Bob Menendez 'surprised' by Bernie Sanders' soft Maduro stance

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Bob Menendez on Tuesday criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders for his refusal to label socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro a dictator, telling CNN that he was "surprised" that the Democratic presidential candidate has declined to do so.

In a CNN town hall Monday night, Sanders was pressed on his break with the Democratic Party and a majority of other politicians by declining to support Maduro’s ouster. Sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist, has refused to affix the dictator label to Maduro, who has overseen Venezuela's decline into political, economic and humanitarian crises.On Tuesday, Menendez took issue with Sanders' unwillingness to characterize Maduro as a dictator.

“Dictatorship is dictatorship whether from the right or left,” the foreign relations committee's top Democrat said on CNN’s “New Day.” “Dictatorship oppresses their people. I'm really surprised that Sen. Sanders could not at least call him a dictator.”Sanders' congressional office dismissed Menendez's criticism in a statement Tuesday.

“This whole question of 'why won’t you condemn Dictator X?' is a game that Washington hawks play to reaffirm the interventionist status quo, and Bernie won't play it," Sanders foreign affairs adviser Matt Duss said. "Bernie has always been clear about the values that inform his approach, whether it's domestic or foreign policy: human rights, equality, dignity, and security. He supports an approach to Venezuela based on those values.

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Bernie is soft on Maduro because Putin & His Fellow Gang Of Fascists support Maduro - duh.

Ahhhhh....ANYONE checked Bernie's YEARBOOK PHOTOS ...YET? Lol

I am surprised Sen. Menendez is not in jail.

I'd like to know Sen. Menendez's list of dictators in Latin America. Not surprised he's supporting the perennial coup conspirator, Leopoldo Lopez. Think of the new free junkets for Menendez after regime change. Sen. Menendez belongs in prison. He's a disgrace to the SenateDems.

Message from Bernie here...Americans need FREE college education and journalists need to go to school to know the textbook meaning of a dictator. But you dummies buy the political bullshit. SenatorMenendez went to school but schooling didn't come to him.

Bernie is course correcting from going along with the Venezuelan humanitarian bullshit intervention with the hidden agenda being their oil. Good for bernie

And for this reason among others, Bernie gets my vote!

Why would he? Bernie is completely out of touch. He thinks food lines are a good thing. Bernie thinks food lines mean everyone gets to eat, if they just stand in line. What an idiot.

tenajd any rhetoric that engorges Bolton's 'Troika of Tyranny' rhetoric simply plays into the hands of the pro war establishment.

What? Are you new sir?

Disappointing.

They’re going to say Sanders is compromised by the Russians! The intelligence community always uses Russia to scare people.

The establishment pounces. Lmao

Uncanny, Separated at Birth: Bob Menendez and Elizabeth Warren. Has anyone seen those two together?

Bernie is a Madurocrat

Funny how the Never Trumpers and The Resistance fall right in line when a regime-change opportunity is orchestrated by 'Putin's Puppet.' 'Trump calls him a dictator. Why can't Bernie?'

Another politico hit piece, this time killing two birds with one stone: slandering sanders and also promulgating the regime-change rhetoric so en Vogue around the capitol these days. Nice work.

Wow, you're going to KEEP going after Bernie with an out of context quote? Calling this journalism is a stretch. Who is directing you to do this?

I honestly believe that early on at least, this is going to be something that dogs Bernie Sanders. A blind person could see that Maduro is a dictator.

I'm no Sanders fan, but Maduro was elected.

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Menendez 'surprised' by Bernie Sanders' soft Maduro stanceSenate Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Bob Menendez criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders for his refusal to label socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro a dictator Pacifism is not something to hide behind. With bloodthirsty dems like these who needs republicans. I guess this is going to be Politico's role for the rest of the primaries (and general election and administration.)
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‘He is not going to be the nominee’: Dems slam Sanders over Maduro stance - POLITICOFlorida Democrats are denouncing Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state No hay derecho. En USA, hps como Petroñero? Cubans aren't exactly Bernies base. Are... are democrats still pretending he’s a viable candidate? I ask Politico since they’re so bent on making him so.
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Florida democrats slams Bernie Sanders because he won't call Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro a dictatorThe Senator’s stance on Venezuela has caused some consternation among Democratic voters in Florida, a state with a large population from Latin America. Well the GOP wont call realDonaldTrump one... To him Maduro, Castro and Ortega were never dictators, they are “socialists”. Bernie is my kind of socialist: he owns three properties while his wife ran a college out of business. After all, he is not a real Democrat, why is he such a hypocrite running as one? Its hard for him to do while espousing the same socialist platform as the dictator.
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