Former Aides To President Obama Help Bernie Sanders Raise $3 Million in Four Days

With no super PACs or corporate dollars, Sen. Bernie Sanders has raised $3 million in four days with the help of some former aides to President Obama.
Huffington Post reported:
With the help of a crew of former aides to President Barack Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) campaign has raised $3 million in four days for his presidential campaign — a dramatic indication that he won’t be confined simply to a long-shot role in the Democratic primary.

Sanders, who is running for president as a Democrat, announced on Wednesday that he has retained the services of the firm Revolution Messaging to run digital ads and online fundraising. The staffers with the firm who will be working on Sanders’ campaign include Revolution Messaging’s founder, Scott Goodstein, who ran the 2008 Obama campaign’s social media and mobile programs; Arun Chaudhary, who was the first official White House videographer; Shauna Daly, who served as deputy research director on Obama’s 2008 campaign; and Walker Hamilton, who was a lead programmer for that campaign.

“Like a lot of Obama supporters, we were looking for a candidate with a track record of doing the right thing — even if it meant taking on Wall Street billionaires and other powerful interests. A candidate who could inspire a movement,” said Goodstein. “Bernie Sanders is that candidate.”

The fact that Sen. Sanders has attracted the support of people who worked for then-candidate Obama in 2008 is not surprising. There have been many books and stories written about the fact that some former Clinton and Obama staffers can’t let the 2008 race for the Democratic nomination go.

In a broader context, the hiring of experienced and previously successful staff adds to the legitimacy of the Sanders campaign. Bernie Sanders is raising more money and drawing more early support than the mainstream press ever thought he could. Sanders will still be outgunned by Hillary Clinton, but he is quickly amassing the kind of resources that will allow him to stay in the campaign and deliver his message beyond Iowa and New Hampshire.

While the media keeps eyeballing Republican candidates that will never be, there is a legitimate popular movement building behind Bernie Sanders.