Bernie Sanders, 1994: "horribly violent ... deeply sick and sociopathic ... must be put behind bars"

[ucrdem]

and more, from "Crime Bill Politics: A Flash Point In Democratic Race," NPR, February 26, 2016. Bernie on the 1994 crime bill he voted for :

"I think there is no disagreement among all of us that we need strong law enforcement . . . clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them."

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/26/468297933/crime-bill-politics-a-flash-point-in-democratic-race

..................

So it appears that Bernie voted for this package of police state measures, and Hillary did not.

Am I missing something?

[TM99]

1. Funny I don't see the word superpredator anywhere in that quote.

[ucrdem]

2. Hillary apologized for using that word today.

Has Bernie apologized for his vote?

[bunnies]

5. Link to her apology?

I haven't seen it. Thanks.

[ucrdem]

12. Clinton apologizes for 1996 remark on ‘superpredators’

February 26, 2016 1:03 AM

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hillary Clinton expressed regret Thursday for 20-year-old comments about young, black “superpredators” as she and Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders appealed to black voters likely to decide the upcoming South Carolina primary.

Ms. Clinton campaigned before largely African American audiences across South Carolina, while Mr. Sanders went to Flint, Mich., the majority-African American city suffering from a contaminated-water crisis that has prompted accusations of racism and government neglect.

Black voters, and her family’s long association with them, are the linchpin of Ms. Clinton’s strategy for winning the first Southern primary Saturday. The winner will have a strong claim to momentum going into the next round of voting in Southern and Midwestern states with sizable African American populations — starting three days later, on Super Tuesday.

“My life’s work has been about lifting up children and young people who’ve been let down by the system or by society, kids who never got the chance they deserved,” Ms. Clinton told Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2016/02/26/Clinton-apologizes-for-1996-remark-on-super-predators-after-encounter-with-activist-Sanders-visits-Flint/stories/201602260212

[arcane1]

20. No apology at all, just vague regret over word-choice.

Typical republican "apology".

[TM99]

38. No where in that article is an apology.

We get a reporter saying she expressed regret but where are her exact words form today?

She did say “Looking back, I shouldn’t have used those words, and I wouldn’t use them today.” but that's not an apology any more than “a poor choice of words" is an apology.

No, sorry, she has not cleared this one at all.

[Petrushka]

84. I wonder what words she WOULD use today, now that she's more savvy. (n/t)

[TM99]

99. I know exactly what words.

We have super thugs that must be stopped. They carry Skittles and toy guns. We can't let these assholes always get away.

[bunnies]

44. Theres no apology there.

Im looking for the part where she says shes sorry.

[ucrdem]

51. Hillary: "looking back, I shouldn't have used those words, and I wouldn't use them today."

Okay now where's Bernie's? No one's asked for it you say? If as I suspect no one really gives a fig what he said or how he voted on this issue, that tells you what this is really all about, what this entire election is all about, which is Hillary's support for Barack Obama.

[Kittycat]

56. She didn't apologize.

[EdwardBernays]

11. she didn't

she lied... she acted like it was just a mistake to use that word... which is total BS.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Thing is, Hillary used super-predator and the word 'kids' over and over.

Obviously the world has Mansons and Dahmers, and they need to be locked up. That's not the same as a new class of kids who are 'Super-predators'.

Bernie has been on record about that entire bill since prior to the bill being voted on. They stuck the Violence Against Women Act on the Crime Bill, and that's why a whole raft of people voted for it. 2/3 of the Black Caucus in the House, along with Bernie Sanders. In the Senate, you should been seeking apologies from Joe Biden first and foremost, John Kerry, Boxer, Feinstein, Harry Reid, Akaka, Inouye, Harkin, Ted Kennedy and so on and for forth....and yet this only comes up for Bernie and only because Hillary decided to say a bunch of crappy verbiage out of Bill Bennett's current book circuit fodder. She said it, she owns it, kids who are super-predators. Kids. Not our kids. Those other kids.....

[tazkcmo]

101. She did?

Like she apologized for her Iraq war vote? Why does she keep doing shit she has to apologize for? Can you really apologize for destroying the lives of millions of people, home and abroad? Does it change anything if I kill your family then say "I'm sorry"?

[notadmblnd]

108. After 20 + years? I imagine she was very sincere

More pandering, nothing more, nothing less.

[bunnies]

3. Me either.

I wonder why that is!

[farleftlib]

6. Nor bringing anyone to "heel"

He gives his reluctant support because of provisions against assault weapons and protections for women but predicts it will lead to an explosion in the prison population. How DARE he!

[arcane1]

15. Or "kids" n/t

[MADem]

22. Yeah--"horribly violent" and "deeply sick and sociopathic" are so much sweeter!

LOL!

And he voted for it, too!

Say, has he apologized for THAT?

[giftedgirl77]

93. Sanders doesn't have to apologize for anything & everything he has

done is perfect.

[MADem]

109. Ah, yes, indeed!

[Number23]

112. With every single day, the mask just falls further away. The masks are so far from their faces now

they're sitting on the damn things and still somehow think that they are fooling people.

[MADem]

114. Doesn't it just!

I think Bernie is a decent fellow.

Some of his supporters, though, they aren't as decent as he is.

[Sancho]

92. The term was used by lots of people in the 90's - part of a theory of crime.

At the time, there was a rising crime wave. Hillary was using the "term du jour" because it was the language of the time. Bernie voted for the crime bill. Most scholars did not make it a racial term, but like a lot of people it was more focused on black crime. Even this last week on CNN there was a show where they discussed stop and frisk and racial targeting.

http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/27206_1.pdf

A professor of politics and public affairs on the political science faculty at Princeton University, John DiIulio, created and popularized the super- predator concept. He coined the term superpredator (1995b) to call public attention to what he characterized as a “new breed” of offenders, “kids that have absolutely no respect for human life and no sense of the future. . . . These are stone-cold predators!” (p. 23). Elsewhere, DiIulio and co-authors have described these young people as “fatherless, Godless, and jobless” and as “radically impulsive, brutally remorseless youngsters, including ever more teenage boys, who murder, assault, rob, burglarize, deal deadly drugs, join gun-toting gangs, and create serious [linked] disorders” (Bennett, DiIulio, & Walters, 1996, p. 27).
The superpredator myth gained further popularity when it was linked to forecasts by James Q. Wilson and John DiIulio of increased levels of juvenile violence. Wilson (1995) asserted that “by the end of [the past] decade [i.e., by 2000] there will be a million more people between the ages of 14 and 17 than there are now. . . . Six percent of them will become high rate, repeat offenders—thirty thousand more young muggers, killers and thieves than we have now. Get ready” (p. 507). DiIulio (1995a, p. 15) made the same prediction. Media portrayals of juvenile superpredators have created the impression that juveniles are most likely to be armed—heavily armed—and to use guns in attacks.

[Carlo Marx]

4. So Hillary opposed the Crime Bill?

I didn't realize that. I was under the mistaken idea she lobbied for mass incarnation and welfare reform. That must have been some other first lady blowing the dog whistle throughout the 90s. My bad.

[pkdu]

78. You are thinking of Bernie nt

[Billsmile]

7. 2 + 2 = 4

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/26/11116412/bernie-sanders-mass-incarceration

[Petrushka]

86. Very informative article. Thanks for the link.

[cantbeserious]

102. Thank You For Sharing These Clarifying Truths

eom

[Agnosticsherbet]

8. "clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent who are deeply sick and"

"clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent who are deeply sick and sociopathic and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from."

And just who were these people you suggest were " who are horribly violent who are deeply sick and sociopathic and clearly these people must be put behind bars."

[Petrushka]

87. Black, white, and every shade between: You can find them . . .

. . . in the psychiatric cell blocks of prisons.

A relative of mine, a psychiatrist who worked in a maximum security prison, believes many
prisoners on those cell blocks belong in mental institutions or hospitals rather than in prison.

[Agnosticsherbet]

105. Yes, but they were put in prison in the 90's get tough on crime era.

[Petrushka]

110. Some of those prisoners were people thrown onto the street when mental hospitals closed. (eom)

[KingFlorez]

9. I expect that he'll soon deny that he voted for it

[NWCorona]

33. He actually released a statement as to why he made that vote.

Here's a period clip

[EdwardBernays]

10. what you are missing

is the rest of the quote:

It is my firm belief that clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them.

But it is also my view that through the neglect of our government and through a grossly irrational set of priorities, we are dooming today tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime, and violence. And, Mr. Speaker, all the jails in the world — and we already imprison more people per capita than any other country — and all of the executions … in the world will not make that situation right.

We can either educate or electrocute. We can create meaningful jobs, rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails. Mr. Speaker, let us create a society of hope and compassion, not one of hate and vengeance.

You're also missing that the guy who coined the term super-predator, who was invited to the White House, was in the national press the week before Clinton used that word to a mostly white audience, saying that 150,000 children - super-predators - kids who could never be rehabilitated and were basically dead inside - that at least that many kids would need to be locked up for a LONG time - if not forever, and that was just in the coming few years.

That was the context in which she said that. Sanders on the other hand doesn't use that word - which at the time was a racist dog whistle - and instead says yeah, there's sick people in society - no shit - let's lock them up, but if you want to REALLY deal with the crime epidemic you need to invest in the youth, to give them a brighter future... the same thing he's saying all these years later.

Basically, you've missed the entire point, and you're doing it to try and somehow justify some really awful shit.

[ucrdem]

13. And then he voted for it. nt

[arcane1]

17. He held is nose and voted for it, while Hillary praised it.

Are you against the Violence Against Women Act that was included therein?

[RobertEarl]

19. OMG

Bernie is against criminals???

He thinks we should arrest criminals???

OMG!!

[Bluenorthwest]

23. Here is a link to the votes in the House and in the Senate, where only 2 Democrats voted no....

Senate, starring Biden, Kerry Boxer and a galaxy of yes votes! See Ted Kennedy's 'Lion of the Senate' Yes vote-
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/103-1994/s295

The House, oh my how many voted for this who haunt us to this day....64 no votes from Democrats, 134 from the GOP....
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/103-1994/h416


Considering that cast of persons, and the obvious enormous importance this piece of legislation has to so many people here it is very interesting that it has really never come up, was not an issue when Kerry or Biden were candidates for high office, never come up when any of these folks were running for Senate or doing in depth interviews.

It comes up only for Bernie. It's odd, considering how important, and how dozens of people who ardently supported and voted for it, ushered it through Congress as Joe Biden did are lauded on DU, praised and supported to become President. It makes a person wonder.....

[dsc]

52. really?

months of complaining about Hillary favoring the bill and blaming Bill for every incarcerated person in the country due to this bill and now it is unfair to point out that the candidate who the people blaming the Clintons for every incarcerated person in the country voted for the bill that supposedly was the cause of it all?

[noamnety]

14. Thank you.

I hope the OP learns to read the context of quotes they are writing about in the future. I saw one thing today on a blog that was a whole freaking article about a quote from Bernie - entirely taken out of context. You'd think if a sentence is the basis for an entire story, the context would at least be included!

[arcane1]

18. You are generously assuming honest intent.

[ucrdem]

26. The quote is bad but the vote is far more significant.

Or are you suggesting that votes cast ten or more years ago are not all that determinative?

[noamnety]

32. My answer hasn't changed since the last time this was brought up.

It was written in a lose-lose way.

Anyone voting on it was set up to be accused of voting against either minorities or women. There was no "right" vote.

[tk2kewl]

43. you could take the time to listen to the video that was posted earlier

where he explains his position and his vote. or you could keep pushing an uninformed view. the choice is yours

[beam me up scottie]

21. Thank you for posting the entire quote, another Hillary supporter did the same thing earlier.

You think they would know better but nope, same shit day after day.

[ucrdem]

27. Doesn't change the fact that Sanders voted for the 1994 Crime Bill.

And defended it in language far more damning than Hillary's.

[beam me up scottie]

30. Actually he voted for it to save women's lives, in his own words:

Thanks for allowing me to clear that up for you.

[Jefferson23]

36. Thanks, some pull this kind of nonsense often. n/t

[TM99]

40. Of course the Clinton supporter

truncated the quote to make it seem like what he said is equivalent to Clinton's superpredators need to be brought to heel.

How like the Clinton Machine.

[Kittycat]

57. ^^^ if I could rec a post ^^^

[DefenseLawyer]

24. There are such people, just way fewer than most people think. n/t

[Todays_Illusion]

25. This is horribly out of context, the whole speech is on this forum go listen and be embarrassed for

NPR, an organization I now call the national tax supported voice of CATO.org and AEI.

[ucrdem]

28. The point is that Sanders voted for the 1994 crime bill.

What does NPR have to do with it?

[Vattel]

29. Obviously you are missing a lot.

To quote forjusticethunders:

"Bernie Sanders voted AGAINST a 1991 Crime Bill that was mostly focused on mass incarceration and get tough policies.
He repeatedly spoke about the danger of focusing on get tough policy aimed at African Americans, and appealed over and over that government focus on rebuilding urban communities.
In 1994, the bill he voted against came back up for a vote, THIS TIME bundled with the Assault Weapons Ban and the Violence Against Women Act. Essentially a poison pill and Bernie swallowed with reservations. You can criticize him for that, and I think that's fair.

What he DIDNT do, is uncritically stump for the same bill, using language that would have made Nixon blush."

[ucrdem]

31. "clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them."

That is what then-Congressman Sanders said.

[Vattel]

34. You have problem with putting violent sociopaths behind bars?

[beam me up scottie]

35. Do you think people like Jeffrey Dahmer shouldn't have been put behind bars?

Of course he's dead now but who else would you set free?

[dreamnightwind]

41. Very sad and disingenuous posts you are making here - eom

[litlbilly]

37. a few brain cells maybe

[2pooped2pop]

39. Let's take a look at the rest of that quote...here

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/8/8/1410122/-Senator-Sanders-remarks-on-1994-Crime-Bill
Mr. Speaker, how do we talk about the very serious crime problem in America without mentioning that we have the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world, by far, with 22 percent of our children in poverty and 5 million who are hungry today? Do the Members think maybe that might have some relationship to crime? How do we talk about crime when this Congress is prepared, this year, to spend 11 times more for the military than for education; when 21 percent of our kids drop out of high school; when a recent study told us that twice as many young workers now earn poverty wages as 10 years ago; when the gap between the rich and the poor is wider, and when the rate of poverty continues to grow? Do the members think that might have some relationship to crime?

Mr. Speaker, it is my firm belief that clearly, there are some people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them. But it is also my view that through the neglect of our Government and through a grossly irrational set of priorities, we are dooming tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime, and violence. And Mr. Speaker, all the jails in the world, and we already imprison more people per capita than any other country, and all of the executions in the world, will not make that situation right. We can either educate or electrocute. We can create meaningful jobs, rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails. Mr. Speaker, let us create a society of hope and compassion, not one of hate and vengeance.

[whatchamacallit]

42. No singling out kids or race

Yeah, this is equivalent
subterfuge shit sandwich

[one_voice]

45. Predator:

pred·a·tor
ˈpredədər/
noun
noun: predator; plural noun: predators

1.
an animal that naturally preys on others.
"wolves are major predators of rodents"
2.
a person or group that ruthlessly exploits others.
"a website frequented by sexual predators"

so·ci·o·path
ˈsōsēōˌpaTH/
noun
noun: sociopath; plural noun: sociopaths

a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.

They are not just gangs of kids anymore,” Clinton said. “They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘superpredators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.”

"I think there is no disagreement among all of us that we need strong law enforcement . . . clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them."

I think they pretty much said the same thing. Bernie's verbiage may have been a little 'softer' but its pretty much the same thing, imo. They're both talking about the same people, here.

The rest of Bernie's comment:

We can either educate or electrocute. We can create meaningful jobs, rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails. Mr. Speaker, let us create a society of hope and compassion, not one of hate and vengeance.

This part of Hillary's comment. I think is important too. I don't think she was just dismissing, maybe looking for ways to stop it before it happens.

We can talk about why they ended up that way,

My opinion only.

[Neon Gods]

46. Can someone tell me the point of this thread?

Are we going to spend the rest of the year dissecting every old speech, every old comment, every old vote taken by Hillary and Bernie until everyone hates both candidates? My God, we have bigger dragons to slay.

Every politician on earth has votes and comments they've made in the past that makes them cringe today. By 2030 some of Obama's votes and/or comments will look kind of dumb in the context of what we have learned by then. If you and I don't know Bernie and Hillary's basic character, strengths, and weaknesses by now, we haven't been paying attention. The bottom line is I can, and will, support either of them in November against any Republican.

[Live and Learn]

91. Sure, I can. Bernie is against mass incarceration, private prisons and

thinks prisons should be used only when absolutely necessary and to rehabilitate instead of punish people.

Hillary supports the death penalty and takes money from private prisons.

That is a vast difference in their thought processes. I cannot support the latter for these reasons and many others.

[bunnies]

47. Hillary wasnt elected to anything in 1994. So yeah, youre missing something.

She wasnt an elected official no matter how much she pretended she was.

[Kalidurga]

48. "horribly violent ... deeply sick and sociopathic ... must be put behind bars"

I have no problem with this. It seems you are suggesting we just stop criminalizing violent behavior. I am not down with that.

[ucrdem]

49. The point is that Hillary is getting raked over the coals for less while Bernie skates.

Nothing new here. Just thought I'd point out a conspicuous example.

[Kalidurga]

63. Bernie wasn't whistling that's the issue.

[eridani]

77. She is getting raked because most of the huge increase in the prison population--

--in the 90s was due to jailing non-violent drug users, NOT genuine sociopaths.

[Chitown Kev]

50. dog-whistles?

"I think that urban America has got to respect what rural America is about, where 99 percent of the people in my state who hunt are law abiding people," the 2016 Democratic presidential hopeful said to NPR.

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/24/417180805/bernie-sanders-walks-a-fine-line-on-gun-control

[ucrdem]

53. pitch perfect.

[TIME TO PANIC]

54. You honestly think the Bernie Sanders is using a racist dog whistle when he says "urban America"?

[Chitown Kev]

55. Why should I give him the benefit of the doubt, for one

two...what does it matter to all those pristine, pure rural folks (I guess having 10 times more black folks locked up because of that very same crime bill helps these things)

[TIME TO PANIC]

59. Here's my case.

1.) I believe you should give him the benefit of the doubt because he's the most progressive person in the senate, and he's been standing up for equality his whole career.

2.) His point was people don't hunt in cities, so they may not understand/respect why many rural folks like guns.

3.) The crime bill was a huge mistake (but kind of catch 22 situation)
here where his thought on the crime bill, watch this video.

The idea of Sanders using a racist dog whistle seems incredibly out of character, and I wouldn't defend him if I thought he did. I can't blame POC for being skeptical though.

[Cha]

67. Sorry, Chitown Kev.. I was on the jury and voted to LEAVE.

[ucrdem]

70. Sigh.

So sorry Chitown Kev.

[beam me up scottie]

73. You chopped up a quote and posted it to get people angry and defensive.

Then when people respond and get their posts hidden you're sorry about it?

What did you think would happen?

[ucrdem]

74. You can't chop up a vote and Sanders voted for this thing and defended it. Period. nt

[beam me up scottie]

76. You didn't post the entire quote and you were called on it.

If anyone came out of this looking like they're not being honest it wasn't Bernie.

[ucrdem]

79. LOL, I transcribed the recording and the vote is what matters in any case.

I also gave a link should you be interested in more and there's a transcript up now. Enjoy.

[beam me up scottie]

80. One more time in case you "forgot", here's the quote:

It is my firm belief that clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them.

But it is also my view that through the neglect of our government and through a grossly irrational set of priorities, we are dooming today tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime, and violence. And, Mr. Speaker, all the jails in the world — and we already imprison more people per capita than any other country — and all of the executions … in the world will not make that situation right.

We can either educate or electrocute. We can create meaningful jobs, rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails. Mr. Speaker, let us create a society of hope and compassion, not one of hate and vengeance.

Bernie didn't call kids "super predators" or say they needed to be brought "to heel" And locked up like animals. He said violent criminals need to be locked up and they do.

He opposed mass incarceration and spoke out at length about the injustices of our criminal justice system:

He tried to change the bill but ultimately voted for the Violence Against Women Act and assault weapons ban. He voted to save women's lives:

Try to spin THAT.

[ucrdem]

81. LOL all the excuses in the world won't change his vote. nt

[beam me up scottie]

82. Excuses are what you used to try to explain your op.

Hillary supported mass incarceration and promoted this bill using dog whistles.

And she never apologized for it, she made excuses too.

Reasons are what Bernie used to explain his vote.

His record of fighting against private prisons and mass incarceration matters more than a chopped up quote and misrepresentation of facts

[ucrdem]

83. So he was against it before she was for it, but he voted for it. Okay. nt

[beam me up scottie]

85. Keep trying, eventually you'll get it.

Or not, some people just aren't it-getters.

[beam me up scottie]

62. Only if they're the same "dog whistles" Obama used after Sandy Hook:

Gun-Control Advocates Should Listen More, Obama Says

"I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations and I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake."

His comments come in the wake of the shootings last month in Newtown, Conn. The killing of 20 children in the town has spurred gun-control advocates to seek restriction on the ownership of certain firearms such as military-style assault rifles.

"Part of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas. And if you grew up and your dad gave you a hunting rifle when you were ten, and you went out and spent the day with him and your uncles, and that became part of your family's traditions, you can see why you'd be pretty protective of that.

"So it's trying to bridge those gaps that I think is going to be part of the biggest task over the next several months. And that means that advocates of gun control have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/01/27/170393072/gun-control-advocates-should-listen-more-obama-says

[beam me up scottie]

66. What? It's an interview with NPR just like what you posted.

How is what Obama said about rural and urban gun use any different than what Bernie said? The point is that noting the difference isn't a dog whistle.

And what does who I support have to do with anything? Facts and quotes are the same no matter who posts them.

[Number23]

111. It's a hell of a thing, isn't it?

Sorry the swarmers got your post hidden. Guilty of reading what's said, using your actual brain and didn't genuflect hard enough, I guess.

[Csainvestor]

58. Seems to me Hillary should be for legalization and against the death penalty then

right?

The death penalty and prohibition disproportionately affect African American youth. Is Hillary finally going to end prohibition and legalize, will she end the death penalty?

Bernie will do both, bernie also wants to ban for profit prisons?

The past is prologue, legalization is the future, but Hillary lives in the past.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

60. I don't get this argument...

Sociopathy is real and sociopaths come in all colors.

[delrem]

72. I think it's about something that Bill Clinton wrote.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

95. Please see posts 75 and 96.

Thank you in advance.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

97. ...

[delrem]

107. Please listen to Sanders' speech:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1350143

[ucrdem]

75. Hillary apologized for using a word, but Sanders VOTED for it and defended it using worse words.

So where are the demands that he apologize for that vote?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

96. It would be be nice if we judged people by the same standards.

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

-Matthew 7: 2

[delrem]

113. Please listen to Sanders' speech:

[FangedNoumenom]

61. How dare Sanders call people like Dahmer, Albright, Berkowitz and Kemper deeply sick

and sociopathic!

I demand an apology immediately!

[Live and Learn]

65. Yes. You are missing most of the statement.

Nobody disagrees that there are some people that society must be protected from. What we disagree with is imprisoning so many people that don't need to be for long periods of time and treating it has punishment instead of rehabilitation. We have become that we use to mock.

That is what Bernie said much more eloquently than I.

[ucrdem]

68. He voted for the 94 crime bill that Hillary is supposed to apologize for.

She didn't call criminals sick and sociopathic, and she didn't vote for the legislation, but Bernie did. Of course, there were extenuating circumstances; there always are. Yet Hillary is the only one whose apology is demanded, hours before the SC primary. Think about it. Do you have any idea how utterly cynical and Segretti-inspired this looks?

[Live and Learn]

88. OMG She inferred that gang members were super-preditors.

Bernie said some people were sick. You don't see the difference? Sociopaths are sick, we just don't have a cure. Perhaps we would be better served trying to find one than simply name calling.

Bernie also calls for a fairer, less punishing system with a focus on rehabilitation.

Does Hillary? No. Why? Because Hillary has never actually done without or lived in areas that might easily lead her to a life of crime (unless you call invading countries and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people, sending families and individuals from welfare in to the streets, etc. crimes?).

Hillary can't imagine why anyone would steal $10 from someone when it is so easy to get $300,000 just from talking for 20 minutes!

[eridani]

69. Yes. The Violence of Women Act that was attached to the bill

You'd be smearing Sanders for not voting for that had he voted against the whole package.

[delrem]

71. Isn't it sick how they do this, how they play their game?

Not one of them could bear to listen to his speech.
Not one of them could answer to that.

[Live and Learn]

89. +10,000 nt

[Live and Learn]

90. They sure would. nt

[Depaysement]

94. Bernie's right

"we need strong law enforcement . . . clearly there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars . . "

Let's start with neocons and their close allies.

[MSMITH33156]

98. The entire back and forth on this issue

is positively insane. It was 20 years ago. We know significantly more about the ramifications than we did at the time. Crime was a major issue at the time, particularly in inner cities. If you want to get a shock, watch Home Alone 2, and see the reaction of the hotel staff when Kevin's mom tries to go out, in Manhattan, after dark. Freak out. It was good intentions went horribly awry.

But it's all moot. My question isn't what did you 20 years ago, it's what are you going to do now? And on this particularly issue, there is zero space between the 2 candidates.

[TM99]

100. Bullshit.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511341383

It was a myth. Violent crime in the inner city went down everywhere and not because of the laws put in place to support this myth.

A person's history shows us how they are likely to act now. Are they consistently truthful and fighting for civil rights like Sanders? Or are they consistently lying, pandering, and lukewarm on civil rights only after the culture is already changing like Clinton.

There is a gap wider than the Grand Canyon, and only a Clinton support could pretend that there is not.

[Mufaddal]

103. You are indeed missing a number of things

And it's sad that NPR deliberately cut his quote before the word "but." I heard what is presumably the same report last night.

Here is the full speech (it's quite short):

NPR did not need to play the full speech. They could have played the additional 5-10 seconds after the clip they played, which literally begins with the word "but."

Bernie voted for the bill primarily because of the inclusion of the Violence Against Women Act (and I don't think it takes much to realize that if he hadn't, he'd now be panned as having voted against the Violence Against Women Act.) See this footage (only a minute and a half long):

There is also a clear separation in language. If people want to play games and say that "superpredators" did not have racial overtones, then I welcome you to take a time machine and travel back to the 90s. It was a dog whistle. Bernie is speaking a lot more generally, and acknowledging that there was a problem with violent crime. If you actually watch the clip above, that becomes pretty clear.

I have made no secret in other posts that I don't think he should have voted for it, even with the VAWA inclusion. I am glad that he voted multiple times to remove death penalty provisions from it, and that he voted against mandatory minimums, but in the end he should not have voted for the bill, period--again, in my view.

That being said, this latest smear attempt is stupidly disingenuous. Anyone around at the time who was paying attention, and anyone with access to the internet now, can plainly see that Bernie hated much of the bill, and had profound concerns about its long term impacts. Moreover, it was a decidedly Clintonian bill. Trying to turn around and say, "Hey, look, he voted for it" when it was your administration that lobbied for it in the first place, is not only slimy and cynical, but dumb.

People can vote however they like. If you think Clinton has better positions now, fine. Let's not rewrite history, though.

[UglyGreed]

104. ........

[valerief]

106. Bernie's the amendment king. He got the Violence Against Women Act added.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_Against_Women_Act

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV, sec. 40001-40703 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, H.R. 3355) signed as Pub.L. 103–322 by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994 (codified in part at 42 U.S.C. sections 13701 through 14040). The Act provides $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposes automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allows civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave un-prosecuted. The Act also establishes the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice.

VAWA was drafted by the office of Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), with support from a broad coalition of advocacy groups.[1] The Act passed through Congress with bipartisan support in 1994, clearing the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 235–195 and the Senate by a vote of 61–38, although the following year House Republicans attempted to cut the Act's funding.[2] In the 2000 Supreme Court case United States v. Morrison, a sharply divided Court struck down the VAWA provision allowing women the right to sue their attackers in federal court. By a 5–4 majority, the Court's conservative wing overturned the provision as exceeding the federal government's powers under the Commerce Clause.[3][4]

VAWA was reauthorized by bipartisan majorities in Congress in 2000, and again in December 2005, and signed by President George W. Bush.[5] The Act's 2012 renewal was opposed by conservative Republicans, who objected to extending the Act's protections to same-sex couples and to provisions allowing battered undocumented immigrants to claim temporary visas.[6] Ultimately, VAWA was again reauthorized in 2013, after a long legislative battle throughout 2012–2013.[7]

Also, regarding your remark about Hillary not voting for this. Uh, she wasn't in Congress back then.