WASHINGTON – According to The Hill, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) will personally handle the delicate task of talking to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders about the increasingly negative tone of supporters of his presidential bid, toward both Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party in general.
The Senate Democrats have no love for Sanders, and their patience is running out with the candidate.
Yesterday, in a closed door meeting in the senate office building yesterday and one thing is very clear and that is the Democratic establishment is far from pleased with Sanders. While, Sanders does caucus with the Democrats he has been an Independent most his neatly 40-year political career.
He has defeated Democrats in his career first as a congressman and then in his quest to become a senator. He has not raised any money for the party nor has he done much campaigning to help get down ballot people elected.The meeting was called after last weekend’s Nevada Democratic convention where Sanders supporters shouted down Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who was speaking on behalf of Hillary Clinton. At the Nevada Democratic Party convention, Sanders supporters who said Clinton’s backers had subverted party rules shouted down pro-Clinton speakers and sent threatening messages to state party Chairwoman Roberta Lange after posting her phone number and address on social media.
The Hill, reported that a senior Democratic aide said that thinking reflects an acknowledgement among the senators that Reid is the one member of the caucus who “has an actual relationship with him.”
Sanders is a political independent who caucuses with Democrats. That’s made him a bit of an outsider with his colleagues, something highlighted by the Vermont senator’s rebuke this week of a Democratic Party he says should open its doors to political independents.
Despite the Democrat leadership attempts to calm him down, Sanders isn’t backing down. A campaign spokesman said Wednesday that the campaign was “looking into” whether to ask for a recount in Kentucky, where Sanders narrowly lost on Tuesday night, and he fired up his crowd in Southern California Tuesday night by calling out the Democratic establishment.
“These claims that our campaign is sort of fomenting violence in some way are absolute nonsense,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Tuesday night, adding that the campaign “absolutely, categorically” condemns any threatening behavior.”
The Hill, reported one source told them “I’m leaving it up to Reid. That’s what the caucus did yesterday. We said he would be the lead on it,” said one Democratic senator. “There was some suggestion that we would all make calls. And everybody said the best idea is to let the leader handle it.”
Reid, the Senate majority leader has given Sanders the full benefits of membership in the Democratic caucus after his election to the Senate in 2006, rewarding him with the committee assignments he wanted even though he was not a registered Democrat.
The phone call between Sanders and Reid did not go well and here is how the Sanders campaign responded in a less than a respectful to the Senate majority leader.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday issued the following statement:
“It is imperative that the Democratic leadership, both nationally and in the states, understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics. The people of this country want a government which represents all of us, not just the 1 percent, super PACs and wealthy campaign contributors.
“The Democratic Party has a choice. It can open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change – people who are willing to take on Wall Street, corporate greed and a fossil fuel industry which is destroying this planet. Or the party can choose to maintain its status quo structure, remain dependent on big-money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy.
“Within the last few days there have been a number of criticisms made against my campaign organization. Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence.’ That is nonsense. Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high-crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence. Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals. But, when we speak of violence, I should add here that months ago, during the Nevada campaign, shots were fired into my campaign office in Nevada and apartment housing complex my campaign staff lived in was broken into and ransacked.” READ MORE.
