In recent years, Sanders has been billed as one of the hosts for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's retreats for the "Majority Trust" -- an elite group of top donors who give more than $30,000 per year -- at Martha's Vineyard in the summer and Palm Beach, Florida, in the winter. CNN has obtained invitations that listed Sanders as a host for at least one Majority Trust event in each year since 2011.
And …
A Democratic lobbyist and donor who has attended the retreats told CNN that about 25% of the attendees there represent the financial sector -- and that Sanders and his wife, Jane, are always present.
"At each of the events all the senators speak. And I don't recall him ever giving a speech attacking us," the donor said. "While progressive, his remarks were always in the mainstream of what you hear from senators."
Please read the entire article for full context. But here’s some takeaways from my perspective.
- Bernie is part of the establishment. I always thought it was rather silly for someone who was a member of “the world’s most exclusive club” to claim otherwise
- Bernie has been a good Democrat even when he wasn’t a registered Democrat, helping the party raise money
- Bernie has been helped in his campaigns by the DSCC, which he knew was raising money from big donors, and he never rejected the help
- There’s no mention of Sanders being paid for these speeches
- There’s no mention of transcripts being available
- When Bernie gets an opportunity to speak to a room full of 0.01% types, he is polite to them. These are people who gave the DSCC the legal maximum of $33,400 in a year, or raised $100,000 for the party as a whole.
This story muddles several memes I see repeated around Daily Kos.
The idea that Bernie’s not really a Democrat who doesn’t help the party — we can lay that to rest.
The idea that Bernie’s not able to get things done because he’s an outsider — we can lay that to rest.
The idea of Bernie as a fearless crusader against Wall Street compared to Hillary who is owned by Goldman Sachs — well, that takes a hit, too. If Bernie gives speeches to help the DSCC raise money from Wall Street, and the DSCC spends money to help the Sanders campaign, Bernie knows his campaign is being helped by Wall Street donations — and when he gets a chance to speak to them, he doesn’t give them an earful.
Perhaps Bernie Sanders is a more complex individual than people have been making allowances for.