A lavish Martha’s Vineyard Democratic fundraiser that Bernie Sanders attended in 2007 featured lobbyists for many of the industries he now rails against on the presidential campaign trail, according to a guest list obtained by MSNBC.
The Vermont senator’s appearance at the event underscores the challenge Sanders faces in trying to address criticism that he has both not done enough to help fellow Democrats and that he’s fallen short of the very high bar for campaign finance purity he’s set for himself. Helping Democrats often means collecting checks from wealthy donors and industry executives, whom he has made the enemy of the “political revolution” he hopes to spark.