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"Bottom line: Bernie Sanders is constitutionally incapable of sucking up, and that's why people love him," said legal scholar Zephyr Teachout in her endorsement. (Image: BernieSanders.com)
Because Bernie 'Constitutionally Incapable of Sucking Up,' Anti-Corruption Champion Zephyr Teachout Endorses Sanders
"That's why people love him," says progressive activist and legal scholar. "They know he'll always be on the side of the little guy against big agriculture, big banks, big pharma, big tech, hate, and fear."
Dec 26, 2019
Legal scholar and political activist Zephyr Teachout, who literally wrote the text book on government and corporate corruption, endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president on Friday as she applauded him for building "the kind of movement that we need to fight the corruption that is killing us."
In her endorsement, Teachout said Sanders has emerged as the most trustworthy candidate when it comes to honesty, integrity, and having the fortitude to stand up to powerful interests.
"Bottom line: Bernie Sanders is constitutionally incapable of sucking up, and that's why people love him," Teachout said. "They know he'll always be on the side of the little guy against big agriculture, big banks, big pharma, big tech, hate, and fear."
In her statement, credited Sanders for the "extraordinary multi-class, multi-race movement grounded in community and compassion" he and his team have built over recent year. Sanders, said Teachout, is "showing us that together, we can beat back the corruption of billionaires, beat the reckless profiteering of corporations, and beat Donald Trump."
As part of the endorsement, Teachout and the Sanders campaign released a video in which she highlighted the importance of the grassroots campaign he is running and the movement he has helped build. Watch:
\u201c"When Bernie is President Sanders, that deep grassroots movement will be essential to passing all those anti-corruption reforms that we know we need, because it is not going to be easy." \u2013@ZephyrTeachout\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1577478822
Teachout, who ran for governor of New York in 2014 and teaches law at Fordham University, remains a key progressive voice in the U.S. when it comes to government corruption and corporate influence. As the Sanders campaign noted in its statement:
Teachout's book, Corruption in America, is generally recognized as essential reading in corruption scholarship and a major contribution to understanding the history of corruption law. Her work was cited in the House Judiciary Impeachment Report, as well as by Justice Stevens in his dissent in Citizens United. She was one of the countries' few experts on Emoluments prior to the Trump Presidency, and wrote the first New York Times article raising questions about Trump's pending constitutional violations. She is currently a plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit attempting to overturn Citizens United.
For a series of "End Corporate Greed" rallies and events scheduled for New Hampshire over the weekend, Teachout will join Sanders and others to focus on corruption, getting big money out of politics, and how to fight back against the sinister revolving-door agenda of the Trump era.
"Zephyr has dedicated her life to stamping out corruption in our country," said Sanders. "She has directly taken on the greed of Donald Trump and fought tirelessly for a political system that rejects the influence of big money and special interests. I am honored to receive her endorsement and look forward to working together to defeat Trump and create an economy and a political system that finally works for everyone."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
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Legal scholar and political activist Zephyr Teachout, who literally wrote the text book on government and corporate corruption, endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president on Friday as she applauded him for building "the kind of movement that we need to fight the corruption that is killing us."
In her endorsement, Teachout said Sanders has emerged as the most trustworthy candidate when it comes to honesty, integrity, and having the fortitude to stand up to powerful interests.
"Bottom line: Bernie Sanders is constitutionally incapable of sucking up, and that's why people love him," Teachout said. "They know he'll always be on the side of the little guy against big agriculture, big banks, big pharma, big tech, hate, and fear."
In her statement, credited Sanders for the "extraordinary multi-class, multi-race movement grounded in community and compassion" he and his team have built over recent year. Sanders, said Teachout, is "showing us that together, we can beat back the corruption of billionaires, beat the reckless profiteering of corporations, and beat Donald Trump."
As part of the endorsement, Teachout and the Sanders campaign released a video in which she highlighted the importance of the grassroots campaign he is running and the movement he has helped build. Watch:
\u201c"When Bernie is President Sanders, that deep grassroots movement will be essential to passing all those anti-corruption reforms that we know we need, because it is not going to be easy." \u2013@ZephyrTeachout\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1577478822
Teachout, who ran for governor of New York in 2014 and teaches law at Fordham University, remains a key progressive voice in the U.S. when it comes to government corruption and corporate influence. As the Sanders campaign noted in its statement:
Teachout's book, Corruption in America, is generally recognized as essential reading in corruption scholarship and a major contribution to understanding the history of corruption law. Her work was cited in the House Judiciary Impeachment Report, as well as by Justice Stevens in his dissent in Citizens United. She was one of the countries' few experts on Emoluments prior to the Trump Presidency, and wrote the first New York Times article raising questions about Trump's pending constitutional violations. She is currently a plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit attempting to overturn Citizens United.
For a series of "End Corporate Greed" rallies and events scheduled for New Hampshire over the weekend, Teachout will join Sanders and others to focus on corruption, getting big money out of politics, and how to fight back against the sinister revolving-door agenda of the Trump era.
"Zephyr has dedicated her life to stamping out corruption in our country," said Sanders. "She has directly taken on the greed of Donald Trump and fought tirelessly for a political system that rejects the influence of big money and special interests. I am honored to receive her endorsement and look forward to working together to defeat Trump and create an economy and a political system that finally works for everyone."
Legal scholar and political activist Zephyr Teachout, who literally wrote the text book on government and corporate corruption, endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president on Friday as she applauded him for building "the kind of movement that we need to fight the corruption that is killing us."
In her endorsement, Teachout said Sanders has emerged as the most trustworthy candidate when it comes to honesty, integrity, and having the fortitude to stand up to powerful interests.
"Bottom line: Bernie Sanders is constitutionally incapable of sucking up, and that's why people love him," Teachout said. "They know he'll always be on the side of the little guy against big agriculture, big banks, big pharma, big tech, hate, and fear."
In her statement, credited Sanders for the "extraordinary multi-class, multi-race movement grounded in community and compassion" he and his team have built over recent year. Sanders, said Teachout, is "showing us that together, we can beat back the corruption of billionaires, beat the reckless profiteering of corporations, and beat Donald Trump."
As part of the endorsement, Teachout and the Sanders campaign released a video in which she highlighted the importance of the grassroots campaign he is running and the movement he has helped build. Watch:
\u201c"When Bernie is President Sanders, that deep grassroots movement will be essential to passing all those anti-corruption reforms that we know we need, because it is not going to be easy." \u2013@ZephyrTeachout\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1577478822
Teachout, who ran for governor of New York in 2014 and teaches law at Fordham University, remains a key progressive voice in the U.S. when it comes to government corruption and corporate influence. As the Sanders campaign noted in its statement:
Teachout's book, Corruption in America, is generally recognized as essential reading in corruption scholarship and a major contribution to understanding the history of corruption law. Her work was cited in the House Judiciary Impeachment Report, as well as by Justice Stevens in his dissent in Citizens United. She was one of the countries' few experts on Emoluments prior to the Trump Presidency, and wrote the first New York Times article raising questions about Trump's pending constitutional violations. She is currently a plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit attempting to overturn Citizens United.
For a series of "End Corporate Greed" rallies and events scheduled for New Hampshire over the weekend, Teachout will join Sanders and others to focus on corruption, getting big money out of politics, and how to fight back against the sinister revolving-door agenda of the Trump era.
"Zephyr has dedicated her life to stamping out corruption in our country," said Sanders. "She has directly taken on the greed of Donald Trump and fought tirelessly for a political system that rejects the influence of big money and special interests. I am honored to receive her endorsement and look forward to working together to defeat Trump and create an economy and a political system that finally works for everyone."
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'We're Turning Into a Dictatorship': Trump Tariffs Seen as Ploy to Further Consolidate Power
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy called President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs "a political weapon designed to collapse our democracy."
Apr 07, 2025
Analysts puzzling over the bizarre formula the Trump administration used to calculate its country-by-country tariff rates are wasting their time, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in a response to the American president that has gone viral in recent days as global markets continue to nosedive.
"It's not economic policy, it's not trade policy," Murphy (D-Conn.) said in remarks recorded after Trump announced the sweeping tariffs last week. "It's a political weapon designed to collapse our democracy."
While President Donald Trump's universal tariffs on imports make no sense as an effort to rectify the failures of the status quo trade regime and bring back offshored U.S. jobs, they are comprehensible when viewed as "a tool to try to compel pledges of loyalty, this time from companies and industries in the United States," Murphy argued.
"You have to understand that everything Donald Trump is doing is in service of staying in power forever—either him or his family or his handpicked successors," the Democratic senator continued. "He's trying to destroy our democracy."
Murphy contended that the president designed the tariffs to be so widespread that corporations across private industry would have to come to the White House and "make an agreement with Trump in which he gives them tariff relief in exchange for a pledge of political loyalty."
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Politico reported late last week that businesses across corporate America "fear Trump's wrath" and are thus declining to criticize the president's tariff policies even as they wreak havoc worldwide and threaten to spark a devastating recession.
"There is zero incentive for any company or brand to be remotely critical of this administration," one unnamed public affairs operative told Politico. "It destroys your ability to work with the White House and advance your policies, period."
"While the United States has plenty of real problems to deal with, Trump is ignoring them to manufacture the fake emergencies he needs to further enlarge and centralize his power."
Murphy is hardly alone in seeing Trump's tariffs as an instrument of power consolidation.
Robert Reich, the former U.S. labor secretary, wrote Monday that "we're turning into a dictatorship" as Trump conjures "fake national emergencies" to jack up tariffs, deport people en masse without due process, gut efforts to combat the climate crisis, and dismantle large swaths of the federal government.
"As Trump declares emergency after emergency to justify his reign of terror, he's simultaneously eliminating America's capacity to respond to real emergencies," Reich wrote. "Make no mistake about what’s really going on here. While the United States has plenty of real problems to deal with, Trump is ignoring them to manufacture the fake emergencies he needs to further enlarge and centralize his power."
One analyst, Zack Beauchamp of Vox, argued the tariffs are more a symptom of the decline of U.S. democracy rather than a cause of it.
"Trump's tariffs will, if fully implemented, be remembered as their own cautionary tale. While he campaigned on them, he wouldn't have been able to implement the entire tariff package had he gone through the normal constitutionally prescribed procedure for raising taxes," Beauchamp wrote. "The fact that America isn't functioning like a normal democracy, with public deliberation and multiple checks on executive authority, is what allowed Trump to act on his idiosyncratic ideas in the manner of a Mao or Putin."
"It's still possible that Trump steps back from the brink," he added. "But even if he does, and the worst outcome is avoided, the lesson should be clear: The long decay of America's democratic system means that we are all living under an axe. And if this isn't the moment it falls, there will surely be another."
Trump Calls Tariff Madness a 'Beautiful Thing to Behold' as Global Markets Crater
"If the 4.8% fall in S&P 500 futures at the Asian opening isn't reversed, then it's on course for its worst three-day selloff since the Black Monday crash of October 1987."
Apr 07, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump late Sunday openly embraced the global chaos sparked by his sweeping tariffs, careening headlong into a potentially catastrophic trade war as worldwide financial markets plummeted and American retirees began to panic.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump declared that his tariffs are "already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold."
"Some day people will realize that Tariffs, for the United States of America, are a very beautiful thing!" Trump wrote as recent retirees and people near retirement expressed fear and astonishment at the swift damage the president's policy decisions have done to their investment accounts.
One retiree, a 68-year-old former occupational health worker in New Jersey, told NBC News that she is "just kind of stunned, and with so much money in the market, we just sort of have to hope we have enough time to recover."
"What we've been doing is trying to enjoy the time that we have, but you want to be able to make it last," the retiree, identified as Paula, said on Friday. "I have no confidence here."
Trump's post doubling down on his tariff regime came as Asian markets cratered and U.S. stock futures opened bright red, signaling that Monday will bring another broad sell-off in equities. One of Trump's top economic advisers claimed in a Sunday interview that the president is not intentionally crashing the stock market, even as Trump—returning from a weekend golf outing in Florida—characterized the tariffs as "medicine."
"I don't want anything to go down," the president said. "But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something."
Bloomberg's John Authers wrote early Sunday that "if the 4.8% fall in S&P 500 futures at the Asian opening isn't reversed, then it's on course for its worst three-day selloff since the Black Monday crash of October 1987."
Though the stock market and the economy are not synonymous, economist Josh Bivens recently noted that they are currently "mirroring each other: Stock market weakness is reflecting broader economic weakness."
"While the stock market isn't the economy, the stock market declines we have seen in recent weeks are genuinely worrying," wrote Bivens, the chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute. "They are a symptom of much larger dysfunctional macroeconomic policy that will likely soon start showing up in higher unemployment and slower wage growth for the vast majority."
'Totally Lawless': Judge Orders Trump to Return Man Sent to El Salvador Prison in 'Error'
"This was an illegal act," said U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis.
Apr 06, 2025
A federal court judge on Sunday declared the Trump administration's refusal to return a man they sent to an El Salvadoran prison in "error" as "totally lawless" behavior and ordered the Department of Homeland Security to repatriate the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, within 24 hours.
In a 22-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis doubled down on an order issued Friday, which Department of Justice lawyers representing the administration said was an affront to his executive authority.
"This was an illegal act," Xinis said of DHS Secretary Krisi Noem's attack on Abrego Garcia's rights, including his deportation and imprisonment.
"Defendants seized Abrego Garcia without any lawful authority; held him in three separate domestic detention centers without legal basis; failed to present him to any immigration judge or officer; and forcibly transported him to El Salvador in direct contravention of [immigration law]," the decision states.
Once imprisoned in El Salvador, the order continues, "U.S. officials secured his detention in a facility that, by design, deprives its detainees of adequate food, water, and shelter, fosters routine violence; and places him with his persecutors."
Trump's DOJ appealed Friday's order to 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Virginia, but that court has not yet ruled on the request to stay the order from Xinis, which says Abrego Garcia should be returned to the United States no later than Monday.
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