6mo ago

RFK Jr. and Bernie Sanders get into screaming match over Big Pharma

RFK Jr. and Bernie Sanders Get Into Screaming Match Over Big Pharma

Summary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused Bernie Sanders of taking millions from Big Pharma during a heated exchange, but Sanders refuted the claim, stating his donations came from workers, not corporate PACs.

Kennedy repeatedly insisted Sanders was the top recipient of pharmaceutical money in 2020, but financial data shows no corporate PAC contributions to Sanders.

Meanwhile, Kennedy has profited from anti-vaccine activism, earning millions from lawsuits and speaking fees.

The debate ended without Kennedy answering whether he would guarantee health care for all as HHS secretary.

176 comments

Questioning Sanders’ integrity would be the last thing I’d want to do; especially if I were as ill-advised as RFK.
- RFK believes that he is above reproach. He is the delusional you get when you are born into massive wealth and privilege and think that you personally hit a home run. Completely surrounded by yes men his entire life. Trumpesk even.
  
  esk
  -esque?
  
  Yes, and in my personal experience, I’ve found people who feel they are never wrong to be the most uninformed and unintelligent of all people. It’s so sad that these people also are the ones that somehow rise to power and influence.
  
  We really need to stop thinking the Kennedy family are in any way special other than Joe who IRL is a nice guy who tries to stop people from freezing to death.
- We're talking about a guy who, I shit you not. picked up roadkill -- specifically a dead bear -- and kept it in his car all day. He was planning on eating it but got busy. Eventually, it ceased to be fresh enough even for his palate so he decided to dump it in central park. He staged it with an old bike he had in his car so that it looked like a bicyclist rode into it and killed it. This is the quality of decision making we're talking about here.
  
  One thing I really do not understand. How can a bear be roadkill? What does your car look like after you hit a bear?
  
  ...and kids, that's how you get worms in your brain. (undercooked wild meat)
  
  so that it looked like a bicyclist rode into it and killed it
  That's how the Internet still helps my mental health sometimes.
  
  The video that he released where he’s telling the story to Rosanne Barr of all people, is absolutely unhinged.
  https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1820132549798347109
  (Sorry for twitter link… is there a way to post to mirror site for twitter?)
  
  Honestly out of the things he's said I don't even care about this. Other than the eating roadkill part this is the kind of shit me and my friends got up to when we were younger.
- Ill-advised? You fucking what? You think this will make a difference?
  
  Don’t get angry at me. Im not your enemy. Focus that rage where it belongs: the rich.
  
  Nothing will ever make a difference if no one expects it to make a difference. I hate this defeatism
“And by the way, Bernie, the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies. It’s in Congress too,” Kennedy said. “Almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry and protecting their interests.”
“Oh, no, no, no, no,” Sanders said, raising his hand to quiet the applause that erupted from the gallery. “I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from the executives; not one nickel of PAC money from the pharmaceutical industry. They came from the workers.”
RFK just kept saying it over and over again like Sanders didn't address it. 1.5 million of the 200 million raised for his presidential campaign came from health care workers. And he still didn't answer the question, only for Sanders to be told he's battering the witness.
Fucking hate this time line.
- Keep saying it as if it was never addressed because that's what works.
  If you say something enough times it is reality to the majority of the voter base in the US.
  If you ignore all refutes logic or facts and simply steam ahead with your word being the only right word then that will become reality
  
  Yup, plenty of people will say that RFK won the argument, simply because he remained aggressive and seemed to be on the offensive. Lots of people don’t critically listen to the content; They just listen to the tone, and determine the winner based on that.
  
  Keep saying it as if it was never addressed because that’s what works.
  Reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/PbsGJ2c2R4M?t=59
- It's always been like that. It's throwing mud and hoping it sticks.
  
  Shit. They are throwing shit.
- RFK just kept saying it over and over again like Sanders didn’t address it.
  Sanders is used to this sort of treatment. Though not from Republicans.
- Yup. When I make a donation, one of the lines is "Who do you work for?" But just because I donated doesn't mean my employer or business category were the ones donating.
I feel sorry for Sanders calling out that buffoon.
- I feel sorry that the Democratic party opted to cheat us out of President Sanders.
  
  Contrary to the circles we reside in, most of the US despises any act of "socialism". It's ingrained in the culture after 50 years of waging a cold war against an entity that was associated with everything on the left because of propaganda. It will take a long time before enough of the people born before 1990 have died off before people will warm up to it again (I'm in this group too, being born 1982, but I wasn't politically aware enough care at the time, but some other kids' parents no doubt instilled this hate of socialism into them growing up. Millennials/Xennials, the generation that was supposedly the most left leaning in recent times, basically started 4chan, and look what it became).
  We ARE in an echo chamber. I came to discover this when talking to young folks about Harris/Trump. Despite the enthusiasm I saw here for Harris, it did not translate to the real world at all. We have to come to grips with the fact that the majority of Americans suck.
  
  How did they do that?
  
  Holy shit, grow up and move on jesus christ.
- Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird is going to shit on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
  
  Congratulations on your victory, Deep Coo.
- Sanders was the wrong target. But Congress is certainly in the pocket of big pharma.
  The solution is to reduce lobbying
Sanders is one person that I wouldn't question the integrity of. Malicious dopes, would, but I wouldn't.
- And honestly? If he did something unethical let's call him out for it. But it doesn't invalidate everything good he currently fights for. I've made mistakes, neither of us is perfect...
  Editing to add: We can't have inhuman perfection be the standard to meet when they have a literal rapist and felon in the White House!
Could they take any other photo of him for the article? They are ridiculing him, making him look like an angry old monkey, completely in the line with what this Corpsefucker Jr wanted to achieve. With Musk suing Waltz for a sieg heil callout at the same time, I believe, it's a planned crusade against the last two guys who could have got everyone's respect if not support, and both attacks look nothing like boxing, but more like pissing down from the top of the ladder while having an idiotic laughter and cheering oneself for how it's top comedy. They may not feel threatened by these two old white dudes with a stellar rep, but they want to hammer everything that's left on the table and still moving.
And, well, the more infuriating thing than what these inbreds do is that they don't target Harris, because since the failed elections she is nowhere to be seen after being a VP and nearly a president, and that just shows how bad of the pick she was if even Bush Jr of all people had a media coverage, and she just didn't.
- I see this image and I see an energetic man fighting for human rights, despite the age.
- What the fuck do you want Harris to do? She's not President, Donald Trump is President. A big reason for that is people constantly needing to blame Democrats for everything. You got it so bad you're right now blaming an unemployed Democrat for the bad things that are happening while the GOP is controlling all branches of government.
  The bad things that are happening are because people didn't vote for Harris. If you didn't vote for Harris, you're a part of the reason why bad things are happening. She ran a good campaign, was obviously the better choice for President, but not enough people voted for her because they're stupid. You have the government the American people voted for, or allowed to happen by not voting.
  
  A big reason for that is people constantly needing to blame Democrats for everything.
  Yeah those people blaming Democrats are everywhere... even in your comment!
  If you didn't vote for Harris, you're a part of the reason why bad things are happening.
  
  Small point of order here; Harris ran a terrible campaign. Her campaign was, in fact, so bad that she did not win the election. Many people that voted for her did so entirely due to her being the person the Democrats put to oppose Trump as opposed to any enthusiasm for or belief in her. I would hazard a guess and say more than half of her voters were of those ilk.
  I don't think anyone that wasn't actively part of planning the Dem campaign thinks it was done well. I have not met or spoken with such a person. Do you sincerely think she ran a good campaign? Why?
Mission accomplished: answer not given and as a bonus fox news gets a clip "RFK jr DESTROYED corrupt Sanders"
...I hate this timeline.
Can't someone just make him follow in his father's footsteps already?
yet another rich asshole lying to congress with no consequences.
- remember when it was SWATting? Now it's this. The kids. Lookin' for kicks.
rfk. go away. that is all I have to say.
- 🎵 We didn't start the fire! 🎵
- Because if you don't stand up to them, you stand with them.
It's silly to think Bernie is corrupt, you can't be corrupt if you don't have any power.
It's so badly obvious, Trumps whole team is still using the "alternate truths" platform. Accuse the otherside of doing what you are actually guilty of doing. Sanders is pretty transparent about his elections and actions, the only thing he isn't transparent about... Using the same coat! The man bought 1 and was given 1 of the exact same winter coats... That's right! 2 coats!!!! 2 coats hanging in a house of LIES!
- Healthcare workers wanting system reform?
So people think Democrats in Congress aren't corrupt? Just the Republicans? That's cute.
- Idk where you draw that conclusion from. Many of us are quite aware many democrats are in bed with lobbyists. The main issue here is that RFK tries to slander Bernie Sanders who is one of the least corrupt politician we have.
- We're talking about Bernie Sanders taking money from Big Pharma. If you have any evidence that he did, please share.
  
  I like Bernie, despite his age. I'm just speaking in general. But I'm glad RFK said it. The other members were just as shocked.
- Your comment is a great case for the importance of teaching reading comprehension

176 comments