What Bernie Sanders Is Like In Private

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/politics/bernie-sanders-image.html

The Bernie Sanders Personality Test
By Glenn Thrush and Sydney Ember
March 6, 2020

As a boss, Mr. Sanders is notoriously tough. Former aides have described him as demanding and particular, sometimes to a fault. In many ways, he is the quintessential Brooklyn diner patron: The service is never quite fast enough, and what they deliver is never quite what he ordered.

He has virtually no tolerance for small talk. Steve Slavin, a high school friend of his and later his college roommate, recalled the day in 2008 when Mr. Sanders invited him to speak at his enshrinement on James Madison High School’s Wall of Distinction. After a luncheon for the honorees, the two made their way to the auditorium, taking seats together in the front row.

As they waited, Mr. Sanders did not say a word to him and instead spent the time writing notes on a piece of paper, silently.

The candidate’s need to control his surroundings also extends to the physical environment. He hates the cramped hassle of flying commercial, aides say, even if going private doesn’t entirely comport with his brand.

For years, Mr. Sanders’s staff members have compiled hotel dos and don’ts for a man who rises early but sometimes finds it hard to fall asleep. The list, distributed to aides in his entourage and shared with hotel employees, stipulates that his room must be kept at an arctic 60 degrees. That he needs an oscillating fan. Other wish lists have requested that written materials be removed. That the room must be at least five doors away from the ice machine and from the elevator, though the walk to the elevator must not be too long.

...

[NurseJackie]

1. Ha! Reminds me: Some diva singers also demand a bowl full of M&M's with the green ones removed...

Ha! Reminds me: Some diva singers also demand a bowl full of M&M's with the green ones removed (or some other absurd demand)

[dalton99a]

4. Van Halen

[NurseJackie]

5. What kind of person does that? What does that tell you about them?

I ask rhetorically... don't bother to answer out loud. I think we have arrived at the same conclusions.

[killaphill]

10. There was actually a very smart reason for this demand

Van Halen included this request in a contract rider. The purpose was to make sure that all the provisions in the contract were met. If the brown M&Ms were still there, the band knew other provisions might have been missed. And when you’re putting on a giant concert, details matter.

[BlueIdaho]

22. True!

Mostly the M&M test came about over band member’s concerns over shoddy electrical systems on stage. There is literally is a life and death matter hiding behind that crazy pampered rock star clause.

[treestar]

36. Wasting someone else's time with

That also proves diva status. And then they learn to focus on the m and m and not the sound system.

[Blue_true]

49. Exactly.

For the sound system, they can employ a sound tech to pre-check them.

Using the sound system to explain an M&M phobia was strange. I could see not wanting a certain color of M&M because of the dye that was used (food dye is a world of it's own, lots of strange stuff like insect secretions are used).

[TexasBushwhacker]

44. My brother used to do backstage work

He said the same thing. He said some venues were good about taking care of the performers, but some would try to cheap out with a loaf of day old bread and a pack of bologna.

[zackymilly]

11. Barbra Streisand...

Barbra Streisand requires petals in the toilet bowl, peach colored toilet paper and 120 designer bath towels, also in peach.

[NurseJackie]

3. Poor Jane. Is this what he's like at home? Surely not.

[LakeArenal]

6. Don't much care about his private behavior.

His public one is the one to judge.

[LizBeth]

7. Wow. And didn't we all already know? Nothing endearing about this.

[mcar]

8. But Amy Klobuchar was a mean boss!!11

See what we mean about sexism? Bernie being "tough" on his employees has never been mentioned in the media until now. Klobuchar's campaign opened with "she's so mean!"

[JudyM]

29. I don't see anything here about screaming at his employees to the point of making them cry.

She demeaned and berated her staff almost daily, subjecting them to bouts of explosive rage and regular humiliation within the office, according to interviews and dozens of emails reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

That anger regularly left employees in tears, four former staffers said. She yelled, threw papers, and sometimes even hurled objects; one aide was accidentally hit with a flying binder, according to someone who saw it happen, though the staffer said the senator did not intend to hit anyone with the binder when she threw it.

“I cried. I cried, like, all the time,” said one former staffer.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/amy-klobuchar-staff-2020-election

[StarfishSaver]

39. You don't see the problem with running a story in February 2019 headlined

"How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff" containing a parade of horribles from anonymous sources while waiting more than a year to run a story containing details about how Bernie Sanders treats his staff - and even then, burying that information in a larger, rather balanced story about his "personality"?

You don't think the story about Klobuchar hurt her in any way when she was launching her campaign? Do you think knowing what kind of boss Bernie is might have been just useful to the public as knowing what kind of boss Amy is and that maybe it would have been helpful for the public to hear about them at the same time so they could contrast them and maybe see that, while some might think Amy's behavior was worse than Bernie's, it wasn't completely out of the norm as some claimed?

[JudyM]

41. I'm just pointing to the fact that there's no comparison: hers were personal attacks on an employee.

[StarfishSaver]

47. That's not the point

It's up to readers to determine whether one is worse than the other or whether it matters. But running a story about how Klobuchar treats her employees in February of 2019 and running a story about how Bernie treats his employees more than a year later is unbalanced coverage.

[JudyM]

57. Depends on when they receive the info.

[KitSileya]

59. Vermont newspapers ran stories on this pre-2016.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/anger-management-sanders-fights-for-employees-except-his-own/Content?oid=2834657

Anger Management: Sanders Fights for Employees, Except His Own

...

"As a supervisor, he was unbelievably abusive," says one former campaign staffer, who claims to have endured frequent verbal assaults. The double standard was clear: "He did things that, if he found out that another supervisor was doing in a workplace, he would go after them. You can't treat employees that way.

Can't see that it was picked up by national newspapers back then.

[StarfishSaver]

60. No. Reporters aren't supposed to wait until they "receive info" to do stories like this

Especially if they're doing a story of this kind on one candidate.

Among other things, they should take a look at all of the candidates in the same context, if for no other reason, than to make sure they've got their context right and that they aren't making one candidate look far out of the mainstream by putting a spotlight on them while the other candidates who may engage in similar behavior escape scrutiny. That's exactly what they did to Klobuchar with their "Look at what a crazy mean boss she is" story while not doing similar stories about Bernie and the others - and here, it turns out Bernie's also a crazy, mean boss, even if some people argue he's not as mean and crazy as Klobuchar. But that's an argument people should have been give information to have rather than hear all about one and not the others.

[JudyM]

46. There's just no comparison.

Sorry.

[Blue Owl]

9. Hmm, Amtrak Joe is sounding better by the minute

n/t

[Just_Vote_Dem]

12. I wish I hadn't read that, ugh n/t

[BusyBeingBest]

13. Meh. I hate stuff like this. Some people, even

famous people, are introverts at heart. Nothing I read here makes him much different from other people.

[cwydro]

14. "The walk to the elevator must not be too long."

Anyone remember that clip of reporters trying to keep up with Warren running to catch a plane or train (whatever it was)?

[Mel]

15. How NYT Reporter Sydney Ember Uses Corporate Sources to Attack Bernie Sanders

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/06/29/how-nyt-reporter-sydney-ember-uses-corporate-sources-attack-bernie-sanders

[Celerity]

19. That is actually a good article, and this OP is a petty attack piece that has nothing to do with

ideologically substantive debate. I obviously am not a Sanders fangirl, but this type of shallow attempted critique is a waste of time.

[NYMinute]

24. It is not a bad article

Just a window inside a man.

No need to bring corporate flogging here.

[MaryMagdaline]

16. Sorry I'm ok with this

I hate traveling and if I had a staff of people who were making reservations for me I would probably have a diva list, too

Clearly he has insomnia (I do too) and can’t be near a lot of noise. The temperature has to be the same so that he doesn’t feel that every hotel room is a completely different place that he has to adjust to (I like to stay in the same chains so the beds are alike, the food is alike, etc)

[LAS14]

17. Wanna bet this will never get the coverage that Amy's salad fit with a campaign worker got? nt

[whathehell]

53. It doesn't deserve to get it

since it describes no fights or "fits".

[brooklynite]

18. I've had dinner with Bernie (and Jane)

Just me, y wife and the two of them. Perfectly nice in a social setting.

[wyldwolf]

20. OMG - this line

In many ways, he is the quintessential Brooklyn diner patron: The service is never quite fast enough, and what they deliver is never quite what he ordered.

Sounds just like my wife's late Italian grandma.

[wyldwolf]

23. Yes... chubbystar?

[StarfishSaver]

40. But Amy's a bitch on wheels

This is a perfect example of the "Oh, that's just Bernie being Bernie" softball treatment male politicians get while women who behave similarly are attacked for being harpies.

[Talitha]

25. Sounds just like my sister-in-law.

[nolabear]

26. There's nothing bad about any of this.

If I was in hotels all the time and I could, you better believe I’d want optimal sleeping conditions. And if he’s kind of taciturn, well, he just is.

If the intent was to make him come off badly I’ll just say I’m not surprised he’s like that, and I don’t care.

[democrattotheend]

30. My dad used to be like that too

When he was traveling almost every week for work and staying in a lot of hotels he was picky too. He also has trouble sleeping.

I don't have an NYT subscription, but as long as the article doesn't say he's abusive to his staff or the staff at hotels I am not bothered by this.

[treestar]

37. But not if you expect to be elected president

Has to be a people person

[LexVegas]

27. I like it cold when I sleep. Nothing bad in that article. nt

[Squinch]

31. "Mr. Sanders 'never makes you feel like you're good enough to be in the room with him,' one former

aide said."

Lovely.

[juxtaposed]

32. This is normal behavior for someone that travels a lot and works hard.

I see nothing strange or out of the ordinary.

[Oldem]

33. We really need

an anal president. Sounds as if nothing and nobody is good enough for this man. It would make for difficulties working with Congress. He'd have enough trouble getting his agenda through if he played well with others, but there would be no chance if this is his the kind of man he is.

[Buzz cook]

34. 60 degrees is not arctic.

When we travel, my wife and I turn down the thermostat as soon as we get to our room. Both of us "run hot" and a cool room is more comfortable and easier to sleep in.

That and sleeping in a cool or even cold room is healthier.

No one wants o sleep close to either the ice machine or the elevator. I don't see how this is shocking or controversial.

This is just more mean spirited Sanders bashing.

[Blue_true]

50. I like sleeping in a cold room and using blankets to let my

body temperature make me comfortable. One time on a northern state that didn't work, I almost froze and was forced to use the heating system in the room.

[Buzz cook]

58. We had an opposite problem.

Snow and mid 30's temp outside. Inside the thermostat was stuck on high. We ended up opening and closing the window through the night.

[Blue_true]

62. That must have been a pain in the tush.

Why didn't use ask for another room?

[sammythecat]

35. So we don't want to have a beer with Bernie Sanders? Is that it?

If I'm running a campaign for president I need to be ready every day. None of these things here seem at all unreasonable, so you probably wouldn't want to have a beer with me either. I don't want to hear about your grandkids. One half second after you're finished I'll completely forget about them. I really don't care. I'm in the middle of the most important event of my life. I have a hell of a lot on my mind and a lot of things to do today.

60 degrees sounds fine to me. I hate a warm bedroom. I keep a fan running in my room year round for white noise. Helps me sleep better. Might not work for you, but it works great for me. Good sleep is essential and if I have to be on top of my game every single goddamned day, I want to have a good nights rest. We all would have different wants and if we were in the middle of a presidential campaign we'd want them. Books in the room don't bother me, if they bother Bernie (I really doubt this is accurate) who gives a fuck.
Ever hear a commercial ice machine when it kicks on? They make one hell of a racket. A sudden loud and absolutely startling racket. I guarantee you wouldn't want to sleep anywhere near one either.

This country and the world is getting more and more seriously fucked up by the year now. First thing we have to do is get rid of the infantile psychopath in the White House. That's most important. Who that is, I'm not sure yet. But I'll tell you this, I don't give a fuck if I'd like to have a beer with him or if he'd like to have a beer with me. In fact, considering the monumental problems we're facing, I'd prefer someone who'd be kind of bored and impatient having a beer with me. I want someone intense, someone focused on changing the course we've been on for decades now. And if you're sittin' pretty, good retirement benefits, good health insurance, and you're afraid of anyone rocking the boat, think about your grandkids. Think about the world they'll get if we don't do something to change the cruel and disastrous course we're on.

[StarfishSaver]

38. "He has a history of angry outbursts, especially when he believes people aren't working hard enough"

"As a boss, Mr. Sanders is notoriously tough. Former aides have described him as demanding and particular, sometimes to a fault. In many ways, he is the quintessential Brooklyn diner patron: The service is never quite fast enough, and what they deliver is never quite what he ordered.

"Mr. Sanders 'never makes you feel like you’re good enough to be in the room with him,' one former aide said."

Interesting to find this buried as an "oh, by the way" in a balanced story about Bernie's personality - more than a year after the same NY Times smeared all over its front page a story alleging Amy Klobuchar's toughness made her an abusive boss.

How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff

Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience.

An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight.

What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-staff.amp.html

Don't tell me women aren't victims of a double standard.

[totodeinhere]

42. OK, lets stick to issues that are really important and that matter.

I could care less about his personal foibles.

[Happy Hoosier]

43. The ability to actually get along matters. NT

[whathehell]

54. Bernie seems to be "getting along" just fine. n/t.

[Sapient Donkey]

45. Never like these sorts of articles.

Some of it may be true, but some of it coming from sources which likely embellish and stretch truths. It adds little to productive conversation and it only encourages tit-for-tat similar attacks. It's annoying whether it's coming from Bernie attack dogs like Sirota or from people on the other side going after Sanders.

Pass.

[Blue_true]

48. Wow, prima-Donna actors demand less. nt

[Hoyt]

51. Not a Sanders fan. But I have enjoyed his appearances on late night shows that aren't strictly

political. He has a sense of humor. But that’s not enough to take on GOPers.

[Scurrilous]

52. Working class people are notorious for their hotel demands in list form.

And the cramped hassle of flying commercial brings a curse to their collective lips 'Damn you hassle, wait until we rise up 'n stuff, until then it's private jet and lobster rolls for me.'

[whathehell]

55. In 2016, he routinely flew commercial and stayed at Motel 6s

Nothing but the best for that high falutin' Bernie.Sanders.

[StarfishSaver]

61. This is 2020, not 2016

What's he doing now?

[betsuni]

56. +1

[Wrz]

63. Sounds like me

I have immense trouble getting to sleep quickly especially in hotels unless I take a heavy tranquilizer (not even 50mg of Ambien will cut it, I'm talking the heavier potency Benzodiazepines AND benadryl on top of that) and so the clattering of ice and dinging of the elevator would make it a terrible situation.

I also have a heat intolerance, and require colder temps than most prefer. So 60F sounds about right.

I can usually mitigate noise though with a portable USB powered white noise generator. I always bring one when hospitalized. Doesn't work for everyone, but loud white noise is flat and consistent and your brain ignores it, and it drowns out dynamic sounds like footsteps, dogs barking, or other clatter