Hey Bernie Sanders, knock it the hell off!
It’s still not entirely clear who won the Iowa caucus, and we may never get undisputed results out of the state. Did Bernie Sanders win? Did Pete Buttigieg win? The whole thing was a mess. But what is clear is that Buttigieg massively outperformed expectations in the state. This means all eyes are now on him, to see if he can capitalize on his moment. All eyes are also on Bernie to see how he might respond to Pete’s sudden rise.
Unfortunately for all involved, Bernie Sanders decided to take the low road. He tweeted “This election is fundamentally about whose side you are on.” He then added the hashtag #PetesBillionaires – implying that Buttigieg is on the side of the billionaires instead of on the side of the working class. If you look at Pete’s policies, this is a ridiculous false claim, and it’s also disturbingly divisive on Bernie’s part. Plenty of people were quick to tell him so.
Tim Matheson, who portrayed Vice President John Hoynes on The West Wing, tweeted this at Bernie in response: “Oh, stop already! Pete is a fine man, a veteran, and a formidable candidate. He isn’t owned by anyone. Oh, AND HE’S ALWAYS BEEN A DEMOCRAT.” Rosmah Mansor piled on: “This is so tacky. Can we please keep our eyes on the prize, and attack fat Donnie and his IQ/ Ethically-challenged Trumptards, please? PSA over – Thank you.”
Of course, as Palmer Report explained last night, winning the Democratic nomination requires doing well with black voters in early primary states like South Carolina. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are both polling rather poorly in the state. If their poll numbers are accurate, neither one has much of a shot at the nomination unless they can find a way to expand their appeal to a more diverse audience. Bernie’s ludicrous attack on Pete today won’t help him achieve that goal.
