Sanders Flip-Flops to Obama

In a panic, the day after getting his clock cleaned by underdog Joe Biden, Sanders “saw the light.” It only took him 12 years.

The Wednesday morning after Super Tuesday, he released his first I’m-with-Obama ad ever. One shot is of Obama generously endorsing him on his first run for the Senate in 2006. But those words are immediately followed by Obama saying “That’s right. Feel the Bern!”

What’s not clear is that “Feel the Bern” was said 10 years later when Obama was trying to win over Sanders’ extremely rude followers at the 2016 Democratic convention. That’s a job Sanders should have done but didn’t.

Obama has always been gracious towards Sanders in spite of the grief Sanders has given him. Halfway in between Obama’s two remarks helping Sanders, this is what Sanders was saying about Obama on Tom Hartmann’s July 22 show, “Brunch with Bernie.”

I think there are millions of Americans … who cannot believe how weak he has been … I think one of the reasons the President has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him. …

A relatively small number of people called the Tea Party have had a very profound impact on American politics. … We have to give them credit. They’ve been putting pressure on their Leaders. … I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.

That’s right, Sanders was arguing that it would be a good thing for him to attempt to “primary” Obama in 2012 the same way the Tea Party primaries reasonable Republicans to kill them off in primary elections. Primaries are rigged in favor of small pressure groups because many fewer people vote in primaries.

In fact, Sanders was so serious about this that he discussed it with his fellow Vermont Senator among others. Jim Messina, Obama’s presidential reelection-campaign manager found out and got Harry Reid to put pressure on Sanders, but it took him two tries.

Messina pointed out that “every president who has gotten a real primary has lost a general [election].” Had Sanders not been talked out of his plan to attack Obama in 2012 presidential primaries and split the party as he did with Clinton, our first black president would have been followed after one term by Mitt Romney.

Now Bernie is pretending they’ve always been good friends. You can’t get any more hypocritical.