Bernie Blackout (2020) - full transcript

-Television is an extraordinary
technology

that can educate people,
bring this world together.

And yet it's been prostituted
by commercials,

by people who own it who only
want to use it for money.

-The 2020 Bernie Sanders
campaign will be remembered

for its passionate supporters.

-We're here at Franklin
Pierce University

in the snow
happily for Bernie.

All for Bern.

-His progressive politics...

-People are standing up
for justice.



That is what this campaign
is about.

-...and surprise victories...

-NBC News projects Bernie
Sanders the winner in Nevada.

Brand-new,
breaking news numbers.

-...and the absolute disgust
of the mainstream media.

-No other candidate has anything

like this digital brown
shirt brigade.

-Bernie Sanders makes
my skin crawl.

-Can you explain why
you're still in the race?

-He's on nowhere near
that level of support.

-Don't get your hopes up
on Bernie yet.

-Bernie, you're full of it.

-Don't come here and dream
of your violent

over throw of America.



-The abuse that we have all been
subjected to by Bernie Bros.

-Bernie Bros, right?

-The corporate media is there
to further the agenda

of the establishment.

-Ran by billionaires and hosted
by millionaires.

-There is real concern right now

that Bernie Sanders
is so far ahead in the lead.

-Democrats need to sober up
and figure out

what the hell
they're going to do about that.

-What happens when corporate
media unites

against one candidate?

-I don't really trust
any of them

because what they want
is ratings.

-They're serving
a customer base,

and the advertisers from which
they get their money

are also
serving a customer base.

-Yes.

Wall Street is powerful.

-First they ignore you.

Then they laugh at you.

Then they attack you.

-Are you all ready for
a political revolution?

-Let's rock the boat.

In fact let's tip the boat over.

-That is the establishment's
nightmare.

-Two thirds of all voters said
they were uncomfortable

with a socialist candidate
for president.

What do you say
to those voters, sir?

-What was the result
of that poll?

Who was winning?

♪♪

-[ Chanting ] Bernie, Bernie,
Bernie, Bernie,

Bernie, Bernie, Bernie,
Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.

[ Cheering ]

-Let me thank you all.

You are the overflow crowd,

on this beautiful afternoon.

Wow.

We are going to be knocking
on many,

many thousands of doors
all over the state.

[ Cheers and applause ]

And we have, I believe,

the strongest grass roots
movement in the country.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-It's February 2020,

nine months from election day.

But the race has already been
in motion for more than a year.

The Democratic field
has narrowed

from 21 to 11 candidates,

and Bernie is in a tie
with four other nominees.

And that's no small feat.

Since he recovered
from a heart attack in the fall,

the mainstream media
has been attempting

to write Sanders'
political obituary.

-So this is a major development
in the race.

How will it effect who becomes
the democratic nominee?

-He had a heart attack.
-Yeah, well, that's --

-He had a heart attack
in the fall.

Do you think the American people
deserve to know more?

-But some would argue
that mainstream media

has been unfairly
dismissing Bernie Sanders

since his last
presidential campaign in 2016.

-Some are sounding the alarm.

The headline of Jonathan Chait's
piece in New York Magazine

reads "Running Bernie Sanders
Against Trump

Would Be an Act of Insanity".

Over at the Atlantic,
"Bernie Can't Win."

-After the heart attack,

there was a lot of talk
that Bernie Sanders was done.

It's over.
The campaign's finished.

-David Sirota is senior adviser
and head speech writer

for Bernie Sanders
2020 campaign.

He has a pivotal roll in
creating the campaign strategy

for fighting
the media blackout.

-Progressive campaigns
need to be run as professionally

and as ruthlessly
as the campaigns

that are run
by the other side.

Well, the Bernie blackout
was a term

that came up that described
how the media

weren't really
covering the campaign.

I think the term also became
a catch-all term

for the media's specific
kind of coverage.

But I also want
to be very clear.

That doesn't mean I think that
there wasn't good reporting,

good journalism
on the campaign trail.

What we're really talking
about here is in many cases,

cable news
and the pundit shows.

-And he looks like the angry man
in the center of the stage

saying, "Get off my lawn."

-I think he comes off as mean.

I think he's disparaging.

-Cable news there was a lo--

there was certainly examples
of just open hostility.

-Bernie, you're full of it.

You're going to be
a miserable president.

-It could be a framing,
it could be a sentence,

it could be a way
of describing a situation

that again always tended
to look at Bernie Sanders

as not really a serious
candidate for president.

♪♪

-Whether the mainstream media
gets it or not,

we have millions of people

who have invested
into this campaign.

We have professions like
teachers and nurses

who really believe
in the senator.

Workers who work at places
like Amazon.

Every day people of this nation.

They do truly understand
who is on their side

and who will change the material
conditions of their lives.

What the American people
in this country need,

they need somebody
that is unabashed

and that has the courage

and the conviction
to stand up for them

and to call out
the rigging of this system.

And that candidate is
Senator Bernie Sanders.

People are really excited
and there are so many people

coming into Iowa
from all parts of the country

to really support
Senator Sanders.

The weather may be chilly,

but the hearts of the people
here in Iowa are very warm.

And they are feeling the burn.

-The Iowa caucus,
the first official contest

in the election season.

Historically, victories in Iowa
lead to momentum

that becomes essential
to win other states.

And just days before voters head
to the polls,

Bernie Sanders is in the lead,

predicted to capture the coveted
Iowa momentum.

-We've brought 130 volunteers
with us this weekend.

This is my second weekend
coming to Iowa

to come knock on doors
for Bernie.

-We just got a whole fleet here.

I've heard there's over 1,700
out-of-state volunteers in Iowa

now at this point the weekend
before the caucus.

-The campaign works its way
through Iowa,

making small stops along the way
to a large rally

in Cedar Rapids.

-This platform, it became
something super important for me

that I feel like
I just have to be a part of it.

-The reason I believe we win
is not because of our TV ads.

They're good ads.
[ Laughter ]

Not because of the radio ads.

Not because of
the newspaper ads.

You know why we're going to win?

Because of you.

-You can be part of history
unfolding

and political revolution,

an historic political revolution
happening right now.

-This is the most important
week yet,

so I decided to skip classes,

neglect my school work
to come out here

and, you know,
fight for what I believe in.

-I thank you all very much.

[ Cheers and applause ]
-Bernie!

-Bernie Sanders
grew up in Brooklyn,

the son of poor Jewish
immigrants from Poland.

At college, he grew
from his roots

into a political activist.

It was the 1960s.

Bernie became involved
in segregation

and anti-Vietnam protests.

-I mean, you know, there's
pictures of him out there

in the 1960s being arrested,

chained to an African-American,
you know,

because they were protesting
racial injustice in Chicago.

-He won his first election
as an independent

by an upset of just ten votes,

beating the Republicans
and the Democrats.

-The Office of Mayor of the City
of Burlington...

-The Office of Mayor of the City
of Burlington...

-He served four terms as mayor
of Burlington, Vermont.

-Fighting for economic democracy
for the rights of all people

is an idea that is
as American as apple pie.

-I was a community organizer
when I met Bernie,

and he spoke,

and I thought he embodied
everything I ever believed in.

-In 1988, he married Jane.

As mayor he took a grass roots
approach to media,

creating his own talk show

and speaking directly
with the people of Burlington.

-Ordinary citizens feel
very hopeless about the future.

In Burlington, we have shown

that you can stand up
to the system

and at least you're going to win
some of the victories.

-He went on to serve eight terms
in the US House

and was elected
to the Senate in 2006.

-35 years after my original
impression of him,

he still embodies everything
that I ever believed in.

-I don't know anybody in my life
who has had such,

you know, strong views
as a young person

and been consistent to them
their entire lives.

-I think that I've never, in my
31 years of running campaigns,

ever seen the grass roots
support show up for a campaign

that I've seen in this campaign.

♪♪

-I've been doing this work
for 31 years,

so I've got long tentacles into
the political operative world

and folks on the ground.

And the unique thing
about Bernie and the way

he's not normally
covered on broadcast TV

is making sure that there's ways
to reach the electorate.

One of the main ways
that I do that

is through alternative media,

like The Hill "Rising"
with Krystal Ball

and that crew where
I'm a regular on their show.

Because there's groups of people
out there

that want to take in information
that's not skewed

through the corporate
media lens.

-All across America, independent
journalists and media creators

have been reporting outside
of the mainstream media.

-It's not clear how much they
are even aware of their bias.

-We have to be building
a movement that is bigger

than just
Bernie Sanders himself.

-Without network air time,
they use their own resources

to call out the hypocrisy
in America's corporate press.

-When I was at MSNBC, I saw
what many people saw early on

before the primary had even
started on the Democratic side

that Hillary Clinton
would be a bad candidate.

So though I admire and respect
Secretary Clinton deeply,

I must say don't run, Hillary,
don't run.

But afterwards,
the Clinton people called

and complained
to the MSNBC top brass

and threatened not to provide
any access

during the upcoming campaign.

I was called in by my boss
who said, "That was fine,

but anything else that you do
on Hillary Clinton

needs to be submitted to
the president of the network."

Now, being a human interested
in maintaining my job,

I'm certain I did less
critical Clinton commentary

after that than
I maybe otherwise would have.

-Mainstream media has a boss.

Their boss is not
a working-class person.

The mainstream media isn't owned
by the people.

It's owned by rich people,

and reach people tell them
what to say.

-The corporate media is there
to further the agenda

of the establishment,
of the oligarchs,

because they own it.

-Democracy has been
stolen from us.

It's been hijacked by the very,
very wealthy

and it's being held ransom.

-In 1982, 90% of media
was controlled by 50 companies.

Today the media landscape
has changed.

AT&T, Comcast, Walt Disney
and Viacom

together account
for $386 billion

in total revenue.

Now, only five corporations
own about 90%

of the media landscape.

-The daily agenda at any network
is driven by its leader.

-Ultimately, they're serving
a customer base,

and the advertisers
from which they get their money

are also serving
a customer base.

-Greatest responsibility
is to serve our...

-Treasure Valley communities...

-The El Paso-Las Cruces
communities...

-In 2018, a viral video
was released

showing Sinclair Broadcast Group

directing its anchors
to all fall in line

with the same message.

-The sharing of biased
and false news

has become all too common
on social media...

-It was a shocking example

to many people
that networks have an agenda,

and that agenda comes from
the top leadership.

-...and this is extremely
dangerous to our democracy.

-You'd be more informed
just by sitting on the couch

and drinking a bottle of gin.

-A lot of journalists depend
for their career

on access to the establishment.

And a lot of the pundits,

which are routinely on cable
news and routinely called upon

for quotes in
mainstream publication articles,

depend on that establishment
for their own livelihoods.

-The demographics of who watches
network television

and who watches cable
television like MSNBC

and CNN,
it's most older people.

-Independent media has done
so much

to help Bernie Sanders
fight back,

and they've also had
this partnership

with young people in America.

-The revolution will not be
televised.

Most people know that phrase.

So what does that mean?

So, we can't expect
to go to MSNBC,

CNN or any of these
major news networks

to actually get
a breakdown of, like,

what needs to be done
to change this world

into one that's better
for most people.

♪♪

-Well, Local 5 is also your
local election headquarters.

Democratic presidential
candidate Bernie Sanders

stopping in Des Moines today.

Vermont Senator is spending
three days here in the city.

On the stage, he stressed
his campaign would be civil

and would not attack
his fellow candidates.

He also hopes the party's
primary would stay focused

on issues
facing the everyday voter.

-[ Chanting ] Bernie, Bernie,
Bernie, Bernie,

Bernie, Bernie,
Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-I'm going to be...

[ Indistinct chanting ]

-There are our volunteers.

Let me just say a few words.

[ Chanting continues, laughter ]

So my plea to you
is to understand

a simple, political fact.

This I believe.

If tomorrow night the voter
turn out is low,

we're going to lose.

-People take in their
information

differently than
when I was a young man,

when everybody was
watching three channels.

So you have to have
alternative ways

to talk to the average voter.

We're breaking the trends of the
way campaigns are normally run,

so we're using every resource
we can to get out to every voter

through every alternative
measure of media

that we can get to.

-The campaign's strategy
was heavily focused

towards online outreach.

The Cedar Rapids rally
was marketed

almost entirely online.

-No matter how much there's
been a Bernie blackout,

we're still going to win because
people have still found a way

to get the information
about our campaign.

-[ Chanting ]
Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie,

Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.

-Thank you!

[ Cheers and applause ]

This is everything we have
fought against our entire lives,

right, folks?

I want to bring out
on the stage the co-chair

from the national co-chairs

of Bernie
for President Campaign.

She is a state senator
for the state of Ohio.

[ Cheers and applause ]
You know her.

You love her.

Miss Nita Turner!

[ Cheers and applause ]

-The eyes are all on you.

And only all that we love
is on the line.

That's all. Nothing big.

Just all that we love.

We cannot judge the success
of this nation

based on how
Wall Street is doing.

Wall Street is fine, but
Main Street is catching hell.

Hello, somebody.

[ Cheers and applause ]

But isn't it fabulous,

isn't it wonderful to have
a true champion for justice

who has already said
to Wall Street,

"I'm coming for your greed"?

[ Cheers and applause ]

"Pharmaceutical industry,
I'm coming for your greed."

[ Cheers and applause ]

"Fossil fuel industry,
I'm coming for your greed."

[ Cheers and applause ]

But when ordinary people put
a little extra

on their ordinary,
extraordinary things do happen,

and we are those
ordinary people.

Hello, someone.
[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-The whole world is asking

whether or not
the people in Iowa

are prepared to stand up
and fight for justice.

[ Cheers and applause ]

I am here to ask you very humbly

for your support
on caucus night.

-You got it!

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-The campaign and press
both eagerly await the results.

-I'm good.
I'm excited.

Hopeful. I'm nervous.
[ Chuckles ]

So it all comes down to tonight.

Let Showtime know...
-We can do it after.

-I like John.
[ Laughs ]

I'll be happy to talk to them
anytime.

-[ Chanting ]
DSM is a Bernie town.

Get up.

Get down.

DSM is a Bernie town.

Get up.

Get down.

-Everyone thought Iowa would
declare a winner by 10:00 PM,

but as the hours tick by,

reporters and voters realize,
something's wrong.

There's a serious issue

involving the reporting
of the votes.

-We're ready.
This is our first official

explanation from
the Iowa Democratic Party.

Ready?
-We couldn't be more ready.

-The integrity of the results
is paramount.

We have experienced a delay
in the results

due to quality checks.

-I'm going to take a vote.

-If you withdraw from
New Hampshire,

which you will, that's not --

this isn't going to happen
in New Hampshire

because they have
an actual...primary.

-What can you tell us about
what happened

in terms of reporting results
from your precinct?

-Well, I think as you
just mentioned,

the app that we were
told to download

just hasn't been working.

-They're making big bets
on Iowa.

Who's going to get talked about
and in what way

between now and New Hampshire?

You know, this is
very much domino effect.

-We had a really good showing --

double what I saw in 2016 when
I campaigned for Bernie Sanders.

-They just don't want to say
Bernie won.

-We don't know exactly
what's going to happen tonight.

We don't know what's going to
happen in the next few minutes.

-By midnight, only two percent
of the votes

have been officially reported.

But Mayor Pete, nonetheless,
decides to make a play

for the coveted Iowa moment.

-So we don't know
all the results.

But we know by the time
it's all said and done,

Iowa,
you have shocked the nation.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Pete Buttigieg declares
victory in Iowa.

But three days later
the actual numbers are in,

and Bernie makes his
own victory speech.

Despite getting more votes,

the media claims that Pete
has won the momentum.

-Buttigieg has the razor-thin
lead over Sanders in the state

delegate equivalents,
which actually counts.

This afternoon though, Bernie
Sanders declared victory in Iowa

based on the raw votes.

-Mayor Pete's been declaring
a win for days now.

Why should people believe
your victory speech over his?

-Because I got 6,000 more votes.

And from where I come, when
you get 6,000 more votes

that's generally regarded
to be the winner.

Yes.
-Iowa was a mess.

And that unfortunately meant
that we didn't get the boost

out of winning
the most votes in Iowa

that would have helped
build more momentum.

-The data, it wasn't --

there was no revolution
in terms of turn out.

The numbers went down.
-The numbers went up

with young people
and with people of color.

That's a great indicator
working into --

going into states
that are a lot more diverse.

Sure, more regular white working
class people did not vote.

But more people of color went
and voted for Bernie Sanders.

I know that's kind of hard
to hear

for a lot of people out there
who don't like Bernie Sanders,

but that's just the fact.

-After the messy,
unclear results from Iowa,

attentions turned to
the next major competition --

New Hampshire.

Despite Bernie's lead,

the media finds a way
to frame it negatively.

Chuck Todd and others
framed the narrative

that Bernie is polling well
below his numbers in 2016

when he beat Clinton
by 20 percent.

It's a debatable perspective
because this primary

has many more candidates
than in 2016.

Expectations for such
a decisive victory

for any of them is absurd.

-Despite having any results
in Iowa, the candidates

are turning their sights
to the Granite State

for a crucial final
push for votes.

-The Iowa caucus system
had some inherent flaws.

Sanders' campaign didn't get
the narrative it deserved

of coming
into New Hampshire.

-We're here at Franklin
Pierce University,

In the snow,
happily for Bernie.

All for Bern.

♪♪

-I'm actually on
the basketball team.

A couple of my basketball
players are behind me too.

They want to hear
what Bernie has to say.

-I think his campaign is
a phenomenon

that's not really
getting the credit

for what he's accomplished.

-Who's got the power?
-We've got the power.

-What kind of power?
-Union power.

-Who's got the power?
[ Cheers and applause ]

-It is because of the kind of
grass roots movement

that we put together in Iowa
we have here in New Hampshire.

And you should know
that it's going on

all over America right now.

We are going to end
the absurdity

of the United States of America

being the only
major country on Earth

not to guarantee health care
to all people as a human right.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-What we saw was that Bernie's
policy agenda

was used to make an argument

that Bernie can't be
elected president.

He's too, you know radical,
et cetera, et cetera.

-No other candidate
has anything like this

sort of digital brown
shirt brigade.

I mean, except for Donald Trump.

-The entire idea of electability
is an intangible,

almost undefinable idea that
the media itself gets to define.

And that's a problem.

-But the electability
conversation

is a relatively new addition
to Bernie's 2020 campaign.

In 2016, the media mostly
tried to ignore him.

-January 1, 2015,
I think through November 2015,

"ABC Evening News"
had us on for 20 seconds.

-What was it you did
that was so newsworthy?

-[ Laughs ]

-They showed more of the open
podium waiting for Donald Trump

than ever playing your speeches.

-This is a huge crowd.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-I think the Bernie blackout
is an ideological tendency

to ignore his campaign
all together,

but especially to ignore
any sort of good news

around his campaign.

There was a Reuters article

apparently where the headline
was "Buttigieg Comes in Second,

Warren Comes in --
Klobuchar Comes in Third.

Warren comes in fourth."

Just didn't mention who won.

-It's the same progression

that the establishment greets
many social movements.

First they ignore you.

Then they laugh at you.

Then they attack you.

-Bernie Sanders
makes my skin crawl.

-He wants free tuition
for colleges.

A great idea if you think
money grows on bongs.

-Senator Sanders
is not electable.

-The media has a laundry list
of reasons

why Bernie cannot be president.

Mainstream media has constantly
shifted its reasons.

Electability.

-There's this narrative
that Bernie Sanders

is not electable against
Donald Trump, which is amazing.

And it's amazing
how strong that is,

how much it's stuck

given that the data
just doesn't prove that.

-It's not just that Bernie
is asking a lot of voters

to buy into what I consider
radical ideas like,

free public college, the Green
New Deal, medicare for all.

-The media spins health care
as Bernie Sanders

has an utterly infeasible,
pie-in-the-sky plan.

-Some might say you are way
too far left.

-Bernie is a socialist.

Bernie is a communist.

-This dope once adored
the Sandinistas,

a toxic bunch of commies.

Sanders is so nutty, most kids
should be allergic to him.

-How can any kind of socialist

win a general election
in the United States?

-Then you have the idea
that Bernie can't win

because he's a socialist.

I mean, the truth is, yes,
he's a democratic socialist.

He has such a consistency
and honesty

that even people who don't even
like the idea of socialism,

they find him trustworthy
and compelling.

-Even as Sanders did better
and better in the polls,

even as he was drawing crowds

like a rock star
at different rallies,

there's always sort of
a new counter-narrative

that was meant to sort of
take him down a notch.

-The contempt is so strong
and so open

and so unchecked and so rampant,
and there's no accountability.

-I think your disheveled,
your unlikable and you're pushy.

-Any possible narrative
that they can create in order

to discredit him they will push,
push, push, push.

And it works.

-The media's specific
kind of coverage

when they covered
Bernie Sanders was,

in many cases, coverage that
didn't take him seriously

and was always kind of sneering
and scoffing at him.

-This is a movement
that we have created since 2015

when the senator
ran the first time around.

The senator is the total
antithesis of President Trump.

So, he is the one to galvanize
a multicultural, multiracial,

multi-gender campaign of people
from all walks of life

who are really here
to stand up against the system

and to stand up
for what is good,

what is right and what is just.

-You know, at a Bernie rally
there's an excitement,

an energy of urgency,

an energy of what is possible.

-I was a Kent State
when the kids were felled.

And as a grown up boomer,

it's very disenchanting to think
that we can't do better.

And I know Bernie can.

I want the DNC.

I want Democrats
to get behind him,

and I hope that happens.

-Bernie Sanders has irrevocably
changed the terrain

and the conversation
of this country.

We are going to show
this country

and the world
what New Hampshire can do

and what the United States
of America can do.

-Sanders' rallies have this
electric energy to them,

and they really make tangible
the possibility

that a radically
different world is possible.

-Give some Bernie 2020 love
to national campaign surrogate,

Dr. Cornel West.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-I come from a people
who have been terrorized,

stigmatized and traumatized
for 400 years,

but we have produced figures
of great fortitude.

♪♪

We all stand
in solidarity together.

I don't care what color you are.

I don't care what
your national identity is.

I don't care
what region you are.

You're a human being.

We got a deep Jewish brother
named Bernie Sanders

who bringing us together!

[ Cheers and applause ]

Do you want a better America?

[ Cheers and applause ]

-It just is so clear that
the people of the United States

want this progressive agenda.

The media would do anything
to put a halt to that agenda.

Which really, to me, lifts
the veil of like

how much corporate sponsorship

there is
and corporate incentivization

in terms of how
the media portrays information.

-Yes, that's a moral
and a spiritual dimension,

and I thank God my dear brother
Bernie Sanders

has got the integrity,
the courage, the vision.

[ Cheers and applause ]

We got to have moral
and spiritual power

behind our movement.

Are we going to stay together?

Are we going to fight together?

Are we going to go all the way
together behind Bernie Sanders?

Let's do it, New Hampshire.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-The energy is so high
at one of these things,

because everyone's just sort
of shaking with anticipation.

And that situation when you're
really serious about politics,

you're not optimistic,
you're not pessimistic.

You're just hopeful.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez!

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

♪♪

-Two days before
the New Hampshire vote,

thousands brave the weather

to attend a rally
featuring Bernie

and some of his
biggest surrogates --

Cynthia Nixon...

-Whose America do you want
to live in?

-...Cornel West...
-Are we going to fight together?

-...Nina Turner...
-Come on, somebody.

-...and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

-Are you all ready for
a political revolution

in New Hampshire tomorrow?!

♪♪

This is about our lives.

This is about American lives.

And it should not be partisan.

♪♪

I want to talk a little bit
about why Bernie.

Because Bernie has not committed
to what is right

when it was popular.
[ Cheers and applause ]

Senator Bernie Sanders
has spent his entire life

fighting for the right thing
when it was unpopular.

[ Cheers and applause ]

It is hard to stand up and fight
for someone you don't know

when it's not
the popular thing to do,

and he has done it
his whole damn life.

[ Cheers and applause ]

And with that I am so excited

to bring you the candidate

Senator Bernard Sanders!

♪♪

-In case you haven't noticed,

there are a lot of people
here tonight.

[ Cheers and applause ]

In fact, there are three times
more people here tonight

than in any other Democratic
rally in New Hampshire caucus.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Let's win this thing.

Let's transform America.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Bernie Sanders...

in the house.

♪♪

Ladies and gentlemen,
that's Senator Bernie Sanders!

-We would expect results
faster than we did in Iowa.

And God bless them, hundreds
of people already here in line.

They vote for sport here
in New Hampshire.

-Supporters watch the New
Hampshire return slowly report.

Most of the evening has
Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete

within a couple of points
of each other --

too close for the networks to
call until late into the night.

-Alright, CNN has a major
projection right now.

CNN projects that Bernie Sanders
will win the New Hampshire

Democratic
presidential primary.

-Bernie's up! Bernie's up!

-We have victories behind us --

the popular vote in Iowa
and victory here tonight.

We're going to keep that up.

We're going to South Carolina.

We're all going to win
those as well.

[ Bus horn honks ]

-Mainstream media seizes the
opportunity to raise questions

about Sanders' campaign.

-So the story of the Sanders'
campaign

so far this year
is how much ground

he's lost from four years ago.

-Sanders won this state handily
back in 2016 with 60 percent,

and it is notable
that he's on nowhere near

that level of support
this time around.

-That's the lowest win

that you've ever seen
in New Hampshire.

-Don't get your hopes up
on Bernie yet.

-All this, but no one will focus
on the fact that Bernie Sanders

just won the popular vote
in the first two states.

No candidate has ever won the
first two states by popular vote

and not been the nominee.

The media downplays the success

by pointing out that Iowa
and New Hampshire

do not really represent
America and its diversity.

Bernie's supporters
are not diverse enough.

Viewers of mainstream media
constantly hear

about the Bernie Bro

and the idea that a significant
portion of his supporters

are angry white men.

-Around January,
February of 2016

we saw kind of a flurry
of Bernie Bro articles.

It's really --
it's anecdotal evidence

presented as statistical proof.

-The Bernie Bro --

an insufferable, aggressive,
self-righteous,

left wing activist
who refers to everyone

who doesn't share
his narrow political views

as a corporate,
puppet/media whore.

-You may have heard the term
"Bernie Bro"

this election season.

Typically young, white and male.

-The Bernie Bro, right?

Somebody who's a bit younger,
whiter.

-It is so insulting for the
media to consistently, you know,

put out this narrative
that all Bernie supporters

are these white,
racist, sexist men

who are saying
horrible things to people.

-And the Bernie Bros again,
they're pretty obnoxious

and they're very sexist.

-The most violent,
most misogynistic,

the most sexist,
the most harmful.

-People are mean on Twitter
sometimes.

This is not an exclusive
phenomenon to Bernie Sanders.

Nor is it a particularly
important topic of debate.

-If you go online, most likely
you're not going to

get into squabbles
with people on your side.

-If you are still supporting
Sander as opposed to Warren,

it's kind of showing
your sexism.

-"I can't vote for him because
some of his supporters

are rude to me online."

Like, just hearing that --
just hearing that...

-It's ridiculous.
-...it's ridiculous.

-This whole notion
of a Bernie Bro

is the most blatant,
pathetic attempt

to try to turn
possibly undecided voters off

from actually looking into
Bernie as their candidate.

-Part of the Bernie Bro
narrative that's so frustrating

is that Sanders is responsible

for any and all
and every person online.

They are somehow extensions
of Sanders.

-If you say somebody is allowing
something,

by default you are saying that
they can do something about it.

-And he can't.
-And he can't.

♪♪

-Not too long ago,
I came out as Bernie Bro

just as my attempt
to kind of dispel

the notion that all of Bernie's
supporters look a certain way

and that it's a very weird,
cult-ish following.

-We have seen that Bernie
actually has had

the most diverse coalition.

-There is no hard data to
support the Bernie Bro myth.

So I decided to look for
the data and examine it myself.

There is as many
Bernie supporters online

as there are all
other candidates combined.

I downloaded over one
hundred million tweets

from all the followers
of major candidates

and analyzed them
for their negativity.

The data did show
that two percent

of Bernie's supporters' tweets
were quite negative.

But the thing is the same
percentage was true

for all
the candidates' supporters.

There's a phenomena
called frequency illusion.

If someone points something out
to you,

you're going to notice it more.

And so because the media points
out the nasty two percent

of Bernie's supporters,
people notice that

and not the nastiness of any
other candidates' supporters.

And that's how the Bernie Bro
myth grows.

-Rather than dealing with
the substance,

you can cherry pick
some nasty comment on Twitter

and use that as a way to dismiss
everything that goes along

with Bernie Sanders
and his movement.

-The Republic strategist
Karl Rove used to say

that you shouldn't hit
your opponent

where your opponent is weakest.

You should actually hit them
where they're strongest.

I think it's inarguable that
Bernie's greatest strength

is actually his supporters.

Dedication becomes fanaticism.

Passion becomes anger.

And that's where you started to
get all of these stories

about how
Bernie Sanders' supporters

were uniquely toxic,
uniquely terrible.

That they were responsible
for behavior

that was tantamount to abuse,

and that Bernie Sanders
needed to disavow them.

Over and over again,
this line of attack was used.

And I think it's very clear
that, in fact,

this was the Karl Rove
strategy in action.

Transform somebody's
greatest strength

into their biggest weakness.

-Bernie travels to Bakersfield,
California

where almost half
the population is Latino.

He's greeted with an overflow
rally that mainstream media

fails to cover or mention.

-The Senator Sanders campaign
coming to Bakersfield

and having a rally,
talking to us directly

about the issues is fantastic.

-I just like
what he stands up for.

-You know, the country's been in
need of changes

and I want a different future
for my little girls.

-I have friends that are LGBTQ.

They don't even know that
he's a big supporter of them.

He's been doing that
since before a lot of us

were even born,
and he's still doing it now.

-When he talks,
he talks from his heart.

And that makes a big difference
to me.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-What a great country is about

is that we care
about each other,

that your family cares
about my family,

my family cares
about your family,

that every family in America
has its problems,

but we work together
to solve them.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-He's for us.

He's going to help us
make a difference, you know,

in this crooked world.

-I really like what Bernie
stands for

in terms
of being for the people.

And so far what I've seen it
looks like the governments

really been about enriching
those that are at the top

and not really looking out
for the common people.

-So whether the establishment
wants it or not,

we're going to open the door
to working people,

to young people
to say, "Come on in.

This is your country.

Vote, participate in
the political process."

-[ Chanting ] Bernie, Bernie,
Bernie, Bernie,

Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.

-So today I am here

to humbly ask for your support.
[ Cheers and applause ]

-With Nevada and its large
Latino population up next,

coverage of
the Bakersfield event

is an interesting omission
from the national conversation.

And then a new problem
for the campaign.

Just days before the Nevada
caucus, culinary union leaders

circulate a health care
score card to their members

stating that Bernie's platform
would end union health care.

The message fails to mention

that under Sanders'
universal health care plan

they would have
the same or better coverage.

-The state's most influential
union says a vote for Sanders

is a vote to end health care
as they know it.

-How would you answer that union
member who says, "We fought

for five years
to get this health plan.

It's a great gold-plated
health plan.

Why should we give it up
for nationalized health care?"

-You're the one who is at war
with the culinary union

right here in Las Vegas.

We can solve these issues.
-We have more union support

than you have ever dreamed of.

♪♪

-It's the Nevada caucus,

another crucial early state.

With Nevada's large Latino
population,

this is Bernie's first chance
to prove

that he's capable of drawing
a diverse coalition.

-There are so many unknowns
when I look at Nevada.

To begin with, the polling
is infamously off

given the nature
of the population.

-Nevada's culinary union

has been such an influential
voice in Nevada politics.

-Very important to keep our own
health care

because we have the best
health care in Nevada.

-Conflict around
the Nevada Culinary Union

has flared up in the media.

-So, when Culinary 226
did come out

and criticize Bernie Sanders
for Medicare For All,

his supporters
really attacked them.

-A reckless minority
of Bernie supporters

make threats
to the union leaders online

sparking a massive debate
on the hostility of Bernie Bros.

-One of the big narratives in
the race was Bernie's campaign

and his supporters
are just too mean.

-Then the vicious attacks
that the union senate received.

-They're going to go after him
about the bad behavior

of Bernie's supporters or not.

Is this how they do things
in Denmark?

-And I think Bernie has a lot
of questions to answer here.

-If you looked at much
of the news coverage,

much of the news coverage
was telling you

that the real thing people
should be worried about

is the appropriateness

of the tone of
some Bernie Sanders supporters.

It's an example of a completely
manufactured narrative.

It's not to excuse, you know,
this or that terrible tweet

or this or that, you know,
terrible social media posting.

It's only to say that it's the
rough and tumble of a campaign

and when you are exclusively
trying to scandalize

one campaign's situation

and you're illustrating
an actual attitude and bias

that is not fair
and is not objective.

-The Bernie Bro narrative
dominates coverage.

Can Sanders' campaign overcome
this latest attempt

to derail his momentum?

With voting underway in Nevada,
Bernie heads to Texas,

a state which months ago had him
polling in single digits.

Bernie decides to rally
and watch the Nevada results

in a heavily Latino
populated San Antonio.

-You're going to be going
inside.

It's moving, it's moving,
it's moving.

Let's go.

-Mainstream media is saying
we can't get things done.

Saying that it's all too extreme
when our positions are moderate.

Our positions are not extreme,
they're just painted as extreme

to really
prevent them from happening.

-What he says is what we all
should be doing,

is caring about people
and not the bottom dollar.

His affinity to the working
class has perked my interest.

I'm a union member.

I have been for 20 years.

You know, unions have things
that they negotiate.

They negotiate wages,

they negotiate
the working conditions,

they negotiate pension,
they negotiate health care.

Take health care off the table.

-Senator Sanders says he wants
to improve

health care benefits for unions

but this union is specifically
saying

they want to keep
their private health insurance,

and we're hearing that
from unions across the country.

-There's one thing that makes
the establishment media,

establishment Democrats
or Republicans really nervous,

and that's every time
Bernie Sanders

starts doing really well.

Because the more better he does,

the more everybody worries
about them not being relevant

because they're falling in line
with everybody else.

Whether it's the corporate media

or whether it's
the establishment.

-There is real concern right now
that Bernie Sanders

is so far ahead
in the lead here in Nevada,

and then might go to South
Carolina further fracture

that Joe Biden support
among African-Americans,

sweep up a ton of delegates
in California,

currently where he's leading
by a large margin in the polls,

and then become
essentially unstoppable.

♪♪

-We are at the Bernie Sanders
rally waiting for him to come on

and I'm really excited
because it is a caucus night,

so we get to see the results
coming in while we're here

and hopefully we'll get
to celebrate a win

with Mr. Bernard Sanders
tonight.

I think the way that
the mainstream media

has portrayed Bernie and his
supporters is extremely unfair.

There's that
Bernie Bro stereotype

where clearly
I'm a Hispanic female,

I am not a white male.

And really Bernie has proven
to have a very,

very diverse supporter base.

♪♪

♪ Hey, Bernie,
[singing in Spanish] ♪

♪♪

[ Singing indistinctly ]

♪♪

-[ Chanting ]
Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.

-As Bernie's momentum grows,

it's not just mainstream
media that's concerned.

It's President Trump
and his supporters as well.

♪♪

-Say the pledge of elegance to
the Republic for which we stand.

Okay, people wake up.

Red, white and blue.

You know?

♪♪

Anyone who votes Democrat,
they can't be a Christian

because it's pro-abortion.

Okay?
And it's anti-American.

It's pro-socialism.

It's pro-homosexual.

And I'm not judging them.

Even though I'm ordained,
you know,

to call evil out for evil.

-Whoo!
-Four more years.

-USA!

USA!

-[ Chanting ]
Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie,

Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie,

Bernie, Bernie, Bernie!

-That's awesome.

I feel the energy.

I see the fire in your eyes.

And I love it.

I love it.

How many of you already voted
for Senator Sanders?

-All the oppressors are afraid
of this campaign

more than any other campaign.
[ Cheers and applause ]

You know why they're afraid?

Because they know
it's not about me.

It's not just about Bernie.

It's not just about one of you.

It's not just about them.

It's about us coming together.

-Election returns from Nevada
come in swiftly.

A reporter is heard gasping

as she reports that Bernie
is winning in a landslide.

-These, again, are people
who work on the Strip.

The majority are Latino
and they are clearly,

at least from eye-balling it
[sighs heavily]

strongly in favor
of Bernie Sanders

with Joe Biden coming in second.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Now I'm delighted to bring you
all some pretty good news.

[ Cheers and applause ]

I think all of you know we won
the popular vote in Iowa.

[ Cheers and applause ]

We won the New Hampshire
primary.

[ Cheers and applause ]

And according
to three networks of the AP

we have now won
the Nevada caucus!

-NBC news projects Bernie
Sanders the winner in Nevada.

Brand-new breaking news numbers
coming right out of Nevada.

-Don't tell anybody.

I don't want to
get them nervous.

We're going to win the
Democratic primary in Texas.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-The happiest person right now,
it's about 1:15 Moscow time.

This thing is going very well
for Vladimir Putin.

I promise you.

He's probably staying up
watching us right now.

How are you doing, Vlad?

-If another candidate
had won Nevada,

it would have been
a celebration on cable TV news.

Instead it was like a funeral.

-The cable news coverage
is not dominated by

how Sanders had built a diverse
winning coalition in Nevada,

but rather,
can anyone stop Sanders?

-And that again illustrated
what was really at work on a day

to day basis on cable TV news.

-No one else is as hungry,
angry,

enraged and determined
as Sanders voters.

Democrats need to sober up
and figure out

what the hell
they're going to do about that.

-You have to remember it wasn't
just at that moment in Nevada.

It was like, oh, this is what
you guys have been talking about

for much of the campaign.

Now it's on full display
for everybody to see.

-The frustration
from mainstream media news

is as clear
as Bernie's Nevada win.

On prime time air,
Chris Matthews

lets his disgust
overwhelm his judgment.

-I'm reading last night
about the fall of France

in the summer of 1940,
and the General Reynaud calls up

Churchill and says, "It's over."

-Chris Matthews compares
Bernie's win to World War II

and the rise of Nazism.

-And Churchill says,
"How can it be?

You've got the greatest army
in Europe.

How can it be over?"

He said, "It's over."

♪♪

-Winning the popular vote
in the first three states,

Bernie is surging.

But mainstream media tries
to suppress this narrative

in a pattern that's been
going on for years.

-This power apparatus
that we're living in,

I mean, it is well built.

It is a well
functioning machine.

-We're always told
that CNN and MSNBC

are the anti-Trump channels.

They're also
the anti-Bernie channels.

-Ed Schultz was told not
to cover Bernie Sanders,

not to cover him during
the primary in 2015, '16.

He covered him anyway.
He was fired for that.

-When Bernie Sanders
was announcing

that he was going to be
a candidate for the nomination

of the Democratic party
in Burlington, Vermont,

I was the only cable host
between Fox, MSNBC and CNN

that was there live
to cover it.

♪♪

I go to Bernie Sanders' house
that afternoon

and interview in the backyard.

About a 15 minute interview.

The grandkids are
running around.

It's a big day
for the Sanders family.

He's going to announce that
he's running for president.

We're going to carry it
live later on in the day

and we're going to run this one
on one tape with Bernie.

3,000 people are there
on Lake Champagne.

It's five minutes to air,
and I get a phone call

from Phil Griffin,
"You're not covering this."

I said "Phil, Bernie Sanders
is announcing

he's running for president.
He's going to be a president--"

"I don't care!
You're not covering this."

We were told that we had to
cover something down in Texas

that was totally meaningless.

-That's the history of MSNBC
and their journalism.

If you tell the truth
about progressives

or if you tell the truth about
a war you're going to get fired.

-The fix was in with
the mainstream media.

The fix was in with
managing the news

and shutting down
Bernie Sanders.

And it wasn't until he started
matching the Clintons

and raising money
that he became,

"Well, we got
to cover this guy."

-The media wants
to generate clicks.

It wants sensational stories.

But it also wants, for example,

to maintain friends
in high places.

-I worked on the Phil Donahue
show at MSNBC in 2002 and '03.

We were canceled for political
reasons three weeks

before the invasion
of Iraq saying,

"Oh, he wasn't getting
the ratings we had hoped for."

And God bless whistleblower,

or someone inside NBC News
leaked documents.

NBC did not want
an antiwar voice on the air.

-They were also owned by
General Electric at the time,

which was a defense contractor.

And they stood to make billions
if not, you know,

more off of the war.
-Let me tell you something.

You say the wrong thing
you don't get advertisers.

You don't get advertisers,
you're not on the air very long.

The mainstream media in this
country is about one thing.

That's making money.

♪♪

-With a convincing win in
Nevada, Bernie heads to Austin.

A rally of over 12,000
faithful supporters convene

to celebrate Bernie Sanders
and prepare for Super Tuesday,

where Texas, among 13
other states, will vote.

After years of being insulted

and dismissed,
Bernie Sanders' movement

has won the popular vote
in the first three states.

♪♪

♪♪

-Bernie out.

Communism out.

Bernie out.

Communism out.

Bernie out.
Communism out.

If you want Cuba,

if you want China,

if you want North Korea,

go there and live as communists,
but don't come here and dream

of your violent
overthrow of America!

Because all you'll get is your
political guts stomped out,

you commies!

-It's pretty disheartening
to see the way

that our political system
is being reported.

Every time Bernie takes a win
in any of these states,

they're completely not even
trying to hide the fact

that they're
undermining his wins.

-There's not a lot of attention

that's being paid
to his victories.

That's kind of impacting
his momentum.

-While thousands of Sanders
supporters

pack the Austin rally,
mainstream media reaches

millions of viewers
raising the concerns

that if Sanders
comes out of Super Tuesday

with the most delegates,
he would be unstoppable.

-♪ Power to the people

♪ Power to the people

♪ Power to the people

[ Cheers and applause ]

-I cannot believe how many
people are here.

It's amazing.
[ Cheers and applause ]

Now I've been hearing, you know,
the establishment is getting

a little bit nervous
about our campaign.

Their nightmare is when
they see,

not only in Austin
but all over this country,

millions of people
standing up for justice.

That is what this campaign
is about.

Yes, Wall Street is powerful.

The drug companies are powerful.

The insurance companies
are powerful.

The military industrial complex
is powerful.

But the major problem we face

are the limitations
of our imagination

and what we believe
as a nation we can become.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-While the Austin rally
is in full swing,

cable news
pays little attention.

Instead, they circle
their talking points

around a "60 Minutes" promo

clip of an interview
with Senator Sanders

that will air later that night.

The clip features Bernie Sanders
expressing that

not everything
Fidel Castro did was bad.

In an interview from 1985,

he cites Castro's
literacy program.

-He educated the kids,
gave them health care.

Totally transformed the society.

-New outlets shift
to a different narrative --

Sanders is not electable because
of his complimentary views

of Castro's literacy program.

-There was a couple
of dynamics at play.

I mean, there was an effort
to blow up anything Bernie said

that was controversial
into an enormous controversy.

I mean Bernie got asked one
question about Fidel Castro.

It became a three day,
four day news story.

-Shouldn't we judge dictators
by the violation of human rights

and not by any of
their alleged achievements?

-If you only tuned into the news
you might think

that Bernie Sanders was
campaigning for Fidel Castro.

I mean, he was literally
on "60 Minutes,"

and he was asked
a question about it.

Answered a question in a very
similar way,

by the way, that Barack Obama
answered the question

and it was like
some huge controversy.

-There is a saying here
in South Florida

by many Cubans that they say,

you know, Castro may have given
us health care and education

but he didn't give us breakfast,
lunch or dinner.

-They're attacking your comment
as absolutely unacceptable,

singing the praises
of a murderous tyrant.

-It's the 10th
Democratic debate,

four days before
the South Carolina primary.

The latest narrative
frames Sanders

as a radical,
communist sympathizer,

someone far from the party's
current core message

and comfort zone.

Bernie's contentious
relationship with the DNC

is not new.

-There's been a war
in the Democratic party.

And the donor class
are on one side,

and the progressives and
the base are on the other side.

-In 2016, the moderate side
was heavily favored

when Hillary Clinton received
nearly all the super delegate

support before primary voting
had even begun.

-Unpledged delegates exist

really to make sure
that party leaders

and elected officials
don't have to be in a position

where they are running
against grass roots activists.

And so we separate out those
unpledged delegates to make sure

that there isn't competition
between them.

-I'm not sure that that answer
would satisfy

an anxious, young voter.

-CNN hosted a town hall
featuring Hillary Clinton,

and then CNN contributor,
now DNC interim chair,

Donna Brazile, actually gave
the Clinton campaign

an advanced notice of a question
that they were going to ask.

-And that is obviously biasing
the debate

because Bernie Sanders didn't
have any questions in advance.

-Democratic National Committee
is very happy

with corporate journalists
running Democratic debates.

-Our latest NBC News
Wall Street Journal

poll released yesterday
two thirds of all voters

said they were uncomfortable

with a socialist candidate
for president.

What do you say to those voters,
sir?

-What was the result
of that poll?

Who was winning?

-The question is to you.

-Well, the question was that
I was winning

and I think
by a fairly comfortable margin.

Might mention that.

-The corporate wing of
the Democratic party,

the establishment wing
is represented

by one pundit after another.

The progressive wing
almost never gets to speak.

What many in the Democratic
party establishment fear

is not that
Bernie couldn't beat Trump.

It's that Bernie
would beat Trump,

transform the Democratic party,
and transform the country.

-With Bernie leading
in the polls,

Chris Matthews encourages
the other candidates

to attack the front runner.

The Stop Sanders movement
is on full display.

-This one feels,
because of the Bloomberg factor,

feels like a big moment
that we can predict

it's going to be a big moment.

Good or bad, which way
it will go, we don't know.

Does it feel like that to you?

-Yeah, and I hope that
the candidates

who have been telegraphing
their punches against Sanders,

Senator Sanders, are actually
going to deliver them.

-Can Americans trust that a
Democratic socialist president

will not give
authoritarians a free pass?

-And that's why Russia is
helping you get elected

so you'll lose for him.
-Oh, Mr. Bloomberg.

-Imagine spending the better
part of 2020

with Bernie Sanders
versus Donald Trump.

Think about what that will be
like for this country.

-What began as a blackout
and then,

you know,
first they ignored him,

then they laughed at him,

then they attacked him.

And the attacks
really accelerated

when it became clear Bernie
could be the nominee.

-You can't do it.

You cannot talk about
Fidel Castro's literacy program.

You just can't.

Not in American politics.

And you shouldn't be able to.

That ain't cool not just
with former Republicans.

That ain't cool with
South Carolina voters.

That ain't cool with Democrats.

-The race turns
to South Carolina.

Mainstream media argues
that the candidate

who takes South Carolina
will be in the driver seat

to win the nomination --

a new state and a new media
narrative.

-These southern states that are
considered locked up

for Biden in terms
of the black vote.

-Nobody was questioning the fact

that Joe Biden had lied
on numerous occasions

about being involved
in a civil rights movement

as a front line organizer,
which he was not,

and also about engaging
in civil disobedience

against
Nelson Mandela's imprisonment

in a apartheid South Africa.

Those were two blatant lies
that Joe Biden perpetrated.

And yet he was never asked,

not in the debates
or any interviews,

by pundits about these lies.

-If he can lie to black people
about getting arrested,

going to see...
-Nelson Mandela.

-...or trying
to see Nelson Mandela.

If he can lie time and time
again over the years

and people not completely oust
this guy and disqualify him,

and they instead say,

"Yeah, he's our candidate,
he's our guy.

Uncle Joe, we believe in him."

If that happens, then right now
we're living in a reality

where the facts
are not the priority.

-NBC News is now projecting
that former vice president

Joe Biden has won
a decisive victory

in the South Carolina
Democratic primary.

-Heading into a state
like South Carolina,

you know, the odds
were stacked against us.

Biden basically in many ways
got a pass on his record.

Bernie would periodically
bring up

past votes
that Biden had taken.

He said he didn't write
the bankruptcy bill

that was literally
his bankruptcy bill.

At one point he sort of said

that he had always been
against the Iraq war.

At another point he just denied

that he ever pushed
to cut social security.

I mean, these are just
blatant lies.

I mean, they're just verifiable,
demonstrable lies

that really were not fact
checked at all.

You could criticize our campaign
for not more intensely

and repeatedly
pushing that message.

But there's also a media
culpability here,

which part of the job
of the media

is to actually legitimately
fact check these things.

There are objective facts
and truth,

and in a lot of ways
the media did not do its job

to actually make sure
that the conversation

that was happening
on the campaign trail

was rooted in fact.

I mean, there is a referee role

that the media
just refused to play.

The media couldn't bring itself
to simply state a fact.

-South Carolina is when we saw

the big shift
in the media narrative.

We saw it shift from a very
likely Sanders presidency

to it's all over.

Biden has captured
the popular imagination

and spirit
of the American voter.

He has crushed it.

♪♪

-48 hours before Super Tuesday,
Sanders' campaign

commits to an aggressive rally
schedule throughout California.

-We're going to see here
that Bernie has the power

to win this election,
and it will be undeniable.

-There's a political revolution
happening in the streets.

The media's going to have to
acknowledge it at some point.

There's only so much
that they can do to hide

and obstruct the real facts.

-"Bernie's a socialist and you
know what socialism is?

Communism!
We're going to be Russia!"

Alright, kitten, relax.
[ Laughter ]

Bernie is a Democratic
socialist.

[ Cheers and applause ]
And so am I.

The only way we will
become Russia

is if we get four more years
of this lunatic,

wannabe dictator.
[ Cheers and applause ]

-Yeah, let's get this party
started!

-Fight the power.
-What do you say?

-Fight the power.
-Hey.

-We've got to fight.

-Within 48 to 72 hours
of Super Tuesday,

the media began bringing on
trusted party folks

and started really ringing alarm
bells about Sanders' candidacy.

-Sanders is, you know,

just may well have
this thing locked down.

-Well, unless something
fundamentally changes

and that would mean
Bernie Sanders

vote share would have
to drop precipitously,

and I don't think we see
any evidence of that.

Or somebody, and I think
at this point

it's more likely to have to be
one person than two, emerges.

He's going to exit Super
Tuesday with,

if not an insurmountable
pledge delegate lead,

a significant one.

-We are a multi-generational,
multiracial,

grass roots movement.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-So for you moderates, you have
to form a coalition now.

Not that you'll take my advice,

but I think the moderates should
coalesce behind one person.

♪♪

-It's 24 hours
before Super Tuesday.

The question remains --

is there an anti-Bernie bias
in the media

and the Democratic party?

-It's just been sort of
a whiplash period

for all of us following
the Biden campaign.

There were a lot of folks
on the Biden campaign

who didn't think they'd even
be around for Super Tuesday.

-Out of the public eye, Pete
and Amy fly to Dallas, Texas,

to meet up with Joe Biden
for a scheduled rally.

Just 24 hours
before Super Tuesday.

Beto joins Amy and Pete
for a Biden rally,

where they shock the world
with their abrupt departure

from the race
to endorse Joe Biden.

-Ladies and gentleman
[speaking in Spanish]

Joe Biden!

Let's do it for Joe!

-I am delighted to endorse and
support Joe Biden for president.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Today, I am ending my campaign

and endorsing Joe Biden
for president.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-Bernie is blind sided.

The photo op is national news
for the next 24 hours

leading up
to the Super Tuesday vote.

-The establishment candidates
all suddenly got

in line behind Joe Biden.

That's a huge amount
of power marshaled for him.

Between South Carolina
and Super Tuesday,

there was also
an enormous amount,

of tens of millions of dollars
of free media coverage for Biden

that was almost
entirely positive.

That played a huge role.

And I think that that was
the wave

that much of the establishment
media, the corporate media,

the billionaire-owned media
was waiting for.

-In just a matter of hours,
voters in 14 states

begin the process of heading
to the polls for Super Tuesday.

-Super Tuesday is the most
crucial day

so far in the democratic race
for the White House.

14 states vote
and American Samoa vote

a third of
the delegates up for grabs.

♪♪

-I support Senator Sanders

because he doesn't take
the status quo for given.

He doesn't say, "That's okay."

He says, "You know what?
No, it's not.

Let's rock the boat.

In fact, let's tip
the boat over."

What happened recently
with the endorsements

of Klobuchar and Buttigieg
and O'Rourke,

they all support Biden now.

[ Sighs ]

It's like they're trying to
tell us, "Hey, everybody,

Biden's the one.

Forget about kooky Sanders.

What he says is crazy.

Don't vote for him."

♪♪

-Mind you, a long night to go.

Joe Biden has every right to be
heavily optimistic

and confident at this point
in the night.

Stay with us for several more
hours, we'll see how it goes.

At the moment,
at this moment Joe Biden

is now the leader
in the national delegate chase.

-The Fox News decision desk
can now project

that former vice president
Joe Biden

will win the state of Alabama,

racking up his third victory
of the night.

-[ Chanting ] Bernie, Bernie,
Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.

-I think we have a new call.

We do from the state
of Arkansas.

Minnesota -- Joe Biden
the projected winner.

-Joe Biden will come out
with a vote victory in Texas.

-Joe Biden has bounced back,

and the path
doesn't look any easier

for his top competitor,
Senator Bernie Sanders.

-It's been pretty disgusting
how the entire establishment

has banded together to kind
of drown out his message.

-I think it's -- it's not okay.

It's insulting, it's demeaning,
it's degrading.

-Joe Biden's already had
the night he needs.

If Joe Biden leaves
Super Tuesday

with more delegates
than anybody else,

it will be nearly impossible
for Sanders to stop him.

♪♪

-You know, we faced
a uniquely uphill climb.

We're going up against
a vice president

in a political system
in which vice presidents

essentially
never lose the nomination

of their party
when they seek it.

Look, I think we could have
done a better job

of consistently contrasting
with Joe Biden

to make clear what
the primary election choice

was really all about

in very explicit terms.

There were strategic
considerations.

There was a media environment
that said any time you bring up

anything even mildly contrastive
you're a horrible human being

and you're hurting
the party's unity.

-CNN analyst Gloria Borger
put it in a way

that I thought
was kind of perfect.

She said the waters parted
for Joe Biden.

She said he didn't even do
anything to part those waters.

Which gets at the passive nature
of the way

that the kind of
the establishment kind of

walked him to the nomination.

-This history
of the Democratic party

and its primaries is a history
of the candidates really,

really contrasting
with each other.

And I know there are people
out there, "Oh, my God,

it was the most negative primary
I've ever seen in my life."

It was like, You must have been
asleep for the last 50 years.

That is not the way
politics works.

That is not the history
of America.

♪♪

-The reason Bernie Sanders
doesn't identify as a Democrat

is because he believes
that the capitalist class

essentially has two parties
at its disposal,

so working people
ought to have at least one.

-Younger millennials and zoomers
have come of age

at a time where our politics
is deeply cynical.

They see more critically
the flaws

of the Republican establishment

but also the Democratic
establishment.

And so even though they are
progressive by

in large in their values,

that doesn't mean
that they're going to be

Democratic party loyalists.

-For the past 25 years, about
35 percent of Americans

identify as independent.

Despite such a large independent
voting block,

there's great pressure on voters

to only support
the bigger parties.

-So there's the Democrats
and the Republicans,

and it's one major force
against another major force.

It's not very complicated.

-A vote for a third party

is typically considered
throwing away your vote.

More than half of American
independents end up voting

for one of the two big parties.

-"Vote blue no matter who."
It's so perfect.

They're so out of touch and
ineffective

that they don't even understand

that that's the most
alienating name.

Like, if they actually wanted
people to vote blue

no matter who, they
wouldn't use that PR name.

You're wearing this tribalism
and lack of any moral

or political imagination
on your sleeve.

Like, we know
that's what you think

but you really should have
a different mantra.

-I'm opposed to the hashtag
"blue no matter who"

because it brings us back

into these lesser
of two evil arguments,

and we end up supporting
corporate Democrats

who, except in the areas
of identity politics,

vote no differently from
their Republican counterparts.

-Having two parties who are
in contention with each other

at all times makes
for really good television.

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-A week ago,
a week and a half ago,

Bernie's march to the nomination
was strong.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-You cannot beat Trump
with the same old,

same old kind of politics.

[ Cheers and applause ]

What we need is a new politics
that brings working class

people into
our political movement.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Also pretty enlightening to see
just how the great lengths

that people would go to

to sort of

make sure
that things don't change,

that the status quo
remains the same.

-A shell-shocked Sanders
campaign goes into overdrive

in an attempt to win the coveted
swing state of Michigan.

-What a difference a week makes!

-The polls have flipped
since Super Tuesday,

and Sanders campaign

is desperately looking for
a lifeline of encourage results.

The March 10th primary --

six states vote.

Michigan is the largest prize.

♪♪

What I want to do now

is something different
than I've done before,

because today is a special day
for me,

because I want to introduce
somebody who is a hero for me.

He is one of
the transformative figures

in modern American history.

I say to the Reverend Jackson

it is
one of the honors of my life

to be supported by a man
who has put his life on the line

for the last 50 years
fighting for justice.

-I stand with
Bernie Sanders today

because he stood with me.

[ Cheers and applause ]

I stand with him because
he's never lost his taste

for justice for the people.

[ Cheers and applause ]

I stand with him
because he stands with you.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Thank you, Jesse!

[ Cheers and applause ]

-And I want to talk a little bit
because in 1984,

Reverend Jackson
delivered a speech

known as
the David and Goliath speech.

And he said,
"It's time for a new course.

A new coalition
of new leadership.

A choice.

A chance."

♪♪

-The campaign arrives
in Cleveland,

where it's scheduled to have
an election night party

to receive the results,

but something even more
disruptive is on the horizon.

-We got here early
so we can stand in line,

and as we were walking through
the parking garage

someone said,
"Hey, it's canceled."

-There was a Sanders
rally canceled

due to concerns over
the coronavirus outbreak.

There are a couple of
reported cases here in Ohio.

-We're super sad.

Like, we were really stoked
about this.

I'm kind of an introvert,
so to come out here

with so many people
was like a big deal for me

and I was excited to be a part
of this movement

and, you know, show my kids
how to be an active citizen.

-Tonight for the first time,
the coronavirus

is forcing candidates
to call off rallies.

Six states are holding primaries
and caucuses today.

Joe Biden has won 11
of the past 16 contests

and now leads Bernie Sanders
by almost 100 delegates.

-Joe Biden is on a roll.

-You see the Biden blue
on the map.

10 wins for the former
vice president.

-I think tonight's definitely
a should-win night for Bernie.

I don't want to say that
it's an all or nothing thing.

But I think that the media
is trying to make it

seem like it's a bigger deal.

-If Bernie can't pull off a win
there in Michigan

and the path forward
is very, very hard,

what happens to that campaign?

At some point does someone
talk to him and say,

"Listen, we have to
rally around the nominee?"

-Take a look at this.

CNN now projects Joe Biden
is the winner in Michigan.

125 delegates are stake.

Joe Biden is the Democratic

presidential primary winner
in Michigan.

So far tonight
he has won Michigan,

Mississippi and Missouri --

three important states,

very significant wins for
the former vice president.

Jake and Dana, this is what
Biden was really hoping for.

-Even though it's difficult
and exhausting

and saddening, I know that we
just have to keep moving forward

and that there's always
more to do.

I'm like, wow, crying.

There was a point where
we actually had a little bit

of hope
that Bernie could win this.

-I think Bernie Sanders is done.
-Yeah.

-If I was him I'd probably
go ahead

and drop out tomorrow
and let's, you know.

-You think tomorrow?
-Joe Biden will be the nominee

or the presumptive
nominee now after tonight.

Clearly.
I think Bernie's gone.

I think it's done.
Let's go.

-Coronavirus has effected
the election primarily

by shutting it down.

There are no more rallies.

There is no more canvassing.

-Democrats now have a reason
to put all of democracy on hold

and basically say,
"We have got our guy

and the coronavirus crisis
has shut everything down

and it's selfish for Bernie
to even stay in the race."

-Coronavirus has brought
an extreme urgency

to the Sanders message.

-The feeling is that you cannot
simply give $50 billion

to the airline industry.

If you're going to bail
out tourism,

if you're going to
bail out hotels, et cetera,

what you have to do is make sure

that that money is going
to protect working people.

-And as you see right now
during this crisis,

that they have mechanisms
in place to save the economy,

to save the corporations,

but there's no mechanisms
in place to save people.

"Right now immediately

you need a trillion dollars to
Wall Street?

Boom. Two trillion, three
trillion, a trillion a day,

we'll give it to you."

"Hey, we need $2,000
for a taxpayer --"

We just can't seem
to get that done.

-While he assess his campaign,

Bernie turns his focus
to the COVID stimulus package.

-And now I find that some
of my Republican

colleagues are very distressed.

They're very upset that somebody
is making $10,

12 bucks an hour might end up
with a pay check for four months

more than
they received last week.

Oh, my God!
The universe is collapsing.

-The coronavirus crisis
and the economic crisis

that it has caused
has led a lot of people

to start demanding
the emergency implementation

of Bernie Sanders's platform.

-Every inch of Brookdale
Hospital Medical Center

in Brooklyn now inundated

with those suffering
from COVID-19.

-As the pandemic rages on,
a new story completely ignored

by all major news outlets

is revealed
by independent journalists.

-So why don't you tell us
what happened?

-We were alone, and it was
the strangest thing.

There was no, like,
exchange really.

His hands were on me
and underneath my clothes.

-The coronavirus pandemic
has all but shut

the 2020 Democratic
primaries down.

With near constant media
attention on the virus,

there's one new election story

the mainstream media
refuses to tell.

Independent journalist
Katie Halper breaks the story

on her weekly podcast.

She interviews a former staffer
for Biden in the early '90s.

The victim alleges
sexual assault.

-And then he went --

he went down my skirt,
but then up inside it.

-I wanted someone who doesn't
have such a record

as a Sanders supporter
to tell the story

because I thought it would --

I wanted to make sure people
didn't think

I was politicizing it
or, you know,

that this wasn't a totally
honest story, which it is.

-I looked up to him.

He was like my father's age.

He was this champion of women's
rights in my eyes.

I have no platform.

I am no one.
-I believe her.

I spoke to her brother
and her friend,

both of whom remember her

telling about the incident
at the time.

But no one else
would tell her story.

-Tara Reid had a very hard time
getting her story told,

vetted, shared at all.

You see, there's a powerful club
here in this town,

and you're not in it,
and neither is Tara.

I thought Tara deserved
a full vetting

and a fair hearing
from a mainstream outlet.

But as I reached out
to mainstream folks

that I know to see
if they were interested

in breaking this bombshell
story, I heard back crickets.

Nothing. No one seemed to
want to touch it.

And you can bet that if the shoe
were on the other foot

and you had a similarly credible
accuser of Bernie Sanders,

there's no doubt that
she would have no trouble

whatsoever getting tons
of coverage.

So it's an incredibly
powerful example

of the way
that this ideological bias

works to help the anointed
candidate, Joe Biden.

And you just see this glaring
hypocrisy from people

who would use
the hashtag "believe women,"

who would use
the hashtag "me too."

And yet with Tara Reid, they
find every excuse in the book

to try to not take
her allegations seriously.

-Instead of immediately
reporting Tara Reid's story,

pundits continued to turn out
anti-Sanders reporting.

Mainstream media outlets delayed

covering Tara Reid's story
until much later,

causing the allegation
to have no real impact

on the primary race.

♪♪

Weeks pass by with continual
pressure on Bernie

to leave the race.
-Last I heard,

people in a democracy
have a right to vote.

And they have the right to vote
for the agenda

that they think
can work for America,

especially in this very,
very difficult moment.

We are assessing our campaign
as a matter of fact,

where we want to go forward.

What I am very worried about
is that people cannot afford --

-So your plan is to stay in,
yes?

-Well, you know, I just said...
-Your plan is to stay --

-...that we are just --

Well, for the fourth time.
-You're assessing it.

-We are assessing.
-Okay.

Alright.
-We are assessing our campaign.

-Very good.

-It's heartbreaking to see him

not throw knock out
punch at the debates.

-They're going to have to look
at the lessons from this year

and figure out how to form
a coherent left movement

that not only has
the right ideas

but is ultimately serious
about power.

-On April 8th, Bernie Sanders

suspends his presidential
campaign.

-Again, I'm not saying that
we didn't make mistakes.

I'm not saying that we ran
a perfect campaign.

But I am saying that anybody
who pretends

that this was a fair contest
is just not being truthful.

We were up against a media

that felt
existentially threatened

by the agenda of Bernie Sanders.

And all of that power
was brought to bear against us.

And that is a real dynamic,
and that will be a real dynamic

for any candidate who champions
the same agenda moving forward.

-Because if there's one thing
that we learned in this campaign

it is how powerful mainstream
media still really is --

how much sway their
narrative setting

has over the public discourse.

-Jeff Winchell performed
a final analysis

of the amount of coverage MSNBC

gave Bernie Sanders
throughout the campaign.

In the early portion
where he was the front runner,

the other candidates
were mentioned distinctly more.

There are only two moments
when Bernie received

more coverage
than other candidates --

after his super Tuesday loss

and the day after he suspended
his campaign.

It's a glaring example of how
the mainstream media

chose to emphasize
his campaigns problems

and to undermine his successes.

The campaign is over,

but despite this loss
his entire grass roots movement

makes it clear
that a new generation is willing

to stand up against traditional
power structures in America.

-I think there is an exciting
trend of new alternative media.

-Independent media is on the
rise and people are able to see

the truth
about different figures,

whether it be negative
or whether it be positive.

-We're going to have to build
a movement of all of us

that is bigger than just
Bernie Sanders himself.

-People have to remain engaged.

They have to reengage more.

We have to deal with
electoral politics

and you have to be part of it.

-A few years ago, I had to watch
my mother lose the fight

against lung cancer.

And during that whole time when
she should have

just been focused
on getting well

there was that added stress
and pain of the medical bills.

The whole reason
I'm out here in,

you know, rain, sleet or snow
is Medicare For All.

-Environmental justice --

A Green New Deal
not just being a transition

away from fossil fuels

but investing
in those communities

directly impacted
by that transition.

-The inequality in this country.

The wealth inequality.

The racial inequality.

-For free education.

I think it's for a smarter
future and healthier future.

-I have a preexisting condition

and I don't want the health
insurance industry

to overcharge me just so that
I can breathe decently.

-If you think that health care,
Medicare For All,

being accessible
to folks is radical,

that public education should
extend beyond K through 12

is radical then,
yeah, I'm also radical.

♪♪

-The major challenge
that we face

is not only
a redistribution of wealth,

which is important,
but a redistribution of power.

Making the average American feel
this is my country,

this is a democracy.

I can shape the future.

The people don't feel that now.

They sit down,
they watch the tube for 40

or 50 hours a week,
they hold their nose,

they vote for the lesser
of two evils.

Now that, to me,
is the major problem.

And once we can begin to deal
with that problem

I think other things
will follow.

♪♪