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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.

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[-] JohnCorky@lemmings.world 13 points 1 day ago

Why would Sanders argue with a freak?

[-] ByteJunk@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago

Because if you don't stand up to them, you stand with them.

[-] 2ugly2live@lemmy.world 199 points 2 days ago

“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.

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

It's always been like that. It's throwing mud and hoping it sticks.

[-] Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 22 points 2 days ago

Shit. They are throwing shit.

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 310 points 2 days ago

Questioning Sanders’ integrity would be the last thing I’d want to do; especially if I were as ill-advised as RFK.

[-] YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub 147 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

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.

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago

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.

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[-] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 133 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] notsoshaihulud@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

...and kids, that's how you get worms in your brain. (undercooked wild meat)

[-] jve@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

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?)

[-] Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago

One thing I really do not understand. How can a bear be roadkill? What does your car look like after you hit a bear?

[-] Kite@sh.itjust.works 22 points 2 days ago

Lots of bears where I am. If you hit them head on, your car is usually totaled.

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[-] prole 5 points 2 days ago

Ill-advised? You fucking what? You think this will make a difference?

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Don’t get angry at me. Im not your enemy. Focus that rage where it belongs: the rich.

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[-] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 40 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] GladiusB@lemmy.world 30 points 2 days ago

Can't someone just make him follow in his father's footsteps already?

[-] zenbhang@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

music plays

"Oh my, who's that joining Royal Rumble...

IT'S SIRHAN SIRHAN JR WITH A STEEL CHAIR"

[-] Sunshine@lemmy.ca 142 points 2 days ago

I feel sorry for Sanders calling out that buffoon.

I feel sorry that the Democratic party opted to cheat us out of President Sanders.

[-] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 58 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 60 points 2 days ago

Most of the US hates the word socialism, but if you pitch an actual example through a lens of saving money or creating jobs or something, they fucking love it. Just don't actually say the word and your golden.

Start using Social Democracy from now on, a way better term, since Democracy is part of it. Doesn't matter if its actually Democratic Socialism, just use Social Democracy anyways. Americans hear the word Democracy and they would accept it.

[-] danc4498@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

Nah dude, Bernie was WAY more popular than you’re giving him credit for. That’s revisionist history. He won multiple states in the primaries. That doesn’t happen for a Reddit echo chamber candidate. He even won important states like Michigan and Wisconsin.

He really did shake up the Democratic Party, which is why they panicked and did everything they could to push Bernie out. Both in 2016 and 2020.

[-] SnotFlickerman 33 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I think about this every time I talk to my "liberal" family and they don't even realize they're spouting conservative bullshit.

"I worked hard for my house, I deserve to live in it alone until I die" while their son who didn't ask for cancer or to not be able to afford his medications is on the verge of homelessness. I guess my hard work and being underpaid my whole life just doesn't count compared to theirs? I guess the fact that our country mercilessly exploited the rest of the world, preventing them from living such comfortable lives, to be able to achieve such comfort for ourselves, means nothing? Those people in other countries worked hard too and lived in multigenerational housing for, well, generations. But they don't deserve it somehow, they aren't American, and we're the best so we deserve it or some other fucking delusional shit I don't fucking understand it.

They don't get it and at this point I'm pretty sure they never fucking will because the poison of Individualism has gotten them and US citizens don't understand Collectivism or the sacrifices you make for society at all.

All the Boomers are just like Biden. No matter being the source of all our problems, they won't lift a finger to make a sacrifice at the end, because "they worked hard and they shouldn't have to." Sure, when all the queers are being lined up for the firing squad, I'm sure it will mean a lot to them that you just couldn't lift a finger to prevent it because "you worked hard" and "you deserved a calm end of your life" as if these other people being rounded up to be murdered didn't deserve that.

Biden could have done a fuckton for us on his way out, but not a single fucking person in charge is going to make a sacrifice for us. Not Biden, not Merchan, not anybody.

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

All the Boomers are just like Biden

Except younger.

[-] anon6789@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago

My immediate family is largely conservative voters, and they go on about what government should do, and it's all decently lefty suggestions, but try to point that out to them and they go nuts. Most people just seem very ignorant of politics in general.

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[-] negativenull@lemmy.world 28 points 2 days ago

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.

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Sanders was the wrong target. But Congress is certainly in the pocket of big pharma.

The solution is to reduce lobbying

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[-] Veedem@lemmy.world 83 points 2 days ago

Sanders is one person that I wouldn't question the integrity of. Malicious dopes, would, but I wouldn't.

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[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 37 points 2 days ago

Mission accomplished: answer not given and as a bonus fox news gets a clip "RFK jr DESTROYED corrupt Sanders"

...I hate this timeline.

[-] nullPointer@programming.dev 24 points 2 days ago

yet another rich asshole lying to congress with no consequences.

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this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
700 points (100.0% liked)

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