Bernie Sanders a regular at luxurious DSCC fundraising retreats --the "Establishment" [View all]

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Sanders is just a typical politician--part of the Establishment.

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Bernie Sanders a regular at luxurious DSCC fundraising retreats http://on.msnbc.com/1XgMKDq




Bernie Sanders a regular at luxurious DSCC fundraising retreats
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/bernie-sanders-regular-luxurious-dscc-fundraising-retreats

02/09/16 04:10 PM—Updated 02/09/16 04:20 PM
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By Alex Seitz-Wald

During his 10 years on the Senate, Bernie Sanders has been a regular presence at luxurious Democratic fundraising retreats, according to more than a half-dozen lobbyists, donors and former Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staff members with whom he attended the events. Sanders most recently appeared at one last July, shortly after he announced his presidential run.

Sanders’ connection to the DSCC has become a issue in his heated primary contest with front-runner Hillary Clinton, who has struggled to explain her close ties to Wall Street and the large speaking fees she’s been paid by Goldman Sachs and other banks. Sanders has made Clinton’s relationships with the financial industry a key point of contrast on the campaign trail.

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Clinton has tried to push back, accusing Sanders of both failing to help fellow Democrats and of failing to meet the high-bar he set for himself on being independent of special interests.

The Sanders campaign is all about smashing the alleged stranglehold corporate power has on politics, and the candidate himself frequently touts that his insurgent run is funded by small donations, not wealthy people or outside groups.

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Still, the party committee would wither without its largest donors, including industry lobbyists and wealthy individuals, who are feted at semi-annual DSCC retreats on Martha’s Vineyard and in Palm Beach, Florida, which always feature a large group of Democratic senators who are brought to schmooze with donors. Sanders has been one of the more frequent attendees since entering the Senate in 2007, including two last year, once before and once after he declared his run.

The private events attract around 150 to 200 guests, according to a former DSCC staff member, about half of whom are lobbyists and half are large individual donors. To attend, guests had to donate the federal maximum (currently $33,400 a year) to the DSCC, or raise $100,000.....................