Bernie Sanders might be fighting on for the good of the Democratic Party, but his team will be elbowing each other for space in the unemployment line.
This morning, the campaign let 50% of its team go, mostly from its communications, logistics and field operations (you don’t need logistics if your campaign is just one guy). Bernie will now turn his focus to wooing more superdelegates, but even he seems to admit that’s a lost cause: Without a campaign team, the Bernie miracle, should it even happen, wouldn’t make it very far out of Philly.
But while Sanders’ staffers have been girding their loins for major layoffs, they don’t seem to have gone quietly into the dark night of Democratic unity. Speaking to POLITICO, Sanders’ top aides said goodbye to their leader by tossing him under the bus, dishing on the campaign’s total lack of focus and strategy, and the angry, bitter old man at the helm.
According to Bernie’s staffers, he himself made all the decisions, refusing to listen to anyone with knowledge of how to run an actual presidential campaign. The aides paint a picture of a self-obsessed career agitator who takes credit for every success and takes any political shortcoming as a personal affront. Asked to describe his “guiding principle,” aides just summed it up as, “Screw me? No, screw you.”
Charming! And a certain path to success.
Bernie’s staffers insist that he won’t be giving up the crusade anytime soon, either, explaining that any voice of reason who pleads with his top aides is immediately referred to the candidate, who shuts them down instantly.
But pressure might be coming from bigger corners in the next several days. Sanders will reportedly meet with Harry Reid on Tuesday, in hopes that Democrats Senate leadership can convince Sanders to tone it down.
And President Obama reached out to Sanders on Tuesday night to schedule a pow-wow at the White House over Democratic unity. The White House issued a statement: “The President looks forward to continuing the conversation with Senator Sanders about how to build on the extraordinary work he has done to engage millions of Democratic voters, and to build on that enthusiasm in the weeks and months ahead.”
The White House neglected to mention that Sanders has already said his compliance will come at the cost of key positions on the DNC’s platform and rules committees and that he’s unlikely to back down until he gets his way. And with his laid-off staffers, Sanders is only expanding his nascent base.
