Shame on all of you working for the Clinton campaign who are using the issue of race

[Ron Green]

(specifically African-American identity) to try to derail the Bernie Sanders movement. And it is a movement, you must have noticed, risen up from the grass roots in response to an entitled and dishonest candidate seeking to latch on to President Obama's accomplishments just as quickly as she played the bigot card on him in 2008.

Make no mistake: there's one candidate in this race who won't sell out AA aspirations, communities and values, and it ain't Hillary Clinton.

If this doesn't apply to you, and you're NOT a Clinton operative, then ignore this and go on.

[AtomicKitten]

1. I had enough of their ugly race-baiting in 2008.

[AzDar]

46. ^ This.

[HooptieWagon]

2. Clintonian race wedges are one reason I wrote them off long ago.

[nashville_brook]

8. we were Team Clinton until the racial smears in 2008

[HooptieWagon]

10. I was tentatively Edwards, then undecided between Clinton and Obama.

Once she played the race card I ran to Obamas corner.

[nashville_brook]

13. well...Edwards, then Clinton

Oh, Edwards.

[HooptieWagon]

14. Yep. That was a disappointment, needless to say.

[redwitch]

43. It was his Two Americas speech that made me listen to John Edwards.

And the awful attacks on Obama that put me off Hillary Clinton.

[nashville_brook]

45. me too. in a weird sync, i was reminded of the Two Americas speech today

in the car listening to John Fugelsang's Insight show on Sirius...he had David Sirota on who mentioned it by way of discussing his new piece in IBT --> http://www.ibtimes.com/bernie-sanders-vs-hillary-clinton-democratic-party-split-over-barack-obamas-record-2301102

Bernie Sanders vs. Hillary Clinton: Democratic Party Split Over Barack Obama’s Record And Liberalism

It was obvious from the start to political analysts that the Republican primaries would be a struggle between moderates and conservatives for control of the GOP. But heading into the 2016 election, few would have predicted that the Democratic primary campaign — if there was even going to be one — would be a civil war over the party's ideological future. Instead, continuity was the expectation, as a personally popular two-term president was set to hand the baton to his own former secretary of state — who herself was seen as a popular figure among Democratic voters, and one with an unmatchable network and ample reserves of money.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the convention in Philadelphia. With income inequality rising, with Wall Street going largely unpunished in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and with populist voices like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren stirring the long-held dreams of a restive liberal base, 2016 has split the party’s electorate in half, if the exit and entrance polls from New Hampshire and Iowa are to be believed.

In the Granite State, the previously little-known and oft-ignored Sanders crushed the once-presumptive frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Exit polls showed only about 40 percent of voters in the president's own Democratic Party said they want the next president to continue Barack Obama's policies — even fewer than the 55 percent of Democrats who said the same in Iowa.

Just as notable, New Hampshire Democratic voters revealed a party that appears to have become more left-leaning than ever. According to the New York Times , a full “two-thirds of voters in the Democratic primary said that they are liberal, up from 56 percent who said the same in 2008, the last time there was a contested Democratic primary.” Clinton tried to appeal to more centrist Democrats by, for instance, dismissing Sanders’ push for a single-payer Medicare-for-all health care system, but two-thirds of the increasingly liberal Democratic electorate told exit pollsters that they support such a system.

Sanders’ laser-like focus on populist economics and confrontational anti-Wall Street themes resonated with Democratic voters who said the top two issues they were concerned about were inequality and the state of the economy — a shift by a party that during Bill Clinton's administration often elected more corporate-friendly candidates who downplayed inequality and promoted a so-called “third way” of cooperation with the financial sector.


more at link --> http://www.ibtimes.com/bernie-sanders-vs-hillary-clinton-democratic-party-split-over-barack-obamas-record-2301102

[virtualobserver]

27. I was for Obama from the beginning, but my view of the Clintons changed permanently

I can never forgive them for their racial tactics from 2008.....Nothing that they do surprises me now.

[AZ Progressive]

3. Bernie should NOT be on the defense on the issue of race, and these videos prove it

Bernie's endorsement of Jesse Jackson in 1988:

Hillary, on the other hand, should be

[tblue37]

12. That last video is powwrful! nt

[kath]

22. Another must-see video about HRH's disgusting tactics in 2008:

[arcane1]

31. Some cowards actually hid a post today that mentioned her vile "super-predators" remark.

For some, race isn't a cause to be fought for. It's a cause to exploit for personal or electoral gain. DU is not immune to that.

[H2O Man]

4. Interesting.

I think that both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders would do their best to help all non-white citizens of the United States. I do, however,believe that Bernie's program offers a much greater potential, especially for those marginalized by our society.

Recommended.

[cyberswede]

9. I agree with you. nt

[hack89]

5. Like it or not, race will be critical to upcoming primaries

Bernie is not a racist. That doesn't mean he doesn't have some work to do in order to gain the support of non-white voters. A simple fact.

[msanthrope]

7. That's fair. nt

[Ron Green]

18. Agreed. And Bernie's basic honesty will shine through as he seeks to

build a message and a movement that's inclusive and workable. In contrast, the fundamental dishonesty on the Clinton side, catapulted by the media, will serve to keep us mired in the cynical system from which we must escape.

[leftupnorth]

6. It's disgusting. N/t

[Empowerer]

11. It's interesting how, just since Tuesday, folks have been coming out of the woodwork to either

attack the Clinton campaign for "using race" to hurt Sanders or bombarding black folk with reasons why they should not support Clinton. Of course, Sanders supporters have been saying these things for months, but it has stepped up exponentially in the past couple of days to the point that this issue is completely dominating GDP.

The timing is not a coincidence. We're moving out of Iowa and New Hampshire into states where the African American vote is pivotal and it's clear that Sanders has not been effective in getting a large swath of black voters to swing his way - and time is running out.

Smells of desperation . . .

[AZ Progressive]

15. Hillary is losing the under 45 and women, all she has to fall back on is PoC

And it's only Hillary the one that is throwing the kitchen sink

It's pretty clear who is the desperate one here.

[Empowerer]

17. "Fall back?" So "under 45 and women" are the desired voters and black folks are just a fallback?

Has it occurred to you that it could be the other way around? Sanders is losing the African-American vote so he has to fall back on under 45 and women?

And let's not forget - as many of you always do - that people of color include women and people under 45. So what we REALLY should say is, "Bernie is losing the African-American vote so he has to fall back on white women and white people under 45."

But, of course, I don't expect some folks here to see it that way since they clearly don't see African Americans as viable or even desirable supporters - we're just a "fallback."

And you wonder why you're having trouble getting black folk to flock to Bernie . . .

[Ron Green]

21. "Falling back" is not a required tactic if your message is true.

Bernie's indictment of the rigged system and his call for real inclusion and fairness doesn't depend on pandering to different demographics.

If he fails because AA support goes to Clinton it's unfortunate, but don't you see that's not enough to make him lie.

[JudyM]

23. Yes, to her. PoC = firewall to her. So she is pandering to shore it up.

she can say anything she wants, and she does, including outright lies. Tell a pretty story, Hillary. Her policies hurting PoC don't lie though.

Dad always said "Actions speak louder than words."

[Empowerer]

24. Poor poor "POC" - just too ignorant to know they're being used, Hillary is hurting them and they

should line up with Bernie.

Fortunately, they have YOU here to tell them what's best for them...

THANK you, Jesus!

And it's good to know that you think of people who vote for Bernie are "supporters" while black people who vote for Clinton are a "fallback firewall."

Got it.

(You have NO idea what you sound like, do you?)

[Ron Green]

25. This is baiting, isn't it?

I was just reading about this.

I think it's not gonna work, after all.

[arcane1]

33. Yep, it's classic Baiting 101.

[Electric Monk]

35. They had two threads hidden by juries for race baiting just yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511196116
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511197571

I think I'm starting to see a pattern....

[JudyM]

26. Not what I said at all. People can all think what we want. Her team is the one that used the term

firewall, so that's not on me.

[bravenak]

30. Miss Millie fromthe color purple was my explanation

[HooptieWagon]

20. Don't count him out.

It appears Sanders is still unfamiliar to many SC voters who support Clinton merely on name-recognition. Her mile wide but inch deep support may drain away as it has elsewhere, when people realize there's a valid alternative.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/us/bernie-sanders-intrigues-a-south-carolina-town-that-loves-hillary-clinton.html?_r=1&referer=

[Nedsdag]

16. Tell me about it.

This is the same woman who supported "hard working white Americans." As a POC, I felt offended by this statement and I still feel this way.

[senz]

19. Be cautious, foks. The boards have gone into "High Alert." Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

On Thu Feb 11, 2016, 12:00 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Shame on all of you working for the Clinton campaign who are using the issue of race
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511201373

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Over the top inapprorpriate flame bait.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Thu Feb 11, 2016, 12:04 PM, and the Jury voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: It's a cogent argument infused with passion and moral outrage but neither personal nor over the top. This is a discussion forum.
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Time to stop bludgeoning Hillary supporters, merely because they don't like the campaign process. Bernie and his surrogates have done their fair share of mudslinging. It is all demoralizing to the party as a whole. Time to stop all of it.
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Word
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: What a suckass post.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Seems like standard fare for DU these days.
Juror #7 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: And shame on you for your white man splainin. Making your candidate uglier with every word from you mouth.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Matt_in_STL]

28. Wow, Juror #7 sure is a righteous piece of work.

[senz]

29. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

[kath]

48. Well, if it's who I think it is, that person lost their eligibility to serve on juries yesterday by

Getting another hide. so that's something...

[Ron Green]

32. I'd like to know the age and life experience of Juror#7,

as well as that of so many other posters here. The cloak of anonymity diminishes our discourse, unfortunately.

[kath]

44. Gee, I wonder who #7 was???

{scratching head}

[Gothmog]

34. There are good reasons why African Americans are not supporting Sanders

There are good reasons why the demographics are not working for Sanders and why many voters including some African American voters are not supporting Sanders. Demographics are important in that this explains one of the big divides between Sanders supporters and Clinton supporters. There is a vast difference in how Sanders supporters and Sanders view President Obama and how other Democrats view President Obama. I admit that I am impressed with the amount accomplished by President Obama in face of the stiff GOP opposition to every one of his proposals and I personally believe that President Obama has been a great President. It seems that this view colors who I am supporting in the primary http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/clinton-sanders-obama_us_56aa378de4b05e4e3703753a?utm_hp_ref=politics

But lurking behind this argument about the future is a dispute that's really about the past. It’s a debate over what Obama accomplished in office -- in particular, how significant those accomplishments really are. And it's been simmering on the left for most of the last seven years.

On one side of this divide are activists and intellectuals who are ambivalent, disappointed or flat-out frustrated with what Obama has gotten done. They acknowledge what they consider modest achievements -- like helping some of the uninsured and preventing the Great Recession from becoming another Great Depression. But they are convinced that the president could have accomplished much more if only he’d fought harder for his agenda and been less quick to compromise.

They dwell on the opportunities missed, like the lack of a public option in health care reform or the failure to break up the big banks. They want those things now -- and more. In Sanders, they are hearing a candidate who thinks the same way.

On the other side are partisans and thinkers who consider Obama's achievements substantial, even historic. They acknowledge that his victories were partial and his legislation flawed. This group recognizes that there are still millions of people struggling to find good jobs or pay their medical bills, and that the planet is still on a path to catastrophically high temperatures. But they see in the last seven years major advances in the liberal crusade to bolster economic security for the poor and middle class. They think the progress on climate change is real, and likely to beget more in the future.

It seems that many of the Sanders supporters hold a different view of President Obama which is also a leading reason why Sanders is not exciting African American voters. Again, it may be difficult for Sanders to appeal to African American voters when one of the premises of his campaign is that Sanders does not think that President Obama is a progressive or a good POTUS.

Again, I am not ashamed to admit that I like President Obama and think that he has accomplished a great deal which is why I do not mind Hillary Clinton promising to continue President Obama's legacy. There are valid reasons why many non-African American democrats (myself included) and many African American Democratic voters are not supporting Sanders.

I understand why Sanders supporters dislike talking about demographics but the fact remain that Sanders supporters tend to not like President Obama and that dislike affects the amount of support that Sanders is getting from certain demographic groups

[Ron Green]

36. I don't quite agree with Mr. Cohn's backward-looking piece.

A small number of Bernie supporters dismiss Obama's considerable achievements, having hoped for a transformational politics that, even had Obama been the revolutionary many thought he was, a broad, racist narrative all across the country stopped dead in its tracks.

I will NOT admit that more than a very few "Bernie Bro's" are actively pursuing a racist agenda online and elsewhere in this campaign; probably fewer than there are paid trolls pretending to be Sanders supporters. Indeed, my sense is that most voters for Bernie in this primary are ones who voted twice for Barack Obama and cut him plenty of slack for eight years.

[Beacool]

38. Still can't stomach that Hillary has AA support?

Shame on you for being dismissive and offensive toward those people who don't march to the Sanders drumbeat. This is a democracy, not a collective. People have a right to support the candidate they prefer.

Your side is the one race baiting. Do you think that POC who chose to support Hillary are ignorant or don't have a will and mind of their own? Gee.....

Keep it up..........

[Ron Green]

39. Hey, if you're not a Clinton operative

please ignore my post, as I asked.

Thanks.

[Beacool]

40. OK, but some of you need to watch what you say.

There have been several posts attacking AA leader who chose to support Hillary. They have as much right to support her as Jealous, Killer Mike and Harry Belafonte have to support Sanders.

Putting down people who support a candidate other than your own only serves to turn off the potential voters that Sanders will need in more diverse states.

[Ron Green]

42. John Lewis is a personal hero of mine, and his support of HRC

is his business. What I hate is using his support to bait Bernie supporters to misbehave. They're sometimes a rowdy bunch, because their cause is facing a hard time in the media and elsewhere.

[olddots]

41. I better not say anything about # 7

[Hydra]

47. Team Hillary has made it clear that no kitchen sinks are too dirty to throw

The funny thing is that this is Deja Moo- we've seen this bull before.