Bernie Sanders buys a $575,000 vacation home and the Internet cries hypocrisy

[richeiieu]

Bernie Sanders does not like fancy-schmancy things. He isn’t a huge fan of gazillionaires, tuxedos or any of the highfalutin trappings of society’s economic ills. This, of course, made him a hero among the country’s growing socialist movement. So when news came that the former presidential candidate bought a $575,000 vacation home for his family,

Comments

[calinewarkwc69]

must be OP's first day learning about campaign finance laws. (they sold a property Jane inherited)

[molkat]

$575k is not a modest cottage, especially if you own two other properties that are likely of similar value or greater. And on top of that there's property taxes, insurance, and maintenance on three properties.

It's stupid and inflammatory to claim he used donor money, but unless they are burning throught their savings there's no way they're only making $200k a year and able to afford three really nice homes and not be renting out any of them.

[tropicopenguin]

lmao i didn't even support him but let him live!! this is dumb

[ladypolitik]

Donor funds issue aside (as in, putting it COMPLETELY aside because it's a non-issue as campaign financing doesnt work like that), it's interesting to observe both cries of hypocrisy and fierce defense of Sanders across his supporters over this.

Having to gauge his ideological purity (or making exceptions for it) had he purchased this definitely-not-modest property after winning the Democratic candidacy nomination, would be the only thing more messy.

[redstar826]

How many properties do the Clintons own? and what is their value? Clinton supporters told us over and over again that she is just as progressive as he is and that her politics really aren't much different, and she is the one who actually won. Surely her real estate holdings should be more relevant than his at this point. To the extent that anyone's real estate is relevant. Let's be real, pretty much all politicians at that level make more than most of us.

[fuck_of_nature]

I don't agree on the controversy on this, but you are missing the point since Bernie was supposed to be a 'man of the people', so it's not the same as the Clintons owning a bunch of property.

[redstar826]

Is there any politician ever who hasn't in some way tried to claim that they are of the people? Shit, even Trump is out there claiming to understand the pain of out of work factory workers.

My point though, is that I have heard from multiple Clinton supports who have personally told me that Bernie and Clinton are practically the same in every way so Bernie supporters should have no qualms supporting her.

[hikerpoet]

It seems that she owns two homes that are supposedly worth about two million each and he owns three supposedly worth about half a million each. Definitely a difference, but IMO not astonishingly so, especially given the NY market as well, and so on.
Trump's got one one hundred million and one ten million.

[amw]

I am sorry but having a half mill left over for a cottage is NOT the norm, inheritance or not. Pretending like it ain't no thing for a family to drop that kind of money on a house they are not even going to live in most of the year is so out of touch I can't even

[amw]

Oh I'm not surprised either - I mean, his salary is public and his family is clearly in the income bracket where many of their peers would own a holiday home. I was more reacting to some of the commenters here who seem to think owning a holiday home, period, is a "normal" thing and not a luxury that only the upper middle class are privileged enough to enjoy. Personally, I think families who can afford that kind of luxury are probably not being taxed enough to start with, given how many Americans live in real poverty.