We Begin the Process of Vetting Colonel Bernie Sanders

Burnie
(Bernie Sanders) thinks Social Security should increase benefits, no matter that it is heading toward insolvency. Higher taxes can make up the difference. He’d shrink the defense budget so foreign military operations would be all but impossible. He wants single-payer health care, though his own state gave up the experiment as too expensive. He thinks foreign trade impoverishes the middle class. (Wall Street Journal, 5/2/2015)

The phrases that you will hear (endlessly) from Colonel Bernie Sanders include:

Millionaires and billionaires - (Bernie's definition): The people responsible for the evil in the world

Bush and Cheney - (Bernie's definition): The people responsible for the evil in the world


Question for Bernie:

If elected president will you immediately bring charges against hedge funders George Soros, Tom Steyer and (Clinton son-in-law) Marc Mezvinsky? If not, why not?


New York Times, May 3, 2015:
Christie’s Camp Mobilizes to Salvage White House Hopes

With Bridge Case Charges, a Cloud Descends on Christie’s White House Hopes

2 Indicted in George Washington Bridge Case; Ally of Christie Pleads Guilty

Document: Indictment Against Baroni and Kelly

Coverage of the Bridge Scandal

George Washington Bridge Scandal: What You Need to Know

Graphic: Chris Christie and the Lane Closings: A Spectator’s Guide

First Draft: Hogan Fund-Raiser for Christie Comes at a Bad Time

Question: What story has the New York Times identified as the most important of the decade?


Weathered
Hillary Rodham Clinton appears to have initially weathered a barrage of news about her use of a private email account when she was secretary of state and the practices of her family’s foundation, an indication that she is starting her second presidential bid with an unusual durability among Democratic voters. (New York Times, 5/5/2015)

In a poll of Democrat voters taken on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, support for Hillary remains strong. To have their preferences included respondents had to answer the following pre-qualification question in the affirmative: Have you given money to Hillary for President in the past 48 hours?


Super Duper
Hillary Rodham Clinton will begin personally courting donors for a super PAC supporting her candidacy, the first time a Democratic presidential candidate has fully embraced the independent groups that can accept unlimited checks from big donors and are already playing a major role in the 2016 race.

Her decision is another escalation in what is expected to be the most expensive presidential campaign in history. Mrs. Clinton’s allies hope that with her support, Priorities USA Action, the top Democratic super PAC, will be able to raise as much as $200 million to $300 million, on par with what the largest Republican organizations, such as the Karl Rove-founded American Crossroads super PAC and its nonprofit affiliate, spent in 2012.

Running for re-election that year, President Obama reluctantly endorsed fund-raising by the same super PAC now supporting Mrs. Clinton because of fears that he would be outspent by Republicans who were more aggressive in using what was then a new vehicle for raising large amounts of money that could be used in support of a campaign but not go directly to it. But he never appeared at any of its fund-raisers. (New York Times, 5/6/2015)

So noble Democrats only get down in the dirt and go the Super PAC route...because of the evil Republicans!