Why isn't it racist to dismiss or discount the importance of Democratic votes from the "deep south,"

[pnwmom]

knowing that the majority of Democrats in the deep south are African Americans?

If you were with them, looking them in the eye, would you tell them their votes didn't matter because they were from the South?

Why is it okay to essentially do that in a debate speech?

“Look, let me acknowledge what is absolutely true: Secretary Clinton cleaned our clock in the Deep South, no question about it. We got murdered there. That is the most conservative part of this great country. That's the fact,” Sanders said. “But you know what, we're out of the Deep South now. And we're moving up. We got here, we're going to California, we got a number of large states there. And having won 7 out of the last 8 caucuses and primaries, having a level of excitement and energy among working people and low-income people doing better.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/bernie-sanders-deep-south-conservative-222000#ixzz45vu9XHZP
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

[salinsky]

1. It's not OK ...

... its deeply offensive.

[workinclasszero]

13. Agree totally

And it has no place in the democratic party either.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. I thought Hillary had them all sewn up?

At least that's what the big guns on DU said a while back.

[pnwmom]

6. The numbers are solidly in her favor. But as long as the party remains divided

the Rethugs are the only ones who gain.

[DrDan]

3. It obviously is

[Jackie Wilson Said]

4. Bernie did that? I know his supporters here do it all the time, and while I am a supporter

I have nothing in common with most of them here.

[pnwmom]

12. This is what he said:

“Look, let me acknowledge what is absolutely true: Secretary Clinton cleaned our clock in the Deep South, no question about it. We got murdered there. That is the most conservative part of this great country. That's the fact,” Sanders said. “But you know what, we're out of the Deep South now. And we're moving up. We got here, we're going to California, we got a number of large states there. And having won 7 out of the last 8 caucuses and primaries, having a level of excitement and energy among working people and low-income people doing better.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/bernie-sanders-deep-south-conservative-222000#ixzz45vu9XHZP
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

[workinclasszero]

17. That's one of the most deeply offensive statements

made by a so called "democrat" since the racist Dixiecrats were run out of the party and joined the republicans.

AA democrats need to make note of this. A movement in the democratic party is trying to marginalize, discount and push you out of your rightful place in the party.

They call it a "revolution".

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. You know who agreed with him? Larry Wilmore

you know what he also said? That he hopes someday people in the South will vote for progressives and progressive values.

And you know what? I tend to agree with SANDERS.

And yes, the South is very conservative. The north east and the West Coast are more progressive. Do you think that is an insult too? I am sure at this point, you do.

[pnwmom]

33. Black people in the south voted much like black people have in other states. Bernie hasn't

carried the majority of African American voters -- or even come close to it -- in a single state.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. STOP TREATING PEOPLE LIKE LEGO BLOCKS

I beg of you. And yes, the SOUTH, whether you like it or not, is one of the most conservative regions in this country. There is a lot of poverty and a lot of lack of access to services and education, and even communications.

It is a reality. Live with it or not. I really give two shits about it. At this point this speaks about conservadems here.

Also it is a reality that conservadems still need liberals, two, most three cycles, before you achieve your goal. The planet though might not have time for you to learn from the mistakes you are making

[pnwmom]

38. Why? That's exactly what Bernie did when he denigrated Dems in the deep South. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

41. So you insist that the south is not conservative

go correct GALLUP, among many, many, many, many, many

http://www.gallup.com/poll/125480/ideology-three-deep-south-states-conservative.aspx

Have a wonderful day... ignoring it will not make it go away. Perhaps you do not want to go away. In fact you don't

[pnwmom]

42. I insist that the vote of AA people in the South is very similar to the vote of AA's in the North.

So if you can't get their votes in Atlanta, you won't in New York, either.

And I insist that they are more a part of the Democratic base than white independents in Wyoming.

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. I insist that you stop treating demographics like lego blocks

which is exactly what you are doing.

have an excellent day. I really have no time for this kind of idiocy and goal post changing.

[brush]

47. Treating people like lego blocks? WTH does that mean?

Care to explain?

[jfern]

50. He did better with northern blacks, and he won Vermont blacks.

[pnwmom]

56. Nope. He couldn't even win the African American vote in Vermont. He hasn't carried the AA vote

in a single state, not even his home state.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3057369/how-bernie-sanders-lost-the-black-vote-long-before-super-tuesday

Meanwhile, in the states Bernie did win—Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Vermont—African Americans only make up 6%, 5%, 7%, and 1% of the population, respectively. Perhaps most telling is that even in his home state of Vermont, where support for Sanders should be highest, the senator still trailed Clinton by a small but significant margin, 43% to 57%.

[jfern]

61. Where's their information?

There was a PPP poll where Bernie had 100% of the black vote in Vermont, and they're hardly favorable to Bernie. Now, I know it's a small sample, but you don't need a very big sample for a 100-0 lead to be a statistically significant lead.

[Lizzie Poppet]

5. Because pointing out their irrelevancy in November has nothing to do with race.

It's true of all voters, of all races that don't live in swing states: irrelevant in the GE.

[pnwmom]

8. He wasn't talking about November. He was talking about now. nt

[Lizzie Poppet]

11. That makes no sense.

"Now" isn't in the picture. The Deep South voted weeks and weeks ago. It won't do so again until November. "Now" has nothing to do with it.

[pnwmom]

15. He's discounting the fact that African Americans in Boston are more likely to vote

like blacks in the "deep South" than they are to whites in South Boston.

Moving north hasn't ended his race problem. He does best in the states with fewest African Americans. There isn't a single state where he's carried the African American vote in any region of the country.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. Actually people who moved out of the South with the Great Migration

have chanted, to the point that when they move right back home they are seen as uppity.

You should research that. There is plenty of material on that. And why are they seen as uppity. well, you can imagine why, or for god sakes research it. Oh and my local AA community is also very different from the Texas roots for many.

Again, STOP TREATING people like lego blocks.

[pnwmom]

34. Most aren't feeling the Bern no matter where they live. All you have to do is look at the primary

results to know that. No other research required. Bernie's lucky when he gets a third of the vote of African Americans.

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. Free fuckinig hint this has not one iota to do with the election

[elleng]

9. YES, THANK YOU!

[brush]

48. Ahhh . . . they showed their relevancy in the primaries. Duh! Which is why Clinton is ahead.

And believe it or not, a couple of those red states may my tilt blue and they will again show their relevancy.

Such a nice work — relevancy.

[berniepdx420]

7. more manufactured outrage from camp Weather-vane. The point was simply that we shouldn't front

load the primary with a regional block of voting.. spread it out... stop manufacturing this stuff..

[CrowCityDem]

14. Maybe Bernie only got off to a good start...

because we front-loaded the process with two states that couldn't be more white if they tried. If the first two contests were, say Nevada and Ohio, Bernie would have been dismissed in January.

[pnwmom]

36. That's true. Imagine if those states hadn't come first. n/t

[morningfog]

10. If you are asking whether winning the south during the primary

is indicative of general election strength, it is not.

Of course the votes matter. They matter in the primary and in the general. All votes, all voters, all regions matter. But the results tell you diffent things about the candidates and their potential performance in the general.

[pnwmom]

16. That's where you're wrong. Winning African American votes is a huge sign

of general election strength for Democrats. And Bernie is weak among African Americans in every state.

Romney carried both white men and white women. President Obama won because of minority support, and so can Hillary.

[brush]

49. You don't get to the general if your performance is lacking in the primaries . . .

including Iowa , New Hampshire and all the southern state primaries.

Sanders did well in the mostly white early states but not the southern states.

Ya can't win the Democratic Party nomination with just winning mostly white votes. That time has passed, just as it passed for the general.

Romney won a huge majority of white votes but couldn't beat the Obama coalition of blacks, Latinos, LGBTers, Asians, women, AND progressive whites — not just progressive whites.

[TheDormouse]

18. Nice straw man there. Bernie never dismissed or discounted voters in the Deep South

Rather, he has been saying that it's not a surprise that voters in that part of the country are more receptive to Hillary's candidacy because she is the more conservative of the two of them and voters in that part of the country tend to be more conservative.

[pnwmom]

20. And those more conservative voters happen to be black. That's a problem for him.

And it is a problem for him that black voters everywhere are not supporting him. There isn't a single state where he's carried a majority of African American voters, and he's not helping with statements like this. A black voter in Boston has more in common with a black voter in Atlanta than he does with a white voter in south Boston.

[Downwinder]

19. I know my vote doesn't count and I don't know anybody

that would try to tell me different. If there are no Democratic candidates the election is decided by the Republican Primary. The Democratic Party has all but disappeared.

[LexVegas]

21. It is. nt

[JTFrog]

22. It is.

Reminds me of all the crap WillyT posted here.

[msongs]

23. and then brag about his fabulous winning streak in red states with ... HIS best demographic nt

[beam me up scottie]

24. It's racist to refer to the deep south now? Someone should inform the dictionaries:

https://www.google.com/search?q=deep+south+definition&oq=deep+aouth+defini&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l2.7094j0j4&client=ms-android-att-us&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

[pampango]

25. Alabama and Mississippi are no more or less important than Wyoming and Montana other than

population, of course. They're all red states. Democrats in the former are largely Black and in the latter they are largely white.

Alabama and Mississippi are certainly 'conservative' but Wyoming and Montana qualify for that description, as well.

[azmom]

26. Bernie is more popular with liberals of

all colors. He doesn't change his stripes depending on who he speaks to. It makes sense that more conservative states would go to Hillary.

[pnwmom]

28. African Americans in Boston have more in common politically with other A.A. in Atlanta

than they do with white voters in South Boston.

So those elections in the "deep South" that Bernie denigrates gave a pretty good indication how weak his support would turn out to be among African Americans elsewhere in the country.

He's never carried the majority of black voters in any state; even in states he won handily.

[azmom]

29. He has plenty of support from liberal POCs.

This is specially true of the younger generation which tend to be much liberal than their elders.

[pnwmom]

31. He doesn't have plenty of support from African American Democrats, and that's what he needs.

You can win as a Democrat without majorities of white men or even white women -- President Obama proved that. But African Americans are a critical part of our base.

Howard Dean's 50 state strategy recognized that.

[Lucinda]

27. A wide spectrum of Dem voters exists in every state. We are not one policy fits all. n/t

[Agnosticsherbet]

39. Had he admitted that he lost Southern Democrats because his campaign

Did not address their concerns or engage them, it would have been a good.

Lumping Southern Democratic voters as "consetvatives" or as Red States is wrong.

[jack_krass]

40. Because the south isnt a race. (you're welcome)

[pnwmom]

54. The large majority of Democrats in the Deep South -- those who didn't feel the Bern -- are black.n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

44. Oh my God, the Southern Primaries are over. All States count. Not just the South.

Hillary supporters spent days saying 'It is over. The People have spoken' after just a few primaries. They insisted that the rest of the country does not count. They have insisted that Native American votes do not really count, Asian votes and Latino votes kind of count, depending on the State of course California and Oregon do not count, should not expect to count in any way.

And let me tell you this: I am not under any obligation to favor a region which in its entirety allows discrimination against LGBT in housing and in employment. I have no reason to look at people who voted for DOMA and say 'that's the wise man, his endorsement is pure wisdom'. 5 Democrats voted for that hateful law in North Carolina, 5 Hillary endorsing Democrats. Do they count? Sure do. Do I have to agree with them? Fuck no, hell no and just no. They are BIGOTS. Do their primary votes count more than mine or those in States that are not hugely religious and anti LGBT? No. They got a fucking vote. They voted for the Moderate Christian DOMAcrat. Because they are more conservative in the South. It's a conservative, religious place that has legal discrimination.

Give it a rest. We all count. I personally hope that conservative and bigoted votes are vastly outnumbered. I'm not a Reagan Democrat or a DOMA-crat. I'm also not a devout member of a Baptist Church. And my vote counts, like it or not.

[SidDithers]

45. It's absolutely racist...nt

Sid

[tonedevil]

46. Because the Deep South...

isn't a Race.

[HerbChestnut]

51. Because all kinds of people live in the south

It's a conservative area regardless of the color of people's skin.

[pnwmom]

53. But if you're talking to a Democrat in the south, he or she is probably black.

So when you denigrate Southern Democrats, that's who you're denigrating.

[HerbChestnut]

64. See, now *you're* being racist.

All Bernie said was that the Southern States are conservative. That has nothing to do with race. You are the one trying to jam race into the conversation. Besides, not all southern democrats are black, and not all black people think alike. Stop trying to simplify the issue to suit your own personal agenda.

[pnwmom]

65. Southern Democrats are not as conservative as Republicans. And most of the Democrats are black.

And the African American vote in the South turned out to be very similar to the African American vote in other states.

[Starry Messenger]

52. Oh it is.

[Fawke Em]

55. I'm Southern and it doesn't bother me.

I know most of my fellow Southerners are more conservative than is necessary.

[pnwmom]

57. You're not African American, so why should it? Those are the southerners who heavily voted

for Hillary, who Bernie is disparaging.

[KPN]

58. The number of votes might be a legitimate measuring stick

if all States used votes by ballot as opposed to caucuses. Absent that, and given the number of cactus States, the number of votes is an erroneous measure. It isn't legitimate.

It has nothing to do with race.

[pnwmom]

59. When places like 538 calculate vote totals, they don't leave out the caucus states. n/t

[KPN]

63. So ... that doesn't make it legitimate.

Caucuses are not comparable to ballot voting in participation ... not by a long shot. And may not even represent the results a ballot vote might yield. Apples and oranges. 538 does what it does, but that doesn't make them accurate.

[Nye Bevan]

60. Everyone knows that Southern blacks are Wall Street loving corporatists.

Don't they?

[cheapdate]

62. Because it isn't racist to talk about regional politics.

Although a racist could talk about regional politics in a racist way and with racist intent.