How many African Americans does Bernie have on his staff in Vermont?

[KittyWampus]

How many African Americans does Bernie have on his campaign or Senatorial staff up in Vermont?

If he does, he couldn't ask them to attend his opening rally the other day? For no other reason than the optics?

Although if he does have people of color on his staff in Vermont, you'd think some would want to attend such a momentous occasion. **** see footnote

I've seen some Sanders supporters mention Governor Bill Clinton who came from a very white state.

But you know what?

About a QUARTER of Clinton's gubernatorial staff was comprised of people of color. This in a state about 15% African American.

Governor Bill Clinton made an effort. He reached out specifically to African Americans while Governor and made sure they were included in his staff and his appointments.

Yet another example of Sanders and his campaign being INSULAR and not ready for prime time.

You better hope the press ignores him a while longer until he gets his sh*t together.

****Of course it's not possible to ascertain the ethnicity of a crowd by simply looking at a photo. But DU'ers certainly comment when photos of Republican rallies are shown and it's a sea of white people.

[GusBob]

1. how many left-handed redheads whose last name begins with a vowel that are gluten-intolerant?

because in my opinion this is the swing constituency

I'm sorry I could not resist.

[ismnotwasm]

2. You are making that comparison to POC?

Not cool.

[GGJohn]

5. Ummm, I think it was meant as satire, you know, a joke?

Personally, I found it humorous.

[GusBob]

8. Actually its an historical reference to Ghengis Khan

Divide first, then conquer

These racial accusations against Bernie Sanders and his campaign are not specious, they are ridiculous. Get a grip Ya'll

[peacebird]

26. Thanks GusBob!

[Nye Bevan]

3. Fairly diverse crowd, no?

[cali]

11. you realize that those people you're mocking voted in greater percentages in every county in

the state, for Barrack Obama, than any other state outside of his home state of Hawaii, not once but twice. You realize that Obama has spoken in front of many white crowds while he was campaigning, right?

[1939]

14. Vermont population is 1.2% African American NT

[NV Whino]

16. Thank you

You just made the point I was about to make.

[BainsBane]

4. I was just told that Clinton is seeking to get votes from people of color and women

because she knows she can't get progressive votes. I guess that means she has to settle for second-class votes.

[hrmjustin]

20. Someone said that?

Holy shit!

[BainsBane]

21. Yes, but to be fair

Second-class is my term, and he now says he didn't meant to insinuate that women and people of color weren't progressive.

[hrmjustin]

25. Wow just read it and just wow.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. I do not believe Senator Sanders is racist . That's just silly...

I do believe certain candidates emphasize different issues. The issues that are of importance to me are* in order from highlest to lowest:

-immigration reform. I have a Latino friend and two Pacific Island friends who are undocumented. I can not imagine a scenario where they are repatriated back to Mexico and the Philippines.

-the Affordable Care Act and the concomitant expansion of Medicaid to previously uninsured indigent adults.

-protection of the glbtq community when it comes to housing and employment

-increasing the minimum wage

- criminal justice reform - we need to figure out a way to protect the good guys, punish the bad guys, without letting the communities they reside in feel as they are being occupied.

-paid leave

-a flexible foreign policy that relies on force as a last resort and not a first one


*- it's early on the West Coast so I might have missed some or my priorities might be different.

[seabeyond]

7. didnt the populist change the conversation on du in one day. NO ONE is saying sanders is a racist

talking about his demographics of support, campaign issues he discusses or the staff he hires.

this is not about him being a racist. he is not a racist. no one thinks he is a racist

last night supporters started accusing anyone talking about his demographics or campaign issues as calling him a racist.

not true.

a false and nasty accusation

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. Using race as a cudgel against other Democrats is not nice, not nice at all...

The only time I got involved is when I pointed out that the Clintons enjoy a large amount of popularity/affection among people of color and this popularity/affection is real and genuine.

[KittyWampus]

12. Talking about facts isn't using a cudgel. Demographics, electoral votes, optics...

that's all part of the reality of politics.

[gollygee]

13. Why is it any worse

to ask Sanders to speak about his views on racism - issues like voter rights, police abuse, etc., than it is to ask Clinton to speak about her views on the economy, TPP, etc.?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. It's not...

But I have seen some really ugly threads about Sec. Of State Clinton.

All these issues are important.

[seabeyond]

18. its POLITICS. i feel i am in an alternate universe. this is the essence to running a campaign.

really?

not nice?

from day one of sanders stepping out i supported. stating his real chance of the win. i immediately went to the demographics he would reach. middle class, upper middle class, white, men and youth in college. immediately. recognizing who his message spoke to.

that is not nice?

is that where we are at with the sanders campaign.

[cali]

15. because posting a vile racist picture in a thread about how Sanders doesn't care

enough about issues important to the African American community isn't inferring anything.

what disingenuous shit

[seabeyond]

19. ya? well you are right in a thread mucking it up with others sayin i have repeatedly said sanders

is racist cali. no qualms what so ever playing in that shit.

[KittyWampus]

10. It is silly to call him racist. But his campaign seems ill-prepared for a national spotlight.

[tammywammy]

22. Vermont is a very white state.

Optically it does look bad that his crow was so white, but that's representative of the state he represents.

It doesn't mean he's racist, and I don't think anyone seriously thinks he is. But it does lend to questions regarding his stances on issues specifically related to POC, and I don't think asking legitimate questions about that is wrong either.

I've visited Vermont before and plan to again. It's a beautiful state, but the overwhelming whiteness felt strange.

[MoonRiver]

23. He's runnning a national campaign.

I think he could get staffers from other places than Vermont.

[tammywammy]

24. I don't know how much staff is built up outside Vermont.

I'm sure his campaign has taken notice of the appearance and it'll be different in the future. Also, if a crowd in Vermont was suddenly 50% POC that would have clearly meant they bussed people in and some would complain about that as well.

:Shrug:

[MoonRiver]

27. It will be informative when he gives speeches outside Vermont,

hopefully in more diverse areas, how many POC are seen in the crowd.

[bluedigger]

37. I imagine he will, once the checks start to clear.

How old is his campaign now? 3, 4 days?

[DinahMoeHum]

28. Nothing but the best for the oppressed, right?

Why don't you ask how many left-handed LGBT Lithuanians there are on his staff while you're at it?

Sheesh, stop looking for perfectionism in a candidate, OK? Stop this dumb numbers game.

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good-enough-for-the-time-being.

Politics is about WINNING. Period.

And if my word isn't good enough for you, let the late great Doris "Granny D" Haddock, from the neighboring state of New Hampshire speak here:
http://www.alternet.org/story/15789/don%27t_stand_in_the_way_of_our_joy

(snip)
There are many among us on the peace trail who will not support a candidate unless that candidate is perfect on every issue.
Politics is about winning.
For us, it is about winning to save lives and raise people up from poverty and illness and loneliness and injustice.
Those posturing on the left sometimes forget that. Don't tell me that you can't support a particular candidate because of this or that. This isn't about you and your precious political standards. It is about saving nature and our people.
We are coming out to win, so please don't stand in our way.
When we have reasonable people in power, let us start our arguments again, for we can not move forward unless we have a decent government underneath us and a Bill of Rights to let us speak freely.
(snip)

Ok, end of rant.

[Sunlei]

29. I disagree with you, I think Senator Sanders has "his sh*t together" and is not an insular person.

He and Mrs. Clinton may never be ready for "prime time" in todays republican owned and dominated USA media.

It is a great thing when they both stand together and speak for all "the people".

[Comrade Grumpy]

30. This is some stinky shit. n/t

[demmiblue]

31. Here is his contact info:

OFFICE LOCATIONS

Washington D.C.

U.S. Senate
332 Dirksen Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
tel [phone]
fax [phone]

Burlington

1 Church St, 3rd Floor
Burlington, VT 05401
tel [phone]
tel [phone]
fax [phone]

St. Johnsbury

357 Western Ave. Suite 1B
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
tel [phone]
fax [phone]

Let us know what you find.

[One_Life_To_Give]

32. 15% vs 1.2%

There are over 6000 African Americans in Vermont upon which to draw. So we presume he could have hired somebody. But in a state that is 95% White and only 1.2% African American it shouldn't surprise people that there might be a lack of racial diversity in any grouping there.

[Orsino]

33. How many demographics did Sanders' husband capture when Sanders was First Lady?

I wonder what Bill Clinton's first crowds in '91 looked like?

See, we knew already that Sec. Clinton was starting out far ahead in name recognition. I won't pretend that that isn't a strength if you won't pretend it's a virtue that Sen. Sanders somehow lacks.

For the next little while, I'll be watching to see how many supporters our candidates win.

[BrotherIvan]

34. Yeah, more white people co-opting black issues!

Woohoo! So how long did your "support" for Bernie Sanders last? By my count that's five super stealth supporters on DU alone. It would be laughable if it weren't so sad.

[ibegurpard]

35. I will leave it to people of color to decide if he speaks to their issues.

I'm not qualified to judge.
He speaks to mine.

[Bluenorthwest]

36. In 2007 Obama was opposed to equality for LGBT people. When asked about any gay people he

knew personally, the candidate hesitated and eventually said there was a professor at Occidental who was gay and Obama liked him in part because he ' was not proselytizing all the time'. Which of course implies that other gay people he knew had been 'proselytizing' all the time.
That was it. 'I had a gay teacher once who kept his hands to himself so that's ok'.
His announcement speech mentioned gay people only once, in passing and without any sort of positive message at all.
His campaign went on to employ actual hate preachers such as Donnie McClurkin, who had called for war on gay people whom he accused of killing children.
When Obama won, he rewarded Rick Warren with the Inaugural days after Warren had equated same sex couples to pedophiles and thieves.

And all of that was accepted by the bulk of DU, and all criticism of such bigotry was called 'poutrage' and 'wanting a pony'. "It's just one little song" they said about the 'this is war' guy. "It's just one little prayer" they said about the 'they are pedophiles' guy.
So let me know when you have an actual complaint. Let me know when Bernie's surrogate calls some minority group child killers, OK?