Bill DeBlasio says He's a Bernie Sanders fan, Will skip HRC kickoff.

[JeffHead]

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday he will not attend Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign kickoff rally on Roosevelt Island Saturday.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon, de Blasio, a friend and former campaign manager for Hillary Clinton, confirmed earlier reports that he swill not attend the rally, since he is still “waiting to hear her larger vision to addressing income inequality.”

The progressive mayor also indicated he’s a big fan of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who’s challenging Hillary for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. “I’ve always liked what I heard from Bernie Sanders,” de Blasio said.

*snip*


http://jpupdates.com/2015/06/10/de-blasio-says-hes-a-bernie-sanders-fan-will-skip-hrc-kickoff/

[SoapBox]

1. Cool!

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Hmmm...

[starroute]

12. It's been a long time since I heard any Sleepy LaBeef

Thanks for putting that up. It was fun. (And apropos.)

[MannyGoldstein]

16. I lovelovelove Sleepy

One of the most unappreciated talents in America. We still catch him in Boston from time to time.

Maybe he'll play one of Bernie's inaugural soirées!

[swilton]

3. That's good news!

It's one thing to appeal to his New England neighborhood, entirely another to get some support from Hillary territory. There is a large working population in NY and they all don't hail from Wall Street and have Ivy League degrees.

BTW - thought the notion/meme that's going around that Bernie doesn't have appeal to people of color is total BS....He only started his campaign in late May whereas Hillary one would think has been campaigning for decades. Didn't I just see that he's meeting with some Hispanic group this week? And furthermore, it's not like Obama/Clinton have a track record on doing things for non-whites....that is unless they work for Wall Street. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cornell West and Tavis Smiley get on his band wagon.

[RufusTFirefly]

4. Ouch.

That's gotta sting a little.
Good for de Blasio!

[DesertFlower]

6. remember when ted kennedy

endorsed obama. then bill richardson endorsed him too.

[karynnj]

10. Yep, and Kerry endorsed him before Kennedy and after Durbin and McCasskill

(In fact, Kerry might have been before McCasskill in that he generously allowed Obama to choose when he would make the endorsement official. Obama had him endorse him after HRC won NH to change the story and they made the endorsement together in SC.

[DesertFlower]

14. i remember richardson saying

it was the "sense of entitlement" that turned him off.

[DesertFlower]

5. great news. nt

[rhett o rick]

7. k & r. Thanks for posting. nm

[Dont call me Shirley]

8. VP pick?

[PADemD]

20. My thought, too.

[99th_Monkey]

23. Ditto!! nt

[AtomicKitten]

9. That's impressive.

The Clintons are going to be leaning on people to endorse her, and their shit list is long and prestigious. They embarrassed themselves when Bill Richardson endorsed Obama in 2008, and Bill Clinton still won't speak to Richardson to this day. I admire people who won't be bullied by the Clintons.

This video is from 7/16/2014:

[karynnj]

13. They seem to hold grudges for a long time -- and thankfulness for however long someone is helping

but not longer.

I remember the NYT suggested that one reason - in addition to his own respect of Obama and Caroline Kennedy's support was that he was disgusted at how the HRC people attacked not just Kerry, but called out his brother and many close friends.

With Richardson, they were angry because BC made him ambassador to the UN and a cabinet position. With Kerry, they did not support him in the primary - BC unofficially endorsed Clark saying the only two stars the Democrats had were HRC and Clark. That they did support him in the general election is to be expected of Democrats -- and Kerry had supported BC in the general elections he ran in - and in 1992 had made a plea for Democrats (Bob Kerrey the obvious target) not to reopen the wounds of Vietnam.)

I wrote this back in DU 2 - and it contains Kerry's Senate speech. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5197294

Incidentally, this speech - clearly heart felt by Kerry, who was then working on the difficult POW/MIA committee with the goal of healing between the US and Vietnam, was not without cost to him. Years after writing this, I had an interesting conversation on a dead Daily Kos diary. A Vietnam Vet spoke of how angry he was that Kerry did not stand with Kerrey especially as Clinton had written a pretty obnoxious letter once there was no threat of him being drafted to the National Guard Col who had worked out a defferred NG position for Clinton. This was decades later and though he had huge respect for Kerry 1971, he was still angry.

[AtomicKitten]

18. Excellent speech. That it was heartfelt is clear.

I remember the Clinton-controlled DNC under their buddy Ed Rendell barely lifting a finger to assist Kerry's presidential run in 2004. And I remember the Clinton pile-on at the suggestion of Caroline Kennedy's interest in running for Clinton's Senate seat. I look forward to an end of the Clintons' influence on the Democratic Party. It brings up bilious memories for me.

[cantbeserious]

11. Very Good News

eom

[stuffmatters]

15. That just makes me like & admire DeBlasio even more

[zentrum]

17. From a man who really knows her

….from managing her campaign (I assume in an area of NY), this is very telling.

Quite a snub.

He's a brave man considering HRC's position in NY. He's bucking the Dem establishment.

[azmom]

19. Great news. Woohoo.

[delrem]

21. !!!!!!!!!!

OK, now this is starting to get real.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. Waiting for someone to claim it takes "courage" to go against the Clintons....

As if she's gonna shut down a bridge or something.

[Gloria]

24. This guy will be misquoted like crazy by Republicans no matter what...frankly, he should have just

said..."at this point, I'm NEUTRAL and am not going to attend." or he could have said, "I like Bernie's ideas and Hillary is a long-time friend, so for the time being, I'm staying neutral and will not attend.

I think DeBlasio really wasn't very smart about this at all...

I'm beginning to get turned off by the naivete about how politics works...and how it always seems to benefit the Republicans...

[MisterP]

25. so a Dem endorsing a Dem is naively helping the Republicans now?

[Gloria]

26. From the article, there has been no endorsement...

Just a lot of stuff that will hang in the either and be manipulated by Republicans at some point...they relish this sort of stuff.

If he wants to endorse, he should endorse.

However, as mayor the city, he should at this point be neutral prior to this event. From what I understand, Hillary will be rejuvenating
people's memories of FDR, which is sorely needed.

So, DeBlasio is against that? He has to mouth off to undermine that?

Neutrality would have been best at this point.

If Bernie people begin to do the smug Nader thing, I will be totally turned off....I'm beginning to feel rumblings of that now...

PS...I am totally neutral at this point. I'll see what unfolds. But I know the Republicans will pounce on naivete...

[MisterP]

28. Clinton and FDR?

and Nader didn't lose 2000: even Gore didn't lose it

[smokey nj]

31. It's very uncouth to smear Bernie supporters in a group FOR Bernie supporters.

[Gloria]

33. I didn't smear anybody

I don't want things to turn into Nader again. It is purely political obsevation and looking at history.

There are elements, however, of people in ANY group that start the ball rolling.

[Maedhros]

27. I for one appreciate a politician who eschews weasel-words

and tells us straight-up what he means.

[alboe]

29. Awesome news

Great to have more over to the Sanders side!

[Smarmie Doofus]

30. Hey. That's MY mayor.

K and R

[zentrum]

32. It's the TPP.

Among other things. De Blasio has said that until she takes a stand against this anti-worker treaty he will not support her.

Hope everyone here knows her silence on the TPP means only one thing. SHE SUPPORTS IT. And is too calculating to tell us the truth.

The vote in the House is tomorrow and she's waiting to see what happens to see how to spin her position.

[LiberalElite]

34. Elsewhere on DU someone opined

that deBlasio was asked not to attend so as not to take attention away from Hillary.