Thursday, October 24, 2019
"The former Vice
President has been unable to generate grassroots support, and now his campaign
is endorsing an effort to buy the primary through a super PAC that can rake in
unlimited cash from billionaires and corporations."
Former Vice President Joe
Biden's 2020 Democratic presidential campaign on Thursday announced
that they would accept support from super PACs, a reversal of a stance
that had lasted through the primary season and is shared by his top rivals.
In response to the news, Faiz
Shakir, campaign manager for the democratic presidential campaign of Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), sounded a note of disappointment.
"The former Vice
President has been unable to generate grassroots support, and now his campaign
is endorsing an effort to buy the primary through a super PAC that can rake in
unlimited cash from billionaires and corporations," said Shakir.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday,
plans are underway by Biden allies to start a super PAC for the beleaguered
front-runner. Biden has struggled to raise money; a CNN report
Thursday showed the former vice president has less than $9 million cash on
hand. Sanders has $33.7 million.
Biden deputy campaign
manager Kate Bedingfield told NBC in
a statement Thursday afternoon after the CNN story broke that the
campaign was still opposed to super PACs—at least ideologically. She left the
door open to accepting their support due to fears of running against President
Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up.
"Until we have these
badly needed reforms, we will see more than a billion dollars in spending by
Trump and his allies to re-elect this corrupt president," said
Bedingfield. "And let's be clear: Donald Trump has decided that the
general election has already begun."
Bedingfield did not explain
why Biden would need a super PAC in the primary, where he will not face Trump.
Instead, the Biden aide focused on the future.
"In this time of crisis
in our politics, it is not surprising that those who are dedicated to defeating
Donald Trump are organizing in every way permitted by current law to bring an
end to his disastrous presidency," said Bedingfield. "Nothing changes
unless we defeat Donald Trump."
Shakir, in his statement,
strongly disagreed with that interpretation of how to defeat the Republican
incumbent. Super PACs, said Shakir, are a recipe for disaster.
"That's not how we defeat
Trump," said Shakir. "It's a recipe to maintain a corrupt political
system which enriches wealthy donors and leaves the working class behind."
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