Bernie Sanders Wanted To Play Softball With The Press. But His Campaign Got In The Way.

[lapucelle]

Sanders’ presidential campaign tried to put on a softball game with reporters amid weeks of fighting with the media. It didn’t go according to plan.

snip===================================================================

On the eve of the game in Iowa, Sanders started selling the baseball card to raise money for his campaign — “It can be yours with a donation of any amount!” — and plans for the event began to fall apart.

snip===================================================================

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Bernie Sanders was warming up in shallow center field, launching balls toward the thick rows of corn that sweep across the perimeter of the “Field of Dreams” film site here in Iowa, when one of his press aides told a line of nearby reporters it was time for them to give the senator some space.

“They can stay,” Sanders snapped back, voice raised. “You guys want to stay, they can stay.”

His aides drew back and the reporters stayed put, watching the 77-year-old bat around, with all three parties looking like uneasy guests at their own event. Plans for the “Press vs. Staff” softball game, organized weeks ago and promoted by campaign officials as a public “show” of “goodwill and sportsmanship” toward the press at a time when “members of the media are demonized by the president,” collapsed late this weekend as Sanders both intensified his usual criticism of the “corporate media” and attempted to raise money off the outing by selling custom-made baseball cards. (His stats: “#46, Presidential Candidate. Home: Burlington, Vermont. Bats: Right. Throws: Right. Thinks: Left.”)

In the span of the last two weeks — as Sanders aides printed jerseys and hats, booked food trucks for the venue, and recruited the actor Susan Sarandon, star of the 1988 baseball classic Bull Durham, to make the long trip to Dyersville to serve as color commentator during the game — the Vermont senator and his aides launched a new campaign against the same reporters who were readying their Monday night roster.

snip===================================================================

On the eve of the game in Iowa, Sanders started selling the baseball card to raise money for his campaign — “It can be yours with a donation of any amount!” — and plans for the event began to fall apart.

At CNN, where a reporter had been organizing the press roster for the game, higher-ups decided to pull out. They didn’t want to participate in an event connected to Sanders’ fundraising, a CNN employee said. (A spokesperson declined to comment.) Once informed, other outlets quickly followed: ABC, NBC, Bloomberg.

snip===================================================================

After six innings of play, the Revolutionaires lost 14–8. Bernie and Jane shared a kiss near the on-deck circle. And with the media looking on in silence, the game came to a close.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/bernie-sanders-softball-press

[BannonsLiver]

1. So it was a media reconciliation event masquerading as fundraiser.

Which turned into a disaster.

[lapucelle]

17. "We made a Bernie Sanders baseball card to commemorate this moment."

Oh dear.

[bigtree]

2. looked like a lot of fun was had by those who attended

...and the media folks were right to steer clear of a fundraising scheme.

Ruby Cramer. Good anti-trumper, but no friend of Democrats (including our seasonal Democrat).

[George II]

3. So a friendly game of softball turned out to be just another campaign event to raise money. BTW...

...Sunday his campaign sent out an email hawking those cards, and taking a typical shot at "profits" and the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most popular teams in America.

The email:

XXXXXX -

When he was growing up in Brooklyn, Bernie Sanders was a YUGE fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

And when the team’s owner decided to abandon the loyal fanbase of Brooklyn in pursuit of bigger profits in Los Angeles, it taught Bernie a formative lesson about corporate power.

Bernie still proudly wears a Brooklyn Dodgers hat — and he’ll be wearing it tomorrow in the softball game he’s playing against the press at Iowa’s iconic Field of Dreams.

We made a Bernie Sanders baseball card to commemorate this moment.

Donate ANY amount of money tonight and we’ll send you a Bernie Sanders baseball card.

It should be noted that's not exactly the reason why the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn (we lived about a mile from Ebbets Field).

[lapucelle]

7. Who re-writes baseball history in the interest generating quick cash?

Despite all this good news, the Dodgers faced a rocky future. They may have been fielding one of the best teams in baseball, but it was an aging team. And their stadium, Ebbets Field, was falling apart. Built in 1912 before the age of mass spectator sports, the facilities were poor and only certain sections had decent views of the field. Profits were dwindling, and fans were not turning out for games. Poor parking, poor facilities, and the stadium’s location in a minority neighborhood during a time of racial prejudice kept people away. Fewer ticket sales meant less cash for new players and stadium improvements.

O’Malley searched around Brooklyn for a location to transplant his team. He had the cash to build a new stadium but he lacked the money necessary to secure the land. Armed with a fresh stadium design by star architect Buckminster Fuller, O’Malley approached the city of New York to strike a deal.

snip===================================================================

O’Malley eyed the Atlantic Yards section of Brooklyn where Flatbush and Atlantic avenues intersect. It was a suitable area with easy public access, and Fuller’s modern design allowed for plenty of seating and plenty of parking. The new Dodgers stadium would be the envy of baseball fans everywhere.

Moses refused. He did not believe that a baseball stadium in Brooklyn was in the public interest, and he would not allow the Title I provision of the Federal Housing Act to be used to obtain land for such a purpose. This was laughable because Moses, history would later show, applied Title I to projects whenever it suited him. It was said that he displaced more people for his parks and roadways than any natural disaster ever could.

Moses offered O’Malley the yet-to-be-built Shea Stadium in Queens, where Moses was trying develop chunks of Flushing property for corporate allies. O’Malley refused.

“I want to be in Brooklyn,” O’Malley said. “These are the Brooklyn Dodgers. If I'm going to be outside Brooklyn, I could be 30 miles outside of Brooklyn or I could be 3,000 miles outside of Brooklyn and it's not going to matter to me.”

https://www.realclearhistory.com/historiat/2018/05/30/whos_really_to_blame_for_dodgers_leaving_brooklyn_316.html

[George II]

10. At the time Ebbets Field was one of the smallest and most run-down stadium in the major leagues.

[Docreed2003]

27. Thank you for this

As a kid, the "Boys of Summer" was one of my favorite books. I idolized the Brooklyn Dodgers, a team that had left Brooklyn 20 years before I was born. Your facts are correct...the "evil corporatist" meme is not

[lapucelle]

28. I was born in Brooklyn and remember Ebbets Field.

My mom was a Dodgers fan. She told us stories about going on Ladies Days dressed in a chic little suit and a hat. That's how you'd go to a ballgame.

[Docreed2003]

31. Very cool story!

Thanks for sharing!!

[lapucelle]

32. I have a better story. My dad grew up in Ridgewood

in the same neighborhood as Phil Rizzuto. My dad said Phil could play any sport better than any kid, pretty much from the get-go. All the grown-ups called him "little Philly Rizzuto".

One day a pair of dogs got kinda stuck together in the heat of passion, right in the middle of the street, with an audience of wide-eyed kids looking on in bewildered fascination. A horrified grown-up saw what was going on and sent two kids to go get a bucket of water to cool the canines down.

Those two kids were my dad and "little Philly Rizzuto".

[Docreed2003]

33. Hahahahahahahahaha

Awesome story!!!

[sheshe2]

4. Well that didn't go well. ;(

[HerbChestnut]

5. The game went just fine.

As usual, something positive from the Sanders campaign is spun into a negative on this board.

[George II]

9. It WOULD have been a positive event had it not become a fundraiser.

[HerbChestnut]

11. People could donate any amount to get a card. Any. Amount.

And they could still watch the game without donating if they wanted. This board is unbelievable.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. It's not this board. It's just a handful of people.

[George II]

15. They turned it into a fundraiser. If they wanted to keep it light and upbeat....

....they could have announced that all money collected would be donated to a local charity, Boys and Girls Club, or whatever. Sad that they didn't think of that.

[lapucelle]

24. I don't think that's correct.

[lapucelle]

12. Here's some "lighthearted" spin from Faiz Shakir about the cash for cards online fundraiser.

Bernie's softball game vs. media sparks last-minute controversy

Media outlets pull out after a fundraising solicitation.

snip====================================================================

Here's Shakir's lighthearted response.

“Unconfirmed rumors from scouts suggest that some on the opposing team — having realized Bernie 'the Bern' Sanders was the scheduled pitcher for tonight's contest — decided to stand down,” campaign manager Faiz Shakir wrote in an email to POLITICO. “Others say that a few media executives got a little squeamish about sharing the field with Bernie. Regardless, fans will not be disappointed. It is game on. Because we have to fulfill the promise of 'if you build it, they will come!'"

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/19/bernie-sanders-softball-media-1468600

[Cha]

19. Nope.. BS is the one who turned it into

a fundraiser for himself.

[underthematrix]

6. I find this article disturbing not because of prez candidate Bernie Sanders. I lay the

blame at the feet of his team. THEIR most important job is to PROTECT their candidate by giving him or her timely and honest feedback that includes potential outcomes of any potential pitfall scenario. They failed Bernie in this instance. Someone should have given Bernie the heads up about the problem of hosting a game with reporters and then using it to fund raise. I also think it was inappropriate for reporters to be involved in such an event. Nina Turner, the campaign needs to do a better job of protecting Bernie. If he's the nominee, we can't have stuff like this coming up or happening in the general.

[lapucelle]

8. Who hired that campaign team? N/T

[underthematrix]

16. He hired Nina Turner and probably his core group but i still think it's on the

team. If this happened to Warren or Biden, I'd say the same thing. Their job is to protect the candidate.

[Me.]

13. Money, Money Money

It could've been a great event for them and made inroads with the people they are always criticizing but they had to go and step all over it.

[Gothmog]

18. K&R

[zackymilly]

20. Is there a picture of the card? I want one. Might be worth something when he wins the nomination.nt

[lapucelle]

21. Did you try google?

[zackymilly]

22. No, but I will. Guess I wasn't really that interested. I figured they had a pic in the article. nt

[lapucelle]

23. Did you go to the link first? N/T

[Vegas Roller]

25. The video footage shown in another OP

was not real ... it was filmed specifically as a publicity stunt.

[lapucelle]

30. The link to someone who gushes that she could watch "competent softball

on an endless loop until [she] dies"?

Oh my.

[Vegas Roller]

34. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahaha

IKR?

[NYMinute]

26. LMAO

Another stupid publicity stunt that failed badly.

[mcar]

29. Someone on his campaign thought it would be a good idea

to use the media in a fundraiser?

[lapucelle]

35. A staged gameshow, a magic cancel wand, scripted,

in-house "interviews", Secret Sam "burn after reading" (exclusive!) talking point flyers, and now this.

"The mind reels."

[betsuni]

36. Quel nightmare.

[lapucelle]

37. Some people may find all the gimmicks frankly insulting.

It erodes credibility.

[betsuni]

38. I wouldn't be surprised if campaign staff thought famous dead ballplayers

were going to emerge from the cornfields to play on Bernie's team.

[Cha]

39. Raises hand..