Bernie alumni seek meeting to address 'sexual violence' on '16 campaign

[boston bean]

More than two dozen women and men who worked on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign are seeking a meeting with the senator and his top political advisers to “discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment on the 2016 campaign, for the purpose of planning to mitigate the issue in the upcoming presidential cycle,” according to a copy of letter obtained by POLITICO.

“In recent weeks there has been an ongoing conversation on social media, in texts, and in person, about the untenable and dangerous dynamic that developed during our campaign,” they wrote.

Organizers of the effort said they did not intend for the letter to become public, but they confirmed that they sent it to senior Sanders officials on Sunday afternoon.

Friends of Bernie Sanders, the senator's principal campaign committee, responded to the letter in a statement to POLITICO. "We thank the signers of the letter for their willingness to engage in this incredibly important discussion," the statement reads. "We always welcome hearing the experiences and views of our former staff. We also value their right to come to us in a private way so their confidences and privacy are respected. And we will honor this principle with respect to this private letter."

https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/12/30/bernie-sanders-campaign-harassment-1077014?__twitter_impression=true

[MineralMan]

1. What's all this, then?

I hadn't heard anything about it.

[boston bean]

4. I do not know anything but what was in the article.

But from the interactions I had with some if the bro’s, I tend to believe it was a problem

[R B Garr]

8. I was thinking the same thing...

for the same reasons.

[KPN]

20. Can you elaborate on that? What about tjose

Last edited Sun Dec 30, 2018, 11:55 PM - Edit history (1)

interactions with whatever Bernie bros are causes you to broadcast that you believe it bean?

[pnwmom]

36. The Bros' public behavior on Twitter, for one thing. Even Bernie acknowledged it.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/sanders-calls-bernie-bros-disgusting

Bernie Sanders addressed his sexist supporters, the so-called "Bernie Bros," in an interview with Jake Tapper on Sunday morning. "I have heard about it," he said. "It's disgusting. Look we don't want that crap." He added that the campaign doesn't want anybody who is supporting him that does "sexist things." "That is not what this campaign is about," Sanders concluded.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/evanmcsan/the-bernie-bros#.wjPAy5Qxb

In fact, top Sanders campaign aides have quietly reached out to senior officials in the Clinton campaign and women like Walsh personally to apologize for Bro behavior. Online, aides are pushing their digital community to police itself and keep the Bros quiet. And some volunteer members of Sanders’s digital army are scrambling into action, reporting offenders and moderating bro-y posts.

Still, the Bros break through, and there’s real worry in corners of Sanders-world about it.

On Thursday, the BBC catalogued social media attacks on black pundits and women who opine on Bernie. Mashable posted a ton of screenshots of Bro attacks Friday morning.

“Their vaginas are making terrible choices!” wrote a Sanders supporter in the comments under a photo of New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Clinton. The New Yorker’s Emily Nussbaum recently complained of being called a “psycho” and a “bitch” on Twitter after saying something positive about Clinton.

[ProudLib72]

67. Deplorables said that?

Sorry, I was about to make a comment that would get me in trouble. Suffice it to say that deplorables said that.

[Cha]

71. Jaysus!

[betsuni]

74. "But Bernie supporters held the 'Hillary 2016 for Prison' signs up at their rallies, too ..

and 'Bernie Bros' tweeted at Hillary supporters that she was a 'lying sh*tbag' and in supporting her their 'vaginas are making terrible choices.' They harassed supporters at rallies, and unleashed special fury at female reporters. Sarah Jeong of Vice had to shut down her Twitter account after being flooded with sexist attacks, simply because she had asked Sanders supporters to tone down their rhetoric. Janell Ross of The Washington Post was inundated with 'a variety of curse words and insults typically reserved for women. More than one has suggested that I deserve to become the victim of a sex crime.'

"Sanders himself, probably not wishing to alienate his fiercest supporters, was uncharacteristically mild in his response to the increasingly violent, misogynistic outbursts. ... Sanders had frequently declared himself an ardent feminist, but -- unlike John McCain, who had sternly informed his own Islamophobic supporter of Obama's Christian religion and American citizenry -- Bernie pretty much let his 'Bros' do whatever they wanted. He claimed he couldn't -- and shouldn't -- try to control what his supporters thought, but that, of course, was disingenuous nonsense. He knew he had tremendous influence, particularly with his younger fans, and exploited it through his campaign. But he never criticized the misogyny in their attacks on Clinton."

Susan Bordo, "The Destruction of Hillary Clinton"

[romana]

215. Remember when

Remember when someone here suggested Clinton should be raped with a brick? I will never forget that.

[betsuni]

216. Yup, and it's still there for everyone to see.

[Cha]

234. Yes.

[mcar]

242. I'll never forget

Here on this Democratic board. Disgusting.

[TexasTowelie]

258. I remember even worse.

It was stunning and misogynistic.

[betsuni]

262. Never before had I seen such elaborately hateful venom directed at supporters of Democrats.

Like some sort of mob mentality.

[revmclaren]

264. I was clearing old files off a couple of backup drives

yesterday and I came across a number of screenshots I took of some of the venomous posts and their accompanied Rec lists from DU that I took during what I call the 'Dark Times'. Amazing how many posters were PPRed or 'left' during this time. But what I found most disturbing were the names of many still active here that are on those Rec lists. Needless to say, I left those files on the drives and I need to make time to reread them as election time approaches.

Fun times are approaching... Be ready.

Only! 2019 and beyond.

[betsuni]

265. Still active, yes. No regrets, apparently.

Sigh, fun times approaching... I admire and support all the posters here who fight back against the endless misinformation, logical fallacies and personal insults with facts and information.

[DRoseDARs]

124. Short of hunting and putting Bernie Bros down for a dirt nap, what exactly could be done to stop it?

In the age of the Internet and the land of Free Speech, how does one reign in the assholes? No-win scenario for any campaign, Sanders is no exception.

[pnwmom]

126. According to the letter, there were assholes working inside the campaign,

and the campaign should be able to stop them.

[DRoseDARs]

128. According to the response, actions were taken. Up to and including immediate firing.

But my question was in regard to the so-called Bernie Bros, people who weren't part of the campaign but supposed supporters. How can any campaign have any meaningful and legal control over such assholery?

[pnwmom]

130. Clearly the actions taken were grossly insufficient, given the things said in the letter,

and the fact that the two dozen writers were concerned enough to send it, and to want to make sure Bernie saw it. And that someone was upset enough to leak it publicly.

And where was the part that said people had been fired? This was the only response I could see:

Friends of Bernie Sanders, the senator's principal campaign committee, responded to the letter in a statement to POLITICO. "We thank the signers of the letter for their willingness to engage in this incredibly important discussion," the statement reads. "We always welcome hearing the experiences and views of our former staff. We also value their right to come to us in a private way so their confidences and privacy are respected. And we will honor this principle with respect to this private letter."

The committee also pointed to new policies implemented during the senator's 2018 reelection campaign that included creating a toll-free hotline run by a third party to report incidents and mandating training for all staff and volunteers.

And the letter writers are calling for "concrete sexual harassment policies and procedures" to prevent another "predatory culture" in the next campaign -- which implies these policies and procedures didn't exist in 2016.

People involved in the effort said they signed the letter before Sanders (I-Vt.) officially launched a 2020 presidential bid in the hopes that it would lead to real action if and when the senator begins assembling his team. Organizers wrote they wanted the meeting to produce a plan for “implementing concrete sexual harassment policies and procedures; and a commitment to hiring diverse leadership to pre-empt the possibility of replicating the predatory culture from the first presidential campaign.”

[DRoseDARs]

135. Downthread, another poster links to Alex Thompson's posting the letter and the response.

Link to tweet

Odd that the signatories are cut off of the letter and the response similarly seems incomplete.

Right now, it's all speculation about what motivated the letter writers to do this now and what they are trying to achieve. As I responded to Cha earlier when she asked the same, these are questions for them and it hasn't even been a full day yet. We all have to wait this out until they and the committee have talked to each other now that it's out there.

[R B Garr]

142. The letter implies it started at the top, with the likes

if Jeff Weaver. Anyone watching him on TV could just feel the assholery machismo oozing out of him. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near him. He is one creepy dood. But look at the way Hillary was demeaned and that kind of behavior was steeped in that campaign. We all saw it, so it makes sense that it was also internalized,

Bernie should be calling for an ethics investigation and offering apologies for how Hillary was attacked. I recall that Bernie wanted Franken removed from his Senate seat for far less.

[LongtimeAZDem]

186. +1 /nt

[Cha]

231. BS on Al Franken..

Link to tweet

[LongtimeAZDem]

236. Not odd at all, given the history of death threats. /nt

[lapucelle]

257. Why is it odd that the signatories are cut off?

Why would it be odd to protect their anonymity?

Even the organization that responded in the campaign's name made it clear that the signatories' privacy should be respected:

We also value their right to come to us in a private way so their confidences and privacy are respected. And we will honor this principle with respect to this private letter.

[Cha]

281. Thank You for that, RB.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

189. Actions, smactions... for some, better to leave that part out.

[lapucelle]

168. Begin by addressing the allegation of sexual violence and a predatory culture WITHIN the campaign.

Reigning in the assholes on the payroll and pledging not to hire more of the same sounds like a good start.

[fleabiscuit]

127. At one tme one wouldn't have had to move far from this forum to get an inkling of that.

Pushed to greener pastures to spread their manure I am not surprised they are getting burnt from the crap.

[MineralMan]

141. I know. And the article was pretty stingy with facts.

Perhaps we'll hear more details, but perhaps not, as well

I know this, though: The "left" is full of factions of various kinds. That's one reason it fails to generate solid support from a wide range of people. There are so many single-issue people in the "left," that it rarely finds consensus about much of anything.

I have no trouble believing that there were sexual harassment issues within the Bernie support group. I'm thinking that it would be very rare for such issues not to be present in any campaign organization. It's a problem with any large group of mixed people who work together.

I don't see that as an endemic issue that reflects on campaigns, however. It's an issue of individuals who don't have their excrement together in most cases.

[Jim Lane]

153. I appreciate your not going along with the groupthink of the Bernie-bashers.

You write (my emphasis):

I have no trouble believing that there were sexual harassment issues within the Bernie support group. I'm thinking that it would be very rare for such issues not to be present in any campaign organization. It's a problem with any large group of mixed people who work together.

From this thread we see that some people regard this problem as unique to one particular campaign (a campaign of a candidate they opposed).

We also see some comments about posts on DU during the primary, comments that paint Bernie supporters as a "swarm" while Hillary supporters were all models of civility and restraint. I thought I'd been called all kinds of nasty names here (we were "terrible human beings" etc.). Apparently, however, that must be a false memory somehow implanted by Russian cyberwarfare experts, because, as I learn from this thread, one side was wholly virtuous and the other wholly evil.

Thanks for reassuring me that some people can oppose Bernie without going off the deep end about it. Happy New Year to you!

[MineralMan]

169. I think for myself. I make decisions for myself.

I don't actually oppose Bernie Sanders. I just think he's not the best choice as the Democratic nominee in 2020. I didn't think he was the best choice in 2016, either. In fact, he did not become the nominee, so it wasn't really an issue in the General Election.

However, there were people on DU who self-styled as Sanders supporters, but who were actually not that at all. Most of them are gone from DU now. But, they were real people who did real things. Some were Jill Stein supporters, too. There was much that was not as it appeared to be going on here.

That's all over with now. The election came and went, and we lost in a very narrow electoral college race. Three states made the difference, and Jill Stein voters were enough to have made it go the other way. To say I regret that happened would be the understatement of the year.

There are many factions on the far left of politics in the United States. Not all of those factions have the general good of our nation in mind. Not by a long shot. Some of those factions also supported Bernie Sanders, to his detriment, actually. Some of those factions were represented here on DU. And, as I also said, most of those people are gone now.

I am about just one thing: Helping Democrats win elected offices. Democrats. We have clearly seen what can happen when that is not the case. So, you'll find me in strong opposition of those who don't have that as their goal, too. Always. There are many who wrongly believe that the nation must be torn down before it can be rebuilt. They are wrong. The nation can easily be destroyed if the right wing holds control of all three branches of government. We are seeing that at work right now.

So, I like Bernie Sanders. I like him as the Senator from Vermont. I don't like him as a candidate for President, though, and I don't like some of those who follow him and who pretend to want the best for this country, while really trying to destroy it so it can "be rebuilt." Such people are fools and contribute to the problem.

You may feel reassured in some way, but always remember that I will fight for Democrats who run for office. I will fight against anyone who lessens their chances of election, regardless of what they call themselves. One cannot necessarily believe what people say they represent. People lie all the time. If I don't know someone, or if their message seems to oppose rational methods of achieving goals, you'll see me pointing that out here.

What I said in the post you replied to was that I did not have enough information yet. when I do, I will form an opinion about those who were mentioned in the OP of this thread. I have no opinion about that at the moment.

[LongtimeAZDem]

165. True, but, as supporters of Sanders, these are people who would want to put the best possible spin

on it, yet they use terms like "untenable dangerous dynamic", "sexual violence and harassment", and "predatory culture".

If these were simply isolated occurrences of a few bad actors, I seriously doubt that they would be described in such a manner.

[MineralMan]

171. See my post #169 for my commentary on

this. I won't repeat it.

[LongtimeAZDem]

176. Fair enough; done. It wasn't there when i replied. /nt

[MineralMan]

190. I know it wasn't. That happens all the time around here.

Not a problem. I was glad to be able to direct you to my reply.

[RandySF]

47. There were sporadic stories in 2016

Probably didn't make DU at the time because anything that wasn't glowing praise got altered and removed by The Swarm.

[brush]

75. All conveniently kept quiet so the Hillary and Dem party bashing could continue...

and we ended up with trump.

Now two year later this comes out?

It's shameful. Every sniff of a negative of Clinton or her campaign was immediately yelled from the rooftops.

[whathehell]

125. What "swarm"?

[fleabiscuit]

129. The one that flew away. Good riddance I say.

[whathehell]

143. Uh huh

Whatever.

[Cha]

232. Yes, Good Riddance.. Also the one

they all deny as we were never there experiencing the whole bloody thing.

[betsuni]

137. The one that hates Democrats because they fell for fake news and conspiracy theories.

[dhol82]

2. WTF?

I an not nor ever was a Bernie supporter, but WTF?

[R B Garr]

3. Oh dear...

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. This is my shocked face.

I'd heard rumors. Looking forward to transparency and accountability.

[Cha]

10. The "sexual violence" is a

little shocking to me.

Appreciate it's out in the open now.

[Me.]

52. I Don't Expect To See That Finger Pointing At Others In The Future

In the near future.

[Cha]

233. We shall see..

Link to tweet

[Me.]

254. hauʻoli makahiki hou Cha

to you and the new little....much joy and may we all find happiness in the New Year. And, may those who don't deserve our approbation disappear from our sight and worthy ones take the field.

[Cha]

256. Hauʻoli makahiki hou, Me!

A Very Healthy Happy, BlueWave New Year's to You and Yours!

[Me.]

259. ...

Let it begin

[Cha]

260. Yeah, you can say

that! Cheers!

My sister in California said she saw Times Square on TV and they were holding umbrellas! And there were a Million Peeps there!

We were there in 2001.

[Me.]

261. I Commend Those People

For STANDING there for up to 13 hours, in the pouring rain, no toilets ...As a friend of mine says...not for me.

[Cha]

263. Another sister and I were at the NYC Protests

against the War on Iraq, Feb 15, 2003.. and we were there for at least 7 hours and no toilets.

Ah, but we were all younger then.

13 hours, eh? to get a place to stand no doubt. Come to think of it the weather was about 20 degrees when we were there in Feb. We danced at the end to get warm and were very grateful for body warmth from so many people. I counted about 1 Million then. I don't care what the NYT said.

[Me.]

269. You & Your Sister Are Something Else!

7 hours and no toilets!

[Cha]

278. ..

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

241. Now, if we can only get out in open the the action that was taken...

And certainly, these kind of issues, and how they've been handled by all candidates, should be fully vented and discussed in the upcoming debates... transparency is definitely what's called for in these types of situations... let's get everything out in the open without exceptions.

[George II]

33. Yes there were rumors over a period of time, for many it was "unmentionable".

[Cha]

6. "Organizers of the effort said they did not intend for the letter to become public, but they

confirmed that they sent it to senior Sanders officials on Sunday afternoon".

Interesting.. That this is now out in the public domain.

Thank You, bean!

[EffieBlack]

7. I have a feeling this isn't going to end well ...

[grantcart]

50. On the contrary, lol, . . .

[fleabiscuit]

132. +1

[mcar]

9. This needs to be investigated

with complete openness and thoroughness.

[fleabiscuit]

133. They could just dissolve. nt

[WeekiWater]

11. There is a small segment of his base who are horrific...

In their thoughts toward women and minorities. They are very vocal and active. All one had to do was listen to the crowd chants when he was protested by Marissa Johnson. I’m sure many of them joined the ranks of Sanders campaign. I’m also pretty sure that if Sanders knew there was some kind of culture like this within its structure he would have done something. I mean a real culture.

A campaign growing at the rate his was has to ignore a lot of things. Their focus was on fundraising, advertising and rallies. I’m not sure anyone can control such rapid growth. Today we know the overlooked and filed FEC filings late, vendor payments were sometimes an afterthought(not for nefarious reasons), and staff and volunteers often had little to no oversight.

Few primary campaigns in history experienced such rapid growth. It’s not fully manageable.

[Hekate]

13. Dolores Huerta

[fleabiscuit]

134. And SS getting all outraged because Huerta spoke in both English and Spanish. Such a doosh. nt

[Cha]

226. Sarandon's Despicable.

Hey flea.. Happy Healthy, Blue Wave New Years to You and Yours!

[Cha]

15. Well, BS will have his chance now to address

it since the BS alumni seek a meeting with him about "sexual harassment". It sounds serious or why would they send him a letter?

We're all looking forward to full transparency and accountability.

[DRoseDARs]

22. The campaign did, during the 2016 campaign. And during the 2018 reelection campaign.

Politico is deliberately omitting pertinent facts. See my post #16 for relevant DU thread and linked article.

[Cha]

26. Then why did the "Alumini" send

the letter that they want to "meet to address sexual harassment" and request that BS is there, too?

[DRoseDARs]

30. You'll have to ask them. Maybe they feel efforts didn't go far enough. Maybe they could be improved.

Maybe they want to enlist his voice for a larger discussion. Won't know until this story fleshes out.

Remember how last night I talked about this very thing? Politico is engaging in that very thing. And other posters are engaging in that very thing too right now as we speak in this thread. It's all just so exhausting and disheartening. Makes me want to cry that we can't be better than this, taking the bait and eating our own.

[WeekiWater]

23. I feel the same.

With language like this it must be thoroughly answered. With this type of language I would even say a third party investigation with a guaranteed transparent report of findings.

[George II]

24. If we looked at all the incidents we'd know that there was virtually no control over workers....

...in the campaign:

I see that someone already mentioned the Dolores Huerta incident.
There was Dr. Song at Washington Square Park.
There was harassment of non-Sanders delegates at the convention (along with some threats).
There was uncontrolled booing of Representative John Lewis at the convention as Sanders sat there watching, mute.

All of that was ignored by the campaign (except for Dr. Song, a day late and a dollar short) This letter will hopefully result in people no longer turning a blind eye to abusive or disrespectful behavior in the future.

And as you point out, there was an unbelievable number of contributions and expenses flagged by the FEC numbering in the hundreds of thousands and totally tens of millions of dollars.

[Cha]

29. Las Vegas.

[R B Garr]

61. Yes, that was hard to watch. So many reports of intimidation

all over at caucuses. This is not a shocking development.

Hi Cha!

[Cha]

69. Aloha, RB!

No, not too shocking. Interesting that the Letter was not intended to be made public but somehow it is.

[R B Garr]

60. Yes! And the intimidation at caucuses. nt

[Gothmog]

100. I was a delegate to the national convention and saw some horrible behavior

Some sanders delegates decided to yell obscenities at my daughter and call her the c word because she would not try to change my vote. My daughter was my guest to the convention.

I heard about the sander delegate plan to boo Congressman John Lewis 30 or so minutes in advance from my whip. This stunt was planned for a while and the Clinton campaign warned us about this stunt. According to my whip, sanders was asked to block this stunt and declined. My whi was working for the DNC This would make a great ad to run in the Southern states

[Henhouse]

238. +1 n/t

[True Blue American]

118. Now, maybe

Others will understand when I say that ,” Bernie is not a Democrat.”

I have long objected to those followers who said awful things about Hillary.

I objected when Bernie lied about remaining a Democrat when he went back to the Senate.

If Democrats allow him to misuse the party again they will pay.

[calimary]

62. Hmmm... how could one miss it, though?

Sheesh - that shit was RAMPANT. I don’t see how anybody could have avoided, or ignored it. Hard to believe there wasn’t somebody in the campaign, somewhere, who didn’t notice or think it might be a problem.

Could have been some denial in there, too. Hard to believe somebody in the campaign didn’t notice or feel concerned about it. One of the first big blow-ups in some trump rally I think in Chicago (?) happened when opposing campaign fans started roughing each other up. It was extremists from both trump and Bernie camps. It was televised.

What really sucks is how that kind of thing can make legitimate and peaceable followers look bad - which, in turn, can make their candidate look bad.

[WeekiWater]

86. By charging ahead full steam with no concern.

Writing it off as being small in the big picture and they will deal with it later. I truly believe many of his own top staff bought into his sales pitch and viewed themselves as revolutionaries. I’m sure Sanders was isolated to an extent. That campaign was amazing with respect to how fast it grew. Just like the other things I mentioned, it’s not necessarily that they didn’t know, they simply had a very limited scope of priorities. It’s the only shot they had and they did well with it. They are still picking up the pieces left in their wake.

They knew they weren’t getting their filings in on time. They knew they weren’t returning contributions over the maximum on time. They knew they weren’t going to release his taxes. It’s not that they didn’t know.

This is my belief. I also think it is one area where Sanders himself is a bit tone-deaf. That’s not saying he doesn’t care about women’s rights.

[sheshe2]

95. Okay.

WeekiWater
11. There is a small segment of his base who are horrific...

In their thoughts toward women and minorities. They are very vocal and active. All one had to do was listen to the crowd chants when he was protested by Marissa Johnson. I’m sure many of them joined the ranks of Sanders campaign. I’m also pretty sure that if Sanders knew there was some kind of culture like this within its structure he would have done something. I mean a real culture.

DNC protesters shout down John Lewis

……………………….

Some DNC delegates booed during speeches given by people of color. Here's what was going on.

The Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia had barely gotten started Monday before some delegates, presumably supporters of Bernie Sanders, started repeatedly booing at the mention of Hillary Clinton’s name.

But the disruptions didn’t end there. Delegates also booed vociferously during the official adoption of the Democratic Party platform — which included remarks from several prominent speakers of color, including Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), former Texas state Rep. Leticia Van de Putte, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

snip

Yet the boos and disruptions of speakers of color also came at awkward times. Cummings, for instance, was giving a speech on his personal background and the importance of diversity in the Democratic Party — but his words on social and racial justice were completely drowned out by the protests.

Fudge pointedly asked for delegates to "respect" her after trying to talk over the boos — even during lines like, "Where we lift each other up and every person from every race, religion, and sexual orientation is respected."


https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12279822/democratic-national-convention-boo-cummings-fudge-platform

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

This was at the National Convention, not a rally. The National Convention that Hillary was to be certified as our candidate for President. These speakers were denigerated. What did he do to stop them?

[WeekiWater]

101. Wasn't the Cummings incident at the very end of the primary.

I think a better example is the one I went with. I’m not sure how Sanders didn’t hear the people in the crowd yelling “we fixed racism” after Marissa took to the stage.

I still feel comfortable with my original statement. Sanders had a one track mind and was oblivious to, ignored, or simply didn’t care about a lot of things. I do believe if he felt that there was a culture fostering sexual violence in the ranks of his campaign he would have done something about it. I think this has more to do with a certain segment that is attracted to him.

I don’t fault Clinton for some of the horrific racism that is well documented in ‘07 that came from within.

[WeekiWater]

140. Now I'm not sure what you are talking about.

Those are my words and I stand by them. You can increase the font size of them if you want.

Who is my candidate?

I was a Clinton backer. She is one on my favorite politicians, historically.

[George II]

200. That Cummings video was outside the Convention Hall several hours before the...

...formal nomination vote was conducted.

[WeekiWater]

218. Marissa Johnson was very early in the process.

This aspect of his base was known.

[Gothmog]

208. Elijah Cummings and John Lewis are two different people

It was Congressman John Lewis who booed both on the floor of the convention on the first night and later outside the convention.

Congressman John Lewis is a national treasure. I was at an event held at the National Convention where he, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Keith Ellison spoke. I have heard Congressman Lewis' preaching to chickens story four times in person.

I believe that sanders is busy selling his latest poorly reviewed book and will not run. sanders will be vetted this time and this story is just an example of what sanders will face. In addition, there are a number of Democrats with long memories who will not forget the John Lewis treatment.

[WeekiWater]

217. I believe there is a cashing out aspect to what we are seeing.

Also a pretty big ego trip.

[Gothmog]

207. There is a pattern of sanders either condoning or actively ignoring the actions of his supporters

I was a Clinton delegate to the national convention. Real campaigns carefully vet their delegates. I know that I was vetted and I was on a committee that vetted other delegates. The reason for this vetting is that (a) all delegates including pledged delegates has the power to vote for the candidate of their choice and (b) a campaign's delegates reflect on the campaign. All Clinton delegates were warned to be on our best behavior because our conduct would reflect on the candidate.

The Clinton campaign had a very well organized whipping infrastructure. Early on, we were prepared for a series of floor votes on credentials and platform issues. On the first night of the convention, I was warned by my whip that there would be a planned stunt by the sanders delegates where they would boo Congressman John Lewis. I got the text from my whip about 20 to 30 minutes before Congressman John Lewis was to be introduced. According to my whip, sanders was asked to stip this stunt and he declined.

There was really nasty booing of Congressman John Lewis at the convention when he was introduced including some nasty shouts from the sanders delegates. Again, this was a planned stunt by the sanders delegates that sanders was informed about.

In addition to the above, my daughter was my guest to the convention. This was a once in a lifetime trip. A group of sanders delegates yelled at my daughter and called her the c-word because she would not try to get me to change my vote. I showed my daughter the article cited in the OP and she was not surprised.

Again, according to my whip, sanders knew of the Lewis stunt and declined to take any steps to stop it. There were complaints made to the sanders campaign at the convention about the conduct of his delegates and nothing was done.

Please do not be surprised if these and other incidents come up in ads if sanders runs in 2020. There are a good number of Demcorats who have long memories.

[Hekate]

12. I look forward to the transparency, honesty, and soul searching that surely will ensue....

[DRoseDARs]

18. *cough* They did.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142233097

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-news-bernie-sanders-campaign-sexual-violence-20181230-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

The committee acknowledged “a number of HR actions taken” during the 2016 run, with consequences ranging from “employee counseling to immediate termination.”

During Sanders’ 2018 re-election campaign in Vermont, his staff employed “more robust policies and processes regarding discrimination and harassment,” said the response letter, which was also obtained by Politico.

“Harassment of any kind is intolerable. Hearing the experiences and thoughts of individuals who worked on Bernie’s 2016 campaign is a vital part of our commitment to work within our progressive community to improve the lives of all people,” the response letter says.

I'm shocked, SHOCKED that Politico would leave that tidbit out of their reporting.

Edit: Er, when did "block"quote become a thing? [quote] worked just fine.

[R B Garr]

145. The current letter is the issue, not Politico reporting.

It’s the letter.

[Blue_true]

31. Will that come before tax returns are released?

Just asking for a dear ole friend that I first met in a birthing room, all so many years ago.

[aikoaiko]

14. I'm glad they came forward and that good things happen.

Its not clear to me if this is about problems within or external to the official campaign structure.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. Yeah, it seems to be a problem with campaigns in general.

So women (and men) come forward in good faith to discuss these issues. And of course, their wishes to not turn this in to a partisan weapon will be soundly ignored by the usual suspects. This should be a discussion that every campaign should be having. Nah, let’s turn it in to a shit stirring show...

Several people who signed the letter said that their effort is not just about Sanders’ 2016 or 2020 presidential campaigns, but rather about what they called a pervasive culture of toxic masculinity in the campaign world. They stressed that they hoped their letter would not be reduced to reinforcing the “Bernie Bro” caricature, but rather would be one part of a larger reckoning among people running campaigns.

[Blue_true]

32. Sexual violence is pretty serious HBS. Getting to the bottom of it is not shit stirring.

You haven't posted much lately, were you on vacation, family time, ill?

[sheshe2]

82. +1

[pnwmom]

38. They want to say it's campaigns in general, but HRC would not have put up with this shit. n/t

[Hassin Bin Sober]

41. .

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/us/politics/hillary-clinton-chose-to-shield-a-top-adviser-accused-of-harassment-in-2008.html

[pnwmom]

45. That guy was fired after several months, after having his pay docked

and being forced to undergo retraining.

Hillary took this seriously. When he didn't stop, she fired him.

[lapucelle]

49. The letter references "sexual violence"

as well as "harassment". One of the goals of the proposed meeting is to

pre-empt the possibility of replicating the predatory culture of the first presidential campaign

in the event that BS runs in 2020.

[pnwmom]

53. And whoever leaked the letter thought it was necessary,

indicating that a campaign person on Sanders's staff thought he needed a push.

[bahrbearian]

55. I'm Shocked I tell you Shocked

[lapucelle]

42. ,,,

In recent weeks there has been an ongoing conversation on social media, in texts, and in person about the untenable and dangerous dynamic that developed during our campaign. We the undersigned request a meeting with Senator Sanders and his leadership team to discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment on the 2016 campaign...

[pnwmom]

59. What evidence do you have of that, aside from Bernie staffers' assurance

that it happens in campaigns in general?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

66. Did you even read the article?

Anywhoo. I’ve got work to do. I don’t have time to help you.

Her is another piece from the article. With that I will leave you to it...

A longtime top staffer to Sen. Kamala Harris resigned earlier this month after the Sacramento Bee found that the California Department of Justice had settled a lawsuit against him for $400,000 that included allegations of gender harassment and retaliation while he served under Harris when she was state attorney general.

[sheshe2]

76. So you go off topic and talk about Harris.

Got it. Deflect.

[R B Garr]

81. I was just going to say the usual suspects are already

starting the Whatabout Kamala routine. Good catch, she.

[sheshe2]

83. Jaysus!

So it begins.

[betsuni]

87. Every day is a Festival of Logical Fallacies!

[mcar]

243. Whataboutism

[sheshe2]

248. ummmhmmm.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

91. The other poster asked me about other campaigns.

And that campaign was LITERALLY mentioned in the th OP article.

In the OP. Open the link.

[WeekiWater]

96. That is an individual.

Not in the same ballpark as a culture.

[sheshe2]

97. Not what she asked.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

115. Details, details!! You should know better than to question double standards when applied to Bernie.

Now go stand in the corner!! haha!!

[R B Garr]

146. No. The double standards are that Hillary and now Kamala

are responsible for every man and the history of every man; whereas, Bernie is responsible for none.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

147. Huh? Sorry, I don't get your point... who's saying what about Hillary and Kamala?

And what does that have to do with Bernie?

[R B Garr]

148. lol, your post #115 about Bernie and double standards is still there.

But this is always a crack-op denying what is obviously already in a post.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

149. We're obviously not talking about the same thing.

[R B Garr]

150. Your post #115 about double standards and Bernie

is still there.

LOL

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

152. Yes, that's my point. What's yours... that by holding Bernie to the same standards

as others, that somehow makes Hillary and Kamala responsible for every man and his history? You're not making sense... I'm certainly not saying that and whatever your point is, it doesn't justify the unwarranted attacks that some are making against Bernie.

[R B Garr]

156. LOL, your post 115 is still there

These distractions are amusing, though, as if you weren’t implying that Bernie was being picked on......

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

158. Okay, well I tried to engage you in a meaningful way...

and let me save you the trouble... yes, my post is still there. So, you can stop now... no longer interested in your explaining your point above. You win!!!

[R B Garr]

160. No need to blame me for this very unnecessary

distraction. LOL, denying what you wrote is hardly meaningful engagement. Par for the course, though, no wins.

My message about Bernie and double standards still applies...

[lapucelle]

159. Asking BS to address sexual violence and a pervasive predatory culture

among those he employs/has employed in the past is not an attack.

[pnwmom]

79. That is a single individual. As I said, bad apples exist in every barrel. Who did Bernie fire?

His own staffers have now signed a letter claiming there was a dangerous dynamic in their campaign, and this needs to be addressed before another campaign begins.

Denial won't help overcome the problem.

[Gothmog]

163. Yes, I read the article

Has sanders met with the signers of the letter yet?

[sheshe2]

73. "the usual suspects"

You use this nomer a lot. Who exactly are you referring to and why?

TIA.

[George II]

202. Not in the dozens of campaigns in which I worked - local, District, and State-wide.

[ehrnst]

297. So you think his formers staffers are "shit stirrers?"

Do you not believe them?

Why?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

154. Anytime people come forward asserting claims of sexual harassment or abuse

is a good thing!! Equally important is how those claims are handled and we should hold candidates to the same exact standards. Is that unreasonable??

[George II]

203. An even better thing would be for there to be no reason to come forward.

[Catch2.2]

35. Bernie Bros were made up

by Russians. Apparently it worked as people still believe they exist.

[pnwmom]

39. Some of them were INSIDE Bernie's campaign, which is what this letter was all about.

I'm assuming you're not claiming they were Russian spies, sent there to impersonate Bernie bros.

[Hekate]

43. Were you on a decade-long hiatus from DU during the 2016 election cycle?

It got pretty ugly here, and we're just a discussion board. And then there was the well-documented misogynistic behavior of Bernie's Boys -- really, shouting down and shoving a little old lady was totally beyond the pale, especially when that little old lady was Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez's other half in the Farmworkers civil rights and labor rights movement.

And when I say "well documented" I mean it is on film.

But thanks for your input, Catch2.2.

[sheshe2]

84. Oh Snap!

Brava Bella!

[Catch2.2]

271. I see

Russian interference is still working. Keep concentrating on your "Bernie Bros" and you'll see another 4 years of Traitor Trump. Instead of people on here trying to attack BS, maybe we should focus on coming together to make sure Traitor Trump and the Rethugs are voted out or impeached. Or we can concentrate on the evil boogeyman known as the Bernie Bros!!!

[Hekate]

275. The Bros are on film at the Convention, Catch2.2. Are those Russian disruptors?

Think fast! Catch it if you can!

[Catch2.2]

299. I will say this

Russians have and continue to push the "Bernie Bros", just like they did with BLM and Antifa. They are able to use them to create divide which led to Traitor Trump being elected. Are BLM Russians? No, but Russia used them by creating memes, threads, etc. to get people all upset about them, just like they did with Bernie Bros. and Antifa. So when people get all up in arms about the evil Bernie Bros, Putin & the Russians are sitting back laughing and gloating at their success in creating a boogeyman and distracting and dividing us.

[guruoo]

279. Snopes rated this false

If you have a video, I'd like to see it, as theirs wouldn't work.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sanders-english-only-huerta/

[Catch2.2]

300. I would like to see the video

Please provide a link

[George II]

301. Google "John Lewis booed", "Dorlores Huerta Heckled", etc.

You'll find at least a half dozen videos.

[Catch2.2]

304. I did google it....

I didn't find anything but a video with a couple protestors. Please provide a link.

[George II]

305. Did you watch the coverage of the convention? Try again. It's the first google hit.

[Catch2.2]

308. I did

The first link says "Video not available". Can you please provide a link?

[George II]

309. Here's my search:

https://www.google.com/search?q=john+lewis+booed&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS725US725&oq=john+lewis+booed&aqs=chrome..69i57.4063j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[Catch2.2]

310. Your link

The video in the first link doesn't work as I said. The description says a woman can be heard yelling "she stole it", several others joined in the chant. This is your damming Bernie Bros evidence? It doesn't even mention Bernie Bros in the article. Were their Bernie supporters that were upset at Hilary? Sure, but the vast majority voted and supported her. My question is why people try to create a Bernie Bros Boogeyman. I understand that BS doesn't have a lot of supporters on here, but trying to attack him especially by trying to use something like the Bernie Bros is ridiculous and only hurts and divides us.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

46. Except for the ones many of us knew IRL, but whatever.

[SidDithers]

51. Oh FFS...

Sid

[comradebillyboy]

70. Glenn Greenwald assures me that they don't exist...

[sheshe2]

99. Ha!

[betsuni]

85. No, they were the target audience of Russian propaganda.

"Interestingly, the Russians made a particular effort to target voters who had supported Bernie Sanders in the primaries, including by planting fake news on pro-Sanders message boards and Facebook groups and amplifying attacks by so-called Bernie Bros. Russian trolls posted stories about how I was a murderer, money launderer, and secretly had Parkinson's disease. I don't know why anyone would believe such things ... but maybe if you're angry enough, you'll accept anything that reinforces your point of view. As the former head of the NSA, retired General Keith Alexander, explained to Congress, the Russian goal was clear: 'What they were trying to do is drive a wedge within the Democratic Party between the Clinton group and the Sanders group and then within our nation between Republicans and Democrats.' Perhaps this is one reason why third-party candidates received more than five million more votes in 2016 than they had in 2012. That was an aim of both the Russians and the Republicans, and it worked."

From "What Happened."

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

107. Yup, Russian bots are still at it... was hopin' maybe we'd get beyond that nonsense by now.

[stonecutter357]

136. lol fail !

[mcar]

244. Check out Twitter sometime

they are still around.

[George II]

17. Here's the letter:

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5671807/Sanders-Campaign-Harassment-Letter.pdf

[Cha]

21. They want BS to be

there, too.

Thanks for the letter, George.

[nolabear]

28. Unrecorded, you say?

Good luck with that.

Oh, and

[Blue_true]

25. Oh, what a surprise (not really).

The sexist name calling of Hillary's prominent female supporters should have been a giveaway. There was lots of male rage and anxiety going on.

[pnwmom]

34. Oh, yeah, right, ALL the campaigns were just as bad.

Women on Hillary's campaign were constantly being subject to "sexual violence and harassment," and a "dangerous dynamic."



Anyone who believes that is nuts. There are occasional bad apples in every barrel, but no way would Hillary's campaign have had that kind of pervasive dynamic.

[Catch2.2]

37. Hillary Clinton Chose to Shield a Top Adviser Accused of Harassment in 2008

A senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign who was accused of repeatedly sexually harassing a young subordinate was kept on the campaign at Mrs. Clinton’s request


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/us/politics/hillary-clinton-chose-to-shield-a-top-adviser-accused-of-harassment-in-2008.html

[pnwmom]

40. He was docked several weeks pay, forced to undergo training, and then fired after several months.

So Hillary took it more seriously than most people in her position would have.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

164. Why do you leave this post unedited now that you know it to be factually incorrect?

He wasn’t fired and you now know it.

[pnwmom]

166. Why do you leave your posts comparing the disciplining of one person connected to Hillary

with a campaign so pervaded by "sexual harassment and violence" that twenty four staffers felt the need to send this urgent letter?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

170. Because you brought up the other campaign and said that would never ever be tolerated.

When it fact it was tolerated. At the highest levels, in fact. The victim was transferred and the perpetrator remained an employee to be hired later by an affiliate only to offend again (who knows how many more times).

You brought it up. And then made factually incorrect assertions. And even insulted me for my “reading comprehension” when the lack of understanding was on your part.

[pnwmom]

175. Hillary docked his pay and put him through retraining. After that, he didn't reoffend

when he was working for her. And no one has ever come forward with any other cases, much less alleging there was a pervasive environment of such incidents.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

193. I guess we will have to see if Bernie only docs pay and remains close friends with the perpetrators.

The article quotes some of the letter signers saying they don’t want to turn this in to a “bro” thing and they feel this is an issue that all campaigns have.

It’s not surprising campaigns would have these issues when there are hundreds of remote locations filled with random people volunteering to work odd hours - some of them away from home for the first time.

I think it’s great people come forward and want to have this conversation. Too bad some people want to use this proposed conversation as a cudgel.

You want to make this a Bernie only issue and that tells me you really don’t care about the issue. If it can happen right under the nose and at the highest levels of the campaign YOU brought up and the other campaign noted in the article, then it can happen anywhere.


There is even someone upthread having a giggle over the request that this not be a recorded call. Gee maybe women don’t want to have their voices recorded while they discuss their personal experiences.

[R B Garr]

199. Your false analogies are very obvious. We all saw what was

happening in Bernie’s campaign, and the letter matches that. This is not Whatabout Hillary or Whatabout Kamala. The behavior towards Hillary was in itself a tip-off.

[Catch2.2]

272. You're missing the point

Before we continue the Bernie Bashing on this site, might I suggest we focus on Traitor Trump and the Rethugs. Any sexual harassment in the Bernie Campaign was dealt with appropriately, just like with Hilary. There was harassment in Bernie and Hilary's campaign. Do we want to waste our time trying to bash BS (a lot of people seem to want to), or should we concentrate on defeating Traitor Trump & the Rethugs? I will say, if people on here choose to focus on attacking BS, we will have 4 more years of Traitor Trump.

[LongtimeAZDem]

277. And I believe that you're just obfuscating

A number of people from the Sanders campaign have alleged a "predatory culture" of sexual violence and harassment.

Instead of saying, "we have to find out what happened", a number of posters here are saying "everybody does it", "Hillary was just as bad", and "it was dealt with; nothing to see here". When that doesn't work, it's "we need to focus on Trump".

I don't automatically believe accusations without evidence, and both sides in the matter are entitled to a fair hearing.

But attempting to characterize a desire to discover the extent of the alleged predatory culture as "Bernie Bashing" is just deflection.

[delisen]

44. great example of whataboutism!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

54. You should probably review the thread to see who brought the other campaign in to the discussion

[pnwmom]

57. The article in the OP quoted someone saying that what happened in Bernie's campaign

happens in all campaigns, and that "all campaigns are extremely dangerous to women and marginalized people." And that's debatable.

“This letter is just a start,” said one of the organizers who declined to be named. “We are addressing what happened on the Bernie campaign but as people that work in this space we see that all campaigns are extremely dangerous to women and marginalized people and we are attempting to fix that.”

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

108. Thanks for pointing that out H.

[MarcA]

48. But you see HRC would never do this, if she did it was a "mistake".

Bernie and his bros were deliberate in their actions. That's the case if
you believe the usual Bernie Bashing found on DU. And people wonder
why Democrats lose elections.

[pnwmom]

56. Hillary first docked the pay of a staffer accused of harassment,

and then required him to undergo retraining, and then she fired him after a few months.

The situations aren't comparable.

[Me.]

58. Even If You Repeat That Info For A 3rd Time

They will have fingers in their ears while saying lalala

[Hassin Bin Sober]

65. She didnt fire him. You need to refresh your memory on that fiasco.

[pnwmom]

80. You need to improve your reading comprehension. She fired him after several months.

The NYTimes article explains that first she docked his pay and had him undergo retraining, and then, after several months, she fired him.

And there is no indication that "sexual violence and harassment" was a pervasive problem in Hillary's campaign, as the Bernie-staffer letter claims exists in all campaigns.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/us/politics/hillary-clinton-chose-to-shield-a-top-adviser-accused-of-harassment-in-2008.html

He was fired after several months for workplace issues, including allegations that he harassed a young female aide, according to three people close to Correct the Record’s management.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

89. The original incidents took place in 2008. He wasn't fired then.

He was hired at Correct The Record 5 years after the initial incidents (2013- ish) - years after he was kept on the The Campaign (against the recommendation of the Campaign manager).

He offended again in 2016 and was fired by Correct The Record.

He was never fired by the Campaign. In fact he remained a close personal friend up to and including 2016.


It’s in the article.

was hired five years later to lead an independent group that supported Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 candidacy, Correct the Record, which was created by a close Clinton ally, David Brock.

He was fired after several months for workplace issues, including allegations that he harassed a young female aide, according to three people close to Correct the Record’s management.

[R B Garr]

94. The letter about Bernie's campaign is about pervasive

behavior, not one man from 10 years ago. You should be more concerned about how they will all be held accountable, not trying to deflect. I recall Franken was forced out of his Senate seat for far less.

[uponit7771]

104. +1, the Chuck Todd level of false equivalency is gob smacking on this thread.

[emulatorloo]

116. Yep.

The committee acknowledged “a number of HR actions taken” during the 2016 run, with consequences ranging from “employee counseling to immediate termination.”

[Hassin Bin Sober]

92. I mean it's right there in the quote you posted.

“according to three people close to Correct The Record’s management”

Jesus

[pnwmom]

98. You are right about that. But how is ONE man in Hillary's campaign,

who had his pay docked but wasn't fired, equivalent to a pervasive atmosphere of sexual violence and harassment that concerned campaign staffers enough that they are writing to Bernie about it? And that concerned one of his staffers enough to leak the letter?

[uponit7771]

105. +1, its not ... they know this

[Cha]

205. Well stated, pnwmom! Of course,

it's Not "equivalent".. no matter how much they deny it.

[Me.]

157. That Makes 3

you may have to repeat for a 4th time

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

219. You're right, he wasn't fired... Hillary did what she thought was best.

So did Bernie... in his case, taking swift action.

[LongtimeAZDem]

64. His own supporters are alleging "sexual violence and harassment" within a "predatory culture"

That sounds deliberate, and pervasive.

[Cha]

68. BS "bashes" himself when he

calls my Democratic Party the "the party of the elite" like he did on CNN on November 16, 2016.

And, just recently when his "mass email" was posted here by a BS supporter.

Last time we ran, we made the financial elite pay a price for their attacks on our progressive agenda. It is just as important we do it again today:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11597935

[NurseJackie]

138. Talk like that serves NO good purpose. It's divisive and it weakens our party.

Talk like that serves NO good purpose. It's divisive and it weakens our party. Clearly it was AFTER the primary and AFTER the general election... by then, it was a time for unity and healing. There was no need to "pick scabs" and "pour salt" ... there was no need to say things that only create distrust and resentment.

Heaven help us in 2020. That type of rhetoric and attacks will not serve us very well.

[Cha]

196. Exactly, Jackie! BS Attacked our Democratic Party

After the Rigging in of trump by the Russians and their Wide Range of Enablers.. from stein & sarand0n to Voter Suppression.

We were all hurting and he was making it about himself.

Mahalo, Jackie! Have a Very Healthy Happy New Year!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

110. You summed it up perfectly!!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

112. Shhhh... you're not sposed to point out the obvious double standards!!

[uponit7771]

103. Overt false equivalency noted

[betsuni]

113. #WhataboutHillary

[SidDithers]

63. DU rec...

If Bernie runs, it's going to go so much more badly this time around.

Sid

[revmclaren]

72. K & R.

This could be explosive.

Waiting and watching...



ONLY! 2019 and beyond.

[betsuni]

77. K&R

[sheshe2]

106. Yep.

Gotcha, Blanche.

[ucrdem]

210. happy new year sheshe!

p.s.

[Tarheel_Dem]

88. K&R

[RandySF]

93. Don't forget that a reporter's life was threatened after she wrote an article critical of Sanders

[Gothmog]

102. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Cha]

109. Thank You, Goth!

[DRoseDARs]

111. Ignoring the morons replying to those 2 tweets, interesting to see the letter and response in-full.

There, plain as day, is a completely different picture than the one Politico tried to paint earlier.

[Gothmog]

119. I was a Clinton delegate to the national convention

Real campaigns carefully vet their national convention delegates. I know that I was vetted and I was on a committee that vetted other Clinton delegates. The reason for such vetting is that these delegates represent the candidate.

The conduct described in this letter is consistent with conduct that occurred at the national convention. My daughter was my guest at the national convention since this was an once in a lifetime type trip. A group of sanders delegates decided to yell at my daughter and call her the c-word since she would not try to get me to change my vote. A couple of male sanders delegates were so out of control that the state party chair made the head of the sanders delegation (a former employee of the party) sit between them and some female delegates

I was at the convention when the sanders delegates engaged in a planned stunt of booing Congressman John Lewis . The Clinton campaign warned her delegates 30 or so minutes in advance. My whip told me that sanders was asked to block this planned stunt and declined

The conduct described in the letter was consistent with the facts contained in the letter. My daughter read the Politico article and told me that she was not surprised by these facts.

My whip was working for the DNC during the mid terms. I suspect that the John Lewis incident will show up in some ads if sanders runs. There appears to be a pattern here. This letter is consistent with this pattern

[ucrdem]

120. +1

Thank you for the unvarnished truth. How soon we forget the extent of the damage inflicted by that campaign, and not by accident or oversight.

[DRoseDARs]

121. Who, exactly, was that meant for?

The letter and its response are regarding internal campaign matters and how they were handled. Politico tried to paint a different picture of how things were handled by lying by omission. New York Daily News painted a more complete picture by reporting more of the story... by writing about the full content of both letters rather than omitting the second altogether like Politico did.

This is about Politico manipulating the narrative instead of reporting a true story about issues within the Sanders campaign and how they were handled in 2016 and learned from going into the 2018 reelection campaign.

[ucrdem]

122. Politico includes the full text of both letters. In fact the NYDN article links to it.

The NYDN article is shorter. Other than that the two are nearly identical. So I don't think the point you're making holds water.
..............
Links:
Politico: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/30/bernie-sanders-campaign-harassment-1077014

NYDN: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-news-bernie-sanders-campaign-sexual-violence-20181230-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

[DRoseDARs]

123. Something changed from earlier and it's disconcerting.

I'm not going to argue further on that point, but the facts remain that issues occurred in the 2016 Sanders campaign, at no point have I contested that, and the campaign dealt with them and learned from them going into the 2018 campaign. Far too many people are crowing as if the second part of that didn't happen. Which is grossly unfair just like anyone bringing up the Clinton campaign's handling of similar issues.

[ucrdem]

131. I remember a TV interview where a reporter asked Sanders about the Las Vegas convention.

Did he condemn his supporters verbally attacking Barbara Boxer, asked the reporter? Sanders grinned and said they have a right to protest. That kind of response gives such behavior a green light.

[Cha]

206. It sure as hell did/does.

Mahalo, ucr.

[ucrdem]

209. Mahalo, Cha!

Happy New Year!

[Cha]

211. A Very Healthy Happy, Blue-Wave New Year

to you and yours, ucr!

[ucrdem]

212. ...

[Gothmog]

144. The conduct described in the letter fits in a pattern

Again, my daughter read the Politico article and she was not surprised by the fact stated in that letter. The conduct of the sanders campaign at the convention is consistent with the facts described in the Politico article

I personally believe that sanders is busy selling his very poorly reviewed book and will not run I am glad that the media is going to vet sanders

[MaryMagdaline]

139. Thank you for background information on vetting of delegates

As well as your personal experience from the campaign.

[Gothmog]

285. Real campaigns vet their delegates for two reasons

First, these delegates represent the candidate and campaign. Second, all delegates including pledged delegates may change their votes. At a national convention, you have to picked up new credentials each day that are only good for that day. This is done before a delegation breakfast where events are discussed. On the day of the formal vote for the nominee (Tuesday of the convention), a bunch of sanders delegates marched into the Texas delegation breakfast to demand that we condemn Hillary Clinton and vote for sanders. It was a mess

Despite being vetted, there was a number of incidents at the national convention. Chairman Hinojosa made Jason Limon (the head of the sanders delegation) sit next to a couple of sanders delegates who were being very nasty to some female Clinton delegates.

Vetting of delegates is an important part of the process.

[MaryMagdaline]

286. Good lord. This is the reason we need to abolish caucuses in the primary

These people are into politics of intimidation.

[Gothmog]

291. Prior to 2016, Texas had a process called the Texas Two Step

Prior to 2016, Texas had a procedure where two-thirds of the delegates were allocated based on a primary and one-third based on a caucus that occurred the night of the primary. In 2008, Clinton won the primary by a couple of points but ended up getting fewer Texas Delegates due to the caucus portion

I was on the Obama voter protection team and attended some classes held by the Obama campaign on how to game a caucus. There are tricks that can be used to get a disproportionate number of delegates.

I am so glad that the DNC did away with the Texas two step

[Gothmog]

292. There will be fewer caucuses in 2020

Link to tweet

[MaryMagdaline]

293. good news

Caucuses favor the people who are most able to intimidate others. Primaries favor the voters' true wishes (democracy)

[Hekate]

276. Thanks for the first hand eyewitness account, Gothmog...

Please keep retelling this story as often as necessary here. Plenty of people still need to hear it.

[Gothmog]

282. You are welcome

It took years of hard work to get to the national convention

[Ciaphas Cain]

117. Hmmm...

My theory is that Sanders himself put them up to it. He's going to clean house and use these allegations to get rid of people.

[ProgLibDem]

151. Shouldn't we wait for the facts to be presented first...

Yes, of course we should...

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

155. Wait?! What??... and miss a golden opportunity to take a swipe at Bernie?! Heaven forbid?!

Of course, we should all wait for the relevant facts to come out... that's precisely how claims of sexual misconducted should be treated, seriously, and with fundamental fairness.

[Gothmog]

161. Has sanders met with the signers of the letter yet?

Link to tweet

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

162. IDK... what's your deadline on that? And when Bernie does, will you commend him?

[Gothmog]

167. If sanders actually addresses this issue, it would be a good step

Time will tell

I personally think that sanders is focused on selling his poorly reviewed book and will not run. If sanders does run, I look forward to seeing his written promise to comply with the DNC rules and his tax returns.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

174. Well obviously Bernie will have to comply with all DNC rules... why wouldn't he??

I was unaware, however, that Hillary and Bernie had to sign WRITTEN pledges to this effect the last time around.

[Gothmog]

179. This conduct would be contrary to sanders' past conduct in Vermont

sanders would win the primary and then refuse to run as a Democrat in the general election.

Here is the DNC new rule which was viewed as being necessary

Link to tweet

?s=20

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

184. The rules are the rules and must be complied with... your preaching to the choir.

Vermont rules are a different story.

[NurseJackie]

173. Seriously? "Commend him"???

And when Bernie does, will you commend him?

Why should someone be commended or praised for doing the bare minimum because it's the right thing to do?

I blame Youth Soccer for the "everyone gets an award" way of thinking. Awards and trophies should be given to the winners only... not to everyone for participating. Commendation and praise should be given for excellence and for going above and beyond... not for simply doing what's normal, reasonable and expected.

All I'm trying to say is that we should expect more from our politicians, and even in the age of Trump, there's no good reason for us to act as if "doing their job" and "acting like a normal human being" is worthy of throwing someone a parade or heaping adoration and praise upon them.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

178. Yes, riiiight, cause I said we should throw Bernie a parade.. good one!!.

The point is, no matter what Bernie does, regarding this or ANY other subject matter, it will NEVER be good enough for some. You know what I'm saying is true... but, please go ahead and deny it anyway.

[NurseJackie]

182. Hmmm... quite the over-reaction. I must have struck a nerve. Sorry.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

185. Yes, I thought you did overreact by characterizing a simple acknowledgment with "throwing a parade"

No need to be sorry though.

[NurseJackie]

191. No...your argument was that he would deserve to be "commended" for doing what's normal and expected.

And when Bernie does, will you commend him?

Commendation and praise should be given for excellence and for going above and beyond... not for simply doing what's normal, reasonable and expected.

It's my opinion that NOBODY deserves a parade, medals, trophies and awards for simply doing the bare minimum... for simply participating... or for doing what's expected.

But, clearly you think differently.

I thought you did overreact by characterizing a simple acknowledgment with "throwing a parade"

You didn't say "acknowledge"... you said "commend". Those words mean different things.

Besides, I really don't fully understand why should someone even be "acknowledged" for simply doing the bare minimum? I guess I have higher standards.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

237. Means the same to me... no need to overreact on your part and lecture

about throwing parades. I promise I'll try to do better next time, so as not to cause such a stir.

[NurseJackie]

250. Oh good grief! I'm smarter than you think...

... I'm not falling for that "explanation". Your meaning and intent were clear the first time. You don't get to redefine words and then pretend they mean something else. You'll never convince me that someone deserves to be commended for doing the bare minimum. My standards are higher than that. All I'm saying is I think everyone should have high expectations for politicians and not be so eager to praise and commend them for simply showing up.

[ehrnst]

306. Accusing someone else of "Overreacting" or "Lecturing."

[lapucelle]

222. I always taught my children that doing the right thing was its own reward.

commend (verb)
1. praise formally or officially.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

239. So true... but when someone like Bernie can do nothing right in some people's eyes...

I think it's okay to ask if they would acknowledge that the person DID do something right that was expected of them. I doubt you, or any reasonable person, would incessantly criticize your children, but, if you did, then perhaps you should have commended them once in awhile, even for doing the right thing.

[lapucelle]

245. I'm not a fan of entitled victimhood.

There are many public figures who can do no right in some people's eyes. They continue to do the next right thing, nonetheless, never expecting (and often never "earning" ) even a modicum of acknowledgement, no less commendation.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

247. Well, you have a point there... which is what I think Bernie tries to do.

Not always, but then no one is perfect.

[NurseJackie]

251. ...

[betsuni]

252. The irony is too much for me.

I'm afraid if I start laughing I'll never stop.

[NurseJackie]

253. I know! I know!

[ehrnst]

296. For simply responding to a request to discuss it? (nt)

[ProgLibDem]

181. Seems like some people here have already tried and convicted the Sanders campaign...

...without any evidence or testimony.

Rather undemocratic I would say. The proper thing to do is to encourage the investigations and see what turns up.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

188. Yeah, that would be the FAIR thing to do... which is why some would never extend that same courtesy

to Bernie that they would to [INSERT NAME OF THEIR FAVORITE CANDIDATE HERE].

[NurseJackie]

192. ...

[Eliot Rosewater]

289. Yeah, that's it. Us liberals are undemocratic. uh huh

[R B Garr]

194. Here you go again. Lamenting that Bernie is being picked

on, but then claiming you didn’t know what I was talking about in a previous exchange. Why go through a distraction of several posts when it’s clear what your meaning is by your own posts.

The double standards and unfairness is claiming that Hillary and now Kamala are responsible for the men in their campaigns, but Bernie is not held to the same standards.

[NurseJackie]

195. Indeed! You and I both have high expectations and high standards ...

Indeed! You and I both have high expectations and high standards... not double-standards. All I'm saying is that we should expect more from our politicians and we should be truthful and honest by demanding the same from everyone.

[R B Garr]

198. Amen! The standards should especially apply when one

candidate has placed themselves in a superior /moral position over others with their criticisms. They are not exempt from the standards they impose on others!

Hi NJ! Happy New Year!

[George II]

197. His campaign ended two years ago. Isn't two years long enough to wait for the facts to be presented?

Yes, of course it is...

[ProgLibDem]

201. I think you misunderstood my post...

I am saying that people should wait for the facts and testimony to be presented before
automatically condemning the Sanders campaign. These allegations require a thorough investigation.

[lapucelle]

220. Has BS made a statement yet?

So far the only fact we have is that 24 people who worked in the 2016 campaign allege sexual violence and a pervasive predatory culture.

[ProgLibDem]

221. I don't know if Senator Sanders made a statement. Do you?

There are no facts yet just the allegations...

[lapucelle]

224. The only fact we know is that two dozen people are alleging instances of sexual violence,

sexual harassment, and a pervasive predatory culture in the 2016 BS campaign.

[ProgLibDem]

225. Exactly. Yet people here have already tried and convicted the Sanders' campaign...

Rather disgusting don't you agree?

[lapucelle]

229. That is your allegation.

There are posters here who say they have direct experience of the predatory culture alleged in the letter.

I believe them.

[ProgLibDem]

235. In a generally anonymous forum, how exactly can anybody know that someone is telling the truth?

Especially when 'trolls' are common place now...

I personally believe in facts that are authenticated...

[lapucelle]

240. It is heartening to know that you believe that 24 people have put BS on notice

that they expect him to personally address the sexual violence, sexual harassment, and the pervasive predatory culture that they experienced, heard first hand accounts of, and/or witnessed within the 2016 campaign and that they expect concrete, specific changes to be made before he launches another national campaign.

[lapucelle]

249. I hadn't noticed that you are a new voice her on DU.

In a generally anonymous forum, how exactly can anybody know that someone is telling the truth?

Especially when 'trolls' are common place now...

After you've been here a while, you'll be better able to determine who is worthy of trust. I believe the posters who have given their accounts based on several factors, not the least of which is their genuine commitment to the core values of the Democratic Party as evinced in both their words and their activism.

As for trolls...they have always been commonplace, though perhaps not so obvious as they seem now.

[ProgLibDem]

273. It's great that people here can form bonds based on posts - nothing wrong with that.

I am more of a fact based person. I base my opinions and positions based on
reliable factual sources that can be verified and not hearsay!

[lapucelle]

274. If I apply your standard to the statement you just made...

...well, that could lead to a bit of a problem, couldn't it?

[Cha]

255. When you have been

responding and reading members on DU for 16 years you get to know the ones you respect for their veracity.

That's how you know.

[Gothmog]

284. I was not the only delegate to the national convention who was upset

i personally believe that sanders is busy selling his poorly reviewed book and will not run. iIf sanders does run, there are a large number of Democrats with long memories

[Cha]

287. I'm just grateful we have first hand

knowledge of what went on at the Democratic Convention.. and this has come out in the open, that the staffers are calling for a personal meeting with BS, about their very real concerns.

Thank you, Goth!

[BannonsLiver]

172. Amazing to see Sanders supporters dismiss this as "just another swipe at Bernie"

As the post above this one does. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though.

[NurseJackie]

180. Many among us aren't amazed or surprised at all...

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though.

That's right, you shouldn't be. Many among us aren't amazed or surprised at all. Based on everything that's come before, it ought to be pretty much expected. I've heard those types of posts being described as being too knee-jerk and hyper-emotional and also described as lacking a certain element of self-awareness. Almost caricature-ish in how posts like that embrace bitterness and a culture of victimhood.

All I'm trying to say is that it really serves no good purpose to dwell on the past and to hold grudges. In the real world of politics, not every criticism is a "smear" or a "swipe", particularly when its valid, and legitimate. That's all. I think we can do better.

[Gothmog]

187. Who is surprised by this?

[NastyRiffraff]

204. No one who lived through the 2016 campaign is surprised

Here on DU, on Twitter, I imagine on Facebook (I refuse to have an account), not even mild criticism of the Mighty and Holy Bernie was tolerated. On DU the swarm would alert on the slightest pretense. Praise of Hillary Clinton was mocked and posters threatened.

I truly hope he doesn't run. He hates the Democratic Party but still wants to run as a Democrat for media exposure and of course the party's resources. Just like 2016.

[mcar]

246. Not surprising

just sad.

[oasis]

177. INEXCUSABLE!

[peggysue2]

183. But, But . . .

I thought the Bernie Bros were a myth, a meme invented by HRC's campaign/supporters to diminish Bernie's run? I distinctly recall being shut down by Sanders' supporters screaming that anyone insinuating sexism online or on twitter were exaggerating at best. And the Bernie Bros? A figment of our biased imagination.

Now we find that Bernie's campaign workers/supporters/principals need to have a 'conversation' about the issue, eliminating the non-existent problem?

Or will we be informed that Politico is a right-wing site spreading more lies about Bernie Sanders?

Perplexing.

[seaglass]

213. I wonder if this came up because Arturo Carmona was at the recent Sanders Institute shindig.

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/what-would-bernie-do-ex-sanders-staffers-smack-former-top-deputy-with-sexism-claims/

Masha Mendieta, a former Latino outreach strategist for the Sanders campaign, published a post detailing her complaints Friday on the Medium website, where she accused Carmona of treating women staffers unfairly and focusing on their physical attractiveness.
...
Several prominent Sanders supporters — including former Nevada state legislator Lucy Flores and Erika Andiola, an immigration rights activist — came forward to back Mendieta’s claims as “true.”

“I have the responsibility to speak out because we HAVE to change the culture of sexism in this movement,” Andiola said in a Facebook post. “I am so done.”

Flores said Mendieta gave her the courage to speak up about what she had witnessed during her brief time working with Carmona.

Also this from Masha a couple weeks ago:
Be Your Own Hero — Because Bernie Is Not It
https://medium.com/mashamendieta/be-your-own-hero-because-bernie-is-not-it-c4add2e08029

...
Yes, before I ever even came out publicly about Arturo Carmona, Bernie did know. He knew everything. He heard the whole sordid tale and still considered endorsing Arturo. And when asked by the press about it after I came out, he feigned ignorance and still refused to condemn him. Is that the reaction you expect from a hero? Many of you asked me what Bernie had to say, assuming him or someone from his team obviously would have reached out to me after the story broke. No, he did not and they did not. It was crickets. And lest you think it some inflated sense of self, how would you react if you were a politician and this story emerged about your own campaign (that is, if you are a feminist)? I would’ve immediately picked up the phone, reached out, apologized, soothed, promised to investigate, something, anything. But Bernie (and his team) did nothing. Instead, I got blacklisted.

...
The California Nurses Association, a well-known funder and ally to the Bernie movement, was particularly vicious. They endorsed Arturo heavily in the CA-34 race that my outing exploded. They were not happy. At the People’s Summit, which they funded, they harassed one of the women who had come out and was slated to lead a session there. RoseAnn DeMoro had someone cut her mic and physically block access to the session. DeMoro also cornered another woman and told her it was because of what she did in the CA-34 race. And they did this in front of everyone. Not quite the progressive allies after all, huh?

[betsuni]

214. Thank you for posting that.

Interesting.

[Cha]

223. Thank You, seaglass!

The link works when you take the "@" out of the url.

[revmclaren]

228. Here is the working link...

[link:https://medium.com/mashamendieta/be-your-own-hero-because-bernie-is-not-it-c4add2e08029|

Happy New year.

ONLY! 2019 and beyond.

[Cha]

230. Thanks, rev! Your post calls out for this..

in response!

And, a Very Happy Healthy-BlueWave New Year to You and Yours!

[sheshe2]

227. +++

[lapucelle]

266. I wonder why this essay wasn't widely covered in the press.

The hubris of some of those who are alleged to have known about the harassment allegations is stunning:

They had endorsed Arturo and were organizing for him. I called them desperately to tell them the truth of his character so that they could, naturally, correct course. But they knew. They knew everything.

Others had already called Winnie Wong just like I did. She didn’t care. In fact, she told me his shitty behavior didn’t matter as much as a win. A win for who, I wondered. Certainly not women. But hey, we’re just 51% of the population. And oh, wouldn’t you know it, Winnie says, “Linda Sarsour from Women’s March, she and I are best friends, agrees with me. She knows about the situation, too, and thinks you all should just stay quiet and not hurt Arturo’s campaign. It’s more important he win for us.”

My jaw hit the floor. If these were the women leading the Women’s March and the new “progressive feminism,” you could count me out. And these are the “progressive consultants” now traveling the world to shape the Left in other countries. Because as Winnie said to me about herself: “the movement would fall apart without me.” I think millions of activists would disagree.

[lapucelle]

267. The essay mentions that a letter to BS would be forthcoming.

Email, call, text me. We’re taking action on this soon, including a letter to Senator Sanders. If you want to be part of it or help, let us know.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

268. There is absolutely no room for this type of aberrant behavior in my party.

Let them start a MRA party.

[Joe941]

270. This shows Bernie is taking this type of thing seriously.

Good for him.

[Cha]

280. BS hasn't met with them yet. The

two dozen staffers have asked to meet with him "in person". It's his staff who are taking this seriously right now..

Former staff on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign are requesting a formal meeting with the politician to discuss “the issue of sexual violence and harassment on the 2016 campaign” in order to “mitigate the issue in the upcoming presidential cycle.”

“We — the people who worked on Bernie 2016 — know that much of the success of our campaign was due to the intense commitment, passion and sacrifice of women, people of color and LGBT staffers,” the letter states. “In recent weeks there has been an ongoing conversation on social media, in texts, and in person, about the untenable and dangerous dynamic that developed during our campaign.”

The former staffers requested a physical meeting with Sanders and his top advisers. They also asked that, following the meeting, Sanders advisers create “a follow-up plan for implementing concrete sexual harassment policies and procedures” as well as a “commitment to hiring diverse leadership.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-alumni-request-meeting-to-address-sexual-violence-on-2016-campaign_us_5c2a2adae4b0407e9084c768

[Gothmog]

283. NBC is covering this story

Link to tweet

?s=20

[disillusioned73]

288. Politico @ it again...

not surprising..

[Go Vols]

294. Politico ran a story about a manufactured #MeTo attack

on Bernie. It took 2 hours to get to the bottom of which fired employee is working w/ Gillibrand, Klobuchar, & Booker staffers + Biden's office to orchestrate this. Easy. Why didn't Alex Thompson do some actual reporting?

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[betsuni]

298. LOL

[Gothmog]

290. From the NYT

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

295. Sexism Claims From Bernie Sanders's 2016 Run: Paid Less, Treated Worse

I know one of the sanders supporters who was named in the NYT article https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/us/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign-sexism.html

Political campaigns can be grueling experiences for both the women and men involved. But some involved said they considered the treatment of women on the Sanders campaign especially upsetting because the senator positioned himself as a champion of progressive ideals and equality, according to interviews and messages shared on Facebook.

“I don’t think he has to be the vehicle or the platform for the movement that emerged from his campaign,” said Sarah Slamen, who worked for the campaign in Texas, was the state coordinator in Louisiana and helped build out Our Revolution, a progressive organization born from Mr. Sanders’s presidential campaign.

“Do you know how hard that is for me to say after working so hard for him?” she said.

Ms. Slamen quit the organization at the end of 2016 after she said she was berated by a male member of the Our Revolution steering committee for suggesting an organizing plan. In emails reviewed by The Times, she raised issues about sexist behavior with committee members who saw the incident and Our Revolution’s national board of directors. She said she received no reassurance that anything would change.

I gave Sarah a sanders sign that I brought back from the convention.

[NNadir]

302. I just wish Sanders would go away. He's useless. n/t

[Cha]

303. Has that meeting happened yet?

[Gothmog]

307. Bernie Sanders has a problem

Sanders did not deal with this issue adequately. CNN thinks that sanders will be hurt by his answer to this issue https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/politics/bernie-sanders-sexism-2020/index.html?utm_content=2019-01-06T13%3A22%3A02&utm_source=twCNNp&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social

On Wednesday night, Sanders was asked by Anderson Cooper whether he was aware, during the 2016 campaign, of the allegations -- recently published by The New York Times -- of sexism and sexual harassment within his operation.

"I was a little bit busy running around the country trying to make the case," said Sanders.

That is not a good answer. At all. Ever. And especially not amid the ongoing impact of the #MeToo movement on the culture and political world.

(Worth noting: He did apologize "to any woman who felt that she was not treated appropriately," and added: "If I run, we will do better next time.&quot