NYT apparently loves covering the story of Bernie Sanders and the Mistreatment of Women. They do so assiduously. Yet when Sen. Sanders recently gave a major address lambasting President Trumps's southern border wall speech, NYT was one of the few major media outlets that did not cover it. Why does NYT only seek to cover negative stories about this Senator?
2
Bernie is a dead end, despite having a number of good ideas. Furthermore, if he runs as the Democratic candidate, shouldn’t he at least BE a Democrat?!
3
Will the Times ever give up on dumping on Sanders? They are more gracious in their coverage of Trump.
9
The first apology was inadequate; the second apology confirmed the inadequacy of the first and conveyed an impression that he's trying to say just enough to get some women to shut up.
He's done.
3
Democrats sure know how to lose campaigns.
@Rick Landavazo
Sanders is not now and never has been a Democrat - nor are those who voted for him.
1
This is how a real man takes responsibility for sexual harassment that occurs in his organization. Enough with the misandry, please.
3
A second article! Let’s hope for the NYT’s sake he makes a third apology, good for another prominent article.
For those keeping score: number of times Hillary has apologized for Bill’s behavior: zero.
10
Addendum: the headline of that article was: “paid less, treated worse” and the only example of the “paid less” phrase was the woman I mentioned in my previous comment, who protested and whose salary was then adjusted to be equal. The NYT admitted the adjustment in the article but kept the article heading, knowing full well the heading will be remembered not the modification in the article. Not what I would call honest reporting.
4
Too little. Too late. Bye, bye Bernie.
3
Run Bernie, run. The NYT is starting its anti Bernie campaign early. In the original NYT article a couple of weeks ago they mentioned a woman who earned half of what the male equivalent made. She complained and it was taken care of there and then, 2 years ago as was mentioned in the Times. But why then mention it now? And, I admit this is speculation, there were no incidents in Hillary’s campaign and the NYT has been looking for that hard and long? I fully mistrust the NYT on reporting on Bernie fairly.
9
For the umpteenth time in the last few years, Cary asks Bernie Sanders to please go away.
1
A pathetic follow-up to a pathetic article last week about the Sanders campaign. Deeply biased, unfair, and completely divorced from reality. As if Sanders is responsible for every act by the thousands of campaign workers who were involved in that massive operation in 2016. The feigned outrage of that piece is obviously a smear to take out a candidate that the NYT does not like. Shameful that they go about it a way that exploits the emotional fragility of a handful of women, and "report" on their experiences as if they were typical of the Sanders campaign specifically. Most of the women I know are plenty strong enough to handle the situations described, and worse. This is not to excuse any misconduct on that score that occurred, but the suggestion in these articles that Sanders has countenanced sexist conduct is baseless propaganda.
7
We noted this general issue two years ago, in comments that we posted on this site. Here at the local level among the Sanders supporters and volunteers we saw a troubling amount of sexism and outright misogyny.
Nationwide studies support this anecdotal data. As reported in this paper, the 10% of Sanders' voters who switched to Trump were solely motivated by racial and gender resentment.
I believe this might be an unhappy outcome of the Sanders focus on economic progressivism. The Democrats must also push for social progressivism, e.g., women's rights, gun control, etc.
43
@Robert - "were solely motivated"??? Oh please! And you bandy the 10% number of Sanders voters switching to Trump as if it were remarkable. The actual estimate was in the range of 6% to 12%. There undoubtedly would have been many reasons for this, and crossovers happen in every presidential election. It was noted in a Washington Post article on this subject, shortly after the 2016 election, that approximately double that percentage of Clinton primary voters switched to McCain in 2008.
9
@WK Green
Thanks for your reply. As I said, the NY Times reported that about 10% of Sanders voters switched to Trump, and about 10% of Sanders voters either didn't vote or switched to one of the other non-Trump non-Clinton candidates. If I remember correctly the total proportion of Sanders voters that did not vote for Clinton was 22%. Moreover, the article in this paper made a point of emphasizing that racial and gender resentment was by far the strongest motivator in the group that switched to Trump. If I were a Sanders supporter, I too would be unhappy about their motivations. If you have a beef with the numbers, it isn't with me; it's with the Times.
1
@Robert This is such a vague "critique", unsupported and unreferenced. Many of the anti-Sanders critiques on this article have the same, empty rhetorical quality.
5
Charges of sexual misconduct should be taken seriously and all of the evidence suggests that this is precisely what Bernie has done. Contrary to the claim in the article that "he has done little else to defuse the criticism arising from the issue," Sanders implemented policies and practices in his 2018 Senatorial campaign that are far ahead of any other political campaign that I know of. Hopefully they will be a model for ALL candidates in 2020. (Compare Sanders's actions to HRC's response to much more serious allegations against her advisor, Burns Strider, and you will get a sense of the difference.)
That said, we need to also understand that the Wall Street Democrats and their stenographers in the corporate media understand that Bernie's policies and record make him the most popular person likely to run for the Democratic nomination and that their need to cut Bernie off at the knees is the principal thing shaping HOW this story is being reported.
This article, for example, treats the claims of the "Bernie Bro" smear as a simple matter of fact, rather than a calculated tactic of the Clinton campaign (which this article forgets peddled a nearly identical "Obama Boy" smear in 2008). The truth of the matter, consistently reflected in all serious polling, is that Bernie is MOST popular among women, people of color, and low-income voters and that a good chunk of the worst examples of online "Bernie Bros" have turned out to be bots and paid trolls.
20
He is not the Best candidate and his treatment of women as second class campaign workers was well known at the time.
4
@Susan
It was not "well known" because it was not true. It may have been widely believed among Clinton campaign workers, but that is not really indication of much other than the universal human foible of being willing to believe the worst of your opponent irrespective of evidence. None of the allegations that have come out involve Bernie directly and whenever Bernie was made aware that subordinates engaged in misconduct it appears that he moved effectively to remove them. (The same can not be said of Clinton, by the way, who quite notoriously personally protected her predatory advisor Burns Strider in 2008 even when her own campaign manager urged that he be fired.) Sanders has since then developed more pro-active anti-harassment policies than those of any other campaign, including Clinton's 2016 run.
Sadly, probably no national campaign was free of sexual harassment or misconduct. What we have to compare is how each has responded when confronted and on that score Sanders has been the most consistent and principled.
You are entitled to your own opinions about Barnie's policies. You are not entitled to your own facts about the conduct of his campaign.
5
Mr. Sanders has promoted the need for revolutions as a solution to our nation's ills, now even a cultural one!
I came from China, the land of several revolutions in the last
century. I would like to assure him and his many young
supporters that a revolution is neither romantic nor beautiful.
It is bloody and murderous, in which millions of innocent
people die.
Please read history so as not to repeat it, and come down
to reality and common sense in our search for a better
America.
3
You gotta be kidding me if you think Bernie is not a champion of all those who are disenfranchised, women included. For liberals to smear him for the actions of others is shooting yourself in the foot.
5
“#Metoo is not a political weapon,” she said. “When we start to use the #metoo movement as a political weapon it starts to weaken it.”
Seriously? It is has become the most powerful political weapon against men whether guilty or not. I'm not a fan of Sanders but recognized his sincerity in running his campaign and very certain that his focus was totally on his campaign rather that complaints about #metoo
2
I attended a Sanders rally in Phoenix during the summer of 2016. On a broiling day, lines to hear the senator and participate in the rally stretched through the parking lot and down the street. While waiting to gain entry to the event, I noticed an odd couple - a young woman in her early twenties accompanied by a middle aged man, and the way they interacted seemed a bit weird - as though they were sharing a private joke. Anyway, during the rally I wound up standing near the journalists "cube" - they were gathered together with all of their equipment, and this couple had positioned themselves near the press as well. The opening speeches and cheerleading over, Senator Sanders began speaking to the enthusiastic crowd, when suddenly this young woman climbed up on her companion's shoulders and removed her top - she had written in lipstick across her breasts, "Free the nipple!" The press stampeded towards us, and for a few minutes, there was bedlam in the house. Bernie Sanders just looked at the girl, stood there quietly, and in a classical moment of Brooklyn understatement, said "Yeah, I see you," and returned to his speech, not miss a beat. Later, it turned out, the flashing girl admitted to the press that she was visiting from California and just felt like making a scene. Go figure. I wonder if Senator Sanders ever thought about suing for harassment. It was an unforgettable incident in a great campaign, and proved Sanders relentless in sticking to his script.
5
Bernie Sanders was fixated on income inequality, single payer healthcare, free college tuition and other issues related to economic justice. While these are important things to focus on, there are many other equally important issues such as gun violence, women's reproductive rights, black lives matter, etc. that many of us felt were not high on his list of problems that need to be addressed. He appeals very strongly to his base, but his base wasn't large enough for him to win the nomination the last time around.
I read comments here stating that his poll numbers are higher than any other potential democratic candidates but that's not what I have seen. He is trailing Warren, O'Rourke, Harris and Biden in a poll that was on tv today
My biggest problem with Sanders was his not releasing his tax returns. He was always talking about how the 1% has all the wealth and power. He represented the common man willing to fight the rich and powerful for the common good. He was actually running against a millionaire, Clinton, and a "billionaire", Trump. He should have released his tax returns to show the contrast between his modest income and lifestyle and their obscene wealth
Why didn't he and why was he so evasive about the delay in doing so? Was he hiding something that would have tarnished his halo?
8
Senator Bernie Sanders is to be commended for speaking out about harassment and doing something about it. It's up to each of us to stand up for what is right and not tolerate sexism.
20
It’s looking more and more likely that Joe Biden will be the choice. And we will have a repeat of 2016. So sad.
5
He can keep his apologies, what it's need is actions. He needs only to reigns on his supporters and make sure women are not treated like second class citizens or harassed in his campaign this time around.
5
Not just women, but had the sense that Sanders did not reach out much to most minorities- probably didn’t have to deal much with them being ensconced in Vermont - leaving me with a sense of non-inclusiveness.
While his voice was important and his ideals remain more relevant than ever (if not always practical), he should not be a candidate for 2020
9
@lm
You do know of course that Sanders was far more active during the civil rights era than any of the other 2016 candidates -- and certainly far more so than Hillary Clinton at any point in her life, even forgetting her "super-predator"nonsense and the draconian sentencing of minorities beloved by the Clinton administration?
So dismayed was the Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart by the fact of Sanders' activism, that he spent days claiming a photograph of Sanders in the company of others in the movement wasn't really Sanders. But of course it was.
You may not like the man, but why ignore his actual history? He's everything liberals claim they want, which suggest maybe they don't want what they claim.
8
@jrd
Because he's the oldest, was an adult (and avowed Marxist) in the Civil Rights early '60s, while the other candidates - Clinton and Trump included, were still in high school.
Who on the Bernie Sanders campaign was doing the harassment? Really surprised this is coming out as we prepare for the 2020 elections.
Why do the newspapers only focus on this issue for Bernie and not what he has added to the progressive agenda..
9
Bernie is an honorable man...
But, is there any evidence that he’s a good manager?
I’m, honestly, not being snarky. Genuinely want to know if he’s just a revolutionary with a message for change, or that he can also get stuff done by managing people. It appears that he’s a ‘big picture guy’ in terms of management style.
A leader doesn’t simply issue a call to arms.
It’s clear thanks to Trump that flapping one’s arms and saying “give me what I want” doesn’t really work.
That’s obviously one extreme and I’m definitely not saying Bernie is that, but I’d like the serious media to cover policies, vision, reason for running, leadership styles for 2020... not cover silly things like Beto’s dental experience, or someone cooking in their kitchen... (rolls eyes)
Let’s leave that nonsense for social media.
3
i'm afraid he also needs a cultural revolution among his supporters, who bashed women so brutally on social media and even drove women journalists who wrote in support of hillary undercover because of the graphic threats. These were not Russian bots trying to discredit him but often people we knew. he decried that behavior and language a few times but not forcefully enough to shut it down. the maelstrom of misogyny he unleashed is one reason why many women will never support him.
14
All revolutions eventually eat their own--no one is pure enough to meet the standards of the revolutionary mindset.
4
Blah, blah, blah. The Senator still doesn't get it. No mention in his apology of his primarily white and male senior staff, no mention of the income equality that existed. I read a quote from Sanders once saying something to the effect that income equality will take care of sexism in society. At the time I took from it that he doesn't understand sexism at all. From his response to the accusations of income equality (no response at all) I now take it he's also not interested in personally attempting to right that particular wrong. He's just another powerful white male trying to convince us that he knows best.
14
Wait a minute. I thought Bernie said he was not going to run....
2
It's time for Bernie Sanders to hang it up and get over his blatantly ego-driven effort to be a spoiler again. He is not a Democrat; he's for Bernie...Period. He and his "all or nothing" followers are in large part responsible for paving the way for the current political and economic mess we find ourselves in....and true to form, they will never face up to the results of their stubbornness in helping to enable the worst administration we've seen in modern times, both politically and economically, to wreak havoc on the nation and the world.
So Mr. Sanders is just now acknowledging apparent widespread sexism in his 2016 campaign for President; sorry, too little....and too late. You've had your day...and your say.
15
@MJG
Bernie was not a "spoiler." A spoiler is an independent or third party candidate who runs in a general election and attracts votes away from a more viable candidate, effectively causing another candidate to win. Bernie did not do that.
Bernie ran against Clinton in the primaries. After he lost he campaigned hard for Clinton, including in places like Wisconsin and Michigan where Clinton herself chose not to. Exit polling showed that 90 to 94% of Bernie's supporters voted for Clinton, considerably higher incidentally than the rate at which Clinton supporters voted for Obama in 2008.
Unfortunately, Clinton was a much worse and more compromised candidate than Obama, so the defections mattered more.
If you want to hold somebody responsible for Trump's victory I would begin by looking at the Clinton campaign's reckless "Pied Piper strategy" -- also followed by CNN and the NYTimes -- of deliberately boosting Trump before and during the primaries with the certainty that Clinton could easily beat him. Read the Podesta e-mail or this if you doubt me: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/08/bill-clinton-called-donald-trump-before-presidential-run-2016
In war, defeated generals are expected take responsibility for and critically analyze their own contributions to their defeats. It would be nice if Clinton and her supporters took the same approach rather than blaming the people for whom she was not their first choice but who worked hard for her anyway.
3
@Christopher
Sanders was not a Democrat. He WAS a spoiler, just utilizing a party loophole in a way that Jill Stein didn't (and which even Ralph Nader didn't in 2000).
1
@Christopher. Also, please note that Sanders was the sole candidate reaching out to Native Americans. He was the only person running who took the time to meet and listen to our probably most significantly marginalized group . Here in Arizona he met with representatives of tribal communities throughout the state. He visited Arpaio’s notorious gulag in Phoenix and reprehended the odious racist sheriff. He always emphasized women’s rights to choose and to fair pay. He wanted to win- what is wrong with that? He never insulted Hillary Clinton but always addressed her as Madame Secretary. He is not perfect- who is? But in my lifetime I have seldom found s candidate who addressed issues so consistently- and he has a notable record of achievement in the senate- working with Sen. McCain on veterans issues and helping the ACA to pass. In retrospect he could have managed the bad behavior of some of his supporters, but he is not responsible for the misdeeds of adults.
2
Addressing harassment is not a continuous improvement exercise. “We’ll do better next time” not a disavowal of criminal behavior. Powerful men especially white ones are so tiresome and arrogant and this is just another example.
11
What do you think folks, give him a break or hold his feet to the fire?
Bernie's second apology hit the points that his first apology missed. However, his fans should recognize that "Bernie Bro smears" were mainly a result of women's interactions with Bernie Bros either in person or on-line.
Any candidate running for the Democratic nomination will need strong support from women to win the presidency. The question is why should women trust him now.
17
@Ellen
The Bernie Bro smear was effective for the same reasons the Obama Boy smear used by Hillary in 2008 was:
-Its impossible to disprove.
-There is an abundance of examples of bad online behavior by pretty much every kind of person you can imagine, including the supporters of every single candidate.
-It plays to confirmation bias, that is to say that if you give it a name people who want to see it will find it.
-In heated campaigns people are primed to believe the worst about supporters of rival candidates.
Did Bernie attract the support of some loudmouthed sexist men? Of course he did. So did every campaign, including Clinton's. The question isn't whether some men conformed to the Bernie Bro image, its what the significance of that fact is and why the Clinton campaign chose to emphasize it.
The fact of the matter is that all serious polls show Bernie to be MUCH more popular with women than men.
He is also more popular with people of color, especially African Americans, and low-income people. This is not because he or his campaign are unsullied by the pervasive sexism and racism of this society, but because his record and policies are far and away the most serious in addressing their needs.
In typical Clinton style the Bernie Bro narrative sought to distract attention away from the records and policies of the candidates because Clinton understood that on that terrain she would lose.
3
@Christopher Sorry Christopher. My opinion wasn't shaped by anything Hillary Clintons campaign had to say on the subject.
“He who throws stones should not live in a glass house”
4
I have never really seen the appeal of Sanders. He is unbearably self-righteous and floats proposals that would cost trillions that he has no real ideas how to pay for.
He's not even a democrat, is obviously tolerant of sexual harassment and looks very tired and old to me.
Surely our party can do better than Bernie.
48
A move to universal healthcare would save the country trillions. And thousands of lives per year.
Funny how centrists and conservatives never worry about how to pay for tax cuts for the rich, or wars of choice, or bailing out Wall Street, or corporate welfare, or bills prevent the government negotiating drug prices ...
12
@Sparky
We did. The babies and bullies stayed home and we got trump.
4
Dear Bernie:. Please go away and take Hillary with you. Signed, Dems
19
All he needs to say and do is direct any woman in his campaign who experiences harassment to report to him directly and he will personally take care of it. It sounds like there was no clear line of authority to lodge a sexual harassment complaint, as any campaign has local operations throughout the country. Obviously, he can hire more top-level women advisers and functionaries and equalize pay. I voted for him and never considered him sexist in any way, but I didn't like Jeff Weaver as a spokesperson.
4
What is there to say?
You run a nationwide campaign, HR problems will happen.
Do I believe Sanders’ campaign is the only one that had problems? Having worked on numerous campaigns and knowing senior people in other 2016 campaigns, including the Clinton campaign, no. Sadly, political campaigns are filled with abusive behavior of every type.
It’s sad, but not surprising, that the Sanders’ campaign is the only campaign that’s being reported on.
And reported on so shoddily too. Regarding pay inequity, some women alleged that they were paid less than some men. Well, were there some men who were paid less than some women? In the Times article on pay inequality, the question wasn’t even asked. And yet, in this article it’s being reported as a settled fact when, in fact, it is not.
Alleging - and reporting on - sex discrimination is a serious business. If it’s worth reporting on, it’s worth reporting on seriously.
37
Credit to those who stepped forward, and for Mr. Sanders' response to the allegations.
However, the timing of these allegations is troublesome. In some respects, Bernie Sanders never really stopped campaigning for the presidency.
He continued to hit the road, deliver speeches, and organize opposition and/or support in response to bills that were circulating throughout congress.
So there was sufficient time following the DNC in July of 2016 to bring forth these allegations.
Nonetheless, it's disingenuous to suggest that this will somehow derail his potential bid for the white house. It's more likely that the real threat to his campaign will be biased coverage and reporting - just like last time.
26
Is he going to run as an Independent? He is not a Democrat!
2
@LA2SD
The Times lost their credibility. I wish when Bernie wins, there will be a better daily that will emerge that we can all subscribe to and call it our progressive paper.
2
He's apologizing for another's behavior. While noble, the culprit (s) need to apologize.
18
Too little, Too late.
12
A better second attempt after last week's poor response to accusations from his 2016 campaign staff.
Kamala Harris was much stronger in an interview on CNN yesterday.
11
Impeach him! How long are we going to allow this misogynist evil person to stay in office... wait.. wrong article...wait...
7
Not surprising. No shortage of bullies among the pro-Bernie crowd.
28
"For a second time in eight days, Senator Bernie Sanders apologized to women on his 2016 presidential campaign, as he seeks to put behind him a series of damaging reports about the mistreatment of female staff members that threatens to undercut another likely White House bid."
Most of this is editorializing. Series of damaging reports? There were two and they told stories of unacceptable but unfortunately all too common incidents that Sanders was not aware of.
Who says it threatens to undercut another likely White House bid? Polling shows he's still one of the top candidates.
Policies are the most important thing, and Sanders' policies would help women and minorities more than any other candidate running.
36
Sanders should apologize for co-opting Republican talking points about Clinton when he was sagging in the Democratic primary. He was desperate, and he got nasty. Republicans ate it up and now they have spit it out in a big orange ball.
I was a Bernie fan long before 2016, but he bores me to tears now. I don't respect how he shows up as a "democrat," expects everyone to roll out the red carpet having never done the work of cultivating the party leadership, acts as a sore loser when he does in fact lose, and then dumps the party title because his gadfly role gets him more press. I hope he does not run, he's not much better than any of these other blowhard politicians.
32
There are dangers to grassroots organizations of any kind, political or not, for no other reason than their disorganization:
"Some women said the fledgling 2016 campaign was disorganized and decentralized, which made it hard to know whom to turn to in the case of mistreatment."
But to relentlessly smear such campaigns because of missteps without giving them an ability to remedy these failures is a reflection of just how dysfunctional our societal mindset has become in the US--and it's a danger to the "little guy/gal" whose voice depends on these less organized/pall mall movements.
Bernie has expressed his regrets and has acknowledged he needs to change the culture in his campaign--give him the chance to do so before you question his sincerity or burn him at the stake. Who's next? ACO? For all her cries about sexism on the Hill has she once opined on this matter? Does this make her complicit? Or does she get a pass because she's a woman? If anything that should make her even more attentive to the matter. But again, let the man remedy his campaign's shortcomings...If he doesn't, THEN burn him.
6
The elites, including the corporate media, would like nothing more then to see Bernie eliminated from running for president. Bernie is a threat to the 1% and the status quo.
To the negative Bernie commenters who are part of the 99%: you should not be buying into the propaganda coming from the 1%. Of course, some of these commenters may be trolls!
A couple of recent studies have stated that we have about a dozen years to reverse the effects of global warming. If you care about the planet there is no one who will be more bold in dealing with this issue than Senator Sanders.
31
@RLS There is an article in the Intercept called I Was Sexually Harassed on Bernie Sanders’s 2016 Campaign. I Will Not Be Weaponized or Dismissed
by Giulianna Di Lauro Velez Part od what she says is "I told my story to bring attention to the sexist environment that is unfortunately endemic to most workspaces, including political campaigns. However, I was disheartened to discover that the takeaway by many pundits was not that sexism and harassment is pervasive, but that Sanders was somehow uniquely culpable. I was also struck by some of the messages and tweets calling into question the character of the women who spoke out." Her story is well worth the time to read it.
7
It is time for Bernie Sanders to realize that he peaked in 2016, his star is now falling, and his best service henceforth will be to use his remaining (and still considerable) influence to help elect another progressive Democrat to the presidency (and other offices). It's been great, Bernie, but as with Hillary, it's over.
58
@Curtis Hinsley
All the polling strongly indicates that Sanders is MORE popular now than he was in 2016 (and considerably more popular than he was in 2015 when he launched his first campaign). Bernie is the only socialist likely to seek the Democratic nomination in 2020. With more Democrats now indicating a preference for socialism than capitalism, it is important that their views be represented in the campaign. None of the other likely candidates is as consistently progressive as Sanders. He may or may not win the nomination, but primary voters deserve the choice.
34
Notice the language, the apology to women who "felt" mistreated, as opposed to women who WERE mistreated. How many more times will we see this quasi-apology that women have been handed for decades: "we're really sorry that you feel this way" is not the same as "we're really sorry that we did this to you."
139
@HK You're handwringing over semantics. Bernie has fought for women his entire life. We need to keep our eyes on the big picture, otherwise Trump will coast to re-election in 2020.
32
“It appears that as part of our campaign, there were some women who were harassed and mistreated,’’ Mr. Sanders said
Maybe read the article next time?
10
And if he apologized to women who were harmed, you would say that leaves out women who felt harmed.
Nothing is good enough for you.
7
Not a direct comment on the issue raised in the article but on the larger issue of Bernie running again, or not, in 2020.
Bernie, resist the urge. Your campaign was a great thing in 2016, raised so many important issues, I was one of those who several times over sent in the small contributions, more than I've ever given to any other political figure running for office, to say nothing of the excellent swag--the mugs, bumper stickers, grocery bags, rolling papers (at the SF rally ["Feel the Bern," "Bern Baby Bern"], strictly souvenir value). You forced Clinton into a more progressive agenda than she ever would have absent your participation, and highlighted much of the hypocrisy & cronyism that hers specifically and the broader Dem party machine represents and that turns so many of us away from big party politics.
I think absent the shenanigans of Debbie Wasserman Shultz (w/ Clinton's passive or active ok) actively suppressing support for your campaign you would have been the nominee and who knows what would have happened then. But now, with Elizabeth Warren in the race, and goodness knows how many more to follow, you need to recognize that you had your shot, and it is time NOT to pull a Ralph Nader (1 run good, subsequent runs bad) and the best good you can do is as a senator and a rallying point and progressive elder to help with council, platform building and an increasingly important Senate roll, all the more so if the Dems regain the Senate.
30
@Chesed 613 Me too. I make less than a living wage but I proudly donated over $500 to Bernie's 2016 campaign (in small increments) because I recognized what his campaign was: a clarion call to change our society - to be more just, equitable and humane. Bernie changed the conversation from the status quo and to him I am forever grateful. I do not regret donating any of that $500. (I skipped the swag, because well, I'm not into consumption and what it's doing to the Earth).
With that said, I don't think Bernie should run for president in 2020. Should he continue to advance the conversation on progressive values? Yes. Be a mentor to young leaders? Yes. Be a force in the Senate? Yes. But be the next president? No.
7
@francesca
I agree, same for me. Last time I could see the antipathy folks had for Hillary, and I joined them when we found out Huma A. was sharing her email device with her felon husband, which was imo too stupid for words. I was all in for Bernie and contributed a lot of money. But this time there is worthy competition, I am very interested in Warren and several others. If he has lost both of us then he has lost likely many more like us.
This is way too late. His Bernie Bros were absolutely horrible to women including Hillary Clinton. He never once tried to truly stop it. He shouldn’t get a pass now because he wants to run again. There are way too many viable true Democratic candidates out there today for us. Time to move on.
103
@David Gifford
Oh good, the Bernie Bros canard is back. Be careful what you wish for; the country may move on to Trump again without Bernie.
7
@David Gifford
Please put the Bernie Bros label to rest. It's divisive, sexist, and wholly inaccurate; and it's part of the reason some supporters would not back HRC. It boggles the mind that a campaign would pigeonhole and insult a group of voters who it ultimately would come to rely on during the general election. How no one could foresee that is poor leadership. Let's not repeat the same mistakes this go-around. Support whoever you want, but leave the sexist insults at home. We have enough of that coming from the current administration.
6
@David Gifford
Bernie's support is highest among women, people of color, and low income people and lowest among well to do white men. This is reflected in all serious polling. The characterization of his supporters as "Bernie Bros" was a deliberate smear put out by the Clinton campaign, which promoted a similar "Obama Boys" smear in 2008. Of course there were plenty of sexist comments from putative Sanders supporters in online discussion in 2016, but as it turns out many of the worst ones were from bot or troll accounts.
6
Well the mainstream media outlets along with the paper of record continue its efforts to dismiss and excoriate Sanders to preemptively end his 2020 run for president. There is nothing the supporters of status-quo elite rule fear more than a popular candidate who attempts to put policy over the usual shallow fluff of typical election coverage. Not to worry NYT's, your cohort at WP are doing the same. Why is having the country work on behalf of the mass of Americans so worrisome to you? It's backing of a soulless oligarchic elite th hzt produced a Trump presidency, along with an Obama who left the ruling elite unchallenged and more powerful. it may be time to rediscover the purpose of real journalism--exposing the truth rather than giving it cover. And I say that as one more interested in policy than the image of any candidate--including Sanders.
88
@Munda Squire Misogyny, sexism and being dismissive to women is unacceptable - this isn't a mainstream media issue, it is a human issue. Women and men who support them aren't going to continue with "boys will be boys" culture...the Bernie Bros weren't and aren't cool - Bernie had a responsibility in 2016 as a progressive force to manage that and clearly he didn't.
14
@Munda Squire Ah! what a great relief to read your comment, I am so grateful for your eloquence! And yes you are so right, I could not agree more. I commented on another article about Elizabeth Warren. I said something similar about the bias here against Progressives who do not take corporate money and who serve regular people and not corporations or the wealthy. I do not know if it will be printed. I am so glad your comment was. Thank you again for spelling it out so clearly.
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@Munda Squire
Well said. Thank you.
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we need leaders who can effectively run organizations while getting the message out. Bernie has some good ideas but has proven time and again that he's not a leader. He should step aside and let more qualified people run.
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@pedestrian Yes, Bernie should step aside. There are many candidates out there who are perfect and have never done anything wrong and who have large staffs working for them full of people who are all perfect and have never done anything wrong. They should run instead.
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@pedestrian Wait, what? His 2016 campaign made history by mobilizing millions of disenchanted voters, raising record amounts from small donors and giving Hillary a run for her money. Most polls showed him beating Trump. He's absolutely a leader, and his prior experience makes him uniquely qualified above other (very good, I might say) Democratic candidates.
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“It appears.. What they experienced was absolutely unacceptable... When we talk about — and I do all the time....I apologize..
That's all good Mr. Sanders, but what action will you undertake to mitigate this sexual harassment behavior in the future?
Put something, a procedure and/or process, in place and then vigorously enforce it. Then let all know the results
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@cherrylog754In his first apology in his interview with Anderson Cooper, Bernie spells out very specifically the measures that he took in his 2018 Senate campaign which he rightly describes as "the gold standard" for sexual harrassment policies on political campaigns. This was the most important part of his first statement, but it has been completely omitted in this and other subsequent reporting of this story. Here is the video; https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/01/03/bernie-sanders-sexual-harassment-allegations-nyt-sot-ac-vpx.cnn
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I wish I could celebrate this apology, but it is difficult as it follows what was a horribly dismissive "apology" last week. Perhaps, Mr. Sanders has evolved - but the man who a little more than a week ago said that he was too busy "saving the world" to notice (or worry about) how women were treated on his campaign may be making progress, but he is far from being a candidate who is fully WOKE.
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@Zsuzsa:
Thanks for your "concern".
Not supporting strong single payer medical insurance is incredibly sexist. Oh, wait.
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@Zsuzsa
"Fully WOKE." What does that mean?
Why are we even needing an apology from Mr. Sanders (or anyone else) for someone else's bad behavior? The men responsible for the behavior are the ones needing to apologize.
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@Zsuzsa I could care less whether a candidate is "fully woke". I just want someone who isn't a dangerously unstable megalomaniac. Despite some missteps, Sanders remains an excellent candidate as do most of the other Democratic contenders.
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Good on Bernie.
We need more leaders who respond to criticism with this kind of humility, empathy, and a deep commitment to seeking justice for those wronged before all else.
The policies his 2018 campaign put in place really are (sadly) unique in the world of politics, and show a clear, tangible commitment to getting this right.
I wish the NYTimes would provide more context, and address this for what it is: an industry wide crisis that Bernie has responded to with a unique level of decency, accountability, and clarity.
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