An internal “End Game” memo left in a Los Angeles hotel restaurant details extraordinary demands considered by the Sanders campaign ahead of the Democrats’ unity event.

PHILADELPHIA — The Bernie Sanders campaign considered demanding a private plane staffed and funded by the Democratic National Committee as part of negotiations with Hillary Clinton heading into this week’s convention, according to a Sanders memo obtained by BuzzFeed News.


The plane was to be used “for a series of fall rallies in battleground states,” according to the “Bernie 2016” memo, which was drafted in the days before Sanders’ sound defeat in the June 7 California primary, the contest that effectively ended his insurgent bid.


“This plane would be paid for by the DNC,” it reads.

The document reveals a campaign in its final days, considering whether to fight on with a “divisive critique” of Clinton, yet attuned to diminished influence inside the party.


Aides believed a tour of the battleground states would help keep Sanders center stage. The memo, titled “End Game,” also suggests that the Vermont senator’s campaign for Senate Democrats to “help deliver a majority and take credit for it” — one of several references throughout the four-page document showing the extent to which aides remained aware of opportunities to take “credit” amid decreasing “leverage.”

An internal “End Game” memo left in a Los Angeles hotel restaurant details extraordinary demands considered by the Sanders campaign ahead of the Democrats’ unity event.

PHILADELPHIA — The Bernie Sanders campaign considered demanding a private plane staffed and funded by the Democratic National Committee as part of negotiations with Hillary Clinton heading into this week’s convention, according to a Sanders memo obtained by BuzzFeed News.


The plane was to be used “for a series of fall rallies in battleground states,” according to the “Bernie 2016” memo, which was drafted in the days before Sanders’ sound defeat in the June 7 California primary, the contest that effectively ended his insurgent bid.


“This plane would be paid for by the DNC,” it reads.

The document reveals a campaign in its final days, considering whether to fight on with a “divisive critique” of Clinton, yet attuned to diminished influence inside the party.


Aides believed a tour of the battleground states would help keep Sanders center stage. The memo, titled “End Game,” also suggests that the Vermont senator’s campaign for Senate Democrats to “help deliver a majority and take credit for it” — one of several references throughout the four-page document showing the extent to which aides remained aware of opportunities to take “credit” amid decreasing “leverage.”

Days after conservative hacker group Wikileaks released a number of illegally obtained internal emails from the Democratic National Committee in a blatant attempt at driving a wedge between Democratic Party allies Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, there was fear in some circles that it might cause discord during this weeks Democratic National Convention. But it now appears that the situation has been resolved in a mutually amicable manner.

While the internal email leak proves once and for all that the DNC didn’t rig the primary contest for or against anyone, it does reveal that DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was derelict in her duties. One of her own staffers suggested attacking Bernie Sanders dishonestly on the basis of his religion, and while Debbie clearly never allowed that to be acted upon, she didn’t bother to admonish the staffer for making such an inappropriate suggestion to begin with.

Accordingly, Bernie responded by calling on Debbie to resign while making his appearances on the Sunday morning television shows. However, he also made clear that he still fully supports Hillary Clinton for President, which is what matters heading into the convention. And now it turns out Debbie is in fact resigning her position. This is a mere symbolic move, as her term as DNC Chair was set to end at the end of this election anyway, and she had already been replaced in all but title when Hillary Clinton took control of the DNC as the presumptive nominee last month and installed her own leadership.

And so, while the Democratic Party now faces the odd situation of having the party Chair resigning on the eve of its national convention, the upshot is that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are still fully on the same page. If he had been planning to go rogue, he would have laid the groundwork for it during his morning television appearances. Now that he’s gotten his way when it comes to Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the issue is moot. CNN is reporting that Donna Brazile, a broadly liked and unifying figure on the left, is taking over as interim DNC Chair – the second time she’s done so in her career.

1. Let me share some knowledge I have about Tim Kaine, who was my favorite on the 2008 short list for VP. He's going to be exceptional

Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 45m45 minutes ago
2. Kaine supported Obama in the 2008 primaries vs Clinton. This pick makes a lie out the nonsense that she is somehow a vindictive leader!
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 43m43 minutes ago
3. When in the fall of 2008 I reported from swing states, I landed at Dulles & began in Virginia, where then-Gov. Kaine asked to see me.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 41m41 minutes ago
4. Much to my chagrin, his Governor's Office then prohibited smoking. I started out by teasing him: "You lead a tobacco state, dammit!"
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 40m40 minutes ago
5. I can testify that Kaine has a terrific sense of humor & his protestations that he's "boring" are just part of an ongoing comedy routine.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 39m39 minutes ago
6. Most interestingly, the reason Kaine wanted to meet me was not to get good press for himself, but to talk about data-driven politics.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 38m38 minutes ago
7. He said he had followed my 2008 primary projections state by state in real time & wanted some insight into my methodology.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 36m36 minutes ago
8. Kaine also mentioned that he had followed @NateSilver538's work when Nate was still using the psued of "Poblano." He's an early adopter.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 35m35 minutes ago
9. During that meeting I wanted to test if it were true that he is fluent in Spanish & shifted to that language. ¡Y sí se pudo muy bien!
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 35m35 minutes ago
10. Kaine also displayed a keen interest in human rights, journalist safety & social movements in Latin America, very rare among US pols.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 29m29 minutes ago
11. Kaine had been mayor of Richmond at a time when the city council chose the mayor. A majority African-American city council elected him.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 28m28 minutes ago
12. Suffice to say, Tim Kaine understands that the first rule of governing by coalition is being a good listener. That's why he's popular.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 27m27 minutes ago
13. I shake my head when some claim Kaine isn't "progressive" enough. In most cases *those* are the folks who don't know work in coalition!
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 25m25 minutes ago
14. We've seen candidates in both parties in 2016 notorious for having few friends among colleagues. Kaine is the opposite. People like him.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 24m24 minutes ago
15. I suspect people like & respect Kaine because he treats you the same when the cameras are off as he does in public. He's authentic.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 22m22 minutes ago
16. Those who complain about this pick by and large don't know him. Watch him win them over in the coming months. He will.
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Al Giordano ?@AlGiordano 19m19 minutes ago
17. We all had our favorites for this pick. I'm sure mine - Senator Warren - is as happy with the Kaine nomination as I am. Zero doubts!
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Jesse Smith @ijessesmith
@AlGiordano can you help me understand the ways that Kaine is such a "centrist"? Like specific issues? I don't get this narrative

Al Giordano
?@AlGiordano Al Giordano Retweeted Jesse Smith
He's not. He's a social justice progressive, the real kind, that knows civil and equal rights are a pillar of it.