Sanders Aide Apologizes To Clinton Staffer For Bernie Bros’ Trolling

[MADem]

Bernie Sanders’ campaign is trying to rein in his unruly online men. Live by the Redditors, die by the Redditors.

...the social web has also shown off the worst of Sanders supporters. Writing in her endorsement of Clinton this week, progressive writer Joan Walsh complained of harassment from online supporters of Sanders that the Vermont Senator’s campaign aides have been aware of for months. Walsh called them “the Berniebot keyboard warriors,” but they’re more commonly referred to as The Bernie Bros.

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

A lot of the Bernie Bro activity is short of that kind of open harassment, and is more shouty explaining, or smug “mansplaining.” It is, though, a style of discourse that’s anathema to the progressive, feminist quarters of the internet that share many of Sanders’ policy views....

MUCH more at link: http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/the-bernie-bros#.gbJPBJ79bb

[Iliyah]

1. Kinda late tho

K & R

[RobertEarl]

2. Heh

I bet Clinton never apologizes for her people making the rest of us hate the H campaign, but they should.

[SusanCalvin]

7. I got issues with both. nt

[AtomicKitten]

3. If you can't win on the issues, you can't talk about the issues, so

this is what you have left to kvetch about. Nonsense that means squat in the bigger scheme of things.

[Sheepshank]

33. Sanders camp is trying to reign it in.

You are kvetching at the Bernie handlers.

The rest of us are agreeing with what they are finally admitting. Bernie bros have become a liability to growing the revolution.

[AtomicKitten]

44. Bernie is such a standup guy, you've got little to work with in your attacks.

We get why you're pushing this pathetic meme. It's right in line with the type of toxic campaign Hillary and her supporters resort to. But it only resonates with her bitterest of supporters and doesn't amount to a hill of beans with everyone else.

I've read the comments you're complaining about. They are almost exclusively strsightforward expressions of a difference of opinion, something you guys simply cannot accept. Plus the anonymity of the internet flies in the face of the certainty you cling to in this matter. Your complaints simply don't hold water.

[Sheepshank]

46. Funny how your stand up guy attracts the type of people that he does

Article after media article describing the nasty, name calling, threatening swarming. I honestly believe it has been the handicap that has hurt his overall campaign and contributed to his stagnant numbers.

[AtomicKitten]

48. His supporters are wonderful passionate people of all stripes.

Too bad you find that so threatening that you have to resort to this childishness. And FTR, Bernie's got the enthusiasm. He's got the momentum. And that's precisely what's got your knickers in a twist. Transparent as f@ck.

[AgingAmerican]

50. Do you ever read some of the crap Hillary supporters post here?

Especially the past few days. They are on a smearing rampage.

[Sheepshank]

56. Nothing will ever compare to the dog excrement

One of your own left in the HRC group.

[VulgarPoet]

4. If we're going to condemn right wing rags

shouldn't clickbait rags also be equally condemned? Or is that only when it's the E$tabli$hment $ain't is in the crosshairs?

[MADem]

18. No one called it a "clickbait rag" when Michael Hastings went to work for them.

Funny, that. Anyone remember him? He met a rather sad end.

This article was written by their White House correspondent.

They do fluff, and they do stuff.

Like a lot of online entities.

[SidDithers]

5. DU rec...nt

Sid

[SusanCalvin]

6. Good. nt

[Bjorn Against]

8. Good for the Bernie campaign, now if only the Clinton campaign would do the same

All one needs to do is look at DU to see that Hillary supporters can be quite nasty as well.

[Beartracks]

21. +1 n/t

[BainsBane]

24. Care to share some examples?

[frylock]

63. hillaryclintonsupporters.com

[KittyWampus]

65. False equivalency at it's finest. Sanders supporters are 80% thus rigging juries...

and I don't see Clinton supporters censoring anyone by abusing the alert system.

[betsuni]

9. K&R

[Bleacher Creature]

10. This really has to stop.

The attacks on the daughters of Joan Walsh and Cecille Richards is beyond the pale.

[sheshe2]

11. KnR. nt

[tonedevil]

12. What a great way...

to demonstrate how to address someone without name calling. The terms Berniebot and Bernie Bro are certainly used in the most respectful way possible.

[frylock]

64. Total lack of self awareness.

[KittyWampus]

66. Yes, Sanders supporters exhibit it ad nauseam. The article is referencing the worst behavior

So we're supposed to be respectful of online bullies now?

No, I don't think so.

[frylock]

67. Total lack of self awareness.

[hopemountain]

13. those bots are exactly that - trolls or

bots. these attacks are typical of immature individuals who could care less about endorsing any candidate but who do their best to insult and offend others beyond the pale. in return, they win the praise of their sick peers and have cases of socks drop shipped to their basements for the number of disgusting insults they can send to anyone. everyone is a target.

personally, i have great respect for joan walsh - one of the few integral journalists of our time and it is hideous what she has endured.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

19. I wondered where all of those socks came from.

[mhatrw]

14. OMG!!! Some internet trolls are mean!!!

Breaking news

[KittyWampus]

68. It's more than "some". And the fact you don't give a cr*p about the harassment

says volumes.

And it is harassment and bullying.

[mhatrw]

70. Yeah. I'm terrible because I support Sanders.

I don't like internet bullying but there is plenty to go around no matter what you are discussing, especially politically.

[NurseJackie]

15. Apologize ... then deny it happened?

These things just get weird and confusing.

[George II]

25. Kind of like the "if I offended anyone, I apologize".

[CajunBlazer]

16. K&R

[Starry Messenger]

17. They need to backdate back to this summer, and apologize to a whole bunch of Black people too.

[SunSeeker]

20. K & R

[BainsBane]

22. better late than never, I guess.

Still, I have to wonder what took him so long. How about toward PP, NARAL, Sybrina Fulton, Elon James White, Ta' Nehisi Coates, Al Franken, Jane Goodall, and today even the pollster PPP!
(plus many, many more).

[Nyan]

23. Good. Now, would Hillary apologize to Bernie

for implying that he's sexist?
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that. Because why would I expect a smidgen of decency from them?

[George II]

26. We keep seeing this accusation, but no one can every point out HOW she "implied that he's sexist".

[JonLeibowitz]

27. It has been pointed out repeatedly, some people do not want to hear. n/t

[MADem]

31. A link to frame the issue, then? nt

[JonLeibowitz]

35. That's fair.

Here you go:

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/hillary-clinton-sexism-bernie-sanders-215375

[MADem]

41. This seems like a reasonable request to me....

"...If Bernie Sanders does not want to be seen as someone who uses sexist language and perpetuates a dangerous sexist stereotype of strong women, then he should tell his people to stop. And if they don’t stop, he should fire them.”



And obviously Sanders recognizes that there is a problem--what he needs to do is address it--he probably could use a little more gender diversity in his inner circle:

In an interview on MSNBC Thursday, Sanders said some of the statements from his campaign were “inappropriate ... clearly, I have a lot of respect for Secretary Clinton.”



Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/hillary-clinton-sexism-bernie-sanders-215375#ixzz3yhpW7e00

[JonLeibowitz]

42. None of those quotes are about Sanders the person being sexist

Clinton was attacking him personally for being sexist, not his staff.

Btw his inner circle has Symone Sanders and Nine Turner.

[MADem]

47. I don't think either one of those women are in the "inner" inner circle.

There's only one woman in that club, and that's his wife. Oddly enough, even though she has said that she is a key player on the staff in several interviews, she is not named as an adviser or campaign manager in this listing. She must not be drawing a salary for her work. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/256523-jane-omeara-sanders-future-first-lady

All his listed "key" staff (see link below) are male. Symone Sanders is in the "other" staff category. Turner is just an endorsing supporter, not on staff or serving in an advisory capacity, AFAIK.

https://ballotpedia.org/Bernie_Sanders_presidential_campaign_key_staff_and_advisors,_2016#Key_staff_and_advisors

[JonLeibowitz]

49. Fair points.

I would counter one of your points by saying that during the times she did work for Sanders she was lambasted right here by DU members who said that her drawing a salary was unethical (even though technically her compensation would be determined an arms-length negotiation for her salary).

Jane Sanders just can't win around here.

[MADem]

51. I am not criticizing her for not drawing a salary--just speculating that that might be the reason

she is not listed as a key advisor, though she has self-identified in that manner.

The 'salary' business had to do with taking a fee for negotiating media buys for the Senate campaign, IIRC, not serving as a regular campaign advisor. She probably would have been on surer footing if she did the latter, but I believe she was working at the college at the time.

[Vattel]

55. The slimy dishonesty of many Clinton supporters and of Clinton herself will never be acknowledged.

[passiveporcupine]

28. The Daily Banter sees it from both sides

It’s still early days, but the worrying tribalism that tore the Democratic party apart in the 2008 election is beginning to rear it’s ugly head. Supporters of Clinton and Sanders have been lobbing bombs at each other over social media as their campaigns ramp up, and the rhetoric is getting nastier and nastier.

For the love of God, if you are doing this, please stop.

Hardcore supporters of both candidates are becoming equally annoying in their unyielding devotion that consists primarily of irritating hashtags on Facebook posts, and photo memes that may or may not be accurately sourced. (snip) So if this is you, please, stop being a dick and voice your support without resorting to childish name calling. (snip) It is simply not worth it in the long run, even if you are a hard core ‘Berner’ or a ‘Hilldawg’ fanatic.

http://thedailybanter.com/2015/08/hey-bernie-and-hillary-supporters-stop-being-dicks-to-each-other/

I find is quite amusing that Bernie supporters can see it coming from both sides, but Hillary supporters refuse to see it coming from them. They are good, Bernie supporters are bad.

[Kalidurga]

30. That has been their message from day one.

They don't even really say Hillary has better ideas, to the contrary. Most of them even say Bernie's ideas are better, but he isn't as electable, congress won't pass anything he wants, or we need to have a woman president. Or some variations on those themes. Not very many seem to be on board with Hillary's platform they are team Hillary and that is that no matter what she is actually proposing.

[MADem]

32. It's gotten much more vitriolic since August, when that article was published. nt

[passiveporcupine]

36. I have seen that from both sides

I've looked at clouds from both sides now.
I really don't know clouds at all.

But now it's just another show
you leave 'em laughing when you go
and if you care
don't let them know
don't give yourself away.

I've looked at life from both sides now
from win and lose and still somehow
it's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

I've looked at hate from both sides now.
From win and lose and still somehow,
It's hate's illusions I recall,
I really don't like hate at all.

[MADem]

37. I've seen it way more from one side than the other--and not just here on DU.

The criticism is valid.

It has to do with the age of the supporters who are flinging the shit to no small extent, but it's not an even-handed exchange at all.

[passiveporcupine]

38. It can't be even handed

there are a lot more Bernie supporters than their are Hillary supporters. You can't help but see it more often.

[MADem]

39. In front of keyboards at DU and reddit, and on twitter, perhaps... certainly.

At their jobs, living their lives, etc....maybe not. Surely not.

[passiveporcupine]

40. I guess we will see

But it's only the ones on the internet and social media who are tossing the hate around so strong...and some of that carries over to protests in public.

How long after the nominee before these wounds heal, if ever? This feels like the town of Burns to me.

[MADem]

43. It depends, I guess, on whether a Democrat wins in November.

Of course, IF a Democrat does indeed win in November, it will only be a matter of months before this place reads like Free Republic in opposition to that candidate, whosoever s/he may be.

Look at what a brief honeymoon Obama enjoyed here--he'd barely unpacked before a cadre of Lefter Than Thous started carping about what he hadn't done, how he'd compromised on this or that, or why he wasn't ruling by decree like some sort of dictator. The expectations that some have from a President are sometimes unrelated to the actual duties of a POTUS IAW the Constitution...

[passiveporcupine]

45. I agree about Obama.

I love the man and think he's been one of our greatest Presidents. There has been a lot of unfair criticism leveled at him. But he did run on a more progressive platform than he actually used once in office, so I can understand the frustration for many progressives who thought that is what they were getting.

And there are a lot of people who are not realistic in understanding how politics is done, and what power a President actually has.

However, I have a pretty good eye for integrity, and Obama and Bernie both rate very very high in the honesty, integrity and compassion categories for me.

I wish I could include Hillary in that, but I've not seen that in her. She is not a horrible person as many here try to make her, and some of the attacks on her are right out of the republican play book. So I do really understand the frustration and anger of a lot of Hillary supporters who have to deal with that.

If you've paid any attention to my posts, I've defended her often on attacks that have no merit or are superficial and made out to be catastrophic. Just like many of the attacks on Bernie now.

[Alfresco]

29. Bernie, Weaver and Devine need to publicly apologize.

[alcibiades_mystery]

34. Manny Goldstein

[TSIAS]

61. I have a list of people HRC should apologize for

The Clinton side has David Brock heading up its smear operations, with two sites started by DU'ers who do nothing but trash Sanders' supporters. I don't see John Podesta or anyone apologizing for them.

[Lil Missy]

52. And they are all on DU. n/t

[R B Garr]

53. This is definitely unique to the Berniebros because

they don't have to be practical in any way at any time. They worship an ideologue so they can always be right in their own minds because there is no practical history to criticize. This lets their superiority complexes run amok. They have more than earned their nasty reputations.

[Skwmom]

54. I think there are a lot of fake Bernie supporters engaging in dirty tricks. People can get carried

away sometimes but based on the stuff we are seeing lately to think that all of these posters are Bernie supporters is crazy.

[workinclasszero]

57. Live by the Redditors, die by the Redditors.

A fitting epitaph.

[cherokeeprogressive]

58. FUCK apologies. Get out of the damn kitchen or stop crying.

[Blue_Tires]

59. No big surprise...

[Live and Learn]

60. Another thing Bernie Can Do that Hillary apparently Can't Do.

Hillary never apologizes just minimizes her wrong doings as little mistakes like that IWR vote.

[frylock]

62. Small comfort for the devastating losses coming Hillary's way.

The comment “Their vaginas are making terrible choices!” was more than likely made by a woman! I see comments like that all time on FB.

[KittyWampus]

69. Sanders supporters will do to him what Dean supporters did to Dean >>>

but far, FAR worse.

Social media wasn't as fully developed back then.

And Dean supporters may have been young and enthusiastic but no where near as obnoxious or sanctimonious.

I'm also going to chalk it up to Dean being an actual Democrat with actual Democrats around him.

People won't want to be associated with a bunch of ideologues.

[mhatrw]

71. Yep. People want a corrupt pay to play oligarchy,

not the right to healthcare and social security.

It's totally obnoxious to suggest otherwise.

[R B Garr]

72. Exactly! Their intemet tactics alone are unDemocratic.

The internet fuels their ability to shut down anyone wjo challenges their ideas.