2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumI think I agree with Bernie about the Rome trip thing.
If people want to send him money so that he can go on luxury foreign vacations, then good for him. And from the looks of it, nobody who paid for that trip seems to be upset about it. So rock on Bernie Sanders. He's basically a rock star now anyway, enjoy the lifestyle. I think he should take another half-million dollar trip on his donors' dime after the campaign is done. Maybe a little opulence will mellow the guy out a bit.
And he or whoever booked that trip has a great eye for luxury hotels. I'm gonna check out that place out next time I'm in Rome.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)and corruption.
If he is going to complain about corruption.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)and he tried to pretend that the pope endorsed him. I bet he can come up with some excuse that this was a campaign stunt and not just a vacation.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)for it.
Congressman Hunter in San Diego just got caught in those corrupt practices. Usually, they force the corrupt official to pay back the money out of pocket.
Both Jacksons Going To Prison For Misusing Campaign Funds
Congressman reportedly under fire for using campaign funds to buy video games
Proper Use of Campaign Funds and Resources
larkrake
(1,674 posts)Demsrule86
(68,586 posts)The election people already said so. He has to pay it back.
BobbyDrake
(2,542 posts)Heck, Jane's golden parachute would account for 1/3 of it alone.
merrily
(45,251 posts)Your colleagues found a Bernie hate site that lies through its font teeth and they've been very busy today spreading the lie, as they were six weeks ago.. That's all that happened.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)I think he could use more luxury vacations. A few more weeks in 5 star hotels, and he'll start to understand some things.
merrily
(45,251 posts)Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)back from their own funds.
And, by the way, misuse of campaign funds is corruption.
I am sure it was simply an oversight and Sanders will repay the half million to his campaign out of pocket.
merrily
(45,251 posts)Well, two Bernie hate sites, if we count the lying politicade.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)merrily
(45,251 posts)Which is true: The stench of desperation to post something bad about Bernie or the certainty you all profess that he is no threat to your candidate.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)Misuse of Campaign funds is corruption.
merrily
(45,251 posts)blog and a bunch of butthurt DUers, though only heaven knows what they are so butthurt about.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)It's called corruption. Sanders misused campaign funds.
merrily
(45,251 posts)blue neen
(12,321 posts)Also, why would a bunch of DU'ers be so-called "butthurt"?
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)but refuse to admit it.
I suspect it is part of a set of talking points.
annavictorious
(934 posts)would have endorsed him. The Chavez family not only said otherwise, but also expressed support for Hillary.
And two weeks ago he tried to claim the endorsement of an influential AIDS activist group. When they protested, Sanders's surrogates
immediately insisted that the activists were being paid off with money from Big Pharma.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)All the more reason that he could use another million dollar weekend. Serious, if his donors' dollars are going to be used for either attacking HIllary and thus helping Trump win, or enjoying the world's most beautiful and exotic locales, I vote for exotic locales.
scscholar
(2,902 posts)Vacations is not why people donated to him.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)Get over it.
(You didn't have any money on the line, did you?)
YouDig
(2,280 posts)Socialism is good in moderation, but who doesn't like a luxury hotel? I'm with Bernie.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)You couldn't carry his suitcase.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)Suitcase carrying, I'm pretty sure that he has people for that. But speaking of suitcases, do you think he goes for like Louis Vuitton or Gucci? I'm not really into the fancy suitcase thing myself, I go elegant but functional.
Corporate666
(587 posts)Have you complained about them?
Perhaps we should do a search? Hmmm.....
elleng
(130,964 posts)Such baloney! IF anyone is interested, the 'itinerary' of his 'luxury vacation' (HAHAHA) is discussed here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/us/politics/bernie-sanders-rome.html
Vinca
(50,276 posts)Do you have a link that proves this was paid for out of campaign funds?
YouDig
(2,280 posts)Vinca
(50,276 posts)If Bernie sneezed you would post about it and claim he farted at the same time. I suppose because you "read it somewhere."
YouDig
(2,280 posts)He's a grumpy socialist, then he spends a half mil to charter a plane and book his entourage into a 5-star hotel in Rome. That I can dig.
Grassy Knoll
(10,118 posts)anotherproletariat
(1,446 posts)so it made good sense for him to use his newly found popularity to take advantage of such opportunities. It's not often that you can take your whole extended family to Rome, and not have to pay for it yourself. While it might not have been the best ethical decision, it certainly was legal and something that likely won't come around again.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)They are all happy they got to pay for a luxury Italian vacation for this great man. It's a win-win. Bernie gets to live the good life, and his donors get to feel good about paying for it.
anotherproletariat
(1,446 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)There are politicians doing time for that shit.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)they would definitely be on my menu - yummo
NanceGreggs
(27,815 posts)... his donors didn't send him money for his Roman Holiday - they sent money for his campaign.
It's not up to him to say, well, my donors don't mind if I use their money for a family vacation.
It was just a matter of time before this particular shit hit the fan - and BS is an idiot if he didn't see it coming.
raging moderate
(4,305 posts)Last edited Sun Jun 5, 2016, 03:23 PM - Edit history (1)
We fully intended for Bernie Sanders to spend money attending a conference in Rome, if they invited him. and they did. And of course we understand about problems with security for a presidential candidate. And Sanders has just as much need to consider that factor as the Clintons do.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)20 best friends in a 5 star hotel and a private flight, and that's what he did. What's the issue? Next they're going to be complaining about the 10 thousand dollar Louis Vuitton bags he bought with donor money. The nerve of some people right?
NanceGreggs
(27,815 posts)... that BS donors have no problem with the expenditure. The point is that it wasn't Bernie's call to use those funds as he did. There are laws governing the use of campaign funds, and saying "my donors won't mind" doesn't enter into it.
think
(11,641 posts)FULL REPLAY: Bernie Sanders Amazing Speech in Vatican (4-15-16)
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is speaking at the Vatican Friday, praising Pope Francis and denouncing income inequality.
The Democratic presidential candidate, who is Jewish, announced last week that he would attend a conference on income inequality at the Vatican just days before the high-stakes New York primary.
Here is a transcript of his prepared remarks.
Read a part of the Transcript of his speech:-
I am honored to be with you today and was pleased to receive your invitation to speak to this conference of The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Today we celebrate the encyclical Centesimus Annus and reflect on its meaning for our world a quarter-century after it was presented by Pope John Paul II. With the fall of Communism, Pope John Paul II gave a clarion call for human freedom in its truest sense: freedom that defends the dignity of every person and that is always oriented towards the common good.
The Churchs social teachings, stretching back to the first modern encyclical about the industrial economy, Rerum Novarum in 1891, to Centesimus Annus, to Pope Franciss inspiring encyclical Laudato Si this past year, have grappled with the challenges of the market economy. There are few places in modern thought that rival the depth and insight of the Churchs moral teachings on the market economy.
Inexplicably, the United States political system doubled down on this reckless financial deregulation, when the U.S. Supreme Court in a series of deeply misguided decisions, unleashed an unprecedented flow of money into American politics. These decisions culminated in the infamous Citizen United case, which opened the financial spigots for huge campaign donations by billionaires and large corporations to turn the U.S. political system to their narrow and greedy advantage. It has established a system in which billionaires can buy elections. Rather than an economy aimed at the common good, we have been left with an economy operated for the top 1 percent, who get richer and richer as the working class, the young and the poor fall further and further behind. And the billionaires and banks have reaped the returns of their campaign investments, in the form of special tax privileges, imbalanced trade agreements that favor investors over workers, and that even give multinational companies extra-judicial power over governments that are trying to regulate them.
Pope Francis has called on the world to say: No to a financial system that rules rather than serves in Evangeli Gaudium. And he called upon financial executives and political leaders to pursue financial reform that is informed by ethical considerations. He stated plainly and powerfully that the role of wealth and resources in a moral economy must be that of servant, not master.
The widening gaps between the rich and poor, the desperation of the marginalized, the power of corporations over politics, is not a phenomenon of the United States alone. The excesses of the unregulated global economy have caused even more damage in the developing countries. They suffer not only from the boom-bust cycles on Wall Street, but from a world economy that puts profits over pollution, oil companies over climate safety, and arms trade over peace. And as an increasing share of new wealth and income goes to a small fraction of those at the top, fixing this gross inequality has become a central challenge. The issue of wealth and income inequality is the great economic issue of our time, the great political issue of our time, and the great moral issue of our time. It is an issue that we must confront in my nation and across the world.
As Pope Francis made powerfully clear last year in Laudato Si, we have the technology and know-how to solve our problems from poverty to climate change to health care to protection of biodiversity. We also have the vast wealth to do so, especially if the rich pay their way in fair taxes rather than hiding their funds in the worlds tax and secrecy havens- as the Panama Papers have shown.
The challenges facing our planet are not mainly technological or even financial, because as a world we are rich enough to increase our investments in skills, infrastructure, and technological know-how to meet our needs and to protect the planet. Our challenge is mostly a moral one, to redirect our efforts and vision to the common good. Centesimus Annus, which we celebrate and reflect on today, and Laudato Si, are powerful, eloquent and hopeful messages of this possibility. It is up to us to learn from them, and to move boldly toward the common good in our time.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)Go Bernie. My kind of trip.
think
(11,641 posts)response. Go figure....
By Henry Gass, Staff writer NOVEMBER 10, 2014
Wealth inequality in the US is reaching its most extreme point since just before the start of the Great Depression in 1929, according to a new economic analysis. Even the 1 percent are lagging behind the 0.01 percent.
It's 2014, but when it comes to wealth inequality in the United States, it's starting to look a lot like 1929.
In the late 1920s, the top 10 percent of Americans possessed 84 percent of the country's wealth. Since then, wealth inequality in America has followed a U-shaped trajectory, declining through the Great Depression until the mid-1980s, then steadily increasing since then. Now, the richest Americans have a share of the country's wealth almost big enough to rival those in the late 1920s, according to a new study...
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2014/1110/Economic-inequality-in-the-US-reaches-levels-not-seen-since-Great-Depression
YouDig
(2,280 posts)And if I was going to give a speech about it, I can think of no more enjoyable way than with a private flight to Rome and a 5 star hotel for me and my 20 closest friends and family.
metroins
(2,550 posts)In what you're posting?
He spent 600k on a private charter to speak about income inequality in a different country.
600k.
Private charter.
Income inequality.
I think BS is old news, but I couldn't help but read your replies and see the irony.
Go ahead and say something about Hillary, or deflect, it won't take away from the irony in your post.
think
(11,641 posts)Good grief. Bernie went to the Vatican and gave a speech and you all lose it.
Hillary supporters tossed shit on it from every angle and tossed in this complaint to boot.
Yet when there are threads about big banks and how they exploited the American people in ways that cost millions of jobs and homes not a peep from Hillary supporters.
So if you want to pump your bullshit go right ahead but it's just a show so you can make hay.
As I knew you would and predicted.
Irony at its finest.
Campaign contributions.
600k private charter.
Income inequality.
think
(11,641 posts)You're talking
600k for a private charter
Then discussing income inequality.
You can fly 20 people to the Vatican and back on 50k.
If you don't see the irony, you're being biased.
think
(11,641 posts)You want to go into this? Really?
metroins
(2,550 posts)He hasn't flown coach since like October.
We don't have to discuss the actual trip if you don't want to, but I have a very difficult time taking an income equality speech seriously that cost over 600k for a weekend.
I just can't make that irony get out of my head.
It's the same thing as Hillary trying to relate to normal people, she hasn't driven in 20 years.
You can't go on about income inequality and spend the kind of cash Sanders has.
think
(11,641 posts)billions.
Oh the irony.....
I can honestly see Hillarys flaws and I support her for president.
You can't even acknowledge that this was a bad decision and it's ironic.
Campaign contributions.
600k for private charter.
Income inequality.
There is no defending that. It's best to just own it and get back to the issues.
raging moderate
(4,305 posts)Last edited Sun Jun 19, 2016, 11:49 PM - Edit history (1)
All of Bernie's supporters are glad that he was asked to speak at that conference, and he spoke for all of us there. It was quite an honor for all of us. So, divided among all of us, it was really pretty cheap per person. Hillary Clinton does not confine herself to Southwest Airline's baby seats or Motel Six closet rooms or roadside hot dog stands when she travels.
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)Don't you?
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)Wish others would release theirs
YouDig
(2,280 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,374 posts)and the topic of that speech, I'm thinking irony may not be your strong suit.
think
(11,641 posts)larkrake
(1,674 posts)opiate69
(10,129 posts)Maybe you might want to pass 5th grade English class before trying to tackle the tougher subjects like political science. Just sayin'.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Appears to be today's talking point, or else it's sympathetic butthurt.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)blue neen
(12,321 posts)See post #33, for instance, posted right after yours.
merrily
(45,251 posts)melman
(7,681 posts)distinctive posting style. Very easy to spot.
Just saying.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)merrily
(45,251 posts)Must be a lot stinct going around.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)I'll be waiting for the 'men behind the myth' books to come out - Weaver and Devine will have quite a tale!
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)B Calm
(28,762 posts)brooklynite
(94,592 posts)When you're in Rome, you don't spend a lot of time in your hotel room. When I travel there, I have a lovely hotel on the Aventine that only costs E160 a night, and is close to the train to the airport which only costs E8.50. Why would you stay a hotel that charges $400 a night?
jg10003
(976 posts)Member since: Mon Apr 18, 2016, 07:35 PM
Number of posts: 1,880. 6 posts hidden.
Do you really think you're fooling anyone?
Barack_America
(28,876 posts)Not sure you can book that one on Expedia.