Category Archives: Bernie Sanders

5/9 AOC on the #46 Dem Primaries: Bold with Big Ideas That Will Make People’s Lives Better & Evening OT

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Boom!

Only 2 seem to fit that vision….from CNN.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most popular figures on the Democratic left, are using the new bill to address an issue that many closely identify with another presidential candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Ocasio-Cortez has not endorsed any primary candidate and has indicated she could wait until New York votes next year before making a decision.
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, she named Sanders and Warren as two potential picks.

“I would like to see in a presidential candidate is one that has a coherent worldview and logic from which all these policy proposals are coming forward,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. “I think Sen. Sanders has that. I also think Sen. Warren has that. I also want to see us centering working people in the United States to stem income inequality (and) tackle climate change.”
Asked if she would consider former Vice President Joe Biden, Ocasio-Cortez said, “I’m not sure,” adding with a laugh, “Now it’s getting a little nuts.”

More videos, tweets, (including the video of Bernie and AOC’s Loan Shark Prevention Act) and news in the comments! Consider this an open thread.

The time for playing games on Medicare For All is over

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Abdul El-Sayed said something yesterday that brings into focus the essential dysfunction which is the US health-care system: Cost of a SINGLE vial of insulin: Canada: $32United States: $300 That's TEN TIMES more for the same exact drug. Our healthcare system is broken — and it's putting lives at risk. We're long overdue for #MedicareForAll— Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) April 2, 2019 Millions of Americans need insulin to survive. The researchers (Frederick Banting, Charles Best and James Collip) who developed insulin in the 1920s knew this and wanted to ensure the medication would remain affordable and safe. They assigned the patent to the … Continue reading →

Concern trolling Medicare for All: NYT begins by saying investors matter, patients and doctors don’t

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

As it becomes clear that the eventual Democratic nominee will run on Medicare For All, we can expect the policy to be attacked by the concentrated interests who benefit from our current, broken system. The NYT is right there to lend a hand, with a news (not opinion) piece carrying a scary title: Medicare for All Would Abolish Private Insurance. ‘There’s No Precedent in American History.’ Such a change would shake the entire health care system, which makes up a fifth of the United States economy, as hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and pharmaceutical companies would have to adapt to a new set of rules. … Continue reading →

3/22 BNR Evening +OT: Bernie Rally in San Diego

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Hello Birdies,

Dreaming about CA? I am after seeing this tweet!

https://twitter.com/davidsirota/status/1109253966603247616

Livestream of Bernie’s rally in San Diego at the Waterfront Park. Starts pretty soon.

https://youtu.be/w1v02cSWL5g

Meantime, chat away and add any news, tweets, videos, or even fun videos in the comments!

3/19 BNR Afternoon +OT: Sanders Campaign Hires 15, among them Briahana Joy Gray as Press Secretary; Sanders Wins DK Poll

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Ten of the 15 hires are women; 5 of them are alums of the 2016 campaign. One of the new hires is Briahana Gray (@briebriejoy on twitter) of The Intercept, a progressive investigative digital publication. She’s also been a contributor to Rolling Stone, The Root, Current Affairs, The Guardian, and New York Magazine.

From Refinery:

The women coming on board include: René Spellman, deputy campaign manager, a Bernie 2016 alumna who has worked in the Obama White House; Analilia Mejia, political director, a union organizer who was honored by President Obama as a “Champion of Change”; Sarah Badawi, deputy political director, previously the legislative affairs director for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee; Claire Sandberg, national organizing director, a Bernie 2016 alumna and previously the deputy campaign manager for Abdul El-Sayed’s gubernatorial run in Michigan; Dr. Heather Gautney, deputy director of policy, formerly a senior policy advisor on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and a researcher for Bernie 2016; Arianna Jones, communications director, a Bernie 2016 alumna with experience leading media strategy for progressive clients; Sarah Ford, deputy communications director, a Bernie 2016 alumna who served as the communications director for Cynthia Nixon’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign in New York; Briahna Joy Gray, national press secretary, a former attorney and senior politics editor at The Intercept; Georgia Parke, senior social media strategist, who worked in Sen. Sanders’ Senate office since 2016; and Robin Curran, digital fundraising director, formerly the email director at the Democratic National Committee.

Another interesting bit of detail about the campaign’s personnel announcement:

The campaign says that now, every single one of its teams — management, political, policy, organizing, communications, advance, digital, and fundraising — has women, and predominantly women of color, in leadership positions. Overall, the national leadership team is around 70% women.

Other tweets, videos, and news in the comments section. This is also an open thread.

Update: Bernie won the TOP Straw Poll. GOS just updated his post. No announcement.

#StillSanders

BNR Breaking: Progressive Dems of America Endorses Bernie Sanders for President & Afternoon OT

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Excellent news from NJ.com

The Democratic front runner in the race for president, US Senator Bernie Sanders, has been endorsed by the Progressive Democrats of America.

In an email to members across the nation, Alan Minsky said Progressive Democrats of America “sent an e-mail to all of its supporters around the country asking them to participate in a binding online poll to determine whether we would be endorsing a candidate in the race for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020.”

“Over the next week, we followed up with more e-mails, plus announcements across our social media, asking people to vote before the deadline of midnight on Sunday night the 10th,” Minsky said.

“Sanders won a resounding victory, with 66% support from all of the PDAers who responded,” he said.

How is this determined?

To win PDA’s endorsement, a candidate needed to win more than 60% of the votes, which is always PDA’s threshold for endorsements.

Because there were so many candidates in the presidential race, the group adjusted the rules so that if any candidate failed to receive more than 60% of the vote on the first ballot, there would be a run-off between the top two candidates.

Support for Sanders was so strong, he won on the first and only ballot.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts received support from 9 percent of the members voting, Senator Kamala Harris of California got 5 percent and Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard earned support from 3 percent.

“It is clear the Bernie Sanders has a commanding lead for the Democratic nomination and anyone interested in defeating Republican President Donald Trump will rally behind him now,” said Lisa McCormick, who ran in last year’s Democratic primary election for US Senate in New Jersey.

snip

Along with combating climate change and curtailing the use of military force, Sanders advocates a “political revolution” that would give citizens more control over government, which now caters to the wealthy.

“Just as Americans were ready for the New Deal, when Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt saved our nation from the Great Depression, people today recognize the Reaganomics and greed have been a disaster for America’s middle class,” said McCormick. “Bernie Sanders has the answers we need to secure the blessings of liberty, prosperity and justice for all.”

New Jersey Democrats in Union County who want to start campaigning locally for Sanders can attend a campaign house party and others may sign up at berniesanders.com to get news and event information from the national campaign organization.

What we have learned from the attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar

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For now, House leaders have backed off from the presenting a resolution aimed at rebuking, or censuring Rep. Ilhan Omar. Earlier in the day, Democrats, including some prominent African-Americans, confronted Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a testy closed-door meeting, demanding to know why they were being pushed to pass the resolution when bigoted comments by Republicans have gone unchallenged. Representative Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts, said she told leadership that there must be “equity in our outrage,” noting that Ms. Omar, a Minnesotan and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, was being attacked for her faith. — www.nytimes.com/… … Continue reading →

Bernie News Roundup – Bernie On ‘The Breakfast Club’, Sanders Signs Pledge To End ‘Forever Wars’ & More

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Bernie Sanders: ‘Too many lives are being destroyed’ by pot policy

Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that “too many lives are being destroyed” by federal laws banning marijuana use, telling a morning radio show that he supports decriminalizing the drug even though his personal experience with it is limited.

In an interview on “The Breakfast Club,” a nationally syndicated morning radio show, the 2020 presidential candidate reiterated his stance on cannabis, calling for legalization of the drug due to the disparities he says it has created in the criminal justice system. His comments marked the most recent example of a 2020 candidate speaking in support of decriminalizing marijuana, an issue that’s moved from the fringes of the last presidential campaign cycle to center stage.

“Too many lives are being destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people get criminal records. You know why? Because they have smoked marijuana,” Sanders (I-Vt.) said. “That’s insane.”

When asked if he’d smoked marijuana, Sanders told the talk show’s hosts he had a few times, echoing what he told reporters in 2015.

“Didn’t do a whole lot for me,” he said Monday. “My recollection is I nearly coughed my brains out, so it’s not my cup of tea.”

..

On other topics, Sanders diverged from some of his declared 2020 opponents. Unlike Harris — who said she was in favor of reparations for African-Americans during her interview with the radio show last month without offering much in the way of specifics — Sanders said Monday that he was opposed to straight cash payments as a means of making amends for past racial injustices.

“Just a check to every African-American? Well, then there’s a check to every Native American who were nearly wiped out when the settlers first came here,” Sanders said. “I think the way to move forward is to build America together.”

The senator said his agenda would focus on paying attention to communities in distress of all demographics. He criticized President Donald Trump for failing to do just that.

More Bernie news/videos/tweets/etc. in the comments.

3/3 Bernie & Progressive News Roundup + Open Thread –Afternoon/Eve Edition

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Hi Birdies,

Opening another thread since Bernie’s second rally is in a couple of hours.

See you in the comments!

2/25 BNR Evening & Open Thread: CNN Town Hall at 8ET Live Blog

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CNN is hosting Bernie Sanders in a town hall. From Newsweek:

Following the announcement of his 2020 presidential campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders will head to Washington D.C. to talk policy and field questions from voters during a nationally-televised town hall event.

Monday evening’s town hall, which will be moderated by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, will air at 8 p.m. eastern time. The event can be watched live on the cable news channel or streamed online at Sanders’s official Twitter account @berniesanders and CNN.com.

Sanders announced his candidacy for the presidency last week, telling Vermont Public Radio that “what I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of—a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings—that’s what I’m going to carry all over this country.”

This will be Sanders’s second shot at the Oval Office. In 2016 the Vermont senator lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton, though his grassroots campaign gave the former secretary of state a serious primary challenge. Sanders won 23 primaries and caucuses before conceding defeat to Clinton. According to CNN, Sanders will “address a host of issues” during the prime-time event. It is the first town hall of Sanders’s 2020 campaign, which was launched less than a week ago on February 19.

You can also watch it via TYT.com on YT or TYT via Pluto Channel if you have a Roku streaming device.

Follow me below for more BNR as well as your other news. Open Thread.

Update: good soundbite from the TH: “Damn right I will’ raise taxes on the rich.”

Castro, Harris, Warren declare support for reparations. What does that mean in policy terms?

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Here’s America’s first black president talking about reparations for slavery and systematic discrimination. Obama: Theoretically, you can make, obviously, a powerful argument that centuries of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination are the primary cause for all those gaps. That those were wrongs done to the black community as a whole, and black families specifically, and that in order to close that gap, a society has a moral obligation to make a large, aggressive investment, even if it’s not in the form of individual reparations checks, but in the form of a Marshall Plan, in order to close those gaps. It is … Continue reading →

2/21 BNR Breaking News: Rep Ro Khanna, OR Pres Nina Turner, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, & Ben Cohen Named Co-Chairs of Sanders Campaign

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Please add more Bernie news in this thread! I will add details as I find them.

Imagine

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Is today some kind of holiday? Because I’m just sitting here waiting for @BernieSanders to announce that he’s going to change the world and run for President again. #OurRevolution pic.twitter.com/vproOmjMuW — Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) February 19, 2019 This is an open thread. Post a song you like or a photo…or whatever. H/t Emma Vigeland at TYT for the picture. … Continue reading →