I have seen it asked why minorities aren't "feeling the Bern".

[LexVegas]

There is an especially notorious thread on the subject with many replies. I have some thoughts, as a minority.

First, I am not claiming there aren't any minorities supporting Sanders. There obviously are. But the large majority support HRC, as do I.

When I see an endorsement made of HRC by a minority, the ugly way in which that endorser is diminished and brushed aside is troubling. Some of the comments I see, such as "he/she is a sellout", "no one even knows who that is", " must be getting paid" are offensive. Maybe white people don't know who some of the prominent minority endorsements are, but I do. I follow them, because they are few. It is important to me. I like President Obama. I like the men and women he has in his cabinet, the diversity. I am impressed when they endorse a candidate, because I know that they understand the struggles of minorities, racial and LGBTQ. I saw Trayvon Martin's mother attacked. I saw John Lewis characterized as some sort of selfish political animal. Eric Holder as a Wall Street tool.

It offends me when I see Sanders supporter claim the base supports him. Last I looked, minorities are the base. His game is impressive in Iowa and NH...no doubt. But those places might as well be Idaho or Utah to me. Iowa is 90+% white, NH the same. If Sanders supporters think that winning in those states is going to sway minorities, I am sorry. He is not Obama. He is not in the same league as Obama in importance to the minority community. Especially given the way that minorities that aren't "feeling the Bern" are dismissed and diminished by his supporters.

I don't mind the back and forth on the candidates merits. I don't even mind a little mudslinging both ways. But the paternal attitude about minorities will end in failure...this I can guarantee. Minorities that support HRC aren't dumb, or greedy, or in need of white guidance to see the light. The numbers aren't even close, there is a reason for that and its Sanders and his supporters. If Sanders wins the nomination, I will vote for him in the General, because the alternative is unacceptable. If that happens, I hope that by the time the election comes around I have overcome my strong dislike of the man mostly in place due to his supporters, and that is unfair to him.

I look forward to the first response with the term "race card" to prove my point.

[Recursion]

1. They're the most conservative bloc of the party and he's the most liberal candidate

I think people read more into this than is warranted

[MellowDem]

32. This...

is the biggest factor in my opinion. Polls bear it out.

The Democratic Party as a whole is pretty conservative compared to DU, and many people want to pretend some minority groups as a whole can't be more conservative on some issues than white liberals, but that's the way it is.

Over 60 percent of black people currently oppose marriage equality. Hell, 1/3 of the Democratic Party still does as well.

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/

That's a ban on a place like DU. The Democratic Party is big, and cultural and ideological divisions do exist in our nation, and elections do tend to bring them out.

I expect Hillary to win because of how conservative the nation is.

What a "base" is is up for debate obviously, but one common definition is the party's most ideologically pure constituents, as the Republican base is referred to all the time. It would be tough for many to include a minority group that holds a majority opinion that is bigoted to be considered the "base" under this definition for many people.

The other common definition is constituents who reliably vote Democratic, and both minorities and white liberals would fit that.

I don't think it really matters how "base" is defined, it's pretty subjective stuff.

[cali]

2. I think there are probably a lot of reasons; one being

that minorities are much, much more familiar with her. That's different from just name.recognition, although that's another reason. Bernie is brand new to most voters, including

By the way, you're setting yourself up in the op. You appear to be avidly looking to hate Bernie's supporters.

[stonecutter357]

3. K&R!

[el_bryanto]

4. I am a Bernie supporter but I understand why minorities and women might support HRC

First let me say that policy wise there's not a huge difference between the two in my opinion. Both would be strong advocates for minorities and womens rights, I believe. You could argue that it is more personal for HRC having spent time in the south and being a woman, and that might well be true; but looking at their programs I think they would largely be the same.

But Clinton is better at communicating with racial minorities and women. I don't think that Sanders is bad at it, per se. It's just that Clinton is better. Also Clinton seems to have a better chance of winning the general election; if you are watching the attacks on the black community or the push back on woman's rights, than you might well back her.

On the other hand if you are more concerned about reigning in Wall Street or American military adventurism, than Bernie Sanders seems like the better bet. It is galling for someone who wants to see those issues addressed to vote for someone who is unlikely to do that (in my opinion). I'll vote for Clinton in the general; but it's hard for me to justify supporting her in the primary.

I should also say that the concerns of the Black Community or the Latino Community are genuine and real; those are issues that are very important. Likewise the pushback on Woman's rights and LGBT rights is something that people are justifiably upset about. By the same token being concerned about a Wall Street that is a drain on the economy and makes all of our lives worse, or being opposed to continuous bloodshed are also very serious issues. Important issues. At the end of the day each DUer has to make a calculation about which candidate they feel will be better for America.

Of course if I choose to prioritize reigning in Wall Street over dealing with police brutality in the Black Community, I open myself up to accusations of being insensitive to racial matters. And vice versa.

I don't think there's any real solution to this issue; people support Sanders and Clinton as a moral position - they support them because they feel that that is the morally right thing to do. And the more passionately you feel that your candidate is the more morally correct choice, the less tolerance you can feel for someone who picks the wrong candidate.

Bryant

[cali]

6. really good post, Bryant. I don't agree with everything you say, but

you make some good points.

[zalinda]

16. I'm sorry, but I disagree

Bernie has been talking about black lives since he started on the campaign trail. He has talked about the police and justice department problems. He has talked about women's and LGBT rights. The fact is that he not only has talked about these things from before the campaign started, he has also tried to do something about it in the legislature. You can watch videos which are years old that has Bernie talking about the problems.

The main problem that Bernie has had is letting them get to know him. With the MSM not covering him, he has been almost invisible. Remember that many, many people still do not have the Internet, and get their news from the local newspaper or the 3 big networks, that broadcast over the air. People on DU don't seem to understand that cable costs more money than some people can afford, the same with the Internet. For many people, if it does appear on their local ABC, NBC or CBS news show, it doesn't happen. Now, with Bernie getting some air time, he may get more support from people who don't know his name.

Hillary, on the other hand, has been in the public eye since 1992. Everyone knows her as Bill Clinton's wife and First Lady and that she ran against Obama. Many probably don't realize that she was Secretary of State, hell many may not even know what SOS does.
Not everyone is as informed as a DU reader.

Z

[99Forever]

5. Why would anyone bother countering another bullshit lie?

Seems that's ALL Camp Weathervane has any more.

The wheels are coming off.

[djean111]

9. So you signed up just to throw shit. As a matter of fact - this looks cooked up to smear

Bernie's supporters.

edited to add - thanks, MIRT!

[djean111]

8. I stopped paying attention to this stuff when I was informed that I, as a woman, would OF COURSE

be supporting Hillary. No, I cannot support her, because of issues that affect us all. And I don't believe anything she says, anyway.
So there is that.

[Green Forest]

10. In 2008, Hillary and her fans said she'd better get the white vote. Now it's the "minorities".

The gender card is failing Hillary, so now play the race card. You guys are sad.

[global1]

11. You Have Expresses A Strong Dislike Of The Man....

May I ask you what is it about the man that you strongly dislike? 'Strongly' is a powerful word.

[firebrand80]

12. Be careful not to conflate Bernie with his supporters

and while you're at it, don't conflate the internet with real life.

I haven't seen Bernie or anyone from his campaign attack anyone that has endorsed Clinton, or vice versa. Both Campaigns know that should they win the nomination, they'll need everyone in the tent on board.

Also, the internet tends to wildly distort reality. A relative few, aggressive individuals can easily gain an outsized voice. Not only that, people tend to behave on the internet in ways that they would never behave in real life. Add in the fact that Bernie supporters tend to be younger and thus are on the internet more and more a part of it's culture, and you have a recipe for some of the nonsense we've seen go on.

In the end, only political junkies like us even pay attention to it, 98% of voters haven't even heard of most of the "controversies" that DU folks argue about.

So, I don't think what Bernie supporters say on DU, or on Reddit, Facebook or Twitter for that matter, have done much at all to drive minority support away from Bernie.

[mmonk]

13. All the candidates are white except 1

In the other party. When I hear Bernie is the white male candidate, a candidate that never dog whistles and has a good civil rights record, laying that description on Bernie strikes one as disingenuous. That is the problem many have with such labeling and insinuation.

[TCJ70]

15. You might be on to something about minority endorsements...

...if it weren't for the fact that all endorsers regardless of race face the same criticism. It's not like minority endorsers are being singled out. Also, what are the criticisms of those endorsers? I read the ones about Eric Holder and most of them were focused on him being establishment. That has nothing to do with race. Neither did the criticism of Trayvon's mom or John Lewis. What made those uglier than the other ones?

[Empowerer]

25. The blanket knee-jerk attacks on most of the endorsers are offensive

but there has been a particularly nasty and patronizing tone to the attacks on African-American endorsers that hasn't gone unnoticed. And the "how dare you not support Bernie, he marched with Dr. King, you're a tool" attacks on people such as John Lewis, someone who REALLY marched with Dr. King, was beaten and jailed with him and has fought for civil rights every day since were so over-the-top, obnoxious and insulting that it's no wonder that many minorities who might have supported Sanders were driven away from him.

For example, insisting that all of the groundbreaking work the first African-American Attorney General has done to protect voting rights is meaningless because he didn't jail unnamed bankers for unspecified crimes, dismissing him as a crooked tool whose endorsement means nothing because THEY don't like him was obnoxious. Calling the black Secretary of Transportation, a man from humble beginnings who has been a popular and effective mayor and is using his power to make transportation more accessible to everyone, ignorant and corrupt doesn't help. Saying that Sabrina Fulton just doesn't know any better didn't win any friends. The fact that everyone who endorses Clinton gets this treatment does not absolve it - going after minority endorses in this way is beyond the pale.

And while I'm on the topic, there's a reason the "Bernie marched with Dr. King" argument is getting nowhere with black voters. Hundreds of thousands of people, including thousands and thousands of decent white people, marched with Dr. King in the 1960s. While that's an admirable thing to have done, it's not all that impressive to us, partly because we have ALWAYS been around people who marched with Dr. King - and many of us did so ourselves. Telling us that we should place Sanders on a pedestal and never question any of his stands or actions on civil rights in recent years because he participated in some civil rights marches 50 years ago - something that just about everyone we know who was over 10 probably also did at the time - just falls flat. And the tone of many of those who keep saying that is so patronizing that it's just annoying and does nothing to help their candidate. Telling people that Bernie Sanders can't be criticized because he marched with Dr. King while, at the same time, smearing John Lewis as weak on civil rights because he DOESN'T prefer Sanders would be laughable if it weren't so misguided and insulting.

It's one thing to disagree with someone's choice or to try to urge them to support your candidate. But there's a tone and an attitude among many Sanders supporters toward minorities that very off-putting. I don't think it necessarily comes from malice or bigotry (at least not from most). I think it comes from a lack of awareness of and experience with black voters and a certainty in their own rightness that has led to an assumption that we are politically naive and need to be educated by them when, in fact, black voters are extraordinarily experienced, knowledgeable and savvy and know better than anyone what and who are best for us and don't need to be lectured by people getting in our faces telling us we'd better "feel the Bern" if we know what's good for us.

The OP is absolutely correct.

[Betty Karlson]

17. This minority doesn't trust Clinton one bit.

In part because she still hasn't explained why it took her so damn long to treat gay people equal.

[artislife]

18. All I have to say as a Latina, is "so far"

We are working on getting more votes for Bernie.


I think if we focus on the candidate and not the supporters, we will truly win more over.

[Autumn]

19. This Latina feels the Bern.

[JRLeft]

20. Not all minorities support the republican candidate in the democratic primary.

I'm black and I support Bernie.

[NCTraveler]

21. K&R nt

[Vattel]

22. Back to the "Bernie supporters are so racist" meme.

[Empowerer]

28. Actually, it's back to the "Someone suggested we can do a better job of talking to minorities

so I'm going to accuse them of calling me a racist even though they've done nothing of the kind" meme.

[Vattel]

30. Call me crazy, but I would call much of the behavior described in the OP as racist.

[Starry Messenger]

23. K&R

[baldguy]

24. Condescention seems to be the basic starting point for Bernistas.

Any real (liberal/progressive/worker/minority/woman/man) would of course be supportive of Sanders, and if they don't then they must be a (fascist/closet Republican/corporatist/sheep/gender chauvinist/Uncle Tom).

All of which is a pile of bullshit.

A big part of Sanders' support comes from the same place that Trump's support comes from: discontent at the apparent loss of White Privilege. That's why Sanders' first public outreach wasn't to the minorities who make up the base of the Democratic Party, or the other main source of support - union members. Sanders' first public outreach was to Trump voters.

[stone space]

26. Making voters cringe is not a winning strategy.

I saw Trayvon Martin's mother attacked. I saw John Lewis characterized as some sort of selfish political animal. Eric Holder as a Wall Street tool.

(I'd have to add Gabby Giffords to the list as well, right off the top of my head.)

[Blue_Tires]

27. I've been pointing this out for months

Mercifully, some of the nuttier Sanders supporters on here and social media have toned down their acts, so that's a good sign...

[Empowerer]

29. Excellent post

Thank you for saying what so many of us have been thinking and trying to explain. Of course, you're going to get attacked and accused of calling people racist because you have the nerve to point this out. Hang in there. We have your back . . .

[zanana1]

31. I was at a Bernie Sanders "town hall" gathering last night.

Believe me, that auditorium was filled with a field of diverse people. I did not see a "sea of white" there.
He talked about African-American men (and boys) being shot by white policemen. He concluded by saying that the police shouldn't be immune from being convicted and jailed.
I'm in New Hampshire, which is a pretty white state so I think that the fact that minorities are supporting him here says a lot.
He also talked about the penal system and the fact that many more minorities are being jailed for possession than white people. He called it "chronic racism".
Senator Sanders would never use the term "race card".

[NCTraveler]

33. Maybe because this doesn't sound too good.

“I will lose my job when Bernie becomes president."

http://usuncut.com/politics/ill-lose-my-health-insurance-job-if-bernie-becomes-president/

Recent quote in support for Sanders. Some don't get who will be hurt most. That, combined with Sanders now wanting to even further politicize monetary policy, really says a lot.