No pope meeting, let alone photo op, for Bernie.

[geek tragedy]

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/14/bernie-sanders-itinerary-in-rome-will-not-include-pope-francis-visit/?_r=0

It looks as if Bernie Sanders’s brief Roman holiday will not include a meeting with Pope Francis.

In a routine briefing with reporters in the Vatican press office on Thursday, the spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, was asked if the pope would meet with academics and politicians, including Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who are participating in a Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences conference on Friday.

“There won’t be a meeting with the Holy Father,” Father Lombardi said.

A papal encounter was always going to be a long shot for Mr. Sanders, whose trip is not on an official visit to the Holy See. The politician was never scheduled to have an audience with Pope Francis, and the conference is not exactly the “high-level meeting” that the Sanders campaign billed it as in its news release about the trip. But as recently as Wednesday, Mr. Sanders was still hopeful for a face-to-face with the pontiff.

Brilliant move.

[Buzz Clik]

1. Maybe he can get a t-shirt

[passiveporcupine]

91. Really?

The pope, who made a brief trip to Greece on Saturday to visit a refugee camp, spoke to reporters on the plane home about his encounter with the American politician. "When I came down, I greeted him, I shook his hand and nothing more. This is called good manners and it is not getting involved in politics," the pope said, according to Reuters. "If anyone thinks that greeting someone is getting involved in politics, I recommend that he look for a psychiatrist," he said, laughing.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/16/bernie-sanders-met-pope-francis/83118290/

While you are correct, he did not have a scheduled meeting with the Pope, he did get to meet the Pope. So, both sides are right and both sides are wrong.

[Iliyah]

2. The Pope will stay far far far away from this one

[CentralCoaster]

3. Still, the endorsement of Sanders by the Vatican is huge!

[KingFlorez]

4. That is a lie

The Vatican doesn't endorse political candidates.

[Buzz Clik]

5. Yeah. It would be if The Vatican was stupid enough to endorse a US Prez candidate.

[Iliyah]

9. Truth, the Vatican nor the Pope did not endorse BS.

Gosh, lies on the Pope

[Hortensis]

46. NO, no, no. A Pope's meddling in choosing our president

would be very damaging to the church in not just our nation but many around the planet. It will not happen.

[rock]

57. I'm fairly certain CentralCoaster

is being sarcastic.

[CentralCoaster]

65. Correct. They never have and never will explicitly endorse a US POTUS candidate.

But we Sanders supporters are, understandably, really thrilled for the tacit and implied endorsement of the Senator's ability to contribute to the discussion.

And that is an endorsement, but not one directly related to the primary or general election.

[rock]

68. Well they did

in fact, make a really really big whoop-dee-doo about it! You'd have thought it was the second coming of Christ!

[CentralCoaster]

70. Ha! True, but that's not happening just yet!

The Second Coming simply can't happen this month, I still have to get my tomato seedlings in the ground.

[passiveporcupine]

92. There was no endorsement

Is this a troll post?

[pangaia]

6. There never was a meeting with the Pope.So what?

[geek tragedy]

8. Bernie said there was the day of the announcement, on live television.

His fundraising emails have claimed that Pope Francis is "feeling the Bern."

Blatant pander to Catholic voters blatantly failed.

[MineralMan]

7. The Pope does not get involved with political campaigns.

Ever. Why would he? This visit became political instantly, so he's simply ignoring it altogether, which is an appropriate response.

Bernie's remarks will be heard by about 30 people, most of them clerics. It's a private meeting. I still don't understand the attraction this has for a candidate right before one of the most important primaries.

I really wonder how much press coverage it will even generate. I guess we'll find out.

[geek tragedy]

12. Nobody told the comic book store proprietor running the Bernie campaign

that.

[MineralMan]

20. Apparently not.

I suppose the thinking was that this Vatican visit would influence Catholic voters in New York. That seems doubtful to me, really. I suppose we'll see on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning next week.

I'm going to be interested in how much press coverage this jaunt receives and how the event is characterized in the media once it happens.

[cui bono]

108. You're so mean as a Hillary supporter. You should pretend to support Bernie again.

[Armstead]

10. Pope would be politically unwise to do that. No surprise.

Probably not a surprise to Sanders either. I don't think he was going for the photo op.

[whatchamacallit]

11. zzZ

[Capt. Obvious]

13. No one cares about this outside the Hillaverse

[demmiblue]

23. True. n/t

[BainsBane]

24. Oh, really? All the threads celebrating the trip

were because people "didn't care." They cared plenty until it turned out to be a clusterfuck. Now you all want to pretend it never mattered. Even if it didn't involve the Pope, the guy is leaving the country right before the NY make or break primary. That communicates the message that he knows he's going to lose NY. That and of course his campaign manager is talking about contesting the convention, which obviously means he doesn't have a prayer of catching up with Clinton's delegate leader. So now we are left with a candidate who thinks it acceptable to seize power against the electoral will of the people.

[brooklynite]

35. If Sanders "wins" the debate, he's gone for two days and can't cash in on the momentum...

...and if he "loses" the debate (say, an inartful comment about Hillary Clinton), he can't clean up the problem.

[morningfog]

59. I reject your framing out of hand. Go get something new from your boy Brock.

[Fawke Em]

64. Because there's not telephones and electricity and computers and a press pool traveling with him?

[brooklynite]

67. Is there? I was told this wasn't a campaign event...

...and even if there is, he doesn't have a window of time until maybe late Friday night, when he's probably tired and not in the best shape to deal with political issues.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

107. You aren't just deliberately dense,

You are willfully ignorant.

Sad, that. Although some claim that ignorance is bliss.

[Blue_Adept]

31. Nobody cares much of any of what the outrages du jour are here outside of here

For the bulk of the electorate, most of what goes in in between the actual primary days in any state is all white noise.

[BainsBane]

14. Has Bernie said how he will pay for the trip?

Of course the pope doesn't want to interfere with American elections. The notion that he would is absurd.

[Armstead]

21. He's borrowing it from the Clinton. It's chump change for them.

[BainsBane]

34. Who knows, maybe it's chump change to him

Last edited Thu Apr 14, 2016, 01:58 PM - Edit history (1)

He's still stonewalling on his taxes.

Let's see. It's Thursday. That must mean being rich is bad again. Of course when I posted about the hypocrisy of Susan Sarandon calling for revolution while owning 6 multimillion dollar homes, I was accused of demonizing the rich. The infinite elasticity of supposed causes are truly a marvel.

How long until the next post about one of Bernie's army of 1 percenters telling Americans telling Americans how to vote or insulting citizens who don't vote as instructed?

[Armstead]

49. Nothing against honest reasonable wealth, but this is out of proportion

http://fortune.com/2016/02/15/hillary-clinton-net-worth-finances/

Then there is the model that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have pursued — with astonishing success. For them, politics is the family business. There is no distinction between business careers and political careers. Holding and serving in public office provides a platform from which they can monetize experience, connections and prominence. And then they use the wealth gained through, say, speaking engagements and media tours, to lay the groundwork for the next campaign. Electoral office, business, wealth, and public service, all meld together seamlessly.

2014 family Income: $28 million

Estimated family net worth: $110 million

The early years: For nearly two decades, Hillary Clinton served as half of a variation of the the “Wives of Wall Street” model, working as a lawyer in Little Rock and serving on corporate boards (Walmart, TCBY, LaFarge Corp.) as husband Bill Clinton served in low-paying positions like Governor of Arkansas (1991 salary: $35,000). In 1991, when Bill Clinton launched his presidential campaign, Hillary earned about $60,000 from her board seats and $110,000 from her work as a lawyer. Hillary Clinton also made highly controversial six-figure profits on commodity trading.

When Bill Clinton’s tenure as president ended, the two swapped roles seamlessly. Ex-President Clinton hit the speaking circuit and wrote a big-bucks memoir, and Hillary ran (successfully) for the Senate in both 2000 and 2006. (The job paid $145,000.) Hillary managed to get an $8 million advance for the first memoir, Living History, which she wrote and published while serving in the Senate. After unsuccessfully competing for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, she moved from the Senate to Secretary of State (2009 salary: $186,000).

The cash allowed the couple to maintain a lovely home in the Chappaqua, New York (Zillow estimates it’s worth $1.8 million), and a far more sumptuous mansion in Washington, D.C, (Zestimate: nearly $6 million).

Few people resent politicians who make lots of money from selling memoirs, or starting a business. But the Clintons’ particular business—getting paid a multiple of the typical American family’s annual income for a 40-minute speech—raises some appearance problems. It’s hard to come across as a credible critic of Wall Street when your bed is feathered with six-figure speaking payments to investment banks and private equity firms.

[NorthCarolina]

15. He will share the stage with heads of state from other countries while Hillary dines on caviar in CA

Perrier anyone?

[MineralMan]

25. More likely Pellegrino or Acqua Panna for Bernie, I think.

He's unlikely to encounter Perrier in Rome.

[NorthCarolina]

36. Whereas the Pool and Hot Tub at the Hillary event will probably be filled with it.

Because it's available in California I mean.

[MineralMan]

41. I see. OK, then.

[think]

16. Believe it or not Bernie cares about the issues being discussed as will the others working to end

global poverty.

I understand some people care more about photo ops than discussing global poverty but some people actually care about making the world a better place for people to live in.

[geek tragedy]

22. he's more of an economic nationalist than a globalist

when it comes to these issues.

his campaign hyped this as a meeting with the Pope, he even said it would be a meeting with the Pope on live television.

[think]

27. Keep getting hung up on your parsed words. It's too typical of Hillary supporters. No issues

just word games for their own amusement...

[brooklynite]

42. That's great to know...why then is he going to an academic conference?

...rather than a conference that's intended to achieve something?

[think]

53. Why are 2 presidents from South America going to attend?

[brooklynite]

62. Perhaps you should ask them...

[CoffeeCat]

63. Because it is an honor to be invited by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

to attend this conference.

They are also honored to have Bernie there, as well. The Vatican issued a press release about the conference, listing Bernie as the first name mentioned in their list of participants--in the first paragraph of the press release.

"We're delighted to host this conference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Centesimus Annus, bringing together world leaders, including U.S Senator Sanders."

I am proud of Senator Sanders for getting the invite, and for attending this prestigious conference where he will have the opportunity to discuss important issues such as poverty, income inequality and social justice.

All of his supporters should be very proud.

[kennetha]

17. Poor Bernie

All the way to Italy in the middle of a do or die primary for a 10 minute speech to 30 academics and no meeting with the Pope.

Still say if I were him, I'd cancel and fire whoever got me into this. This is political insanity.

[still_one]

18. That can't be true. yup, yup, yup, he is meeting with the Pope

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017352798

[basselope]

29. He likely will.

[still_one]

50. Ok

[basselope]

86. So.... like I said. Bernie met the pope.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bernie-sander-meets-pope-francis-during-visit-vatican-city-n556991

[still_one]

89. and like I said, ok. I wasn't being sarcastic when I said it

[basselope]

90. And I guess this post wasn't either?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1732353

[still_one]

94. In that interview Sanders said he had an invitation to meet with the Pope, and that was factually

incorrect. So yes, that post was sarcasm, because there was no planned meeting with the Pope

[basselope]

96. Actually, that isn't what was said in the interview.

In fact, everything in the interview turned out to be factually true.

He was invited by the Vatican
and
He met the Pope.

[still_one]

97. I respectfully did not see The View interview as you saw it

[Gregorian]

19. Oh noes. Christmas is ruined.

[jmg257]

26. How IS he getting there? Didn't he invite himself? Nt

[geek tragedy]

30. renting a private corporate jet. nt

[jmg257]

37. Whew / so many points of contention now settled.

At last!

[Iliyah]

47. LOL, good one geek!

[basselope]

28. LOL.

They still floating this lead balloon?

[polly7]

32. That's ok ...

He'll have lots of opportunities when he's President.

[Jefferson23]

33. Oh good, now Clinton supporters can be happy...phew. n/t

[geek tragedy]

39. we knew Bernie was full of it when he said on national tv that

he was invited by the Pope for a meeting with the Pope.

[Jefferson23]

77. Yea, the pathology. lol

[Blue_In_AK]

38. And?

I thought the purpose of the trip was to attend the conference, not show up for a photo op.

[geek tragedy]

40. that's extending an awful lot of benefit of the doubt nt

[Capt. Obvious]

45. You definitely know a lot about extending an awful lot of benefit of the doubt

[KittyWampus]

48. Then why when it was announced did he lie about being invited by Pope/will see the Pope?

Why did he lie about being a speaker?

His surrogate had to retroactively insert Sanders into the schedule.

[DrDan]

43. but . . . if Vatican=Pope (as I read here many times), doesn't a meeting at the Vatican imply a

meeting with the Pope?

[Bobbie Jo]

44. "You're meeting with the Pope?"

Nope.

[workinclasszero]

51. But..but..

Aww...I thought Bernie was going to meet the Pope and have a great photo op and a sparrow would descend out of a cloud and land on Bernie's shoulder while a rainbow magically appeared behind him and...unicorns?

Guess not.

[geek tragedy]

52. the bird was supposed to be a sign from heaven.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

54. When is Hillary meeting with the pope for a photo-op?

[SidDithers]

69. When did Hillary say she was meeting with the Pope?...

Sid

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

71. Oh, that's right! She didn't get invited to a meeting on economic disparity and climate.

I wonder why. No speakers fees? No "contributions" foreseen? Not interested what she might say?

[SidDithers]

72. Yeah, she didn't have a campaign flunky wheedling an invitation...nt

Sid

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

73. Flunky fail. She should fire them.

[Iliyah]

55. Bottom line for me. I can care less of BS going to the conference.

What I do care about is integrity. BS speaks about it constantly, but is not honesty about it. Why not just say "Jeffrey Sachs was able to get me into a conference sponsored by the Vatican and HOPEFULLY I will get a chance to meet the Pope".

Huh

[geek tragedy]

56. because he's just a politician when it comes down to it. nt

[Fuddnik]

58. Oh, the horror.

Get over this stupid shit already.

[geek tragedy]

60. still think he's going?

I admit, it seems more likely that he follows through now than it did a few days ago. but they seem to finally have taken no for an answer from the pope.

[Fawke Em]

61. Who cares?

He's still going to speak at a conference on inequality and greed, while Her Majesty will be sucking at the golden teet.

[CentralCoaster]

66. Call 'em. Call 'em right fucking now.

You know, Congress!

[PufPuf23]

74. Bernie Sanders visit to Rome has become an embarrassment to the USA

because of the flood of negativity from the Clinton campaign.

The Pope and the Vatican was put in the position of avoiding Sander's visit regardless of the original intent or what may have happened less formally.

Sanders may not have fully known what was involved - visit with Pope or not - but was relying on what he had been told in initial statements by advisors or Jeffrey Sachs; I do not believe he meant to deceive and was genuine in desire because the current Pope is more supportive of social justice than other recent Popes.

One could assume that the affair is an embarrassment to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and has placed a cloud on their conference.

The trip could have been a positive but some had to deliberately make it negative. Sad.

[kennetha]

75. The Sanders campaign is amateur hour.

[PufPuf23]

76. Gee whiz that helps alot.

You must have learned that from David Brock the professional.

[Seeinghope]

88. The Clinton campaign is The hip of fools

[DrDan]

78. I bet Bernie has a few choice words for/about Jeffery Sachs for getting him into this fiasco

[seabeyond]

79. From what I heard, Jane is now passing this off as a world leader meeting. Is this right? LOL

A small meeting of scholars has now become Sanders meeting with world leaders, since he can no longer promote it a meeting with the Pope. Still not true.

[geek tragedy]

80. haven't seen, but lol if true nt

[frylock]

81. Kick and rec

[Aerows]

82. All I have to say is ...

[cherokeeprogressive]

83. Palpable butthurt.

And a rec.

[tabasco]

84. Kick!

[beam me up scottie]

85. Aww

[Seeinghope]

87. No invitation to Hillary Clinton to go to the Vatican

[DisgustipatedinCA]

93. Nostra-fucking-domas. Tell me some more, please.

[geek tragedy]

95. A handshake is not a meeting. Kids getting autographs from baseball players

are not getting meetings with them.

Desperate stunt backfired.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

109. Alert results

On Sun Apr 17, 2016, 09:02 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

Nostra-fucking-domas. Tell me some more, please.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1754719

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Unnecessary vitriol.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun Apr 17, 2016, 09:10 AM, and the Jury voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Most of DU is unecessary vitriol; there's nothing especially egregious about this one.
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Way beyond civil or decent. Hide.
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Yes, the poster misspelled "Nostra-fucking-damus", but it's not alert-worthy.
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Please tell us what "necessary vitriol" would look like. Lighten up, Francis.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[lumberjack_jeff]

98. Then what's all the caterwauling, garment-rending and gnashing of teeth about? n/t

[ucrdem]

99. Everybody wins on this one.

No meeting, no photo, no endorsement, in fact no record except for witnesses, but whatever transpired allows Sanders to get what he thought he needed, i.e. bragging rights. The benefit remains to be seen, but it was a bold campaign maneuver, and Francis would have to be a cold-hearted ass to brush him off altogether. Basically Bernie came to Rome to kiss the ring, like many a prince and potentate before him, and the opportunity presented itself or more likely was arranged, so Francis split the baby so to speak without injecting himself into the election.

I worry though because these are dangerous waters for the first Jesuit pope and if it were up to me I would have made sure the opportunity did NOT arise. But who am I as Peter Lorre says in Casablanca LOL.

[JCanete]

103. Good post, not sure about the kiss the ring comment, but

your interpretation seems pretty even handed. Thanks for that.

[jmg257]

100. Swing and a miss....nt

[geek tragedy]

104. When does he release the transcript? nt

[jmg257]

105. LOL! Right after the tax returns!

You watching Rangers?!

[HooptieWagon]

101. K&R for the epic fail.

[cui bono]

106. Sanders Meets Pope Francis for a Five-minute Meeting

http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/u-s-election-2016/1.714713

You seem to be very upset by this.

.