Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) made his second stop on the gauntlet of CBS shows on Monday’s CBS Mornings after a stop on Sunday’s Face the Nation (and ahead of Monday’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) promoting his book It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism. While Face the Nation’s Margaret Brennan pressed Sanders on his latest act of hypocrisy with pricey tickets on Ticketmaster for book events, CBS Mornings was far friendlier.
Co-host Nate Burleson and socialist co-host Tony Dokoupil were open-ended in their teases with Burleson saying “[w]e have questions” and “[h]e has answers” and Dokoupil proclaiming he be “ask[ed]...about” the “message” of his book.
Given the breaking news of President Biden making a surprise stop in Ukraine, Dokoupil asked Sanders for his thoughts: “I want to ask about the situation in Ukraine. We’re sending a lot of money there at the moment, money generated by our capitalist system, so there is a connection I suppose. What needs to happen going forward with U.S. policy toward Ukraine?”
Pivoting to the book, Dokoupil lobbed a softball: “Why did you think now was the time to time for this message? And why okay? It seems like you — you feel that there’s a degree of resistance to any idea of criticism of the golden goose?”
Co-host Jericka Duncan gushed to Sanders from the far-left:
You talk about the issues, you lay them out very well here in the book, and you say things that we had heard from you on the campaign trail many years ago. But I think what the American people struggle with is how do you change a system that appears to be broken in so many ways?
Duncan followed up with more interest: “So, you look at taxing billionaires, for example, but what other solutions are you — are you offering?”
Burleson jumped in as well, gushing that Sanders’s “saying that the system is working the way it’s intended to work” by screwing over working people before touting a new proposal to expand a rapidly bankrupting entitlement system:
Now, you introduced a bill last week with Senator Warren that would not only extend Social Security but increase benefits. Now, do you believe that by taxing wealthier Americans that you could get some bipartisan support on this bill?
Dokoupil offered the only sort of pushback, pointing out that even those who were struggling might argue Sanders was attacking “this system we have has created more wealth than any country has ever had in the history of the world” through “tremendous innovation...and now you’re talking about changing that?”
The interview ended with an open-ended request for Sanders to share his reflections on ailing former President Jimmy Carter, but not before seeing if Sanders would be willing to change the fact that “it is current tax policy in this country that if companies buy an AI system, it’s a capital investment. Even if it lays off workers, they get a tax benefit.”
Back on November 1, 2022, CBS Mornings didn’t afford the same foot message-like treatment to Sanders’s Senate colleague, Tom Cotton (AR) when the Republican came to promote his own book. Instead of softballs, he was routinely pressured to blame his party and fellow conservatives for the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul by a Green Party-backing nudist from Berkeley.
This socialism lovefest was brought to you by advertisers such as AARP and Purina. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcript from February 20, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
February 20, 2023
7:52 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Sen. Bernie Sanders]
NATE BURLESON: Ahead, Senator Bernie Sanders will be here joining us in just a bit. We have questions. He has answers.
(....)
8:00 a.m. Eastern [TEASE]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Sen. Bernie Sanders Live]
TONY DOKOUPIL: Bernie Sanders on his new book, It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism. Is it? We’ll ask him about that message.
(....)
8:02 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Sen. Bernie Sanders Live; Senator on President Biden’s Unannounced Trip to Ukraine]
DOKOUPIL: We’re going to begin this hour with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator — first of all, welcome. Second of all, your visit comes on a day we’ve got some breaking news, some genuine breaking news from Kyiv where president Biden met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy this morning. It was Mr. Biden’s first visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion nearly a year ago. And this week, also, Senator Sanders is out with a new book. It’s called It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism. Senator, good morning to you. Because of the Ukrainian news, before we get to the book, I want to ask about the situation in Ukraine. We’re sending a lot of money there at the moment, money generated by our capitalism system, so there is a connection I suppose. What needs to happen going forward with U.S. policy toward Ukraine?
(....)
8:03 a.m. Eastern
DOKOUPIL: You support what the President is doing. Alright, let’s talk about the book, It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism. Why did you think now was the time to time for this message? And why okay? It seems like you — you feel that there’s a degree of resistance to any idea of criticism of the golden goose?
(....)
8:04 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Sen. Bernie Sanders Live; Senator on New Book, Social Security and the Future of Jobs]
JERICKA DUNCAN: You talk about the issues, you lay them out very well here in the book, and you say things that we had heard from you on the campaign trail many years ago. But I think what the American people struggle with is how do you change a system that appears to be broken in so many ways?
(....)
8:05 a.m. Eastern
DUNCAN: So, you look at taxing billionaires, for example, but what other solutions are you — are you offering?
(....)
8:05 a.m. Eastern
BURLESON: You’re saying that the system is working the way it’s intended to work.
SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Exactly. It’s working great for the billionaire class.
BURLESON: No doubt about it. Now, you introduced a bill last week with Senator Warren that would not only extend Social Security but increase benefits.
SANDERS: Right.
BURLESON: Now, do you believe that by taxing wealthier Americans that you could get some bipartisan support on this bill?
(....)
8:06 a.m. Eastern
DOKOUPIL: One of your proposals is actually to rewrite parts of the Constitution to make changes. But I — you know, the guy at home right now, even the guy who’s not doing well sitting at home, might be saying, yeah, you’re acknowledging that this system we have has created more wealth than any country has ever had in the history of the world. Tremendous innovation, things you acknowledge in the book. And now you’re talking about changing that? I — again — or — you know, tweaking it.
(....)
8:07 a.m. Eastern
DOKOUPIL: I want to ask about Jimmy Carter here. But you know, on AI, it is current tax policy in this country —
BURLESON: Yeah.
DOKOUPIL: — that if companies buy an AI system it’s a capital investment. Even if it lays off workers, they get a tax benefit.
SANDERS: You are right.
DOKOUPIL: It’s encouraged by the system. I imagine you would want to change that.
SANDERS: We would.
BURLESON: You’re saying tax robots?
SANDERS: That’s right.
(....)
8:07 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Sen. Bernie Sanders Live; Senator on Fmr. President Jimmy Carter]
DOKOUPIL: Jimmy Carter, just a core of decency and modesty. Didn’t serve on corporate boards, went back to his hometown. Didn’t go to live in some giant mansion, didn’t give high-powered speeches worth a lot of money. Regular guy. Not a “normal” guy, seemed like a regular guy in life. Your most memorable encounter with him, if you could, sir.
(....)
8:09 a.m. Eastern
DOKOUPIL: Alright, Senator Sanders, I see your wife Jane over there. Did you give her a text or anything on Valentine’s Day just to —
SANDERS: I have no comment on that actually. It’s classified.
DOKOUPIL: — trying to catch Jane’s eye over there. We’ll talk about that during the break. Senator Sanders, thank you very much. Appreciate you being here. The book is It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism. And it goes on sale tomorrow. And you can see more of Senator Sanders tonight on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. That will be a very good conversation.
DOKOUPIL: Oh, that’s going to be good. I’m going to tune in for that.
