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BERNIE SHOWS HUMILITY AS WELL AS HONESTY
-- AGAIN
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/20/i-was-wrong-bernie-sanders-admits-barbara-lee-only-member-congress-2001-who-had-it
Published on
Friday, December 20, 2019
byCommon Dreams
'I Was Wrong': Bernie Sanders Admits
Barbara Lee Only Member of Congress in 2001 Who Had it Right on Afghan War
"Politicians never ever ever
say that. Ever."
byJon Queally, staff writer
PHOTOGRAPH -- In 2001, Rep. Barbara
Lee (D-Calif.) was the only member of the U.S. House of Representatives to rise
in opposition to the rushed decision to invade Afghanistan following the
attacks of September 11. (Photo: Archive/C-SPAN)
During the Democratic presidential
debate Thursday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders admitted his 2001 vote as a member
of the U.S. House of Representatives to authorize the invasion of Afghanistan
was a mistake—and credited Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California
for being the only lawmaker in Congress to get that decision right at the time.
The moment came after moderators
cited recent reporting on the "Afghanistan Papers" by the Washington
Post who published an exposé last week based on internal government documents
that showed the U.S. government knowingly misled the American people about the
war's progress. Sanders' rival, former vice president Joe Biden, was asked
about his time in Barack Obama's White House and subsequently Sanders was asked
to defend his initial vote to authorize the war when he was still serving in
the U.S. House.
"Well, only one person, my good
friend, Barbara Lee, was right on that issue," responded Sanders.
"She was the only person in the House to vote against the war in
Afghanistan. She was right. I was wrong. So was everybody else in the House."
Sanders was elected to the U.S.
Senate in 2002, where he ended up voting against President George W. Bush's
push to invade Iraq while Biden pushed for the authorization and voted in favor
of it. Watch the exchanges:
Alexis Goldstein 🏳️🌈
Verified account
@alexisgoldstein
14h14 hours ago
@BernieSanders: "In all due
respect to Joe, Joe you're also the guy who led us into the disastrous war in
Iraq. What we need to rethink is the entire war on terror."
#DemDebate
/>
1:18
2 replies17 retweets94 likes
Reply 2 Retweet 17 Like 94
Alexis Goldstein 🏳️🌈
Verified account
@alexisgoldstein
Follow Follow @alexisgoldstein
More
@BernieSanders gives credit to
@RepBarbaraLee on her solo stand against the war in Afghanistan:
"Only one person, my good
friend Barbara Lee, was right on that issue...She was right, I was wrong, and
so was everyone in the House."
#DemDebate
/>
0:23
7:58 PM - 19 Dec 2019
99 Retweets443 Likes
@LilithLiberated
13h13 hours ago
Replying to @alexisgoldstein @Noratoriou5
and 2 others
“I was wrong” Words every leader should be able to say
Anti-war advocates applauded Sanders
for admitting his mistake on Afghanistan, with the Quaker-led Friends Committee
on National Legislation (FCNL) saying the comment was a display of both
"bravery and wisdom":
2 replies17 retweets93 likes
Reply 2 Retweet 17 Like 93
Alexis Goldstein 🏳️🌈
Verified account
@alexisgoldstein
Follow Follow @alexisgoldstein
@BernieSanders gives credit to @RepBarbaraLee
on her solo stand against the war in Afghanistan:
"Only one person, my good
friend Barbara Lee, was right on that issue...She was right, I was wrong, and
so was everyone in the House."
#DemDebate
/>
0:38
7:58 PM - 19 Dec 2019
FCNL Foreign Policy
@FCNLworld
Follow Follow @FCNLworld
More
@RepBarbaraLee was the only member
of the #House to vote against authorizing use of military force in Afghanistan.
That took bravery and wisdom. So glad @SenSanders gave her a shout out on the
#DemDebate stage for that vote! It’s time more members commit to
#endingendlesswar.
7:38 PM - 19 Dec 2019
Stephen Miles, executive director
for Win Without War, also gave kudos to Sanders for his shout out to Lee and
"pointing out that she was right in 2001 and every single other member of
Congress got it wrong."
For other observers, the honesty of
the admission was noted as a political rarity:
Aisha Ahmad
@aishaismad
Bernie Sanders re continued ground
presence of troops in Afghanistan: 'I was wrong'
Politicians never ever ever say
that. Ever. This guy is a fucking gem.
2,344
10:05 PM - Dec 19, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
398 people are talking about this
While Sanders acknowledged what
believes was a mistake and reiterated his call to end the nation's
"endless wars" by bringing the U.S. soldiers home, Democratic rival
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana who is also a veteran of the
U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, subsequently stated his position that the U.S.
had "no choice" but to invade the country in 2001.
Our work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish
and share widely.
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**** ****
**** ****
DECEMBER 21,
2019
NEWS AND VIEWS
LARGE MONEY
DONATIONS TO THE BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN, WHO THEY WERE AND WHEN THEY OCCURRED.
THIS ABC STORY COMES FROM JULY 2019.
Bernie Sanders
accepted pharma executives' donations prior to new pledge
"Some
money may need to be returned," Sanders' campaign said.
By
Soo Rin Kim,
Adam Kelsey
and
Lissette
Rodriguez
July 17, 2019,
5:06 PM
PHOTOGRAPH -- Bernie
Sanders' 'No health insurance and pharma money pledge'
Sanders called
on fellow Democratic presidential candidates Wednesday to reject donations from
health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
Jacqueline
Larma/AP
Bernie Sanders
called on his fellow Democratic presidential candidates Wednesday to reject
donations from health insurance and pharmaceutical industry executives during
what was labeled as a "major address" in Washington, D.C., but an ABC
News review of FEC records earlier in the day found that Sanders himself
accepted some of the same types of donations earlier in the campaign cycle.
As part of
Sanders' "No Health Insurance and Pharma Money Pledge," which his
campaign previewed in a press release Wednesday morning ahead of the
"Medicare for All" speech he delivered later in the day, the senator
promised "to not take contributions from the health insurance or
pharmaceutical industry."
Bernie Sanders
✔
@BernieSanders
If you’re a
pharmaceutical executive, or a health insurance lobbyist, keep your money. I
don’t want it.
What I want is
for every person in this country to have the dignity of being able to get the
medical care they need, when they need it. I want #MedicareForAll.
3,696
1:23 PM - Jul
17, 2019
Twitter Ads
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talking about this
The pledge
specifically identifies "contributions over $200 from the PACs, lobbyists,
or executives of health insurance or pharmaceutical companies," excluding
what it terms "rank-and-file workers employed by pharmaceutical giants and
health insurance companies." It additionally provides a list of
"companies covered by the pledge," which are members of the America’s
Health Insurance Plans association and Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America group.
In a review of
Sanders' publicly available campaign donation information, ABC News identified
at least three contributions of more than $200 from two individual donors who
could be considered executives at companies included on the list.
(MORE: Sanders
set to mount vigorous defense of 'Medicare for All')
One of the
individuals who gave to the Sanders campaign is Lynn McRoy, who identifies
herself on her LinkedIn page as vice president and global medical lead, breast
cancer at Pfizer. She's additionally identified as the breast cancer lead with
U.S. Medical Affairs at Pfizer Oncology in an October 2018 press release.
Pfizer is among numerous pharmaceutical companies on Sanders' list.
ABC News found
at least four contributions from McRoy to Sanders thus far in 2019, including
one of $500 and another of $250, which would be in violation of the pledge if
McRoy is considered an "executive."
Dr. Rene Rubin
listens to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, make remarks at a
rally alongside unions, hospital workers and community members against the
closure of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, July 15, 2019.
Jacqueline
Larma/AP
McRoy's
additional two donations, of $100 and $70, fall below the pledge's $200
threshold, though were given within eight and three days, respectively, of her
$250 contribution on March 28.
Another
donation of $1,000 came from Schiffon Wong, who identifies herself on LinkedIn
as the executive director, global evidence and value development at EMD Serono,
a company covered on Sanders' list that describes itself as a
“biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the U.S.” Both
EMD Serono and Merck are on Sanders' list.
In each
instance, the job titles of the donors were provided in non-specific terms --
as "medical director" and "researcher" for McRoy and Wong,
respectively. Such descriptors are common in FEC reports and both individuals
disclosed their employers, as is required.
(MORE: Bernie
Sanders relaunches his Medicare-for-all health care legislation)
The Sanders
campaign also received a contribution of $250 from Austin Kim, who is listed as
the executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Acadia
Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded company that produces a drug to treat
Parkinson's disease-related hallucinations. Acadia is not, however, listed on
the pledge's list as it is not a member of Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America.
In response to
ABC News' inquiry about these contributions, the Sanders campaign said it will
be returning them and any other donations that don't meet the parameters of the
pledge.
"This
pledge was launched today with our full knowledge that some money may need to
be returned," Sanders campaign spokesperson Sarah Ford told ABC News.
"We're glad to donate the three donations worth $2700 out of nearly $40
million received since launch."
The campaign's
acceptance of donations from executives in an industry renounced by its
candidate is similar to a situation Sanders' Senate colleague Cory Booker,
D-N.J., found himself in earlier this month when he returned a donation from a
pharmaceutical executive after it was uncovered by ABC News. Booker returned a
$2,800 contribution to his campaign from the executive vice president and chief
compliance officer at Eagle Pharmaceutical, which had been accepted despite the
senator's 2017 vow to no longer take money from pharmaceutical companies.
(MORE: Booker
returns pharma executive's money after he claimed he hadn't accepted any)
Sen. Amy
Klobuchar, D-Minn., another Democratic presidential candidate, who said in June
during the party's first primary that big pharmaceutical companies don't
"own" her, has also accepted nearly $30,000 from individuals
affiliated with the industry this year, including more than $22,000 from
executives and high-level officers of Minnesota-based pharma company Medtronic,
FEC filings show. Klobuchar has not said she would return the pharmaceutical
money she received.
The move by
Sanders to disavow such high-dollar industry donations comes amid a week in
which health care has become a focal point of the Democratic presidential race.
On Monday, former Vice President Joe Biden released a proposal to expand the
Affordable Care Act and provide a public health care option, leading to
criticism from Sanders, whose Medicare for All plan would completely replace the
private insurance industry and place all Americans on a government-run program.
BIDEN DID
IMITATE A CHILD WITH A STUTTER RECENTLY, SEE THE VIDEO BELOW, BUT IT CLEARLY
LACKS THE MALICE OF A SIMILAR IMITATION BY TRUMP SEVERAL YEARS AGO, WHICH MANY OF YOU WILL REMEMBER WITH DISTASTE. FORMER
TRUMP STAFFER SARAH SANDERS DID JUMP IN WITH A STUTTERING COMMENT ABOUT BIDEN,
AND QUICKLY APOLOGIZED FOR IT. THE ARTICLE SAYS THAT BIDEN DID, AS A CHILD,
HAVE A STUTTERING PROBLEM.
An onstage
moment from Thursday night's Democratic debate has sparked a Twitter
back-and-forth between President Donald Trump's former spokeswoman and Joe
Biden.
The former vice
president imitated a stutter as he related a tale of how he connects with
people as he campaigns, including a child who may have had a speech impediment.
Afterward,
former Trump press secretary Sarah Sanders seemed to imitate a stutter as she
tweeted, "I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what
Biden is talking about. #DemDebate."
Sanders
followed up with a tweet saying she wasn't making fun of anyone but
"pointing out I can't follow much of anything Biden is talking
about."
Biden suffered
from a stutter as a child. After the debate, he tweeted in response, "I've
worked my whole life to overcome a stutter" and encouraged
"empathy" to understand those who have experienced the same.
Joe Biden
✔
@JoeBiden
I’ve worked my
whole life to overcome a stutter. And it’s my great honor to mentor kids who
have experienced the same. It’s called empathy. Look it up. https://twitter.com/SarahHuckabee/status/1207863935426322432
…
107K
10:42 PM - Dec
19, 2019
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Sanders then
deleted her two previous tweets and issued an apology: "I actually didn't
know that about you and that is commendable. I apologize and should have made
my point respectfully."
Sarah Huckabee
Sanders
✔
@SarahHuckabee
I actually
didn’t know that about you and that is commendable. I apologize and should have
made my point respectfully. https://twitter.com/joebiden/status/1207868810247757824
…
Joe Biden
✔
@JoeBiden
I’ve worked my
whole life to overcome a stutter. And it’s my great honor to mentor kids who
have experienced the same. It’s called empathy. Look it up.
https://twitter.com/SarahHuckabee/status/1207863935426322432 …
42.1K
11:10 PM - Dec
19, 2019
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are talking about this
Report a
correction or typo
SUGGESTED
VIEWING – THIS VIDEO CLIP, 1:35 MINUTES LONG, OF AN AREA-WIDE KUNG FU EXHIBITION
IN CALIFORNIA TODAY AT 12:10 PM. IT IS REALLY BEAUTIFUL AS WELL AS IMPRESSIVE. SOMEWHERE
ON MY TV VIDEO TAPES, COPIED BY HAND RATHER THAN PURCHASED, IS A ONE HOUR DOCUMENTARY
SHOWING BRUCE LEE AND SOME OTHERS, ONE OF WHOM IS A WOMAN, DOING SEVERAL
DIFFERENT STYLES OF KUNG FU. IT’S EXCITING, AND I HAVE NO DOUBT ALSO LETHAL,
BUT IT’S DANCELIKE AND GRACEFUL.
Martial artists
perform at sixth annual Kung Fu Night in Hayward
By Lauren
Martinez
Saturday,
December 21, 2019 12:10PM
VIDEO -- Martial
artists from different schools around the Bay Area came together under one roof
for the sixth annual Kung Fu Night at Hayward's Chabot College
HAYWARD, Calif.
(KGO) -- Martial artists from different schools around the Bay Area came
together under one roof for the sixth annual Kung Fu Night.
The event was
held inside Chabot College's Performing Arts Center.
Schools that
performed included Fei Shi Fu Kung Fu Academy from Cupertino and International
Chi Institute from Alameda.
Professionals
that performed included 2008 Olympic Martial Arts Champion Zhao Qingjian.
Ethan Levitt
from Alameda came to see his daughter perform.
"Good for
kids for sure. I think discipline, they'll sit quietly, she never sits
quietly," Levitt said.
Tatiana
Grzeszkiewicz was inspired by last year's show and started Kung Fu in May of
this year at Fei Shi Fu.
"My
younger two have been in martial arts now for a few years and last year when I
came to their performance I had seen some adults performing and that motivated
me to join and go ahead and do Kung Fu," Grzeszkiewicz said.
"There's
part meditation, part discipline, also part self-defense,"Grzeszkiewicz
said. "So you learn a bunch of skills in terms of being able to fight
back."
The event was
sponsored by the Fuji Foundation.
Saratoga City
Councilmember Yan Zhao attended the event and presented participants with a
community award.
Report a
correction or typo
SEE THE VERY
LAST COMMENT IN THIS ARTICLE ABOUT REPUBLICAN POLLSTER FRANK LUNTZ. “FRANK
LUNTZ CORRECTED THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT SANDERS WON THE DEBATE ….” GIVEN
THE NUMBER OF SHORT STICKS THAT SANDERS HAS BEEN GIVEN BY POLLSTERS,
POLITICIANS AND MEMBERS OF THE PRESS, I WONDER HOW MANY APPROVALS LUNTZ HAD
FIRST STATED SANDERS’ HAD, AND WHY HE CHANGED IT.
Grapes of Wrath
Bernie won the
Battle of the Wine Cave.
By JEREMY STAHL
DEC 20, 2019 1:45 PM
PHOTOGRAPH -- Bernie
Sanders at Thursday night’s debate
Justin
Sullivan/Getty Images
On Thursday,
Democrats held their sixth presidential debate in Los Angeles and Sen.
Elizabeth Warren sparked the biggest moment of the night when she attacked
Mayor Pete Buttigieg for holding a large-donor fundraiser at a posh, Swarovski
crystal–filled wine cave in California’s Napa Valley.
The clear
winner of the bold, crisp, and delicious exchange between Warren and
Buttigieg, though, was not the senator from Massachusetts or the mayor from
South Bend: It was the senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders.
Sanders’ team
of surrogates had come prepared for a showdown about the wine cave: Senior aide
Jeff Weaver and national co-chairwoman Nina Turner both wore black T-shirts
emblazoned with the URL to a website called PetesWineCave.com. (The link
redirected to a fundraising page for Sanders.) “You see my T-shirt?” Turner
asked reporters. “Yeah, we want to have this fight.”
But it was
Warren who brought up the cave, and Warren who drew the counterattack from
Buttigieg. In the post-debate spin room, Sanders’ supporters seemed practically
giddy that two of their candidate’s biggest rivals had spent the most memorable
moment of the debate tearing each other down on what has long been one of his
signature issues, the corrupting influence of money in politics.
The fight was
particularly good for Sanders for a couple of reasons. First, he barely muddied
himself in it, taking what felt like one minor and relatively friendly shot at
Buttigieg and Biden for their fundraising among billionaires. Warren and
Buttigieg, meanwhile, took center stage in a dogfight that likely did not play
well for either side. “When Democratic candidates attack each other over who
is friendlier to billionaires, their voters hate it,” reported Republican pollster Frank Luntz, who conducted a debate
focus group for the Los Angeles Times. “Dem voters want to hear them attack
problems, not each other.” The Warren-Buttigieg sniping allowed Sanders to
appear to remain above the fray.
The second
reason why this was a clear win for Sanders is that money in politics is an
issue on which, as his surrogates were eager to point out, both Buttigieg and
Warren are more vulnerable than him.
“Every single
candidate [on that stage] has taken some money from billionaires except for
Bernard Sanders,” Turner said to reporters, in a clear reference to Warren.
Weaver was more
explicit, noting that Warren had paid for a Democratic National Committee
voter database with money from a California multimillionaire.
“Her campaign
enticed a big donor in California to give $100,000 to the Democratic Party to
pay for her voter file,” Weaver said. “That’s $100,000 essential benefit from
one big donor. We don’t do that. We pay for our voter file with the DNC with
our $18 contributions.”
Similarly,
Buttigieg, besides defending rich people’s right to participate in politics,
had hit Warren for hypocrisy and what he called a “purity test” standard
she may not be able to pass. After the debate, Warren was peppered with
questions from TV reporters about having accepted large-donor contributions
to her Senate campaign fund, $10.4 million of which she transferred to her
presidential campaign.
“For six years
you did raise money,” David Axelrod pointed out on CNN. “Did you feel corrupted
by the money you were raising?”
Her answer was
oblique. “I saw what it is that people expect in return,” Warren said of her
change of heart. “I understand that the American people who watch this
government work better and better and better for giant corporations and rich
people want to hear someone who credibly can say I can take on the
billionaires.”
When asked a
similar question by a PBS reporter, Warren’s answer focused on the relative
amounts of money involved.* “I raised more than twice the amount of money that
I put into my presidential campaign through small-dollar donations,” Warren
said. “But this is about what we’re doing right now this year. What kind of
conflicts are we are creating?”
This sort of
muddled history, though, speaks to another of Warren’s vulnerabilities that
Sanders’ surrogates seemed eager to exploit: that she has been wishy-washy
in her support for the aggressive left-wing proposals Sanders has consistently
championed.
“He has stood
constantly and strong for ‘Medicare for All.’ He doesn’t change his positions
when things are not polling well,” Turner said in another apparent dig at
Warren, who has backed off her full-throated support for single-payer health
care in recent weeks. “He doesn’t change his position when the heat comes.”
Maybe it was a
little ungracious of the Sanders camp to be harping on the ideological
differences between their candidate and Warren, on a night she delivered
their prepared criticism of Buttigieg for them, without the Vermont senator
having to lift a finger. “Now he’ll be known as the wine cave candidate, I
guess for the rest of his life,” CNN’s Gloria Borger commented of Buttigieg
after the debate.
Indeed,
questions about wine caves dominated the post-debate conversation in the spin
room. When I walked by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, he was being asked about
wine caves and sticking up for one of his state’s major agricultural products.
“In California,
we’re very proud of our wine industry,” Newsom said. “It’s one of America’s
great exports. It’s also a wonderful job creator. So, we should be a little
sensitive about that.”
The focus on
wine caves allowed Sanders’ surrogates to paint Buttigieg—who has taken
the lead in the Iowa caucus as Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden have
fallen and Sanders has climbed into second place according to the most recent
polling average—as an out-of-touch elitist who will be as vulnerable to
Donald Trump as Hillary Clinton was.
“It’s like new
packaging, same old product,” Weaver said. “It failed [against] Trump. Why
would we want to do it again?”
Backstage,
Buttigieg’s surrogates again cited the hypocrisy defense, to which Warren is
much more vulnerable than Sanders.
“Pete’s
demonstrated so much strength as a leader and so much integrity that […]
the best folks could bring this time was a complaint about a fundraisers that
each and every one of them have had in their careers in the Senate or elsewhere
in government,” West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon told me.
Buttigieg’s
team was also eager to paint the attacks on their candidate as the perils of
running a leading campaign.
But when I
asked West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tempore Lindsey P. Horvath how many questions
the group had received that night about wine caves, she didn’t want to answer
directly. “Not as many questions as we’ve gotten about people coming
for Pete, but that’s what you expect when you’re in the front-runner position,”
Horvath said.
It seems
unlikely that Thursday’s debate made his position more favorable. The most
recent poll from Iowa State University has Sanders currently sandwiched between
Buttigieg and Warren in Iowa with 21 percent to Warren’s 18 and Buttigieg’s 24.
According to
Luntz’s Los Angeles focus group, nine people thought Warren won the debate. Fourteen
people thought Sanders, who only had six supporters at the start of the night,
won. Zero people in that survey thought Buttigieg won.
Correction,
Dec. 20, 2019: This article originally misidentified a PBS reporter as a CBS
reporter.
Update, Dec. 20,
2019, at 3:09 p.m.: This article has been updated to reflect that Frank Luntz corrected the number of people who thought
Sanders won the debate.
Support our
2020 coverage
Slate is
covering the election issues that matter to you. Support our work with a Slate
Plus membership. You’ll also get a suite of great benefits.
A WINE CAVE IS
APPARENTLY SOMETHING THAT MEETS A REAL NEED RATHER THAN JUST SOMETHING FOR
WEALTHY PEOPLE TO USE TO SHOW OFF THEIR EXTENSIVE WINE STORES. MANY TO MOST
PROBABLY DON’T HAVE LUXURIOUS DINING AREAS IN THEM, AS DOES THE ONE THAT BUTTIGEIG
WAS ALLOWED TO USE. I WONDER WHAT THAT COST HIM.
THE RIDICULOUSLY
EXPENSIVE CRYSTAL, SWAROVSKI CRYSTALS, USED IN EVERYTHING FROM JEWELRY TO SCULPTURE TO CHANDELIERS IS FOUND ON
THE INTERNET.
Wine caves are
subterranean structures for the storage and the aging of wine. They are an
integral component of the wine industry worldwide. The design and construction of
wine caves represents a unique application of underground construction
techniques.
The storage of
wine in extensive underground space is an extension of the culture of wine
cellar rooms, both offering the benefits of energy efficiency and optimum use of
limited land area. Wine caves naturally provide both high humidity and cool
temperatures, which are key to the storage and aging of wine.
“IT’S JUST NOT
FAIR!”
The billionaire
owner of the glitzy wine cave that Pete Buttigieg fundraised at says 'it's just
not fair' to be seen as a symbol of excess.
Kat Tenbarge December 21, 2019
Photograph -- A
promotional photo of the "wine cave" where Mayor Pete Buttigieg held
a fundraiser. Twitter/@HALLWines
Photograph -- Democratic
presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., right, speaks as South
Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg listens during a Democratic presidential primary
debate Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Associated Press
The owner of
the glitzy "wine cave" that Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Mayor
Pete Buttigieg for fundraising in has spoken out since the debate over
billionaire donors re-erupted.
"They're
making me out to be something that's not true," Craig Hall, who owns Hall
Wines with his wife Kathryn Hall, told The New York Times. "And they
picked the wrong pawn. It's just not fair."
During the
Democratic presidential primary debate on Thursday, Warren said
"billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president," in
reference to Buttigieg's recent Hall Wines event.
Hall, who has
donated millions to Democrats since the 1980s, told the Times that he is seen
as the most liberal among his wealthy friends and business colleagues, and felt
unfairly targeted during the debate.
The billionaire
owner of the Swarovski crystal-studded "wine cave" that became
a subject of fiery debate during Thursday's Democratic presidential primary
debate felt unfairly targeted by Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Warren
commented that "billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next
president of the United States," in reference to a $2,800 ticket to a
fundraising event held by Mayor Pete Buttigieg at Hall Wines in Napa Valley.
Andrew Yang
backed Warren up, suggesting that candidates shouldn't have to "shake the
money tree in the wine cave," while Buttigieg responded that his net worth
was one-hundredth of Warren's and that wealthy donors wouldn't influence his
politics – an argument Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders have argued against.
Hall Wines
owners Craig and Kathryn Hall have donated at least $2.4 million to Democrats
since the 1980s, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Kamala Harris.
Craig Hall told the New York Times that he and his wife were frustrated to hear
their glitzy wine cave enter the debate.
"I'm just
a pawn here," Hall, who said he had not settled on a favorite candidate
but liked Buttigieg, said. "They're making me out to be something that's
not true. And they picked the wrong pawn. It's just not fair."
The Halls and
other winery owners in the California region felt like the wine cave was
mischaracterized as excessive or snobbish, when in reality, wine has to be
stored cool and wine caves are popular around the world to save money.
In Texas, where
Hall owns the Hall Group, he told the Times he is viewed as the most liberal
among friends and business colleagues. The Hall Group oversees a financial
services company, wineries, art exhibits, and a luxury hotel. Kathryn Hall, a
lawyer, was appointed as the US ambassador to Austria under former President
Bill Clinton after the couple donated to his re-election campaign.
Campaign
fundraisers aren't uncommon at the Halls' wine cave, where a chandelier with
1,500 Swarovski crystals hangs over the dining table. But Hall said the candidates
onstage at the debates misjudge them.
"These
people don't know who they're talking about when they throw me in the class
that they did," he said. "As much as it's frustrating, it's more
disappointing to me that Democrats are fighting with each other when we have a
common goal, which is to get back to the White House."
Warren's
remarks angered other prominent Democrats, including actress Jane Lynch, who
characterized her attack on the wine cave as "class warfare." Lynch
faced quick blowback on Twitter.
Hall told the
Times that he hopes he doesn't have to back Warren or Sanders, and that he
"plans to" back whoever becomes the Democratic nominee, "but
there may be some holding my nose."
Despite
Warren's criticism of the fundraiser, The Associated Press reported that Warren
held a high-dollar wine fundraiser in 2018.
Read more:
Jane Lynch
criticized Elizabeth Warren for stoking 'class warfare' and praised 'guileless'
Pete Buttigieg
There are just
6 weeks until the first primary. Here's where the Democratic contenders stand
based on gender, race, age, and geography.
The financial sector
is lining up behind Pete Buttigieg. He leads his 2020 campaign rivals in Wall
Street contributions.
Inside the Napa
Valley 'wine cave' fundraiser that Pete Buttigieg was slammed for attending,
where guests paid $2,800 to dine under a chandelier covered in 1,500 Swarovski
crystals
NOW WATCH:
Inside New York's exclusive wine tastings for billionaires
More: Wine cave
Craig Hall Pete Buttigieg Elizabeth Warren
THE NATURE OF
THE WEALTH RELATED PROBLEM THAT DEMOCRATS HAVE IS BECOMING CLEAR TO ME FROM READING
THIS ARTICLE. I DON'T OFTEN GET A CHANCE TO USE THIS WORD, BUT THE LIFESTYLE OF THESE RICH FOLKS IS ABSOLUTELY BAROQUE IN IT'S LURID WASTE OF GOOD MONEY IN THE PURCHASING OF USELESS THINGS, WHEN PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP ARE JUST SCRAPING BY. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT FLAMINGO TONGUE IS NOT ON ANY OF THE MENUS
AT THESE DINNERS, AS IN THE CASE OF THE ROMANS.
AS FOR SANDERS, YES HE WROTE A
SERIES OF BEST SELLERS AND HAS ACCUMULATED IN THE RANGE OF $2,000,000, FOR
WHICH REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED TO SHAME HIM. COMPARE THAT TO THE FIGURES GIVEN BELOW.
BOTH SANDERS AND WARREN IN THE PAST HAVE TAKEN SOME MONEY DONATIONS BEYOND THE
GRASSROOTS $17 AVERAGE, BUT NOT WITHIN A PERIOD OF MONTHS WHEN SANDERS VOWED TO
TAKE NO MORE, UNTIL THE ELECTION, I PRESUME.
WARREN IS SAID IN
AN INTERNET SOURCE TO HAVE A NET WORTH OF SOME $4,000,000. BOTH ARE FAR LESS
ACTIVE IN THESE HIGH DOLLAR FUNDRAISERS THAN OTHERS, AND SANDERS DOESN’T DO
THEM AT ALL. IF SOME REPORT COMES OUT PROVING THAT THE CASE IS DIFFERENT
FROM THIS, I WILL BE SADDENED DEEPLY. I AM CONFIDENT THAT IT WON’T HAPPEN, HOWEVER.
THE EXTENT OF
THE LUXURY DESCRIBED IN THIS ARTICLE AND THE AMAZING NUMBER OF BILLIONAIRES IN
THIS COUNTRY (ASSUMING THAT ALL THESE DONORS ARE AMERICAN) IS WHAT IS MAKING ME
FEEL ILL, HOWEVER. ONE BILLIONAIRE WHO SPENDS EXORBITANTLY IS, THOUGH
DISGUSTING, NOT A SHOCK. FORTY-FIVE AND MAYBE MORE BILLIONAIRES SHOULDN’T EXIST
IN THIS COUNTRY. I AGREE WITH BERNIE ON THAT, AND THEIR MONEY SHOULDN’T FIND
ITS’ WAY INTO THE COFFERS OF DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES. LET IT TAINT THE REPULICANS ONLY. AFTER ALL, IT IS THEIR STOCK IN TRADE.
BUSINESS INSIDER IS TURNING
OUT TO BE A VERY INTERESTING NEWS SOURCE. ON SWAROVSKI CRYSTALS, SEE: https://www.romadesignerjewelry.com/blogs/education/9-amazing-facts-about-swarovski-jewelry.
ARE THEY “CRYSTALS” LIKE QUARTZ OR MANY OTHER KINDS OF CRYSTALS? NO. THEY ARE
ORNAMENTS AND SCULPTURES MADE OF LEAD CRYSTAL GLASS, BUT WITH ASTOUNDING PRICE TAGS –
TOYS FOR THE RICH AND WANNABE FAMOUS.
Inside the Napa
Valley 'wine cave' fundraiser that Pete Buttigieg was slammed for attending, where
guests paid $2,800 to dine under a chandelier covered in 1,500 Swarovski
crystals
Taylor Nicole
Rogers and Melissa Wiley Dec 20, 2019,
3:28 PM
Photograph -- Pete
Buttigieg received donations from 39 billionaires in the first 11 months
of 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
During the
Democratic Presidential Debate on Thursday night, Elizabeth Warren slammed Pete
Buttigieg for attending a fundraiser dinner with billionaires in a Napa Valley
wine cave.
Photos of the
Napa fundraising event, which took place on Sunday, showed Buttigieg speaking
with guests under a chandelier containing 1,500 Swarovski crystals.
Netflix CEO
Reed Hastings and family members of his fellow Silicon Valley billionaires
Sergey Brin, Sheryl Sandberg, and Eric Schmidt hosted a separate glitzy
fundraiser for Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign in Palo Alto, California,
Recode's Teddy Schleifer reported on December 13.
Buttigieg
received donations from 39 billionaires in the first 11 months of 2019.
Sens. Bernie
Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have sought to make taking campaign donations from
the ultra-wealthy into a taboo in the Democratic presidential primary.
Visit Business
Insider's homepage for more stories.
Pete Buttigieg
schmoozed with billionaires at a winery in Napa Valley, California last
weekend — and Elizabeth Warren slammed him for it at the Democratic
Presidential Debate on Thursday night.
"Billionaires
in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,"
she said.
A group of 150
to 200 Buttigieg supporters gathered at Hall Rutherford winery for the
fundraiser, according to a Pete for America pool report provided to Business
Insider. Guests dined at a table made of onyx and under a chandelier
containing 1,500 Swarovski crystals, as previously reported by Brian Slodysko
of the Associated Press and seen in photos of the event shared by
Schleifer. Guests had to make a donation of up to $2,800 to
Buttigieg's campaign to attend, according to Recode.
For $1,000,
guests got to take a photo with Buttigieg. For $2,800, they could be listed as
cohosts, according to the pool report. Hall Rutherford's owner, Kathryn Hall,
who previously served as the US ambassador to Austria, was the event's
host.
Buttigieg told
attendees that the event — along with meeting Lizzo earlier in the week — was a
highlight of his trip to San Francisco, according to the pool report.
Schleifer
shared photos of the Napa Valley event on Twitter. The photos were originally
shared on Instagram but appear to have since been removed.
Teddy Schleifer
✔
@teddyschleifer
Here are some
photos of the Buttigieg fundraiser in Napa -- with the famous wine cave and the
chandelier with 1,500 Swarovski crystals -- that @BrianSlodysko wrote
about.https://www.instagram.com/p/B6H4aipBK_z/?igshid=b0spab7ikq16 …
View image on
TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter
6,548
3:22 PM - Dec
16, 2019
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This is not the
only time Buttigieg has crossed paths with California's wealthy. On Monday, he
attended a fundraiser in Palo Alto cohosted by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings; the
Google cofounder Sergey Brin's wife, Nicole Shanahan; the former Google CEO
Eric Schmidt's wife, Wendy Schmidt; and Michelle Sandberg, the sister of
Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, a campaign document
obtained by Recode's Teddy Schleifer indicates. These hosts' families combined
have an estimated net worth of $80 billion, according to Recode.
Buttigieg isn't
the only Democratic contender courting billionaires
Sen. Kamala
Harris of California — who dropped out of the race on December 3 — received
donations from 46 billionaires this year. Among her donors were oil heirs
Gordon and Ann Getty, the filmmaker George Lucas, the investor Dean
Metropoulos, and the philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs.
Sen. Cory
Booker of New Jersey had donations from 45 billionaires as of November, according
to Forbes. Booker's ultra-wealthy donors include the hedge-fund
manager Bill Ackman, the producer Andres Santo Domingo, the Google chairman
(and Booker's former business partner) Eric Schmidt, and the filmmaker Steven
Spielberg, Forbes reported.
Former Vice
President Joe Biden has accepted donations from 44 billionaires. Buttigieg has
the support of 39, according to Forbes.
Sens. Bernie
Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have sought to make taking campaign donations from
the ultra-wealthy into a taboo in the Democratic presidential primary. Sanders
vowed not to accept funds from any billionaires, and he even returned a $470
donation from a billionaire's wife in November, Forbes reported.
Get the latest
Google stock price here.
“OVER 300
PROMINENT DEMOCRATS ENDORSED SANDERS AHEAD OF THE EVENT.” OH, REALLY?
INTERESTING. ALL ARE FROM CALIFORNIA, SO I WONDER HOW MANY THERE ARE ACROSS THE
NATION. SOME OF THE PEOPLE QUOTED ALSO SPEAK OF HIM IN GLOWING TERMS. THE FACT
IS THAT HE IS THE FIRST CANDIDATE WHO IS ALL OUT 100% FOR THE PEOPLE IN MANY YEARS IN EITHER PARTY, AND MANY
OF US ARE DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
THERE IS NO
DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT HIS BEING MUCH LESS INFLUENCED BY MONEY THAN THE AVERAGE POLITICIAN
IS BEHIND THAT, PLUS THE FACT THAT HE COMES FROM A JEWISH HOME. YOU CAN ASK WHY
TO THAT, BUT I WILL SIMPLY SAY THAT JESUS WAS A JEW, AND JEWS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN
BEHIND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES SUCH AS CIVIL RIGHTS. I THINK IT’S PARTLY BECAUSE OF THEIR
ETHICAL STANDARDS WHICH CHRISTIANS INHERITED FROM THEM, AND PARTLY BECAUSE THEY THEMSELVES HAVE BEEN TREATED
DESPICABLY DOWN THROUGH THESE SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS. THEY KNOW WHAT IT FEELS
LIKE.
Published on
Saturday,
December 21, 2019
byCommon Dreams
Watch Live:
Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rally in Los Angeles
byEoin Higgins,
staff writer
PHOTOGRAPH -- Democratic
presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) holds hands with Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) during his speech at a campaign rally in
Queensbridge Park on October 19, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City.
(Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty Images)
Bernie Sanders'
2020 Democratic campaign announced just before holding a rally with New York
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Los Angeles Saturday that the Vermont
senator's candidacy has the endorsement of over 300 prominent Californians.
"We need a
president who is committed to caring for the people of this country—from the
men and women who bravely wore our nation's uniform to the young people who are
sleeping on our streets," Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, president of the
California Young Democrats, said in a statement. "Bernie Sanders has
always fulfilled our moral obligation to lift up all Americans and give them
the opportunities they deserve to thrive."
Sanders and six
of his rivals debated onstage at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles on
Thursday.
For Oakland
city councilmember Nikki Bas, Sanders' long record of fighting for the working
class puts him above the other Democrats vying for the nomination.
"Having
fought for the rights and dignity of working immigrant women for two decades, I
trust Bernie Sanders to be a champion for justice for all of us," said
Bas. "Our nation needs a bold, principled leader who will end status quo
politics and put the needs of everyday people before corporate profits."
The
endorsements come as Sanders is surging in polling nationwide and in California
particularly. The senator is leading in the state in recent polls, showing
significant strength in an important testing ground for his message and
electability.
The Sanders
campaign's California state director Rafael Návar said the
endorsements were a testament to the coalition behind the senator's run.
"We are
proud to have the endorsement of some of California's most progressive and
dedicated elected officials, community leaders, and academics," Návar
said. "We have the grassroots support we need to win this election, and
with these leaders on our side, Bernie Sanders will become the next President
of the United States."
Watch the
rally:
[GO TO THE COMMON
DREAMS WEBSITE.]
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licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel
free to republish and share widely.
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the world to be a better place. But we can't do it alone. It doesn't work that
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matters—please do. Without Your Support We Won't Exist.
HERE ARE TWO BACK
TO BACK SANDERS/AOC EVENTS TODAY, UNDOUBTEDLY REQUIRING AN AIR TRIP TO MAKE BOTH. EITHER HE
IS HAVING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FUN WITH ALL OF THESE APPEARANCES, OR HE IS
DETERMINED TO SEE THE PEOPLE IN EACH STATE. EITHER WAY, IT’S GOOD ADVERTISING
FOR HIMSELF AND HIS POSITIONS ON THE ISSUES, AND MAYBE AS INFLUENTIAL ON PUBLIC
OPINION AS A MEGAMEDIA NEWS REPORT WOULD BE, WITHOUT THE SAME LIKELIHOOD OF ANTI-BERNIE
BIAS POPPING UP.
Rally in Los
Angeles with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and ...
https://events.berniesanders.com
› event
Saturday,
December 21, 2019 Doors open at 10:30 a.m., event starts at 12:00 ...
Rally in Los
Angeles with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders
Hosted by
Bernie Sanders for California
Windward Plaza
1 Windward Ave
Venice, CA
90291
Saturday,
December 21, 2019
Doors open at
10:30 a.m., event starts at 12:00 p.m.
Parking is
extremely limited; attendees are strongly encouraged to walk, bike, carpool or
take public transportation. Expect traffic delays. The Uber and Lyft ride share
drop-off point is located on Windward Circle and bike parking valet will be
located on Market St. at Speedway .
Metro buses run
from L.A. to Venice Beach via the following routes: . . . .
Rally in Las
Vegas with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders
Hosted by
Bernie Sanders for Nevada
Chaparral High
School Gym
3850 Annie
Oakley Dr
Las Vegas, NV
89121
Saturday,
December 21, 2019
Doors open at
4:00 p.m., event starts at 5:30 p.m.
BERNIE SHOWS
HOW TO FIRE UP A CROWD
Green New Deal
Town Hall in Moreno Valley
11,311 views • DECEMBER
20, 2019
THUMBS UP 1.2K
THUMBS DOWN 31
GREEN NEW DEAL
NOW: We are going to take on the greed of the fossil fuel industry. We are
going to pass a Green New Deal to save the planet from climate catastrophe and
create 20 million jobs. Join us live from Moreno Valley:
Category News & Politics
SOME DOZEN
HISPANIC PEOPLE – MAYBE MEXICAN, BY THEIR CLOTHING -- INTRODUCE THE RALLY WITH A FANTASTIC MUSIC
AND DANCE SHOW IN NATIVE COSTUME. I RECOMMEND WATCHING THEM, IF ONLY FOR THE
MUSIC. BERNIE ALSO GIVES AN EXCEPTIONAL SPEECH.
Bernie Rallies
for Immigration Reform
12,028 views • Streamed
live 12 hours ago (DECEMBER 20)
Bernie Sanders
261K subscribers
NO HATE AGAINST
IMMIGRANTS: Donald Trump thinks he can win by demonizing immigrants and
dividing us up by the color of our skin. We are going to do the opposite and
bring our people together. We are going to create a just immigration system
that treats asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants with dignity. Live from
San Ysidro:
Category News & Politics
THIS
CHRISTIANITY TODAY EDITORIAL IS UNEXPECTED, BUT WELCOME. I HAVE WONDERED HOW IN
HEAVEN’S NAME SO MANY CHRISTIANS COULD HAVE SUPPORTED HIM. HE GOES AGAINST ALL
THAT THE CHURCHES ADVOCATE. ONE OF TODAY'S ARTICLES SAID THAT EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS ARE INTERESTED IN THE NUMBER OF CONSERVATIVE JUDGES THAT HE HAS APPOINTED. THAT'S SCARY.
Evangelical
Magazine Christianity Today Calls for Trump’s Removal
The magazine
said the president had abused his power and violated the Constitution. Mr.
Trump responded by saying he had done more for evangelicals than any
other president.
By Elizabeth
Dias
Dec. 19, 2019
PHOTOGRAPH -- President
Trump with Tony Perkins, left, president of the Family Research Council, and
Andrew Brunson at Values Voter Summit this year.
President Trump
with Tony Perkins, left, president of the Family Research Council, and Andrew
Brunson at Values Voter Summit this year.Credit...Pool photo by Pete Marovich
Christianity
Today, a prominent evangelical magazine, called for President Trump to be
removed from office in a blistering editorial on Thursday, a day after he
became the third president in history to be impeached and face expulsion by the
Senate.
The move was
the most notable example of dissent among the religious conservative base
that has supported Mr. Trump through controversy after controversy, and
came at one of the most vulnerable moments of his presidency.
“The president
of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign
leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents,”
Mark Galli, the editor in chief of Christianity Today, wrote in the editorial.
“That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is
profoundly immoral.”
EXCERPTS Read
five of the sharpest rebukes in the Christianity Today editorial.
The editorial
was a surprising move for a publication that has generally avoided jumping into
bitter partisan battles. But it was unlikely to signal a significant change in
Mr. Trump’s core support; the magazine has long represented more centrist
thought, and popular evangelical leaders with large followings continue to
rally behind the president.
“My father
would be embarrassed,” Franklin Graham said in an interview of how his father,
Billy Graham, who founded the magazine in 1956, would view the move. The
younger Mr. Graham has often defended the president.
“It is not
going to change anybody’s mind about Trump,” he added. “There’s a liberal
element within the evangelical movement. Christianity Today represents that.”
Mr. Trump also
harshly criticized the magazine in a pair of tweets on Friday morning, calling
it “far left” and saying he had done more for evangelicals than any other
president.
Mr. Trump said
the magazine “knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a
routine phone call and would rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who
wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your
President.”
Editors’ Picks
Democrats
Sparred Over a Wine Cave Fund-Raiser. Its Billionaire Owner Isn’t Pleased.
‘S.N.L.’
Presents Kellyanne Conway’s ‘Marriage Story,’ Plus Baby Yoda
She Changed the
Way We Eat. She Wants to Fix Our Democracy, Too.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
A far left
magazine, or very “progressive,” as some would call it, which has been doing
poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years,
Christianity Today, knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a
routine phone call and would rather.....
79.4K
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20, 2019
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Mr. Galli’s
words appealed directly to Mr. Trump’s evangelical base, a group that he said
continues “to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record,” in
the apparent hope of rallying a fragmented resistance.
“Remember who
you are and whom you serve,” he wrote. “If we don’t reverse course now, will
anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any
seriousness for decades to come?”
The piece drew
so much attention that the publication’s website initially crashed. Many
liberal Christians expressed relief and amazement at the move.
“The heart of
white evangelicalism is realizing that its pulse is weak, and that there is
sickness in the faith,” said Lisa Sharon Harper, president of FreedomRoad.us, a
Christian justice group.
“The fact that
it took them so long is something they must learn from,” she added. “But I’m
glad they spoke out.”
Opposition to
Mr. Trump among white evangelicals remains exceedingly rare, especially in
heated moments. Nearly all — 99 percent — of Republican white evangelical
Protestants said they opposed Mr. Trump’s impeachment in a recent poll by
the Public Religion Research Institute.
Christianity
Today, a publication based in the Chicago suburbs, has about 80,000 print
subscribers and publishes news and commentary to appeal to evangelical
audiences, in the tradition of Billy Graham.
“The beloved
evangelist felt the urgent need for balanced reporting, biblical commentary and
a loving posture” on issues facing Christians, the group says of its mission
on its website.
Though it
reaches top evangelical influencers, the publication’s subscriber base is about
the equivalent of a handful of megachurches. First Baptist Dallas, which is
led by Robert Jeffress, a vocal supporter of the president, alone has about
13,000 members.
The editorial
is also perhaps a final word from Mr. Galli, who announced his
retirement in October. His departure is effective Jan. 3, 2020.
The magazine is
not united about Mr. Galli’s call to remove Mr. Trump. A member of
Christianity Today’s board of directors, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, released a
17-paragraph statement opposing impeachment after the House vote on
Wednesday. The editorial, he said in an interview on Thursday evening, came as
a surprise.
“Christianity
Today is very apolitical,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “We don’t do politics, we
don’t even bring up politics in a board meeting.”
He added: “I
don’t think it should affect anything.”
The publication
had previously expressed concern about Mr. Trump in an editorial before the
2016 election, after old footage surfaced of him making lewd comments about
women.
“To indulge in
sexual immorality is to make oneself and one’s desires an idol,” the column
said. “That Trump has been, his whole adult life, an idolater of this sort, and
a singularly unrepentant one, should have been clear to everyone.”
The magazine
also took President Bill Clinton to task for “unsavory dealings and immoral
acts” in 1998, after Mr. Clinton publicly acknowledged his relationship with
Monica S. Lewinsky.
“Unfortunately,
the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to
our current president,” Mr. Galli wrote.
Evangelicals
who have remained unsettled by Mr. Trump have often found it difficult to
gain an audience among their own ranks. During his time in office, Mr. Trump’s
anti-abortion policies and appointment of conservative justices have
assuaged many who reluctantly voted for him in 2016, and have even drawn new
supporters.
Despite this
record, “none of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political
danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character,” Mr. Galli
said. “That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan
loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.”
Michael
Levenson contributed reporting.
A CHRISTIAN
SPEAKS OUT, AND VERY WELL.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html
Trump Should Be
Removed from Office
It’s time to
say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what
it was.
MARK GALLI
DECEMBER 19,
2019
Image: Donald
Trump Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images
In our founding
documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today [CT] will help
evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith.
The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our
republic. It requires comment.
The typical CT
approach is to stay above the fray and allow Christians with different
political convictions to make their arguments in the public square, to
encourage all to pursue justice according to their convictions and treat their
political opposition as charitably as possible. We want CT to be a place that
welcomes Christians from across the political spectrum, and reminds
everyone that politics is not the end and purpose of our being. We take
pride in the fact, for instance, that politics does not dominate our homepage.
That said, we
do feel it necessary from time to time to make our own opinions on political
matters clear—always, as Graham encouraged us, doing so with both conviction
and love. We love and pray for our president, as we love and pray for
leaders (as well as ordinary citizens) on both sides of the political aisle.
Let’s grant
this to the president: The Democrats have had it out for him from day one, and
therefore nearly everything they do is under a cloud of partisan suspicion. This
has led many to suspect not only motives but facts in these recent impeachment
hearings. And, no, Mr. Trump did not have a serious opportunity to offer his
side of the story in the House hearings on impeachment.
But the facts
in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted
to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit
one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the
Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.
The reason many
are not shocked about this is that this president has dumbed down the idea
of morality in his administration. He has hired and fired a number of
people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral
actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains
proud. His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of
mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human
being who is morally lost and confused.
Trump’s evangelical
supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious
liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as
achievements that justify their support of the president. We believe the
impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller
investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for
personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachment
hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This
damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our
country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the
president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under
a leader of such grossly immoral character.
This concern
for the character of our national leader is not new in CT. In 1998, we wrote
this:
The President's
failure to tell the truth—even when cornered—rips at the fabric of the nation.
This is not a private affair. For above all, social intercourse is built on
a presumption of trust: trust that the milk your grocer sells you is
wholesome and pure; trust that the money you put in your bank can be taken out
of the bank; trust that your babysitter, firefighters, clergy, and ambulance
drivers will all do their best. And while politicians are notorious for
breaking campaign promises, while in office they have a fundamental obligation
to uphold our trust in them and to live by the law.
And this:
Unsavory
dealings and immoral acts by the President and those close to him have rendered
this administration morally unable to lead.
Unfortunately,
the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to
our current president. Whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office by the
Senate or by popular vote next election—that is a matter of prudential
judgment. That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan
loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.
To the many
evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral
record, we might say this: Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider
how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and
Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush
off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency.
If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice
and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come? Can we say with a
straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and,
with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our
nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?
We have
reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now. Some have criticized us for our
reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient
charity must come first. So we have done our best to give evangelical Trump
supporters their due, to try to understand their point of view, to see the
prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding
Mr. Trump. To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say
that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are
playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence.
And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the
table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash
down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding
of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and
women whose welfare is also our concern.
Mark Galli is
editor in chief of Christianity Today.
**** ****
**** ****
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