Bernie Sanders Is Democrats’ Top Beneficiary of Outside Spending, Like it or Not

[ProudToBeLiberal]

DES MOINES — As he swung through Iowa this week, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont rarely passed up a chance to bash the rising tide of money in politics, a system he said on Tuesday was “corrupt and undermining American democracy.”

At many of these stops, he was accompanied by members of National Nurses United, a seven-year-old union, fanning out from a bright-red bus in matching red scrubs to corral potential Sanders votes.

But the union is not just busing nurses into Iowa. The union’s “super PAC” has spent close to $1 million on ads and other support for Mr. Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate who has inspired liberal voters with his calls to eradicate such outside groups. In fact, more super PAC money has been spent so far in express support of Mr. Sanders than for either of his Democratic rivals, including Hillary Clinton, according to Federal Election Commission records.

“I do appreciate the irony,” said RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of National Nurses United. “All things being equal, we would rather not be doing this. On the other hand, we want to see Bernie as president.”

Mr. Sander’s unlikely rise to super PAC pre-eminence is, in part, the story of an unusual alignment of strategies by different outside groups, including Republican ones eager to bloody Mrs. Clinton and lift Mr. Sanders, whom conservatives believe will be easier to defeat in a general election. While the nurses’ super PAC is the biggest left-leaning outside spender in the Democratic primary, conservative organizations have also spent at least $4.3 million attacking Mrs. Clinton in recent months.

One recent online ad from the Republican super PAC American Crossroads has assailed Mrs. Clinton for her Wall Street speaking fees — echoing an argument Mr. Sanders often makes against her. Another conservative group, Ending Spending, bankrolled by the Wyoming billionaire Joe Ricketts, has begun a $600,000 campaign in Iowa highlighting Mr. Sanders’s promises to raise taxes on the rich and provide free public college tuition, calling him “too liberal for Iowa.” But the ad’s language and imagery, including a contented-looking superrich couple hugging in front of a mansion and expensive cars, has led some Democrats to believe it is actually meant to bolster Mr. Sanders.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/us/politics/bernie-sanders-is-democrats-top-beneficiary-of-outside-spending-like-it-or-not.html

[2pooped2pop]

1. I like union money a hell of a lot better than Hillary's corporate, keep the status quo, money.

Any day. Vote for the people not the billionaires and banksters.

[HassleCat]

2. Absolute proof!

Sanders is dishonest and Clinton is pure as the driven snow. I see that now. Thank you.

[99th_Monkey]

3. Oh Noes!! Bernie beholden to nurses? Feel the faux-outrage!! n/t

[jkbRN]

6. Whoop whoop!!

[frylock]

16. What do they want in return whargle bargle!!1

[Jefferson23]

4. lol

Evil nurses.




Your OP's are too funny.

[Jarqui]

5. "Sanders Is Democrats’ Top Beneficiary of Outside Spending"??

Priorities USA, a Super PAC for Hillary has raised $15,000,000 for her
https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/candidate.php?cycle=2016&id=N00000019&type=f

Ready PAC $3,180,593
Correct the Record $1,435,098 (commission the a PPP debate poll)
Future45 $600,000

How come these don't count?

[99th_Monkey]

8. Never mind Hillary's Yooge Fund-Raiser with Finance Industry (now cancelled)

Primarily because it was getting too much press (thanks to the Intercept) and was downright
embarrassing.

Hillary Clinton Doing Finance Industry Fundraiser Just Before Iowa
https://theintercept.com/2016/01/26/hillary-clinton-doing-back-to-back-finance-industry-fundraisers-just-before-iowa/

ON EDIT: but apparently THIS one still happened, just wow. She just can't rake in enough 1%-corporate $$$$
fast enough.. the 'benefactors' in this case being big FRACKING outfits & advocates.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1280103438

[Jarqui]

10. I knew they had cancelled that

and I agree it was because the press found out about it. It was not on her campaign schedule. Neither was the visit to the church on the Church's schedule. Ms Deceptive.

But yes, she had other two fundraisers for today, the second in New York. Chelsea also had a fundraiser today in New York.

Maybe buying all these newspaper endorsements with ads left them a little short.

[Recursion]

18. And they haven't spent it, which is why Sanders is the top beneficiary of super PAC spending

Arithmetic, and all.

[Jarqui]

20. I doubt it

Priorities USA Action spent $444,961
Correct the Record spent $333,919.53 by June 30, 2015 ...
and they only started in May 2015 splitting away from American Bridge 21st Century

They haven't filed for the last six months yet.

What are the chances they spent less than $240,000 over the last six months if they spent $333,000 in the first month and a bit?

[GeorgeGist]

7. Hilarious.

I can smell the desperation from here.

[Skwmom]

9. My God the Nurses Union. I'm sure they'll be asking for billion dollar bailouts anytime now.

[winter is coming]

13. Or demanding Bernie put the squeeze on manufacturers

to produce more attractive-looking orthopedic shoes.

[CajunBlazer]

11. I'm sure that Sanders supporters appreciate the efforts the Rove's American Crossroads PAC

Why doesn't Bernie publicly tell the nurses PAC that his campaign doesn't want their help or money. You know why.

Why do you think that Karl Rove's Super PAC and other conservative PAC's are spending millions of dollars trying to help Bernie win In Iowa? Imagine the stink on GDP the if good ole Karl was trying to help out Hillary. With friends like Karl Rove and his kind, Bernie doesn't need enemies.

Karl Rove has been accused (correctly) of a lot of things, but politically stupid is usually not one of them.

Mr. Sander’s unlikely rise to super PAC pre-eminence is, in part, the story of an unusual alignment of strategies by different outside groups, including Republican ones eager to bloody Mrs. Clinton and lift Mr. Sanders, whom conservatives believe will be easier to defeat in a general election. While the nurses’ super PAC is the biggest left-leaning outside spender in the Democratic primary, conservative organizations have also spent at least $4.3 million attacking Mrs. Clinton in recent months.

One recent online ad from the Republican super PAC American Crossroads has assailed Mrs. Clinton for her Wall Street speaking fees — echoing an argument Mr. Sanders often makes against her.

[Sunlei]

17. I agree with you, easy to notice how republicans use everything available to attack Mrs. Clinton

They would love for Sanders to win the primary, like republicans wanted Obama to win the 2008 primary.

I keep saying this, "I want Senator Sanders and Mrs. Clinton to team-up" That team would destroy the republican party.

[Metric System]

12. THIS says it all:

***Mr. Sander’s unlikely rise to super PAC pre-eminence is, in part, the story of an unusual alignment of strategies by different outside groups, including Republican ones eager to bloody Mrs. Clinton and lift Mr. Sanders, whom conservatives believe will be easier to defeat in a general election.***

[Number23]

14. Yeah it does

But I thought this bit was interesting too:

“I do appreciate the irony,” said RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of National Nurses United. “All things being equal, we would rather not be doing this. On the other hand, we want to see Bernie as president.”

Just goes to show how quickly even the most "noble" of principles can be expunged so that people can get what they want. It's already happening and Sanders hasn't won a single primary yet let alone anything resembling the election. This is what human beings do and it wouldn't be a big deal if Sanders and his supporters hadn't always made him out to be above this sort of thing. No one is.

[politicaljunkie41910]

15. I caught that too. Thanks for posting another episode of "the end justifies the means".

[Bobbie Jo]

19. This is exactly the sort of thing

his supporters constantly rail against. I understand the need to compete in the current system, you do what you have to do, but the utter hypocrisy at work here is just hilarious.

Political expediency, nothing more. Then again, IOKIYBS.

[Gothmog]

21. Clinton Camp: GOP Attacks On Hillary Show They'd Rather Face Bernie In Fall

The GOP really wants to run against a weaker candidate http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-karl-rove-attack

The Hillary Clinton campaign on Tuesday said that recent attacks from conservatives show that Republicans are hoping Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will win the Democratic nomination because they believe he would be easier to beat in the general election.

In a Tuesday evening statement, the Clinton campaign's communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, mentioned an ad from the Rove-aligned super PAC American Crossroads, which accused Clinton of being in Wall Street's pocket. Palmieri said the ad suggests that Republicans want to face Sanders in the general election.

"While Senator Sanders tries to make a case on electability based on meaningless polls, Republicans and their super PACs have made clear the candidate they’re actually afraid to face. The Sanders argument falls apart when the GOP spokesman is trying to help him and the Republicans run ads trying to stop Hillary Clinton in the primary," she said in the statement.

Karl Rove is running an attack ad against Clinton in the Iowa primary. Rove is doing this for one purpose which is to weaken the strongest candidate

[Gothmog]

22. Anti-Sanders attack ad isn’t quite what it seems to be

This so-called attack ad is really an ad designed to help Sanders. The fact that the Sanders supporters think that this is an attack ad and do not realize that the purpose of this ad is to help Sanders is amusing http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/anti-sanders-attack-ad-isnt-quite-what-it-seems-be

Republicans have made no secret of the fact that they’d prefer to run against Bernie Sanders in the general election. Whether or not their assumptions are correct is a separate question, but GOP officials, convinced that the senator would be easy to defeat, have gone out of their way to help Sanders in the Democratic race.....

At first blush, the move may seem encouraging to Sanders supporters. After all, if Republicans have gone from defending Sanders to attacking him, maybe it means GOP insiders are getting scared of the Vermont independent?

It’s a nice idea, but that’s not what’s going on here. In fact, far from an attack ad, this commercial, backed by a prominent Republican mega-donor, is the latest evidence of the GOP trying to help Sanders, not hurt him.

Indeed, in this case, it’s hardly even subtle. This commercial touts Sanders’ support for tuition-free college, single-payer health care, and higher taxes on the “super-rich.” It concludes that the senator is “too liberal,” which isn’t much of an insult in an ad directed towards liberal voters in Iowa.

In other words, we’re talking about a Republican mega-donor investing in a faux attack ad to help Sanders win because he sees Sanders as easy to beat in November.

It’s the mirror image of the tactic Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) used in the 2012 U.S. Senate race in Missouri, when she invested in ads intended to boost then-Rep. Todd Akin (R) in his primary race, with commercials touting his far-right positions and calling him “too conservative.” The point was to make Akin look better in the eyes of Missouri Republicans so he’d win the primary, making it easier for the incumbent Democrat to defeat him on Election Day.

This ad is just another example of the GOP trying to help Sanders become the nominee because the GOP knows that Sanders is the weaker candidate.

[Gothmog]

23. Republicans Take Their Sanders Advocacy to the Next Level

This ad was designed to support Sanders just as McCaskill's ads against Todd Akin were designed to do http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-01-28/republicans-take-their-sanders-advocacy-to-the-next-level

Add Republican operatives to the list of strong Bernie Sanders supporters in the Democratic primary, along with progressive activists and young voters.

A super-PAC founded by Republican billionaire Joe Ricketts is making its first foray into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, spending $600,000 on a television ad in Iowa calling Sanders "too liberal," according to The New York Times.

The ad then spotlights two of the policies that have helped fuel his rise in the Democratic primary—his calls for "completely free" college education and more taxes on Wall Street and the "super-rich."

"It's exactly the same thing we did with Todd Akin," said Caitlin Legacki, who served as communications director to Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill's during her successful campaign in 2012. "They're clearly trying to use the exact same playbook."

Four years ago, McCaskill spent nearly $1 million in TV ads calling Akin "too conservative" in an effort to promote him, rather than his two opponents. He won the primary, then McCaskill trounced him on Election Day.

"More than anything that should be a concern for Democrats, because you don't make those kinds of investments in support of a candidate from another party unless you believe there's a good reason for it," Legacki added.