Rich lady gets defensive over Biden tweet

[melman]

Link to tweet

[Renew Deal]

1. She's right

When did Democrats start knocking NY?

[melman]

3. Uh huh

You (and Soledad O'Brien) certainly know what is meant by "Park Ave" and that it's not a knock on New York.

[Renew Deal]

16. I have no idea what Biden picked on Park Ave

But I know Park Ave. is full of Democrats.

[GoCubsGo]

32. Park Ave. is also full of Trump properties.

They have Trump's name on them, anyway. Whether he actually owns them or not is another story.

[PatSeg]

60. Yeah

I'm sure everyone knew what Joe meant. That is a silly overreaction. I really would expect better from her.

[agingdem]

4. Biden didn't knock New York

he referring to middle class America as opposed to penthouse America...Soledad's perch...she's a little too sensitive...

[Renew Deal]

18. Park Ave. isn't all penthouses

This is the kind of divisive stuff I thought we were trying to get away from.

[agingdem]

26. this isn't divisive...

Last edited Fri Sep 18, 2020, 04:11 PM - Edit history (2)

divisive is Soledad taking offense at Biden's Park Avenue reference..I was born in New York and lived there for many years...I knew what Biden meant...after all the horror we as a country are living through and a depraved narcissistic sociopath at the helm I get really annoyed when fellow Dems are quick to throw stones at our guy...

[PatSeg]

61. I agree

This whole discussion is a waste of time and energy. We've been through this so many times during presidential elections, where journalists and pundits nitpick every word a candidate says, until the initial message is lost amid a bunch of senseless arguments. Republicans love this sort of thing, save them the trouble.

Edit to add: I'm also tired of Democratic candidates apologizing, when they've done nothing wrong. I hope Biden doesn't take the bait on this one.

[BannonsLiver]

48. Your acceptance is not required

[lame54]

10. Yet both your timing is atrocious

[Renew Deal]

15. I say his timing is.

Hating NY is a republican tactic.

[PatSeg]

64. Nit-picking every word a candidate says

and turning it against him/her is also a republican tactic and shouldn't be used by Democrats or journalists.

[gratuitous]

22. Really!

Isn't it time the beleaguered residents of Park Avenue at long last got some help from the government? Isn't it time for their suffering to end?

[George II]

34. It's a metaphor, he's not knocking NY but trump's type of people, many of whom live on Park Avenue.

[Renew Deal]

37. Many of them live everywhere

Unfortunately. Park Ave. will be reliably blue. Will Scranton?

[ecstatic]

53. I agree. I don't like it either

I felt myself wince a little when the post townhall conversation on CNN veered away from Park Avenue and towards the state as a whole.

That being said, I made an exception for Biden last night because his overall point was pretty good and might resonate with "middle america" or whoever the hell we're supposed to be appealing to.

[JI7]

2. She is right. But Biden was trying to appeal to a certain type . Why refer to her as "rich lady" ?

She has a name and is a well known reporter .

Just because she doesn't care for Wealthy Senator Sanders with multiple homes is no reason to attack her like this.

[melman]

5. Because if I put her name in the thread title

then there's no punchline when people see who it is.

Someone who is ostensibly on "our side" but gets agitated when her privileged class gets even a little dinged.

[JI7]

6. She is no more privileged than Sanders. And comparing Scranton to Park Avenue is about appealing

to certain types of white people.

[melman]

8. Sanders has nothing to do with this

And no it's not. It's about working people vs the rich.

[JI7]

11. It certainly has to do with Sanders and going after a woman who regularly criticized him

[melman]

12. The primary's over

I'm not interested in fighting that fight any longer. You'll have to find someone else for that.


Sorry.

[JI7]

13. Some things are very obvious

[sheshe2]

20. THIS

[MrsCoffee]

30. +1

[George II]

39. Yes indeed. Soledad O'Brien is far from the "privileged class". Her father is an immigrant from....

Last edited Fri Sep 18, 2020, 10:45 AM - Edit history (1)

....Australia, her mother came to the US from Cuba when she was 14 years old. She's a Latina from working class immigrant parents, ironically similar to another name in the news!

I don't know when that qualified as the "privileged class".

[betsuni]

43. +1

[TheFarseer]

79. But Sanders isn't trying to say

CEOs and Hedge Fund Managers are people too. That’s the difference here.

[sheshe2]

19. Punchline?

PS.

She is also of Cuban and African decent. All the money in the world won't buy her any white privilege if she is profiled or stopped and frisked.

I have no clue what your point is here.

[JonLP24]

7. With multiple homes?

One is in DC. One is in Vermont. The third came from parents. He is wealthy but most Senators and some members of Congress are far more wealthier you don't hear about their finances at all but people were obsessed with Bernie's financials. Seriously the houses thing is one of the weakest lines of attack on Sanders.

[JI7]

9. People bring it up since that's what Sanders and his supporters do . Just like how he stopped using

millionaires when he became one .

[JonLP24]

14. I agree he shifted from millionaires to billionaires fair point

I think though that is beside the point he was trying to make. Wealth inequality is a huge problem and he was trying to address it with rhetoric and policies. A lot of the very wealthy like the Koch Brothers pour a lot of money into the political system to get policies that favor them.

I don't have an issue he earned a salary as Senator and made money from book sales.

[JI7]

17. He rarely had policies and when asked how he would do something could not explain it

and got upset .

[betsuni]

25. Like the time he was asked about his student loan debt plan numbers and answered,

"I don't have the plan in my pocket right now." If someone has a plan they should at least be able to give ballpark estimates.

[RandiFan1290]

29. Reeks of anti-Semitism. nt

[George II]

42. "Reeks of anti-Semitism"? That sir is offensive and insulting.

[betsuni]

44. Why?

[mcar]

73. What?

[Mossfern]

77. How so?

Park Avenue isn't predominantly Jewish.
I knew exactly what Biden meant.

[George II]

40. The reason people were "obsessed" with Bernie's financials (even though they weren't)....

....is because for a long time he refused to release his income tax returns.

Do you know of any Presidential candidate about whose taxes people didn't "obsess"?

[George II]

41. Hardly. One is in DC, the second is in Vermont, the third (less than 30 miles from the second)....

....did not "come from parents". About 1/6 of it came from sale of what has been described as a family home in Maine.

Do you know of a single Presidential candidate about whose financials people didn't "obsess"?

[George II]

35. Yes, she's been a reporter and commentator for years and, considering all that she's done....

....over the years she's not all that "rich".

She's the Latina daughter of working class immigrants, imagine if that "rich" comment was made about someone else!

[TheBlackAdder]

21. People don't have to feel compelled to reply to every tweet, even if most get the gist.

[Trumpocalypse]

23. Damn, she missed the point

[TheBlackAdder]

54. I think she got the point and is using it to project an air of neutrality and both-siderism.

[PatSeg]

65. And look where that kind of political journalism

got us in 2016. There are so many urgent issues right now, this was superficial and petty. She knew exactly what he meant.

[andym]

24. Park Avenue-- it reminded me of this

Listen as Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor) sings (0:40).

"I just a adore a penthouse view,
Dahling I love you, but give me Park Avenue."

[RhodeIslandOne]

46. Melonhead Trump n/m

[radius777]

27. I love Soledad but she's missing the point here.

Biden is taking a shot at Trump and RW fat cats like him - not liberals like Soledad.

Biden needs to win certain demographics in the swing states and working a small town populist angle is exactly the correct strategy, as experts such as Plouffe and Carville (and Bernie) have suggested, especially since Biden comes from such a background.

Longterm though, this angle is problematic as the Dem base is rooted in big metropolitan areas across the country, including in swing states, and our base is culturally liberal and diverse. Turning out votes from Philly and its suburbs is far more important than Scranton, and we can't afford to turn off WoC like Soledad who (regardless of class) can often feel like an afterthought to the party.

[Drunken Irishman]

28. Soledad is saying All Incomes Matter I guess.

I like her but she's off the mark on this one.

[betsuni]

31. Suddenly, Park Avenue good, Wall Street still very very very bad.

[melman]

45. What?

[betsuni]

52. Wall Street still very very bad?

[melman]

55. Park Avenue good?

I think you may need to reread this whole thing.


Because Soledad O'Brien is the one that loves Park Ave. Not me.

[betsuni]

56. Rich people are very bad, but if you can write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.

[melman]

57. This isn't about Bernie Sanders or about how I supposedly feel about rich people

This is about Soledad O'Brien taking a shot at Joe Biden.


Very strange to see people taking the side of a media celebrity over that of the Democratic nominee.


Very strange indeed.

[betsuni]

59. Oh, melman. Of course it is.

[melman]

62. It's actually not

I notice you still haven't commented on O'Brien's tweet attacking Biden.

Just continually deflect to this Bernie nonsense and now the old go-to "oh melman'' taunt.


I suspect there'll be an Al Franken book quote coming along shortly. That's next on the greatest hits list.


But what there won't be is any comment on this media celebrity attacking the Dem. nominee. Very strange indeed.

[betsuni]

69. Oh, melman, you don't like Al Franken? "That's next on the greatest hits list."

Yes, I love quoting people! Those are their words. I have books. So flattered you noticed.

"media celebrity"

[melman]

70. I think Al Franken's great

Not sure why media celebrity makes you lol so much. Certainly not an inaccurate description of the person in question.


Still no comment on the tweet in question. Odd.

[betsuni]

71. Oh, so thoughtful comments on the actual content is better than auto-kill-the-messenger?

That's new.

"Media celebrity."

[melman]

72. What?

I have no idea what that means. What's the thoughtful content comment? Who's auto-killing messengers? WHAT?



Yes. Media celebrity.

[betsuni]

74. WHAT?

Rich lady gets defensive over Biden tweet
If I put her name in the thread title there's no punchline
I never post about Bernie Sanders at all
I really don't give that much of a shit about Bernie Sanders
The primary's over
Soledad's husband is a big deal investment banker
Media celebrity
Rich lady gets defensive over Biden tweet

[melman]

78. So the messenger is Soledad O'Brien

Okay. But her message here is accusing Joe Biden of being divisive. That's what she's doing.


And you feel this message shouldn't be attacked? Is that it? Okay...I guess.

[betsuni]

81. You called her a rich lady, her husband is a big deal investment banker. Wall Street.

If she's the 1% wealthy donor class Wall Street or whatever, why should we listen to her? We're told by certain people that this is very very bad and everyone rich is corrupted. Can't have it both ways. Can't now say such a rich person has a valid point, holding feet to the fire, speaking truth to power, etc. Grassroots?

[melman]

82. Here's some more messaging from Soledad

In this one she says Biden is "framing who the real Americans are"


What's your take on this message? Agree? Disagree?

[George II]

85. What's the date of that tweet?

[melman]

87. 9/18/2020

[betsuni]

86. That tweet is in response to Glenn Greenwald.

"Biden is depicting the NAFTA/Wall St./Silicon Vally Democrats as the Party of Scranton."

[melman]

88. Irrelevant

[betsuni]

89. "Biden is depicting the NAFTA/Wall St./Silicon Valley Democrats as the Party of Scranton."

No comment on the tweet in question? Interesting.

[melman]

90. Not interesting

Or relevant. Just a deflection from Soledad's attacks.

[betsuni]

92. Attacks? Why isn't it constructive criticism? Holding feet to the fire?

She said "Thank you." Interesting.

[melman]

93. Here's Stephanie Ruhle comparing Biden to Trump

Link to tweet

Is this also constructive criticism in your view?

[betsuni]

94. The OP is about "rich lady" Soledad O'Brien.

Now it's about someone entirely different? Is she a "rich lady"? Is her husband a "big deal investment banker"?

[melman]

96. They're saying the same things...about the same thing.

As you know.

And what I know is this is going to keep going around in circles and you're never going to give a straight response. So I'm done.

But I'll tell you what. This thread has been really enlightening. I honestly had no idea how attached some folks are to these TV people.


To the point where they can't even be criticized at all! Even if they're attacking the Democratic nominee.


It's really something.

[betsuni]

98. The "Why do you think Democrats are perfect" response.

[George II]

100. Twenty seconds, and not even the answer. What's up with all the bashing of Biden here on DU?

[radius777]

103. This is precisely the problem with this narrative

in that Dems are much more the party of metro areas than small towns, and we need women like Soledad and Ruhle to vote for us.

Altho I can understand why Biden is doing it now, to win white voters in those swing states, it's not a great narrative even though the populist left may like it.

[melman]

104. Interesting

Over and over we hear "how dare these children need to be coaxed/given reasons to vote...etc."


like in this thread here for example--> https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214102486



But apparently this doesn't apply to entitled millionaire assholes like Stephanie Ruhle.


For them we have to walk on eggshells. Seems odd to me.

[George II]

95. She didn't even mention Biden in that tweet, she mentioned "politicians", and it was in response....

....not to Biden but to a way out of whack tweet by Glenn Greenwald, who mischaracterized "NAFTA/Wall Street/Silicon Valley Democrats as the party of Scranton", none of which were even mentioned in Biden's statement last night.

[melman]

97. .

[JI7]

63. Soledad O'Brien Supports Biden for President . They are on the same side

There are many tweets attacking Biden but you pick this out just to attack a woman who regularly criticized Sanders.

[melman]

66. You may find this confusing or even hurtful, conflicting with your deeply held beliefs as it does...

But I really don't give that much of a shit about Bernie Sanders to be going around looking for vengeance on his critics.


That is your fantasy version of me. Not the actual me at all. So sorry if that disappoints you. So very sorry!

[JI7]

67. it's based on what you post. If you are concerned about basing Biden

look at the shit posted by trash like Sirota , briahna joy gray and others.

[melman]

68. It's actually not

I never post about him at all. So sorry.

[Sunsky]

33. I'm not rich but I agree with her

I wish Biden wouldn't have tweeted that. Us versus them won't work in a tight election. We will need them to vote as well. We want to implement policies to give everyone a fair chance and to help the least among us realize their American dream. However, I despise the hatred of the rich that I see some Democrats display. It's like to be financially successful is a crime while we vote for people who are financially successful. So what if Soledad is rich? Does that make her not have a voice? Many weren't born into wealth. We should be the party of those people as well. We have candidates railing against the "millionaire class" while they're millionaires themselves. It makes no sense. Seems hypocritical as well.

[George II]

38. He would have been wiser to say Fifth Avenue, not Park Avenue. trump tower is on 5th.....

But I get what he was driving at metaphorically.

[BannonsLiver]

50. Most people who AREN'T LOOKING FOR AN AX TO GRIND do as well.

[still_one]

36. Biden is simply pointing out the disparities that exist between blue collars and white collars

It is no secret that the middle class is slowly being eaten away in this country

[demmiblue]

83. +1

[RhodeIslandOne]

47. The problem is, it's noticable they're not using "Wall Street" anymore....

Those boys tend to be even more sensitive.

[melman]

49. Soledad's husband is a big deal investment banker

So she probably wouldn't like that one either.



But that's a good point. I hadn't even thought of that. It's kind of depressing now that you mention it.

[betsuni]

75. Does he work on Wall Street?

[melman]

76. Not sure

Here's his profile at Stifel Financial Corp. Maybe you could shoot him an email and ask.




https://www.stifel.com/institutional/investment-banking/industry-coverage/technology/meet-our-team/brad-raymond

[George II]

84. His company is headquartered in St. Louis.

[appalachiablue]

102. Occurred to me in the 1st second, a sub for WS.

What else can he use for symbolism, the palace at Versailles? Sheesh, she needs to give it a rest.

[BannonsLiver]

51. Boo hoo Soledad

You can fuck right off.

[jalan48]

58. Identity politics for the rich?

[demmiblue]

80. Stephanie Ruhle pretty much alluded to the same thing this morning...

something about working hard to get here; don't you want my vote?

I generally agree with Soledad, but...

[melman]

91. Here's Ruhle's comment

Link to tweet

Unbelievable.

[treestar]

99. Why do people have to go out of their way to be offended?

Especially rich people.

[demmiblue]

101. Nicolle Wallace gets it! n/t