When Black Lives Matter (BLM) disrupted a forum of progressive Democratic candidates at NRN15 this past weekend, they might not have known that they were reinforcing a racially divisive smear started by senior Washington columnists, Byron York and Charles C.W. Cook operating in the Right-wing echo chamber.

On May 27, the two published acoustically matched opinion pieces in two of the most conservative rags in America. York, the senior partner in this smear job, specializes in hit pieces against Democrats, writes for the Moonie Times spinoff, The Washington Examiner. His column was titled, "Bernie Sanders' progressive Whitopia" http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/bernie-sanders-progressive-whitopia/article/2565077. Could a racial smear across the face of Bernie's campaign possibly have been a factor in that?

Mr. York, observed with apparent deep concern for what he portrayed as the excluded minority voices in Bernie's kick-off campaign speech in Vermont a few days before. We've heard this theme repeated many times since across the web:



Writing from his perch at the arch-conservative National Review, Cooke, the junior partner, amplified York, the Old Washington Hand. Cooke, obligingly filled in what he thinks is the answer about Sanders strategy of sticking to economic justice issues:



So, here we have it. The origins of the racial meme used to smear Bernie is a one-two tag team played by a couple of professional Right-wing hit men. This really isn't a grassroots thing started by aggrieved minority activists at all. It's just an old-fashioned political smear started by right-wing white men. Various others, for their own reasons, have picked up on this meme and run with it.