2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumBernie Sanders has a lifetime of advocacy for racial and LGBT justice
Bernie has fought for minority rights since high school and has continued the fight his entire life.The following are a few examples:
- Bernie raised scholarship money for Korean orphans in the 1950s while in high school.
- While in college, Bernie was active in two civil rights groups, the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1962, he was arrested for protesting racial segregation in public schools.
- In the 1970s, Bernie called for full gay equality. As a candidate for Vermonts governor, Bernie advocated abolishing all laws on homosexuality.
- In the 1980s, as mayor of Burlington, VT, Sanders formally protested Reagans aggression against Latin Americans. In 1985, he traveled to Nicaragua to condemn Reagans war on the Nicaraguan people which he described in his book, Outsider In The House.
- Bernie opposed Republican welfare reform politics of the 1980s and 90s, condemning it for its scapegoating and bigotry. He voted against it and called it the grand slam of scapegoating legislation, noting that it appeals to the frustrations and ignorance of the American people along a wide spectrum of prejudices.
- Bernie has condemned and opposed the death penalty and prisons his entire political career.
- In 1991, Sanders was one of the few white members of Congress who joined with the Congressional Black Caucus in opposition to a bill that would cut prisoners off from federal education funds. It passed 351 to 39.
- Bernie took the IMF to task for oppressing developing world workers. In a 1998 committee hearing, Bernie stood up for the rights of poor Black and brown workers in Indonesia. (Video link at source.)
- Bernie receives high ratings from leading Civil Rights organizations. Bernies Civil Rights record.
- Bernie voted against the PATRIOT Act and against renewing it every time. The Act has been used to violate the rights of Arab and Muslim Americans, and as a weapon in the drug war.
- Bernie opposed both Iraq Wars (1991, 2003) on moral grounds, noting that the death and destruction caused, will in my opinion, not be forgotten by the poor people of the Third World.
- In 2007, as a new senator, Bernie went to Costa Rica to defend workers from an exploitative trade agreement. He helped Costa Rican workers organize an opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
- He campaigned for Jesse Jacksons 1988 presidential run, organized Vermonters, and won the state for Jackson. Sanders also supported Jacksons advocacy for the Palestinian people.
- He has strongly and repeatedly condemned police violence against minority communities. Numerous examples, including video links, can be found at the source document.
- In September 2014, Bernie met supportively with immigrants when Hillary Clinton refused to talk to them.
- Bernie defended voting rights against voter suppression efforts. In 2012 he called for GAO investigation of state voter ID laws and in 2015 introduced legislation to increase voter turnout.
- Bernie has always been a strong supporter of LGBT rights.
- Bernie called for an end to War On Drugs, is leading the war on for-profit prisons and immigrant detention quotas.
- In September, 2014, Senator Sanders and Rep. John Conyers proposed a detailed strategy for reducing unemployment across America with particular emphasis on Black and Latino youth unemployment. Their Employ Young Americans Now Act was in keeping with the philosophy of MLK, who was dedicated to the organized labor movement and fought on behalf of the working poor across racial divides.
- Bernie was the only white Congressional Representative to support and work with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to protest Republican suppression of Black voters in 2004.
The fact that Bernie Sanders has done so much for civil and minority rights, despite representing a constituency that would not naturally demand it, speaks to his strong sense of justice and a wide empathy that is exceptional among politicians.
Source: http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/20-examples-bernie-sanders-powerful-record-civil-and-human-rights-1950s I reduced the verbiage of the original list for use as an OP and appended the final item.
noretreatnosurrender
(1,890 posts)Thank you for your post with so many great links. For the people here who say Bernie is a one issue candidate this post shows that statement for what it is - a total lie. It also tells you a lot about the people who would make such a statement. It's truly pathetic that so many here at DU feel it's OK to use lies and innuendo to smear such an outstanding record of TRUE public service.
senz
(11,945 posts)I think I bit off more than I could chew.
noretreatnosurrender
(1,890 posts)So much more that could be posted but you gave an excellent representation.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Thanks for doing the work, send! Excellent resource.
senz
(11,945 posts)The embedded links were a bitch. I hit the wall about half way in and just muscled my way through to the end (am hoping it didn't set off an RA flare). I'm sure it's not as readable as it should be. Wish there were a place here where people could throw out draft OPs and then take suggestions and advice -- sort of a practice group.
Plus, I know this isn't exhaustive and small minds will take advantage as they always do. The original, though a nice idea, was so poorly written i could almost smell the deadline pressure in it, even while recognizing the excellent intentions and, yes, the work.
But it's a good thought. Maybe someone with more talent and energy than me will do a better job, and if they do, I'll love them for it, because Bernie is so fucking good, he deserves the best. He doesn't get the credit he deserves -- although maybe I'm too DU'd at this point, because there are quite a few millennials who see it.
Anyway, thanks for your kind remarks, bmus. I've a few favorites around here, but I think you're probably tops.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Always a kind word and something positive to say, ignore the naysayers, they're not worth it.
As always you raised the level of discourse.
Corey_Baker08
(2,157 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Bernie_Sanders_Gun_Control.htm
Q: For a decade, you said that holding gun manufacturers legally responsible for mass shootings is a bad idea. Do you want to shield gun companies from lawsuits?
SANDERS: Of course not. This was a large and complicated bill. There were provisions in it that I think made sense. For example, do I think that a gun shop in the state of Vermont that sells legally a gun to somebody, and that somebody goes out and does something crazy, that that gun shop owner should be held responsible? I don't. On the other hand, where you have manufacturers and where you have gun shops knowingly giving guns to criminals or aiding and abetting that, of course we should take action.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas , Oct 13, 2015
http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Bernie_Sanders_Gun_Control.htm
....However, the Nation and the other reports like it dont shed real light on where Sanders is coming from. They dont explain why he supports some gun controls but not others. Nor do they ask if theres a consistency to Sanders positions and votes over the years? They simply suggest that Bernies position is muddled and makes a good target for Hillary.
Yet there is an explanation. Its consistent and simpler than many pundits think. And its in Bernies own words dating back to the campaign where he was first elected to the U.S. Housein 1990where he was endorsed by the NRA, even after Sanders told them that he would ban assault rifles. That year, Bernie faced Republican incumbent Peter Smith, who beat him by less than 4 percentage points in a three-way race two years before.
In that 1988 race, Bernie told Vermont sportsmen that he backed an assault weapons ban. Smith told the same sportsmens groups that he opposed it, but midway through his first term he changed his mind and co-sponsored an assault rifle baneven bringing an AK-47 to his press conference. That about-face was seen as a betrayal and is the background to a June 1990 debate sponsored by the Vermont Federation of Sportsmens Clubs.
I was at that debate with Smith and three other candidatesas the Sanders campaign press secretaryand recorded it. Bernie spoke at length three times and much of what he said is relevant today, and anticipates his congressional record on gun control ever since. Look at how Bernie describes what being a sportsperson is in a rural state, where he is quick to draw the line with weapons that threaten police and have no legitimate use in huntinghe previously was mayor of Vermonts biggest city, and his record of being very clear with the gun lobby and rural people about where he stands. His approach, despite the Nations characterization, isnt open-minded.
As you can see, Berniewho moved to rural northeastern Vermont in the late 1960shas an appreciation and feeling for where hunting and fishing fit into the lives of lower income rural people. Hes not a hunter or a fisherman. When he grew up in Brooklyn, he was a nerdy jockbeing captivated by ideas and a high school miler who hoped for a track scholarship for college. But like many people who settled in Vermont for generations, he was drawn to its freer and greener pastures and respected its local culture.
I went before the sportsmen of Vermont and said that I have concerns about certain types of assault weapons that have nothing to do with hunting. I believe in hunting. I will not support any legislation that limits the rights of Vermonters or any other hunters to practice what they have enjoyed for decades. I do have concerns about certain types of assault weapons.
That was not the end of his remarks. But it is worth noting that his separating the rights of traditional hunters from the concerns of police chiefs has been a constant thread in many subsequent votes he would take in Congress. Its also noteworthy that Bernie consistently has opposed assault weapons from the late 1980sbefore he was in Congresswhich he reiterated to the moderator.
http://www.salon.com/2015/10/10/what_bernies_gun_control_critics_get_wrong_partner/
Next, the 1990 debate turned to gun control. The moderator, who clearly was a Second Amendment absolutist, went after Bernieto test his mettle after Smiths about-face.
Do you support additional restrictions on firearms? Do you support additional restrictive firearms legislation? he asked. Bernie Sanders, explain yourself, yes or no?
Yes, he replied. Two years ago, I went before the Vermont Sportsmans Federation and was asked exactly the same question. It was a controversial question. I know how they felt on the issue. And that was before the DiConcini Bill. That was before a lot of discussion about the Brady Bill. That was before New Jersey and California passed bills limiting assault weapons.
I went before the sportsmen of Vermont and said that I have concerns about certain types of assault weapons that have nothing to do with hunting. I believe in hunting. I will not support any legislation that limits the rights of Vermonters or any other hunters to practice what they have enjoyed for decades. I do have concerns about certain types of assault weapons.
That was not the end of his remarks. But it is worth noting that his separating the rights of traditional hunters from the concerns of police chiefs has been a constant thread in many subsequent votes he would take in Congress. Its also noteworthy that Bernie consistently has opposed assault weapons from the late 1980sbefore he was in Congresswhich he reiterated to the moderator.
I said that before the election, he continued. The Vermont sportspeople, as is their right, made their endorsement. The endorsed Peter Smith. They endorsed Paul Poirier. I lost that election by about three-and-one-half percentage points, a very close election. Was my failure to get that endorsement pivotal? It might have been. We dont know. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasnt. All I can say is I told the sportspeople of Vermont what I believe before the election and I am going to say it again.
I do believe we need to ban certain types of assault weapons. I have taked to police chiefs. I have talked to the police officers out on the street. I have read some of the literature all over this country. Police chiefs, police officers are concerned about the types of weapons which are ending up in the hands of drug dealers and other criminals and our police oficers are getting outgunned.
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernies-gun-control-critics-are-wrong-his-stance-has-been-consistent-decades
WASHINGTON, April 17 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today voted for expanded background checks on gun buyers and for a ban on assault weapons but the Senate rejected those central planks of legislation inspired by the shootings of 20 first-grade students and six teachers in Newtown, Conn.
Nobody believes that gun control by itself is going to end the horrors we have seen in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., Blacksburg, Va., Tucson, Ariz. and other American communities, Sanders said. There is a growing consensus, however, in Vermont and across America that we have got to do as much as we can to end the cold-blooded, mass murders of innocent people. I believe very strongly that we also have got to address the mental health crisis in our country and make certain that help is available for people who may be a danger to themselves and others, Sanders added.
The amendment on expanded background checks needed 60 votes to pass but only 54 senators voted for it. To my mind it makes common sense to keep these weapons out of the hands of people with criminal records or mental health histories, Sanders said.
Under current federal law, background checks are not performed for tens of thousands of sales up to 40 percent of all gun transfers at gun shows or over the Internet. The amendment would have required background checks for all gun sales in commercial settings regardless of whether the seller is a licensed dealer. The compromise proposal would have exempted sales between family, friends, and neighbors.
In a separate roll call, the Senate rejected a proposal to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. That proposal was defeated by a vote of 60 to 40.
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-votes-for-background-checks-assault-weapons-ban
Bernie Sanders voted for the 1994 crime bill because it included the Violence against Women Act and assault weapons ban:
A spokesman for Sanders said he voted for the bill "because it included the Violence Against Women Act and the ban on certain assault weapons."
Sanders reiterated his opposition to capital punishment in 2015. "I just dont think the state itself, whether its the state government or federal government, should be in the business of killing people," he said on a radio show.
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/sep/02/viral-image/where-do-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders-stand-/
If he's a pro-NRA/pro-gun industry shill why did the NRA give him a lifetime D- rating?
senz
(11,945 posts)Thanks!
senz
(11,945 posts)See? I learned something in grad school.
brooklynite
(94,503 posts)He doesn't seem to know how to campaign in States with large African American populations.
senz
(11,945 posts)Imagine that, brooklynite.
brooklynite
(94,503 posts)You want him campaigning in November?
senz
(11,945 posts)that seem to be passing away.
The zeitgeist changes over time. Bernie seems to reach people along other channels.
Doesn't that sound vague? Yeah, it does, but it's true.
So I guess it depends on how much time Bernie will have before the votes are taken.
brooklynite
(94,503 posts)...after that point, I think the dynamics of the race will be very different.
Segami
(14,923 posts)Nice work senz!..........
senz
(11,945 posts)He's so "on message" that he forgets to sell himself. But then Bernie's not about buying and selling, is he? Hope it doesn't hurt him.
Anyway, thanks, Segami. Not going to try that again ...
Segami
(14,923 posts)And it is most appreciated by myself and many, many more here on the board!
avaistheone1
(14,626 posts)And I love him for it.
senz
(11,945 posts)Bernie is the prototype for mensch!