Bernie bows out

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 919641002/


When he becomes a billionaire he won't have anyone left to disparage:

Now that Brother Bernie has left the race, it is between Mr. Trump and Mr. Not-Trump. I know who I am voting against, do you?

Yes, I know who I'm voting for.

Joe Rogan would 'rather vote for Trump than Biden' after endorsing Sanders

I don't know much about Joe Rogan, but a similar attitude helped Trump win in 2016 and it will likely propel him into a second term. Trying not to barf.

An interesting, but not surprising, development. Of course, Hillary is always waiting in the wings for the party to come to her.

The amazing Bernie Sanders, socialist. Not, as you would expect, a pol from Chicago or New York, but Vermont (!). We lived just outside of Burlington when Sanders finally got a real job in politics as Burlington mayor, taking over from a native named Paquette. Never could you imagine him becoming a national figure. Talk about a late bloomer. We left in '83 and didn't hear about him again until 7 years later when he was elected to the House. This guy is certainly no weather vane, you have to credit him for that.

Bernie hit the cover of last week's New York Review of Books.

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2020/0 ... de-chance/

PM if you want the full article for free.

So what happens to all that campaign money he raised?
Where does it go? How much of it was spent?

I guess we could look at what the campaign finance rules say. The Mental Floss article suggests that he could donate the money to the Democratic party (fat chance?). He could save it for another run, of course, but even the vigorous (though heart-compromised) Bernie wouldn't be running as an 83-year-old (would he?). Are you implying that he'll pocket some?
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/296 ... -drops-out

I'm asking fair questions is what I'm doing.. Do you not agree that I am?

I'd want to know how much of it was spent, what's left, and where the balance is going.

It should probably first go back to the people that donated money to his campaign. Many are likely not as financially secure as Bernie and may need it for stuff like tuition and books.

How about some form of announcement from him telling us all if its all been spent up or not?

I guess we'll have to wait.. But if he purchases a 4th house I'd be skeptical. Wouldn't you?


Amazing how certain questions just aren't asked.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ber ... ri18n=true


You see? I'm a fair guy.. I ask about what I do not know and then go look myself and offer my findings without hesitation.


Ps

I have no horse in this race

The quote below from his recent speech might suggest where the money might be going - if it does not conflict with campaign protocol. This movement (more than a campaign) has been going on since at least 2016 and will likely continue in some form after the election. All this takes money.

“While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not,” Sanders said in his statement. “We must continue working to assemble as many delegates as possible where we will be able to exert significant influence over the party platform and other functions.”

I never thought you weren't a fair guy.

I think what Sanders is doing with a large part of the campaign money is a good thing for the people who hitched their wagon to him. The article can't say how much of the total campaign $ paying health insurance will consume.

Asking questions about Sanders' wealth is fair game, to the extent that he has demonized the rich. That's the perception of many, that he has targeted the rich with scorn. Does he really do that, or is he talking about the system being weighted toward those who have the good luck and standing to take advantage of opportunities? Well, he did say in a debate that billionaires shouldn't exist (ignoring the 10 or so living in Denmark). That might have been the same debate where Bloomberg tweaked Bernie for being a socialist with three houses. Sanders replied that like many Vermonters, he has a summer camp--yeah, a camp on North Hero Island worth 600K! On one of the political shows, when his wealth was brought up, Sanders replied defensively: "You could write a book and make a million dollars, too!" So could Bernie show a little love for the good ol' capitalist system instead of making it the bad guy? I think so. He could do that while still maintaining his focus on inequities that need to be addressed. Bernie is also aware enough to realize that his success doesn't mean that anyone can have the same success if they just tried. He wasn't born to wealth, but he did have advantages that many others are kept from.

Do you think Sanders is hypocritical by virtue of his wealth? I can't come down on one side or the other.

I didn't support Sanders but I admire his sincerity and tenacity. I probably would not support any populist--they're too prone to demonizing and offering simplistic critiques and solutions.

Bernie is really loved by people in the atheist community but he is too far left to have a chance. And now he's out of the picture and that's probably a good thing. Too bad the best the Democrats could put forth is Joe Biden. Biden is clearly suffering from dementia and that only gets worse over time. I'm really torn now. I hate to admit it but there is a small chance I might vote for Trump.

I see a problem here. If Trump gets dementia, how would anyone know?