"Feeling Used and Abused by the Sanders Campaign Right Now," Says Veteran AIDS Activist

[bigtree]

AIDS activists blast Sanders, say he “used and abused” them by lying about meeting

AIDS activists are publicly excoriating Bernie Sanders after the Democratic presidential candidate outright lied about his oft-postponed meeting with HIV/AIDS leaders yesterday.

Sanders had agreed to the meeting a while ago, then abruptly canceled; incurring the wrath of AIDS activists after refusing to reschedule. The criticism apparently grew to be too much and Sanders was forced to relent and hold the meeting.

The latest eruption occurred after Sanders left the meeting and issued a press release claiming the activists joined him in supporting a controversial California drug initiative that the activists strongly oppose, and they’d indicated as much to Sanders.

Just as oddly, Sanders hadn’t even brought up the initiative at the meeting with the activists — it was they who raised the issue with him. Yet Sanders is now claiming that the meeting was set to discuss the initiative, and that the activists agreed with him, when they most certainly do not.

Veteran advocate Peter Staley weighed in on Facebook this afternoon:



It’s a complicated issue that John Weir gets into in detail here. But what isn’t complicated is that a group of America’s top HIV activists sat down with Bernie Sanders and told him unequivocally that they opposed this initiative. Sanders turned around and lied about them, and their alleged support for this initiative, ostensibly to endear himself to key organizations in California that can help him in the upcoming primary race in that state...


read more: http://americablog.com/2016/05/aids-activists-blast-sanders-lying-meeting.html

related:

Sahil Kapur ?@sahilkapur 5h5 hours ago
@HillaryClinton meets with HIV/AIDS activists at her Brooklyn HQ.



BROOKLYN: Hillary Clinton Vows To Expand PrEP Availability In Meeting With HIV/AIDS Activists
read:http://www.joemygod.com/2016/05/12/brooklyn-hillary-clinton-vows-to-expand-prep-availability-in-meeting-with-hivaids-activists/

[StayFrosty]

1. Looks like the Bern bros

Have a new target that they can harass and intimidate

[bigtree]

2. or just ignore

...some more.

[MaeScott]

13. My my my look what a million dollars buys you...all kinds of smears

Way to go, Brockettes

[bvf]

15. You'd think for that kind of money

at least the smears wouldn't be quite so transparent.

Same old recycled crap from Americablog. Yawn.

[bigtree]

19. quotes from AIDS activists

...not surprised to see them brushed aside here by Sanders supporters, following their candidate's lead.

[bvf]

20. Americablog. Old crap. Seen it before. Ho hum.

[bigtree]

22. actual quotes from AIDS activists

Peter Staley ?@peterstaley May 26
The #AIDS activist mtng w/ @BernieSanders was productive, but his campaign's press release used & abused us: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209774886468357&set=a.1191034335491.2028973.1217362611&type=3&theater …



Peter Staley @peterstaley

Peter Staley has been a long-term AIDS and gay rights activist, first as a member of ACT UP New York, then as the founding director of TAG, the Treatment Action Group. He served on the board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) for 13 years and then founded AIDSmeds.com, an educational website for people living with HIV. Staley is a leading subject in the Oscar-nominated documentary How to Survive a Plague.

http://t.co/JJaRNYeaE9


You're turning your back on AIDS activists. You can lie to yourself, but the reality is right here in front of you. You're responding no better than your candidate. We see you.

[bvf]

23. Old crap. Dispatched thoroughly the first time. But...

let's dig up Nancy Reagan, Hero of the War on AIDS, as Duly Recognized by Hillary Clinton.

Clinton praised Reagan, who may just as well have taken a huge dump on the graves of AIDS victims all through the 80s.

[Maru Kitteh]

24. You are provided links and proof. You yourself have jack shit

to show except deflection and smears. Do you have any evidence, links, or perhaps anything of any substance whatsoever to bring forth? I don't think you have.

[bvf]

26. "Deflection"? "Smears"? LOL!

Your inability to pay attention here is not my fault.

Find your own damn links. There are plenty right here on DU. That's why you paid for the fucking star.

[NCTraveler]

3. It's a shame both of our candidates have made blunders with respect to this topic.

It's really nice to see Clinton engaging after what she said at the Reagan funeral. It's an admirable quality she has. Similar to many groups, this isn't the first time they have met. She has worked with so many over the decades to improve society.

To not show up?

[bigtree]

4. more than 'engaging,' she's making a continued commitment

Via press release from the Clinton campaign:

Today, Hillary Clinton met with HIV and AIDS experts and advocates representing a diverse coalition of more than 70 leaders and organizations in the community. The meeting took place at the Hillary for America headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, where they discussed Clinton’s continued commitment to tackling the epidemic in the U.S. and globally, fighting discrimination against PLHIV and AIDS, and working together with HIV and AIDS experts and advocates to achieve an AIDS-free generation.

Hillary Clinton has been a longtime advocate in the fight to treat and prevent HIV and AIDS.

As First Lady, Clinton traveled the world to raise awareness on combating HIV and AIDS and assembled government officials and world leaders to increase funding for prevention and research efforts.

As Senator, Clinton introduced legislation to improve and expand global HIV and AIDS research, assistance, and education. She also co-sponsored the Early Treatment for HIV Act to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income people living with HIV.

As Secretary of State, Clinton began an ambitious campaign to usher in an AIDS-free generation. She oversaw a more than 200 percent increase in the number of people on antiretroviral treatment directly supported by the United States to reach over 6.7 million men, women, and children around the world.

Clinton has also emphasized HIV and AIDS in her philanthropic work. Almost 10 million people with HIV or AIDS around the world have benefited from more affordable medicine because of the Clinton Foundation. And since 2002, the Clinton Health Access Initiative has reduced the cost of HIV and AIDS medications in many countries from over $10,000 per person per year to just $100 to $200 per person per year.

Noel Gordon Jr. ?@noelgordon09 4h4 hours ago Brooklyn, NY
If we want to end the HIV epidemic, then we have a champion in @HillaryClinton #ImWithHer #WeAreHRC

During this campaign, Clinton has released specific policies to tackle the HIV and AIDS epidemic. As President, she will:

Cap out-of-pocket pharmaceutical expenses for people with HIV and AIDS. Clinton has announced a plan to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable and to achieve lower drug costs for Americans, including for medications that help treat HIV and reduce the risk of contracting AIDS. Clinton will ensure that Americans can get the care their doctors prescribe by requiring health insurance plans to cap covered out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $250 per month. She also will allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and will stop direct-to-consumer advertising subsidies for drug companies—reinvesting those funds in research.

Expand the utilization of HIV prevention medications, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). While we work to diagnose and treat all Americans with HIV and AIDS, we also must work to prevent exposure. Decades of research are beginning to offer a promising path to prevention. Clinton will increase the CDC investment to ensure populations at greatest risk of infection have access to PrEP, and encourage states to follow suit.

Protect those with HIV and AIDS from discrimination. Clinton will work with Congress to review and reform outdated and stigmatizing HIV criminalization laws—and call on states to do the same. And she is committed to continuing to aggressively enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws to fight HIV-related discrimination.

Continue to increase HIV and AIDS research and invest in the promising innovations that research is producing. Researchers at the NIH and elsewhere are poised to make even more progress towards curing HIV, developing long-acting treatments that do not require daily pill taking, and better understanding the social and structural factors that can impact a person’s ability to access HIV prevention and care services. As President, Clinton will increase funding to ensure this progress to continue.

read:http://www.joemygod.com/2016/05/12/brooklyn-hillary-clinton-vows-to-expand-prep-availability-in-meeting-with-hivaids-activists/



Noel Gordon Jr. ?@noelgordon09 3h3 hours ago
Thanks @HillaryClinton for meeting with us and continuing your commitment to end the HIV epidemic #ImWithHer

[NCTraveler]

5. Thank you for sharing that.

Its a long term relationship. Clinton has so many. Not only do I like her plan moving forward but you really highlighted direct past action. Not just words.

Just an example from your reply.

As Senator, Clinton introduced legislation to improve and expand global HIV and AIDS research, assistance, and education. She also co-sponsored the Early Treatment for HIV Act to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income people living with HIV.

[bvf]

21. What a shame she can't drag Nancy Reagan

to these little meetings, huh?

Any question about Clinton's sincerity here can be put to rest by recalling her praise of the Reagan "response" to the crisis. By "response," think "pissing on graves."

[Bill USA]

25. you realize, of course, that this and other commitments HRC has made to help people who too often

are not listened to, is NOT as important as her personal email set-up (though not extraordinary given Powell's, Condi Rice's and Bush White House practices).

But thanks for posting.

[bigtree]

6. kick

[sheshe2]

7. Kick

[bigtree]

8. not going away

[Logical]

9. "I whine a lot" says bigtree

[okasha]

10. No, not going away.

[KingFlorez]

11. Remember, "us not me"

[RiverNoord]

30. Are you referring to the Orwellian language of the Clinton

posters reading 'Fighting for Us?'

I doubt it, but that's the kind of thing that worries the hell out of me. Does anyone who has one of those posters or signs qualify as 'Us?' I'm pretty sure I'm not in 'Us.' Who, exactly, is 'Us?'

It's utterly impossible for any political candidate to be completely inclusive with a statement like that, and yet her campaign is using language like that to say things that seem, on the face of them, to sound good, until you think a bit and realize that it's pure nonsense.

The part that bothers me most is how her campaign has belittled many of Sanders's proposals as 'unrealistic' or just plain bull.... And it uses slogans that are much more unrealistic, by their very nature.

Why not 'I Love Everybody, the Other Guy Hates You,' 'My Favorite Color is Your Favorite Color,' or, more accurately, or 'Fighting for EVERYBODY*'

* Except People Who Don't Have Lots of Money to Donate to Me, People on the 'Far Left', Ungrateful and Stupid Young Adults who Thought a Vermont Socialist Could Beat Me, and People Who Aren't Smart Enough to Be an Insider.'

[SidDithers]

12. DU rec...nt

Sid

[Betty Karlson]

16. Let's talk about nancy Reagan, shall we?

Bringing up AIDS this close to California, it's almost as if Clinton wants to pre-emptively spin away from THIS:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511483223

[bigtree]

17. »

[pinebox]

18. There's an interesting response on that facebook post

Hmmm, not sure what to make of this.....
Of course the all caps makes it a PITA to read.

As far as Bernie, the press release is the endorsement.....

For AHF, why do u have Pharmacies aligned with your drs offices? YOU ARE MAKING MORE MONEY OFF PHARMACIES, AND STILL TRYING TO CHARGES CLIENTS, SORRY , BUT NO AGENCY BESIDES A HOSPITAL SHOULD HAVE THEIR OWN PHARMACY,,,,MIGHT BE TO MUCH MEDICINE PUSHED ON PATIENTS, TO MAKE THE BILLS! DOES AHF GIVE FREE DRUGS TO THOSE WHO CAN NOT PAY OR DO YOU FIND A WAY FOR TAXPAYERS TO FOOT BILL? CAN YOU ANSWER THAT ONE PETER STALEY?

[RiverNoord]

27. John Aravosis, the owner of Americablog,

has gone extremely anti-Sanders and very pro-HRC since he returned from a long hiatus for about a year.

He used to have a fair degree of integrity, but has gone off the deep end:

http://americablog.com/2016/04/duty-every-sanders-supporter-vote-hillary.html

http://americablog.com/2016/04/mrs-sanders-suggests-bernies-supporters-wont-vote-hillary.html

(she said this: “If they have any hope of getting any of Bernie’s supporters, it cannot be ‘Okay, we got through the primary, now I move to the center,’?” she told The Post. “That is the history of the Democratic and Republican party.”)

http://americablog.com/2016/03/sanders-take-hillarys-superdelegates-cant-win-popular-vote.html

(He's going to 'steal Hillary's superdelegates' this way: "when you have states, for example, say in New Hampshire where we won by 22 points, in other states where we won by 25 or even 30 points, I think it is not unreasonable for the people of those states to say to their super delegates, hey, how about representing the people of our state and the outcome of the caucus or the primary?&quot

http://americablog.com/2016/04/bernie-sanders-simply-isnt-ready-president.html

I used to visit the site often, but he's driven off virtually ever Bernie Sanders supporter (the comments sections were ugly for quite a while) since he came back.

And now the young man who held down the fort (Jon Green) with some fairly balanced overall stuff is leaving.

[eastwestdem]

28. Sanders has to realize that as a presidential candidate, he has to show interest in many things

that are out of his comfort zone, not just his own pet issues.

[Starry Messenger]

29. K&R