Here's Bernie's full quote on Hillary not being qualified-not as simplistic as we're told

[azurnoir]

[bettyellen]

1. so basically, he is the only qualified person on the planet. because fundraising.

he just marginalizes himself with this shit.

[jfern]

2. He mentioned several reasons

[ThePhilosopher04]

6. I'm sure there are others on the planet who are equally as qualified as Bernie

but none who are currently running for President of the United States. He's uniquely qualified in that he has no taint and the only candidate running a campaign for the people. The other candidates are on the take.

[bettyellen]

10. According to him, everyone running for congress this November is "on the take" with that

dirty money too. By his own standards, no one is pure enough.

[ThePhilosopher04]

15. And he's right about that. If you want clean hands, don't take the money.

it's that simple.

[bettyellen]

22. So we need to also replace everyone in congress too. Everyone.

[thesquanderer]

25. In the quote, he's only talking about the ones with super PACs.

I don't know how many people in congress that applies to.

He also says that it makes you unqualified to be president. I guess, by extension, you could say he thinks it makes you unqualified to serve in congress as well, though he didn't say that.

But if you believe that super PACS are a source of corruption, replacing everyone who has a super PAC is not the only solution. You could also attack the problem from the other end by getting Citizens United overturned.

Regardless of any of that, I think most people can recognize campaign rhetoric when they hear it. He's making a rhetorical point about the two canidates' relative qualifications. If you compare the resumes, and look at what the Clinton team is saying about his qualifications (Is he really a democrat? Were his Daily News answers complete enough?), he wants you look at questions about her as well (Isn't she cozy with Wall Street? Didn't she vote for the Iraq war? Didn't she support bad trade deals?), and think about which set of "qualifying" questions is more telling.

[bettyellen]

29. Well the DNC will be spreading around all that "dirty money"

To candidates who need it most nation wide.
So are they all tainted? Probably if they ever disagree with him- hints and allegations will arise I'm sure. How will anyone trust him after he's called out groups like Planned Parenthood?
There's an element of be for him or be dragged through the mud going on.

[thesquanderer]

31. He's not running against Dems in congress, he's running against Hillary.

If by some chance Bernie gets the nomination, I would expect two things to happen: the party to rally around him as their nominee AND the nominee to support the candidates down ticket.

What's going on right now is the typical campaign rhetoric between two candidates--actually milder than most!--and will all be forgotten come the general.

Oh, and he has no beef with Planned Parenthood itself. However, they have a separate political arm, which is indeed part of the political establishment, as any lobbying group is, and they have endorsed Hillary. Personally, since BOTH candidates are GREAT for PP, I think they should have kept their powder dry and saved their efforts for the general, but so be it.

[bettyellen]

32. He has basically harshly judged everyone who participates in the current system,

like it or not. Planned Parenthood endorsed Hillary because she went way beyond cosigning bills and saying the right thing a few time, she has accomplished much by actually putting herself on the line again and again. Having an established working relationship with PP is maligned as cronyism, and that is foolish and bitter.

[thesquanderer]

33. It's not a "working relationship", it's a PAC.

"Planned Parenthood Action Fund Political Action Committee"

https://plannedparenthoodaction.org/about-us

[bettyellen]

34. It is one of the best PACs out there. I can't easily stamp the words "evil establishment" on

people who I know to have been fighting the good fight for me al these years. That is where I part company with Bernie.
I think you can hate the system without trying to vilify everyone who has participated in it for the last fifty years.

[thesquanderer]

35. He did not vilify them. But he did call their PAC part of the establishment.

Last edited Thu Apr 7, 2016, 04:07 PM - Edit history (1)

It's not an insult to PP. It's simply a fact. Their political arm, their lobbying group, which is what endorsed Hillary, is part of the political establishment. And so, maybe not so surprising that they endorsed the establishment candidate. I'd say that's not even vilification of the PAC, much less of PP itself.

[bettyellen]

38. He outright dismissed them as being cronies. That kind of bitterness and dishonesty does not

impress me. He should have bit his lip and resisted the urge. He has not ever done any heavy lifting for PP, he doesn't get the endorsement. God forbid anyone be honest about Hillary's excellent record instead of chalking it up to "establishment" cronyism.

[thesquanderer]

40. re: "He outright dismissed them as being cronies."

I had never heard that, and a quick google search of [sanders planned parenthood crony] isn't turning up any such quotes. Might you have a link?

[bettyellen]

41. That's exactly what he means by "establishment". Instead of recognizing that they are a great

organization who has done great work, he dismisses their endorsement as unimportant. Because relationships. That they were based on hard work and accomplishments doesn't seem to matter at all. Well, it does to lots of us.

[thesquanderer]

42. You are putting a lot of words into his mouth.

So he didn't say "crony" -- rather, you say that's what he meant.

Similarly "he dismisses their endorsement as unimportant" -- I'm guessing you don't have a link for that one either?

Here is what he said when Maddow asked him about it:

“I would love to have the endorsement of every progressive organization,” Sanders said, pointing to the endorsements he has received. “I have friends and supporters in the human rights fund and Planned Parenthood. But you know what? Hillary Clinton has been around for a very, very long time. Some of these groups are, in fact, part of the establishment,” Sanders said.

Saying he'd love to have their endorsements doesn't sounds like he is dismissing the endorsements as unimportant. He is simply pointing out why Hillary may have an easier time getting them.

[bettyellen]

43. Because "establishment". Dismissed her hard work as being "around". God forbid he acknowledge

that good working relationships can be a great thing.

[Betty Karlson]

17. Yes indeed!

[GreatGazoo]

21. no he is talking about conflict of interest

If you have made $153 million off of Wall Street then you aren't qualified to be objective about how to avoid another 2007/08 crash. Simple.

[bjo59]

3. All the negative talking points about Bernie over the last day or so have been simplistic versions.

Downright dishonest versions of what he actually said, in fact. That's the horror of the widely-watched/read corporate media: they can cherry pick what to throw out there - decontextualized, simplified, dishonest - and then bank on the fact that it will be spread far and wide. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. Manipulating perception is the name of the game. Grotesque.

[Matt_in_STL]

23. Simplistic people need simplistic versions

That is a group that lacks the basic understanding of nuance or, in many cases, politics in general. I am not sure many of them are qualified to be voters.

[bigbrother05]

26. Guess he should get Jeff Foxworthy (perfect name btw) to rework his lines

"If you do ...X..., you just might be unqualified!" Maybe that would work better with the bumper sticker crowd and Faux News followers.

[Matt_in_STL]

27. That's exactly the way they need to be spoonfed their information

Except they need it to be tied into somehow making it sexist or racist even though there isn't a hint of it.

[Dem2]

36. Many people here (including myself) are enamored with both candidates

Are these people "qualified" to be voters?

[AgingAmerican]

4. They overreact to everything

Hillary is running a 'Hair on fire!!' campaign.

[MattP]

5. He's fundraising off a false quote, not cool

[ThePhilosopher04]

7. No he's not

Hillary campaign opened the door.

[MattP]

8. he sent out a fundraising email saying she said he was unqualified which is a bald faced lie

[azurnoir]

9. did he now? let's see it

[ThePhilosopher04]

16. She did say it through her campaign. #Truth

[Nyan]

11. Of course it's not. It's how they spin his remarks.

It's just a story when Clinton says he's unqualified, but if he responds to it, it creates a "shock-wave."

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

12. Noticed Rachel wasn't interested in the reasons, just starting a shit show

[840high]

13. I don't watch.

[ThePhilosopher04]

18. Rachel is out to lunch. I no longer watch her show.

[grasswire]

20. Don Lemon, too.

Played just that first fragment, and then went off on a tear.

[Kalidurga]

14. Personally I like the way Camp Weather-Vane is characterizing the attack.

When they are blatantly lying like this and the full quote is readily available like the part about the Panama Papers it makes them look very foolish indeed. And it makes Hillary look a whole lot less qualified.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

19. "Foolish" is being too kind.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2016!!!

[polly7]

24. Woot! Go, Bernie.

I am SO glad he's finally calling her out on her incompetence.

Fucking up the lives of millions and everything else she did deserves this MILD condemnation and much, much more.

This is the story of how a woman whose Senate vote for the Iraq war may have doomed her first presidential campaign nonetheless doubled down and pushed for military action in another Muslim country. As she once again seeks the White House, campaigning in part on her experience as the nation’s chief diplomat, an examination of the intervention she championed shows her at what was arguably her moment of greatest influence as secretary of state

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511647122#post33




Iraq, Libya...... both great successes, if you're an investor in failed states. Meanwhile, small children wash up on beaches.

[LuckyTheDog]

28. There's qualified and there's qualified

I don't think Bernie was suggesting Hillary would be incompetent. This was a criticism of some of her past decisions. #nuance

[Hell Hath No Fury]

30. I am glad to see the full quote --

and I have to say, the reasons he gives are the exact reasons I would ever vote for Clinton.

[uponit7771]

37. Yeap, Sanders lied... she never said he was unqualified ... whatever

[DisgustipatedinCA]

39. Nothing he said is controversial. I agree with every word. Lots of people do.

It's kind of what this election is about. I suppose I'm glad to see Clinton supporters finally understanding that we're serious. This isn't some primary season game we're playing. Bernie Sanders and lots of other people have been warning that Hillary Clinton would be a disastrous choice for president. The only difference is that now, it's being couched in terms of qualifications. OK, fine. She's not qualified to be the President. Her dishonesty and right wing positions make this obvious. But there's nothing new here.