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Bernie Sanders 2020 Watch


Dropout

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I volunteered to text for Bernie and one of the things the online quiz asks is what to do if someone says something I disagree with about Bernie...

One of the choices was "Defend him at all costs", which is OBVIOUSLY the right answer.

But apparently the Bernie campaign thinks that we should "Thank them for giving their opinion. Offer a policy stance ONLY if it will not escalate into a mean-spirited debate."

PFFFT FUCK THAT

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2 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Your meltdown will be epic if he gets passed over again. 

If he straight up gets beat fair and square? No.

If he's got the plurality of earned delegates and is victim to shenanigans. Yes.

1 minute ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Probably all the vacation houses he owns.

I will buy 20 copies of whatever book Bernie publishes next to ensure he buys even more vacation homes.

NO GLASS SHOWER DOORS ALLOWED!

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14 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Your meltdown will be epic if he gets passed over again. 

You know how this story ends. Kamala or Beto. 

The democratic fixation on tax releases is interesting though.  I tip my cap to Elizabeth Warren.  She appears to be the front runner in charitable giving. 

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10 hours ago, Anastasis said:

You know how this story ends. Kamala or Beto.

If either of 'em beats Bernie straight up, them's the breaks.

If they don't beat him straight up and get it handed to them through shenanigans...

Step 1: Hoot

Step 2: Holler

Step 3: Vote for Kamala and Beto, of course, but constantly hoot and holler at them to do Bernie things

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There are plenty of things Bernie could do or say that would make me feel negatively about him. I just struggle to think of anything that could be in anyone's tax returns that I would give a shit about. I honestly wish there were more, younger leftist, socialist, whatever you want to term it options because I'm not a liberal and would like more options on the left, but right now, he's the best option. It seems like we're starting to see more like minded people in government after 2018, but there's no one else close as far as presidential elections go, so for now I'm going with the only option available to someone like me. 

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12 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

What's next after taxes?

Can I get a sneak preview?

Can you come up with a reasonable and plausible explanation as to why he hasn't released them, despite having gone through a full primary in 2016 and now running again? Despite the fact that just about everyone thinks he should release them, and he's getting significant pressure?

FYI I will hold everyone to the same standard as we get into the primary. I want to see everyone's well before Super Tuesday - say Q4 of this year. 

I can't come up with one valid reason for his very obvious stalling/obfuscating other than that there's something in there he doesn't want the public to see and/or he's trying to re-file to make them look better (if that's the case, it doesn't take three years).

Can you? Legit question, not attacking you here.

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26 minutes ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

Bernie supporters are like bizarro Trumpsters.  Nothing he does will effect their adulation negatively.  

Nothing. Like that time he talked about grabbing them by the pussy. Or that one time he referred to white supremacists as good people. And then bizarro Bernie called the Mexicans killers and rapists. Went on to try and ban Muslims. Just the same as Trump supporters we stood by Bernie through it all.

That tweet says he should release his taxes. I’ve said on here he should. We also have a feeling based on his history he will do just that.

But I’m the bizarro.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Can you come up with a reasonable and plausible explanation as to why he hasn't released them, despite having gone through a full primary in 2016 and now running again? Despite the fact that just about everyone thinks he should release them, and he's getting significant pressure?

FYI I will hold everyone to the same standard as we get into the primary. I want to see everyone's well before Super Tuesday - say Q4 of this year. 

I can't come up with one valid reason for his very obvious stalling/obfuscating other than that there's something in there he doesn't want the public to see and/or he's trying to re-file to make them look better (if that's the case, it doesn't take three years).

Can you? Legit question, not attacking you here.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.toofab.com/2019/04/05/trevor-noah-asks-bernie-sanders-if-its-time-for-old-white-men-to-step-aside-in-politics/

idk wtf toofab is but it has the full Trevor Noah interview. The only link I can find to it. Anyway in it he asks about the returns insinuating Bernie is a billionaire. I’ve had similar thoughts. Not quite billionaire but Bernie has money. Just wait for the headlines on that one. Bernie stated he will release 10 years soon. I can only assume he is a fucking liar based on his past.

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So you know a large part of his philosophy is that the rich should pay a larger share for the common good.

What if his tax returns show he’s WAY wealthier than you think - say a one percenter - and he’s been using loopholes and dodges and cheats (all legal) for years and has been paying essentially zero in federal income tax.

Or that he’s made charitable donations to dodgy foundations that are just personal tax shelters.

Or donations to something shitty, like The Alex Jones Legal Defense Fund.

There’s really nothing you can imagine that could be in his tax returns that would put you off?

I’m as big a Beto fan as there is on this board and I can imagine plenty of scenarios that if they were to come to pass would make me stop supporting him.

When you find yourself saying something like “nothing that might be in his tax returns/nothing she could do would bother me” you’re getting close to “he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and no one would care” neighborhood.

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1 minute ago, Dropout said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.toofab.com/2019/04/05/trevor-noah-asks-bernie-sanders-if-its-time-for-old-white-men-to-step-aside-in-politics/

idk wtf toofab is but it has the full Trevor Noah interview. The only link I can find to it. Anyway in it he asks about the returns insinuating Bernie is a billionaire. I’ve had similar thoughts. Not quite billionaire but Bernie has money. Just wait for the headlines on that one. Bernie stated he will release 10 years soon. I can only assume he is a fucking liar based on his past.

Yeah - to me that seems to be the most obvious answer, if you're into the whole Occam's Razor thing. I'd be surprised if he's a billionaire, but wouldn't be surprised if he and his wife are worth a whole lot.

Undecided as to how I'd feel about that one. To me it'd more of the coverup being worse than the crime. I don't care if he's rich, but if he's been pulling the same move as Trump and deflecting/avoiding since 2015 because of it, I don't think it'd sit well. 

But we'll see. I hope he releases them and they look great and we avoid another shitstorm of infighting.

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16 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Yeah - to me that seems to be the most obvious answer, if you're into the whole Occam's Razor thing. I'd be surprised if he's a billionaire, but wouldn't be surprised if he and his wife are worth a whole lot.

Undecided as to how I'd feel about that one. To me it'd more of the coverup being worse than the crime. I don't care if he's rich, but if he's been pulling the same move as Trump and deflecting/avoiding since 2015 because of it, I don't think it'd sit well. 

But we'll see. I hope he releases them and they look great and we avoid another shitstorm of infighting.

The fact he has money isn’t going to sit well with the usual suspects regardless. He is a multi millionaire no doubt about it. Like you I don’t care if he’s rich. Bernie has never made seeking wealth a bad thing. Everyone wants to be wealthy. Even Bernie supporters it’s crazy. It will be great when America gets to see Bernie’s and Trump’s returns only to find out Bernie is worth more money.

17 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

So you know a large part of his philosophy is that the rich should pay a larger share for the common good.

What if his tax returns show he’s WAY wealthier than you think - say a one percenter - and he’s been using loopholes and dodges and cheats (all legal) for years and has been paying essentially zero in federal income tax.

Or that he’s made charitable donations to dodgy foundations that are just personal tax shelters.

Or donations to something shitty, like The Alex Jones Legal Defense Fund.

There’s really nothing you can imagine that could be in his tax returns that would put you off?

I’m as big a Beto fan as there is on this board and I can imagine plenty of scenarios that if they were to come to pass would make me stop supporting him.

When you find yourself saying something like “nothing that might be in his tax returns/nothing she could do would bother me” you’re getting close to “he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and no one would care” neighborhood.

Now if it’s something like Bama describes it would be bothersome. I’d want to know more. See what it all means. Sure this scenario is possible but all the evidence I have of who Bernie Sanders is points to the contrary. Why would I doubt him now?

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37 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

You mean if they get more votes than Bernie?  

If Beto gets more votes than Bernie then Beto deserves to win.

If Kamala gets more votes than Bernie then Kamala deserves to win.

A fair fight is a fair fight and I'm fine with it. I have a guy I want to win. If my guy loses fair and square, that's how this works.

21 minutes ago, Dick Tremayne said:

Agreed.

The idea that bad-faith trolls (like Hugo) and media talking heads should just tell any candidate to do something and the candidate should do it is silly. There is no historical precedent for a decade of released tax returns. It's invasive and pointless unless there is reason to believe there might be a problem.

And with Bernie, there is no rational basis for concern. There is no good-faith argument that Bernie is likely to be hiding something. What bad-faith trolls like Hugo are relying on is the exact same logic that the Bush administration used to justify the Patriot Act. "Oh, if your privacy is important to you or you simply don't feel like compliance with my bad faith demands, you're hiding something!"

He's got three houses.

He's made $1.75M in book royalties since 2015.

1 is the home he lives in in Vermont
1 is a rental property he's owned for years
1 is a vacation home on a lake in a small town

It's also strange that bad-faith trolls like Hugo use the exact same "this Jew is a scheming, corrupt liars" logic that Breitbart uses... but magically doesn't care at all about any of the other candidates. Coincidence, I'm sure.

This is literally the luxurious vacation home the imbeciles are freaking out about.

Bernie-Sanders-Home-In-North-Hero-VT-Pat

LOOK AT THIS ABSURD LUXURY!!!

Bernie-Sanders-Home-In-North-Hero-VT-Kit

That's imported Tuscan linoleum!

18 minutes ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

Bernie supporters are like bizarro Trumpsters.  Nothing he does will effect their adulation negatively.  

There is a TON that could negatively influence my perception of Bernie. I'm interested to see what you've got. Show it to me.

Just now, BradInATX said:

Can you come up with a reasonable and plausible explanation as to why he hasn't released them, despite having gone through a full primary in 2016 and now running again?

He did release his taxes during the 2016 campaign. Don't lie. He released his 2014 taxes, but bad faith trolls like you and Hugo act like that's not real.

Quote

Despite the fact that just about everyone thinks he should release them, and he's getting significant pressure?

Not "just about everyone thinks he should release them". If you polled voters they wouldn't care. The only people who care are bad faith trolls and media idiots. There is no one who can make a credible argument that Bernie is hiding something. All they can do is point to their own paranoia as evidence.

Quote

FYI I will hold everyone to the same standard as we get into the primary. I want to see everyone's well before Super Tuesday - say Q4 of this year. 

Then why aren't you in the Beto thread demanding to see his taxes?

It's because you're a bad-faith troll. You don't like Bernie. You want to attack Bernie. But you can't really attack Bernie for anything substantive or meaningful, so you latch on to some anti-Semitic Breitbart BS.

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20 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

So you know a large part of his philosophy is that the rich should pay a larger share for the common good.

What if his tax returns show he’s WAY wealthier than you think - say a one percenter - and he’s been using loopholes and dodges and cheats (all legal) for years and has been paying essentially zero in federal income tax.

Or that he’s made charitable donations to dodgy foundations that are just personal tax shelters.

Or donations to something shitty, like The Alex Jones Legal Defense Fund.

There’s really nothing you can imagine that could be in his tax returns that would put you off?

Is there any rational cause to believe any of that makes sense? Or are other humans supposed to act just because we create paranoid fantasies in our minds based on absolutely nothing?

LET ME IN YOUR HOUSE THERE MIGHT BE KIDNAPPED CHILDREN YOU MIGHT BE A CHILD TRAFFICKER LET ME IN YOUR HOUSE NOW!

I don't care if Bernie releases his taxes. I don't care if Beto releases his taxes. I don't care if Pete releases his taxes. Until someone gives me a reason to think there might be a problem (as there obviously was with Trump), I have no idea why I would care.

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It’s remarkable that a life long career of public service fighting for those without could yield an income astronomically higher than the average American could hope to achieve.  

We don’t know yet because we haven’t seen his returns but I’d speculate Bernie’s financial records indicate he’s a full blown closet capitalist. 

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23 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

His tax return will show a few million in real estate, ~1+MM in income in 2016 and 2017, minimal charitable giving, and a very modest portfolio.  

And the Betophile reaction will be indistinguishable from the MAGA reaction.

"OH I THOUGHT HE WAS A SOCIALIST!? WHY ISN'T HE SOCIALIZING HIS SOCIALISM! I THOUGHT SOCIALISTS LIVED IN TENTS UNDER THE BRIDGE IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE WORKING MAN! WHAT A HYPOCRITE!"

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7 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

It’s remarkable that a life long career of public service fighting for those without could yield an income astronomically higher than the average American could hope to achieve.  

We don’t know yet because we haven’t seen his returns but I’d speculate Bernie’s financial records indicate he’s a full blown closet capitalist. 

He wrote a book in 2016 dumbass.  That accounts for his high income in 16 and 17. 

If the extent of a politician cashing in on their public service is a fucking book deal, I see no reason to criticize. Now, buying a bunch of twatter shares prior to market OTOH...

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19 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

Is there any rational cause to believe any of that makes sense? Or are other humans supposed to act just because we create paranoid fantasies in our minds based on absolutely nothing?

LET ME IN YOUR HOUSE THERE MIGHT BE KIDNAPPED CHILDREN YOU MIGHT BE A CHILD TRAFFICKER LET ME IN YOUR HOUSE NOW!

I don't care if Bernie releases his taxes. I don't care if Beto releases his taxes. I don't care if Pete releases his taxes. Until someone gives me a reason to think there might be a problem (as there obviously was with Trump), I have no idea why I would care.

"I don't care if Bernie releases his taxes"

Of course you don't.

"Until someone gives me a reason to think there might be a problem"

30bprt5.jpg

Two of these things are not like the others..

Obama released 8, including the year prior. Hillary released 8,  including the year prior.

 

Do you know how many general election candidates since 1996 have not released multiple tax returns including the prior year?

Trump and Sanders (pending)

 

Funny that you call people "bad faith trolls" and yet you run around and attack people in bad faith in a transparent attempt to yell so loud that nobody notices that you are completely full of shit when it comes to Bernie and the double standards you apply (or conveniently avoid applying) to him vs. other candidates.

 

Your stance on Bernie's returns: "They will absolutely show that he is doing everything right so he will release them. But if he doesn't, nobody cares anyway because it's a smear job and it's not a requirement!"

Trump: "Mueller report absolutely exonerates me so they should be released. But if they aren't, nobody cares anyway because it's a smear job and totally innocent NO COLLUSION!"

Huh.

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17 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Obama released 8, including the year prior. Hillary released 8,  including the year prior. 

Oh my god this guy is gonna tell me about Obama '08. Hachi machi. My "HOPE AND CHANGE" tramp stamp is burning.

Barack Obama released many years of tax returns in March of 2008, which is one year later in the process than we currently sit, with you absolute morons screeching about Bernie not releasing his taxes. Barack Obama released his taxes after 41 primary contests had already taken place.

I know you didn't already know that, because you don't know things, but there you go. I'll be interested to see how and if you'll respond.

It is not at all common practice for primary candidates a year out from primaries to release a decade of taxes. It isn't historical precedent. It is made up garbage for bad faith trolls and idiots to attack a guy they don't like.

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Do you know how many general election candidates since 1996 have not released multiple tax returns including the prior year?

What relevance do "general election candidates" have to this discussion?

We are 10 months away from the first primary vote.

Do you know what any of these words mean?

Quote

Funny that you call people "bad faith trolls" and yet you run around and attack people in bad faith in a transparent attempt to yell so loud that nobody notices that you are completely full of shit when it comes to Bernie and the double standards you apply (or conveniently avoid applying) to him vs. other candidates. 

What argument have I made in bad faith? How am I yelling? Having better arguments than you isn't yelling.

What double standards? I don't care if any of these primary candidates releases their taxes a year out. I don't care if any of these primary candidates releases them at all. None of them have a reputation or history as a cheat or crook.

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6 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

Oh my god this guy is gonna tell me about Obama '08. Hachi machi. My "HOPE AND CHANGE" tramp stamp is burning.

Barack Obama released many years of tax returns in March of 2008, which is one year later in the process than we currently sit, with you absolute morons screeching about Bernie not releasing his taxes. Barack Obama released his taxes after 41 primary contests had already taken place.

I know you didn't already know that, because you don't know things, but there you go. I'll be interested to see how and if you'll respond.

It is not at all common practice for primary candidates a year out from primaries to release a decade of taxes. It isn't historical precedent. It is made up garbage for bad faith trolls and idiots to attack a guy they don't like.

What relevance do "general election candidates" have to this discussion?

We are 10 months away from the first primary vote.

Do you know what any of these words mean?

What argument have I made in bad faith? How am I yelling? Having better arguments than you isn't yelling.

What double standards? I don't care if any of these primary candidates releases their taxes a year out. I don't care if any of these primary candidates releases them at all. None of them have a reputation or history as a cheat or crook.

"We are 10 months away from the first primary vote."

We are three years and two weeks past Super Tuesday 2015. We are close to three years removed from Bernie going an entire primary without releasing anything but one cherry-picked return. What's the delay? So Obama released his returns in March. It's been three years since Bernie's equivalent of that. Three years.

"What double standards? I don't care if any of these primary candidates releases their taxes a year out. I don't care if any of these primary candidates releases them at all. None of them have a reputation or history as a cheat or crook."

Only one of them has serious questions about his intentions on releasing his returns. Only one has a spokesperson cut off the media with the old Sarah Sanders "we're done with questions at this time" move, when asked about the returns. If Bernie's treatment of his returns doesn't at least give you some pause, then you've entered Trumpland where you refuse to see any reality or admit that your candidate has flaws.

But we already knew that.

 

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Just now, BradInATX said:

We are three years and two weeks past Super Tuesday 2015. We are close to three years removed from Bernie going an entire primary without releasing anything but one cherry-picked return. What's the delay?

Cherry picked? What?

Quote

Only one of them has serious questions about his intentions on releasing his returns.

There are no serious questions about Bernie's taxes. There is only bad faith concern trolling. There is no rational cause to believe Bernie is hiding something. If you have something, explain to us what it is.

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Just now, David Dennison said:

Because if he wants to be president, the public has a right to know how he makes and spends his money. It reveals a lot.

OK, great, when is the traditional moment to start furiously demanding primary candidate tax returns? One year from the start of the primaries? Is there historical precedent for that? Is there any sensible reason Bernie is being singled out here?

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Just now, bad_teammate said:

Cherry picked? What?

There are no serious questions about Bernie's taxes. There is only bad faith concern trolling. There is no rational cause to believe Bernie is hiding something. If you have something, explain to us what it is.

There's no rational cause to believe Bernie is hiding something, except for the fact that it's plainly obvious to everyone that he is.

If he's not hiding something, why not release them? Which was my original question that you still have yet to answer. I'll wait.

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Just now, bad_teammate said:

Cherry picked? What?

There are no serious questions about Bernie's taxes. There is only bad faith concern trolling. There is no rational cause to believe Bernie is hiding something. If you have something, explain to us what it is.

It doesn't matter if there is no rational cause to believe he's hiding something. 

He's running for president. He should release his tax returns. Period.

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Just now, bad_teammate said:

OK, great, when is the traditional moment to start furiously demanding primary candidate tax returns? One year from the start of the primaries? Is there historical precedent for that? Is there any sensible reason Bernie is being singled out here?

Because he wasn't completely forthright about it last time around. 

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Just now, bad_teammate said:

OK, great, when is the traditional moment to start furiously demanding primary candidate tax returns? One year from the start of the primaries? Is there historical precedent for that? Is there any sensible reason Bernie is being singled out here?

Give us a list of candidates running for 2020 that have undergone an entire primary without releasing more than a single year of returns.

I'll give you a head start:

Trump

Sanders

 

Who did I miss?

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1 hour ago, Dick Tremayne said:

 

This is dumb. All candidates should release their returns. Full stop. This isn't hard, and whatever timelines candidates used to have for releasing them prior to Trump is meaningless. If the Democratic candidates want to run against systemic corruption that Trump and the GOP embody they need to show that they're not themselves corrupt.

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