Senator Bernie Sanders is a self-admitted socialist. He is also a grifter.
His wife, the esteemed Dr. Jane O’Meara Sanders, and her son, David Driscoll, founded the Sanders Institute to save American democracy.
Some say it was formed to employ David Driscoll and to promote the interests of Bernie Sanders, but who really knows? Cough, cough.
Sheesh, give me a minute to develop the bloody story line, will you please?
OK, it works like this:
1. Senator Bernie Sanders runs for office — successfully except twice for President — and solicits funds from donors under the guise of supporting his candidacy for Senate.
That’s four campaigns, two for Senate that he won, and two for President that he lost. He raised a ton of money for those campaigns and didn’t spend it all.
2. Wife and step-son form the Sanders Institute to save democracy and open its coffers to receive donations in May 2017.
3. Son, David, who appears to be a legitimately accomplished business guy, is the Executive Director of the Sanders Institute, a paid position. He makes about $150,000 plus benefits.
4. Senator Bernie Sanders diverts donates funds — hundreds of thousands of dollars through the years — from his unspent political war chest to the Sanders Institute.
None of this diversion of campaign funds is revealed to prospective or real donors to politician Bernie Sanders.
Yes, there is, dear reader. Thank you for asking.
The Sanders Institute is a progressive think tank with a 501(c)(3) status — an IRS designated non-taxpaying entity — whose mission is to espouse and educate many of the progressive and leftist ideas championed by The Bern.
It’s really just sort of a Bernie Sanders think tank self-promotion scheme.
It is also a place where campaign stalwarts can and have found a job during lean periods around Bernie’s campaigns.
It is typical of how politicians use the public’s largesse to line their own pockets (in this instance, a wife and a step son) and to use an entity to further their political objectives.
No, no, no, this is not Clinton Foundation territory. This is a smaller grift, but big enough to win the support of other grifters like AOC, Danny Glover, the late Harry Belafonte, and Robert Reich.
It’s a respectable size grift, but not Clinton Foundation league.
The political — think tank — diversion of campaign funds — employing relatives — left wing nonsense is alive and well at the Sanders Institute.
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.
