Matt Bruenig, a blogger for the liberal think tank Demos, got into a back-and-forth with Joan Walsh and longtime Hillary Clinton confidante Neera Tanden.
It started when Bruenig called out Walsh for misrepresenting what the divide between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is, and boy did it take off from there:
@joanwalsh It's really about old people versus young people, but you know that.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@joanwalsh Your dishonesty on these topics is only matched by your level of animus towards young people. It's kind of disgusting.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@joanwalsh But hey what would you expect out of "little bit red and little bit blue" joan. Centrist dishonesty.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@williamg1 @joanwalsh Majority of young POC go for Bernie. But Joan erases them.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@joanwalsh I have a daughter too. Your pathetic ageism against young people (remember taunting them as "barely shaven") is sickening to me.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@joanwalsh Good to know this stuff isn't just for me! https://t.co/EthlLE3fdq
— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) May 19, 2016
It's fun when the geriatrics who worked to starve my mother of cash assistance get going. https://t.co/ugXi9qH7lx
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@neeratanden @joanwalsh Scumbag Neera uses welfare when she needs it then takes away from others when they need it. Disgusting.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@neeratanden @joanwalsh But hey I understand the hustle. You don't get to be president of CAP without starving some poor mothers.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@AntBejarano @neeratanden @joanwalsh Neera tried to starve me and my mother because she wanted to be in Democratic politics.
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
@neeratanden @PaschalHL @AntBejarano @joanwalsh you indicated before your support for welfare reform which you now think is a mistake
— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 19, 2016
(The use of Scumbag Neera there is a reference to the meme “Scumbag Steve.”)
Well, Demos publicly apologized for Bruenig’s tweets yesterday:
Sincerest apologies for @MattBruenig's judgment and demeanor. It's unacceptable and were on it. @neeratanden @joanwalsh
— Demos (@Demos_Org) May 20, 2016
While @MattBruenig blogs with Demos, we do not condone personal attacks. We are dealing with this internally. @neeratanden @joanwalsh
— Demos (@Demos_Org) May 20, 2016
Thank you for understanding. We value the important work you've done and continue to do. @neeratanden @joanwalsh
— Demos (@Demos_Org) May 20, 2016
So today, Demos said that “we are parting ways” with Bruenig because “after multiple conversations, Matt Bruenig and Demos have agreed to disagree on the value of the attack mode on Twitter.”
The firing set off some progressives who found it curious Bruenig was let go after fighting with a longtime Clinton ally, especially Glenn Greenwald:
He fought w/head of most powerful Dem think tank- likely to be Hillary's WH Chief of Staff- so @Demos_Org fired him https://t.co/pBnGebeoPC
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 20, 2016
It's about enforcing discipline under the guise of "civility": fired for fighting with a key Clinton ally & aide https://t.co/KGJCbQ6Emi
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 20, 2016
Oh, no, perish the thought. You just so happened to fire him after he fought with a powerful DC Clinton operative pic.twitter.com/3KPtjtvZXh
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 20, 2016
Here's the email we sent hrs ago to @Demos_Org they never answered: firing people to curry favor is time-consuming! pic.twitter.com/R4mDi1kamv
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 20, 2016
@drmabuse Yes, was a crude & antagonistic exchange, grounded in substance. Happens every day on Twitter w/all of us. Doesn't warrnat firing
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 20, 2016
Bruenig tweeted out a link to a GoFundMe page explaining that since he’s currently out of a job and has a child on the way, he could use some help. As of this posting, he’s received nearly $20K from over 500 people.
[image via Demos]
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