Per The Nation, Bernie supported Jesse Jackson in the 1988 presidential primary race.

[JDPriestly]

http://www.thenation.com/article/206521/bernies-race

It's in one sentence in the article. You will have to ask the author of the article any questions you may have. I'm relying on the article.

Several DUers have asked me what Bernie's stance is on race. One mentioned that Bernie is from Vermont, a lily-white state.

Bernie was also a member of SNCC while a student at U. of Chicago during the civil rights era. That is a widely mentioned fact.

To put all minds at ease, Bernie is far from a racist.

I want to be sure everyone knows that.

[upaloopa]

1. I voted for Jesse Jackson in the California primary

even though I am one of those old white men who needs to listen more.
So me and Bernie have a lot in common.

[MohRokTah]

2. So did I. eom

[Stardust]

3. So did I. Nt

[cali]

4. the lily white state of Vermont caucused for Jackson

and it voted overwhelmingly for Obama twice, more than any other state than Hawaii

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Jesse, 1984 Democratic Convention speech:

"America is not like a blanket -- one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt: many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread. The white, the Hispanic, the black, the Arab, the Jew, the woman, the native American, the small farmer, the businessperson, the environmentalist, the peace activist, the young, the old, the lesbian, the gay, and the disabled make up the American quilt.

Even in our fractured state, all of us count and fit somewhere. We have proven that we can survive without each other. But we have not proven that we can win and make progress without each other. We must come together."
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jessejackson1984dnc.htm

It was such a great speech, and it is one of the reasons I remained an active Democrat in the face of the slow nature of change and the impatient nature of me.

[CreekDog]

7. At the time I was a kid enamored of Reagan and Republicans but that speech

I watched that speech and it cut through all the nonsense various relatives and others were saying about Jesse Jackson only being for the black folks. I knew he was talking to all of us.

It didn't change my politics then and there, but that realization, during that speech, was one the steps that did change my politics --completely.

[pangaia]

12. Your post reminding me of that speech brings tears to my eyes.

That was one of the 2 or 3 greatest speeches in American political history.
I remember exactly where I was, with my then girlfriend in Cincinnati, OH, after working tirelessly on his campaign there. We were both in such tears through the whole speech I couldn't even see the television screen. And he WON Hamilton County.

And the line that finished me off.....
" I would rather have Roosevelt in a wheelchair than Reagan on a horse."

[awoke_in_2003]

31. Thanks for posting that. nt

[enigmatic]

34. A tremendous, iconic speech

Up there w/ Mario Cuomo's "shining city on the hill" speech in Convention speeches. I watched it live and was enthralled.

[KittyWampus]

6. So? No one is calling him a racist. His campaign, however, SUCKS when it comes to optics

And it does say something about him that he hasn't made any apparent effort in displaying diversity that is the Democratic party.

[pangaia]

13. He declared a couple of days ago.

His campaign ..."sucks?"

[m-lekktor]

21. yeah, you all keep denying that thread which started this all

didn't imply that he is racist when it actually did, especially with those horrible pictures included. you all denying this are being just a tad bit willfully obtuse.

[jwirr]

23. At least he did not bus a bunch of people in and do an invitation only gatherings like the Rs do.

Most of the candidates announce their intention to run from their home state and he was the mayor of this city. So how does he change the optics of the state without playing with the truth. I do not want a candidate who buses people in or has invitation only gatherings. We had that with W.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. 48 hours

and he launched from a state that is not that much more diverse than IOWA.



And one OP here started this, which for this INDEPENDENT is all kinds of hilarious shit. That script from 2008 has been dug out, and some folks are trying hard to inoculate their candidate.

But at this point...

Would you like some?

[sabrina 1]

41. Has Hillary had any campaign events open to the public yet? Bernie has had at least half a dozen so

far. His audiences ask questions, he answers all of them.

Has Hillary said anything about the Police Brutality towards African Americans?

Bernie has, he responded to a question last night, in his usual frank manner, spoke about the issue for several minutes, talked about how it has always been a problem, but NOW it is out in the open. Three police officers were standing next to him as he spoke.

He was asked about race relations in this country. He answered that question also, openly, honestly as is his habit.

You might want to rethink your decision to play the race card with Bernie. It isn't going to work.

Let us know when Hillary allows ordinary people to ask her questions at even one event. And what she says when asked about police brutality towards African

[7962]

8. Why would ANYONE be asking about his "stance on race"??

What the hell is the matter with people these days? What has Bernie Sanders EVER said or done that would make anyone wonder what he thought of people of color?
And what exactly, IS a "stance on race"? Whats he supposed to say, "Im in favor of it!" Ughhh.

[pangaia]

14. :>))))))))))

Good one..



I like races too. I'm all for them.
Just not over , oh maybe a couple miles...

[Jackpine Radical]

30. Me too. My favorite was years ago when we used to race our crawler tractors.

We called it NasCat.

[pangaia]

37. Snort.

You racist, errr. racer, you..

I used to race an old John Deere A....if I could get it started...

[Jackpine Radical]

39. Kinda made you cranky,

those old thumb busters. I bet you still know how to grab a crank handle to preserve your thumb. Thumb & all fingers on the same side of the handle. That way when it kicked, it would fly out of your grasp without taking your thumb along.

[pangaia]

40. Were you there watching ????

Had a single bottom plow with a long rope to yank to drop and lift the blade.. What fun...

[Jackpine Radical]

42. A trailer plow.

I grew up in the woods. We used an old gas Cat from the 20's as a skidder.

By the time I actually got a tractor with wheels, it had a 3-point hitch. (A Case SC.) I now have a little 4wd John Deere 790 for gardening, driveway maintenance (1100 ft of driveway), etc.

[rickford66]

9. I voted for him in the NY primary.

[G_j]

32. so did I

And the only way to get the issue of poverty into the discussion.

[Doctor_J]

10. The PUMAs have their fingers in their ears

They're a little like Limbeciles when it comes to facts they don't like.

[seabeyond]

17. using the puma card? why the fuck did i come in this thread to have a jab at serious conversation.

[Enthusiast]

11. Why would a racist support Jesse Jackson?

I don't get it. [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[seabeyond]

16. no one called him a racist. everyone knows this. and still the meme keeps being pushed. why?

[Ken Burch]

22. because of the false claim that people who fight against economic inequality

assume that creating it would make bigotry vanish(something no one actually believes, btw.)

[seabeyond]

26. History tell us focus can be in one direction and minorities fall to the wayside. Why would any dem

Have an issue with minorities saying.... Don't forget about me.

Why would a dem interpret that at saying sanders is a racist?

[Ken Burch]

27. You've never had any reason to think Bernie would let minorities fall by the wayside.

His record proves his concern.

We will need anti-oppression movements for years to come...agreed...but talking about economic justice doesn't marginalize those struggles.

I don't know what it will take to prove to you that you can feel trust...you have had many reasons to feel distrust in the past...bu t historically, it's been the "pro-business" types that have been far less trustworthy. If I were you, or if I were a poc or an LGBTQ person, I'd feel far more distrust of HRC, based on her early involvement with the DLC, a group that pushed hard for feminists, Rainbow Coalition members, and LGBTQ to be left out in the cold in the name of appeasing white Southern straight men who loved war and executions. There's nothing remotely comparable to that level of hostility to anti-oppression activism (activism many Bernie Sanders supporters have been deeply involved in...since many are LGBTQ, many are women, and the number who are poc is likely going to grow as Bernie's message and national presence keep spreading). Besides, as only t he third major-party Jewish presidential candidate this country has seen-the others being Joe Lieberman and Milton Shapp-Bernie has personal experience in being the subject of hatred and bigotry-he's been there. If nothing else, have a little faith in that.

[seabeyond]

29. you are not listening ken. henceforth, we have not been at the table. it is exclusively economics.

womens equal pay? minimum wage? yes helps minorities and women. and still, they are not social justice. i think that is where so many are not getting it.

for example. when sanders was talking about free college. it was said a feminist position, which i disagreed. it is an economic position and ya, women benefit. but, feminism would come into play if he had addressed the new study that came out the same time about the rapes to freshman and the problem with administration.

then, we women know he hears us.

do you see the difference that i am saying?

i have tried to express to you in different ways. i keep hoping that at some point there will be an understanding. we havent gotten there yet.

also, i think it would help him and his campaign.

[Ken Burch]

33. Bernie is going to say all that.

And you can look at his record and see that he has backed all that.

You can't mention everything in every speech.

And based on her record in the Senate and as a founder of the DLC(an anti-feminist, basically anti-gay, anti-affirmative action group that has been dismissive at best on choice-Bill Clinton basically acted as if it was evil to have an abortion, for example)you have little if any reason to trust her-anyone who accepted the DLC notion that social activists are just "special interest groups" who should have no real say in the party is not someone I'd trust to be my ally if I was in her shoes.

She helped have anti-oppression activists evicted from the table in the Nineties.

If Bernie made a major speech on social issues, would that put your fears to rest? I think he should do that,becayse it would show that Bernie's campaign, based on his record, is the true successor to Jesse Jackson's on the issues you and I careso deeply about.

[seabeyond]

35. i have said repeatedly, we have time to listen. i have also stated i would not make an issue

out of his first crowd (which was great in size and enthusiasm) or that he addressed his main campaign points only.

i am not UNfair to sanders. i am all about patiently waiting and listening.

[seabeyond]

15. this is grand, what he did in '63. as are all his votes supporting minorities thru out his career.

now he is running for pres, across our nation, reaching out for the full demographics of the dem party. he has to bring this into his campaign, now. instead of depending on yesterday.

but, yea him.

[Skidmore]

18. Bernie and Hillary both need to address not just race

in depth but how they plan to deal with the ugliness and injustices out there in the justice system and policing that the right wing have unleashed over the past decade or so. I'm looking for some straight forward talk and solid approaches to these issues. I will listen and there is time to formulate ideas. Hillary has more work to do in my mind because I still haven't forgotten the 2008 campaign. Whatever Sanders has done in the past still doesn't tell me what he would do in the future with these dynamics at play. Yes, how they would deal with race issues and the social and economic problems that contribute to injustice is important. After the past six years, it will take more than a "trust me" and a pat on the head for me.

[Ken Burch]

19. And he did that when Jesse was being falsely accused of antisemitism

just because he supported a two-state solution before the Israeli government temporarily admitted the idea wasn't Naziism.

[femmocrat]

20. I voted for him in the PA primary.

Jackson did very well in the primaries that year:

In the Super Tuesday races, Dukakis won six primaries, to Gore's five, Jesse Jackson five and Gephardt one, with Gore and Jackson splitting the Southern states. The next week, Simon won Illinois with Jesse Jackson finishing second. 1988 remains the race with the most candidates winning primaries since the McGovern reforms of 1971. Jackson captured 6.9 million votes and won 11 contests: seven primaries (Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Virginia) and four caucuses (Delaware, Michigan, South Carolina and Vermont). Jackson also scored March victories in Alaska's caucuses and Texas's local conventions, despite losing the Texas primary. Briefly, after he won 55% of the vote in the Michigan Democratic caucus he had more pledged delegates than all the other candidates.

However, Jackson's campaign suffered a significant setback less than two weeks later when he was defeated handily in the Wisconsin primary by Michael Dukakis. Dukakis's win in New York and then in Pennsylvania effectively ended Jackson's hopes for the nomination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1988

[Ken Burch]

28. I've always figured that Paul Simon was pushed to stay in through the Illinois primary

(even though it was obvious that he was out of contention for the nomination) by the party insiders, in order to make sure Jesse didn't win Illinois. There was no other candidate who could truly compete with Jesse for progressive votes in Illinois-Dukakis clearly couldn't, since his campaign was deeply conservative in many respects.

If Jesse had taken that state, he'd have had a real chance of getting nominated-or, at worst, Dukakis would have been obiged to incorporate at least some of Jackson's policy ideas(most of which were much more popular than Jesse himself) in the party platform, and to put some serious money into voter registration campaigns(something the party didn't want to do,because they were paranoid about scaring white suburban voters-a group that wouldn't have voted for any Dem for president in '88, includng Fritz"they've heard of me in South Carolina" Hollings).

But no, we couldn't have that...we HAD to have Dukakis imposed as our nominee on a homophobic, antichoice, insanely militaristic program(I mean, really-a pledge to increase war spending by 6% a year-which was more than even Reagan ever increased it)? ...because he was "electable".

Boy, that sure worked out swell, didn't it?

[hughee99]

25. You mean the REVEREND Jesse Jackson? See, Bernie Sanders is some kind of religious nut.

[whatchamacallit]

36. Not good enough, Bernie

*makes masterbation hand gesture*

[TheKentuckian]

38. Nothing will be good enough until that economic, foreign policy, corruption, capture, and civil

liberties talk is quieted or at least so back burner as to be a few muted talking points, indiscernible from turd way throw a way boilerplate.

A crude attempt at message bullying, if Sanders can be forced to discuss what they want to focus on in a quantity they will accept then everything else he has to say can be truncated enough to be pointless and then attacked for lacking substance.