Sanders Campaign Manager: Sure, We’ll Consider Hillary Clinton For Veep

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in an interview published Wednesday that the campaign would be “willing to consider” Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton for vice president if she ends up losing to her rival.

“Look, she’d make a great vice president. We’re willing to give her more credit than Obama did,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in an interview with Bloomberg Politics. “We’re willing to consider her for vice president. We’ll give her serious consideration. We’ll even interview her.”

Though Weaver’s comments were “at least half-joking,” according to Bloomberg’s John Heilemann, they represent a larger shift by the Sanders campaign to beat Clinton, who is leading polls nationally and in some early caucus and primary states.

“If we can make it about his message and his record versus her message and her record, we can beat her,” campaign chief strategist Tad Devine told Bloomberg. “We’d much rather win that way, because if we beat her and she collapses and we’re standing there, the whole institutional establishment party could rise up against us. That is a real possibility.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for agio agio says:

    I doubt it.(Though I doubt it matters since Sanders is unlikely to win the primary.)

    And there isn’t a chance in hell Clinton would pick Sanders as a running mate.

    Both of them will pick someone younger and more hispanic, if they’re smart.

  2. I wonder how all those purity progressives who continually assert that Clinton is nothing more than a bloodthirsty Republican-Lite will respond to this.

  3. They have to rage-type their responses on to Raw Story first.

  4. Tad Devine who never won a major campaign is going to use republican strategies to win a Dem primary. Yapping to Heileman about your strategy …yeah this is a trial balloon and it’s already getting them blowback. Devine and company come off as condescending and sexist. Sanders speech at J-J dinner fell flat. Sanders is an independent who wants undecided Democratic voters to support him is now going to use this strategy that has been used by the republicans forever…good luck with that

  5. Avatar for jtx jtx says:

    Last gasp?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

31 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for doremus_jessup Avatar for lestatdelc Avatar for alliebean Avatar for lockheedkeynesian Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for feathered_head Avatar for 365daysofhorror Avatar for agio Avatar for clunkertruck Avatar for djnoll Avatar for bluestatedon Avatar for downriverdem Avatar for wiscojoe Avatar for dswx Avatar for vonq Avatar for inthegroove Avatar for sardu Avatar for sarenarterius Avatar for BlueFranco Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for jtx

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: