Bernie Sanders Is Only Major Candidate to Sit Out Both LGBTQ Events

[George II]

Progressive presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is the only frontrunner who will miss both events aimed at discussing LGBTQ equality and rights.

The rest of the frontrunners will be on hand Friday for an LGBTQ Presidential Forum, cosponsored by The Advocate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And, according to CNN's schedule for the event, all of the heavy-hitters other than Sanders will also attend the Human Rights Campaign/CNN’s LGBTQ Town Hall slated for October 10 in Los Angeles. The senator from Vermont’s team has cited “scheduling conflicts” for both events.

Among those attending the LGBTQ Forum cosponsored by The Advocate and GLAAD are Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Sestak, and Marianne Williamson. Pose star Angelica Ross will host the event that features columnist Lyz Lenz of eastern Iowa newspaper The Gazette, One Iowa Policy Director Keenan Crow, and Advocate Editor-in-chief Zach Stafford as moderators.

Earlier this week, Ross pointed out in a tweet that Sanders would not be present at the Iowa forum.

https://www.advocate.com/politics/2019/9/19/bernie-sanders-only-major-candidate-sit-out-both-lgbtq-events

[grumpyduck]

1. Well, fuck him then.

[JoeOtterbein]

2. Do you know why he missed it?

[ecstatic]

5. He doesn't do the "identity politics" thing

Not popular with a lot of his base, I think.

[JoeOtterbein]

6. Maybe he is ill?

[NCLefty]

23. You can't talk to gay people without being guilty of "identity policits?"

Wouldn't the same thing apply to black people? He's not sitting out their events, is he?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. Because he made prior commitments.

A climate change forum today and touring Historically Black Colleges and Universities



I’ll leave it to the reader to guess what the reaction would be here and on twitter if Bernie canceled a multi day tour of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

White House hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Friday he will visit three historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) during a multiday tour in North and South Carolina as he seeks to chip into former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead among African American voters.

The tour includes stops at North Carolina A&T State University, Benedict College and South Carolina State University, the three HBCUs, as well as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Winthrop University.

The campaign said in a press release that the trip is intended to “engage students on issues that matter to them, including Senator Sanders’ plan to cancel all student loan debt and make public colleges and universities tuition-free.”

[JoeOtterbein]

10. Thanks for the facts.

Which still leaves me wondering about the hyper-criticism of Bernie for not being there.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. Embarrassment?

People who literally just a few years ago were telling us we wanted a pony with marriage equality are now trying to gaslight us re the candidate who was DECADES ahead on gay rights.

It’s performance art at this point.

[JoeOtterbein]

16. +1000!

[MuseRider]

66. +++++++

Thank you. All the bad comments are exactly the same if you really look at them.

[George II]

30. Is that tour going to last for three weeks? The second event that he's skipping is Oct 10.....

....more than three weeks after the candidates were invited.

[NurseJackie]

42. That's the eve of "National Coming Out Day" that people may have heard of before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Coming_Out_Day

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBT awareness day observed on October 11.[1] Founded in the United States in 1988, the initial idea was grounded in the feminist and gay liberation spirit of the personal being political, and the emphasis on the most basic form of activism being coming out to family, friends and colleagues, and living life as an openly lesbian or gay person.[2] The foundational belief is that homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance, and that once people know that they have loved ones who are lesbian or gay, they are far less likely to maintain homophobic or oppressive views.[3]

In more recent years, the idea of the "lesbian and gay community" has been largely subsumed into the idea of the LGBT community, and the idea of "coming out" expanded to include not only the voluntary self-disclosure of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual sexual orientation, but also that of transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, or other non-mainstream gender identity.[1]

[PhoenixDem]

63. He is extremely busy ... we know this

He was busy when his campaign workers were screaming sexual harassment too.

[BlueMississippi]

44. He flies on a private jet

Surely he could have spoken for 30 minutes to show that LGBTQ people matter to him. Wouldn't have taken more than 4 hours of his time.

[NurseJackie]

52. You make a very valid point.

He could be there... if he WANTED to. He could override his staff's pitiful scheduling efforts... if he WANTED to. He could hire a more competent staff, if he WANTED to. It's not that he hates LGBTQ folks... nobody is saying that.

All I'm trying to say is that this is just an indicator of, and evidence of, the fact that LGBTQ folks are more important to the other candidates.

[BlueMississippi]

56. Actions speak louder than words .... nt

[NurseJackie]

58. The struggles continue, but the actions do not.

Actions speak louder than words

Some politicians seem to treat these types of things as being on a checklist, or laundry list, of things to do/say correctly. Then, after it's done once, or said once, the politician and his (or her) followers can always point to that ONE TIME that he (or she) did, or said something in support of said-group.

I know this is true when I read how people are trotting-out quotes from the Clinton era. Well, times have changed... but the old quotes remain the same and really have no meaningful effect on the challenges of today. It was (and remains) just a checkmark on a list of things once-said... like it's an obligation met, and nothing more needs to be done.

At this critical juncture, I think that it will be a mistake for any candidate to shun (or "not have time for'') our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, children, parents and loved ones.

It's not like anyone is being accused of being a bigot or hating the community... but everyone IS correct in pointing out that this is a very clear indicator of what a candidate's priorities are.

[George II]

64. The invitations were sent out no later than August 20, probably earlier....

He's in Iowa today at the Polk County Steak Fry.

The other event is on October 10, invitations were sent out weeks ago.

[Cha]

3. The reason we need candidates to focus on the #LGBTQforum is because every week

Link to tweet

Thanks, George

[JI7]

4. these groups are seen as part of "the establishment"

[ehrnst]

72. Add them to the list with PP, the Black Congressional Caucus and the Working Families Party...

Soon no one else will be "progressive" but the Justice Democrats PAC and Jill Stein.

[JoeOtterbein]

7. Why is Bernie, always portrayed in a negative light, when so many of his ideas, like MFA...

...would be such a positive change for us old peeps like me?

[betsuni]

9. MFA isn't his idea.

[JoeOtterbein]

11. Then who?

[betsuni]

13. John Conyer's Medicare for All Act voted on every year 2003-2017.

Ted Kennedy (and Democrats) has been saying universal health care is a human right since the '70s.

[JoeOtterbein]

15. So did FDR. Looks like it will come too late for me too!

Bernie understands that. We need MFA now. Or some of us will die.

[betsuni]

18. MFA or death.

What? Have no idea what that means. The legislature makes the laws, not the president.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

20. So Obama had nothing to do with Obamacare? Is that your position?

Obamacare isn’t his signature achievement? Because I thought it was his signature achievement.

[betsuni]

27. Nobody said he had nothing to do with the ACA, of course.

He didn't have the votes in the Senate to pass it with a public option. If more people voted for Democrats we'd have universal health care decades ago, of course. The Clinton administration tried and failed. Don't know why some candidates go around saying single payer is a "radical" idea.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. Where were all the howls of "how are you gonna pay for it , John?"

[betsuni]

26. Maybe the reason it didn't get enough votes was the same as why Vermont's Green Mountain Care

single payer system failed. Paying for it. Maybe someone knows and can answer.

[George II]

34. I'm sure if you did some research you'd see why it, and others for many decades, didn't get passed.

[Cha]

65. I read it was "scheduling" but wasn't this

announced in March?

Link to tweet

[George II]

33. A universal health care bill was first introduced in the House back in 1943 by John Dingell Sr....

...and has been introduced just about every year since by him, his son John Jr., and Jr's wife Debbie. Other variations have been introduced for decades.

It's not his idea and it's not "revolutionary". For example:

https://time.com/5586744/medicare-for-all-history/

The push was closely tied to the labor movement, according to Northern Illinois University history professor Beatrix Hoffman, who studies the politics of health reform. But businesses and doctors attacked the idea of government health care, and it soon died. This opposition also killed President Franklin Roosevelt’s desire to add health coverage to the Social Security Act in 1935. And when President Harry Truman took up the cause after World War II, the American Medical Association and other opponents used Cold War scare tactics to paint “health security,” as it was known then, as socialized medicine and kill the plan again.

Still, someone else did see hope in Medicare. One of these failed plans came from Republican Sen. Jacob Javits, who proposed expanding Medicare to cover the entire country’s population. Javits still used the language of “national health insurance,” but he became one of the first people publicly associated with the phrase “Medicare-for-all” when the New York Times used it to describe his plan, declaring on April 15, 1970: “Medicare For All Is Asked By Javits.”

[BlueMississippi]

45. None of BS's ideas are his own.. some of them have existed since the 40's

BS makes it look like they are his and his supporters nod obediently. Then reporters swooning over him write inaccurate screeds stating that those are his ideas. People-in-the-know know better.

Someone had a satirical tweet about BS's claims of ownership of other people's ideas --

NOTE: THIS IS SATIRE -- LIKE A CARTOON

Link to tweet

/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fpoliticaloasis.freeforums.net%2Fthread%2F22060%2Fhaaaahaaaha-tweet-day

[comradebillyboy]

57. Now that's clever...nt

[ehrnst]

73. That's how many of us feel about the way other progressive candidates have been treated

by Sanders, Sanders supporters, and self-appointed surrogates claiming to be fact-based journalism such as Jacobin, The Intercept, TYT and Krystal Ball.

But the difference is that Sanders and many of his supporters equate any commentary, or fact checking, or reporting on his campaign that doesn't sing his praises to be "hit pieces" by "corporate media" who therefore can't be trusted. It appears that supporting Senator Sanders requires absolute fealty, and any dissent from him whatsoever indicates "corruption." Or "hating."

Senator Sanders is not exempt from the media spotlight and commentary all candidates are subject to. That's part of having ambitions to the most powerful office in the world, and that is as it should be.

To have a candidate who is not thoroughly vetted and feet held to the fire on their ideas is to leave us vulnerable to the GOP doing it during the general.

[vsrazdem]

12. Well I didn't see Beto mentioned so I guess he doesn't care either. Really people, campaigns have

made comittments they are expected to keep.

[JoeOtterbein]

17. +1000!

[FreeState]

22. Beto will be at the next one

By the way these forums and dates were announced March 19th of this year.

[Cha]

25. Interesting to know.. thank you.

[George II]

50. He will be at the forum in Los Angeles on October 10.

[roody]

19. I'm pretty sure he won't be sitting.

[Fan of Da Bearse]

24. Bernie is Yesterday's News

The nomination will go to either Biden or Warren.

[jg10003]

28. Must see video: Bernie defends gays in military against homophobic slurs on house floor in 1995

Remember, 25 years ago a lot more people agreed with the other guy than with Bernie.

[George II]

35. Well then, that reason enough to not go to two LGBTQ events in 2019.

[lunasun]

37. Thanks and I really don't get it he has history going far back and has been speaking about

gay rights way before that ridiculous Clinton bill
If people are going to try to paint him as ignoring LGBTQ issues then they are the uninformed of his strong alliance and that he had prior commits
Disappointed by the Advocate and their quotation marks bs

[Funtatlaguy]

29. I never get upset about Pols missing events. Scheduling is difficult.

I know some events are more important than others and they do come up.
But, it’s tough to disappoint those you’ve committed to with a previous event by telling them that some other “better, more important “ thing came along.
I know this happens in every day life for all of us. Still hard.

[NurseJackie]

31. I get upset when they miss important ALL-HANDS-ON-DECK votes...

I get upset when they miss important ALL-HANDS-ON-DECK votes... particularly when it involves lifting sanctions on Russians.

I get upset when politicians actively oppose and vote against sanctions of our enemies.

[ehrnst]

71. Yes, absences are absences. Some pols have even shown up with walking pneumonia. (nt)

[NurseJackie]

32. Scheduling conflicts twice in a row? That's hard for me to believe.

[George II]

36. The second one is on October 10.

[DrFunkenstein]

38. Bernie Certainly Supports LGBTQ Issues, But His Staff Need to Dealt With

This is pretty amateur stuff.

[ehrnst]

81. He hired his close staff for very specific reasons.

They appear to be performing in a completely satisfactory manner to him.

[Eric J in MN]

39. Bernie Sanders did an LGBTQ event in June.

http://www.newnownext.com/bernie-sanders-trump-iowa-lgbtq-pride/06/2019/

Bernie Sanders "spoke Saturday at a Pride candidate forum held in People’s Plaza near the Iowa Capitol.”

[Politicub]

47. Don't throw a bone and think it's going to make it all better.

I find it insulting, actually. I read this as, "look, Bernie has already talked to you people. What more do you want?"

[Eric J in MN]

48. Bernie Sanders has supported gay rights since the 1970s. NT

NT

[Politicub]

49. A gay rights support quota doesn't exist. Just because he supports the community doesn't

mean he can brush us off and chalk it up to his omniscience.

Again, you are dismissing the fact that it was important. I wanted him to be there, and thought there was a mistake on the agenda when I saw him left off. The moderators asked hard questions, and it would have been good to see how he responded.

It was a mistake. Bernie and staff didn't think it was important enough to work into his schedule. So I'll just leave it there.

[NurseJackie]

54. He could be there... if he WANTED to.

Bernie and staff didn't think it was important enough to work into his schedule.

He could be there... if he WANTED to. He could override his staff's pitiful scheduling efforts... if he WANTED to. He could hire a more competent staff, if he WANTED to. It's not that he hates LGBTQ folks... nobody is saying that.

All I'm trying to say is that this is just an indicator of, and evidence of, the fact that LGBTQ folks are more important to the other candidates.

[ehrnst]

75. Indeed. When a Candidate shows you their priorities, believe them. (nt)

[Eric J in MN]

79. Bernie Sanders went to a female HBCU.

So that’s one of his priorities.

Link to tweet

?s=21

[ehrnst]

80. So that's three LGBTQ events that he missed - including the two coming up?

Last edited Tue Sep 24, 2019, 07:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Do you think that the Human Rights Campaign endorsing Hillary might have made him unhappy with them?

I will say that going to a female HBCU does get him a two-for-one event in terms of showing up those populations where he's polling behind other candidates. Pretty efficient!

[ehrnst]

74. To a point. He's certainly evolved on Marriage equality when it proved prudent to do so.

He voted against DOMA because he thought it was a "states rights issue."

His wife and chief of staff Jane Sanders told an Associated Press reporter in July of 1996 that he opposed the law because it weakened the section of the Constitution that says states must respect laws that are made in other states.

“We’re not legislating values. We have to follow the Constitution,” Jane Sanders said. “And anything that weakens the Constitution should be (addressed) by a constitutional amendment, not by a law passed by Congress.”

In 2006, when the Bush White House proposed an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, Sanders spoke out against the Republican plan, saying it was “designed to divide the American people.”

But when Sanders was asked by a reporter whether Vermont should legalize same-sex marriage, he said no. “Not right now, not after what we went through,” he said.

2006 was the year he first ran for Senate.

https://time.com/4089946/bernie-sanders-gay-marriage/

[ehrnst]

82. Well goodness! He went to one in June!

Why can't people just be happy with that?

[PhoenixDem]

41. BS firmly believes

that eliminating income inequality will erase all discrimination and stigmatizing of LGBTQ community.

[MineralMan]

43. He apparently doesn't think he needs, or can get, that bloc of votes.

He also appears to have given up the idea of people of color voting for him.

[NurseJackie]

53. BS can't even get AA and POC to attend a rally at a BLACK church in a MAJORITY BLACK city.

He also appears to have given up the idea of people of color voting for him.

BS can't even get AA and POC to attend a rally at a BLACK church in a MAJORITY BLACK city.

Remember his rally in North Charleston, SC not long ago? It had so LITTLE ethnic diversity that it looked like he could have been somewhere Vermont. In fact, based on the statistics, the demographics at that rally was even whiter than Vermont.

It's obvious that the AA and POC community are rejecting BS and the BS campaign. BS just doesn't connect with that community. The BS message just isn't resonating.

All I'm saying is, with such a humiliating rejection by the AA and POC communities, and without their vote, BS doesn't stand a chance.

[MineralMan]

61. Apparently, he doesn't care or doesn't think he can change that.

However, it is a factor that will prevent him from getting the nomination, all other things ignored, and that would cause him to lose in the general election if he did.

I think he's angry that POC don't recognize him as a civil rights leader after he marched a few times. Hell, so did I, and nobody knows me in that segment, either. I was in Selma during the original march, but Bernie wasn't. However, I don't expect to be recognized as anyone but a 19 year old kid at the time who showed up.

Bernie's reaction is not a good one, really.

[redstatebluegirl]

51. Imagine my surprise.

[NurseJackie]

60. I know, right? It's as if some politicians have a perfunctory attitude about these things.

Imagine my surprise.

I know, right? It's as if some politicians have a perfunctory attitude about these things. It's just one more thing on a long "to-do" list... something to "get it over with" so that he (or she) won't have to bother with it again for as long as possible. And even then, after it's done once, or said once, the politician and his (or her) followers can always point to that ONE TIME that he (or she) did, or said something in support of said-group.

I know this is true when I read how people are trotting-out quotes from the Clinton era. Well, times have changed... but the old quotes remain the same and really have no meaningful effect on the challenges of today. It was (and remains) just a checkmark on a list of things once-said... like it's an obligation met, and nothing more needs to be done.

At this critical juncture, I think that it will be a mistake for any candidate to shun (or "not have time for'') our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, children, parents and loved ones.

It's not like anyone is being accused of being a bigot or hating the community... but everyone IS correct in pointing out that this is a very clear indicator of what a candidate's priorities are.

[Me.]

55. Conclusions Will Be Drawn

[Gothmog]

59. Who is surprised by this?

[NYMinute]

62. Great post. K&R

[MuseRider]

67. Because he does not like gay people? C'mon.

This is ridiculous. He was helping LGBTQ long long ago in his state.

Maybe it is all the bad things he says about gay people? WTF?

You don't like Bernie, who cares and yes we know but can't you at least be honest and not try to make every move he makes into something suspicious and evil?

I did not really get a bad feeling from that article, it stated he has previous commitments. How is that possible that he could have previous commitments? He is not doing anything important. Perhaps he feels pretty secure with LGBTQ and needs to do what he was planning on doing. There was one comment but there is always one comment snotty about Bernie especially.

[NurseJackie]

69. Nobody is saying that. But the candidates are making it very clear what their priorities are...

Because he does not like gay people? C'mon.

Nobody is saying that. But the candidates are making it very clear what their priorities are, and they are being given multiple opportunities to do so. These are fair observations, not accusations.

This is ridiculous. He was helping LGBTQ long long ago in his state.

It saddens me to see any politician with a perfunctory attitude about these things. I hate it when it's treated as just one more thing on a long "to-do" list... something to "get it over with" so that he (or she) won't have to bother with it again for as long as possible.

And even then, after it's done once, or said once, the politician and his (or her) followers can always point to that ONE TIME that he (or she) did, or said something in support of said-group.

Maybe it is all the bad things he says about gay people? WTF?

At this critical juncture, I think that it will be a mistake for any candidate to shun (or "not have time for'') our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, children, parents and loved ones.

It's not like anyone is being accused of being a bigot or hating the community... but everyone IS correct in pointing out that this is a very clear indicator of what a candidate's priorities are and where the LGBTQ community (and its issues) fall in the candidate's order of importance.

I think it would be weak sauce if the sum-total of a candidate's LGBTQ advocacy and support be limited to his (or her) one time appearance at a Pride Event.

All I'm trying to say is that this really isn't a one-and-done kind of thing, is it?

[George II]

77. His LGBTQ record in Congress (House and Senate) has been abysmal bordering on non-existent.

[NurseJackie]

78. I'm certain that nobody will be surprised to learn that I'm not surprised.

His LGBTQ record in Congress (House and Senate) has been abysmal bordering on non-existent.

I'm certain that nobody will be surprised to learn that I'm not surprised.

Personally, I'm tired of the "been there done that" or the "one and done" attitude regarding support of our loved-ones who are members of the LGBTQ community. Attending a pride event 20 years ago, or speaking out against Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell during Clinton's administration is the modern-day equivalent of "I attended MLK's March on Washington". --- I'm like: Okay, that's nice, but what are the meaningful accomplishments SINCE THEN? These issues really shouldn't be viewed by ANY candidate as simply something to check-off of a laundry list that's hastily jotted down on the back of an envelope.

All I'm saying is, gestures from long ago are "nice" but my loved ones in the LGBTQ community deserve more than winks, waves and platitudes.

[ehrnst]

83. He's referred to "identity politics" as being a distraction from the "universal issues"

which are the 'universal' ones that directly affect white straight men, the ones that simply having more money can solve.

A higher wage will not protect the rights of LGBTQs who can be fired from a job for being LGBTQ.

Nor will it protect LGBTQ parents from losing custody of their children, or allow them to adopt a child.

[ehrnst]

70. That's concerning. And disqualifying to many LGBTQ.

If he's too ill, then he should say so.

With his previous statements on marriage equality (that it was too divisive for him to support during election season in 2006) and Democrats needing to talk less about "gay marriage" and 'abortion' in order to appeal to white southerners in 2013, which will be discussed as any POTUS candidates' past positions will be, he needs to be doing what he can to reassure people that LGBTQ issues aren't merely "identity politics" to him.

[lark]

76. Bernie just doesn't care about these kinds of things.

He's made that clear with his choices.