Sanders' top strategists leave his campaign.

[kstewart33]

NBC News:

In a major shake-up to Bernie Sanders' just-launched presidential bid, some of his top strategists have left the campaign.

Tad Devine, Mark Longabaugh and Julian Mulvey, colleagues in a political consulting firm who all played leading roles in Sanders' 2016 campaign for the White House, are parting ways with the senator, citing creative differences. "The entire firm has stepped away. We're leaving the campaign," Longabaugh told NBC News on Tuesday. "We just didn't have a meeting of the minds."

Devine, a veteran Democratic presidential operative, was a familiar presence on TV in 2016 as Sanders' chief strategist, responsible for setting the early direction of the campaign when few other Washington insiders believed the little-known Vermont independent could be a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Longabaugh helped design and implement the campaign's delegate-hunting roadmap and negotiated with key outside players like the Democratic National Committee on issues like debates. Mulvey helped craft the firm's ads for Sanders, including his best-known commercial, which featured the Simon & Garfunkel song "America."

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-staff-shakeup-top-strategists-leave-his-presidential-campaign-n976221?cid=public-rss_20190226

[comradebillyboy]

1. I can't imagine that this is a good thing.

However Devine's ties to Paul Manafort and the Russians would bring additional unwanted scrutiny to the Sanders campaign in my opinion. So maybe it is good for Bernie.

[Orangepeel]

5. Everything is better with less Tad Devine

[comradebillyboy]

7. One would think that a competent campaign would have that

sorted out well in advance of announcing. Devine and co were a huge part of his campaign in 2016. Their departure after only one week raises all sorts of questions.

[emulatorloo]

26. Agreed, timing is very weird.

[NurseJackie]

40. I hear Susan Sarandon needs a job.

[comradebillyboy]

41. Put her in charge of public outreach lol.

[Hortensis]

8. Tad Devine and Paul Manafort were guaranteed

to draw major attention this time around. The media always plays up shiny new people and pans the old, seen-them/written-that candidates. Sanders benefited tremendously from that dynamic in 2016 but is no longer new. And it's way past time for the scrutiny and questions.

[BannonsLiver]

10. What's funny is

Last edited Wed Feb 27, 2019, 02:04 PM - Edit history (1)

Bernie apparently thinks he can inoculate himself against questions about his record on Russia and NATO and of course DeVine’s rather interesting client list as well by cutting ties. Not gonna work.

[Hortensis]

11. Not if he stays in. Of course, Russia's a big player

now and they specialize in skewing normal election dynamics. Still, our investigative journalists are pretty redoubtable themselves.

[Nanjeanne]

2. I would think how so many people on DU feel about Tad Devine - that this would be a positive for

Sanders campaign.

It's so hard to keep up with what's a good thing and what's a bad thing for some.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. Let me lay it out for you... for many here, NOTHING is EVER positive for Bernie!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Join the revolution!!!

[Nanjeanne]

4. Oh Gee. Ya think?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

12. It's just so sad to see.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Join the revolution!!!

[Hortensis]

25. Putin uses him to help defeat Democrats

who block his militant imperialism against two dozen nations and to throw power to traitorous Republicans who help him. Putin is desperate to keep Democrats from winning in 2020 because we will put and end to his attempt to destroy America through occult warfare. His fellow Oligarchs who maintain him in power are very afraid he has overreached. He has.

So what positives could possibly outweigh the reality that Russia will use Sanders has a weapon in its occult warfare again, when we have so many strongly progressive Democratic candidates who all pose a real threat to Putin’s ambitions?

Sanders will be a much weaker weapon this time, but we can count on them using every weapon available, and every derailed voter who resents Sanders loss and goes on to vote third-party or for Republicans again will repay Russia’s investment.

You do know that he is already, once again, trying to draw conservative Trump populists to himself to win? What socially conservative populists require to be wooed is not what would draw me but would once again make me run the other direction.

They loved his badmouthing Democrats, you know, and his pursuit of them guarantees he will have to continue it — to Russia’s benefit.

Socially conservative but economically progressive populists are not exactly big on diversity or social justice issues. That’s why Sanders couldn’t promise our black voter bloc what they required in 2016 — It would have lost him most of his populist vote.

By the way, I noticed that Ocasio-Cortez is not supporting his candidacy but rather expressing enthusiasm for all the wonderful Democratic progressives who are running. Good for her!

Also, her cosponsor for the new green deal bill is one of her many Democratic colleagues whose voting records are actually effectively indistinguishable from Sanders’ on progressive issues.

[emulatorloo]

24. Devine was the sane one in 2016 (compared to Jeff Weaver)

As a 2016 Sanders person, I felt Weaver really blew Sanders chances for the nomination by just tossing out red meat to core supporters. Weaver never bothered to broaden the coalition. Devine tried to do some of that, but appears he got elbowed out of the way.

[R B Garr]

6. Paul Manafort not replaced yet? nt

[Autumn]

9. Paul Manafort was never on Bernie's campaign. nt

[R B Garr]

13. That doesn't change the reason for the question.

It is weird timing.

[Autumn]

15. Manafort has never had anything to do with Bernie Sanders campaign. Why ask if he's

not been replaced yet if that's not what you are implying?

R B Garr (11,684 posts)

6. Paul Manafort not replaced yet? nt

in reply to the OP headline

Top Sanders consultants leave 2020 campaign

Tad Devine was a witness for the special counsel office’s prosecution against Paul Manafort. That's his only connection to Bernie's campaign, long before he worked for Sanders Presidential campaign.

[R B Garr]

16. The internet is full of their shared history.

I guess they worked together before on foreign elections.

[Autumn]

17. Manafort and Devine worked together but that ended before Sanders.

Manafort didn't worked for the consulting firm, Devine Mulvey Longabaugh, so he would never have had to have been replaced.

[R B Garr]

18. The internet has many stories that conflict with that.

You are trying to make it into a conspiracy when it’s just about unmistakeable similarities. I watch MSNBC for my news, not just the internet, though.

[Autumn]

19. This was brought up last year when Devine was called to testify by Mueller, against Manafort.

It was also on the news at the time.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/bernie-sanders-adviser-is-assisting-special-counsel

[R B Garr]

20. It is fact that both ran the opposition campaigns

against Hillary. We all saw months/years of similarities in attacks, now proven with the Mueller report.

You keep trying to pinhole a small part of their relationship/association. Edit: your link is about Ukraine

[Autumn]

22. No, I responded to your question if Manafort had not been replaced yet, in response

to Devine's firm leaving Sander's campaign. Like I said, Manafort never worked for Devine's consulting firm. People are again attempting to tie Manafort to Bernie based on the past political campaigns in the Ukraine by Devine and Manafort . You yourself brought Manafort into the conversation. That's all I have to say.

[R B Garr]

23. It actually wasn't a literal question, as anyone with a TV or

internet connection knows who Paul Manafort is. And they have a shared history, that is a fact. They both ran the opposition campaigns against Hillary and some attacks were similar—more fact from 2016 analysis. edit: it is not a conspiracy or smear to notice opposition campaign similarities.

[Skidmore]

28. You may want to check Mueller's exhibit list

on this site. Scroll down to see how many times the firm invoiced Manafort.

https://heavy.com/news/2018/07/tad-devine/

[Autumn]

29. Manafort and Devine both both worked with Yanukovych from February 2010 until June 2014.

Before he went to work on Bernie's campaign.

[Skidmore]

30. Russians spent years

setting us up. Not trustworthy.

[Autumn]

31. Devine also worked on Al Gore's, John Kerry's and Jimmy Carter's campaigns. nt

[R B Garr]

35. That was years before the current Russian criminal

conspiracies. Not connected. Manafort and Devine worked together on foreign elections after that, all Putin approved.

[MineralMan]

14. Well, that can't be good news for Senator Sanders.

Without stability at the top of his campaign structure, it could be difficult to mount a coherent campaign.

I wonder what he's going to do about this.

[Blue_Tires]

21. That sound a lot like "fired"?

[emulatorloo]

33. Apparently it was "Creative Differences"

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/26/top-bernie-sanders-strategists-split-with-his-2020-campaign-over-creative-differences.html

Top Bernie Sanders strategists split with his 2020 campaign over creative differences

PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO | UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Brian Schwartz

@SCHWARTZBCNBC


KEY POINTS

—Some of Bernie Sanders’ top 2016 strategists are splitting with the left-wing senator’s 2020 presidential campaign over creative differences.

—The media consulting firm Devine Mulvey Longabaugh – run by Tad Devine, Julian Mulvey and Mark Longabaugh – told Sanders on Tuesday that they were walking away from the senator’s campaign efforts.

—“There were differences in a creative vision,” Longabaugh tells CNBC. “We want to leave on a very positive note and we are proud of the work we’ve done on the campaign. It was just clear, however, that we weren’t in sync.”

More at link,

(Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at those meetings)

[Cha]

36. Yes! I would like to know

what those "creative differences" are, too, emulatorloo!

Mahalo for this report.

[tinrobot]

27. Releasing taxes, dumping Tad Devine... all good moves.

[Blue_true]

42. Did Bernie release his tax returns or is he just promising to release them sometime down the road?

[tinrobot]

44. So far, just a promise.

[Blue_true]

45. Just like in 2016. If his tax returns are so simply, what causes the delay.

If what he claims is true, he only has to enter one income and a tally of reimbursements, pretty straightforward stuff, I used to do that in two days when I worked for a corporation and had to expense travel, even now accounting for it is easy.

[Starry Messenger]

32. Interesting.

I wonder if they'll go work for someone else? Seem weird if they sat out an election of this magnitude.

[emulatorloo]

34. From CNBC article I linked above

(Mark) Longabaugh said the firm has not been in touch with another 2020 campaign, but he did not rule anything out.

“We haven’t to spoken anyone,” he said.

Then, when pressed on whether the firm is interested in backing another candidate’s organization, Longabaugh responded: “I’m not going to go there.”

[Starry Messenger]

37. Hmmmm

Thanks, E!

[Blue_true]

43. They covertly worked for Trump last time. Maybe they are going to openly do it this time. nt

[Wounded Bear]

38. So, does this mean more Nina?

Not sure if that is a good thing.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

39. Probably just as well

Tad Devine is bad news.