WaPo: When will Bernie Sanders get the scrutiny that top-tier candidates deserve?

[mcar]

When will Bernie Sanders get the scrutiny that top-tier candidates deserve?
By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer

Jan. 3, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. EST

Former vice president Joe Biden claims that the nearly year-long assault on his record has been entirely unsuccessful, showing that he can take a pummeling and keep fighting. Former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg has absorbed shots on his fund-raising practices, his record on race and his experience. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) showed on Medicare-for-all that she had a glass jaw. Goaded into presenting her far-fetched funding scheme, she then retreated via a go-slow implementation plan. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was put through the ringer over her management style.

Yet the “likability” of self-confessed yeller and infamous grumpy guy Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) never gets discussed. When will he go through the vetting that we expect of top-tier candidates?

Sanders is throwing elbows now, accusing Biden of vulnerability because he voted for the original North American Free Trade Agreement. But is Sanders really in a position to cast stones on electability? The self-declared socialist is an easy target for President Trump. In recent polling in Florida and Virginia, Sanders loses in a head-to-head match-up against Trump....

Somehow, Sanders never takes as much as he gives out. Imagine if Hillary Clinton had a heart attack, promised to release all of her medical records and then only put out letters from her doctor? She would have been under assault for weeks. That’s what Sanders did, but neither his opponents nor the media have pressed him on full disclosure of his health records.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/03/when-does-sanders-get-scrutiny-top-tier-candidates-deserve/

[BannonsLiver]

1. He's been running virtually nonstop since mid 2015

And I’ve been asking that same question over and over again. No candidate gets the media kid gloves soft core treatment more than Bernie. He’s had it easy compared to others.

[mcar]

3. I don't understand why

He's gotten the same treatment at the debates.

[PatSeg]

6. I think

it is because the media never really took him seriously as a candidate, so didn't bother to thoroughly vet him. The way he has been casting stones lately, I think he needs to be scrutinized more carefully.

[JustAnotherGen]

71. I agree on the Media

And I still don't think they take him seriously as a candidate - he's very much treated as a 'spoiler'.

[PatSeg]

77. It is understandable

why he has been frustrated with the mainstream media, but I suppose the lack of in depth vetting could also be a blessing.

[JustAnotherGen]

78. 100% in agreement

The less out there - the less the GOP has for sound bites in a general election.

[George II]

22. He had the chutzpah to say yesterday that Biden's record is "weak". At least he has a record, and...

...it most certainly is NOT weak.

Note he didn't elaborate, and he never includes in his stump speech what he's accomplished over the last 28 years.

[Me.]

32. Maybe It's About Bills Sponsored

JB has 42 while BS did 7, 2 of which were naming post offices and 1 for a Bicentennial day.

[BannonsLiver]

34. That's probably because it consists of getting a post office renamed.

That's the record.

[Kahuna7]

39. But he does talk about what he has talked about....

[Recursion]

64. With one exception: a disastrous Rolling Stone interview in 2016

The reporter actually asked him why he's talking about demanding the Treasury draw up a list of "too big to fail" banks when by law the Treasury already does so every quarter. Then about why his health care plan wound up with pharmaceuticals costing a negative amount of money. Then about why he "pledged" not to take money from Super PACs when that is already illegal. The biggest crater was when the reporter asked him what he actually means by "break up the banks": is he talking about a Ma Bell-style equity split? Increased capital requirements? Forced divestiture from broad sectors of investment (and does that mean he thinks banks should be less diversified as a safety measure)? Sanders absolutely froze. He couldn't even say what he thought a post "break up the banks" financial sector would look like. It was painful.

[betsuni]

66. The "Break up the big banks! Just break 'em up!" reminds me of "It's a write-off!":

[redstatebluegirl]

2. He never seems to get any true scrutiny.

The last time we let him do and say whatever he wanted and never questioned him or did any true digging. I wish the media would do their jobs.

[mcar]

4. Another bit

Warren was forced to put out a funding plan for Medicare-for-all. Sanders told my Post colleague Robert Costa he does not have to. “I don’t give a number," Sanders said, “and I’ll tell you why: It’s such a huge number, and it’s so complicated that if I gave a number you and 50 other people would go through it and say, ‘Oh . . .'”

That is an outrageous answer. Frankly, declaring that he will bring us Medicare-for-all without specifying how much it costs and grappling with its political unacceptability is not all that different from Trump saying in 2016 that he had some magic health-care plan he would reveal after getting elected.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. It's about time - but when Bernie's surrogates aren't complaining

that he doesn't get enough news coverage, they're whining that when he does get coverage it's not always fawningly positive. The problem might be that Bernie won't tell them anything: "Warren was forced to put out a funding plan for Medicare-for-all. Sanders told my Post colleague Robert Costa he does not have to. “I don’t give a number," Sanders said, “and I’ll tell you why: It’s such a huge number, and it’s so complicated that if I gave a number you and 50 other people would go through it and say, ‘Oh . . .'”" No, Bernie. If your plan is so great you should be able to explain why it's great and not hide your numbers.

[ritapria]

7. Hey Jennifer , Did you actively promote the War in Iraq ?

Have you ever apologized for doing so ?

[LongtimeAZDem]

8. Bernie voted to bomb Afghanistan; how does his apologizing bring back the dead?

[bahrbearian]

10. Biden Voted to Bomb Iraq, how does his apologizing bring back the Dead?

[LongtimeAZDem]

35. It doesn't; that's why I objected to the smug hypocrisy

[Hortensis]

9. Lol. Oh, brother. There's always been ONE top-tier candidate,

and it's Biden.

But I agree it's a genuine scandal that anyone running for president for 5 years with Sanders' behaviors and history -- and specifically his one big contribution to history -- hasn't been pinned to the press board and examined with the presidential-candidate microscope long ago, and then reexamined with every new behavior.

We know most MSM are working to elect Republicans again, we know puffed Sanders up while hiding important information about him in 2015-16-17-18 -- and still are, and we know Russia used Sanders for the same purpose and likely is again. All the election irregularities by all corrupt institutions in this very dangerous era, including active press interference on behalf of the Republicans, up to and including treason, needs investigation and fumigation.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. It's way past time.

If the candidates are going to be scrutinized - and criticized - for things they said and did and votes they took 30 years ago, they should all be under that same microscope. I don't know why Bernie has been getting a pass (and strangely, his surrogates and supporters have been complaining that he doesn't get enough media coverage). But whatever the reason, his feet should be held to the same fire as everybody else's. And David Sirota doesn't get to whine about it.

[Hortensis]

19. Sanders systematically hides from the press to avoid

the increased scrutiny he was being given initially. He says what he intends to in very structured situations and then cuts it off. His excuse, of course, is the same as Trump's.

Instead, analysts say, most of his communications bypass media scrutiny by using social media and texting/emails to deliver what they want people to think directly, from their professional strategists to recipient brains. Should say to recipient guts since virtually all messages are designed to bypass the intellect to impact directly on emotions, and from there to storage.

[Me.]

36. Gloves Off

Let's see those folders of oppo that are hanging out there. Let's go over some of his funny financials...money handed out to Jane's children, rigging book sales numbers. Did Russia intervene for him? Why has he hired such questionable people? So many questions, so few answers.

[Hortensis]

44. Oh, the Mueller report stated definitively that Russia

intervened for Sanders. Sanders eventually knew, but he kept quiet, never warned Democratic voters of Russsia's massive interference, and he was silent all the while Russia targeted his followers with pernicious anti-U.S. and anti-Democratic propaganda.

Too many are still under the influence of what they were told about our liberal, progressive Democratic Party. When I read their rants these days I don't think some are coming back, ever. It seems likely they will continue to vote to defeat Democrats in reprisal for "rigging" that never took place, like the trumpsters having internalized these deceptions as passionate ideology. WE supposedly were the ones who betrayed them...!

This subject reminds me of that inexplicable month when he delayed conceding while he waited for, what? To come to acceptance of what all informed people knew, that Hillary had won several months before and he literally couldn't win? He couldn't rationally have expected that his fellow superdelegates, not one of whom endorsed him, would betray their duty to overset the electoral majority and name him the nominee, and not one did, except he himself of course. Did he think or just hope something might happen to change their minds?

Gloves off, but all that means is that, since he's running on the Democratic ticket, it's way, way past time for him to be subjected to the scrutiny Democratic candidates are. Let people get just a little hint of what would await in the GE. They have a right to know who he is and get an idea of what Repub/Russia would do to him.

[Me.]

59. This Os A Brilliant Post

there is so much info out there that has been ignored. I keeping hitting on how his campaign manager was so closely aligned with Manafort and making money hand over fist. There are hints about Devine but nothing ever gets fully developed, not even from Mueller. My point being that there are lots of nooks and crannies where info about BS exists but have not been pushed out into the light of day. Lots of disinfo, half and non truths being handed out daily by that campaign which need to be called out the mainstream, not just Twitter and places like DU. So thank you Jennifer Rubin. )never thought I'd be writing those words.

[Hortensis]

65. :) +1000. Unanswered questions. We need due diligence.

Last edited Sat Jan 4, 2020, 07:36 AM - Edit history (1)

As for Jennifer Rubin, her great article offered two little hints at resemblances between the tactics and leanings of populist leaders Sanders and trumpism. There are so many I'm sure it wasn't accidental. We need a series on this subject and also on how both populist leaders appeal to, and need the votes of, many of the same people. It's extremely significant.

"a real foreign policy that is not merely a leftist version of Trump’s “America First.” (!)

"declaring that he will bring us Medicare-for-all without specifying how much it costs and grappling with its political unacceptability is not all that different from Trump saying in 2016 that he had some magic health-care plan he would reveal after getting elected."

[Me.]

69. I Have Often Been Tempted To Point Out The Similarities

which are often glaring. You may guess why I hesitate.

[Me.]

11. Precisely

Thank you so much for this

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. Lol. Right wing columnist says what?

Link to tweet

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Rubin is one of the most outspoken anti-Trumpers.

She is desperate to get Trump out of office and has been urging people to vote for whoever the Democratic candidate turns out to be. She just doesn't think that candidate should be Bernie.

[mcar]

15. Yes. One might want to read her columns

And watch her MSNBC appearances before attacking her - but not her column, I notice.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. She's nothing but another embarrassed Republican who can't see how people ...

... like her are substantially responsible for trump and his ilk.

She should fuck back off to the Republican party and worry about its racism, homophobia and misogyny.

Ex-Washington Post ombudsman: 'Fire Jennifer Rubin'

https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/08/ex-washington-post-ombudsman-fire-jennifer-rubin-170603

Patrick Pexton, who served as The Washington Post's ombudsman until March of this year, has written an open letter to incoming Post owner Jeff Bezos in which he calls on him to make editorial page editor Fred Hiatt fire Jennifer Rubin, the paper's conservative columnist.

"Have Fred Hiatt, your editorial page editor — who I like, admire, and respect — fire opinion blogger Jennifer Rubin. Not because she’s conservative, but because she’s just plain bad," Pexton writes in the letter, which was published by Washington City Paper.

"She doesn’t travel within a hundred miles of Post standards," Pexton argues. "She parrots and peddles every silly right-wing theory to come down the pike in transparent attempts to get Web hits. Her analysis of the conservative movement, which is a worthwhile and important beat that the Post should treat more seriously on its national pages, is shallow and predictable. Her columns, at best, are political pornography; they get a quick but sure rise out of the right, but you feel bad afterward."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. 2013?

[Thekaspervote]

23. Like it or not for now she's a voice that is heard and followed. Enemy of my enemy my friend

[sheshe2]

58. I wonder...

Hassin Bin Sober (22,175 posts)
18. She's nothing but another embarrassed Republican who can't see how people ...

... like her are substantially responsible for trump and his ilk.

She should fuck back off to the Republican party and worry about its racism, homophobia and misogyny.

I wonder if the Sarandons, Turners and Joys are equally embarrassed for voting for Stein. They were all third party voters. Many others did the same and/or sat out the vote...THEY ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR TRUMP.

[booley]

28. That doesn't make her fair

Nor right.

Obviously she doesn't' think Sanders can beat Trump.

That doesn't make her right. Nor does it mean her bias isn't clouding her judgment.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. I don't think Sanders can beat Trump, either.

And I've always been a liberal Democrat, so I have no right-wing bias to cloud my judgment. I will support Bernie if he gets the nomination but I really don't think he can beat Trump.

[aidbo]

48. Anti trumpers are not our allies

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

50. The enemy of my enemy can be my friend.

Anti-Trumpers are allies to the extent they help us take Trump down. After that happens we will have to evaluate whether they are still allies, but for now I welcome their help.

[floppyboo]

73. Like Isis? The enemy of Iran? Bad timing for such a comparison IMO. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

74. Sometimes they aren't. Obviously you have to recognize the difference.

[mcar]

51. They are now

But yes, we must expect them to return to their party once this menace is over. I hope they take these lessons to heart and work to repair their own party, rather than pretend that it was just IMPOTUS.

[George II]

17. Jennifer Rubin is not a right wing columnist.

[comradebillyboy]

42. She certainly was right up until Trump got elected. None the less

her critique of Sanders is spot on.

[melman]

45. She most certainly is

[aikoaiko]

57. She's right wing -- just not batshit crazy.

[George II]

16. When will we see the medical records he promised "by the end of the year"? Did he mean 2019 or 2020?

[mcar]

21. Maybe when he releases his funding plan for M4A

[Thekaspervote]

27. I can only imagine what those records show. A 78 yr old man dx: MI has a 3 yr life expectancy

[booley]

30. Didn't his critics make the same argument about his taxes?

.. with the clear insinuation, Sanders must have been hiding something a smoking gun that would bring Sanders down...

And then Sanders released his taxes and strangely we never heard his taxes mentioned again.

Maybe because there was no there there.

[George II]

33. As a matter of fact he did delay releasing them in order to "hide something" (as you put it)....

....the fact that while he was still railing against millionaires he quietly became one himself. And just about the time we all learned that he was a millionaire, he shifted his criticism not of "millionaires" but to "billionaires".

Several of his tax returns had some questionable "edits", including two pages in one return that were inserted well after the fact. See for yourself:

https://www.taxnotes.com/presidential-tax-returns

[mcar]

52. He promised to release his medical records by the end of 2019

not a letter or two from doctors - his records.

[Wawannabe]

24. Bernie Sanders?

Who’s he?

[booley]

25. WaPO gives Sanders plenty of coverage all Negative

Hey remember 2016 when the WAPO did 16 stories on Sanders in less than a day?

All of them negative stories.

https://fair.org/home/washington-post-ran-16-negative-stories-on-bernie-sanders-in-16-hours/

But ok maybe I should address the Opinion piece in the OP.

Yet the “likability” of self-confessed yeller and infamous grumpy guy Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) never gets discussed. When will he go through the vetting that we expect of top-tier candidates?

Ahh ad hominem and a bit of begging the question. Probably not a good start.

So what is Sanders likability?
Not bad according to polls. He remains one of the most popular and trusted politicians in the US.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/sanders_favorableunfavorable-5263.html

accusing Biden of vulnerability because he voted for the original North American Free Trade Agreement. But is Sanders really in a position to cast stones on electability?

Yes. Because that vote makes Biden look bad. As does his vote on the Iraq war. And the bankruptcy bill. And undercutting Harry Reid's negotiation with the Republicans.
https://newrepublic.com/article/111749/inside-story-how-obama-could-have-gotten-better-tax-deal-without-biden

All of which might be more compelling than a "socialist" label Trump and every Republican uses against EVERY Democrat anyway.

The self-declared socialist is an easy target for President Trump. In recent polling in Florida and Virginia, Sanders loses in a head-to-head match-up against Trump....

The poll he is talking about isnt' listed so I can't' speak to it.
But looking at the aggregate of polling.... Sanders is still very electable against Trump.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_sanders-6250.html

Certainly, a lot more people are willing to put in money for Sanders than they are for Biden. (and no, someone giving 3 dollars multiple times does not explain 34 million in donations)

I could go on but I dont' have a WaPo subscription and frankly I think I have given this ..opinion.. more attention than it deserves

Here's some more random links.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/bernie-sanders-washington-post-media-complaint-872349/

http://inthesetimes.com/features/msnbc-bernie-sanders-coverage-democratic-primary-media-analysis.html

[mcar]

31. ....

[comradebillyboy]

43. Boo hoo

[oasis]

26. Turn up the heat!

[Thekaspervote]

37. It's so great to know it's just a matter of time b4 sanders goes home to VT

[Hassin Bin Sober]

38. Here's right wing columnist Jennifer Rubin's most recent column

She’s worked for most of the bad media orgs. out there

From Wikipedia:

Jennifer Rubin is an American conservative columnist who writes the "Right Turn" blog for The Washington Post. Previously she worked at Commentary, PJ Media, Human Events, and The Weekly Standard. Her work has been published in media outlets including Politico, New York Post, New York Daily News, National Review, and The Jerusalem Post.

[highplainsdem]

40. The sooner the better.

[Gothmog]

47. I agree with you

Link to tweet

[comradebillyboy]

41. The Rube is right about vetting Bernie. And she only scratched

the surface of his vulnerabilities.

[Gothmog]

46. I agree that sanders needs to be vetted

Link to tweet

[mcar]

53. Then his supporters complain the media is "ignoring him"

He can't have it both ways but, apparently, has been getting away with it.

[Corgigal]

54. Well, Washington Post

since you printed this article, and I pay my big 9 (?) bucks a month, isn’t really your job to investigate? Get on it then, if it’s factual then print it.

However, our intelligence agencies better be on this. Might be nothing, but.....

[OnDoutside]

55. She's right, and the problem is that if he were to escape scrutiny now,

and subsequently became the nominee, he would be ruthlessly savaged by Trump, through truth, lies and all points in between. Trump's supporters and Sander's supporters will put up with all the bullshit but the in between will not.

[TidalWave46]

56. Why in the world would mainstream media outlets vet him?

It’s a game of dollars and cents. Not vetting Sanders is important to their bottom line. It’s all a bit ironic.

[mcar]

61. They happily vet any female candidate

Why not Sanders?

[Blue_true]

60. It is discouraging when a person of the right crystallizes an argument far

better than anyone on our side.

Bernie is juggling magic eggs in the air and no one seems to have the cahones to demand an answer as to why he thinks all those magic eggs won't hit the floor at some point.

Rubin makes a good point, Warren has nothing to lose by pointing out her own MFA related issues in a debate and that Bernie has offered NO details, then pressing him in the moment to explain how his plan would work, in detail. Once Warren leads the way, other candidates would be foolish not to join her in questioning Bernie. Republican candidates in 2016 backed away from going after Trump's vague promises, until it was too late and he was able to pick them off one at a time.

Bernie has attacked Biden, if Warren takes Bernie on, Biden would be ill advised to try to stay above the fray, he must, as Rubin pointed out, join in to fully questioning Bernie and force Bernie to show his hand.

[mcar]

62. I don't get why he doesn't get challenged at the debates

At all.

[Blue_true]

63. It baffles me too.

All the candidates seem to be taking a kid glove tactic toward him. Maybe they think that he will self implode, but it should be clear by Warren taking all the heat for embracing Bernie's vision of MFA that if Bernie is not held accountable for providing concrete answers and his health records, he will be perfectly content to skate along and raise a lot of money. Bernie is repeating the 2016 issue with his taxes, only this time he has added issues of his health and details of his policy proposals to the list of items that he won't provide detailed answers to.

[kcr]

67. This is the reason why:

Sanders said in the interview, “I will support someone if they’re more conservative than me because I think it’s imperative that we beat Trump.” But he also made clear that, even if he stumbles, he has no plans to drop out until the race is over, saying what he is “certainly prepared to do is contest every state in this country.”

He's very useful.

[Tarheel_Dem]

68. The media would rather wait until BS becomes the nominee, and they'll rip him to shreds. n/t

[NYMinute]

70. A question I have been asking forever nt

[LanternWaste]

72. Any scrutiny he gets from the media is called 'an attack'

And when the media ignores him, it's called a snub.

That way, the faithful flock of sacred cows get it both ways, and thus allows them to continue blaming the media for his own missteps.

[mcar]

75. This. nt

[Fiendish Thingy]

76. Get back to me when Biden's ties to the banking industry are examined by the MSM

Until then, talk about unbalanced “scrutiny” of top tier candidates is laughable.

[Gothmog]

79. The Washington Post asks why Bernie Sanders hasn't released his health records

Link to tweet

[totodeinhere]

80. I don't know about the press. I'm always skeptical of the corporate media anyway.

But Bernie sure gets enough scrutiny at DU. At any one time there are always several anti-Bernie threads going on. And that's fine. Scrutiny is what we are here for.