After winning in Iowa, our grassroots funded campaign is now moving into New Hampshire where many of our
top opponents are funded by millionaires and billionaires. Below are talking points on the challenge we face.
TOP LINE: At a time when we have a disastrous president who represents billionaires and corporate America
and a candidate spending hundreds of millions of his own money while skipping early contests and another who
is funded by a variety of wealthy special interests, the time is now to ask the central question of this campaign:
which side are you on?
The FACTS:
-

-

-

You can’t change a corrupt system by taking its money. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is trying to buy the
election by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on tv ads. Meanwhile, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is
soliciting money from corporate executives and billionaires to fund his campaign.
-

Bloomberg News: “Michael Bloomberg has spent more than a quarter billion dollars on political
advertising since joining the Democratic presidential race, far outpacing all other candidates.”

-

Forbes: “While Sanders has refused donations from billionaires, Buttigieg has more exclusive
billionaire donors than any other Democrat in the race.”

-

New York Times: Buttigieg attended one of a “series of previously undisclosed Democratic
dinners in New York and Washington organized by the longtime party financier Bernard
Schwartz.” The dinners were about funding efforts to destroy Bernie’s campaign.

Pete Buttigieg is a favorite candidate of Wall Street and the health care industry.
-

Washington Post and Marketwatch: "Wall Street donors have a new favorite candidate in the
2020 Democratic presidential field: Pete Buttigieg”...“(Buttigieg) has collected more campaign
cash from donors and political action committees tied to the financial, insurance and real estate
sector than any other White House hopeful.”

-

Sludge: “As He Attacks Medicare for All, Mayor Pete Gets Campaign Cash From Health Care
Executives”

As Buttigieg has raked in this big money and been boosted by a super PAC funded by mystery donors,
he has tried to help big donors stop Bernie’s agenda.
-

HEALTH CARE: Politico reported that Buttigieg was an outspoken supporter of Bernie’s push for
Medicare for All, but suddenly began attacking Medicare for All when he started raising big
money. Buttigieg has refused to sign Bernie Sanders’ pledge to reject campaign cash from
health care and pharmaceutical industry executives.

-

WALL STREET: As Buttigieg has raised money from the bank industry and for-profit college
investors, he has opposed Bernie’s plan to make college and trade school tuition free, cancel
student debt and end profiteering off college loans.

-

FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY: Buttigieg has started attacking the Green New Deal as too
expensive and said it would “alienate” voters, but the Intercept has reported that Pete raised
tons of money from fossil fuel investors who profit from climate change and the destruction of
the Amazon - even though Pete pledged not to collect money from the fossil fuel industry.

 The CONTRAST:
-

As Bernie has said, the question is: Which side are you on? Are you on the side of the working class and
are you willing to take on the greed and corruption of the billionaire class and big corporations? Or are
you on the side of the billionaire class and big corporations that are trying to buy the Democratic
primary?

-

Bernie is backed by millions of working people who are giving small dollar donations because they know
Bernie will stand up for working people and fight for better wages, affordable health care, equal pay and
tackle climate change and take on the wealthy special interests in Washington.
###