It’s a bad time time to be a Bernie Sanders super fan. At this time last year, it appeared almost certain that Sanders was going to become the Democrat nominee. The betting markets had him the odds on favorite, with Joe Biden lagging far behind. Of course, we know what ended up happening. The forces of the liberal establishment came together in an unprecedented fashion to handily defeat Sanders in South Carolina and the rest is history.
Even then, Sanders was supposed to have a major role in the party’s future. He even bragged, leading up to the election, about writing most of Biden’s platform as the nominee. That turned out to be mostly fluff as well. In short, the Bernie Bros have went from an entitled sense of arrogance to being cast aside as insignificant in a relatively short period of time, and their humiliation isn’t complete yet.
Enter Neera Tanden, who is currently sitting before Bernie Sanders’ committee seeking confirmation as the head of the Office of Management and Budget. And while she’s most famous for being a kooky conspiracy theorist who spread Russian tales about Trump (see Flame Throwing Biden Appointee Neera Tanden ‘Apologizes,’ and Republicans Shouldn’t Play the Sucker), let’s just say she and Sanders have an interesting history as well.
Politico reports that Neera Tanden once punched Bernie's campaign manager Faiz Shakir.
Pretty incredible that Biden thought she was a good idea. https://t.co/4ygm7lI3J7
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) February 10, 2021
Here’s the thing, though. It wasn’t that Biden made a mistake here. It’s that he knows that Sanders is ultimately a sucker who will play along no matter what. He’s a party man, even though his pathetic rose Twitter followers want to paint him as titan for the little guy, leading a valiant revolution against capitalism. If Sanders had any backbone at all and any belief in what he actually espouses, he’d laugh Tanden’s nomination out of the committee room and tell Biden to send someone else.
Instead, he went with this pathetic display.
Sen. Sanders asks OMB director nominee Neera Tanden to “reflect" on the “vicious attacks” against both Republicans and progressives on Twitter, including “me, personally.” pic.twitter.com/Sgejxt7EMf
— The Recount (@therecount) February 10, 2021
Asking her to reflect on her past statements? Well, that’ll surely teach her a lesson here.
Here’s what’s going to happen because it’s what always happens with Sanders. He’ll make some loud noise, and his fans will squee, but he’s going to vote to confirm Tanden anyway. It doesn’t matter that she’s a corporatist liberal shill that stands against everything Sanders claims to believe about governance. He’ll push her through anyway and receive his pat on the head from the White House as he further fades into obscurity.
At the end of the day, Sanders act is just that, and it’s the Bernie Bros who ultimately bear the blunt of the humiliation for being so suckered by this awkward old man.
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