''Every seat in the theater in LA filled up so Bernie went outside to talk to the people ... ''

[EffieBlack]

203. Wow. That's quite a stretch

First of all giving Sanders credit for potential candidates committing not to take pac money is rather ridiculous. But even if, for argument’s sake, we say that Bernie “set the example,” this is hardly groundbreaking or life-changing stuff. He’s been in the House or Senate for nearly 30 years and his biggest accomplishment that you can point to is that, 26 years in, he ran for president and didn’t take PAC money which led other potential candidates to say they won’t take PAC money in 2020? That’s it? That’s hardly a record of a Profile in Courage who is getting things done in the Senate.

That said, Sanders is not Caesar’s wife here - not even close. While he doesn’t take direct contributions from PACs, he has gladly accepted PAC spending on his behalf. In fact, outside PACs spent more to support Bernie’s campaign than for any Democratic candidate in 2016.

So not only is Bernie’s pledge undone by a huuuuge loophole,it is hardly proof that he is getting much done.

Bernie Sanders Tops His Rivals in Use of Outside Money

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.

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.
...
The group’s campaigning advocacy for Mr. Sanders has drawn charges of hypocrisy from Mrs. Clinton’s supporters. While Mr. Sanders frequently declares that he has no super PAC of his own, he has not publicly called on the nurses to refrain from their efforts on his behalf. He has welcomed their help, thanking the nurses by name in campaign speeches and referring to the union in one recent appearance as a “one of the sponsors” of his campaign.

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