We Sanders supporters need to recognize that his brand is damaged now [View all]

[TXCritter]

One thing I hear a lot about Clinton is "her brand is damaged. She may be a great person, she might make a great president, but her brand is damaged and we need to move on."

Well, the same is now true about Sanders. Frankly, it was true a year ago even if we didn't want to admit it.

Sanders stumbled badly when it came to race issues. The Root ran an article today detailing it very well - https://www.theroot.com/bernie-sanders-black-women-problem-1796995081 .

Here are a couple of quotes from that article;

For all of Sanders’ talk of a “political revolution” and economic inequality, the candidate never seemed to understand that it’s all but impossible to make it out of the Democratic primary without winning over black women—especially those over 35 years old.

But, for some reason, the Democratic Party, Sanders and his supporters seem more interested in converting racist Donald Trump supporters while dismissing the electoral power of black female voters who’ve never wavered in their support of a party that consistently treats them like side pieces.

If you are still reading, recognize that second paragraph. Substitute "black female" for "left/progressive" and it is EXACTLY THE SAME ARGUMENT that the progressive left has been making about the DNC for YEARS.

We need someone who will bring us together, not drive us apart. Sanders can't do that anymore. He's done.

Sanders is a great guy. He may make a great president. But his brand is damaged and we need to move on.

Several years ago I sat on the national board of a very old, very respected far-left organization. For several years we had been struggling with our own internal progress. We had been investing (and I think, making progress) with anti-racism/anti-oppression education and training. Over the years, the Board DID transform. It became more diverse and more open. I had been there long enough at that point that I had become one of the "old white guys."

Then, in my last year on the board I watched two other old, white guys come along and do EXACTLY what Bernie was doing. They were dismissing the importance of combatting racism, sexism and other isms in an effort to go straight to the class/economic struggle. They made complete asses of themselves.

So, when I watched Bernie do the same thing, I knew it was over. I hoped not but, really, I already knew.

In 2020 we need to find someone new. Someone who will heal the divide. At this moment, Bernie is not it.