(Howard) Dean: 'Labor unions are super-PACs Democrats like’

[alp227]

Source: The Hill

Former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.) said Friday that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) should not boast about his freedom from super-PACs given his ties with organized labor.

“I don’t hear anybody asking Bernie Sanders for transcripts of some speech he made for a labor union,” he told host Andrea Mitchell on “MSNBC Live."

“For Bernie to say he doesn’t have a super-PAC…labor unions are super-PACs. Labor unions are super-PACs Democrats like so we don’t go after labor unions.”

Dean then criticized Sanders for implying Clinton is in the pocket of Wall Street after giving paid speeches for major financial firms in the past.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/268444-dean-labor-unions-are-super-pacs-democrats-like

[redwitch]

1. What in the hell happened to Gov. Dean?

So, so sad!

[roguevalley]

33. money.

[QC]

62. In the immortal words of Cyndi Lauper...

[wordpix]

82. agree! What a crock

He's now supporting the corporation$

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

2. I've lost all respect for him now. And I was a Deaniac!

[Autumn Colors]

22. I know, me too.

[Judi Lynn]

70. You're not alone. How damned disappointing. n/t

[wordpix]

83. me, too

[farleftlib]

88. Another recovering Deaniac checking in

He's so openly hostile to Bernie. It goes back and forth between being infuriating and pathetic.

[hollowdweller]

3. More than that, I'm not thinking the way that sounds on the face of it is going to help Hillary any.

That was a little tone deaf of Dean.

I guess after totally getting froze out by Obama that he thinks maybe he should suck up more. Don't blame him but he probably should have said something that would HELP not hurt Hillary if he's for her.

[CincyDem]

4. So did Dean just throw unions under the bus to defend HRC ?

Oh...this won't end well.

Maybe the two of them should just admit whose pocket they're in.

Bernie - Labor: you know, the folks who gave us the weekend, the 8 hour work day, child labor laws...that kind of stuff.
HRC - Wall Street: you know, the folks who gave us the mortgage crisis, sky high credit card rates, world wide economic crisis...that kind of stuff.

Then, it's all out in the open and we can move on.

[wordpix]

84. yes he did and the repukes will make hay off this statement, big time

thanks, Dean. Not.

[DebbieCDC]

5. I was a Deaniac too

but I lost any respect for him a long time ago.

[earthside]

6. What a transformation.

Sadly, Gov. Dean has become a prime example of how big money from corporate interests really does change a person.

On the other hand, that Dean feels he has to go to these lengths to try and justify what Hillary is doing shows just how worried they are about the Sanders campaign.

[Melissa G]

7. This is disingenuous

Bernie sounds like Bernie talking to a Labor union or anyone else.

The criticism of Hillary is that she says one thing on stump speeches and other things to Wall Street.

[dreamnightwind]

31. good point

[stillwaiting]

8. I have severe doubts that Howard was ever on the side of average Americans.

My God, he sounds like a fucking Republican.

[toothless dragon]

15. Was and is another Goldwater Republican like Clinton

[appalachiablue]

50. He must have fooled many people for a long while since this change seems

not to have started when he became a lobbyist c. 2009. How awful to try to equate unions, what little is left of them to big money from WS and corps. Wow. And there's Barney Frank with another article downing Bernie posted here today.

But they're 'progressives', right.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

9. National Nurse United does not have a 'SuperPAC'. It has a PAC.

One that existed BEFORE SuperPACs were created, and still exists, with money donated by union members, largely from union dues.

It does not get giant donations from shadowy figures whose names are kept secret, but from regular old nurses.

No matter how many times Clinton surrogates want to pretend NNU is a 'SuperPAC' that is bankrolling Bernie, they're still going to be wrong.

[dreamnightwind]

32. Bernie is in the pocket of Big Nurse!

Wow, she looks like Michele Bachmann! Fear the nurse!

[nashville_brook]

10. he's a zombie now...saying what his paymasters tell him to.

btw...rec'd this b/c folks should see what he's really like these days.

[CharlotteVale]

11. That's pretty much the only explanation.

[toothless dragon]

12. Many People banding together

for the sake of the common good are called? Socialists... A few very rich people banding to Control the country are called? Fascists...

[TryLogic]

17. Exactly

[safeinOhio]

37. Organized workers

in a democratic, vote and elect leaders, are labor unions. Union members are about as far from investment bankers, multinational corp CEOs and Wall Street members as one can get. If one lumps the two groups as the same, they are blind.

[mdbl]

45. Too bad Dean can't tell the difference

but that's what money does to you.

[appalachiablue]

58. +1

[Jackilope]

13. the unmasking of The Democratic Establishment

It ain't pretty ... and the ugly isn't even hidden now. We have a choice. Third Way Corporate Party -- or people -- all of us -- telling the Corporatists where to stick it.

[truthseeker1]

14. sell out

I heard him say that this morning, could not believe it! What a total sell out. Hope it's worth it to him.

[abelenkpe]

16. See how similar

Bernie

https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=n00000528

Clinton

https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contrib.php?id=N00000019&cycle=2016&type=f&src=b


In 2016 unions represent 12.2 percent of workers. In 1950 they represented 28.3 percent of workers. Both candidates have unions support according to the links above.

donations from PACs and wealthy individuals dwarf the influence of unions. Surely Dean knows?

[cilla4progress]

18. He's jonesing for

a cabinet position.

[Gregorian]

38. Aha.

When people act weird, look around. I has to be money or power or something else.

You might be on to something there.

[appalachiablue]

59. Didn't he already get passed over by Obama when he made clear he wanted HHS

or smthg. similar. Maybe Rahm had a hand in that as I recall.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

19. Thank you Howard Dean. Thank you for speaking the truth. Give em hell!

I think he would make a great vice president. He is very good at defending Clinton and explaining her ideas. He's one of her best supporters.

[fbc]

21. So, you are an anti-union Clinton supporter?

[ProudToBeLiberal]

23. We are a union family. So, I support them 100%. Nt

[fbc]

24. So you are pro Super PAC then?

You did just say Dean was correct in calling them the same thing.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

26. We need to beat Republicans at all cost. If this means using SuperPACS

Then yes, I support them.

[fbc]

29. Yet Bernie is polling much better against Republicans without using them

It's almost as if allowing the super wealthy to exploit weakened campaign finance laws to bypass democracy is not looked upon favorably by the majority of Americans.

[mhatrw]

48. Do you agree that unions = top 1% slush funds?

Do you agree that there is an equivalence between the money hard working union members donate to protect their dwindling place in our rapacious system of hypercapitalism and the huge super-PAC funds the Citizen United decision allowed the top 0.01% to purchase our federal government with?

[fbc]

20. He has been seduced by the dark side of the force (money)

[wolfie001]

25. I'm sure all of those speeches are readily accessible....

....in reference to Bernie's speeches to any Labor Union. What a vile, dishonest smokescreen! Very disappointed with the Governor.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

76. Yup, Bernie wouldn't have had it in his contracts that nobody record them

apart from a stenographer who gave the only transcript to Bernie.

People who stipulate that no one else record them know they're going to say things that they don't want people outside the room to know.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

27. Good God, he's attacking labor unions now?

Howard Dean must be the biggest sellout I have ever seen what a disappointment.

[JessL]

28. Dean's Scream

took care of him years ago.

[sus453]

30. I too lost any respect

I might have had for Howard Dean when I heard him on NPR the other day inferring that Bern was at most an agitator and that his approach was "too white" and that he's never engaged with people of color. When the interviewer responded that Bernie had marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Dean replied that that was a long time ago and didn't count. It's depressing; it seems like Hillary has enlisted almost every single Democratic politician to support her in her run for the nomination. I guess that hubris and ambition like the look in each other eyes.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

78. She's been working for decades for this.

Checking every last bit off her checklist, building up giant lists of people that owe the Clintons favours, doing all sorts of photo-ops and charity events to get organizations and groups on her side. It was a truly dedicated and masterful work all leading to one thing, Hillary as first female President. What might well throw a spanner in the works yet again is simply timing. The country has been in crisis both times she's been running, and both times in a way that works against her. Had we been economically stable in 08, she probably would have won then. Had Obama actually created a 'recovery' that didn't essentially all go to the richest of the rich, she would be sailing to election now. Most people vote their pocketbooks, and Hillary, unfortunately for her, is running against the tide in her economic policies, propping up the inequality that people want to change.

[wordpix]

85. Bernie needs to explain that income inequality=racial inequality

since poor African Americans and Hispanics are living in cheap rent districts when they don't have the $ to live in better areas. That means schools that are inferior, along with crummy housing and increased crime---- when people don't have jobs or a good education, they turn to crime to make a living. And with all that comes de facto segregation.

[nichomachus]

34. Unions have to be transparent about their support - SuperPACs do not.

Someone at DNC headquarters has Howard's testicles in a vault somewhere.

[last1standing]

35. Dean has jumped the shark with this statement. I can't support anyone who smears Unions.

I was disappointed that he supported NoHope Hillary but that's politics. Smearing Unions was unnecessary and harmful to the working class.

I'll proudly place him under the bus now, along with any other silver spoon multi-millionaire who scapegoats workers for a little more power.

[dreamnightwind]

36. I saw this appearance, it was disgusting. Shame on Dean.

[jillan]

39. Hey Howie - if you want Bernie to release his speeches to unions - just ask him.

He'll probably tell you the name of the you-tube video. lol.

Not to mention that he probably did it for FREE!

[blackspade]

40. Are you fucking kidding me?

The Democratic Party is cannibalizing its base in favor of Wall Street money and largess.

Clinton and her surrogates going after unions in an attempt to connect Sanders to PAC money is a terrible strategy.
What fucking idiot came up with this 'brilliant' idea?

[mhatrw]

47. "unions = top 1% slush funds" is a great "winning" strategy for Dems!

[moondust]

41. What was his alternative

to selling out to the establishment? Persona non grata/no future in the Democratic Party? Obscurity?

[Truprogressive85]

42. Selling out really pays

Conservatives always had the same views as Dr. Dean is parroting

[Le Taz Hot]

43. Most of the unions (leadership) have endorsed Hillary.

What a disappointment he's turned into. Goddess and to think I supported him.

[Yavin4]

44. Dean is concerned that moderate and conservative Dems will bolt the party

His 50 state strategy was based on allowing Dems from red states be more conservative. A liberal Dem is not going to win in LA. or TX. So you run a moderate to conservative Dem in that state.

[hollowdweller]

71. Most of those guys are gone now.

[wordpix]

87. I truly dislike it when pols read the tea leaves & think they know the future

No one can read the future, even Howard Dean.

I've had conservatives say they don't know who to vote for. Dems, too. Things are still way in flux.

[mhatrw]

46. That attack is SO disingenuous! Fuck Dean for equating unions of working Americans with

slush funds that allow the 1% to buy our federal representatives!

[Peregrine Took]

51. So sad. He got screwed somewhat (but not nearly as bad as) like Al Gore but....

at least Al turned towards the light poor Howard has turned towards the dark

This "Deaniac" is going to pitch all her old H.D. memorabilia, the little baseball bat pens, the RX bottles, the pins, the tshirts - you are dead to me now.

[awoke_in_2003]

53. Yep, the love unions when they are needing campaign funds

The rest of the time, they can go to hell. Just ask teachers (Arne Duncan)

[Thinkingabout]

54. There goes Dean under the bus. Unions have Super Pacs, raised lots of

Money for union super PACs. It is a well known fact unions have had super PACs for years. Part of the establishment now.

[ladjf]

55. Dean used to be one of my heroes. No more. nt

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

56. He's a scumbag.

[Trajan]

57. Unlike Doctor Dean, Bernie WALKS the line

He isn't there for the fucking money, you ass!

He's there to SUPPORT THE WORKERS ...

I tell you, these fucking 'moderate' democrats can go piss up a rope ...

Quick! Somebody find a video clip of Howard Dean walking a picket line ... Oh wait ... None exist? .. How can that be?

Hell - is there a single instance of ANY Clinton walking a picket line?

Yeah, I know they visit banking conventions and talk to bankers and hedge fund managers and shit ... But, really, have they EVER walked a fucking picket line?

[hughee99]

60. If labor unions were considered "the enemy", people would be asking for the speeches they heard.

In fact, I bet if Sanders makes the GE, republican sock puppets (not the republican candidate themselves) will be calling for his union speech transcripts. They consider unions "the enemy".

[davidthegnome]

61. Severely disappointed.

Haven't heard much about him in quite a while... now I think I understand why. There was a time when I thought he would have made a great President. Calling labor unions super PACs though? Uhm, no. I think he's doing Clinton's campaign more harm than good with crap like that.

The fact of the matter is - there should be some kind of union for every type of employee, everywhere. Having worked in the service sector in many, many different capacities, I can tell you that the lack of having any sort of union or anything similar to represent me as a working American kind of sucks. Guess what happens to non-union employees working for minimum wage when they get injured? Particularly when their jobs provide no benefits?

They get injured. They work in increased pain, until it prevents them from doing their jobs and they are either fired or forced to quit. Things like... retirement? Wage negotiations? Everything, I mean, everything, is a very different frigging kettle of fish when you're in a no benefits, minimum wage job with no union.

If I was in a position where I had a union representing me (either now, or in the past), I would be in an amazingly better position. The difference, Mr. Dean, is that I would likely have health insurance, a wage I could live on, perhaps even things like holiday pay, that would've been nice.

Unfortunately, I hurt my back, pretty damn bad. I can't keep up at my current job anymore and am in the process of training my replacement. A union would have been a damned good thing for me to have had at my back (pun not intended). So... what's the difference between a union and a super PAC? Mr. Dean, the fact that you claim not to know this demonstrates such a lack of basic comprehension, elementary education and knowledge that I am, frankly, astounded. I am further astounded that you probably know damned well what unions are, and what they do - yet here you are putting them in the same class as a super PAC.

Sorry, a super PAC is not a union, you colossal jackass.

How do I know? My Great Grandfather, may he rest in peace, was one of the earliest, most underpaid, overworked, tired pioneers of union organizing way back in the day. I've heard his stories, I learned all about his struggle... and the struggles of those like him. I think it's time we start that struggle again... but this time... for EVERY American - and I'm proud and pleased as hell to have Sanders leading that charge. Right behind you Bernie.

[JPnoodleman]

63. Is this the same Howard Dean? Or is it just a skin suite? /nt

[INdemo]

64. To: Howard Dean the Insurance lobbyist Bernie didnt recieve $200,000 for those speeches Howie..

So since when did you become such a______________________________________

and by the way...Im sure Senator Sanders will provide you with those transcripts since He has nothing to hide

[myrna minx]

65. Set my face to stunned. So to Dean, the Koch Bros = folks in the SEIU? No wonder we're screwed.

Wow. Just Wow. And Ick. No wonder the system never changes - it's corrupt to the core. This primary process has exposed how hard politicians will fight for their gravy train at the expense of the citizens.

On edit - this makes me actually sick. Just bloody sick. I'm suppose to vote for this shit?

[wordpix]

86. yes, Dean better backtrack and "explain" his remark$

[kacekwl]

66. If they pulled a transcript from a Bernie speech

it would sound exactly like one he gave last week.

[mahina]

67. And I kept my Howard Dean t shirts.

To the rag box.

[malletgirl02]

68. Democratic support for Unions.

I thought support for unions was one of the primary principles of the Democratic party. I guess that isn't the case anymore.

[Omaha Steve]

77. From thje guy the DU named it's Labor Group after

You are 100% correct.

OS

[chapdrum]

69. Please leave the Dem party,

and stfu already.

[november3rd]

72. Dark Side

Dean went over to the Dark Side. Labor unions are organizations for workers to engage in collective bargaining with employers. Their political spending is about 1/500th of what the political super pacs spend, and Dean knows it.

[mikehiggins]

73. My God. If this is true it is heartbreakingly disappointing.

Unions are super-Pacs?

Fuck him.

[davidpdx]

74. The funny thing is Clinton has more labor support & her surrogates dare to call them SuperPacs

Well I guess that means she now has WAY more SuperPacs than Sanders. Fucking hypocrites.

[JoeyT]

75. When you've got to send out a surrogate to attack organized labor,

that tells me all I need to know about the candidate.

They're not even bothering with the "lite" part of Republican-lite anymore.

[saltpoint]

80. Especially good point, although it

is unsettling to think about.

Hard to see a candidate as "progressive" who as you say, "send(s) out a surrogate to attack organized labor."

[malletgirl02]

89. Progressives and Organized Labor

Hillary Clinton keeps on trying to portray herself as a progressive, but at the same time she sent out a surrogate to attack unions. Support for unions is a keep principle of progressives. On can't call herself a progressive and be anti union.

[saltpoint]

79. The spiritual lobotomy specialists

snuck in on Howard Dean while he was asleep and least expected it.

He never stood a chance to resist.

Now he wanders the land as a brainless panderer.

[malokvale77]

81. How humiliating for him.

It must be quite painful having those puppet strings jerked around by John Podesta.