• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

He really is that stupid.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Bogus polls are all they’ve got left. Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls a year from now.

There are no moderate Republican – only extremists, and cowards.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

T R E 4 5 O N

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Ron DeSantis, the grand wizard, oops, governor of FL

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Go Senator Whitehouse!

Republicans don’t trust women.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Late Night Russiagate Sidebar Open Thread: Beyond His Skill Set

Late Night Russiagate Sidebar Open Thread: Beyond His Skill Set

by Anne Laurie|  February 25, 201812:35 am| 90 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, An Unexamined Scandal, I Can No Longer Rationally Discuss The Sanders Campaign, Open Threads, Russiagate, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

FacebookTweetEmail

The story Bernie Sanders spent the week taking credit for about his campaign staff sharing info about Russian activity with the Clinton campaign isn’t true at all. Here’s what actually happened, from the person he was talking about: https://t.co/YezgA32UjX

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) February 24, 2018

I think Dana Houle is right — as much of a gift as it must have seemed at the time, the mainstream media’s cossetting of Sanders’ 2016 campaign did him no favors over the long term. Between their long-term baseless hatred of HRC, her campaign’s unwillingness to be (further) labelled as ‘divisive’ and ‘anti-progressive’, and the Putin regime’s covert thumb on the scales, the old man never had to stretch himself. He could trundle happily around the country, demanding the Democrats fund his private planes and top-line venues, preening for more cameras than he’d ever drawn, repeating his greatest hits (bankstahs! bill-yanayahs!) in front of adoring audiences. When he confronted genuine opposition (like those BLM activists in Seattle), or was challenged to explain his policies (consider the Daily News fiasco), he did so very poorly — but those shabby little failures were easy to overlook in the non-stop rush of Trump-Mania and But Her Emails!!! “news”. And he never *did* have to address any other-than-hagiographic stories from his own past. Now he seems to be revving up for another national campaign… and he’s already showing how very little he’s learned from the last one…

4. Bernie then tried taking credit for something that never happened in the 1st place, AND…
5. …he then blamed the Clinton campaign for not acting on information they hadn’t received…
6. …when in fact the Clinton campaign DID try sounding the alarm about Russian meddling.

— Charles Gaba (@charles_gaba) February 24, 2018

And Bernie’s press person managed to make it even more awful.

This is a small demonstration of how gently Bernie was treated in the campaign—beginning w Clinton & her campaign—& how that obscured how unsuited he is to dealing w critical attention. https://t.co/eeh2ziwwGu

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) February 24, 2018


…and now, after being beaten down by Sanders’ online mob, Sanders is co-opting the guy’s virtue as if it were his own.

That. Takes. Balls.

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) February 24, 2018

When I asked why Bernie Sanders was telling a story that he didn't verify and turned out not to be true, Sanders spokesperson told me he's "not a great fan of reporters who try to provoke controversy where none exists" https://t.co/YezgA32UjX

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) February 24, 2018

Here’s the original audio that sparked this firestorm. I think it’s fair to say that Sanders does not come across as someone who expects to be challenged, or who is prepared to think on his feet:

Wanna hear what someone's "credibility being destroyed" sounds like?

Click the "play" button!

Interviewer: "Why didn't you once warn your supporters about the Russian bots?"

Bernie: pic.twitter.com/fXvn4rlkfD

— P?????? K???ss?? ? (@Patrickesque) February 23, 2018

Silver lining — if Bernie Sanders is turning into the Marxist Ron Paul, then maybe his fiercest supporters will be able to build a left-wing version of CPAC?

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Floriduh! Man: February Update!
Next Post: Sunday Morning Open Thread: “Life Is Short. Make Something.” »

Reader Interactions

90Comments

  1. 1.

    Emerald

    February 25, 2018 at 12:49 am

    I don’t think he’s gonna run again, despite his current apparent moves in that direction. He’s never been vetted, never expects to be vetted. He’s never been really challenged on his BS, never expects to be challenged.

    He’s used to going on the Thom Hartman show every Friday and spouting the same stuff he’s been spouting since 1971, and being adored for it.

    Nawt gah happen this time. Once he realizes it, he won’t run. Well, he might run somewhere, but not for office.

  2. 2.

    ruemara

    February 25, 2018 at 12:50 am

    Ah, the Bernie we all know and love finally emerges. To quote Hermione, “Excuse me, I have to go vomit.”

  3. 3.

    Chitown Kev

    February 25, 2018 at 12:57 am

    Oh, boy…from the transcript

    this was not supporting me any more than they were supporting groups like Black Lives Matter that are fighting for social justice, trust me, that is not what they were doing.

    That’s not what Buzzfeed’s reporting from earlier this month actually said.

    Among 4mysquad’s most viral content were posts that promoted Bernie Sanders, criticized Hillary Clinton, or that highlighted examples of police violence against black people. It also regularly shared and reblogged content about the experience of racialized communities in the United States, as well as an occasional post critical of white people:

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/russian-trolls-ran-wild-on-tumblr-and-the-company-refuses?utm_term=.xlkj7BREM#.ykw6vrLBZ

    Buzzfeed has at least one link to prove…what Russian bots and trolls did on Tumblr was not simply trashing Hillary…at least one post was in support of Bernie.

  4. 4.

    proportionwheel

    February 25, 2018 at 1:03 am

    I live in Vermont, and worked formally and informally for Bernie’s campaigns in the Burlington mayoral elections and his first and second runs for congress. When he first announced for President I didn’t really think he’d win the primary, but I remember telling people not to underestimate him. It’s become clear though that he’s been overestimated, including by me. He might try to run again, but if he does he will be destroyed.

  5. 5.

    Emma

    February 25, 2018 at 1:03 am

    I am still trying to figure out the attraction. He reminds me of my great-uncle, a man forever convinced of his own brilliance and certain that everything would be fine if we followed his orders without question. Que Dios lo tenga en su santa gloria, but what a royal pita that man was.

  6. 6.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 25, 2018 at 1:04 am

    I really never saw why anybody thought he would be a good president (and no, “better than donald trump” != “good”).

  7. 7.

    Yutsano

    February 25, 2018 at 1:08 am

    Can we just retire St Bernard of Vermont to the dustbin of history and move on?

  8. 8.

    Mike J

    February 25, 2018 at 1:09 am

    Rusty ? @cajun_ice 1d
    Bernie’s step-daughter is running for Bernie’s old position as mayor of Burlington after taking $500k from a local college her mom bankrupted, his son Levi is running for Congress in a district he doesn’t even live in, but if Chelsea ever does anything Berniebros freak out. ?

  9. 9.

    hellslittlestangel

    February 25, 2018 at 1:09 am

    I was trying to remember when and why I liked Bernie Sanders, but just drew a blank.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 25, 2018 at 1:12 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Jon Fuglesang, who in spite of what I’m about to type is not stupid, said that he believed Bernie would enact his agenda by executive order. He’d only be a one-term president, but it would be a term of greatness!

    @Mike J: Good lord I hadn’t heard about the second generation

  11. 11.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 25, 2018 at 1:13 am

    Bernie’s Daily News interview was the last straw for me. He had no clue as to how to implement any of his wonderful rhetorical ideas. I became a Hillary backer when before I was on the fence. Hillary knows how to get shit done.

  12. 12.

    Mike J

    February 25, 2018 at 1:20 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Dean Spiliotes, a political blogger for NHPoliticalCapital.com and a scholar at Southern New Hampshire University, told ABC News he believes Sanders would likely be running on the “family political brand.”

    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-son-run-congress-hampshire/story?id=53320117

    What was that thing Berners hated? You know, where power concentrates in one family and is passed down? I could swear they had a name for that, and it was bad, bad, bad.

  13. 13.

    MisterForkbeard

    February 25, 2018 at 1:22 am

    @hellslittlestangel: Oh, I liked him quite a bit based on what I heard on the Thom Hartman show, and I thought his message of “the rich are fucking everyone” was useful and timely.

    But as he became a presidential candidate, I liked him less and less. I still think he’s potentially helpful, but he’s BAD at this stuff. He directs his fire at allies, and can’t really explain his own policies or defend his own behavior when pressed. It’s pretty awful.

  14. 14.

    kd bart

    February 25, 2018 at 1:23 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: That Daily News interview was an eye opener. It showed he was in way over his head. A one note candidate who had been giving the same speech for 25 years.

  15. 15.

    Roger Moore

    February 25, 2018 at 1:25 am

    @Emma: @Major Major Major Major:
    The attractiveness of Bernie is pretty easy to understand: he tells liberals what they want to hear. He says we can have a whole set of long-term leftist goals, like single-payer healthcare and free college. Once he’s elected, Congress will knuckle under and pass all that stuff without any additional effort. It’s obvious bullshit to anyone who pays attention, but there is always a ready market for that kind of bullshit among the much larger group of people who don’t pay attention and don’t understand why we haven’t achieved all that already.

  16. 16.

    shecky

    February 25, 2018 at 1:25 am

    One of the few times I can boast of being right. I saw Bernie for a crank from day one, full of big, half baked ideas, and it pissed me off so many progressives so easily swallowed his shit, so blindly. As far as I’m concerned, he’s little more than a reflection of Trump style politicking, tailored to scratch the left leaning itch. The sooner we forget about this old fuck, the better.

  17. 17.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 25, 2018 at 1:29 am

    @kd bart: The killer thing was he’d been in Congress, in the House or the Senate, for what, 20 years? Didn’t have any legislative achievements at all to speak of. Couldn’t articulate in any way how he’d turn his ideas into reality.

  18. 18.

    Yutsano

    February 25, 2018 at 1:31 am


    RIP Emma Chambers

  19. 19.

    ruemara

    February 25, 2018 at 1:31 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Fugelsang is being willfully stupid then. He knows much better than that statement.

  20. 20.

    kd bart

    February 25, 2018 at 1:33 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: He was and still is a Back Bencher who loves to play the role of the Party Scold.

  21. 21.

    Yutsano

    February 25, 2018 at 1:34 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: That might have been my last straw as well. Once I saw he was all platituides and zero plan of action, I was done.

  22. 22.

    Old Dan and Little Anne

    February 25, 2018 at 1:35 am

    Germany and putins going into overtime for hockey gold. And fuck Bernie.

  23. 23.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 25, 2018 at 1:35 am

    @Roger Moore: I obviously understand his political attractiveness in theory like that, but it’s still hard for me to imagine what it is like to be a person who would say ‘yes’ when asked ‘do you think this man would be a good president?’ Especially now.

  24. 24.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 25, 2018 at 1:39 am

    @Roger Moore: The people who buy it most appear to be people who have self-selected a leftish hipster-ish friend circle, such that their views seem entirely normal, practically the default, everywhere they go. If everyone’s already a leftist, why isn’t there more leftism? Probably a sinister Keyser Söze-like foe, a/k/a The Establishment.

  25. 25.

    The Dangerman

    February 25, 2018 at 1:39 am

    @Old Dan and Little Anne:

    Germany and putins going into overtime for hockey gold.

    I’m not a hockey fan, but this has been a fun game to watch; I hope it ends without a shootout.

  26. 26.

    matt

    February 25, 2018 at 1:43 am

    He should take up knitting.

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    February 25, 2018 at 1:43 am

    In tonight’s performance, the part of the parrot in the classic Monty Python sketch will be played by Wilmer’s relevance.

  28. 28.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    February 25, 2018 at 1:43 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    Oh, boy was that a sore spot with his online troll army.

  29. 29.

    Ruckus

    February 25, 2018 at 1:44 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Couldn’t articulate in any way how he’d turn his ideas into reality.

    He had/has no ideas. He has dreams and ambition. That and $5 will get you a coffee at several places in town. Or having enough people who can’t recognize a dream when they hear one who will buy you that coffee.

  30. 30.

    kd bart

    February 25, 2018 at 1:44 am

    @FlipYrWhig: Socialism as a hip lifestyle choice

  31. 31.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    February 25, 2018 at 1:45 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    That was definitely when I realized he was full of shit.

  32. 32.

    Ninedragonspot

    February 25, 2018 at 1:47 am

    The 2016 primary was pretty depressing, but watching St. Bernie-of-the-Bird scurry off to Rome for a five-minute meet-and-greet with the pope was a bright moment of comedy gold.

  33. 33.

    RobertDSC-Mac Mini

    February 25, 2018 at 1:47 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Same. And then he got waxed in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio (?). Game over. And yet he dragged it all the way out to the very end, and a ways past that with his people fucking things up at the DNC and their “Unity” council.

    Tired of his stupid ass. Get the fuck off the stage, you loser.

  34. 34.

    Roger Moore

    February 25, 2018 at 1:48 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    it’s still hard for me to imagine what it is like to be a person who would say ‘yes’ when asked ‘do you think this man would be a good president?’ Especially now.

    I suspect the key thing is an unwillingness to admit you were a sucker.

  35. 35.

    Roger Moore

    February 25, 2018 at 1:50 am

    @FlipYrWhig:

    The people who buy it most appear to be people who have self-selected a leftish hipster-ish friend circle, such that their views seem entirely normal, practically the default, everywhere they go.

    That has to go with a fairly casual approach to politics, though. Anyone who’s at all serious about politics should have seen that leftish hipster politics are not at all the norm, and there’s a huge and well organized right wing that is fighting tooth and nail against any kind of improvement.

  36. 36.

    Mike J

    February 25, 2018 at 1:53 am

    @The Dangerman:

    I’m not a hockey fan, but this has been a fun game to watch; I hope it ends without a shootout.

    Instead of extra innings, tied baseball games will now be decided by a round of home run derby.

  37. 37.

    Darkrose

    February 25, 2018 at 1:56 am

    @Mike J: Somewhere, Rob Manfred is stroking his chin and feeling pleased.

  38. 38.

    joel hanes

    February 25, 2018 at 2:01 am

    I may begin to take Wilmer seriously the day he discloses his tax filings for the previous seven years.

  39. 39.

    Mike J

    February 25, 2018 at 2:03 am

    @Darkrose: In sailing it is traditional to settle these things with a sword fight.

  40. 40.

    ruemara

    February 25, 2018 at 2:05 am

    @Roger Moore: I beg to differ. Nearly all my very serious about politics, extremely knowledgeable friends went bugfuck nuts about Wilmer and STILL haven’t come down from it. One recommended I listen to Chapo Trap House so I could learn more about how things really are and the solutions outside of the duopoly. Then he flew off to the next job location, satisfied that his white male self fully comprehended How Things Work and had enlightened my pitiful now corporatist soul.

  41. 41.

    spudgun

    February 25, 2018 at 2:06 am

    @Yutsano: So sad. Loved her in Vicar of Dibley and Notting Hill.

  42. 42.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 25, 2018 at 2:08 am

    @Yutsano: I can’t remember the timeline, and I never supported him, but the moment I realized he was a putz was when he fixated on the WALL STREET SPEECHES, an idea he got from, as I recall, Chuck Todd.

  43. 43.

    The Dangerman

    February 25, 2018 at 2:11 am

    @Mike J:

    …tied baseball games will now be decided by a round of home run derby.

    Almost as bad as that thing floated earlier in the week about having the freedom to send up whomever you want in the 9th. Nonsense.

    FWIW, I think the DH is bullshit, too.

    ETA: Yeah, the DH is about 40 years old; I hold grudges a long time.

  44. 44.

    ericblair

    February 25, 2018 at 2:11 am

    @kd bart:

    He was and still is a Back Bencher who loves to play the role of the Party Scold.

    Yes, and as far as personnel management goes, which is kind of the major job of the President, he’s terrible. He, like Trump, let every nut and flake and scammer glom on to his campaign and do whatever they wanted without his knowledge but in his name. When you’re a loner backbencher it doesn’t really matter, but when you have actual responsibilities it does.

    He’s similar to Corbyn in the UK, who is currently Labour leader and got there by more or less accident of circumstance. When a backbencher, Corbyn would buck the party constantly, but as soon as he became leader the purity purges started. So, the commitment to diversity of views and dissent kinda went right down the toilet as soon as he got into power, and I expect Bernie would be the same way.

    I would expect a Bernie administration to be similar to the Trump administration in form but not content. Executive branch half staffed and White House full of inexperienced and unsuitable people with semi-constant scandals, with little legislative achievements and constant feuding, and a chaotic and uneven foreign policy. At least no warmongering or shitting on immigrants or worshiping coal. And, of course, he’d be impeached already.

  45. 45.

    MisterForkbeard

    February 25, 2018 at 2:12 am

    @ruemara: This was actually the most annoying thing – not necessarily that these folks were knowledgeable, but that I had political neophytes trying to tell me How Things Work. And they were completely impervious to actual argument or facts.

  46. 46.

    Magda in Black

    February 25, 2018 at 2:17 am

    @Chitown Kev:
    That “trust me” thing he does there…kinda makes my skin crawl….ala Trump

  47. 47.

    Magda in Black

    February 25, 2018 at 2:18 am

    @matt:
    Very nice ☺️

  48. 48.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 25, 2018 at 2:20 am

    @Roger Moore:

    Anyone who’s at all serious about politics should have seen that leftish hipster politics are not at all the norm, and there’s a huge and well organized right wing that is fighting tooth and nail against any kind of improvement.

    Boy, then large swaths of our professional political class must not be serious about politics.

    Politics is not a realm well-known for rationality.

  49. 49.

    Aleta

    February 25, 2018 at 2:24 am

    This describes from 30 to 50% of him at one point:

    A statement from an unnamed aide said he’d been basing his comments on public reporting and “using the word ‘campaign’ expansively.”

    His former campaign manager and confidant, Jeff Weaver, said in an interview the senator did not verify what he’d read.

    “He does not know. All he knows is what was reported,” Weaver said on Wednesday.

    the Politico up top

  50. 50.

    RandomMonster

    February 25, 2018 at 2:38 am

    Ralph Nader 2016 from Vermont can go fuck himself. I say that despite considering myself a socialist.

  51. 51.

    ThresherK

    February 25, 2018 at 2:42 am

    @MisterForkbeard: One of them grandiloquently told me what a meme was, in 2013.

    And pronounced it meh-May. Like I didn’t know anything.

  52. 52.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    February 25, 2018 at 2:52 am

    535 members in Congress.

    Why is Wilmer the only ONE to vote against BOTH the Magnitsky Act and the recent sanctions on Russia’s election interference?

    Russian lawyer Magnitsky ‘tortured, beaten to death’ – report

    The law at first blocked 18 Russian government officials and businessmen from entering the United States, froze any assets held by U.S. banks and banned their future use of U.S. banking systems.

    The Magnitsky Act, rather, is about money. It freezes certain Russian officials’ access to the stashes they were keeping in Western banks and real estate and bans their entry to the United States.

    Why would he vote against a law the punishes 18 elites, torturers, murderers, oligarchs, and their bankers?

  53. 53.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    February 25, 2018 at 2:59 am

    @ruemara:

    Nearly all my very serious about politics, extremely knowledgeable friends went bugfuck nuts about Wilmer

    It’s like sportstalk radio. Every serious, knowledgeable fan, who subscribes to newsletters and buys books thinks they can coach an NFL team. They all thought Johnny Football was a can’t miss prospect.

  54. 54.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    February 25, 2018 at 3:05 am

    Sanders spokesperson told me he’s “not a great fan of reporters who try to provoke controversy where none exists”

    Sanders does not have to be friends with journalists who point out the falsehoods in his version of reality. It strikes me, though, that he had better be prepared for their questions if he wants to be fit for prime-time.

  55. 55.

    condorcet runner-up

    February 25, 2018 at 3:17 am

    And pronounced it meh-May.

    @ThresherK: i have a friend who still does this. i have not corrected him …

  56. 56.

    Ninedragonspot

    February 25, 2018 at 3:31 am

    @ThresherK: it adds a cosmopolitan touch when you pronounce it “même”.

  57. 57.

    Fair Economist

    February 25, 2018 at 3:54 am

    @Ninedragonspot:

    it adds a cosmopolitan touch when you pronounce it “même”.

    Nah, pretty much the same.

  58. 58.

    Mike J

    February 25, 2018 at 4:03 am

    @Ninedragonspot: C’est kif kif.

  59. 59.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    February 25, 2018 at 4:09 am

    Ceci n’est pas une meme.

  60. 60.

    Amir Khalid

    February 25, 2018 at 4:11 am

    In 2016 Wilmer was all sizzle and no steak. His lack of prep for the job of POTUS was always obvious, once you looked past his performance at campaign rallies and examined his policy-making, executive, political and diplomatic skills, and compared them to Hillary’s. I found it frustrating to read commenters (and at least one front-pager) here who were dazzled by his performance at rallies and his pretty but ultimately hollow rhetoric.

    When you guys start window-shopping presidential for 2020. don’t get star-struck. The presidency is a job, and you are looking at job candidates. Charisma can be a useful attribute for a POTUS, but the job skills must come first.

  61. 61.

    Mike J

    February 25, 2018 at 4:17 am

    @Amir Khalid: I have long been a fan of cheerleaders, but if you want to move the ball you give it to the quarterback.

  62. 62.

    NeutronFlux

    February 25, 2018 at 4:24 am

    @Amir Khalid: It wasn’t just Republicans that started out with Clinton fatigue.

  63. 63.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    February 25, 2018 at 4:24 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    His lack of prep for the job of POTUS was always obvious, once you looked past his performance at campaign rallies and examined his policy-making, executive, political and diplomatic skills

    That also sounds like someone else that’s been in the news quite a bit over the past 3 years.

  64. 64.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 25, 2018 at 4:39 am

    @NeutronFlux: “I tire of this knowledgeable and accomplished woman. Bring me an elderly demagogue, it doesn’t matter which”

  65. 65.

    J R in WV

    February 25, 2018 at 5:56 am

    @Mike J:

    “Bernie’s step-daughter is running for Bernie’s old position as mayor of Burlington after taking $500k from a local college her mom bankrupted, his son Levi is running for Congress in a district he doesn’t even live in, but if Chelsea ever does anything Berniebros freak out. ”

    Well, Chelsea is the daughter of one of the former “Masters of the Universe” – Hillary Clinton.

    Bernie’s kids are the offspring of a grouchy old man who never amounted to anything much. And a woman being closely examined by an FBI fraud team with a Grand Jury to play with. Surely you can see the difference?

  66. 66.

    Facebones

    February 25, 2018 at 6:49 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: Darn right. If you run on a campaign of “break up the banks!” you’d better be able to explain how you’d do it beyond *shrug emoji.*

    Meanwhile Hillary could site the exact paragraph of congressional law that would do it, but obviously she was too well prepared.

  67. 67.

    Barbara

    February 25, 2018 at 6:51 am

    @FlipYrWhig: Sadly, this describes friends of mine, who were not so far gone however that they refused to vote for Hillary.

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 25, 2018 at 6:59 am

    @Yutsano:

    Oh no! That’s really sad.

  69. 69.

    Aimai

    February 25, 2018 at 7:00 am

    @Yutsano: wasnt she in for weddings and a funeral? She was wonderful!

  70. 70.

    satby

    February 25, 2018 at 7:21 am

    @Aimai: that was Charlotte Coleman, I always confused those two actresses too.

  71. 71.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 25, 2018 at 7:25 am

    @Aimai:
    @satby:

    Emma Chambers was in Notting Hill, and the wonderful BBC series The Vicar of Dibley.

  72. 72.

    Rusty

    February 25, 2018 at 7:33 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: After that interview I went and read his proposed legislation on big banks. It was 4 double spaced pages with really wide margins, and most of it was opening and closing blather. The substantive part was a total of 4 sentences. One which was decide in 90 days to break up big banks. I have seem far better thought out plans on a cocktail napkin. He understood absolutely zero about a signature issue. No wonder for all the years in Washington he didn’t have a single legislative success.

  73. 73.

    Adria McDowell

    February 25, 2018 at 8:00 am

    Wilmer is a lazy misogynist who lets women do all the work (see: living off a woman while writing rape fantasy essays in his 30s, barely having any contact with his son or his son’s mother despite them living close by (IIRC), Jane’s bankrupting Burlington College and her work and making money off “ad buys” which probably turned him into a millionaire, having an intelligent and could-totally-do-better-than-working-for-him Simone Sanders get on national TV and shill Wilmer’s racial equality bonafides despite him going to ONE civil rights march then disappearing for decades, and please don’t get me started on Nina Turner.

    Then, if the women oppose him, he calls them “corrupt” and lets his supporters call women “whores.” Even John McCain wouldn’t do that.

    Fuck Bernie Sanders. He can fall down face first in a shallow ditch for all I care.

  74. 74.

    Matt

    February 25, 2018 at 8:47 am

    @Roger Moore:

    And then there’s the Very Serious Realist wing of the Democratic party, which spends most of its time convincing people that any real change is “a pony” and that all we can hope for is barely-moderated ’90s GOP policy – and does crap like dump oppo on a primary opponent.

  75. 75.

    LAC

    February 25, 2018 at 8:57 am

    Please, not another round of his scolding, rage spittle on the airwaves, siphoning votes from gullible fauxgressives who think yelling is problem solving. Jaysus…

  76. 76.

    Ronnie Simonds

    February 25, 2018 at 9:22 am

    Sorry I ever liked him now, but it was SO REFRESHING to see someone propose unabashed, unapologetic liberal ideas and show that he could still get votes. Liberal politicians had been so terrified of doing this for decades, with a few wonderful exceptions (Obama and health care). In these days of Trumpworld, where millions turn out for regular demonstrations for progressive causes and moderates talk about universal college education, it can be hard to remember how reasonable it seemed we could do better than Hillary Clinton.

    It was obvious by the Democratic primary he was just a fantasy, and I never voted for him, but it was a powerful fantasy.

  77. 77.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    February 25, 2018 at 9:30 am

    @Roger Moore: Yes, their approach to politics is very casual. A lot of them would scream if socialism were actually visited upon them, because they are modestly affluent folks whose conception of “liberals” is dudes (and dudettes) who were at Woodstock, man. It’s all a nostalgia-hippie subculture based on listening to psychedelic rock, wearing tie dye, and smoking pot. They’re libertarian, or “socialist” to prove they have “compassion” but they have no interest in socialism if it actually costs them something. It’s 90% a pose. They never interact with black people because they live in all white hippie enclaves – and their views on civil rights can be very unenlightened despite their sepia toned view of the ’60s – they conflate Woodstock with the anti-war movement and the civil rights era but civil rights ranks at the bottom of those three. That’s why Bernie never figured out how to respond to BLM. Berniebros don’t much care about BLM and find the message inconvenient, preachy, and annoying. Yes, I see the irony there…and it’s pretty delicious.

  78. 78.

    cgordon

    February 25, 2018 at 9:54 am

    The tag “I Can No Longer Rationally Discuss the Sanders Campaign” says it all.

  79. 79.

    aretino

    February 25, 2018 at 10:19 am

    @ericblair:

    And, of course, he’d be impeached, convicted, and imprisoned already.

    FTFY

  80. 80.

    feckless

    February 25, 2018 at 10:55 am

    ” When he confronted genuine opposition (like those BLM activists in Seattle)”

    I was present at that debacle.

    Geniune Opposition? These 2 people got up and started screaming about Native American rights. As far as I can tell that is as deep as their commitment to that cause goes.

    The rally was actually in support of social security, and had children of color explaining how social security survivor benefits saved their lives. The mostly white crowd had 3 separate chants of “black lives matter” and then observed the 4 minutes of silence that these 2 vandals demanded. Bernie let them have the mike that they had usurped. Afterwards he hired more african american advisors.
    WHAT ELSE EXACTLY WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO?

    The 2 women of color who rushed the stage are not recognized by the other “Seattle BLM” factions.
    Many people around me were worried about Bernie’s safety. Several mentioned how Bobbie Kennedy’s assassin rushed at him in public. And that this is why politicians are never really available to the public, except in scripted appearances.

    2 different people I know cancelled their NAACP memberships due their support of this ignorant stunt.

    “BLM Seattle” has several competing factions, each worse than the other, they have had to cancel marches at the last minute because the “organization” is so dysfunctional.

    One of the “activists” who confronted Bernie was a former Bush supporter, along with her white evangelical parents.

    I was a Bernie delegate AND I phone banked for Hillary.
    Note the phone banks were not focused on Michigan or the other real battlegrounds.

    Is Bernie, (and many of his supporters) imperfect? Yes.
    But they are on Our side. And constantly attacking them WILL NOT TURN OUT THE BASE in 2018.

    The democrats leaving Westlake center that day were completely and utterly demoralized, and mostly opposed to BLM.

    I was at another Seattle BLM march the night the Dallas BLM leader assassinated all those Dallas police.

    The BLM speaker at that rally was Emphatic that no one should vote in the presidential election.

    She specifically said Don’t Vote for Hillary.

    Did Bernie ever do that?

  81. 81.

    artem1s

    February 25, 2018 at 11:42 am

    @ericblair:

    I would expect a Bernie administration to be similar to the Trump administration in form but not content. Executive branch half staffed and White House full of inexperienced and unsuitable people with semi-constant scandals, with little legislative achievements and constant feuding, and a chaotic and uneven foreign policy. At least no warmongering or shitting on immigrants or worshiping coal. And, of course, he’d be impeached already.

    you’re pretty much describing Dennis Kucinich’s mayoral administration. he lasted one term for a reason and there are people he threw under the bus who still hate his scrawny ass. On the other side are rabid follower (and their kids and grandkids) who still think he’s gonna bring us all free weed and healthcare. Now he’s back trying to run for governor and it’s gonna completely tear the party apart just like GOP and Kasich wants him too. The GOP figured out after Ross Perot how to use the ‘Great White Hope Outsider Savior’ to split the opposition. I never doubted Sanders was a set up to split Democrats. He fits the model perfectly.

  82. 82.

    JDM

    February 25, 2018 at 12:03 pm

    That audio was some first class stumbling.

  83. 83.

    Miss Bianca

    February 25, 2018 at 12:11 pm

    @Emerald: I dunno. White male privilege is still a hell of a drug. I don’t think it’s occurred to Bernie yet that not releasing your tax returns and lying about your accomplishments and qualifications is only *really* OK if you’re Donald Trump.

  84. 84.

    Scotian

    February 25, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    You know what the irony in this post is for me? It was the Sanders primary campaign that first showed me the Russian influence campaign back in the spring of 2016. For me it started right before the Primary voting started when I was noticing I was hearing all kinds of recycled far right attack memes coming out of the far left/Sanders side regarding HRC. So I was able to source much of those talking points back to talking heads on RT. Then there was the pattern of significantly lower turnout in primaries overall versus polled and other indicators of online support, whereas in caucuses they were able to do better, and primaries I submit are a better expression of the will of a large number of voters than caucuses for a variety of reasons. At first I thought that might be GOP spoofing, but I came to realize relatively quickly that it was not, but external to USA sourcing. So by April I knew something very bad was going on, that Sanders and his campaign were clearly relying on dangerous sourcing for a lot of their campaign material/rhetoric, and that Russia was a clear supporter for whatever reasons (I had always assumed it was because Putin really feared as well as hated HRC, and given their history and her actual competency record as opposed to the fictions about it, not without very real causes from a Russia centric POV). The curious attitude of Sanders being the only Congresscritter to vote against Russian sanctions and the original Putin and allies sanctions under Obama (can’t remember spelling, and too lazy right now to look for it) is also something I find of serious concern too.

    That Sanders and his core people STILL have not owned they were the first stop on the Putin stop HRC campaign with Trump being the main course after his defeat is one of the reasons I will hold them in utter contempt. Not for just political malpractice, although there is certainly more than enough there, but for allowing themselves to place their own narrow ambitions about a clear and present danger/threat to their nation and the core process of legitimizing and transferring power in a peaceful manner, only the heart of all democratic rule of law societies. THAT is the problem as I see it, saw it then, and continue to do so to this day.

  85. 85.

    Jay S

    February 25, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    That last tweet by Patrick Karlsson does not credit the interviewer Jane Lindholm from Vermont Public Radio. here is a text summary with a not so responsive Bernie response. Credit where credit its due.

  86. 86.

    WaterGirl

    February 25, 2018 at 1:40 pm

    @Jay S: thanks for that.

  87. 87.

    cgordon

    February 25, 2018 at 3:00 pm

    @Scotian: You are certainly correct that the Sanders campaign didn’t come up with a good answer to Russian bots, and since this is bound to come up again we need a good answer. As it happens, neither Clinton nor Obama came up with good answers either. So what do you suggest?

  88. 88.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    February 25, 2018 at 3:06 pm

    @cgordon:

    As it happens, neither Clinton nor Obama came up with good answers either.

    As it happens, neither of these people will ever hold elected office again, so what was the point of bringing them up? Clinton had been out office for 4 years as SecState and Obama was hamstrung by assholes like McConnell and Ryan who are likely involved to some extent. Remember when McConnell said that if Obama revealed Russian interference in the election he would regard that as a partisan tactic?

  89. 89.

    hugely

    February 25, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: easy, he gets money/direction from the russians. I hope mueller nails his ass as well as some f not all of the dirty GOP members

  90. 90.

    Scotian

    February 25, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    @cgordon:

    Wow, nice deflecting snark there. Seeing as I have neither the resources/access nor titles either of those two worthies did, nor that Sanders still retains, to be asking such of me shows just how unseriously you are taking this matter. Perhaps you might spend more time thinking about such yourself and be all wise and all knowing in a useful way instead of coming out with something like that.

    Seriously, really weak deflection, pays no attention to the ongoing issue of a US Senator and former primary candidate for President first allowing his campaign to be so used, never calling it out contemporaneously nor even well after the reveal of this comes to light, and in general puts all the responsibility for solving this complex problem on a nameless internet commentator at this blog. Can you be any more feeble and obvious in your intentions? Well, I’m sure you have it within you, but sadly I outgrew this sort of idiocy by the time I entered jr high school. Perhaps you might try it sometime? BTW, can YOU explain why Sanders is the ONLY US Congresscritter to vote against sanctioning Russia for the election interference it clearly participated in and in which his campaign played a significant role, as well as the Magnitski Act? That question should be easier to resolve than the Russian bots one you put before me to answer, seeing as you care so much about looking for answers.

    Or in the language of my younger days, bite me.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

2024 Pet Calendars!

Order 2024 Calendars

Recent Comments

  • RaflW on Late Night Open Thread: Dean Phillips Is Huffing Serious Fumes (Dec 4, 2023 @ 10:50am)
  • Jeffro on Monday Morning Open Thread: Holding On to Hope (Dec 4, 2023 @ 10:50am)
  • Rob on On The Road – Albatrossity – Mid-September in Flyover Country (Dec 4, 2023 @ 10:46am)
  • Betty Cracker on Monday Morning Open Thread: Holding On to Hope (Dec 4, 2023 @ 10:45am)
  • StringOnAStick on On The Road – Albatrossity – Mid-September in Flyover Country (Dec 4, 2023 @ 10:45am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions: Montana

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
What Has Biden Done for You Lately?

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Cole & Friends Learn Español

Introductory Post
Cole & Friends Learn Español

Four Directions Montana

Donate

Walter’s Fund (Athenspets)

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!