The myth of the Bernie Bro: Bernie Sanders' supporters are more diverse than prevailing narrative

[G_j]

https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-bro-myth-sanders-base-more-diverse-2019-3?utm_source=reddit.com

-Sen. Bernie Sanders has often faced criticism for not doing enough to reach out to women and voters of color, and the prevailing narrative is that his base is mostly white and male - a monolithic group often called Bernie Bros.

-But recent polling on 2020 Democrats suggests Sen. Bernie Sanders appeals to a fairly wide, diverse audience.

-The polling actually shows that minorities find Sanders more appealing than white voters, and also found a relatively even gender split in terms of how voters view the Vermont senator.

One of the prevailing narratives surrounding Sen. Bernie Sanders is that he doesn't appeal to a broad group of voters, and that the majority of his supporters are young, white men often referred to as "Bernie Bros."

But recent national polling from Morning Consult/Politico challenges the notion the Vermont senator's base is homogeneous and that he only appeals to a particular demographic.

..more..

[Devil Child]

1. K&R! Thanks for sharing G_j

For anyone wanting to pick through the poll data and methodology please check the following link

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000169-2b51-d6dd-ad79-3ffb2a550000

[crazytown]

2. Yesterday's crowd

[CentralMass]

10. +1

[bernie59]

13. Big crowd for being so early in the process

On the other hand, the weather looks really nice.

[George II]

25. Looks like most of them are using SPF 50 sunscreen.

[betsuni]

54. ...

[Gothmog]

69. Yep

Link to tweet

[George II]

70. I love Amene's tweets, been following her for a long time.

[murielm99]

26. That crowd looks very white to me.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

42. Yes, it does... hope they all remember to wear sunscreen and that Bernie is not a Democrat.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[murielm99]

52. Well yes!

Thank you enormously for the timely reminder.

[floppyboo]

3. Numbers look good!

Unfortunately the myth has taken hold. As a woman, I am deeply insulted by the 'bro' thing. So much so, that I wonder if it would be permissible to request that the term not be used on this forum. It is never used here by Sanders supporters in a familiar greeting way. Only used as a term of derision. It is rude.

[Devil Child]

5. I would support that request floppyboo

Berniebro is a dismissive insult often used to reinforce a false narrative of who Sen. Sanders appeals to. Use of such an insult for any other candidate would not be tolerated and rightfully so. Consistency would be appreciated.

[Power 2 the People]

17. It was a made up phrase by political operatives to create a false narrative of sexism.

It's always been a myth. Create an imaginary group to construct a self-serving false narrative around your opponent. They were originally called "Obama Boys" in 2008. The script was the same but Barack Obama proved it was all bullshit and Bernie is doing the same.

[link:https://medium.com/@StealYoRedBull/before-bernie-bros-there-were-obama-boys-2327bc941e06|]

[melman]

19. +1

This is exactly right.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

43. So many false narratives when it comes to Bernie... where to start.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[gtar100]

4. "Bernie bro" has turned into a pejorative...making it nothing but a stupid insult.

At this point, to me it says more about the one who uses the term more than who they hurl it at. Are Bernie's supporters sincere about wanting a better world? I think so. And I really don't disagree much with Sanders' ideas on how to get there. The insult is, in this case, just another stupid human trick to get people to not think about something.

[JudyM]

9. Exactly. "Look over there"ism. Because let's not discuss his actual ideas.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

45. LOL, so true!! Discussing Bernie's ideas leads to only one conclusion... President Sanders!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Sherman A1]

11. Precisely

I completely agree that it is far more about the one who uses the term as opposed to the intended recipient.

[ZeroSomeBrains]

15. Exactly

I hate it when a candidate who is getting the second highest percentage in primary polls is getting castigated with a one-size fits all broadbrush. For the record I am a straight white male but to make it out like most Bernie supporters are "Bernie Bros" insults the female and POC support he has.

[LongtimeAZDem]

6. The term never exclusively referred to young, white men; it was applied to fanatical supporters

who made it clear that they would not support any candidate other than Sanders, no matter what.

Narrowing the definition to one that is easily disproved is the essence of the straw man fallacy.

[NurseJackie]

18. That's my understanding as well.

The term never exclusively referred to young, white men; it was applied to fanatical supporters

That's my understanding as well. The "bro" category were the ones who would only vote for Bernie (or Jill) and who would do whatever they could to sabotage Hillary (ie: Sarandon, Sirota, Nina Turner, Cornell West, Briahna Joy Gray, etc.).

Narrowing the definition to one that is easily disproved is the essence of the straw man fallacy.

I wonder what the motivation would be for doing something like that.

[obamanut2012]

20. This n/t

[TiberiusB]

34. Five definitions of "bro" from dictionary.com

Which one do you think the VAST majority of people think of when they hear "Bernie Bro"?

1. a brother.
2. a male friend or buddy.
3. a guy or fellow: used as a term of address.
4. a fellow black male; soul brother.
5. a young, usually white male variously and often negatively characterized as being preppy, party-loving, egotistical, sexist, etc.

Widespread perception versus the "intended" application is the issue here. It's not like the term didn't gain widespread usage as a pejorative to describe disgruntled Bernie supporters and their attacks on Hillary and her allies, or to attack Bernie for lacking racial diversity in his campaign and his staff, particularly in the South. It may have been meant to refer to only the most aggressive online trolls, but clearly it quickly grew to encompass the campaign in it's entirety. A weaponized meme meant to denigrate and dismiss Sanders as the candidate for the disgruntled white center/left male. The liberal Trump. That's really the core of the problem, that "bros" are seen as a problematic group at best and that they are then associated directly with Bernie Sanders himself, making their behavior, HIS behavior. Many celebrities have online "armies" that swarm anyone who dares speak negatively of their messiah. So it goes with politicians. Look at the Beto mania in some corners. Cult of personality is a powerful thing. It's not a both-sides-do-it equivalency, though. In Trump's case, he actively encourages the very attitudes and actions that others rail against.

[LongtimeAZDem]

37. Who cares? I'm talking about how it was actually used at the time.

"Pumas" weren't actually mountain lions either, for the record.

[TiberiusB]

49. That's not how the post comes across

Rather, it seemed to be an attempt to disprove the contention of the original post that "Bernie bros" has become mythologized, warped, to where it is seen as applying primarily to aggressive young white male Bernie supporters to the exclusion of other groups. This has been the case since the 2016 campaign. It is not a recent invention.

Had "Pumas" been called "Hillary hoes", would you be taking the same approach? Would you contend that the people using such a phrase were only intending it to be used in reference to the most fanatical of Hillary devotees?

I'm guessing that would be a big "no".

The label "Bernie bros" carries an immediate reflexive bias with it, simply by virtue of the words used. It always has.

[stonecutter357]

7. From Wikipedia, Bernie Bro

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

[qazplm135]

8. he appealed to a wide audience in 2016 too

did he not?

But at the end of the day, he couldn't earn the votes of AAs and POC versus a woman who used the word superpredator to describe AAs and whose husband tried some borderline racist stuff in 2008 against Obama.

How's he going to do that against Harris? Or Booker? Heck, or even Beto or Biden?

The only path Sanders has, and it is a possible path for sure, is that his vocal base comes out, and everyone else splits the remaining pie so evenly that he wins a plurality. It's tough to do because we give out our votes proportionally vice winner take all, so I'm skeptical he does it.

I also suspect that even if he ends up with the largest plurality, someone else will be close enough to him to make it a choice between say Sanders or Harris, or Sanders and Beto, or even Sanders and Biden at the convention.

And it is at this point that Sanders will wish he was less rebel, more uniter.

But ultimately, I think his high point will be Iowa and NH. He will lose SC and Cali and most of the Super Tuesday states.
He will have some strength for sure in the midwest, but he will be competing against other candidates like Warren and Klobachur who will suck some strength from those areas (as will Biden).

[betsuni]

55. "a woman who used the word super predator to describe AAs" No she didn't. Stop.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/03/very-brief-history-super-predators

[qazplm135]

56. Oh of course she did

Everyone knew what the tough on crime stuff was about back then

The very article you linked says the coiner of the term was criticized for the racial subtext at that time.

I was around back then, I remember

Maybe you better find a better link or try to sell someone who wasn't an adult during the 90s.

And as an AA I STILL supported her over Sanders.

[betsuni]

57. Here's what Bernie Sanders said about the Crime Bill he voted for:

Last edited Sun Mar 24, 2019, 06:58 AM - Edit history (1)

"It is my firm belief that clearly, there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them."

Same people Hillary was talking about, drug dealers. Sick, sociopathic, horrible violent, should be jailed.

And I'm almost 60, so try another personal insult. The first gang murders I heard about in Seattle in the '80s was because of rival Asian gangs, and in the small town in the Pacific Northwest I come from, the only drug dealers were white. Drug dealing is an international business. Duh.

"... Clinton 'has to be willing to get out of what's comfortable and get on the streets,' said one, obviously ignorant of the fact that at the age of twenty-four, Hillary had been a civil rights activist who went undercover to investigate discrimination in public schools. Hillary was also the first candidate to pay attention to the Flint, Michigan water crisis, joining forces with Flint's Mayor long before Bernie showed up in town. But like Clinton's work on LGBTQ issues, decades old rather than campaign inspired, none of this made it into flashy stories headlining her lifelong commitment to racial, gender, and sexual justice. ... Sanders made sure that '1994 Crime Bill' and 'super predator' defined Clinton on racial issues ... . In fact, Sanders himself, along with many black leaders, had voted for the crime bill -- which many later regretted, Clinton included. ... She also apologized profusely for using the 'super predator' label, even though in her speech it was not aimed at African American youth but the dealers who exploited them. (I strongly suspect 'predator' for child-advocate Clinton was less inflected racially than with connotations of child abuse.) But for too many millennials, both black and white, '1994 Crime Bill' and 'super predator' said all one needed to know about Clinton. Some spoke as thought she was personally responsible for the spike in incarceration that was a consequence of her husband's bill." From Susan Bordo's "The Destruction of Hillary Clinton"

[qazplm135]

64. why are you citing Sanders?

Did I say Sanders didn't have major issues with POC? lol

Not only are you doing whataboutism, it's not even properly directed since the whole point of my posts is that Bernie's standing with POC is so low that it was LOWER than Clinton.

Hillary signed on to the racist stuff in South Carolina in 2008. That was her campaign. She signed on to the racist elements of pushing the campaign in 1994. Just like with Sanders, there's good stuff and bad stuff so citing her prior work on civil rights is as meaningless as the Sanders folks who do the same with him to excuse his tone deafness and clear belief that economics trumps all including race.

That bill was "triangulation." Bill knew ultimately AAs weren't going to go to the much worse Republican Party, so he gave some meat to the "moderate" Whites who were afraid of "Black crime." It was another "Sister Souljah moment." It was most certainly not about "Asian gangs" LMAO just stop.

If you are 60, you should know all of this so not sure what you are doing here.

[betsuni]

65. "not sure what you are doing here"

[qazplm135]

67. yeah

I'd laugh too. Because so far, you are flailing.

[CentralMass]

12. Thank you. K&R

[borgesian]

14. Yes. The lack of diversity among Sanders supporters was always greatly exagerated.

Besides, it isn't exactly some horrible thing for a progressive candidate to be able to appeal to white guys. Typically, you would welcome any voters into the fold who wish to join you. Chasing voters away is certainly an unconventional strategy.

[yaesu]

16. I voted for Bernie in the last primary, never really heard or paid any attention to the term Bernie

Bro until after the election when it was used to slander his movement. As far as I'm concerned it came from Cambridge Analytica along with lock her up & build the wall. I was full behind electing HRC after the primary, I liked Bernie & his progressive voice but I was also fully prepared to back whomever got to the GE. As far as this election goes I'm looking at all candidates, one by one, in a measured way to see who will be best for this country & worst for the fascists.

[MrsCoffee]

66. Actually that came from Tad Devine and Paul Manafort.

Perhaps you could look up the Orange Revolution and the chanting of Lock Her Up of the opponent when Devine and Manafort worked together to install Putin's puppet in Ukraine.

[Tarc]

21. Shit-stirring from a clickbait corporate news site, founded by a securities fraudster

Hard pass there, chief.

[Devil Child]

30. If you don't like the source which summarizes some of the poll results

You can check out the poll data yourself and form your own conclusions. Much harder to dismiss if you choose to do so.

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000169-2b51-d6dd-ad79-3ffb2a550000

[LiberalLovinLug]

22. Yup, says more about the person using the tag

I think that some can't find anything they disagree with him about. But they need to disagree with him. Its very frustrating for them not to find anything. So this is an easy, gifted slur they can use.

They try the old, "He's not a Democrat!!" but that doesn't work so well as he runs as a Democrat, and works with the Democrats, endorses Democrats, and votes as a Democrat more that a number of Democrats.

Or "How dare he criticize the Democratic Party!" The party that has lost the majority of Governorships, local elections, and recently, all branches of government. Gee, maybe some constructive criticism might be in order yathink? Some seem to bristle at his charges that some Democrats are, like Republicans, too cozy with Wall Street. It makes no difference if they actually ARE, just that he said it.

Then they try "He doesn't understand African American's needs" Even though his policies will help AA, along with all minorities. And his justice reform policies as well. Going back in history he marched in marches with MLK, and fought for equal rights for his fellow black students in college. And he has a number of prominent black Americans that endorse him.

Then they try "He's too old" But Biden is "young for his age"

Then they try "He hasn't released his Tax Returns!". But he promised he would have in 2016, if he had won. As well he promises to release 10 years of returns this time.

Then they try the "Sexual harassment was going on in his last campaign!", and then find out that the other campaign also had charges of sexual harassment, where the woman was forced to move rather than burden the offender.


Then, if all else fails, they use the Putin Troll Farm created "Bernie Bros" tag to try and falsely paint his supporters as all white males (who surprisingly back a candidate who's policies would benefit more everyone other than their demographic) Also a way to intimidate new voters who are not white males, from exploring his platform further.

I really hope this fictional tag has run its course. And another of Putin and the GOP's efforts to divide us is stomped out.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

46. It'll never end, along with all the other myths... I think we all know why.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Honeycombe8]

23. I know that's a criticism, but I don't think a candidate should be blamed...

if a certain gender or race settles on someone else. It could have nothing to do with the other candidates, and just about what the candidate that gender/race chooses has to offer.

If someone is promoting health care for all, or jobs, or climate change, that applies to everyone. I don't think candidates should change their priorities just to appeal to a certain group. If climate change is or health care or jobs doesn't appeal to a certain group over some other issue, then that's the way it is.

They are different people. Viva la difference, eh?

[cab67]

24. Like a lot of 'myths'

there’s a kernel of truth behind this one.

Support for Bernie Sanders reminds me of support for Ron Paul - plenty of people in the Republican rank and file supported Paul, but there was a core of supporters who accepted him as the One True Nominee who’d been shafted by the party establishment and who would rather vote for a third party candidate, or not vote at all, if their Chosen One is not on the ticket. And they were more than happy to disrupt political events to get attention.

[LongtimeAZDem]

27. Exactly, when I picture a "Bernie Bro", gender and ethnicity are irrelevant. For example:

[question everything]

31. Is this the same person?

I do hope that there are not DUers supporting her.

[LongtimeAZDem]

33. It's the same person in the main pic and the inset. A lot of people here bent over backward

trying to say that she and her friends did not "attack" Ms. Clinton.

[question everything]

39. Sticking a finger in someone's face is at least insulting and intimidating

Remember the governor of... Arizona? doing the same thing to President Obama as he was getting off Air Force One, coming to visit?

[LongtimeAZDem]

40. No argument here. Jan was a train wreck.

Last edited Sat Mar 23, 2019, 05:18 PM - Edit history (1)

I do still blame President Obama and Secretary Napolitano for what happened here, though.

We always had a good balance here, with the Governor and the Legislature working together. When the President nominated Governor Napolitano to DHS, it left a power vacuum that the Republicans dove into, and took over the state.

We knew what would happen, but our pretests were ignored:

[TiberiusB]

41. This would be the woman...

...who confronted Chelsea about her tweet about antisemitism with regards to the Ilhan Omar "controversy". That's your threshold for "attacked"?

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/chelsea-clinton-mosque-vigil-809194/

Rolling Stone called it "criticism". Clearly their writers don't get it.

So, to be clear, a "Bernie Bro" is anyone who does something you don't agree with, that doesn't have anything to do with Bernie as a candidate, getting a photo with Bernie at an event?

[LongtimeAZDem]

44. No, as stated elsewhere in this discussion, it refers to fanatical Sanders supporters who

use disruption tactics.

I did not blame Sanders himself for said behavior, and your deliberate mischaracterization of what I have said is dishonest.

But, thank you for providing an example to the previous poster who was wondering if any DUers were supporting Ms. Dweik.

[TiberiusB]

51. No, it isn't dishonest.

Last edited Fri Apr 12, 2019, 12:03 AM - Edit history (1)

You are, clearly, struggling with the concept. You title your post:

"Exactly, when I picture a "Bernie Bro", gender and ethnicity are irrelevant. For example:"

followed by a picture of the confrontation with Chelsea Clinton that characterized it as an "attack", which I disagree with, accompanied by a picture with Bernie Sanders.

Therefore, you picture a "Bernie Bro" as including women who openly disagree with individuals you favor (you may not even like Chelsea Clinton, but that was your choice as an example) who then go on to get a photo with Bernie.

Did the confrontation with Chelsea involve Bernie in any way? No.
Did she get a picture with Bernie? Yes.

Bernie Bro!

Your post, no dishonesty there at all on my part.

But wait! You dig even deeper. You insist I support Ms. Dweik (I assume that's her name, I can't say I know one way or the other). Yet where did I say I support her views or her methods? Let me help. I never did.

Dishonesty defined.

You're welcome.

[Tom Rinaldo]

48. Exactly. Just like Policemen, and Mailmen, and Chairmen, and Stewardesses

Everyone knows that people of both genders fill those roles, so there's nothing wrong with assigning gender specific names to them. It's just common usage, and so 100% inclusive. I could understand if Republicans had a problem with it, but Democrats? C'mon!


There was a term at the time for people who would only support Sanders for President; B.O.B.s for Bernie or Bust. Just like there were P.U.M.A.s in 2008, for Party Unity My Ass.

[LongtimeAZDem]

50. Exactly, and I admit that I use "Bernie Bro" and "B.O.B." interchangeably, and I frankly don't

feel bad about doing so.

[pnwmom]

28. The Insider misstates the results. The polling doesn't show minorities find Sanders

more appealing than white voters. It finds he has about the same appeal -- within the statistical margin of error. (Even for Hispanics. The 6% difference is still within the margin of error because they only had 85 hispanic people in their total.)

When asked the question on whether they'd vote for Sanders if the Democratic presidential primary or caucus was held today, 31% of those who identified as white said yes. Comparatively, there was a higher percentage of participants who identified as Hispanic (37%), African-American (32%), or "other" (33%) who said the same thing.

[question everything]

29. Name recognition

At this time in 2003 - yes, before "social media" - Lieberman was leading the list.

[guillaumeb]

32. It does make for a good meme.

There is, and was, a reason that Sanders raised so much money from small donors, and received so many votes.

[SFnomad]

58. Well, nearly 4 million fewer votes ... but who's counting? n/t

[Mjolnir1956]

35. Diversity

Bernie is going to lose and be gone on Super Tuesday…..The only question is how his Bots and Bros are going to react….

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

47. Oh okay, now it's "Bots and Bros"... at least now you're being more inclusive.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[TNNurse]

36. I do not use that term.

My issue is with the Bernie supporters who got angry he did not get the nomination. Those who voted third party helped elect Trump. They were the ones who did not support the party nominee. They were NOT Democrats.

We must support the Democrat or suffer more horror.

[jalan48]

38. 2020 is not 2016. The problems with the primary will not be repeated.

[SFnomad]

59. Maybe I need a new pair of glasses then ... because I see us going down the same highway

I'm just curious who they're going to blame when they don't win this time.

[jalan48]

62. Lots of blame going around last time for sure. Let's win in 2020!

[SFnomad]

63. I meant the Primary ... we know what happened in the General, which wasn't any one thing, it was ...

a long list of small items, probably none of which by themselves caused the result, other than possibly Comey's letter about Secretary Clinton's emails.

[Uncle Joe]

53. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Gj

[radical noodle]

60. I can't presume to speak for any other voters

but I DO know he doesn't appeal to me. At all.

[Reader Rabbit]

61. This tallies with my own experience.

The Bernie events I attended were predominantly female, and older women, at that. As a middle aged woman, I was often at the younger end of the spectrum at these gatherings. My mom and most of her arthritis posse were all in for Bernie—far more gung ho than I was. That's one demographic that seems to be ignored in looking at who supports our candidates—seniors.

There were far fewer young men at the events, and they were usually of the "crunchy granola" variety. Not what I would have pictured a "Bernie bro" to look or act like.

Also, there were always a noticeable number of Native Americans at Bernie events here in the Pacific Northwest. This made an impression on me, because it is a demographic that generally flies under the radar in mainstream media reporting on political events.

[fascisthunter]

68. I show my Blue Collar workers these posts

Educated people are dumber than we are. No wonder things are so f*cked up. You are so desperate. I may also vote for him now, but he will not be my first choice.