TPM: Will Trump's Operatives Now Biden Bernie?

[Celerity]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/will-trumps-operatives-now-biden-bernie

We’re in a pretty dramatically different situation in the Democratic primaries than we were a week ago. Everything could change on Tuesday. But for now it looks much more likely that Bernie Sanders will be the nominee than it did a week ago or certainly a month or two ago. With that in mind, I wanted to flag a set of facts that tie back to what I discussed earlier this afternoon about Trump’s even more blatant post-impeachment abuses of power.

Most of these facts have been rattling around my head for the last six months but a reader from the Bernie world flagged an article to mention this evening which renewed my attention.

Back in 2016 and then again into 2017 a series of press reports raised questions about Sanders’ wife Jane Sanders and her time as President of Burlington College. The college underwent a dramatic expansion under Sanders’ leadership and then closed in 2016 under a mountain of debt. Press reports and political critics suggested that Jane Sanders and Senator Sanders’ Senate office had pressured People’s United Bank to make a $6.7 million loan to the bank which underwrote the expansion. That’s the accusation.

Sanders denies the claims about his office, calling it “nonsense,” and no one has ever been formally accused of any wrongdoing. But let’s set the accusation and its merits aside for the moment and look at where those criticisms and press reports came from. They start with a guy named Brady Toensing who sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney in Vermont asking him to probe whether Jane Sanders’ committed fraud with respect to that loan.

snip

[denem]

1. If 2016 is any guide, yeppers.

trump's modus operandi is to 'neutralize' the front runner then go full bore after the next in line. Nothing is too low for 45. He is descipable. Democrats must defend their own, whatever our partisan preferences may be. Edit: trump may leave Bernie till last. A scintillating desert after the main course.

Welcome back to the bear pit Celerity. Thank you for another thoughtful, heart-of-the-matter OP.

[Celerity]

5. yw

[Laelth]

35. Indeed. 45 is despicable.

45 deserves to be roasted by both Daffy and the American people.

-Laelth

[denem]

38. Bolton's book will raise the temperature.

[Laelth]

39. +1 n/t

-Laelth

[greyl]

2. Best Dem strategy might be multiple targets for Putin's GOP to contend with until Nov 3 2020,

while we all agree now to vote blue, no matter who. Biden needs to stay in and draw fire, iow.

[denem]

6. In 2015/6 trump targeted one GOPer, then turned his attention to another.

'Low energy Jeb' was the first, 'Lying Ted Cruz' was the last. The 'man' has no impulse control. He picks out and target then feeds his sadism. Putin followed his lead with the GOPers. I expect the same this round, but who knows?

[greyl]

10. Warren, Biden, Klobachar, Sanders, and Buttigieg don't suck like Jeb, Marco, and Ted Cruz. nt

[UniteFightBack]

3. No way...,next they'd turn their attention to Pete and Mike. They want to run against Sanders. nt

[denem]

7. Mike isn't waiting for trump

He strikes back. Sometimes he 'strikes back' first.

[UniteFightBack]

8. I've seen this commercial, plenty of them running in NY! I think Bloomberg will be him handily. nt

[blm]

4. Oy.

[ibegurpard]

9. Of course they will

They'll do it to everyone. They lie. Remember Max Cleland?

[Celerity]

12. I had to google Cleland

I was 6 years old and in London when that happened


horrible people!!!!!

A week before the voting, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll showed Cleland ahead by five points, 49-44. By Saturday before the race, a poll by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the lead had shrunk to 48–45 which was within the poll's margin of error.[15] On election day, Cleland lost to Chambliss 53-46. Some supporters blamed a Chambliss TV ad featuring the likenesses of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein while criticising Cleland's votes against homeland security measures. Cleland supporters claimed the ad questioned the senator's patriotism, while Chambliss supporters claimed it simply questioned his judgement. The ad was removed after protests from prominent politicians, including Republicans such as John McCain and Chuck Hagel, both of whom are also veterans of the war in Vietnam.

[Tremton]

11. They'll wait until he's definitely the nominee

The first step is to attack anyone who is a threat to Bernie in the Democratic side.
The second step will be to smear Bernie if his chances are 99-100%>

[Gothmog]

13. trump wants to un against a weak candidate like sanders

[Gothmog]

17. In the real world, socialism polls poorly

I like living in the real world

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

20. I like living in the real world but in the real world a sociopath beats a socialist

Link to tweet

[ehrnst]

29. Sanders is no FDR.

FDR had charisma, for starters. He was an elite, 1%, bureaucrat, beltway insider from a political dynasty. He had the ability to acknowledge when he got something wrong, and was therefore capable of learning from his mistakes.

He was outgoing, inspirational, and buoyant. He never, ever self-identified as a Socialist.

Other than recently joining the 1%, the Junior Senator from Vermont does not have the characteristics or tools that FDR had that enabled him to sell programs to a population that was in much worse shape economically than ours is now.

And before you start...we are not in a Great Depression, as bad as it is for many.

[Gothmog]

33. I laughed at that claim also

[Gothmog]

32. If sanders is the nominee, trump will win 45+ states in the real world

sanders is a very weak candidate who trump wants to run against. Socialism is not popular in the real world.

trump and the GOP are working hard right now to defeat Biden and get sanders because they know trump would easily beat sanders

I live in the real world where facts matter

[Gothmog]

34. Republicans Launch Operation To Help Bernie Sanders Win The South Carolina Primary.

The GOP knows that sanders is the weakest possible candidate and want sanders to be the nominee

Link to tweet

[ehrnst]

27. Sanders has identified as a socialist, and that is what will be used against him by the GOP

if he was to become the nominee.

It's not us that you need to be educating, it's the people who were convinced Obama was a 'socialist.'

Socialism is a racist dogwhistle that's replaced "communism."

They will equate his policies with those that failed in Venezuela, because he has called himself a socialist, and Venezuela has a socialist economic system. You cannot convince them that there is any difference, because they will be hearing about how it is the very same thing from all their social media outlets and FoxNews. And Brietbart.

If someone can acknowledge that a woman is going to have a harder time getting elected because misogyny, the same can be said of someone who has self-identified as a socialist. You can say that misogyny is just a fear hysteria in the remnants of the older boomers, that hasn't really been alive for decades so we shouldn't worry about it, but that doesn't make it true.

There is already a RW campaign against 'socialist government takeover of health care" targeting seniors on FB with the message, "Don't let the government just hand what you paid into your whole working life to earn to someone who didn't work a day in their life."

[ehrnst]

21. The GOP seems pretty darn sure that he's the candidate they can beat...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/us/politics/trump-sanders-bloomberg-2020.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/17/indictment-russians-also-tried-help-bernie-sanders-jill-stein-presidential-campaigns/348051002/

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/20/18508880/karl-rove-bernie-sanders-could-beat-donald-trump-in-2020

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/07/bernie-sanders-republican-senate-1307296

[ehrnst]

25. I guess you weren't paying attention in the 2016 election.

They worked with Russian Bots to pit Sanders supporters against against Hillary quite successfully - even through the GE.

https://www.vpr.org/post/how-russian-social-media-effort-boosted-bernie#stream/0

https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/20/bernie-sanders-gets-some-outside-help-he-didnt-ask-for/

So, yes, there were many on the left who not only "gave a shit" what the GOP/Russia was pushing, they gave it credibility by making it go viral.

And if you think that those on the left fell for it, those on the right ate it up even more.

https://newrepublic.com/article/151548/political-campaigns-big-data-manipulate-elections-weaken-democracy

I'm not giving the GOP and Russia credibility, I'm observing what they've actually accomplished in terms of smear campaigns.

[DeminPennswoods]

14. Definitely worth the read

not just for the part about Sanders, but learning about Toensing/DiGenova's son and the whole cabal.

[Laelth]

37. +1 n/t

-Laelth

[Peacetrain]

16. Not until they are sure he has the nomination..

oh they will throw a little punch here or there..but the gloves will not come off till then. They will try and destroy Bernie and his family just like they are doing to Joe.. It is their motus operandi .. And they will stop at nothing.. They will come after Jane with both barrels blasting.. they are monsters.. and the same is true for all of them.. Look at Joe, they are crucifying his last living son. While Trumps children have been making deals all over the world.. Honest to God, I do not think Bernie is prepared for this

[ehrnst]

18. I think they'll wait until after the nomination to "Biden" or "Clinton" our nominee.

Right now they're they're doing what they can to promote Bernie.

https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-claim-pelosi-intentionally-helping-biden-and-hurting-bernie-sanders-2020-1

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/us/politics/trump-sanders-bloomberg-2020.html

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/20/18508880/karl-rove-bernie-sanders-could-beat-donald-trump-in-2020

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/07/bernie-sanders-republican-senate-1307296

[Scurrilous]

24. Nope. Not a threat. Biden is still the national front runner. +7 in Average.

AVERAGE OF NATIONAL POLLS

https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/

This is how it's done. Ratfucking and asshole media out for a front runner's scalp. See CNN/MSNBC all this week.

Canuck letter

'The Canuck letter was a forged letter to the editor of the Manchester Union Leader, published February 24, 1972, two weeks before the New Hampshire primary of the 1972 United States presidential election. It implied that Senator Edmund Muskie, a candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, held prejudice against Americans of French-Canadian descent.'

The letter's immediate effect was to compel the candidate to give a speech in front of the newspaper's offices, subsequently known as "the crying speech".[6] The letter's indirect effect was to contribute to the implosion of Muskie's candidacy.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canuck_letter

Took out Muskie the stronger candidate. McGovern got nomination and was routed. This is what they are doing now to Biden.

Link to tweet

[rzemanfl]

26. Brady Toensing is Victoria's son. Not far from the tree. n/t

[highplainsdem]

31. GMTA

[rzemanfl]

41. Indeed. n/t

[highplainsdem]

30. Brady Toensing. Victoria Toensing's son. The rotten fruit doesn't fall far from

the rotting tree.

Sanders denies the claims about his office, calling it “nonsense,” and no one has ever been formally accused of any wrongdoing. But let’s set the accusation and its merits aside for the moment and look at where those criticisms and press reports came from. They start with a guy named Brady Toensing who sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney in Vermont asking him to probe whether Jane Sanders’ committed fraud with respect to that loan.

[grossproffit]

36. No. They want him to be the nominee. They'll keep driving a wedge btw his supporters and our party.

[Mike 03]

40. Wouldn't they wait until after he's secured the nomination?

A DUer posted a link to a (Newsweek?) article about a two-foot thick opposition research file on Bernie in the White House's possession, plus three unseen video clips. I wish I could remember who it was so I could acknowledge them.

The article claimed Hillary had access to much of this information but refused to use it so as not to alienate Bernie supporters.

[HarlanPepper]

42. No, Bernie is the opponent they want.