Ex-Staffers Say Bernie Has a Blind Spot on Women's Issues

[frazzled]

8. It's true for all candidates: it's not just about their voting records

or position statements. It's about something more, and they need to "get" it.

The "more" that struck me viscerally and that I still can't unsee, was the moment when Sanders was speaking after his primary victory in Wisconsin, and his wife was standing next to him on the stage, smiling broadly and lapping up the acclaim with him. He reached out his arm and brushed her back, apparently saying "Don't stand there," or "Don't stand next to me." She receded to behind. It was a punch in the gut, and I thought, if my husband ever did that to me he would be toast (he wouldn't, of course). Whatever one can say to defend this small but symbolic action (I personally don't think there's really anything one could say, but whatevs), it was a window into personal character regarding women. He could have all the votes on record he wants: that one moment spoke volumes, to me at least.

Another example occurred for me way back when Bob Reich was running for governor in Massachusetts, where we lived at the time. We'd been supportive. So one Saturday morning the phone rang, and a male voice asked to speak to my husband, who had just left and was going to be out of the country for ten days or so. I didn't want to tell a stranger that he wasn't there and would be unavailable for some time, so I asked to take a message. The voice identified itself as calling on behalf of the fundraising comittee for the campaign, and so I said, "Oh, you can speak to me then, because I am a supporter." And he said no, he would call back to speak to my husband. Even after my polite protest, he refused to talk to me. It was like the freaking Sears siding salesman asking to speak to the man of the house and refusing to talk to the little lady! It really bothered me, so after a few days I decided to write to Reich himself to explain that his campaign staff needed to temper such interactions. I received an email back from him saying that he was forwarding my email to his wife to respond. His wife!—that made me even madder! So I get the email from the wife, who says that "Bob has been a great supporter of women's issues, like abortion and equal pay." Now I was really pissed: she'd missed the issue entirely, the issue being a woman's right to be involved with all aspects of a campaign (economics, foreign policy ... and yes, fund raising!). I voted for the guy, but I never forgot this gap between "getting" women's issues and simply supporting a range of obvious Democratic legislation. He failed on the former, big time.

Men, you have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.