Portrait of a racist.

[cali]

People insinuating or inferring or whatever the fuck you want to call it, that Bernie Sanders is a racist or doesn't care about minorities make me sick.

And they should make any rational person sick.

It is disgusting beyond words.

[Metric System]

1. I don't think he gets along with too many people, period.

[elleng]

3. Oh right.

Bernie Gets It Done: Sanders' Record of Pushing Through Major Reforms

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record-pushing-through-major-reforms-will-surprise-you

[senz]

5. Yeah, that's how he managed to accomplish so much in both houses of congress.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511841756

[Shemp Howard]

8. Well, Bernie wasn't getting along with those two cops in the picture.

Please post a picture or two of Hillary at that age, doing something similar. I'll wait.

[840high]

31. Don't hold your breath.

[Ash_F]

17. He got roughly 45% of the democratic vote.

That's a lot of people.

[Hortensis]

56. No. Many outsiders, including hostile

conservatives who'd never vote for him for president, contributed to his percentages.

Add in all the Democrats who didn't vote in caucus states because they never do, but who would have mostly voted for Hillary (yes, we really do know this), and his actual support among Democrats is a lot lower than 45%. It is still significant and real, but not anywhere near 45%.

[fasttense]

63. Get over it

You won. Sore winner.

[Hortensis]

64. Nothing to get over. I'm happy.

Fasttense, just look for and respect the truth. I hear it'll set you free. Don't know about that, but, no matter how bad the truth is, people are able to face situations they understand with far greater assurance and confidence than those who don't understand what's happening.

Look at all the people who are so angry and sick that the election was "stolen." That whole unfortunate syndrome is caused by ignorance of the truth. Other people who sought solid information about what was happening understand that in reality, while Sanders did wonderfully, he was always far behind where the "horse race story" purveyors pretended.

They also understand that the democratic process, imperfect as anything man is involved in is, worked as it was supposed to by identifying which candidate most Democrats wanted.

Actually, we're doing good.

[Ash_F]

66. What evidence do you have of this claim?

It is not easy number to pinpoint, which is why I said roughly. I based that off the delegate spread. I know that would not be a perfect estimate, but I think it is the best we got.

What do you think it is and where do you get you data?

[Hortensis]

68. You're kidding, right? Literally thousands

of measurements and analyses from many different viewpoints and degrees of completeness have already been reported on and are available in some form to us, though those that will become the most accurate and reliable are mostly awaiting further data and analysis before actually publishing.

Not all information is biased and partisan by a long shot. Look for the good stuff.

Btw, only because it popped to mind, not because Kentucky's the best example of what I was talking about and exit polls are very imperfect indicators, but: What did you make of it when two different exit polls reported that 37 or 39% and 44% of BERNIE voters participating said they would NOT vote for Bernie if he turned out to be on the ballot in November? Didn't you wonder what was going on and what was happening in other states?

[Ash_F]

70. I have not seen any evidence that R's attempted to spoil Dem primaries on any measurable scale

I am not kidding. That is a serious claim and I don't think it is true nor realistic for a number of reasons.

So what evidence have you seen?

[yodermon]

83. This is the first I've heard of this. I will research a bit

but thanks for any links you might already have.

[DLCWIdem]

89. It wasn't Kentucky it was West Virginia

Those exit polls your talking about were in West Virginia not Kentucky. In Kentucky , there was a no presidential candidate option which meant if they did not want to vote for either Sanders or Clinton, (or any other candidate) they could leave it blank. They left it in the areas where Sanders did best more than Clinton areas. I remember MSNBC reporting it was as much as 10% to 2% , Kornacky was saying it really made a difference.

[Hortensis]

93. You're right, sorry. Here's a piece from the Hill

on what I was talking about. I was surprised that I didn't remember that Kentucky has a closed primary, but the West Virginia primary is open. These very high numbers would not be indicative of the nation as a whole, of course, but they are indicative of something that is happening elsewhere too.

Exit polls: Nearly half of W.Va. Sanders backers would vote Trump Nearly half of the voters in the West Virginia Democratic primary who backed Bernie Sanders say they would vote for Republican Donald Trump in the fall presidential election, according to exit polls reported by CBS News.

Forty-four percent of Sanders supporters surveyed said they would rather back the presumptive GOP nominee in November, with only 23 percent saying they'd support Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. And 31 percent said would support neither candidate in the likely general election match-up.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/279430-nearly-half-of-sanders-voters-in-west-virginia-would-vote

I grabbed this quickly from 538:

About 40 percent of Sanders’s primary and caucus voters identify as independent, as Republican or with some party other than Democrats, according to my estimates.

And this:

In the YouGov poll, just 55 percent of Sanders supporters said they’d vote for Clinton over Trump in November. However, only 15 percent said they’d vote for Trump.

Unfortunately, they do not attempt to break out how many of that 15% voted for him as spoilers hostile to Clinton.

[TwilightZone]

76. Incorrect. He got 35% of the Democratic vote.

Clinton won Democrats 64/35.

http://graphics.wsj.com/elections/2016/how-clinton-won/

[Ash_F]

77. Got to pay close attention to the source

Sources: Data are from an analysis by Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican polling firm, of all exit polls conducted during the primary season. Those surveys were conducted in 27 states (Ala., Ark., Conn., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Md., Mass., Mich., Miss., Mo., Nev., N.H., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Texas, Va., Vt., W.Va., Wis.).; Real Clear Politics

Not holding it against them that it is a Republican firm, but they only polled about half the states.

[TwilightZone]

80. Clinton won Dems in 24 of the 27.

In 21 of the 27, she won 55% of Dems or higher.

In 8 of the 10 largest in population, she won 62% or more of Dems (not counting CA since it wasn't polled).

That's a pretty clear trend. There's little reason to believe the trend wouldn't hold nationally, especially considering that many of the states that weren't polled were on the lower end population-wise.

Further analysis: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/the-partisan-gap/485795/

[Ash_F]

81. Whether it is 35 or 45%, that is still substantive

And I still think it is closer to 45%

[DLCWIdem]

90. his stat is 43.3% of the vote

[Ash_F]

92. We will never know the real vote thanks to ridiculous and inconsistent caucus rules

[senz]

2. His commitment to racial and LGBT justice never let up.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511324268

[elleng]

4. Thanks, senz.

[senz]

6. Thank you, ellen.

"Facts are stubborn things."

[LostOne4Ever]

41. That why I am proud to support the man! nt

[RandySF]

7. He's not racist

Just clueless.

[cali]

9. You ever do anything remotely like what he did?

And if you say yes, prove it.

You lot have a shitload of gall. You may not have the facts on your side, but neverfuckingmindthat.

you are so magnanimous.

and yeah, calling him clueless is damn close to saying he's racist.

[Segami]

29. Another worthless, empty post.

[LexVegas]

10. I dont think hes a racist and leave it at that. nt

[cali]

12. but you didn't leave it at that. the addendum

makes that clear.

tick fucking tock.

[EffieBlack]

40. So, not being a racist completely inoculates him from any other criticism?

Wow.

I guess in your world one is either a racist or they are perfect. Or is it just Saint Bernie who can never be criticized?

[ZombieHorde]

11. According to liberal social constructs,

racist is one of the worse things a person can be. Clinton was accused of it in 2008, Sanders this time, and some other Democratic candidate will likely be in 2020. Demonizing the "other" makes our "own" appear better by comparison. This is an easy, and often effective, way to argue.

[EffieBlack]

18. And one of the most tried and true tactics of people uncomfortable with addressing racial

issues in any meaningful way is to accuse everyone who tries to engage in a thoughtful conversation about race of calling people racist, when they've done nothing of the kind.

I have NEVER seen ANYONE call Bernie Sanders a racist. He is a good man with good intentions. But good people aren't perfect and good people can be tone-deaf. There is a world of difference between being racially tone-deaf and of being racist. I know countless good people who have marched and protested and put themselves on the line in many situations but still have a long way to go toward true racial understanding. Hell, MOST of us have a long way to go since I don't think I know anyone who is perfect in this regard.

Bernie Sanders did some good and laudable things during the Civil Rights Movement. More power to him.. But that doesn't make him Gandhi. It doesn't give him a free pass. It doesn't mean that black people should fall to our knees and grovel before him in rapturous gratitude. Most black folks know scores if not hundreds of people who did just what Bernie did - and often much more and at far greater risk. He is not unique and he certainly is not the Great White Savior. He has also often shown himself to be tone-deaf and insensitive and frequently not there when we needed him - one of the reasons we weren't familiar with him and weren't overly impressed when his white supporters lectured us that we just didn't understand but would get with the program once we did. That doesn't make him racist. It makes him human.

So, the constant whining about how ungrateful black folks are is not only annoying, it's off-putting and, frankly, just obnoxious and one of the primary reasons Bernie didn't get more than a token amount of support from our community. And being accused of calling him and his supporters racist because we recognize that they are not the Second Coming of John Brown is beyond obnoxious. It reeks of ignorance, entitlement, and privilege - a lethal combination in politics.

[Bobbie Jo]

20. This. In its entirety.

So, the constant whining about how ungrateful black folks are is not only annoying, it's off-putting and, frankly, just obnoxious and one of the primary reasons Bernie didn't get more than a token amount of support from our community. And being accused of calling him and his supporters racist because we recognize that they are not the Second Coming of John Brown is beyond obnoxious. It reeks of ignorance, entitlement, and privilege - a lethal combination in politics.

Well said.

[sheshe2]

85. Yup!

[ZombieHorde]

21. I've seen him accused of racism, or light racism,

but I don't think I've seen it on DU. I've more frequently seen his supporters called racist, which is very likely true for some.

I have cringed at some of the DU posts I have seen telling black people how to think about the candidates, and one about religion. Very easy to see how they can be off putting.

For me, Sanders is/was a "lesser evil," which is one reason I have posted so little about this primary. He's my favorite of the candidates, but I suspect you think more highly of him than me.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply.

[EffieBlack]

24. And thank you for the thoughtful and cordial response.

[ZombieHorde]

25. We're a rare breed in GDP. lol nt

[DLCWIdem]

91. what I seen on DU from his supporters

Last edited Mon Jun 20, 2016, 07:30 PM - Edit history (1)

I was in a thread and a poster complained about being kicked out of the AA group because the poster "caught them using the race card" and called the poster a racist. Since I had been on that same AA thread I knew that was not what happened so I called the poster on it. What had happened was that the poster posted something racially insensitive and he/she was asked 3 times to leave the thread.

[snot]

22. Help me here:

what is the evidence that Hillary is in fact more enlightened re- race-related issued than Bernie?

[peace13]

28. Well she knows a Super Predator when she sees one!

Those videos are some of the most vile! Ignored by all who support her!

[brush]

78. Not ignored at all. In fact, imo, it's racist in itself to jump to the conclusion that she was . . .

Last edited Mon Jun 20, 2016, 11:21 AM - Edit history (1)

talking about black kids as super predators. The term super predators is used so that's supposed to mean black kids? Wrong.

THAT CONCLUSION IS RACIST.

She was referring to drug dealers as super predators and if you lived in the hood through that crack era you knew exactly who she was referring to — the crack dealers who were wreaking havoc on black kids and the black community — and we wanted them gone.

So push that super predator crap to others who like to think if you say "super predator" you're referring to black kids instead of the drug dealers who were actually preying on black kids.

[840high]

32. She knows how to say "heel".

[peace13]

36. BINGO!

[DLCWIdem]

101. Well apparently AA thought so and shouldn't they be the ones to judge that for themselves

[bettyellen]

23. Hell yes. Too many here accepted the opinions of others in good faith and instead put very ugly

Words into people's mouths. And on top of that they called many long time members here paid shills. It was repulsive and I'm glad it will end.

[betsuni]

39. Thank you!

[Number23]

45. You know how everyone can tell how awesome your post was? Because the Bernders IMMEDIATELY

pivoted to sputtering "b-bbut what about Hillary??!" Because no one can EVER discuss Bernie Sanders' well documented and incredibly numerous shortcomings with communities of color without discussing Hillary Clinton. That's just not allowed.

And I'm sure it's a coincidence of the highest order that the people who are clearly the most uncomfortable discussing race, who keep pretending that everyone called Sanders a racist when no one did, who race into every thread about Sanders' racial shortcomings to start screaming about Clinton's are the EXACT SAME FOLKS who holler the loudest about how "unimportant" race is and that "identity politics" will bring about the end of civilization.

[zappaman]

49. Nailed it.

[sheshe2]

86. +1000

[bettyellen]

13. I'm disgusted by the accusations tat people here called him a racist. Saying he was

Basically ignoring problems unique to the blacks community, as he did when he launched his campaign was the absolute truth. But it was not accusing him of being a racist.

[angrychair]

75. Love these generalities

And non-stop attacks on a man that is supposed to not matter.
Please tell me, specifically, what he did not do or talk about?

When he talked about economic inequality, corporate prisons, court system inequality, education and jobs. Maybe I'm stupid but those all seem to be major issues with communities of color.

[bettyellen]

87. No one here called him a racist so there's no generality to speak of.... When people

Said he ignored race they were immediately attacked and accused of calling him a racist. After that happened, Sanders began speaking of racial issues. After people across the country noticed and complained. But here when people pointed it out they were considered pariahs. Fuck that. People who spoke out did not call him that.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Both disgusting and pathetic. K&R

[Snarkoleptic]

15. It had been a heavy lift, but many here have accused Bernie

of being focused solely on economic issue affecting whites. (Search the site for "brocialism" to see what the Brock minions are pushing)

[MrMickeysMom]

16. I think if you could hand a mirror to some of the routine insulters here...

... you'd have your portrait there, cali.

It makes my stomach turn to see it.

[CrawlingChaos]

19. It's disgusting and a disgrace to DU (n/t)

[Samantha]

26. This is a typical Brock strategy one can expect when he is associated with a campaign

He has his little handbook and you can see his dirty little tricks come out to play. The goal is to pit one set of voters against another, and you can see just from this election how effective some of his dirty tricks are. I will be glad to see this campaign over so he and Mark Penn can go back to whatever hole they crawled out of.

Sam

[DLCWIdem]

94. Here we are calling posters paid shills again. everybody who didn't vote for Bernie is paid Brock

Last edited Mon Jun 20, 2016, 09:53 PM - Edit history (2)

I'd like to.say Brock "I'm ready for my check"

[peace13]

27. Agree!

MSM did a number there. Tonight I read that the shooting, massacre, slaughter of humans in Orlando was a fake. That actors played the parts of survivors. I can not tell you how angry this makes me. This same type of person would believe that Bernie is a racist. That he put his safety on the line to stand up for Civil Right's was a fake. My fellow peace line friend was in Selma too. He looks a lot like Bernie. Bernie was smeared by the machine and Clinton put the heel of her pump into his nut sack by not telling it like it is. I am sick to the core of people out here insinuating that Bernie or any of his supporters are racist. More projection from a woman who coined the term super Predator and filled the jails with young black men. Wake the fuck up people. Come tomorrow there will be only her kind left here. They should be embarrassed to be associated with her!

[840high]

33. .+1

[EffieBlack]

42. Hillary Clinton "filled the jails with young black men?" Really? When did she do that?

When she supported a bill that Bernie voted for?

Or perhaps she filled jails with young black men some other time that I missed. If so, please enlighten me.

And while you're at it, please enlighten us as to when anyone called Bernie a racist. Please be specific.

Or, better yet, maybe you should just stop making sh!t up.

Thank you.

[peace13]

44. Maybe you should take the cotton out of your ears and listen to the words from her mouth.

Scaring people about Young black men, referring to them as Super Predators. You can't deny that! Saying that we should bring them to heel. Stumping the message as her husband opened more jails to be filled with who? Check the statistics there! History and facts show what went down. She wants to put her husband to work again. They were a team then and you know it will be the same if they have it their way. She ignored President Obama on Blumenthol and she will ignore any rule she wants if she gets into office. Good luck with all of this. Plop your head in the sand and keep it there because if you think a GE with Hill will be easy you can think again. The press, the President and the DNC will be working overtime to make a miracle happen.

[EffieBlack]

59. In other words, you can't back up your false claim

And, as usual with everyone else spreading similar lies, you can't explain why Sanders' vote for the Crime Bill beyond "abbada abbada abbada!"

Thanks for proving my point.

[pinebox]

61. Point proven

[peace13]

79. Google it.

If I post the video I will get banned out here! Nice try. Smug +1000.

[DLCWIdem]

95. A bill that Bernie voted for

[matt819]

30. Thank you

That post you're referring to was revolting.

Thank you for calling that out. Whether or not Sanders has garnered the support of African Americans, his commitment to civil rights and social justice is as deep as the more recognized figures in the civil rights movement.

[Live and Learn]

34. K&R Bernie is a great person. One of the very few in politics that can't be bought. nt

[geek tragedy]

37. beating a dead horse and a straw man in one swing

Nobody is calling Sanders a racist. But he lost because he lost every demographic besides young voters, non-Democrats, and white men.

That would seem to counsel a different approach. But obviously others think his campaign did everything right.

[redstateblues]

43. Please stop making sense geek tragedy

This victimhood of BSS is suffocating

[EffieBlack]

38. I wonder if Bernie was thinking "Colored people will owe me forever for this!"

No, I don't think he was. So, maybe y'all should stop with the "Look what Bernie did for you . . . And if you don't vote for him, you're calling him a racist but here's proof that he isn't" foolishness. Not only do you look ridiculous, you diminish your own candidate.

[Number23]

46. They will never see things that way because in their minds, we (meaning minorities) are the ones

at fault for not seeing the glorious beauty of their candidate and following him as blindly as they did.

It will never be Sanders' fault for his horrendous campaign and terrible minority outreach, it's the fault of the people who he neglected to reach out to. It's the fault of the people he only made the most feeble attempts to connect with and that was only recently when he realized that he needed our votes. The fact that Sanders lost black people of all ages, incomes and gender, lost Hispanics, lost gays, lost women is not proof of his lousy campaign, it's proof of our shortcomings. We are the ones at fault for not coming to HIM instead of the other way around.

[Ash_F]

74. Actually I blame the media.

And the establishment.

[cali]

50. maybe you all should stop insinuating or calling him outright a fucking racist

period.

[EffieBlack]

58. Adding curse words to that false accusation doesn't make it true

No one had called Sanders a racist or insinuated any such thing. Your inability to differentiate between being criticized for being insensitive about race on the one hand and hating minorities or thinking we're inferior on the other - despite having the difference explained to you repeatedly and in plain language as recently as the posts to which you are responding here - reveals such an obstinance and imperviousness to fact and reason that it's no wonder you're not taken seriously.

[betsuni]

60. [phone]

[Starry Messenger]

62. +1

[lovemydog]

65. +1

[bettyellen]

67. + 1

[Bobbie Jo]

72. +1

[NurseJackie]

73. ⬆⬆⬆ THIS ⬆⬆⬆ (Thank you!)

It's all just more of the same overreactions that we've come to expect.

[Scootaloo]

82. Actually that is insinuation.

"I'm not saying Sanders is racist. I'm just saying he's insensitive towards people of color, in some way that I will not define."

"I'm not saying Sanders is racist. I'm saying most of his supporters probably are."

"I'm not saying Sanders is racist. I'm just saying I think he completely fabricated his civil rights activity."

"I'm not saying Sanders is racist. I'm just saying black people know what race of people call them "schwartz"

"I'm not saying Sanders is racist. I'm just saying he needs to answer for slavery in Virginia and abuses by the Chicago PD."

It's fascinating, really, "I'm not saying they're a racist, but" sounds and behaves so very much like an externalized version of "I'm not a racist, but"

[EffieBlack]

84. You are apparently incapable of understanding the difference between

Being insensitive and being a racist. You are Exhibit A of the phenomenon I'm describing.

Moreover, you are falsely accusing me of saying things I never said. I have never claimed or even suggested that Bernie fabricated his record of protesting. For civil rights in the 1960s.

in other words, not only are you obtuse, you have no qualms about lying to cover for it.

Rather sad, but hardly surprising.

Now, go try this on someone who doesn't know any better. I'm not going to waste any more of my time on someone as clueless and transparent as you.

[Scootaloo]

88. I'm not accusing you of saying anything

I'm showing you examples of why "I'm not saying Bernie is a racist, but..." are, in fact insinuations that Bernie is a racist. I do include you there in the first example, with your vague blandishments about nonspecific "insensitivity," but the others in the lineup come from other quarters.

The allegations that Bernie faked his civil rights activism, for instance, comes from Johnathon Capehart. It was a real popular conspiracy theory among certain quarters here on DU until the photographer blew it out of the water. And then the people in said quarters went digging for another "I'm not saying Bernie is a racist but" angle to throw against the wall.

[Number23]

96. BAM! Perfectly, well said.

[gollygee]

99. We deal in false dichotomies at DU.

You are either perfect in every way and evolved beyond anyone else on race, above any criticism or questioning at all; or you are racist and horrible and practically a klan member.

[VulgarPoet]

71. They defend racists when it's in their interest to do so.

You know who I'm talking about. You're wasting time, electrons, and neurons on hypocrites.

[stonecutter357]

52. +1000

[tblue37]

47. It's swiftboating: using an opponent's greatest strengths against him. nt

[Cali_Democrat]

48. How many times are you guys gonna post that same photo on DU?

[B Calm]

51. K&R

[stonecutter357]

53. Portrait of a racist.

[SidDithers]

54. Don't they know he marched with Martin?...nt

Sid

[stonecutter357]

55. Mitch McConnell Marched with Martin Luther King Jr.

[EffieBlack]

57. So did Charlton Heston

[Bluenorthwest]

69. That sort of vile tactic is why our politics is met with massive voter apathy

It's also why the best possible candidates refuse to go anywhere near U.S. politics.

[avaistheone1]

98. k&r

[kwassa]

100. Has this dead horse been sufficiently beaten?

Or can we file this under controversies that no longer matter?