True Colors: Bernie Sanders, Our Revolution, and the Racist Left

[Eko]

There it is.

After living comfortably in the shadows for 16 months, "progressive" organization Our Revolution finally had its curtain pulled back on Monday and what was behind the curtain was not pretty. According to a Politico article, Our Revolution is exactly as many of perceived it to be: a petty, vindictive organization, built on self-interests and egos, and pretending to be supporting Democratic candidates but actually having a secretive and selective process that nobody except the top brass care to understand. In short, the organization closely mirrors the campaign of Bernie Sanders, a campaign supposedly driven by progressive values but actually driven by greed and a lust for power. Overall, the findings from the article read like a laundry list of how not to create a revolution:

None of this should be a surprise for those of us who have been paying attention. To begin with, it was often assumed that Our Revolution president, Nina Turner had higher political aspirations, seeing as how her only previous run for statewide office resulted in a massive 25-point loss for Ohio Secretary of State in 2014. Since the early days of Bernie Sanders' campaign in 2015, Democratic Party officials wondered why someone with such a poor track record would take on such a prominent campaign role. The answer, as it turns out, was for Turner to use the campaign and then to use her role at Our Revolution to raise her own national profile and to use that profile to lift up her friends. According to the article, one of the main reasons Our Revolution endorsed frequent Fox News contributor Dennis Kucinich for governor of Ohio was that Kucinich's running mate Tara Samples was a close friend of Turner. This would explain why a supposed "progressive" group would endorse someone with such a horrific record as Dennis Kucinich.

Here is the link http://www.thepeoplesview.net/main/2018/5/22/true-colors-bernie-sanders-our-revolution-and-the-racist-left

Now, before you serve on a jury and vote this out, you should consider another recent article and the words from his campaign.

According to campaign spokesperson Arianna Jones, Sanders plans to seek the Democratic nomination in Vermont’s August primary. If he wins, she said, he would “respectfully” decline the nomination and run as an independent in the general election. Sanders would, however, accept the endorsement of the Vermont Democratic Party.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/05/21/bernie-sanders-is-still-borrowing-the-democratic-party/?utm_term=.ff1c92d8628c

[sheshe2]

1. And...

There it is.

True colors.

[Cha]

9. Wow!

[NurseJackie]

92. I knew it all along. So easy to see. Nobody needed to tell me. But...

... I'm glad that someone took the time to spell it out so clearly.

[ucrdem]

2. Yep.

What happened here in Cali and in Nevada was shocking. But what was even more disturbing was Sanders' response when asked about the incidents at LACC and Las Vegas. Basically he grinned and said they have a right to protest.



How much do you have to hate an organization to not give a sh#t about what happened to Barbara Boxer for example? She's a short woman and was seriously threatened by an out-of-control mob for doing what she was elected to do.

[sheshe2]

5. And then he grins?

[ucrdem]

17. Things got really nasty here just before the primary.

Sanders had already lost, wasn't going to win California and it wouldn't have any difference if he had, but the "campaign" kept up the attacks wherever there were cameras. Here's LACC for example, a big community college in an older part of town:



There's one photo I'll never forget which is of Latina woman in a wheelchair trying to get past a gigantic BB barking at her with a bullhorn and looking as mean and hateful as a human can look. Because she was trying to get in to hear Hillary!

It was really, really bad.

[sheshe2]

20. That makes me want to cry.

How can any one human being do this to another. No matter what your politics are, how can you so disrespect another human being...especially if you call yourself a Democrat.

[Blue_true]

59. I remember that. The treats of physical violence, name calling. That is not protest. nt

[LisaM]

133. Yes, that picture absolutely haunted me.

I saw Hillary briefly a few months ago when she was in town to pitch her book. My friend who got the tickets was disabled. The books were pre-signed, and Hillary was sitting at a table basically to say hi to everyone. Since I came in with the disabled people, I was able to see how Hillary interacted with them. As you can imagine, most of them depend greatly on agencies most of us know nothing about, but that was not the case with Hillary. She was extremely well-versed on the subject, knew about a lot of the agencies and their counterparts, and did not rush a single person along. She wanted to hear their stories. I never saw anything like it.

I'm not normally into what I have heard termed the "callout culture" but the people who harassed that poor woman should be flagged down.

[George II]

10. Don't forget the threatening intimidation (which failed) of Dolores Huerta in Nevada.....

With the lack of respect shown to her, there probably is some truth to the narratives of Catalina Velasquez and Lucy Flores, who recently resigned from Our Revolution.

[Hekate]

119. Dolores Huerta & Barbara Boxer are tiny older women, both minorities...

Each in her own way has given a lifetime to social justice and the Democratic Party. They are firey women -- but tiny, and now older.

They were egregiously disrespected by the young white males filling the ranks of the Sanders campaign. Bullied, physically intimidated, shouted down.

Our Revolution and Sanders need to recognize what's wrong with this picture before they gain the respect of Democrats.

[sunRISEnow]

120. Yes. There was a lot of that. As Trump stalked Clinton on stage. A theme.

[mcar]

3. Yes

True colors. And shame on them.

[sheshe2]

4. True colors.

True colors.

Some want this overlooked.

[NurseJackie]

93. There it is. Plain as day. I'm not overlooking it.

This whole thing reveals MUCH, and I have to say, the picture I'm seeing is NOT a very flattering one. (Of course this is absolutely no surprise to me. I'm just glad that the truth is finally out.)

It's amusing to read the excuse-making and deflections and various other efforts at subject-changing and lame rationalizations.

All I'm trying to say is that many observant people have know this all along and we're glad to be vindicated after having to put up with the insults and smears and other forms of online retribution and revenge. It's good to be heard.

[Eliot Rosewater]

101. MANY will overlook this the same way they overlook no tax returns or refusing to put sanctions on

KGB.

Hell, I would settle, at the moment, just to discuss what is REALLY happening.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. So Nina Turner is a racist? Is that how this goes?

[Eko]

12. Seemed to have missed where the article said that.

From what I read it more pushed that she was power hungry and would overlook racism to increase her power. Can you expound on your question?

[George II]

16. Didn't you know.....

...that overlooking racism denotes racism?

[Tarc]

75. Standing by and doing nothing makes one as much a part of the problem

as the ones espousing racism.

Glad you learned something today.

[George II]

13. Did anyone say that or even hint that?

[sheshe2]

21. No one said that.

Yet, you know that.

[sheshe2]

30. The article said that where?

[sheshe2]

40. Your sig is mys....

oh never mind.

[Gothmog]

51. Thank you for posting this

It made me smile

[sheshe2]

95. Me too!

I love that video.

[ehrnst]

67. +1000 (nt)

[sheshe2]

96. :)

[ehrnst]

65. Classic strawman. You are upset about the article content, so you try to misrepresent

as being racist. That's how it goes.

If you are upset at the article, just own it. Don't try to justify your discomfort as "opposing racism."

Being a hater doesn't do one any favors.

[betsuni]

69. +1

[Demsrule86]

71. I have read she is anti-Latina. And consider she hired Tezlyn Figaro who supports

Trumps's immigration policies and is a Fox commentator.

[George II]

124. You make a blatantly false comment about someone calling Nina Turner a racist....

....and don't explain your comment?

[leftstreet]

7. What is 'the peoples view?'

[George II]

14. A click on the link will probably answer your question.

[leftstreet]

18. Not really

The 'about' page there says very little

There's something familiar about it, but I can't recall

[Hassin Bin Sober]

23. Yeah, don't bother.

[LanternWaste]

98. I too never bother to read anything that doesn't validate my biases.

I too never bother to read anything that doesn't validate my biases.

[DBoon]

102. I don't bother reading anything that is not solidly credible

peoples view does not fit the category of "demonstrably credible"

I will assume this is a smear against the Sanders campaign and his supporters until a more credible source is provided

[George II]

125. There are two links in the OP, one from the Washington Post. What are your criteria...

...for "demonstrably credible"?

[QC]

109. Posting empty snark twice doesn't make it smart or insightful.

Posting empty snark twice doesn't make it smart or insightful.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

145. .

[Eko]

15. It appears to be

a website.

[m-lekktor]

29. IF you do a "site search" you will find that, at one point, this blog was mercilessly derided and

mocked. There is one person who did nothing but start threads and post links to this blog and the opinion pieces were usually off the deep end ridiculous. a few people here at that time seemed to know the owner of the blog and had much to say about him, I forget the details. Just do a sitesearch on the people's view and you should find some lively discussion if you are seriously that interested.

[leftstreet]

31. Oh LOL

I KNEW it seemed familiar

I remember now

[Hassin Bin Sober]

33. I remember too.

[LarryNM]

38. And They are still at it. The double-down Crowd that blames

the Rest for Democratic Losses.

[sheshe2]

43. Hmmm

m-lekktor
29. IF you do a "site search" you will find that, at one point, this blog was mercilessly derided and

mocked.

Well on this site I saw Hill called the C word and another poster did a 'brick' post. Did you 'mercilly' deride them? The brick post was left to stand. Just do a site search.

[muriel_volestrangler]

76. What is a 'brick' post? (nt)

[sheshe2]

127. It was something that somone suggested Hillary do to herself...

with said brick.

[SidDithers]

129. Here...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12511459520

I can't say I've ever had an enemy in my life, but I do now. So thank you for that, Mrs. Clinton. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for letting me know just what a heartless human being you are, and how little you think of our country and of my daughter's future. Madam Secretary, from my daughter and fiance and myself, with sincerity, kindly go fuck yourself with a brick.

That post was allowed to stand.

Jurors - please note that I'm answering a question asked by the previous poster. I'm linking to the DU post for information purposes. The excerpt posted are the words of the poster from the link, they are not my words.I absolutely do not share the views of the poster who made those comments.

Sid

[sheshe2]

156. Thanks for posting that Sid.

One of the most disgusting posts I have ever read on DU and 143 people recommended that thread.

[Exotica]

121. what is a brick post? (queuing up behind Muriel, lol)

[George II]

126. How about the Washington Post?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

135. Figures!

[QC]

144. The Peehole Spew. n/t

[demmiblue]

63. The owner of that site was banned from DU, twice. n/t

[sheshe2]

130. A lauded (by some) writer was let go twice.

Yet people post his articles all the time. His name evades me at the moment, but I do remember he called President Obama a POSUS.

[QC]

107. It's the blog of a twice-banned (at least) former DUer. n/t

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

8. Feel the Bern

and register as a Democrat. Get it over with Bernie.

[Cha]

42. Not.

[Hekate]

11. Bernie is a scold -- but he never scolds or calls to account those who fight in his name.

Some examples given in this thread...

[EffieBlack]

66. Funny thing, that.

[George II]

123. It took him a day to "scold" Dr. Song for his "whore" comment, even though he could have done it....

....just moments after the comment was made when he appeared on the podium after Dr. Song.

[sheshe2]

132. Say what!?

I missed that. Would you provide a link, or just PM me.

TIA, George.

[Hortensis]

128. Of course not. His "revolution" focuses first and foremost on

taking over the Democratic Party, not the issues being used as excuses for that, a negative, power-seeking goal for which conservative soldiers are as useful as left-wing dissenters. Resentful populists from both sides who are eager to set something on fire don't really care all that much which party goes down, as we see all too often in false-equalization comments from resentful populist types right here.

By its nature, BLM also includes people from across the political spectrum, and in addition to mostly good-natured, well meaning people from the left and right mainstream, also draws some POC who are naturally hard-core conservatives or from the far, dissident left.

So absolutely no surprise that both groups are occasionally embarrassed by unacceptable behaviors by some members. I haven't paid Nina Turner or a couple of the women associated with the DC chapter of the women's marches enough attention to know which "side" of the spectrum, or political U, they might be better categorized in, only that their divisive, troublemaking behaviors could conceivably come from either extreme. Dissident left wingers often become very hostile and aggressive toward those who don't fall in behind them ideologically, and when POC are the targets they can easily be assumed to be driven by mostly racist instead of ideological passions.

Btw, Sanders seems to have been attacking Democrats less and supporting more lately.
No one should trust that to continue, of course, but for now it should be recognized and I'm happy to appreciate it. We need more support, less opposition, for a one-front war against the right.

[Cha]

19. Here's another resignation from OR today..

Second top official resigns from Bernie Sanders group

snip//

A co-vice chair of Our Revolution who accused the group of insensitivity toward Latinos parts ways in the wake of a POLITICO report.

The decision by Catalina Velasquez, an undocumented immigrant and transgender activist who was co-vice chair of the Bernie Sanders-inspired organization, came during a week of reverberations in the wake of a POLITICO report detailing widespread problems within the group.

A number of people have complained about inattention by the group to Latino and immigrant issues. Others have cited open hostility by a woman whom Our Revolution President Nina Turner had tried to make her chief of staff.

“For the past month, we have been fighting divisive narratives targeting immigrants and pinning us against other oppressed peoples,” wrote Velasquez in a letter she posted on Twitter. “I have faced this with little to no support from the organizational leadership.”

More..
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/24/our-revolution-bernie-sanders-staff-changes-607330

Mahalo, Eko

[ProudLib72]

39. Only the best for Bernie

Reminds me of another outfit.

[Blue_true]

60. Outfit, like in Mob. nt

[ProudLib72]

118. The Rump administration

Losing people left and right.

[OnyxSharpie]

22. So, a hit piece based on a hit piece.

“Living comfortably in the shadows...” More vitriolic tripe.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. Yep. Edward Issac Dovere over at Politico has a crush on Nina Sanders

Now the third and fourth string is going to act oh so concerned.

4 stories by Dovere in 4 days. Lol.

Round up the usual suspects

[George II]

27. Isn't it his job to write? I know when I was an engineer I engineered, which was my job...

So what's the problem?

[George II]

26. How do you come to that conclusion? As far as I can see no vitriol in that.

[disillusioned73]

62. Exactly.. they are graspping,

it does say a lot though about what is happening on the ground in 2018 and going forward..

[Cha]

74. Nina Turner is "grasping".

[disillusioned73]

85. She's doing just fine..

progressive females around the country are getting it done - the haters on the other hand.. not so much

[Demsrule86]

88. She is completely incompetent. She hire a person who supported Trump's immigration policies

and is a regular on Fox. She does not have a transparent process by which she endorse candidates and often endorses her friends...she has lost every primary she meddled in...she hates Democrats. Giving money to this organization is a complete waste of time...she hates Democrats and has announced that she would support Republicans...decent folk at OR have resigned en masse under her 'leadership' or wha whatever you call it.

[disillusioned73]

90. Glass houses ;)

[link:https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/24/tom-perez-andrew-cuomo-primary-endorsements-607799|

Disarray, huh? I give money to candidates directly at this point..

"In March, when asked on C-SPAN about backing candidates in House primaries, Perez said the DNC should not endorse, as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had started doing.

“One thing we’ve learned at the DNC is that when you, in fact or in perception, are trying to put the thumb on the scale in a spirited primary, that can undermine public confidence in us,” Perez said."

"Ellison was not on board with the decision. He was not told in advance about Perez’s decision to endorse Cuomo, a person familiar with the matter said."

[R B Garr]

97. LOL, that's called not being held hostage anymore.

It's about time. New York is a liberal/blue state, so endorsing a liberal Democrat is a good thing. It's always a good thing.

Isn't this great!
"Perez rattled off Cuomo’s record of progressive accomplishments, from passing a $15 minimum wage to legalizing gay marriage and paid family leave."

[Demsrule86]

106. I don't understand how this is relevant. A supposed progressive organization hired a Trumper and a

a bigot who appeared on Fox multiple times. She was apparently a personal friend of Ms. Turner. OR has done nothing but cause trouble...and have won exactly nothing. They don't take on the GOP but mostly go for Democratic incumbents. As for giving to individuals...keep in mind those candidates can do nothing without other Democrats winning...so don't blame the DNC if you choose to starve it for whatever ever reasons you may have if we don't take the House. It takes money to run campaigns. And the most liberal perfect wonderful candidate can do nothing without fellow Dems winning in the House. Oh and just so you know...All the hullabaloo created by OR came to naught in Texas where Lizzie Fletcher won and Laura Moser OR's pick lost.

[LisaM]

136. That's the crux of the matter. THEY DON'T TAKE ON THE GOP.

Same with Jill Stein, who ran to take votes away from Hillary, and did not run against Trump. Same with Nader. And the list just goes on and on.

If Cynthia Nixon is so concerned about transit in NYC, she should run for a city office.

[Wolf Frankula]

142. But a vote for Jill Stein was a vote for Jill Stein.

How do I know? Donald Trump told me.

Wolf

[LisaM]

146. Oh yes, and her well-articulated platform of what she was going to do!

I guess that just slipped my mind......

[Demsrule86]

157. I agree completely. Thanks! I dislike Cynthia Nixon and consider her an attention seeker.

If she won somehow, we would lose the governorship. I don't live in New York but if I did I wouldn't vote for her for anything. She should have run for a city office like you said.

[sunRISEnow]

91. The Democratic women winning have nothing to do with OR. Turner doesn't get credit for the wins.

Turner candidates consistently lose.

[Cha]

147. No, Nina Turner is "grasping"..

In addition, former Our Revolution staffer and DACA recipient Erika Andiola offered a scathing Facebook post in which she verified a lot of what Politico reported. Andiola described being forced out of her work due to her advocacy on the DREAM Act and described how Turner replaced her with Tezlyn Figaro, a personal friend of Turner's, who immediately came onboard and began spouting racist and xenophobic language in favor of Donald Trump's policies. In response to these allegations, Turner published a press release late Tuesday afternoon in what can only be described as a non-denial denial. In her statement, Turner said that Figaro's comments were "under advisement" by herself and her Board and that she was unable to comment further on Andiola's charges "given the sensitivity of the matter." Oddly enough, Turner seemed to take the most umbrage with Politico's reporting on her potential run for higher office claiming that charge was "categorically false."

[sheshe2]

138. What I see happening on the ground is Democrats WINNING elections.

disillusioned73
62. Exactly.. they are graspping,

it does say a lot though about what is happening on the ground in 2018 and going forward..

Sadly OR's success rate on who they endorse is dismal. So how do you read what is happening on the ground? As I said, I see Democrats winning.

[brer cat]

24. Interesting read.

Thanks for posting, Eko.

[4now]

28. It seems like it is all falling apart

[George II]

32. I seem to recall either a song or movie decades ago that said, effectively.....

..."what if they held a revolution and no one came?"

[Cha]

44. President Obama had a

"revolution" only he didn't call it that. He just got us out of the bush disaster.. and got things DONE.

Only he wasn't pure enough.. they wanted to diss him and have their own pure revolution.. only it's not so pure.. what I'm seeing.

[Gothmog]

49. I miss having a real POTUS

[Cha]

55. Yes! And, Flotus..

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210651881

Goth

[sheshe2]

139. Such a bright light in our White House.

Funny, it is the wypipo in charge and in place in the White House that have darken it...just look back at the morbid decor at Christmas.

I miss her love and vibrancy.

That cover is beautiful, thank you Cha and Gothmog.

[Cha]

148. Yes, exactly, she.. the

monsters rigged in the WH now are the ones who darkened it after President Obama and First Lady Michelle had brought love and light into it.

[sheshe2]

150. I love and miss them both.

[Cha]

152. Good to know they're out there doing Good Works like they always do..

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[LanternWaste]

99. I think we had progressive evolution, rather then revolution with Pres Obama.

I think we had progressive evolution, rather then revolution with Pres Obama.

He wanted to fix things that were broken or breaking, instead of tearing them down even more as the 'revolution' was doing last year.

[sunRISEnow]

100. "progressive evolution". The true progressive.

I like the wording you used. It is very on point. Thank you.

[Eliot Rosewater]

103. I dont understand, I thought we ALL Agreed rump is a nazi, America is under attack

and until we remove the NAZI'S and stop the Russian attack, we dont care about purity and so on.

If we had all agreed to that everybody would have a D after their name and everybody would FOR NOW stop criticizing mainstream democratic politicians.

It is actually very simple.

[R B Garr]

47. It certainly is. Just a little vetting and it all

blows up.

[nini]

34. Yet I got shot down everytime I tried to warn people

and that's all I'll say about that.

hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

[Eko]

35. Well,

Here, have a beer then.

[nini]

36. if you insist

[Cha]

41. You knew, nini!

I was there from the start.. knowing this would not go well.

Not with Nina Turner running the show.

[.99center]

37. Did anyone bother to google the author?

This guy did serious damage to Clinton's campaign. Now that he came out of hiding, maybe he can prove he actually worked for the campaign and wasn't used as a prop by O'Keefe.

[sheshe2]

46. So where is the link you googled?

Please post. Don't be shy.

[ismnotwasm]

50. I think he's talking about a set up

Where somebody claimed to “rip up” Trumps ballots somewhere and recorded the gleeful reaction of certain Democrats. It wasn’t “serious damage”, the whole thing was ridiculous

[.99center]

54. I agree, it was rediculous.

But the video was everywhere on Facebook and Twitter.

[NCTraveler]

57. Serious damage? Nt

[.99center]

52. His name is Trevor LaFauci.

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2016/10/conservative-group-may-have-broken-fla-law-in-secret-recording-of-clinton-campaign-voter-registration-shenanigans-106365

It’s unclear if Mao or the other staffers, Mark Hodges or Trevor LaFauci, will file a complaint. None could be reached through the campaign or state party. Mao and LaFauci have locked their Twitter accounts and Hodges appears to have deleted his account.

Of the three, Hodges has relatively noncontroversial cameos in the video. He acknowledges avoiding Donald Trump supporters and, during the lunchtime chat with Mao, complains of a volunteer who wants to go to a Sept. 30 Clinton event in Coral Springs.

“Tell her to fuck off and volunteer for U.S. Weekend because it's a weekend of action, and you can't win votes at a fucking rally,” Hodges says.

LaFauci is the most-compromised of the three. At one point, an undercover Project Veritas “journalist” named “Max” claims he destroyed three “Trump ballots” — an impossibility because ballots are distributed by county election supervisors to individual voters, not political operatives or canvassers.

[MrsCoffee]

77. Fuck Project Veritas and O'Keefe.

I remember all the attacks on planned parenthood over their doctored edited videos.

They have ZERO credibility and citing them as evidence of anything is ludicrous.

[.99center]

112. Do you also remember the lawsuits against O'Keefe?

Isn't it odd that Trevor and the others didn't file a complaint?

"In the new Florida case, no complaints have been filed, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for Palm Beach County state attorney Dave Aronberg, who would be in charge of prosecuting the case.

“A ‘victim’ would need to file a complaint with law enforcement to initiate an investigation," Edmondson said via email. “Generally a violation is a third degree felony punishable to 5 years in prison. Not aware of a complaint at this point."

Instead of filing a complaint, Trevor deleted his social media accounts and refused to speak to reporters. If he had any interest in helping the party, he'd file that complaint against O'Keefe.

Do you think it's a coincidence that the same guy that screwed Clinton, is now painting Democrats as racist?

[Gothmog]

45. K&R

[Gothmog]

48. The local Our Revolution group attacked an Asian candidate

The OP is consistent with the actions of the local Our Revolution group http://www.indoamerican-news.com/local-democrats-infighting-attempts-to-smear-sri-kulkarni/

Like many other youngsters going through their tumultuous teen years, Kulkarni attributed the episode to youthful indiscretion, similar to what George W. Bush, Barak Obama and Bill Clinton experienced in their youths.

But Beaton, who is backing candidate Steve Brown in the primary, is throwing out all sorts of minor issues to sideline Kulkarni’s bid. He has challenged Kulkarni’s full name, his residency in the district, his voting record and even his registration application saying he wanted to run in Massachusetts.

Inspite of these diversions, the Indian American community as well as the rest of the South And East Asian communities are staunchly behind Kulkarni and they have shown it by the sheer numbers who have come to his events and are donating funds to his campaign, sensing a chance to have an Asian in Congress from the Metroplex. They came together last night, Tuesday, February 20, at Madras Pavlion to rally behind Kulkarni and push back against these charges.

Encouraged, Kulkarni is counting on their support. “We’re pushing back against this stigmatization and slander,” Kulkarni said. “The Asian communities need to come out and vote to get us over the top in the primary.”

From another article http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/texas-congressional-candidate-sri-kulkarni-acknowledges-teen-drug-arrest-youthful/article_54a39be6-1e55-11e8-8db1-6f520552146f.html

Doug Beaton, the leader of the chapter, warned Fort Bend County Democratic officials on Kulkarni's previously undisclosed past in a letter posted on social media, it said.

The letter suggested that Kulkarni, whose full first name is Srinivas, is running under an assumed name and that he had previously registered with the Federal Election Commission to run for a congressional seat in Massachusetts.,,,,

Fort Bend County's past Democratic chair, Don Bankston, a member of the party's state executive committee, said the attack on Kulkarni is off base and potentially slanderous, according to the report.

Again, I am good friends with the Muslim precinct chairs in my district. They are still pissed as this attack.

[SunSeeker]

53. K & R

[Thekaspervote]

56. I for one am pleased to see this coming to the surface. Divisive from the (top..sanders) down

[NCTraveler]

58. No vetting please.

Seriously, no vetting!

Damnit... They are vetting him.

[Blue_true]

61. As a potential front runner, the spotlight now gets shined on him.

The MSM love to build people up and tear them down, with the exception of Trump, that bastard used them and is now trying to destroy them.

[oberliner]

64. Author of this piece has been bashing Bernie Sanders since 2016

In April, 2016, he wrote: "The Cult of Bernie: How Blind Adoration Has Masked One of America's Most Deceitful Presidential Campaigns" and has written other similar articles before and since.

[betsuni]

68. Anointed, coronated, crowned, cult, cheerleading, echo chamber, blind loyalty, hubris, hive mind,

cult of personality, fans, blind allegiance, etc. -- where have we seen that before? LOL.

[Cha]

70. Brava betsuni! It's right

on the tip of my tongue..

[betsuni]

72. Heh!

[sheshe2]

140. So much this!

Hey, betsuni.

[George II]

86. Let's see: May 2018, April 2016. Yeah, he devotes his career to doing so.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

137. Exactly right... you beat me to it.

[SidDithers]

73. DU rec...

Sid

[BootinUp]

134. Lol nt

[Tom Rinaldo]

78. "campaign supposedly driven by progressive values but actually driven by greed and a lust for power"

I assume this OP has already been through a Jury process but that quote alone is the reason to justify hiding this. It gives away the entire mind set of the writer (and no doubt of many of those commenting here and giving this post a rec.) It is a slur not only against Bernie Sanders, but also against the record setting number of very small donors who supported his run for President and the many millions who voted for him. That is the author's summary view of the Bernie Sanders 2016 run for President; greed and lust for power. With that as the author's mind set, no analysis written by that person can be taken as not being driven by a covert agenda. And i do not take kindly to the implication that people like me were naively taken in by a populist demagogue. Nor would the voters of Vermont for that matter, who give Bernie Sanders the highest approval rating by voters of any state for their Senator.

There were two leading candidates for President in 2016. Both have been in politics for decades. Both of them started life from middle class backgrounds. One of them now has a net worth of tens of millions of dollars, the other maybe one, maybe two million. Both of them published books featuring their political careers, presumably they are both profiting from them. Both of them sought the greatest power in the nation, if not in the world - one at least twice, the other once so far. No one ever runs for President who wants nothing to do with having power, but uniquely Sanders is here asserted to being driven by a lust for it.

The positions Sanders campaigned on were then, and remain now, unabashedly progressive. It can be (and certainly was) argued that those policy proposals were tactically deficient and/or unrealistic. And no doubt every candidate who has ever run for office on a progressive platform has taken a small number of stances in favor of propositions that some could argue were not progressive. Obviously both leading candidates in 2016 could be scrutinized from that perspective, but objectively the Sanders campaign was driven by progressive values, and no mere assertion to the contrary can erase that.

IF THIS POST GOES TO JURY PLEASE NOTE: My references to the 2016 campaign are only in response to a false characterization IMO of it by the author of the piece posted above, with the intention of attacking one the candidates who ran in it. They do not in any way re-fight that primary in any way. I gladly voted for the winner of it.

[oberliner]

79. Not to mention the author's past history of trashing Bernie

For the past few years.

[Martin Eden]

143. Thank you for that post

And for being a voice of reason.

[Eko]

151. I agree with some of what you have stated.

The quote you put in your title was pretty harsh, but to be honest with you someone who will run and seek the Democratic nomination in the primary and then if they win decline the nomination and then run as an Independent in the GE sure seems to me to be someone who will use us and then discard us when they want. Also, both of them did a lot, but only one of them released their tax returns.

[Tom Rinaldo]

154. Thank you for replying

I can understand how some can be offended by Bernie seeking the Democratic nomination in the Vermont primary and then planning to decline it. I leave that to Vermont voters, Democrats included, to evaluate on their own. Sanders is up front about it, no Democrat has to vote for him if they don't want to.

Sanders is unusual in that he rose up through the ranks of Vermont politicians as an Independent, from the local level up to state wide races. For a time Democrats ran candidates against him, but in more recent years there seems to be an understanding that Sanders will caucus with Democrats in Washington and that the Vermont Democratic Party will make no real effort to oppose him in Vermont. This helps guarantee that Vermont elects a Senator who does not caucus with Republicans, as a 3 way race where Sanders runs as an Independent vs a Republican candidate AND a Democratic candidate could split the center left vote and allow a Republican to emerge victorious. Remember, despite Vermont's liberal reputation it just elected a Republican Governor. Even if the Vermont State Democratic Party supports this arrangement (which I believe they on the whole do) it can be upset if some individual Democrats on their own choose to seek the Democratic nomination through a primary. If Sanders does not enter the Democratic primary himself than defacto there will be a Democrat other than him running in November against him, even if that person has no real chance of winning.

OK, that covers why Bernie (with the tacit understanding of the Vermont Democratic Party) runs in the Democratic Primary even though he considers himself to be an Independent, but not why he declines the nomination if he wins the primary. Again, I can understand that some may be offended by that choice but no doubt he has his reasons. If Bernie accepted the Democratic nomination than he would end up being elected as a Democrat when he wins. Bernie Sanders has been independent most of his life and he chooses to remain an Independent (who caucuses with Democrats). Running as an Independent may actually have helped Bernie in Vermont to win votes from many people who never vote Democratic. It is part of his political identity.

None of this is new or shocking to Vermont's Democratic voters who at any time can choose to support a different person running in the Democratic Party primary if they want to. As to whether Bernie uses Democrats and then discards them, he keeps his promise to caucus with Democrats in the Senate and his voting record is far more loyal to Democratic leadership in that chamber than some of our elected Democrats there. Vermont's voters know what they are getting with Sanders. It's there choice and overwhelmingly they choose Bernie Sanders. But i get that some are angered about it (though not many in Vermont).

But even if you are one of those who hold the position that Bernie Sanders only "uses the Democratic Party", the sentence that I highlighted is more than merely harsh, it is both a smear and character assassination without any basis in fact (that Sanders, like all people who summon up the resolve to run for President, has a strong ego is no proof of the over the top accusations the author made.)

As to his tax returns, with all that has gone down, I'll just say that I would consider it disqualifying if Sanders again announced a run for President without first releasing his tax returns.

[Eko]

155. Thanks,

I'm a member of the Democratic party, and it's also relevant to me even if I don't live in Vermont if someone does what Sanders campaign spokesperson says he will do. There is a history of Sanders being very critical to the Democratic party, to our Presidents, our elected representatives and the party as a whole that goes much further than normal campaign rhetoric and is present even far past campaigns. Add onto that a movement spun out of his presidential campaign that continues being very critical to Democrats and even going as far as supporting people over Democratic politicians including as they stated Republicans. I run a large business with lots of employees and I know the difference between trying to make something better and trying to tear down things because someone thinks they alone know better. Sanders and OR do the latter in a large majority of dealings with the Democratic party. Its surprising to me that people don't understand why a lot of Democrats are turned off with Sanders and OR, when you continually attack a party that you use multiple times to advance in politics what else can you expect? Its like your neighbor borrowing your lawn mower and complaining every single time that your mower isnt good enough. I see people all of the time say the we need to unite as a party, Sanders and OR do the exact opposite of that. Period. As to that sentence, I agree, its hyperbolic and totally an opinion, but the second part of it has a good chance of being true, "a lust for power". When he continually uses the Party to advance in politics because he knows it increases his chance of winning and then leaves the party afterward, well, that sure does number one, show that he desires to advance quite a bit, number two, is not adverse to using a party that he is not in to advance and then leaving them when it suits him. I dont like the wording they used, I think the greed thing could have been left out and instead of lust for power maybe something like "throw a party under the bus when it suits you" would have been closer to true. Even discounting the times he has ran as a Democrat previous times, in the presidential election and now this new info is proof enough that that is indeed what he is doing from mine and others perspectives.
Your view on his tax returns is refreshing, as was the time and effort you went into replying back to me, I sincerely thank you for doing so and I hope I have done noting to offend you, if so I apologize. Your take away from the first article was not what I was shooting for, hence the second one to try to move my point forward. I am always right except for when I am wrong.
Keep on keeponing.
Eko.

[aikoaiko]

80. Oh Trevor LaFauci -- not a surprising blog piece from Trevor.

But hey, its on the internet so it must be true.

[kcr]

81. Yeah, can't seem to find anything about it anywhere else....

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/bernie-sanders-organization-falling-apart/vi-AAxAlOk

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/bernie-sanders-democrats-2018-599331

http://freebeacon.com/politics/activists-slam-sanders-inspired-revolution-problems-latino-engagement/

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/sanders-backed-our-revolution-head-tried-install-anti-immigrant-fox-news-analyst

[aikoaiko]

82. Opinion pieces about opinion pieces...

...for the most part.

[kcr]

84. Ok

If all of these articles are BS and OR is really actually thriving and robust with an awesome leader in Nina Turner, then Bernie fans don't have a thing to worry about! 2020 is looking good for you

[aikoaiko]

87. Actually I don't think OR is thriving

But I can also recognize exaggerations and hyperbole by people with agendas.

Also also recognize that one persons hyperbole is another persons hard truth when it comes to Bernie or OR.


All is well, well enough.

[Blue_Tires]

83. OR digging up the political corpse of Dennis Kuchinich and passing him off as a viable candidate

told us everything we ever needed to know about those morons...

[NurseJackie]

94. OMG!

OR digging up the political corpse of Dennis Kuchinich and passing him off as a viable candidate

OMG!

[Wwcd]

108. + 1000 THIS

As well as running candidates with zero knowledge & experience in governance.

Their schtick is clear as day.
Its not about progress nor democracy.

Its about spoilers diviide off the strength of a needed vote . Oldest game in the book.

Money & Media

[Me.]

153. Donuts To Them

[MrScorpio]

89. The reaction to BLM in Seattle was a red flag for me

[Eliot Rosewater]

104. Lots of red flags but you need to have a predisposition to certain ideals to see them

[OneGrassRoot]

131. That was the definitive turning point for me. n/t

[mikeysnot]

105. Seems like a political hit job hit piece

to protect the status quo...

[Wwcd]

110. Oh please. They have a massive political hit job of their own & have been running on that since

day one.

When RT begins by stumping against any Dem candidate, its about something other than progress for ALL citizens of America.

It is an all out smear campaign.
We all watched it happen througout 2015/16 & beyond, so its not even defendable nor deniable at this point.

We all see the truth.
The facts shown here lately & this today about the inner workings of OR, support that.

At least be fair.
We all see it.

[sunRISEnow]

111. After two years of history with OR, the Democratic Party and base can reject this Organization.

I do not know the number of followers and supporters, but clearly they are not a friend of our party. OR does not hold our values. We do not want to be connected with their values. After a couple years, I think we can all agree this is not an organization to be connected with in any manner or have any positive expectation.

Sometimes it is that clear.

[Wwcd]

113. Agree. OR has never been who they claim to be.

Not progressive, not democratic & not a liberal valued orgaization.


Whe the leader of OR came right out & said why he joined the Dem Party, "for Money & Media", it was obvious that there really was no "revolution".
It was a Money & Media campaign to benefit someone other than ALL the people of this country.

Stay loyal to the True Blue Democratic Party.
They have always been in the fight for a better America for its citizens.

VOTE DEMOCRAT 2018

[sunRISEnow]

115. And advocate voting Republican, Independent, green or whomever, if they choose.

I mean, it should be pretty clear to all Democrats that this does not work for us.

[Wwcd]

116. Yup. Its been clear for sometime.

Time to cut ties to any org that works against the constant values & platform of the Democratic Party.
We are always stronger together.

[sunRISEnow]

117. Yes. A strong message for the next couple years.

[Wwcd]

114. K & R Eko. Thank you for openly bringing the truth we all see, to DU. Finally.

Kudos

[TheRealNorth]

122. Scott Walker says

Keep up the fantastic work!

[betsuni]

141. K&R

[Me.]

149. Thank You Eko

I am relieved that the truth is finally being told. The whole purity/walk on water theme has been damaging to the Dem party, not anything close to what Comrade Trump has done but clearly aiders and abetters. And that business in Vermont is pure out and out chicanery.