have gotten the reputation they have, warranted or not.

[booley]

22. I am forced to agree

I don't think everyone does that.
And for the record, I think Warren responded more out of anger. She didn't' know that attack on her was based on lie.


But when it comes to Sanders there is a clear Double standard

Raising the most money is great! Until Sanders raises the most.
Popular policies is great! Until more people like Sander's policies
Getting nonvoters t vote is great! Unless Sanders does it.
Having inroads to red-state voters is great! Until its Sanders
Being ahead in the polls is important. Oh it' s Sanders so the polls must be wrong.


And then there are the attacks that frankly are just Rovian. You all remember where Karl Rove attacked an opponent on his strengths?

So Sanders has a perfect score with NARAL and Planned Parenthood, He has the numerous women in high positions in his campaign structure.

So say Sanders hates women.

Sanders has long history of fighting for civil rights.

So say dredge up an old article saying Sander's is unpopular with black voters

Sanders's platform is that the rich have too much power in politics.

HEy, isn't' Sanders worth 2 million dollars now?

Frankly, it's exasperating. It's like watching a drowning man curse a life boat that is floating by.

[Demsrule86]

30. Sanders is unpopular with AA voters in general...and he is worth millions now? How is that a

criticism

[Demsrule86]

41. It wasn't based on a lie. It was there in black and white.

[TwilightZone]

24. I think you have that backwards.

Sirota is usually the one assassinating characters.

[OnDoutside]

26. Lolz.

[stonecutter357]

27. lol Bernie is not a victim !

[Demsrule86]

28. Yeah right...he uses lies and innuendo...doctored videos...oh wait that is his campaign...with 500

of them...he can't keep and eye on all of them...after all. Seems fair. I was unaware that calling someone elite was an issues kind of criticism.

[George II]

35. There are only 3 or 4 of them, his inner circle, who are doing all of the trashing....

I seriously doubt that he doesn't know exactly what they're doing. He's known as an ultra micro-manager.

[Scotch-Irish]

29. So much Bernie bashing going on on DU these days that I'm tempted to switch from Warren to Sanders.

It tells me he's really got the powers that be running scared.

[Cha]

37. Do it.. I'm sure EW won't mind..

Link to tweet

Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in private 2018 meeting that a woman can't win, sources say

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287420188

[TwilightZone]

38. If you base your decisions on random internet posters...

you might want to rethink your priorities.

[mathematic]

31. Maybe he should release the transcripts of his staff meetings

I'm not saying he ordered his staff to assassinate anybody's character but you have to wonder why he won't release the transcripts of these meetings.

[getagrip_already]

33. this race is about character...

either you have it or you don't.

You prove that by your tactics and methods. It's proven.

[whistler162]

34. Well that is new.....

might be better than the blind flailing attacks he has been trying.

[msongs]

36. IMO his "character" is the problem, not most of his policies nt