Former staffers of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign have founded a new group aiming to hold Democrats’ feet to the progressive fire.
WeWillReplaceYou.org wants U.S. senators to “do everything [they] can to Resist Trump.” Organizers see Democratic efforts as “not nearly … enough,” and they vow to raise up primary challengers for any who fail to meet their expectations. The group promises that it “won’t accept anything less than full opposition” to President Trump’s administration.
By its own definition of “full opposition,” there is not a single member of the Democratic caucus who comes close to meeting its criteria. Not one. Including Sanders himself.
The group is run by activists from environmental, racial-equality and immigrants’ rights organizations. Two belonged to the Sanders orbit: Claire Sandberg, former digital organizing director for his presidential campaign, and Kenneth Pennington, a former Sanders Senate and campaign staffer — and former digital director for Our Revolution, Sanders’ post-campaign advocacy organization. At least three other organizers are connected to 350.org, the climate-change activist movement founded by Vermont environmentalist Bill McKibben.
“Our message to Democrats is pretty straightforward: Fight Trump or we’ll find someone who will,” Sandberg told NBC News. “Our goal is not [to] primary every single Democratic member of Congress. It’s to push Democrats who are there to do better.”
The group lists four criteria it believes should be met or exceeded by all Senate Democrats:
- Voting no on all Trump appointees and fighting all of Trump’s legislative priorities
- Fighting the unconstitutional Republican theft of a Supreme Court nomination
- Using Congressional processes and rules of order to systematically bring all business to a crawl to block Trump’s agenda and demand Steve Bannon be fired
- Publicly supporting impeachment if Trump is found to have broken the law or violated the Constitution
According to Seven Days’ own confirmation scorecard, Sanders and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have very similar records on Trump nominees. Out of a total 14 confirmation votes, Leahy has cast eight “no” votes; Sanders has cast 11.
Sanders backed the confirmations of Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin. Leahy supported those three, plus U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon.
A broader scorecard is being maintained by the political website FiveThirtyEight.com. It has tracked Senate votes on nominations, resolutions and other measures put forward by the Trump administration. That’s a total of 19 roll call votes. It found that Sanders voted “with Trump” 15.8 percent of the time; for Leahy, that figure is 31.6 percent. The percentage gap seems large, but the sample size is small; the two men have differed on a mere three votes out of 19.
To put those numbers in perspective, the senator with the lowest “Trump Score” is New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand at 10.5 percent; Sanders is in a five-way tie for second. The Democrat with the highest percentage is West Virginia’s Joe Manchin at 73.7 percent.
On WeWillReplaceYou’s other measures of resistance, Sanders has spoken out against the “Republican theft of a Supreme Court nomination,” but he has not declared outright opposition to Trump’s nominee, U.S. Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch, and Sanders has held back from employing the magic word “filibuster.” He has participated in the confirmation process throughout, with no visible effort to bring congressional business “to a crawl.”
On impeachment, a handful of U.S. representatives have broached the subject, but we have found no evidence that Sanders has done so.
Overall, Sanders’ record on Resisting Trump is fairly typical of the Democratic caucus as a whole, except for a handful of red-state moderates. He speaks loudly but carries an average-sized stick.
It’s a long way ’til 2018, but if WeWillReplaceYou is true to its word, it would have to at least consider finding a progressive candidate to challenge the uncrowned king of American progressivism.
Sanders, who has not spoken to Seven Days since April 2015, did not respond to a request for comment, nor did spokesman Michael Briggs.
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It’s groups like this that are responsible for our government never gets anything done. How does a platform that’s only message is resistant at all costs ever benefit the people? What if Trump were to come up with a path to citizenship plan or a tax code that actually benefits the middle class and encouraged business to create new jobs, would this group still be preaching resistance? How about a platform that seeks out commen ground that benefits all Americans and is not based on politics. If this group and others like it really care about the future of America they would lay off the protest and constant disruption of government and allow the process that the people voted for to take former. It has been less than 30 days and Trump has already completed or tried to complete more campaign promises than most elected officials do over the course of a term. America is already starting to look like a greater place.
Why resist David Shulkin’s nomination? He was the one holdover from Obama’s administration. That both our Senators have not negated all of Trump’s nominations bears testimony of their voting their conscience on what they believe is best for Vermont and the United States. I am wary of all or nothing groups. Is your intent to promote a cause or ideal or is your intent to behave like zealots promoting nothing more than discord?
I remember the days when Bernie ranted, raved and whined about the existence of millionaires “when so many low-income workers and others are suffering.” Now Bernie IS a millionaire! The new targets of his class warfare are “billionaires!!” The price of freedom is income inequality, i.e., some folks are talented, hard-working, or lucky, and earn or inherit high-incomes and/or a fortune. “Amassed fortunes and high-incomes” are the fruits of protecting the individual’s access to “llfe, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Bernie and his ilk want to steal from the middle class and wealthy for re-distribution to his braying,yahoo followers who will keep him and his ilk “on easy street.” And now Mr. Walters indicates Bernie demands a “purity test” for Senate candidates. I sincerely doubt those were Bernie’s words; the only guy I recall demanding a “purity test” was a German sociopath who killed himself in 1945.
It is past the time for folks to start asking Bernie why he won’t talk to Seven Days.
I think it’s time that we, his constituents, start demanding Bernie speak with local media. He needs to be held accountable to the people he currently represents (sorrynotsorry if it eats into his precious book tour time).
For those of you who want to do something tangible to hold your elected officials accountable today, please contact Sanders’ at any of the locations below and demand that as a Vermont Senator he make himself available to the Vermont press:
Washington D.C.:
U.S. Senate
332 Dirksen Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
tel (202) 224-5141
fax (202) 228-0776
Burlington:
1 Church St, 3rd Floor
Burlington, VT 05401
tel (802) 862-0697
tel (800) 339-9834
fax (802) 860-6370
St. Johnsbury:
357 Western Ave. Suite 1B
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
tel (802) 748-9269
fax (802) 748-0302
Bernie doesn’t owe Seven Days shit.
Mt. Philo you are correct Bernie does not owe 7days a thing but he does owe the people of Vermont everything. And 7days is reed by Vermonters every week for free so you would think he would want to use 7days to get his message out. But Bernie only cares about money and a 7days interview does not pay the bills. He is a sell out so it’s time to wake up and vote him out. He no longer represents real Vermonters. #timetovotethebaldguysout
What do you think Bernie is not doing for Vermont? Are you upset that he is not working closely with Trump?
“Bernie doesn’t owe Seven Days shit.”
That’s just false. It was practically embarrassing how they gushed and fawned and drooled over him when he announced for the Presidency. From the spring/summer of 2015 to the convention in 2016, i.e., more than a year, every weekly issue was the “Bernie For President Report”: multiple loving, adoring, uncritical articles in every issue. Not to mention the regular updates online. It was a cheerleading squad disguised as an independent newspaper. And their constant media attention helped him get other media attention. And he loved them back, that is until the national media started paying attention to his campaign and he didn’t need them anymore
He woes them a lot. But now he’s more interested in idiotic “debates” on CNN with crazy Ted Cruz. All for the greater glory of Bernie.
Furthermore, as the Senator from Vermont — not the Senator from New York or California or Europe — he owes it to his constituents to talk to one of Vermont’s largest media outlets.
Selective memory serves you well. Seven Days ran a large assortment of stories that were critical of Bernie. Furthermore, when is the last time Leahy spoke directly to any Vermont media outlet outside of campaigning?
“Furthermore, when is the last time Leahy spoke directly to any Vermont media outlet outside of campaigning?”
Really? Do you mean like 3 weeks ago, when Leahy spoke directly to VPR?
http://digital.vpr.net/post/sen-leahy-his-…
That was not even hard. C’mon. You need to try harder.
And as for 7D running a “large assortment” of stories “critical” of Bernie: How many? Which ones? When? And what was the ratio of critical stories to the weekly sycophantic ones during the “Year of Bernie” at 7D?
And Bernie appeared on VPR too during 7 Days’ dry spell. What’s your point? There were plenty of snarky and unpleasant comments in this paper about Bernie last year, but you probably didn’t notice them, since you apparently agreed with them. Many of us did not.
“What’s your point?”
My point was that Lade’s assertion that Leahy hasn’t spoken to the VT media, was a false statement. Apparently made with no fact-checking before being made. Kinda like our current President. That was my point. What’s yours?
It’s time to get some action going for Bernie’s seat! I would love to see a D or a P run against him! As he isn’t part of either party (he is officially an Independent) there wouldn’t even be a primary)! Maybe Shap Smith or Sue Minter want to step up?