Progressives (Liberals)

Bernie Sanders was booed and jeered mercilessly at a forum last Wednesday for the Democratic candidates sponsored by She the People - an organization that seeks to push more women of color to the polls. The question posed to him by one of the engaged, informed black female members of the audience was What will he do about the rise of White Nationalism. Bernie started his answer with his go-to “I marched with MLK”... Someone shouted “We know!”

It went downhill from there, with Bernie wagging his finger at the crowd made up largely of women of color, repeating his boilerplate bromides, and the audience expressing their displeasure at being talked down to and placated.

https://www.theroot.com/bernie-sanders-has-a-black-woman-problem-and-thats-goi-1834302198?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=theroot_copy&utm_campaign=top

@mtracey

'Women's March, which was always a front group for affluent liberals suffering from deep and incurable Trump Derangement, attacks a minority woman candidate for not pandering sufficiently to... minority women'

@womensmarch

'@TulsiGabbard didn’t mention “women of color” once while answering a question about why women of color should vote for her...

#SheThePeople2020

You trying to be funny?

I'm not going to ask Michael Tracey if he's trying to be funny, are you?

Man, tough crowd.

Tough, yeah okay. Also well informed and discerning. They wanted substantive answers to their questions and not well rehearsed platitudes. They received Beto and Warren and Klobuchar well because they answered the questions and didn’t recite placating bromides.

No, the reason I asked you is because your post seemed to be an attempt to minimize the importance of certain groups demanding that their candidates hear them and are responsive to them.

There was nothing trite or stupid about those women wanting Bernie to stop spouting swill and answer the questions posed to him.

He’s the only one who gives a damn about the reality of poor and brown lives. He talks boldly about his solutions to their issues. They’ll never get more from anyone else.

They looked bad.

Meanwhile, Bernie is the undisputed front runner.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/04/24/politics/2020-rankings-bernie-sanders-joe-biden-donald-trump-kamala-harris/index.html?__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR116D7LfuaaH8U4czM12elzBcKWayURWPccfWBiHdhehyyIaFz6xQHci-Q

That national organization built over the last four years and assiduously maintained by Sanders and his political allies is more robust than anything any other candidates in the race -- including Joe Biden, who officially announced on Thursday -- have at the moment.
Sanders is likely to raise the most money of anyone in the field. He brought in north of $18 million in the first three months of 2019, with 84% of those contributions coming in at under $200. That was the biggest total of any 2020 Democrat. And there's every reason to think he can keep it up; he raised $237 million for his 2016 race against Clinton.
His path to the nomination is the easiest to see, with Iowa's caucuses dominated by liberals and his geographic proximity to New Hampshire.
Sanders' liberalism -- once considered radical -- is now very much en vogue within the party. And he's been in that space for a very long time.
Again, the mantle of front-runner is a tough thing to pin down. Most voters remain largely disengaged from the primary process so far and may not truly focus on the race until late this year or early 2020.

Our rankings, however, are aimed at capturing a moment in time. Who, if the primary fight began today, would be best positioned to win? And the answer to that question is the senator from Vermont. Below, the nine other people with the best chances of winning the Democratic nod next year, ranked by their chances at victory.

Those particular miscreants declared themselves.

I'm talking about the closeted racists and white supremacists you and other liberals seem to be able to easily identify.

Whether or not oralloy realizes he is grossly exaggerating when he declares "leftists call everyone racist," the fact of the matter is that liberals employ the epithets of racism far more than conservatives. This means one of two things:

1) Liberals use the terms too freely
2) Conservatives are unable or unwilling to identify racists

Anyone can identify someone wearing a KKK robe as a white supremacist, but it takes a powerful vision to identify Candace Owns as a white supremacist.

So all that I am asking is whether you believe that you and other leftists are able to unerringly spot a racist or white supremacist a mile away; even if they are doing a damned good job of trying to hide it?

I think you answered that you do not, but not without adopting a defensive posture expressed through repeated challenges to me.

I'm going to try another question which you can ignore or answer as you see fit:

Have you ever called someone a racist or white supremacist only to later understand that you were wrong to do so, and perhaps even regretted your accusation?

No, I cannot recognize a racist a mile away. I am not astute enough to grasp subtleties all that quickly. However, I can recognize how innuendo can take the form of mild discrimination. It's hard to call someone out for that, as it's usually met with gaslighting. Yes, I've had some slip of the tongues throughout the years that may have been construed as racist.

Times have changed since growing up. My dad said the n word blatantly and consistently. I was on his hit list when I joined the service because only "whores or dykes" did that. Gays were targeted and extremely closeted, in fear for their lives. Women were meant to be barefoot and serving dinner.

Things aren't like that any more.

Having young adults in the home helps. Conversations about binary, cis, trans and fluid gender roles have occurred frequently. Living near a major college campus also is a talking point.

Have I ever declared someone a racist and was wrong? No. Not ever. Been spot on with that.

So, all those engaged and educated black and brown women just don’t know what’s good for them, and you do? They looked bad, not Bernie? You’re saying that black or brown or poor people who don’t see Bernie as the “only one who understands and cares about” them are somehow misinformed or dumb. I think you have OD’ed on the Bernie koolaid and your views are null and void.

“All” those black and brown women don’t espouse monolithic views, but the ones that heckled his civil rights service damn well looked bad.

Bernie has stood tall for black and brown and poor people his entire life. It means something. To mock him for taking risks to benefit them looks bad.

He did more than Obama ever did. He deserves respect for his activism—his life’s work for other people. There were plenty of Hillary people in there who just want to take Sanders down—so self-defeating.

Maybe if he starts carrying hot sauce??

Maybe Bernie has a listening issue.

Heckled at forum, Bernie Sanders still trying to refine message to black voters
Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY Published 4:52 p.m. ET April 25, 2019

Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls joined the "She the People Presidential Forum 2019" to discuss their campaigns and platforms. USA TODAY

The audience's heckling of Sen. Bernie Sanders started when he offered a stem-winder of a response to a question about how he planned to attract the support of women of color.

The Democratic presidential hopeful veered into an explanation of why party unity was crucial to defeating President Donald Trump, whose presidency he said had worsened racism, sexism, and homophobia. He pledged that even if he doesn’t win that he’d do “everything" to ensure that the Democratic nominee becomes the next president.

The grumbling crowd, made up predominantly of women of color, at Wednesday’s She the People presidential forum in Houston let it be known that they weren’t satisfied with his answer.

“What about black women?” someone in the crowd shouted.

One of the moderators, MSNBC’s Joy Reid, nudged Sanders back to the question: Why should black women support him?

“Black women will be an integral part of what our campaign and what our administration is about,” said Sanders, a response that elicited more grumbles and boos.

During his 2016 run for the White House, Sanders trumpeted the need for leadership that would fight corporate interests that were at odds with average working Americans. He more often spoke about inequity in terms of class rather than race, a framing of the issue that rubbed some minority voters the wrong way.

Kimberly Allen
@kimberp_a
This was crazy...... Black women were not having it. #BlackWomenLead #ShethePeople2020

Leah D. Daughtry
✔
@LeahDaughtry
@BernieSanders referencing marching with MLK and standing with Jesse Jackson as example of race consciousness. Greeted with hisses. He REALLY needs to update his lines on this. #SheThePeople2020
4:33 PM - Apr 24, 2019 · Houston, TX

chris evans
@notcapnamerica
Bernie Sanders was asked by a woman of color in the audience what he would do about the rise of white supremacist violence as President.
Instead he started talking about minimum wage and Medicare For All.
The audience claps when the moderator clocks him.
Yikes.
5:09 PM - Apr 24, 2019

In the lead-up to the 2020 race, Sanders and his campaign have sought to underscore their efforts to win support of minority voters. In 2016, Hillary Clinton overwhelming won the African American vote by more than 50 percentage points during the Democratic nomination fight.

More: Black students say they want 2020 candidates' issues, not pandering

But the episode Wednesday, suggests Sanders still has work to do as he makes his case to black voters.

Bernard Fraga, an assistant professor of political science at Indiana University, said that despite the stumble Sanders still has time to make inroads with black voters, who in 2016 made up 25% of the Democratic primary electorate.

“I think what he needs to do is lead with how his policies best address some of the issues that black women voters care about,” Fraga said.

Sanders faced also criticism over the fact his 2016 campaign was dominated by a mostly white leadership team. As he prepared to launch his 2020 campaign, Sanders publicly apologized after a New York Times report detailed women staffers' complaints they were sexually harassed and paid less during the 2016 campaign.

In the early going of the 2020 campaign, he’s hammered at the need for the federal government to promote policies that will end institutional racism and invest in urban communities. Earlier this week, Sanders expressed the controversial position that he supports allowing felons to vote even while they are in prison – an issue that has disproportionately impacted the African American community.

His stump speeches now often include an argument about how racism has exacerbated financial inequality. He’s also more frequently made reference to his own connection to the fight for Civil Rights, including attending the 1963 March on Washington, serving as a leader of the Congress of Racial Equality chapter during his time as a student at the University of Chicago, and getting arrested at an anti-segregation protest.

She the People: 2020 Democrats pressed for detailed policies and priorities by women of color

During the She the People event, Sanders tried to pivot to some of his backstory, noting his support for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and being one of the few white elected officials to back the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign.

“I have dedicated my life to the fight against racism and sexism and discrimination of all forms,” Sanders said.

The crowd responded with more grumbles and boos.

Do they expect specific policies for black women? Like what?

You really are clueless, aren’t you?

When it comes to WOC-friendly policies, I truly am.

Go ahead, explain it me. That's your chance to look smart. Take it!

Not my job to educate your ignorant ass. And I give no damns about how smart I look to you.

That's not saying much, in that Obama's rise to leadership occurred very quickly. Why defend Sanders by belittling Obama?

Well, that's good you don't care, because you look pretty vacuous to me. All noise and no thinking.

Comparing what one has done specifically for the black, brown, and poor community — to someone he admires, who did nothing for them.