Watched the sellout Bernie Sanders on MSNBC offering praise of Obama's NSA speech...

[Drunken Irishman]

He also questioned Snowden going against his oath.

There goes his 2016 aspirations. Right?

[JaneyVee]

1. Greenwald called them "a step in the right direction" on Real Time

AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS!

[Drunken Irishman]

4. If he did, good for him...

It was better than his initial response that it was nothing more than a publicity stunt.

[lumpy]

29. So Bernie is a sellout now. Wow suddenly he has gone from hero to traitor.

[Drunken Irishman]

30. I don't find him a sellout at all...

It was a joke. Because Bernie didn't vilify the President - who, we're told countless times by DUers, is not really doing anything good.

[lumpy]

34. Hahahahahahaha. Some joke. I'm laughing.

[Cha]

68. So GGreenwald went from "publicity stunt" to "step in the right direction"?

How is a publicity stunt a step in the right direction? Oh wait.. it's mr publicity stunt himself talkin'.

[monmouth3]

2. Wait, let me get some popcorn for this thread..Damn,where's the butter....n/t

[ChisolmTrailDem]

3. Here you go...

[monmouth3]

6. You're the best, many thanks....n/t

[Iggo]

5. Bernie Sanders doesn't belong to a party that can get him elected President.

Who doesn't understand this?

Fact: If he doesn't run as a Democrat, he can never be President.

[Cleita]

7. He's already stated he's running to pull the debate to the left and

he would never be a spoiler. That means he only intends to run in the primary, not the general election.

[Iggo]

8. Run in whose primary?

[Cleita]

9. He hasn't said, but I believe he intends to run as a Democrat.

It would be the only way he could pull the debate to the left as he stated. He has not declared yet though as far as I know. I'm thinking he wants to see who else will throw their hat in the ring first. I'm sure he never expects the nomination. He's just stirring the pot for liberal Democrats.

[Drunken Irishman]

10. If he runs third party, he may pull the debate to the left, but...

He'll pull the country to the right because it will certainly cost the Democrats the White House.

Even if we nominate Elizabeth Warren.

[Cleita]

12. That's why he actually has to run as a Democrat because he has

clearly stated he will not be a spoiler and in order for that to happen he can't run as a third party candidate.

[Drunken Irishman]

16. If he ran as a Democrat, I would seriously consider voting for him.

[Cleita]

19. I would without a doubt too.

But he still hasn't said positively that he will run, only that he's considering it.

[Drunken Irishman]

21. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Joe.

I kinda want him to run and win.

[Cleita]

25. He'd have to run against Hillary. Since he's part of that political

family, I don't know if he would unless she decides not to run.

[MADem]

44. No--he can run third party, horn in on the Dem debates, and drop out once primary season ends.

He hasn't said he's running, though--has he?

I thought he responded, in answer to a direct question, that he was "thinking about it." That's code for "Keep inviting me on your talking head shows; I'll prosecute MY agenda and give you a sweet sound-bite or two!"

People don't realize that he's a 72 year old man. He may have other priorities--when time is short, people do start parsing out what's important.

[Cleita]

46. I don't know how he can horn in on the Dem debates unless they let him

and the last primary they froze out Dennis Kucinich on the final ones, who is a Democrat. As an independent he's a shoe-in for being the candidate, which would put him in the embarrassing position of either being a spoiler or having to withdraw, disappointing those who supported him. He hasn't made up his mind because he's waiting to see if there's anyone progressive running besides the usual corporate toadies. If there isn't, he has stated that his purpose is to move the debate to the left, not to be President, kind of like a white Al Sharpton did, who also was squeezed out of the final debates.

[MADem]

49. He caucuses with the Democratic Party in the Senate. He'd get consideration for that, alone.

They froze out Kucinich because he was a fucking loser who couldn't even get a percent of the vote. You're expected to bring a viable constituency with you, and he had none. He kept taking matching funds and living off 'em, going from hotel to hotel, charging up his room and meals, ignoring his constituents, continually absent from the House, and playing the meaningless gadfly on the taxpayer dime. He wasn't going to win, place, or even show.

As for Bernie, he isn't interested in "winning." He may not be interested in "running." He said "Maybe" in response to a direct question, and a cadre of over-anxious Bernie-worshippers is trying to make something of that. I have not seen anything beyond that one, off-the-cuff remark, and I sure as hell haven't seen one of those "I hereby declare that I am a candidate" videos.

Has he incorporated a PAC? Is he going around to the fifty states and meeting with organizers? He has no deep party structure to fall back on, so he would need to get going on this already if he intended to run in a meaningful way--otherwise, he's just chatting to get space on the Talking Head shows. No harm in "upping" one's profile--it can help if one wants to make a few extra dollars on the speaker's circuit.

[Cleita]

52. Well I watch him on Brunch with Bernie every Friday afternoon

and there have been many more than one "off the cuff" remark. He has been directly questioned about this by Thom Hartmann on and off and although he hasn't said a definite, I will run, he has progressed from never to maybe. He has not retreated from the maybe and also,has added that he is thinking very hard about it.

[Iggo]

11. If he becomes a Democrat, he's got my vote.

If not, he's useless to me as far as presidential politics are concerned.

[Cleita]

15. I'm pretty sure this is what he has in mind.

Thom Hartmann questions him occasionally about this on the Brunch with Bernie segment they do on Fridays on Thom's show. This is what he has said. He wants to pull the debate to the left and he would not be a spoiler. He has not said he would become a Democrat, however, in order to do the above, he would have to. Otherwise he would be a spoiler.

[whatchamacallit]

13. Wish there was a link

I'd like to hear all that he said (cuz it matters)

[Drunken Irishman]

17. I'll look for a link...

It wasn't a long interview by any means, but still interesting nonetheless.

[whatchamacallit]

18. Cool, thanks n/t

[Drunken Irishman]

20. Here it is...

http://www.msnbc.com/weekends-alex-witt/watch/sen-sanders-we-have-a-very-long-way-to-go-120722499615

[whatchamacallit]

23. Sorry man, as I suspected

Bernie's "praise" was faint at best. As Sid would say, "keep trying".

[Drunken Irishman]

26. Don't need to keep trying. Bernie supports the President.

He had an opportunity to hit him hard on the matter and he didn't. Did I expect Bernie to fully embrace Obama's proposals? Na' - but he supports 'em. Faint praise is still praise - and Bernie praised Obama a helluva more aggressively than a great deal of people on DU.

[whatchamacallit]

33. Bullshit

like the OP.

[Drunken Irishman]

38. You're saying he doesn't support the President?

Show me where Bernie has said half the vile shit thrown at Obama from the extreme DU left?

You can't. He'll be critical of Obama when he feels it's warranted - but as this video attests, he won't openly assault him. He's never done that. And when the chips are down, like with healthcare, he almost always supports what the President proposes.

Funny, eh?

[whatchamacallit]

45. This is lame

Like all of us, he supports the president in as far as the president does what really needs doing. That is not a blanket endorsement like your silly flame bait OP suggests.

[Drunken Irishman]

47. 'Like all of us'...

Maybe YOU. But not DU. There are a lot of hateful posts toward the President. Hell, some members have called him a fascist.

[whatchamacallit]

57. Ok agree

I'm very critical of the president often, have been of all presidents, but some go to far.

[Drunken Irishman]

60. I don't mind criticism. I really don't...

And Obama has done things that should be criticized. But yeah, the extremes, on both sides, turns me off and just makes me that more defensive of the President.

[Jamaal510]

69. PBO is

one of the worst fascists I've seen. Adolf Hitler is probably rolling in his grave.

[L0oniX]

66. ^^^this^^^

[Bluenorthwest]

27. Praise is a term of art which in this case means saying one's plans are inadequate

destructive and unconstitutional.

[Bluenorthwest]

22. Here is the statement he issued after Obama's speech yesterday

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 17 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement after President Barack Obama announced new measures on the oversight of government surveillance programs.

“I appreciate the president’s willingness to examine this important issue but I think that his remarks did not go far enough. There is no question in my mind that the collection of data on every phone call made in the United States is unconstitutional and a violation of the Fourth Amendment and that the government has engaged in massive violations of civil liberties and privacy rights.

“I am concerned about the chilling effect such wholesale surveillance has on Americans’ everyday activities. I do not want writers, students and even our children worried that the books they read, the Internet sites they visit, the petitions they sign will be conceived by the government as anti-American or dangerous.

“Let me be clear: In my view terrorist acts against the United States and other countries remain a serious threat and we have to do everything we can to protect our safety, but I am convinced we can do that without undermining the privacy rights of the American people.
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-obamas-review-of-intelligence-gathering

[riderinthestorm]

37. Kick for your post Blue. Bernie even calls it un-Constitutional

Which of course it is...

[Cali_Democrat]

14. They got to him

[randome]

32. They planted some suspicious looking objects in his closet.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[Autumn]

58. They put a pole dancer in his closet.

Very tragic.

[Cali_Democrat]

62. "They" are very powerful

[L0oniX]

67. The NSA found that he surfs for porn and threatened him.

[Wilms]

24. :eyes:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024353639

[Bluenorthwest]

28. This tactic might work if no one else on earth had a TV or the ability to read.

nt

[DevonRex]

31. I bet he talked about boxes in Snowden's garage, too.

And pole dancing. He's just a Snowden hater!

[PragmaticLiberal]

36. No...but he didn't exactly claim that Snowden was a hero either.

Bernie basically said that Snowden's disclosures shed some much-needed light on the NSA's activities.

He also didn't approve of Snowden's methods.

So like most things in life he doesn't seem to think it's a "black and white issue".

And I happen to concur.

[Drunken Irishman]

40. Yes. He wants Snowden to face a jury.

[DevonRex]

41. I concur with that. Or..

he could stay in a dingy Moscow apartment for the next 50 years, forgotten, just like all the other defectors before him.

[MADem]

35. Oh, myyyyyyyy!

Aren't you eeeeeevil, asking questions like that! You're only supposed to ask those sorts of questions of "certain" people, not the poor ordinary and practical souls who use their smarts to make judgment calls, and who are placed up on pedestals not of their own making and given phony backstories that falsely suggest that they don't poop, never mind think, like the rest of us!

Of course, Bernie was also supported by a nice lady with the middle name of Rodham in his Senate campaign--her PAC even gave him money! That's certainly an inconvenient truth when the same cadre tries to invent phony "cage match" fights between the two...!

[treestar]

42. That's very interesting.

One would think that makes Bernie a corporate sell-out.

[Rex]

39. Look, the devil is in the details but I don't agree with the overall position of the president ..."

[ProSense]

43. Different program

The OP is Senator Sanders on MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.com/weekends-alex-witt/watch/sen-sanders-we-have-a-very-long-way-to-go-120722499615

The clip in the other thread is Senator Sanders on CNN.

[Rex]

50. LOL!

[ProSense]

51. I know, I thought posting a CNN quote to a thread about MSNBC was hilarious too.

[Rex]

53. Blue link!?

[ProSense]

54. .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024353382

[Rex]

55. BAWHAHAHAHAHA!

I knew you would have nothing!


I LOVE how you rec this thread and trash the other one...so obvious, carry on!

[ProSense]

56. Wait

"I knew you would have nothing!

I LOVE how you rec this thread and trash the other one...so obvious, carry on! "

...so you know about the other "thread," the CNN "one" where you got the quote?

You're asking for "links"?

[Number23]

70. That one seems to be even more gone than usual lately

And the overuse of the rofl guy is simply bizarre. If SidDithers used the damn thing 1/3 as much as that individual, somebody would be in ATA asking for it to be removed from the smiley options list.

[hootinholler]

48. Does anyone have a Bernie Facepalm photo? n/t

[Pretzel_Warrior]

59. Lol. Sure to draw a few negative comments

[bvar22]

61. If you have any sense of shame,

or any respect for The TRUTH,
you will edit your OP to reflect what Bernie REALLY said.

[font size=3]"I do NOT agree with the overall position of the President on this issue"[/font]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024353639


Bernie also says:
"The current USA surveillance program represents a clear violation of the 4th Amendment ban on unreasonable searches"

and

(It is) "clearly a violation of the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution,
and THAT has to end."

Bernie Sanders not only agrees with ME on this issue,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024347724
[font size =3]buts also agrees with [font size=3]Rand "fuckin" Paul on this issue:[/font][/font]

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on President Obama's NSA surveillance reform speech:
'While I am encouraged the President is addressing the NSA spying program because of pressure from Congress and the American people, I am disappointed in the details. The 4th Amendment requires an individualized warrant based on probable cause before the government can search phone records and e-mails' - via @NBCNews

http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/obama-nsa-reform-proposals/

Your post is a Willful Distortion of Bernie Sanders position,
and has no place on DU.
I take this seriously.
You should take this seriously.
DU should take this seriously.

---bvar22

[Tarheel_Dem]

63. And when DU appoints you Czar of what everyone else should take "seriously"....

let us all know.

[L0oniX]

65. Take it for what it is ...the op is an epic fail.

[joshcryer]

72. he did question Snowden going against his oath

and he is open to reforming the NSA

[Tarheel_Dem]

64. Quite frankly, I don't give a shit what Bernie has to say. He's just as...

ineffective as he is loud. What actual impact has Bernie had on the government body he inhabits? Much like Kucinich, his rhetoric doesn't match his legislative successes, or lack thereof. He's also the asshole who suggested the POTUS be primaried in 2012. That's akin to Ted Cruz telling us who our nominee should be.

[joshcryer]

71. disagree with Bernie here

absolute transparency is a must

abolish the CIA and NSA

what Snowden did was heroic

even if it was LIHOP