A former top Hillary Clinton adviser made it clear on Monday that he will not come around to welcoming Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and his supporters into the Democratic Party.
In an 11-tweet rant, Peter Daou, a strategist and internet director for Clinton's presidential run in 2008, railed against Sanders and his followers, writing that they are "detrimental" to the Democratic party.
Daou began with a jab at Sanders' popularity before diving into the latest actions that provoked his ire. The Clinton supporter accused Sanders of being a "destructive force." He added that Sanders and his "diehard followers" are targeting rising stars in the Democratic Party, including Sens. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) and Cory Booker (D., N.J.).
Daou also accused Sanders supporters of continuing to use "rightwing" talking points against Clinton.
1/10. THREAD: The talking point that Bernie Sanders is the "most popular politician in America" is misleading and excludes Obama and Biden.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
2. Bernie Sanders and his diehard followers are detrimental to the Democratic Party. Their latest target is rising star @KamalaHarris.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
3. Sanders supporters have also gone after @CoryBooker and continue to push rightwing talking points against Hillary Clinton and her voters.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
The self-described political analyst then dove deeper into the "destruction" caused by Sanders. He said that the Vermont senator spent "two years on a rampage" against Democrats.
4. Bernie Sanders has spent two years on a rampage against the Democratic Party, which he claims to lead but refuses to join. DESTRUCTIVE.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
Daou then returned to the issue of Sanders' popularity—apparently a sticking point for him. He references a so-called "highly misleading" Harvard-Harris poll, which claimed that Sanders is the most popular active politician in the United States.
5. One of the common fallbacks of Sanders supporters is a highly misleading poll that claims he's the most popular politician in America.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
Daou disagreed with the polls' results due to his observation that Sanders is not "compared to all politicians," but rather "just a handful."
6. Here's a good deconstruction of the much-touted poll. He's not being compared to all politicians, just a handful. https://t.co/BQSkCH3Lbu
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
In an effort to explain why Sanders being the "most popular" politician is—in his view—absurd, Daou said that Sanders did not face nearly the scrutiny that Clinton did during the 2016 campaign. He then gave props to Clinton for her fortitude, commenting on how despite the "smears," her numbers after leaving the Department of State were better than Sanders' are now.
7. Bernie Sanders NEVER faced a tenth the scrutiny that Hillary did. Ask anyone if they've heard about toxic waste dumped on #SierraBlanca.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
8. Despite decades of vicious rightwing smears, Hillary's numbers after she left State were 10-15 points better than Bernie's are now.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
Close to wrapping things up, Daou called for Democratic leaders to "let go" of the notion that Sanders could turn Trump voters to vote for the Democratic party. He said that Democrats have an "exciting field developing" and Sanders is "not one of them."
9. The sooner Democratic leaders let go of the fiction that Bernie will deliver Trump voters and save the party, the better for EVERYONE.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
10. Democrats have an exciting field developing, a new generation of leaders coming forward in the Trump era. Bernie is NOT one of them.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
In a final tweet, Daou clarified that he does not see his actions being in any way like Sanders'. He said that as soon as Sanders and his supporters "stop slamming Dems," he will "stop fighting back."
PLUS: The minute Bernie and his diehards stop slamming Dems, I'll stop fighting back. Don't call ME divisive. I'm defending, not attacking.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 31, 2017
Prior to Monday's tweetstorm, Daou was an outspoken critic of Sanders.
On Nov. 30, weeks after Clinton lost the presidential election to Donald Trump, Daou tweeted that Sanders had "absolutely no business determining the course of the Democratic Party after the harm he did to us."
I'll be crystal clear: Bernie Sanders has absolutely no business determining the course of the Democratic Party after the harm he did to us.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) November 30, 2016
On Jan. 6, he repeated those sentiments regarding the "damage" Sanders caused.
1. Bernie did more damage to Hillary's reputation in a few months than Republicans did in 30 years. He is part of the reason Trump is PEOTUS https://t.co/O6N7yi5yZU
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) January 6, 2017