Let me see if I understand: I knew that Sanders wished for Obama to be primary challenged

[question everything]

in 2012. Did he want to challenge him himself, or just wished for "someone" to do so?

[NurseJackie]

1. Right at the height of the racist attacks on Obama...

... he pulls this shit? Disgusting.

[democrattotheend]

18. When did Bernie say anything racist about Obama?

All I have seen is him saying that a primary challenge would help hold Obama accountable on his progressive promises. Which Obama himself told progressive activists to do when he was running in 2008.

[NurseJackie]

22. I never said that he did, and you know that perfectly well.

Here's what I actually said: "Right at the height of the racist attacks on Obama he pulls this shit? Disgusting."

All I have seen is him saying that a primary challenge would help hold Obama accountable on his progressive promises. Which Obama himself told progressive activists to do when he was running in 2008.

Oh, bullshit! It was calculated and cynical. He was trying to HARM OBAMA and you know it.

He was simply PILING ON at a time when the RACIST ATTACKS on Obama were coming in hot and heavy. He was trying to CRIPPLE and HUMILIATE Obama. He was trying LOWER OBAMA'S STATURE. He was trying to DIMINISH HIM. He was trying to shit all over Obama's ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

I know exactly what his motivation was. It was disgusting. What a low thing to do.

[democrattotheend]

23. Okay sorry, I misunderstood your post

But I strongly disagree with you about his motive. Remember, Bernie didn't want to run for president then. He didn't even really want to run in 2016 - he wanted Elizabeth Warren to run so there would be someone to challenge Hillary from the left and present the more progressive viewpoint. I don't think he ever really had serious presidential ambitions until after he started running in 2016 and saw how big his crowds were and how much support he was getting. TBH, I think the fame and power went to his head a little at that point, and that's part of why I'm not supporting him in the primaries now. But back in 2012, he was more about the issues than his own ambitions.

Also, as disgusted as I was by the racist attacks on Obama, that doesn't mean he was above legitimate criticism of his policies. He told progressives in 2008 to hold him accountable, and Bernie was doing just that. If Bernie had run in the primaries against Obama I wouldn't have supported him, but I think it's ridiculous that people are so offended by the fact that Bernie even brought up the prospect of a primary challenge.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. Sanders was strongly considering it but was eventually talked out of it by Reid.

Likely Reid threatened to take away key committee positions if he ran.

[question everything]

3. Thank you. Once upon a time we had a real statesman at the helm of the Senate

[Eric J in MN]

4. That's what Edward Isaac Dovere wrote

...but Harry Reid implied the story was false. Reid said that Bernie Sanders was running for re-election in 2012 and only a fool would primary Obama at the same time and Sanders is no fool.

[uponit7771]

6. +1

[MisterFred]

9. Not according to Harry Reid, who said that story was false. nt

[redqueen]

19. Truth sacrificed in the effort to stop Sanders. Right wing talking points abound as well.

You hate to see it.

[MisterFred]

24. Okay. Well, sure. You believe Harry Reid lied.

I don't. I think Reid told the truth.

[redqueen]

25. I also believe Reid.

Not sure where the misunderstanding is from but yeah, I believe him.

[MisterFred]

26. Uh... there was a specific rumor.

That rumor was that Reid had heard/listened to Sanders discussing a potential primary run against Obama in 2012. A claim that a source had personal knowledge of this was the basis for news articles claiming that Sanders planned to run against Obama in 2012 - articles that have recently been used to portray Sanders as anti-Obama by the Biden campaign. Back in 2012 Reid flat-out denied any of this happened, saying it's not true.

It's really one or the other. Either Reid was lying & Sanders did talk to him about running (in which case the news articles about Sanders considering a 2012 primary run are based on a truthful source) or Reid was telling the truth and Sanders never said any such thing around him (in which case the news articles about considering a run against Obama in 2020 are based on lies).

[Eric J in MN]

5. Bernie Sanders just said

...he never considered running for president in 2012.

He was focused on his Senate race.

He first considered running for president in 2015.

(CNN Town Hall with Chris Cuomo.)

[thesquanderer]

7. Most reports were that he was thinking that it might be good for "someone" to do it.

This new article in The Atlantic is the first report that he considered it himself, but does not appear to have been confirmed. So... maybe...?

[MisterFred]

8. Just someone. I remember this story hitting the news in 2012.

The sentiment was that Obama wasn't governing as a moderate & a primary challenge might push him to govern in a more liberal way. Sanders himself was running for Senate - and neither he nor anyone else had any thought of a *serious* challenge to Obama.

[thesquanderer]

10. You can see it in Sander's own words in the video posted here...

see Post #20 of a related thread.

[Nanjeanne]

11. No. He was very concerned about the possibility of cutting SS and Medicare because

Pres. Obama had talked about revisiting the Simpson Bowles commission with Republican members of Congress to try for a bipartisan bill during debt crisis. Obama toyed with the idea of raising the retirement age as well as cuts to Medicare. Sanders stood up very strongly against that. And he hoped to thwart that happening by bringing up the idea of someone challenging Obama from the left so he would stick to the usual Democrat position of not cutting those programs.

[question everything]

12. Thanks. But we do know of at least one instance when he actively

campaigned against a Democratic candidate (a woman) for Vt. Governor.

[Nanjeanne]

16. That's possible. He may have. I'd have to research it as I don't really know about it.

[question everything]

17. Kunin: When Bernie Sanders ran against me in Vermont

https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/05/kunin-when-bernie-sanders-ran-against-me/79906222/

Madeleine Kunin remembers the time she ran against Bernie Sanders for governor of Vermont. In 1986, Kunin was running for her second term and Sanders entered the race as a third-party candidate.

Kunin's remembrance about the campaign, Sanders and what it all has to do with Hillary Clinton appear in an op-ed, When Bernie Sanders ran against me in Vermont, published Friday by The Boston Globe. (cannot be accessed now - qe)

Kunin writes, "When Sanders was my opponent he focused like a laser beam on 'class analysis,' in which 'women’s issues' were essentially a distraction from more important issues. He urged voters not to vote for me just because I was a woman. That would be a 'sexist position,' he declared."

The former Vermont governor, part of the state's leadership team for Clinton, very much believes gender matters.

"What’s the difference?" Kunin writes. "The difference is how do they rank on the agenda. Is equal pay near the bottom of the list, or is it a priority? Is defense of Planned Parenthood an issue that saves women’s lives, or is it only another institution among many? Placement on a competitive agenda is vital to achieve results."

Here's Kunin's point: "... the world as seen through the eyes of a woman will not result in revolution, but it will mark a change towards greater gender equality. Visualizing Hillary raising her right hand to take the oath of office, and Bill holding the Bible, will tell every little girl and boy, that, yes, women can achieve anything."

Also

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12511158039

Where the full story from the Boston Globe

[Nanjeanne]

29. What I do know is he actively campaigned for Obama in 2012.

There's even video of it!!!

[democrattotheend]

20. Why does it matter that she was a woman?

Also, this was back in 1986 when Bernie was a true third-party candidate who would run against Democrats and Republicans. In fact, I believe he had Democratic opponents the first few times he ran for re-election to the House. I could be wrong about that though.

[democrattotheend]

21. And there were at least 3 instances when Democrats ran against Bernie when he was an incumbent

In 1992, 1996, and 2000, Bernie had a Democrat challenge him in the general election for his House seat and had to win against both a Democrat and Republican.

He was a true independent for a while until the Democrats realized it was better to keep other Dems from running against him and risking splitting the vote and electing a Republican.

[Evergreen Emerald]

13. It doesn't matter....the goal was/is division

[Cha]

14. Exactly.

[Eric J in MN]

15. The goal was to prevent President Obama from cutting Social Security. NT

NT

[Blue_Tires]

27. He just wished for *anybody* to step forward

Even Sanders wasn't dumb enough to directly challenge Obama when he had a 60% approval rating...

Take a look at the DU threads in the archives... You'll find them interesting to say the least.

[corbettkroehler]

28. Time Index 1:35