POLITICS 8 HOURS AGO "I Don't Know Who 'I' Am": Bernie Sanders' Brutally Honest Mayoral Memos

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

“Maintaining a radical vision is extremely difficult when one is confronted on every corner with the force of suffocating force of the status quo,” he wrote.

Sanders’ mayoral papers, which are open to researchers at the University of Vermont, include dozens of legal pads that the Democratic presidential candidate filled with speech drafts, schedules, brainstorms, and doodles. But the pads also include confessional notes that Sanders wrote to himself. The memos, which were not reported during his 2016 run for president, offer a glimpse of the Democratic presidential candidate on the cusp of middle age, agonizing over the prospect of personal and professional failure, even after a succession of improbable political victories.

(snip)

The media was a recurring villain in Sanders’ public remarks and private missives throughout his early career. During his time as mayor, he viewed the coverage of his administration and of national and international issues as emblematic of the way corporate ownership and new technology were impeding civic growth, and he sought out new avenues to circumvent the press, such as a public-access television program called Bernie Speaks. (In 1985, he even participated in a reverse press conference, under the tagline “Does the media lie?!” in which reporters fielded questions from Sanders about their jobs.)

(snip)

“Bernie has spent his entire career as a public servant focused on the needs of his constituents and providing tangible solutions to improve people’s lives,” Sanders campaign spokesperson Sarah Ford said in a statement. “His fierce and full commitment to that work was as evident then as it is now. Like many, he has experienced the joys and stresses of raising children, building a partnership, and balancing a career. Those average and every day struggles have allowed him approach his work with empathy and a much-needed sense of urgency.”

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/05/bernie-sanders-brutally-honest-mayoral-memos/

There is a video on this link which is referred to in the article at the top.

CCTV MEDIA CONFERENCE 1985: OPENING PUBLIC FORUM - "DOES THE MEDIA LIE?"

DESCRIPTION
Mayor Bernie Sanders, Rep. Jim Jeffords and Brian Burns interview members of the Vermont Press Corps (Peter Freyne/ Vangard Press; Nick Monserat/ Rutland Herald; Tom Farmer/ WCAX TV; Don Melvin/Burlington Free Press) in this 1985 forum moderated by Paul McIsaac and sponsored by CCTV as the opening event of the Northeast Regional Conference of the National Association of Cable Programmers.

The raw tapes can also be found as the "CCTV Media Conference, 1985", on series archive discs MC-MC3, and the edit is also on BS102585.


https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/opening-public-forum-does-media-lie

[msongs]

1. does the media lie? hmmm sounds familiar nt

[Uncle Joe]

5. A majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents believe they do,

Poll: 72 percent say traditional outlets 'report news they know to be fake, false, or purposely misleading'

Seventy-two percent of Americans believe "traditional major news sources report news they know to be fake, false, or purposely misleading," according to a new poll from Axios and SurveyMonkey released on Thursday.

The poll of nearly 4,000 adults shows that 92 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents "say that traditional news outlets knowingly report false or misleading stories at least sometimes," a finding in line with other recent polls conducted by Pew Research and Gallup.

It found the sentiment extends to those who identify as independents and Democrats, with 79 percent of independents also saying traditional outlets knowingly report false or misleading stories at least sometimes. Democrats agree by a slight majority of 53 percent.

The poll also found that almost two-thirds of those polled say fake news "is usually reported because people have an agenda." About one-third of those polled say false information is reported because of "poor fact-checking" or laziness.

(snip)

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/394352-poll-72-percent-say-traditional-outlets-report-news-they-know-to-be-fake-false

In 1976 the media had a 72% approval rating.

The media have been getting an uptick since 2016 because of Trump after he became President, most of them became a foil, however an honest question would be, has their journalism or lack thereof in general over the decades led to the inevitable result of someone like Trump coming to power?

If the answer is yes, and that media coverage or lack thereof dynamic isn't altered, subsequent editions of Trump coming to power most likely will be even worse.

[LuvLoogie]

2. Bernie is like some professors. You sign up for his class,

you'll get a lot of lecture, not so much discussion. You pass if you can repeat his thesis.

I like him fine, but I am a Democrat.

[LongtimeAZDem]

14. Perfect summary

[George II]

16. Very good analogy.

[highplainsdem]

3. The quotes there don't exactly inspire confidence in Sanders.

I'll give him an A for honesty, but this is still not confidence-inspiring from someone who was a mayor in his 40s:

I am unable to look in the mirror and see how I am. How am I? I don’t know. I don’t know who “I” am.

For years now, I have not lived a normal emotional life. My relationship to J. remains unclear. We pass time together, but the relationship doesn’t grow mature or deepen.

I have pushed everything, on top of everything, on top of everything. My ability to think, to cry, to laugh, and/or to relate to other human beings is short.

And if you read more of that Mother Jones article, there are two paragraphs from his notes where he's very critical of himself for poor planning -- not paying bills, not keeping his house clean so he can have people over, not getting his car fixed -- and then, according to the article, the same memo had a jotted timeline of Soviet history, and then an outline of three questions to think about, including

Should I run for Governor?
The major issues facing the City
Where should we be one year from now?

So on the same page where he's admitting that his handling of basic everyday tasks, like paying bills or maintaining his home and car, is a shambles, he wonders if he should run for governor.





Uncle Joe, you support Sanders, so I'm sure you thought this article would give people a more favorable opinion of him.

I did find those old videos of him that surfaced the other day charming -- well, charmingly eccentric. And as I've said elsewhere, I like Sanders as a gadfly in the Senate.

But these 1980s writings of his, like his late-60s writings that I've seen (which were written when he was in his late 20s), make me think of something a college sophomore would write. (And then, ideally, shred.)

[Uncle Joe]

4. I read the entire article highplainsdem

I believe the notes reveal great introspection and struggle against personal adversity; emotional and financial, in the end overcoming those mental obstacles to becoming a "realized man" (or woman if the gender were different,) many if not most of the world's greatest leaders, artists, poets, musicians, teachers etc etc suffered a time of crisis or doubt as have most Americans.

The end result being a testament to the will of the character, Bernie is all the stronger for it.

[highplainsdem]

6. I don't think it's "personal adversity" if you're in your 40s and an elected official and

can't remember to pay your own bills, or can't keep your home tidy enough or hire cleaners so you can have guests over.

Those kinds of failings at normal adult tasks can certainly CAUSE adversity -- especially not remembering to pay bills -- but handling those tasks is usually seen as simply taking responsibility as an adult. Not handling those everyday tasks is typically seen as a failing in young adults, the sort of thing we often hear that high schools should give some attention to.

Granted, we tend to make allowances for artists, especially, being disorganized, at least at times when they're solely focused on their work.

But Sanders isn't and wasn't an artist.

I am getting the impression that his wife Jane probably provided the basic stability and organization he needed to advance in his political career.

But this still doesn't inspire me with any confidence in his ability to lead the most powerful country in the world.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Who are you to choose the age, what if it's throughout their entire life?

Lincoln did suffer from what we now call depression, as modern clinicians, using the standard diagnostic criteria, uniformly agree. But this diagnosis is only the beginning of a story about how Lincoln wrestled with mental demons, and where it led him. Diagnosis, after all, seeks to assess a patient at just a moment in time, with the aim of treatment. But Lincoln's melancholy is part of a whole life story; exploring it can help us see that life more clearly, and discern its lessons. In a sense, what needs "treatment" is our own narrow ideas—of depression as an exclusively medical ailment that must be, and will be, squashed; of therapy as a thing dispensed only by professionals and measured only by a reduction of pain; and finally, of mental trials as a flaw in character and a disqualification for leadership.

Throughout its three major stages—which I call fear, engagement, and transcendence—Lincoln's melancholy upends such views. With Lincoln we have a man whose depression spurred him, painfully, to examine the core of his soul; whose hard work to stay alive helped him develop crucial skills and capacities, even as his depression lingered hauntingly; and whose inimitable character took great strength from the piercing insights of depression, the creative responses to it, and a spirit of humble determination forged over decades of deep suffering and earnest longing.

(snip)


https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/10/lincolns-great-depression/304247/

Not suggesting that Bernie suffers from life long depression it may very well have been as the article states a mid life crisis.

[highplainsdem]

8. I don't see any indication in Sanders' notes of serious depression of the type

Lincoln wrestled with.

Disorganization, yes. Sort of an adolescent approach to life juxtaposed with grand and scattered visions.

Which is okay for a gadfly, I guess, even a political gadfly at a certain level, especially if he has a wife who can make sure his life isn't such a shambles he's always getting in his own way.

But POTUS? I don't think so...

[Uncle Joe]

9. There are all manner of levels and subsequent effects from depression or mid life crisis.

The critical point being Bernie emerged from the forge all the stronger for it.

I do sincerely believe Bernie Sanders could be one of our greatest Presidents.

[highplainsdem]

10. I believe you sincerely believe that.

[Uncle Joe]

12. I believe that you believe that I sincerely believe that.

Peace to you highplainsdem.

[highplainsdem]

13. LOL!

Peace to you, too, Uncle Joe.

[pangaia]

28. He IS 'creative' in the same way an 'artist' is creative.

[highplainsdem]

29. Then he should focus on writing instead of practical politics.

[Uncle Joe]

31. Creativity is a critical attribute in practical politics.

[highplainsdem]

32. So are planning and decision-making, which Sanders admitted were two of his biggest weaknesses.

[Skya Rhen]

25. lol... This - a million times, this:

So on the same page where he's admitting that his handling of basic everyday tasks, like paying bills or maintaining his home and car, is a shambles, he wonders if he should run for governor.

**************************************
If you don’t laugh, you will cry... 😢

[ecstatic]

11. This article & recent unearthed footage reinforces my opinion of him.

I'll just leave it at that.

[LongtimeAZDem]

15. I cannot believe that the person who wrote this thinks they should be President of the U.S.:

It seemed to me this morning that planning and decision-making were two of the biggest weaknesses that I have. Not only do I not pay bills every month—”What, every month?”—I am unable to plan vacations or intelligent “leisure time activity.” It would be fun going white-[water] rafting or sailing down a Maine river or on a sailing trip, or traveling, etc. etc. Actually, I am better now than I used to be—but pretty poor.

[George II]

17. Bazinga!

[highplainsdem]

19. LOL! To be fair, though, Sanders was merely thinking of running for governor that day. Still, it's

mind-boggling that he had such aspirations when he knew he was making a shambles of his own life.

See my reply 3 above, and the subthread.

[sheshe2]

21. Oooh, boy.

[NYMinute]

18. ...

[Lordquinton]

20. Apparently being human is a fault to some

People here, who have claimed that we should not attack the candidates directly, tearing down Sanders for writing down moments of introspection decades ago. Makes him more human and relatable.

I suppose they want someone who has no question about his own qualifications, regardless of weather it's justified or not.

[LongtimeAZDem]

22. Introspection and self doubt are understandable, and they do not make you a bad person

But we see these traits throughout Sanders' life, including recently; they show through in his inability to respond off-script, and in his reaction to adversity by playing the victim.

This is not a person that you want answering the 2:00am phone call.

[Lordquinton]

23. Sanders responds well off-script

and I do want someone who actually thinks about his actions picking up the phone at 2am.

[LongtimeAZDem]

24. No he doesn't; his dismal response at She the People, and his gaffe about running mates

spring immediately to mind.

And being unable to remember to pay your bills or function as responsible adult are way beyond "thinking about one's actions".

[Lordquinton]

30. I think you should move on from this

The memos were so long ago.

[HopeAgain]

26. Even if it it has been 30 years... nt

[Uncle Joe]

27. I agree Lordquinton, can anyone imagine Trump ever having a moment or time of introspection?

He's the polar opposite of Bernie, Trump; has no sense of self-introspection or reflection, his world is literally his outward image and nothing more, there is no depth, just self-serving superficiality.