Mark Halperin, appearing on “Morning Joe” Friday, blasted Hillary Clinton’s campaign for engaging in “McCarthy-like tactics.
His remarks came after a David Brock-linked super PAC sent an email linking Bernie Sanders to comments made by British Labor leader Jeremy Corbin, where Corbin praised Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.
Sanders was able to successfully fundraise off of the advertisement, leading Halperin to argue that the personal attack did not do “any damage to him [Sanders] whatsoever.”
Mika Brzezinski: There’s new evidence suggesting a recent attack on Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is backfiring big-time on Hillary Clinton’s campaign. One of the super PACs supporting Clinton sent out an email linking Sanders to remarks made by British Labor leader Jeremy Corbin, including Corbin’s praise for Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. The Sanders campaign responded by fundraising off the attack and raised more than $1 million in less than 48 hours. The website that processes donations, ActBlue, told MSNBC that the response was unprecedented. At one point, bringing in 180 contributions a minute.
Joe Scarborough: And Mark Halperin, we’ve said before, you’ve been warning for some time, attacks against Bernie Sanders will only backfire.
Mark Halperin: Particularly ones like this which, McCarthy-like tactics, and where campaign isn’t willing to stand up and say — or the super PAC, this is what we’re saying. I interviewed David Brock who’s associated with that group and asked him repeatedly, what are you saying about Bernie Sanders? What’s your point? And he wouldn’t say. So for me, it’s illustration of the worst of both worlds for them. Bernie Sanders raises money off it, gets the high ground. I don’t think they did any damage to him whatsoever.
Scarborough: And you call it McCarthy-ite tactics?
Halperin: Yeah.