SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Democratic political operative David Brock speaks at the Clinton School of Public Service.
(Photo: Danny Johnston/AP)
As Sanders 2020 Campaign Gains Steam, Corporate Democrats Reportedly 'Growing Increasingly Nervous'
"Being loathed and feared by the rich is a big reason why Bernie is so appealing, and Democrats who don't understand this by now will never get it."
Apr 16, 2019
Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign is rapidly gaining momentum early in the primary fight, and corporate Democrats are reportedly starting to get nervous.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that political operative David Brock has discussed launching "an anti-Sanders campaign" with other Democratic strategists and "believes it should commence 'sooner rather than later.'"
"[T]he Bernie question comes up in every fundraising meeting I do," Brock said.
In a fundraising letter sent shortly after the Times article was published, Sanders' campaign manager Faiz Shakir said the corporate forces working to stop the Vermont senator from becoming the Democratic nominee "don't just hate Bernie Sanders."
"They hate everything our political revolution embodies," wrote Shakir. "They hate Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, breaking up big banks, free public college for all."
Brock, a former Republican "media hitman," is just one of many prominent Democratic operatives and deep-pocketed donors who are "agonizing" over the possibility of the Vermont senator becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, according to the Times.
Steven Rattner, a Wall Street financer who served as head of Obama's Auto Task Force, told the Times that Sanders is discussed "endlessly" among his circle of wealthy Democratic benefactors.
"From canape-filled fundraisers on the coasts to the cloakrooms of Washington, mainstream Democrats are increasingly worried that their effort to defeat President Trump in 2020 could be complicated by Mr. Sanders," the Times reported.
The Times added:
The matter of What To Do About Bernie and the larger imperative of party unity has, for example, hovered over a series of previously undisclosed Democratic dinners in New York and Washington organized by the longtime party financier Bernard Schwartz. The gatherings have included scores from the moderate or center-left wing of the party, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader; former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia; Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., himself a presidential candidate; and the president of the Center for American Progress (CAP), Neera Tanden.
The Times' reporting comes just days after Sanders sent a scathing letter (pdf) to CAP denouncing the organization for playing a "destructive role" in the effort to defeat Trump in 2020.
"Center for American Progress leader Neera Tanden repeatedly calls for unity while simultaneously maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas," Sanders wrote. "I worry that the corporate money CAP is receiving is inordinately and inappropriately influencing the role it is playing in the progressive movement."
Sanders' letter was prompted by a widely decried video published by ThinkProgress, CAP's purportedly "independent" news outlet. The video accused Sanders of shifting his rhetoric on income inequality after becoming a millionaire on the back of his book sales.
In a statement Monday, Tanden said the video was "overly harsh."
In response to the Times' reporting on Tuesday, Splinter's Libby Watson pointed out that a significant component of Sanders' popularity among progressives lies in the fact that he is despised by the corporate donor class and the Democratic establishment.
"Being loathed and feared by the rich is a big reason why Bernie is so appealing, and Democrats who don't understand this by now will never get it," Watson tweeted.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
neera tandenfaiz shakirdemocratic partycenter for american progressbernie sanderselection 2020corporate powermedicare for allpete buttigieggreen new deal
Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign is rapidly gaining momentum early in the primary fight, and corporate Democrats are reportedly starting to get nervous.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that political operative David Brock has discussed launching "an anti-Sanders campaign" with other Democratic strategists and "believes it should commence 'sooner rather than later.'"
"[T]he Bernie question comes up in every fundraising meeting I do," Brock said.
In a fundraising letter sent shortly after the Times article was published, Sanders' campaign manager Faiz Shakir said the corporate forces working to stop the Vermont senator from becoming the Democratic nominee "don't just hate Bernie Sanders."
"They hate everything our political revolution embodies," wrote Shakir. "They hate Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, breaking up big banks, free public college for all."
Brock, a former Republican "media hitman," is just one of many prominent Democratic operatives and deep-pocketed donors who are "agonizing" over the possibility of the Vermont senator becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, according to the Times.
Steven Rattner, a Wall Street financer who served as head of Obama's Auto Task Force, told the Times that Sanders is discussed "endlessly" among his circle of wealthy Democratic benefactors.
"From canape-filled fundraisers on the coasts to the cloakrooms of Washington, mainstream Democrats are increasingly worried that their effort to defeat President Trump in 2020 could be complicated by Mr. Sanders," the Times reported.
The Times added:
The matter of What To Do About Bernie and the larger imperative of party unity has, for example, hovered over a series of previously undisclosed Democratic dinners in New York and Washington organized by the longtime party financier Bernard Schwartz. The gatherings have included scores from the moderate or center-left wing of the party, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader; former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia; Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., himself a presidential candidate; and the president of the Center for American Progress (CAP), Neera Tanden.
The Times' reporting comes just days after Sanders sent a scathing letter (pdf) to CAP denouncing the organization for playing a "destructive role" in the effort to defeat Trump in 2020.
"Center for American Progress leader Neera Tanden repeatedly calls for unity while simultaneously maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas," Sanders wrote. "I worry that the corporate money CAP is receiving is inordinately and inappropriately influencing the role it is playing in the progressive movement."
Sanders' letter was prompted by a widely decried video published by ThinkProgress, CAP's purportedly "independent" news outlet. The video accused Sanders of shifting his rhetoric on income inequality after becoming a millionaire on the back of his book sales.
In a statement Monday, Tanden said the video was "overly harsh."
In response to the Times' reporting on Tuesday, Splinter's Libby Watson pointed out that a significant component of Sanders' popularity among progressives lies in the fact that he is despised by the corporate donor class and the Democratic establishment.
"Being loathed and feared by the rich is a big reason why Bernie is so appealing, and Democrats who don't understand this by now will never get it," Watson tweeted.
Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign is rapidly gaining momentum early in the primary fight, and corporate Democrats are reportedly starting to get nervous.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that political operative David Brock has discussed launching "an anti-Sanders campaign" with other Democratic strategists and "believes it should commence 'sooner rather than later.'"
"[T]he Bernie question comes up in every fundraising meeting I do," Brock said.
In a fundraising letter sent shortly after the Times article was published, Sanders' campaign manager Faiz Shakir said the corporate forces working to stop the Vermont senator from becoming the Democratic nominee "don't just hate Bernie Sanders."
"They hate everything our political revolution embodies," wrote Shakir. "They hate Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, breaking up big banks, free public college for all."
Brock, a former Republican "media hitman," is just one of many prominent Democratic operatives and deep-pocketed donors who are "agonizing" over the possibility of the Vermont senator becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, according to the Times.
Steven Rattner, a Wall Street financer who served as head of Obama's Auto Task Force, told the Times that Sanders is discussed "endlessly" among his circle of wealthy Democratic benefactors.
"From canape-filled fundraisers on the coasts to the cloakrooms of Washington, mainstream Democrats are increasingly worried that their effort to defeat President Trump in 2020 could be complicated by Mr. Sanders," the Times reported.
The Times added:
The matter of What To Do About Bernie and the larger imperative of party unity has, for example, hovered over a series of previously undisclosed Democratic dinners in New York and Washington organized by the longtime party financier Bernard Schwartz. The gatherings have included scores from the moderate or center-left wing of the party, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader; former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia; Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., himself a presidential candidate; and the president of the Center for American Progress (CAP), Neera Tanden.
The Times' reporting comes just days after Sanders sent a scathing letter (pdf) to CAP denouncing the organization for playing a "destructive role" in the effort to defeat Trump in 2020.
"Center for American Progress leader Neera Tanden repeatedly calls for unity while simultaneously maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas," Sanders wrote. "I worry that the corporate money CAP is receiving is inordinately and inappropriately influencing the role it is playing in the progressive movement."
Sanders' letter was prompted by a widely decried video published by ThinkProgress, CAP's purportedly "independent" news outlet. The video accused Sanders of shifting his rhetoric on income inequality after becoming a millionaire on the back of his book sales.
In a statement Monday, Tanden said the video was "overly harsh."
In response to the Times' reporting on Tuesday, Splinter's Libby Watson pointed out that a significant component of Sanders' popularity among progressives lies in the fact that he is despised by the corporate donor class and the Democratic establishment.
"Being loathed and feared by the rich is a big reason why Bernie is so appealing, and Democrats who don't understand this by now will never get it," Watson tweeted.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.