Nina Turner changes her mind on Hillary Clinton, endorses Bernie Sanders for president

[think]

(Well worth reading the entire article.)

Nina Turner changes her mind on Hillary Clinton, endorses Bernie Sanders for president

By Henry J. Gomez - November 12, 2015 at 5:03 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Nina Turner, the former state senator from Cleveland and a top Ohio Democratic Party official, is ditching Hillary Clinton in favor of Bernie Sanders.

Turner and Sanders' presidential campaign confirmed the endorsement Thursday.

"I'm very attracted by his message and his style and that he has held pretty much strong on his beliefs and the world is catching up with him," Turner said. She added that Sanders' positions on voting rights and wage increases have stood out to her.

Turner spoke to cleveland.com by telephone before flying to Iowa, where she will attend Saturday night's Democratic debate featuring Clinton, Sanders and Martin O'Malley.

She also will introduce Sanders at his Monday night rally at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center. The independent Vermont senator, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, has emerged as Clinton's strongest Democratic primary rival...

Full article:
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/11/nina_turner_changes_her_mind_o.html

[Mike__M]

1. He earned it, she said. n/t

[bvar22]

123. Lets hope this is the first of many!

!

[ChiTownDenny]

134. Is she still singing?

Oh, wait. Nevermind.

[NurseJackie]

2. Obviously she fears the Sanders Retaliation Machine. What's the quid-pro-quo?

Has she been promised a cabinet position?

But, silliness aside ... congrats to Sanders for this pick-up endorsement of a former state senator from Ohio.

[Cal33]

10. Sanders, himself, has said that he would vote for Clinton should she win the Primaries. What

you are saying here is pure Clinton fan bull.

[NurseJackie]

18. Keep reading. Eventually you'll get the 2nd line of text ...

... and see where I indicated "silliness aside" and actually congratulated the campaign for the pick-up of the endorsement.

Sheesh! You people sure are tense.

[Cal33]

23. I just didn't like that "Sanders Retaliation Machine" part. But I guess you are right. Some

of us are more vociferous than others.

[tammywammy]

46. Every thread about someone endorsing Hillary

Had at least one post decrying the Clinton Machine or along those lines.

[JonLeibowitz]

62. The not-nice-words that the Clinton machine is saying about Nina Turner now that she

Turner-ed coat (i apologize for that horrible pun) makes me think such suspicions are at least somewhat justified:

"I was approached by a Clinton supporter who said that I am doing a disservice to the country," Turner said. "It was very insulting."

Bringman is also a former communications director for the Ohio Democratic Party and accused Turner of abandoning the party. “I am very disappointed that my friend Nina Turner is abandoning Ohio Democrats in our fight to rebuild our state Party. No one in Ohio asked her to do this,” he added.

Certainly sounds like they are saying that backing a primary challenger to Clinton is working against the party. That's pretty much the epitomy of what everyone in the Sanders camp has been complaining about.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

82. A Clinton supporter=Clinton machine?

And why are we supposed to be impressed by this endorsement? If several prominent sitting US Senators endorsed Bernie Sanders that would be a BFD. A former Ohio State Senator I knew nothing about? Not feeling the Bern yet.

[JonLeibowitz]

87. I am impressed

She was on the board of Correct the Record so was evidently considered by some to be a notable enough dem for that position. That is, before she decided to switch sides. Now she is an "Ohio State Senator I knew nothing about".

Interesting!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

88. I really had never heard of her

Nor do I consider her endorsement to be particularly significant.

[JonLeibowitz]

91. To be honest, neither did I

It wouldn't be very notable if a random former state senator came out to back Bernie. Heck, many have and nobody cares (rightly so). Same for Hillary.

People are interested in this because

a) it is someone formerly from Hillary's corner switching sides due to substantive policy differences

b) the tone of the responses she has had from party members, on her switch.

That's why I find it interesting, at least.

Cheers,

[Proud Liberal Dem]

93. People change their minds all the time

and some people don't agree with it and criticized her for it. Not much of a story IMHO though unless she has received death threats or something serious.

[JonLeibowitz]

94. Well she was accused of doing the country a disservice.

Not HRC, not even the democratic party (well, that too actually!), but the country! That's a pretty strong statement, just for backing another Dem in a primary struggle.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

113. That was one person being a douche

Not a coordinated effort to destroy her.

[oasis]

95. Turner was the primary spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic

Last edited Fri Nov 13, 2015, 01:33 PM - Edit history (1)

Delegation that vacated the state to avoid Republican, Gov. Walker from having a quorum in the Ohio State legislature. Walker was attempting to strip unions of their collective bargaining rights.


On edit: disregard the above, wrong person. Sorry.

[senz]

102. Walker is governor of Wisconsin, not Ohio.

[oasis]

127. Thanks. Nt

[Proud Liberal Dem]

110. I think you might have the wrong state?

Walker is in Wisconsin

[oasis]

126. Oops I guess I don't know her either., but she must have some level

of clout. I've seen her on CNn and MNSBC in the past.

[Sheepshank]

119. Someone should have paid a visit to Lewis' FB page

if they think this mild little statement is insulting

"I was approached by a Clinton supporter who said that I am doing a disservice to the country," Turner said. "It was very insulting."

Seriously, the vile over the top harrassment meted out to Lewis is incomperable.

[JonLeibowitz]

120. I think you are in the wrong thread. Bye. n/t

[Sheepshank]

125. no, I'm in the right place. Thanks for the notice. Bye nt

[femmedem]

41. thanks for the gracious congratulations.

We need more of that between the supporters of our various candidates.

[Fawke Em]

60. That was faint praise.

And full of venom.

[Ken Burch]

106. That's the new meme...people only support Bernie out of FEAR OF RETALIATION?

You can't accept that she could possibly be backing Bernie on the merits? Why is that?

[NurseJackie]

112. Keep reading.

And you'll easily see that I was poking fun at those who have made an identically absurd accusation about Hillary.

Then setting aside the silliness of such things, I even congratulated Bernie on the endorsement.

See?

You can't accept the possibility that there could possibly be more to a message than the attention-getting subject line? Why is that?

[Sheepshank]

122. I agree, congrats to the Bernie Campaign n/t

[HerbChestnut]

3. Wooohooo!!! K&R!!!

[SCantiGOP]

59. Yeah, woohoo

A former State Senator in Ohio?
That's a game changer.

[HerbChestnut]

73. You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. but hasn't she heard all the awful things that SANDERS SUPPORTERS HAVE DONE!?

How can anyone possibly vote for a primary candidate who had a supporter who supposedly said something awful on facebook once, according to the cousin of someone who is friends with someone I know on this hillary clinton internet forum?

[merrily]

45. I for one have always chosen the person with Mutual Assured Destruction powers

based on the personality of each of his or her millions of supporters. So far, I like all of Bernie's millions of supporters except you. How does it feel to have the burden of ruining things for the entire nation and also the rest of the world?

[Warren DeMontague]

49. I'm the turd in the punchbowl.

Or the punch in the turdbowl, depending who you ask.

[merrily]

52. I am too delicate a Victorian flower to make the off color joke that occurred to me when I saw your

subject line.

I wish I had either different sensibilities or a different sense of humor.

[Scootaloo]

100. And the GINGHAM! Oh god we have such terrible fashion sense!

[Hepburn]

5. I do believe we are going to see more of this.

And...I do not mean just from those who are known to the general public. I know I went from a Hillary supporter to a Bernie supporter and one of the most decisive factors in that I found many supporting Hillary to be much too strident and rather offensive. It's like I HAD TO support her. Really turned me off.

[Cal33]

14. You're right, 100%. Hey, you Clinton fans, cut it out. Your attitude and words sound

so unappealing and unattractive to many of us. You are not helping Clinton to win. You are helping
her to lose. It's great that former state senator Turner recently switched sides, too.

[INdemo]

19. Your are suppose to say "cut it out"

instead of "quit your nonsense"

[Cal33]

24. Okay. I just made the correction. :)

[Hepburn]

20. I have been on the DU since April 2004

Until this primary season, I have NEVER used the ignore feature. As of a few minutes ago, I now have 22 HRC supporters on ignore.

[FlatBaroque]

22. Really helps the blood pressure

and when you feel like getting pissed off, log out and read DU.

[Cal33]

34. I just read a few and ignore reading the other posts when I see the names that I recognize. The

tactics they use remind me so much of the Republicans. I used to be a member of a political
discussion group that had both Dems. and Repubs. After several years I just had enough. I
got to know the Repubs. so well. Once in a blue moon I'd just take a look at the old group.
I'd see a few new names, and many of the old ones are still there.

[INdemo]

35. It was rough back in 2004 but not

like this. I dont think 2008 was this bad
The Deans,Kerry.Edwards and all of them were there to criticize but nothing like this.
I thinks its the Hillary campaign that send their headhunters over here because I see many members that are new from a few weeks to months..It is a totally different group than 2008

.And to think it is just getting started.

[artislife]

86. What is funny

Is that they know the ropes to this site straight out of the gate. I had to learn to do an avatar, didn't know how to do sig lines, etc.

[BuelahWitch]

37. Fala approves!

Welcome to you and Ms. Turner!

[DirtyHippyBastard]

40. I must be missing one

I have 21 on mine since I started adding a week ago. I had started avoiding DU because I was getting pissed off every time I visited. It sure makes the experience much more enjoyable, and I am not even tempted to respond to idiocy, or baited into useless arguments.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. Wow....

There are that many?

[merrily]

48. .

[artislife]

81. 42

[FreedomRain]

97. same here

member since 2006, lurker from the beginning. Last week, I had enough, just ignored anyone with a flyswatter in their sig, up to about a dozen now. It's a much nicer place now.

[Sheepshank]

121. oooh, does a bug zapper count? If not, I'll gladly put back the swatter

If you don't answer, I'll know I'm already on your very important list and will feel some relief in not having to hunt down the url.

[LovingA2andMI]

132. Yep....

The ignore button has been in full use for the past hour. Cleaning up the experience at DU and its' quite refreshing.

[emulatorloo]

6. Great endorsement and terrific story. Thanks for posting n/t

[Truprogressive85]

7. Here we go !!

The lovely Nina Turner that fought Ohio top officials because they wanted to change the voting hours/voter id laws and therefore hand Mitt Romney Ohio


now that's a fighter !!!

[randys1]

51. Doing it again arent they?

[kelliekat44]

75. This is truly a surprise and will hurt Hillary in Ohio. Too bad. But hats off to Nina for followin

her own path and making a n honestly difficult decision.

[artislife]

83. Fighting FOR the electorate!

[DianeK]

8. Thank you, Nina Turner!

Let's keep this kicked!

[Vinca]

9. I love Nina Turner's spunk. I hope someday she's in a national position.

[JonLeibowitz]

63. If HRC wins this thing

don't count on it happening while she is in power.

HRC is known to keep a hit list of those who backstabbed her. I imagine Nina Turner goes on the list after this one.

[senz]

103. One of several reasons I cannot abide HRC.

Those who endorse Bernie will face retaliation from Clinton, Inc. and that goes triple for anyone who formerly supported Hillary.

May Nina Turner's courage and integrity bring her good fortune.

[floriduck]

11. Too bad Sherrod Brown didn't think like Nina.

There must be some implied threat or promise to get him to set his values aside. Maybe he's not the quality person I thought he was.

[Hepburn]

16. I thought Sherrod Brown had better sense than to endorse HRC. n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. Me too.

That one was a punch in the gut. My opinion of him took an about face. I thought he was a TRUE Progressive. Apparently he's not because Wall St. Hillary sure isn't.

[saturnsring]

38. lol

[smilingwen]

56. Punch in the gut is right

I have admired Sherrod Brown for a long time and was shocked when he endorsed Hillary. I thought he was much more progressive than that. So glad Tina decided on her principles rather than her gender.

[Enthusiast]

26. It was a grave disappointment to me.

[Sheepshank]

124. so then it's ok if we say that Nina Turner and little to no sense? good.

[Agschmid]

76. ...

[artislife]

84. Still time for Sherrod to change his mind

And if we are following the 2007 primary process, he will.

[Scootaloo]

101. Now hey, he can support who he wants.

I for one can't fathom WHY he'd support Clinton, but i'm not going to jump to insidious conclusions about the man.

[NorthCarolina]

115. He was hedging his bets i think. The Clinton's

hold political grudges. He knows that Bernie, by his very nature, does not. In the game of politics, you cover your ass.

[Lazy Daisy]

12. Very good day

First the news of the Postal Union, now Nina Turner.

[whathehell]

13. Yay! Nina was a frequent guest on The Ed Show

She rocks!

[azmom]

15. Woohoo!

Love her

[in_cog_ni_to]

17. WTG Nina!

Another smart lady who sees the writing on the wall. Bernie's what this country needs!

Great endorsement!

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[Enthusiast]

25. Cool! Kicked and recommended!

[Go Vols]

27. I agree

"I'm very attracted by his message and his style and that he has held pretty much strong on his beliefs and the world is catching up with him,"

[Armstead]

28. "What's love got to do with it?"

Oops. At first I thought it said Tina Turner.

[think]

32. :)

Made me laugh. Thank you.

[Fawke Em]

65. Ha ha!

For years, after my parents divorced and before my Mom remarried, her name in the phone book was listed as, "T. Turner." We used to get prank calls with people singing that all the time.

[Rogue Democrat]

29. Interesting paragraph here..

Turner said she will take a leave of absence from her role as the Ohio Democratic Party's engagement chair as she helps Sanders with his bid for the nomination. She said her endorsement, which party insiders had been buzzing about for days once they heard it was possible, has resulted in some pushback from Clinton loyalists in Ohio.

"I was approached by a Clinton supporter who said that I am doing a disservice to the country," Turner said. "It was very insulting."

Clinton doesn't lack for prominent Ohio supporters. U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights endorsed Clinton in July. Reps. Tim Ryan of the Youngstown area and Joyce Beatty of Columbus also are on board.

Meanwhile, in an email, Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirstin Alvanitakis emphasized that the state party plans to remain neutral.

"The Ohio Democratic Party has not endorsed in the 2016 presidential primary -- we welcome, support and work with all Democratic candidates as they compete for the nomination and come to Ohio to talk with voters," Alvanitakis said.



Interesting

[Art_from_Ark]

30. Go Bernie!

[kelliekat44]

31. That can work both ways. I love Nina and she will bring a lot of votes to Bernie. It's just a

matter of whether she will force her own detractors to do the opposite.

[panader0]

33. Nina Turner--thanks for the endorsement!

[Kalidurga]

36. That was a very brave move.

"I was approached by a Clinton supporter who said that I am doing a disservice to the country," Turner said. "It was very insulting."

That is going to happen more and more often to her and she really doesn't deserve that kind of thing.

[JonLeibowitz]

64. Also this

Bringman is also a former communications director for the Ohio Democratic Party and accused Turner of abandoning the party. “I am very disappointed that my friend Nina Turner is abandoning Ohio Democrats in our fight to rebuild our state Party. No one in Ohio asked her to do this,” he added.

[Fawke Em]

66. How is voting for another person running on the Democratic ticket

"abandoning" the party?

These insiders really need to buy a clue. They seem to have enough money to purchase one.

[JonLeibowitz]

68. Exactly

This makes it rather clear that the Clintons already have their tentacles wrapped around the party and "lead" it. Therefore, abandoning the clintons means you are abandoning the party.

Nina Turner is incredibly brave; this could jeopardize her entire career. Of course, with Hillary as the leader of the democratic party it doesn't mean much to be a democrat anyway, so I can sympathize with her.

[reformist2]

67. "No one in Ohio asked her to do this".... Wow, how about the idea she made up her own mind??!?!!

[JonLeibowitz]

69. You misunderstand

All democrats are expected to fall in line with Hillary as she is anointed.

Nina Turner has quite literally gone off the reservation while still staying pledging her support to a party member. It is all very amusing.

[reformist2]

70. They've got to be panicking now, wondering if others will start jumping ship, lol!

[JonLeibowitz]

71. I am sure they have their hillary hatelist out now, with Nina Turner at the very top

That is, for 2016. 2008's was quite long as well.

[MannyGoldstein]

39. Sure, she can afford to, having white privilege and all.

Last edited Thu Nov 12, 2015, 09:21 PM - Edit history (1)

But People of Color know that they can't... wait... WTF?

Photoshop. That must be it. Damned BernieBros @#$&ing with us again.

[MrMickeysMom]

42. This will continue, of course...

And with each endorsement, it will become more obvious who the only choice is.

Good on State Senator Turner!

[sabrina 1]

43. Smart woman! She is focusing on the ISSUES which is what most people are doing

now. Smear campaigns are no longer as effective as they were in the past. The People are suffering AND angry, those running these smears are way out of touch with the people.

[Duval]

47. K&R!! eom

[merrily]

50. She never really loved Hillary.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

53. I wonder how many Hillary supporters are calling for burning all of her music?

Then realizing later it's "Nina", not "Tina".

[bobbobbins01]

54. Great day for Sanders!

First the Postal Workers Union and now Nina Turner. I'm feeling the momentum heading into the Saturday debate and I'm very excited.

[reformist2]

109. How did I miss that about the Postal Workers?? Great news!

[UglyGreed]

55. K/R

[Old Codger]

57. Alright

it is starting...

[Babel_17]

58. Huh

The Postal Workers Union, now this. I just answered an extensive telephone poll conducted by my Union. They really wanted to know how strongly I felt about the choices. I had the interviewer laughing, he even said he was laughing because he knew what my answer would be.

I was expounding a bit.

[quakerboy]

61. Nope. Impossible

Must be a big long series of typos.

[ismnotwasm]

72. Didn't see this one

(I started a thread, sorry)

[KoKo]

74. Very Cool......! Rethinking her Position...a Person of Honor!

[blackspade]

77. A great pick up for my candidate!

Hopefully the first of many more!

[CD7981]

78. Wondering

I'm new to DU. A lifelong Democrat who will support the chosen candidate, regardless of who it is. But I have a question, and please don't trash me as this is an honest question. I wish campaign financing was different, but we have to deal with how it is now. How will Sen. Sanders finance his campaign since he is not taking pac money?

Rep Turner can change her mind as much as she wants, but the reality is that right now, it takes money, and a lot of it, to win an election.

[artislife]

89. Gee, I feel your concern

...

oops, I was wrong.

[SunSeeker]

116. Good question.

I don't think Sanders knows. I imagine if you ask him he'll just say something like he's gotten millions in small donations and look how far that's gotten him, and now that they've started a revolution it will continue on its own momentum. Or something.

Sadly, it is predicted that this will be a $5 Billion Presidential Election. $10 Act Blue internet donations just are not going to cut it. To unilaterally disarm by refusing to let pacs help is to hand the White House to Republicans. Ask Russ Feingold in Wisconsin, who thought he was popular enough to eschew pacs, and lost to that rich idiot Ron Johnson in 2010. Russ is now running again, but this time says he is running a "modern campaign" supported by pacs, and Russ is progressive as they come.

That is why some Hillary supporters see a vote for Sanders as a vote for the GOP clown car posse. And I imagine that is what motivated those Hillary supporters to tell Nina that she is doing a "disservice to the country" and "abandoning Ohio Democrats."

[artislife]

79. Heh...it is starting to look like 2007

hee!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

85. How?

[artislife]

90. The switch.

At this time in 2007, h had the election all sewn up as well. Then the endorsements started to flip... and then the primaries didn't go as planned....

[Proud Liberal Dem]

92. What significant endorsements does BS have?

In 2007-2008, Obama had Ted Kennedy's. Bernie has some former Ohio State Senator who isn't particularly well-known. Oh, and the Postal Workers Union. Nice but how significant nationally?

[Live and Learn]

80. Well, people evolve, you know.

[modestybl]

96. She didn't change her mind... she never endorsed HRC...

... Tho she had voiced support for her earlier, and would no doubt support her if she became the Dem nominee... Sanders is much more in line with her progressive views.

[jfern]

99. Of course she supported Hillary, she even served on the board of Correct the Record

[jfern]

98. "I was approached by a Clinton supporter who said that I am doing a disservice to the country"

Well, she's definitely near the top of their shit list now.

[Live and Learn]

107. 'Disservice to the country'? How, by trying to save it?

Do the people that say that not see that the country is actually in dire danger of dying with climate change and Citizens United? It really is and Hillary had been part of the problem.

[SunSeeker]

117. No, by picking a candidate who will hand the White House to the GOP.

See post 116.

[senz]

104. I respect Sen. Turner even more now.

It takes courage and integrity to do what she did.

[Ken Burch]

105. They need to get her a standard speaking slot at Bernie's events.

And have her feature in ads and social media directed to the AA community.

[SunSeeker]

118. I bet they will, now that they realized Dr. West was not bringing them the AA vote.

Last edited Fri Nov 13, 2015, 04:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Turner was on MSNBC last night saying Sanders spoke with her about 2 weeks ago. I bet that was one of the things discussed.

[King_Klonopin]

108. What's all this I keep hearing about Tina Turner ?? n/t

[daybranch]

111. Nina Turner is a very popular African American lady among democrats here in Ohio.

Furthermore she is a co chair responsible for outreach in the Ohio Democratic Party. This is a signal of the strength Bernie is gathering here as we volunteers grow in number and work harder everyday.
There are in politics people who are opinion leaders, people whose own stances persuade others just due to known credibility of the opinion leader. Nina is one of those people, and she holds a lot of credibility in the African American community and among women. This is a big loss for Hillary and for Sherrod Brown.

[George II]

114. No big surprise, she was one of Ed Schultz' favorite guests on his show, and Schultz devoted....

....about 15-20 minutes of each show to promoting Sanders before he was cancelled.

I wonder if Ed had any influence on her?

[djean111]

129. So, she could not have just made up her own mind, being a woman and all?

I do love seeing that gif of Hillary copying Obama's brush-off. I believe he was brushing off her campaign crap, not sure. But to me it just reminds me of how very un-original she is.

[George II]

131. Nice gender bait.

[merrily]

130. LOL!

[Cosmic Kitten]

128. K & R little by little the tide turns

[monicaangela]

133. As an Ohio resident,

I can say without a doubt this is a BFD. Nina Turner is very popular in this state, maybe one of the most popular African American ex-State Senators around. I have followed her career for quite some time now, and realize that she like Bernie has always had the 99% of us who need a break in mind during every vote she cast as a state representative. I applaud her change, I applaud her reason for the change, and I truly hope the change she has made will become a new reason for more African Americans and other minorities to compare the voting records of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, also, I hope while they are doing that they take a moment and look back over the careers of the two politicians. If they do, I'm sure they won't hesitate to vote for Bernie Sanders in the upcoming primary election and in the general election as well. Thanks for posting this wonderful news Think!