Hillary Clinton tears open wound with her attack on Sanders

[JoeOtterbein]

The Hill

BY JONATHAN EASLEY AND AMIE PARNES - 01/22/20 06:00 AM EST

Hillary Clinton has torn open old wounds from her divisive 2016 battle with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), putting Democrats on edge about whether the party will be able to unite after a 2020 primary that has produced new fault lines between the center and the left.

Clinton’s attacks on Sanders — and her refusal to commit to endorsing him or campaigning for him if he wins the Democratic presidential nomination — infuriated progressives and raised new fears among Democrats about whether supporters for the losing candidates will turn out for the nominee against President Trump in November.

Those questions come as Sanders and his allies are ramping up their attacks against former Vice President Joe Biden, who they view as representative of the same “Clinton corporate wing” of the party that fumbled away the 2016 election to Trump.

Tensions are boiling over as polls find Sanders, Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) in a tight race in the final two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

snip

more at link

[pnwmom]

1. It is FALSE that she refuses to endorse whoever wins the primaries. And Bernie tore open wounds

when his campaign attacked Biden with charges of corruption and not supporting Social Security. That is the kind of charge he often flings at Democrats.

Hillary made it explicit within a day that she will endorse whoever wins the nomination. And these Hill reporters should have known that.

[StevieM]

4. They do know that. They just don't feel like acknowledging it.

The media doesn't generally care about telling the truth.

[oasis]

7. Parnes makes a living by reporting what she thinks "makes Hillary tick".

She's the hack writer who co-wrote "Shattered" her clumsy autopsy of Hillary's 2016 campaign. Parnes also penned a couple of other low grade books on Hillary.

[booley]

27. Clinton did say she would back whomever the nominee was.. AFTER the back lash.

And sorry but Biden has wanted cuts in social security. There are too many records.

As for corruption.. ok. Let's say privileges then.

Has Biden and his family received lots of privileges that the vast majority of us don't by virtue of Bidens time in Washington? Not saying Biden has broken the law. But did the system benefit him that it wouldnt have otherwise?

Be honest now.

I am trying to be diplomatic because I get that "Corruption" is often a snarl word that shuts down thought.. But rest assured, the Republicans know this and will NOT be diplomatic. Trump can take his "Crooked Hillary" tactic and transfer it in whiole to Biden. We know he will do this.

So if Biden cant' handle being called for his record by Sanders who's attacks have been pretty restrained, what will happen if Biden has to go against Trump?

[pnwmom]

29. Biden has in the past supported "adjustments" in Social Security. So did Sanders, in 1996.

And Sanders has his Our Revolution dark money PAC, so he is hardly one to stand on a high horse and smear other Democrats.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-22/sanders-biden-battle-over-who-will-best-protect-social-security

Bernie Sanders is locked in an escalating feud with Joe Biden over whether the former vice president has advocated cutting Social Security, a program considered sacrosanct by many Democrats.

But Sanders himself once used language that was very similar to Biden’s to describe the need to bolster the federal retirement program.

https://apnews.com/345bbd1af529cfb1e41305fa3ab1e604

Shadow group provides Sanders super PAC support he scorns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders says he doesn’t want a super PAC. Instead, he has Our Revolution, a nonprofit political organization he founded that functions much the same as one.

Like a super PAC, which is shorthand for super political action committee, Our Revolution can raise unlimited sums from wealthy patrons that dwarf the limits faced by candidates and conventional PACs. Unlike a super PAC, however, the group doesn’t have to disclose its donors — a stream of revenue commonly referred to as “dark money.”

Now, with less than one month to go before the Iowa caucuses, Our Revolution appears to be skirting campaign finance law, which forbids groups founded by federal candidates and officeholders from using large donations to finance federal election activity, including Sanders’ 2020 bid.

SNIP

Our Revolution has taken in nearly $1 million from donors who gave more than the limits and whose identities it hasn’t fully disclosed, according to tax filings for 2016, 2017 and 2018. Much of it came from those who contributed six-figure sums.

[emulatorloo]

38. There you go, promoting Trump's fake "Biden is Corrupt" conspiracy theories.

Very impressive. And smearing Senator Sanders integrity at the same time.

Gross.

[George II]

2. She was asked questions during an interview and she answered them. Not "attacks".

[StevieM]

3. She didn't say that she might not support him if he is the nominee.

She simply said that it was too soon to be talking about any particular nominee.

She has said over and over again that she will support the nominee, whoever he or she is.

This is not a legitimate story about a former candidate who is uncertain about supporting Bernie Sanders. It is a story about a media that is determined to tell a story about Hillary being unsure if she will support Sanders if he is the candidate.

This silly story is about as real as the claim that she was considering another run for president in 2020. That was the last incarnation of this dynamic. The media wanted to tell the story, so they found a way to do it. Now they are on to their next version of this nonsense.

[booley]

28. Slight problem

She simply said that it was too soon to be talking about any particular nominee.

A few really. But let me focus on just one

Your explanation would be more plausible IF for the last year Sanders and his followers hadn't been harangued with accusations they wouldn't support the Democratic nominee. Indeed Clinton herself made such an accusation, though sideways.

This kind of double standard makes some think it was never about Unity, It was about attacking Sanders.
And by "some" I definitely mean me.

To quote the saying, Hypocrisy makes a poor foundation to build an argument.
.

Oh and fun fact.

In 2016 sanders did 39 events on Clinton's behalf
In 2008 Clinton did 12 on Obama's behalf.

I don't want to hear any more about whether Sanders is the one who has to prove he will help the Democratic party.

[StevieM]

37. You will hear more talk about it because your numbers for 2008 and Clinton's support for Obama

are simply not accurate.

I realize that you got your numbers from TYT, since I saw a couple of videos where Cenk made that claim. Bad news...Cenk is lying to you. Maybe even himself.

Hillary did over 50 events for Obama in 2008, which is a record for the amount of support a candidate has gotten from their former primary opponent.

She gave an incredible speech on his behalf at the Denver Convention which absolutely electrified the convention and did a great job of uniting everybody behind Obama.

And when she suspended her campaign she famously told her supporters "I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me."

What is so amazing about this is that the story I just described was a really big story at the time. Everyone was talking about how committed HRC was to an Obama victory and how she was doing so much to help him. It was widely discussed and not at all disputed. And now it has been added to the list of things that have been erased from the history books.

[Me.]

5. Aaaah, Purity

From Shumlin, former Governor Of Vermont...“He (Sanders) and his team think they’re holier than the rest,” said the former governor.”

https://vtdigger.org/2020/01/17/two-former-vermont-governors-attack-sanders-over-scuffle-with-warren/

[Skittles]

20. yes they do

and it is nauseating

[booley]

34. Maybe Sanders is better.

I mean for instance, Democrats have been saying for years how corrosive money in politics is. But they kept taking that money because they aid, they ha dot be competitive with Republicans.

Then along comes Bernie who outraises all his Democratic opponents, all with individual donations.

I can imagine how awkward that must be for politicians who are still taking money from the Fossil Fuel Industry, and Big Pharma, and the Credit Card companies, and Wall Street....

I admit. I view this as less "Holier than thou" as I do having principles and sticking to them.

[Me.]

36. Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Pride Goeth Before A Fall

and you really need to find out about his dark money before you talk about akward

[msongs]

6. she's got bernie's number nt

[delisen]

8. The Hill is implicated in the Ukraine plot. It is a propaganda rag now outed.

Not at all surprising it is intent on attacking H. Clinton and promoting false narratives.

The second paragraph is an outright lie.

"Our Revolution" is far from being revolutionary. It is patriarchal outfit intent on blocking the only revolution we need --the one for equal rights and human rights. What is revolutionary is reaching parity for women in all political offices-that is when the needs of our population will begin to be served. Pushing women out of their rightful place in the public sphere is why we are in the mess we are in right now.

Ironically the person who warned us was Clinton-it wasn't Bernie and it wasn't Biden.

In fact Common Cause just filed an FEC complaint against this outfit.

https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/common-cause-files-complaint-against-pro-bernie-sanders-group-our-revolution-for-violating-soft-money-ban/

Clinton did not fumble anything. The Hill which has been publishing really questionable articles for some time, apparently was not just being run by dense characters but had a more nefarious agenda.

[DURHAM D]

11. Thank you. nt

[TwilightZone]

9. Oh, good. Another article misrepresenting what she said.

The other dozen or so apparently weren't enough.

[pnwmom]

10. The Hill was the outlet that had John Solomon, Russian colluder, as a VP.

And their reporter Amie Parnes, the one who wrote the article in the OP, is an anti-Hillary person.

https://nypost.com/2017/10/26/how-team-hillary-played-the-press-for-fools-on-russia/

Exhibit A is the book “Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign,” by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. In light of this week’s revelation that Hillary’s campaign funded the dirty anti-Trump “Steele” dossier, the book takes on a new significance. It reveals:

“Within 24 hours of her concession speech, [campaign chair John Podesta and manager Robby Mook] assembled her communications team at the Brooklyn headquarters to engineer the case that the election wasn’t entirely on the up-and-up. For a couple of hours, with Shake Shack containers littering the room, they went over the script they would pitch to the press and the public. Already, Russian hacking was the centerpiece of the argument.”

The plan, according to the book, was to push journalists to cover how “Russian hacking was the major unreported story of the campaign,” and it succeeded to a fare-thee-well. After the election, coverage of the Russian “collusion” story was relentless, and it helped pressure investigations and hearings on Capitol Hill and even the naming of a special counsel, which in turn has triggered virtually nonstop coverage.

[lapucelle]

12. What open wound?

Aimie Parnes...The Hill

[Cha]

13. My bad.. I read "Jason Easley"(PoiliticusUSA) and I kept

thinking.. he knows better than this shite.

[lapucelle]

16. This Easley

[Cha]

18. No wonder it's such a stupid

misinformation sob story.

[efhmc]

14. I will NEVER support Bernie with my time or money.

I am praying he will not be the candidate because he will not win but will vote for him.

[betsuni]

15. "her divisive 2016 battle"? The attacks came from one direction.

*hauls out "What Happened" again*:

"Because we agreed on so much, Bernie couldn't make the argument against me in this area on policy, so he had to resort to innuendo and impugning my character. ... When I finally challenged Bernie durning a debate to name a single time I changed a position or a vote because of a financial contribution, he couldn't come up with anything. Nonetheless, his attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump's 'Crooked Hillary' campaign.

"Throughout the primaries, every time I wanted to hit back against Bernie's attacks, I was told to restrain myself. Noting that his plans didn't add up, that they would inevitably mean raising taxes on middle-class families, or that they were little more than a pipe dreams -- all of this could be used to reinforce his argument that I wasn't a true progressive. My team kept reminding me that we didn't want to alienate Bernie's supporters. President Obama urged me to grit my teeth and lay off Bernie as much as I could. I felt like I was in a straitjacket."

She doesn't want this to happen again.

[The Valley Below]

17. The Democratic Party is sick of the dirty-tricks campaign, the lies, and the scorched earth

emanating from the Sanders campaign.

What does it serve to alienate the whole party with cheap attacks?

The gloves will come off.

[Skittles]

19. LOL

oh, PLEASE

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

21. Thanks Joe for bringing this to people's much needed attention.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together & can't be bought!!
Jump on the Bernie Bandwagon & join the revolution!!

[LanternWaste]

23. No more and no less than Cortez is opening wounds with her attacks on Biden.

It's really just six of one, half a dozen of the other... until someone tries to rationalize it to better suits their own agendas; and then of course, it's just horrid and divisive when one does it, yet strength and leadership when the other does the same.




But then again, I don't pretend criticisms inherent to every primary in US history are 'attacks' as I don't have a sacred cow requiring melodrama to survive... simply a preferred candidate.

[The Valley Below]

24. Rage is like oxygen to populist movements, without it they wither and die.

Rancor, division, and anger are not "accidental" by-products of such movements, they are foundational to the enterprise.

Liberalism requires rationality, cool-heading thinking, and trying to balance competing interests and weighing possible unintended consequences in advance of implementing policies.

One can't really be rational when one is in a state of rage. Rage breeds irrationality.

This makes populism a danger to liberalism and liberal democracy.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. I think she should attack him some more.

[still_one]

26. From Amie Parnes of the book Shattered. No surprise she would push this hyperbole garbage

[beastie boy]

30. It's not Hillary's problem that two online scribblers want her to commit yesterday.

She doesn't give a crap, and she will take her own sweet time to endorse.

The thin-skinned youngsters ought to learn that patience is a virtue.

[Amimnoch]

31. Good for her! Hillary should have been president (thanks BS).

Every one of her "attacks" was well Deserved.

Anyone BUT BS 2020.

[Devil Child]

32. That she did!

Thanks for the post JoeOtterbein!

[Squinch]

33. Russian trolls gin up nonsense about "Democrats in disarraaaaayyyy!!! because Hillary said

something!!!!!"

Dumbasses pick it up, spread it around, flame about it, fight about it, get very emotional.

"Controversy" dies down. Russian tools and dupes pick it up again and throw it around, talking about "tensions boiling over" and other ridiculous bullshit.

Dumbasses fall for it again, pick it up, spread it around, flame about it, fight about it.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

At least we could make the Russian trolls' jobs a little difficult. But it appears we aren't going to do that.

[myohmy2]

35. "...produced new fault lines between the center and the left."

...first...

...why are they 'center' and we 'left'?

...I see it more as we're 'center' and they're 'right'...

...second...

...sour grapes...

...to me it sounded like, "If I can't be the nominee, neither should Bernie."

...division benefits no one but trump...