Bernie Sanders: 'Maybe Obama Should Have Done More' On Russia

[TomCADem]

Maybe this is why Bernie Sanders decided to skip the vote trying to block the Trump administration from lifting sanctions on Russia?

[MontanaMama]

1. So where were you today Bernie?

Seems you could have squeezed in time for a no vote on lifting sanctions before or after your hour long meeting. Unless, of course, you didn’t intend on voting against sanctions...

[TomCADem]

2. Maybe Bernie Should Have Done More On Russia?

Like be in attendance on a close vote. Oh well, perhaps Bernie will make up for it by proposing an over the top bill that has no chance of passage, but skip town when a bill that holds Russia accountable actually comes close to passage.

[MontanaMama]

4. Yes.

More than one vote against sanctions bears our attention. If this were a GOPer, we wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe we need to know more about why BS seems okay with lifting sanctions?

[George II]

5. He voted against the Magnitsky Act and Russia Sanctions, and apparently was too busy....

...to vote for maintaining sanctions against Oleg Deripaska.

So:

He was one of four Senators to vote against the Magnitsky Act
He was one of two Senators to vote against the Russia Sanctions
He was the only Senator to not vote in this latest Russian Sanctions bill

[John Fante]

7. It would appear that the honeymoon in Moscow hasn't ended.

[George II]

8. Hah! That's an interesting way of putting it, thanks.

[NurseJackie]

18. Even if he had been present, are we SURE he would have voted to keep the sanctions?

He was one of four Senators to vote against the Magnitsky Act
He was one of two Senators to vote against the Russia Sanctions
He was the only Senator to not vote in this latest Russian Sanctions bill

Even if he had been present, are we SURE he would have voted to keep the sanctions?

It's sad and revealing that I need to even ask... and that there's any doubt at all. But considering his previous history of consistently voting against Russian sanctions, do we have any reason to believe he would have voted differently at this crucial time?

All I'm trying to find out is whether his absence was intentional so that he wouldn't be "forced" to vote-with-the-GOP on this particular issue. This is a legitimate and valid question that deserves to be answered truthfully.

[Cha]

15. BS was just down the street..

The meetings, which stretched for almost a full day, began near Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening and picked up after the full group convened for breakfast on Wednesday morning.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/01/16/politics/bernie-sanders-sexual-harassment-campaign-meeting-2020/

Link to tweet

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11682589

[NurseJackie]

17. Even if he had been present, are we SURE he would have voted to keep the sanctions?

Even if he had been present, are we SURE he would have voted to keep the sanctions?

It's sad and revealing that I need to even ask... and that there's any doubt at all. But considering his previous history of consistently voting against Russian sanctions, do we have any reason to believe he would have voted differently?

All I'm trying to find out is whether his absence was intentional so that he wouldn't be "forced" to vote-with-the-GOP on this particular issue. This is a legitimate and valid question that deserves to be answered truthfully.

[Cha]

22. Who knows.. looks like he didn't

want to be on record one way or another.

Every Vote Counts. And, by not voting against Russia.. all it does is make many people pissed off.

[NurseJackie]

23. Silence equals approval.

There's no middle ground. There's no being silent (or conveniently busy). Any vote that's not in favor of sanctions is a GIFT TO THE RUSSIANS. Even "present" votes or "absent" non-votes are included. If someone didn't vote IN FAVOR OF SANCTIONS, it was a gift to the Russians. There are no two ways about it. This was a test that he failed, and that makes me sad.

[Cha]

24. Exactly Jackie.. which

some people are just not getting.

[smirkymonkey]

31. +1000

So tired of Bernie and his bullshit. And his ego. I just wish he would go away.

[George II]

20. That explains a lot. Using a meeting that went on over a number of hours, at which....

....he only spent an hour, as a reason for not having time to vote is strange. It would have taken only 15 minutes or so to vote (14 of which would be going to and from the Senate Chamber)

The bottom line is that there was some reason that he didn't want to participate in that vote.

And the fact that he spent less than one hour at the meeting discussing the "predatory culture" of his campaign gives one the sense that he really didn't care much about the issues or being there.

[NurseJackie]

25. Many are wondering WHAT his vote would have been.

The bottom line is that there was some reason that he didn't want to participate in that vote.

Many are wondering WHAT his vote would have been. Considering his previous votes (and rhetoric) in opposition to Russian sanctions, would he be willing to risk doing an about-face? On the other hand, would he be willing to continue with his well documented opposition to Russian sanctions and vote with the GOP in giving Russia a gift?

These are fair questions. The American people deserve to know and to have an honest answer to the questions being asked.

[Cha]

14. BS could have voted if he wanted to..

with a "Symbolic Rebuke" at Russia. He didn't know how close the vote would be, either. Every vote counts.

Senate Democrats' effort to block Trump move on Russia sanctions fails

The sanctions resolution from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, which required 60 votes to proceed, was defeated in a 57-42 vote. Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders missed the vote.

But the result still represented a symbolic rebuke of the Treasury Department's decision in December to lift the sanctions on the companies tied to Deripaska, a Kremlin ally. Eleven Republicans joined with Democrats to support Schumer's resolution, arguing that the Trump administration erred in deciding to lift sanctions on Rusal, the world's second-largest aluminum producer, as well as EN+ Group and JSC EuroSibEnergo.

Wednesday's vote came one day after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin went to Capitol Hill in an effort to ease Republican senators' concerns about the sanctions plan. He failed to convince those 11 Republicans who broke with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell later Tuesday to vote with Democrats on Schumer's resolution.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/politics/senate-democrats-sanctions-russia/index.html

The only one to miss the vote was Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. He was meeting with women who had accused his 2016 presidential campaign of sexual misconduct, his spokesman, Josh Miller-Lewis, told CNBC.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/16/senate-democrats-vote-to-block-trump-from-lifting-russia-sanctions-fails.html

Link to tweet

[Evergreen Emerald]

19. He could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue ...

and would not lose his supporters.

[Cha]

21. I am seeing a lot on Twitter that

he has lost. Just saw one that had 9.4 likes and 2.5 retweets.

[democratisphere]

3. Put up a vote to continue sanctions against Russia and Deripaska, or shut up!

[OhZone]

6. I can think of a few maybees around Bernie's behavior. nt

[emulatorloo]

9. See also: Bernie blames Hillary for allowing Russian interference

He is a gaffe machine.




Bernie blames Hillary for allowing Russian interference
The senator and his top political adviser also denied Mueller's assertion that Russian actors backed his campaign.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE02/21/2018 06:45 PM EST

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/21/bernie-sanders-trump-russia-interference-420528

<snip>

Bernie Sanders on Wednesday blamed Hillary Clinton for not doing more to stop the Russian attack on the last presidential election. Then his 2016 campaign manager, in an interview with POLITICO, said he’s seen no evidence to support special counsel Robert Mueller's assertion in an indictment last week that the Russian operation had backed Sanders' campaign.

The remarks showed Sanders, running for a third term and currently considered a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, deeply defensive in response to questions posed to him about what was laid out in the indictment. He attempted to thread a response that blasts Donald Trump for refusing to acknowledge that Russians helped his campaign — but then holds himself harmless for a nearly identical denial.

In doing so, Sanders and his former campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, presented a series of self-serving statements that were not accurate, and that track with efforts by Trump and his supporters to undermine the credibility of the Mueller probe.

“The real question to be asked is what was the Clinton campaign [doing about Russian interference]? They had more information about this than we did,” Sanders said in the interview with Vermont Public Radio.

<much more at link>


—————————


BERNIE SANDERS MIRRORS TRUMP, BLAMES HILLARY CLINTON FOR NOT COMBATTING RUSSIAN MEDDLING, DENIES IT HELPED HIS CAMPAIGN
BY GREG PRICE ON 2/22/18 AT 11:37 AM

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-trump-hillary-clinton-816239

Senator Bernie Sanders pinned blame Wednesday on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election squarely on Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign, largely reflecting President Donald Trump’s repeated claims. The Vermont independent, who ran in the Democratic primary in 2016, also scuttled any notion that his campaign was aided by Russia.

During an interview with Vermont Public Radio, Sanders rebuffed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russians and three Russian entities that detailed how Russia used social media to favor the Sanders and Trump campaigns—as well as others—over Clinton’s.

“Well, ha 'Supporting my campaign?' No," Sanders said. "They were attacking Hillary Clinton's campaign using my supporters against Hillary Clinton."

The expected frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 also challenged what the Clinton campaign knew and failed to act on regarding Russia’s actions to divide the country and disseminate false information to voters.

[dalton99a]

11. +1. Hard to forget that one

[True Blue American]

13. Bernie has always been

Trump on the left. He shouts the same stuff Trump does. But notice, Bernie did not miss the chance to mug on MTP.

He can always find time for the cameras.

[True Blue American]

30. I always get in trouble over Bernie.:(

But thanks, Cha.

I like this way of moderating. I seldom vote against, unless it is really bad against Democrats.

TBA

[Thekaspervote]

10. I am sooo ready to see him go away.

[dumpTrump Dumptruck]

16. AMEN

Re the 2020 Dem Primary, I want to hear nothing from BS!

[NurseJackie]

26. Many people share those feelings. You're not alone.

[Scruffy1]

12. He's so done.

I still like him in some ways, but he always wasa loose canon.

[Squinch]

27. Jesus. What a mess. Does he know what a mess he is making, or does he think

no one noticed him bailing out on all the Russian sanctions votes?

[Turbineguy]

28. Well yes, but

Obama got no help from the American Duma.

[shanny]

29. Obama should have done more about Russia.

Just because you don't like the messenger is no reason to ignore that fact.

And the seething rage over a missed vote that did not have a hope in hell of changing the outcome seems...theatrical? to me.

[Quixote1818]

32. His point was that Obama was afraid to point out Russia was meddling. Maybe Hillary would be

President if Obama had spoken up about what they already knew? Obama was worried about the optics and I think they thought Hillary was going to win anyway. Sanders was just suggesting it might have helped and it might not have helped if Obama had warned the public about Russa's meddling. We will never know. And you have a problem with Sanders saying this possibly might have helped Hillary if Obama had spoken up about Russia's meddling in our elections to help Trump get elected????? Unbelievable!