Sanders apologizes to Biden for surrogate's op-ed alleging he has a "big corruption problem" [View all]

[highplainsdem]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-apologizes-to-joe-biden-for-surrogates-op-ed-alleging-he-has-a-big-corruption-problem-today-2020-01-20/

Des Moines, Iowa — Senator Bernie Sanders apologized to former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday for an op-ed written by one of his campaign surrogates that claimed Biden has a "big corruption problem."

"It is absolutely not my view that Joe is corrupt in any way. And I'm sorry that that op-ed appeared," Sanders told CBS News.

The op-ed, published in The Guardian by law professor Zephyr Teachout, claims Biden "has perfected the art of taking big contributions, then representing his corporate donors at the cost of middle- and working-class Americans."

"Converting campaign contributions into legislative favors and policy positions isn't being 'moderate,'" Teachout wrote. "It is the kind of transactional politics Americans have come to loathe."

While Teachout does not officially work on the Sanders campaign, she stumps for him, and has introduced and endorsed him.

-snip-

Sanders has also recently been fighting with rival Elizabeth Warren, after she alleged that Sanders told her a woman couldn't win the presidency. Sanders supporters, who have a fervent Twitter presence, helped to make #RefundWarren and #BidenSocialSecurityCuts some of the top trending topics in the country this past week.

CBS News asked Sanders if he approved of his supporters aggressively attacking his opponents online.

"No, I really don't," he said. "If anyone knows me, what I believe is we need a serious debate in this country on issues. We don't need to demonize people who may disagree with us."

"I appeal to my supporters: Please, engage in civil discourse," he added. "And by the way, we're not the only campaign that does it. Other people act that way as well. I would appeal to everybody: Have a debate on the issues. We can disagree with each other without being disagreeable, without being hateful. That is not what American politics should be about."

Teachout might not work for the Sanders campaign, but David Sirota and Briahna Joy Gray, who were tweeting that smear of hers against Biden, DO...and this is typical for them.

Sanders can pretend all he wants that he appeals to his supporters to "please engage in civil discourse." But he's hired some of the nastiest people around, and he's known exactly what they're doing.

And it's BS to claim that "Other people act that way as welll."