High-Dollar Donations Funded Bernie Sanders' Policy Group A Year Before His 2020 Campaign

[TomCADem]

The interesting thing is what did Bernie's non-profit foundation actually do? Yes, they raised over $300,000, but it seems that at least $100,000 of that went to David Driscoll, the husband of Bernie's step daughter. Of course, the question is why? Did David have any experience running non-profits?

Also, when you look at the biggest donor, it is not some philanthropist. It is National Nurses United, which is the also Bernie's largest campaign contributor right now. Of course, you tax deductible charitable contributions for a political purpose is not permitted. But, what did the Sanders Institute do besides feature Bernie Sanders along with his campaign supporters? Anyone?

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/bernie-sanders-institute-donations

More than a dozen high-dollar contributions funded Bernie Sanders’ policy institute the year before he launched his second presidential bid, including one donation totaling $100,000, according to tax forms filed this month with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Sanders Institute, a progressive think tank founded in 2017 by the Vermont senator’s wife, Jane Sanders, raised more than $361,000 last year from a total of 13 large contributions ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, the tax filing shows.

The institute's executive director, Jane Sanders’ son from a previous marriage, Dave Driscoll, provided a copy of the filing, which is subject to public inspection, and said that most of the high-dollar contributions came from organizations or family foundations and grants. Bernie and Jane Sanders also provided some of that funding, Driscoll said.

Driscoll identified some of the contributors as the National Nurses United, a progressive network of nurses that helped fund Sanders’ 2016 campaign; Our Revolution, the political nonprofit Sanders founded after the primary; and Healthy Housing Foundation, a nonprofit branch of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation focused on providing housing for people with low incomes. The Sanders Institute listed National Nurses United, Our Revolution, and Healthy Housing Foundation as the three partners of the institute’s 2018 gathering.

[TexasTowelie]

1. Correction to your OP:

David Discroll is Bernie Sanders' step son, not the husband of his step daughter. He shares the same surname as Jane O'Meara's husband from her first marriage.

[TomCADem]

15. Thanks. Thought He Must Be Carina Driscoll's Husband...

...didn't know that Jane Sanders used to be Driscoll.

[The Magistrate]

2. It Would Seem, Sir, Someone Is Serious About 'Bernie' Conceding.

Sanders has already in his 2020 campaign shredded his reputation as the man who by his charismatic leadership rallied the 'white working class' in a movement demanding left policies in 2016. Should he persist much longer in his efforts this year, it seems likely his reputation as a man of principles, the one un-corruptible man on the national scene, will be shredded for him. This is one line of attack in which claims the 'hidden hand' of the DNC is moving to strike 'Bernie' down might actually have some weight....

And about time, too.




"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[GeorgiaPeanut]

17. His reputation has already been shredded

Bernie "the phenom" is over. Bernie the ordinary politician with false negative campaigning will be forever.

[Cha]

3. KR!!

[Don1]

4. So a bunch of hard-working nurses got together

And gave money.

And this is bad because...

Nurses are evil?

[KitSileya]

5. It's not bad. Only Senator Sanders and his supporters think it's bad...

...when the money goes to other candidates than him. The article is calling out the hypocrisy of Senator Sanders and his supporters for denigrating other candidates for receiving money from these organizations while being fine with it when the money goes to themselves.

Like Sirota writing articles about how Rep. O'Rourke 'got money from Big Oil', when it was in fact the ordinary workers in the oil industry donating (not to mention throwing whatever shred of journalistic integrity he might have had left on a bonfire for writing articles that smeared Senator Sanders' opponents while being in negotiations to join his campaign.) The hypocrisy, it burns, but it seems that they are as shameless as those in the government these days.

[bluedye33139]

6. I have been told several times that anyone who receives PAC money

Should be disqualified from becoming president. This is a very serious principle among Sanders people. When it comes to politicians other than Sanders.

The opposition to PAC money has been a talking point for years.

When Jayapal ran in Seattle, she first went to Boca Raton and had a billionaire friend put together several million dollars for her. Through an informal PAC. She then went on to claim that anyone who raised funds in this fashion should not be allowed to run for office.

It's a pretty standard talking point.

[George II]

7. A Super PAC gave the money. The kind of organization that Sanders demanded everyone else....

....refuse to accept money from.

If one is going to demand something of others, the least he could do is obey his own demands.

[NurseJackie]

9. Not to do so would be hypocrisy. Right?

If one is going to demand something of others, the least he could do is obey his own demands.

Not to do so would be hypocrisy. Right?

[The Magistrate]

10. Surely, Mr. Don1, You Are Not Serious

It takes an un-Godly amount of work to extract from the story heading this discussion the claim anyone is saying nurses are evil, let alone that hard-working nurses are evil.

If you should want some explanation of why Sanders, and supporters of Sanders, are viewed with some distaste and hostility, you need look no further than comments such as you have made above. The aggressive misreading of other people's motives, the clear imputations of bad faith to any who disagree with you, and the reckless, grotesque exaggerations in which these vices are couched, is at the root of people's rejection of Sanders, and of his devotees.





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[Demsrule86]

13. Never mind that...he is using funds- charitable and campaign funds- to pay family members...sounds

familiar.

[TomCADem]

16. Hard Working Nurses Contributing To Pay David Driscoll?

I mean what did all that money buy besided a six figure salary for Bernie's step son?

[GeorgiaPeanut]

18. It's over for Sanders

He is finished.

People who support Sanders should wake up to that reality and stop defending him. It is irrelevant now.

[Hortensis]

8. National Nurses United needs to kick those extremists

running it out. These 4 women have long histories of political activism, but that's not admirable when it strays over into underprincipled and very questionable extremism that does not represent those whose money they're using for their activities.

Reading about what they've been up to with Sanders, whom they creepily adopted as their own and set themselves to protect (accompanying him around the nation), in 2015 and since is very illuminating.

That includes, btw, supporting his stance in 2019 to refuse improvements to the ACA for purely political reasons. Against lower premiums and greater coverages! Nurses!

[The Magistrate]

11. Indeed, Ma'am

What reason have we to suppose the leadership, in this matter, actually represents the views of the rank and file of that union?





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[GeorgiaPeanut]

19. The rank and file of National Nurses United will be investigating

the leadership and throw out the ones who mismanaged their union money.

[Hortensis]

21. ? Hope so. So many nurses are embattled right now

and deserve incredibly better, including those who mistakenly trusted their leadership to make responsible and ethical decisions.

We have counts of the 24% of Sanders primary voters who helped elect Trump. But we'll never know how many uncounted other millions were persuaded by the Sanders campaign not to vote at all or not to vote Democrat, leading directly to their problems of today. We do know that his messages were spread not only by his campaign but amplified by our giant enemies foreign and domestic across the nation and into every home in this giant battle for our future.

https://heavy.com/news/2016/09/why-did-jane-sanders-tweet-retweet-bernie-sanders-do-not-to-listen-to-me-video-clinton-endorsement-watch-youtube/

[George II]

12. Reports are that Our Revolution (at the time Nina Turner was President) gave them $130,000.....

They don't report their finances to the FEC.

[The Magistrate]

14. Interesting, Sir

Has the air of a laundromat about it, that....





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[GeorgiaPeanut]

20. And Our Revolution was funded with even darker money and

got several 6 figure "anonymous" donations