The ability to control your own campaign and supporters is an important test of leadership, and voters can use this to judge how effective they will be in office. Bernie should take responsibility for the actions of his proxies, as should Trump, Biden and every single candidate for every single office.
356
@rauldougou
No it is not an important test of anything.
The internet is open to anyone from anywhere. It is not the same as if he were in an auditorium full of people reacting to his words, or acting out. There he might be expected to react to the individuals acting poorly by admonishing them or having them removed. but he is not responsible for any of them.
40
@magicisnotreal
I hold City Council candidates by this standard. I hold Trump by this standard. It's time to demand leadership.
16
@rauldougou What exactly is he supposed to do about random anonymous people being mean on the internet?
23
The comments to this article basically make its point for it. I plan on voting for Senator Sanders, but the behavior of many of his most ardent supporters is appalling. There needs to be room for a reasonable debate among people; instead, what often happens is any criticism of Sanders is met with vitriol and malice way out of proportion to the conversation.
It will be incredibly easy for Republicans to seize on this behavior if Sanders is the nominee and declare him and his supporters "unhinged" in an effort to drive away moderates. I am hopeful that folks can tone it down, but it seems unlikely at this point.
318
I definitely agree the vitriol of twitter “activists” is troubling, but I think it would be difficult for Republicans to capitalize on this particular issue as their candidate would certainly be an example of a pot calling the kettle black.
However, it’s absolutely concerning that online political discourse has a tendency to witch hunt opponents and the Sanders camp certainly hasn’t done enough to temper that activity. I also wonder what can be done. In an age of online anonymity combined with fragmentation of social groups many people look for purpose in “grand movements” (ex. White Supremacist groups and their appeal to young white men) which will inevitably bring the worst out of people as their success is embodied by the success of their group identity.
12
@Andre Feel free to search Jacobin Magazine online for Katie Halper's piece on the consistent biased reporting of Sydney Ember here at the NYT or find Thomas Frank's reporting in the Guardian of his meta-analysis of Sanders coverage over the 2016 cycle.
The fact of the matter is that to what extent there is vitriol, (which is grossly overstated to smear Sanders) it is almost exclusively in response to the openly biased and hostile smears against him.
Feel free to cite the number of positive articles the NYT has done on Sanders vs other candidates. They are universally negative which undermines any credibility of posturing about the desire for honest debate - this is pure delusion.
35
@Andre
"The comments to this article basically make it's point for it." As written, moderated, and as intended.
We are under two hours into the open comment section.'
It is filled with anti-Sanders; full of smears, slights and lies about his supporters.
This isn't appalling? It is a constant here in the NYT.
Yet you fail to call them out or debate them; much less call for them to tone it down and unify.
35
Hey Bernie supporters, are you willing to let the Earth burn if your candidate doesn’t get the nomination this time either? Trump has us half way there.
While I agree with a lot of what Bernie says, I don’t agree with all of it. And I think he is partly responsible for his supporters’ behavior. I will not vote for him in the primary, but I will if he is the eventual nominee. Will his supporters say the same?
646
@Upstater 90% of Bernie supporters voted for Clinton, but in 2008 only 80% of Clinton voters went for Obama. Progressives have shown that they'll pull together in the end. It you "moderates" that have historically shown less loyalty to the party.
342
@KM
"90% of Bernie supporters voted for Clinton, ..."
That is simply not correct. As reported in this paper and elsewhere, more than 10 percent of Sanders voters voted for Trump, and an additional 10+ percent voted for Stein or stayed home. In the 2016 general election, which was very close, that was one of several factors any one of which would have been more than enough to change the outcome of the election.
215
@KM — Don’t assume I’m a moderate just because Bernie’s not my first choice.
80
Sanders is the most divisive candidate in the Democratic Party Primary at a time when Democrats need all hands on deck to defeat Donald Trump. There will be a lot of blame to go around if Trump wins, and some of it will be on the divisiveness of Sanders supporters.
584
@CJT Grow up. Fast.
119
@CJT Why is Sanders running as a Democrat, since he seems to loath the party? It would be more coherent if he were running as an Independent.
108
@CJT
"We Bernie supporters will not stand for the DNC. If Bernie is not the nominee, we will not vote at all in November."
and so you will give us Trump again, instead of what all of the Democrats will do, including overturning Citizens united, guaranteeing universal access to affordable health care, rejoining the climate treaty, outlawing assault weapons.......see the hundreds of bills that the Democrats have passed, starting with HR-1, which McConnell and the Republicans have blocked in the Senate
63
I suggest, that the NYT's, WP's and all Establishment media coverage of Bernie Sanders during the 2016 primary, was appalling in its ignoring Sanders for as long as possible.
When they could not avoid acknowledging him as a legitimate candidate, whose enthusiastic crowds were way more than ten times the size of Hillary's...
and did finally cover Sanders it was with extreme disdain and snark.
Thomas Frank: How The Media 'Exterminated' Bernie Sanders And 'Real Reform'
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/10/18/bernie-sanders-media
https://harpers.org/archive/2016/11/swat-team-2/
In 2016, Franks closely examined the reporting on Bernie Sanders in the Washington Post.
"As we shall see, for the sort of people who write and edit the opinion pages of the Post, there was something deeply threatening about Sanders and his political views. He seems to have represented something horrifying, something that could not be spoken of directly but that clearly needed to be suppressed."
..."Think of all the grand ideas that flicker in the background of the Sanders-denouncing stories I have just recounted. There is the admiration for consensus, the worship of pragmatism and bipartisanship, the contempt for populist outcry, the repeated equating of dissent with partisan disloyalty."
The NYT and other media coverage now is about the same.
This has understandably made Sanders supporters very angry.
38
Bernie and his supporters have a long row to hoe. First there is the angry DNC people still parroting Hillary's fable about "Bernie Bros" and how violent they are. And then there is Trump's nihilistic cult, who are capable of just about anything these days. And then we have the Russian bots. I say it's time to make another donation to Bernie. And become a volunteer.
18
When you can't attack a candidate's policies, perhaps you can attack his followers?
27
Many of Bernies supporters are young and use the internet to express themselves, to vent their frustrations about our system that favors the wealthy.
Personally, I do monitor the Reddit Sanders for President site and have become a mom there, supporting them when they need encouragement, explaining that attacking other candidates is not the best option, and flagging comment that are inappropriate, which are removed immediately.
So many of our youth are suffering, please have some empathy when they make a negative comment. Have a chat with them, it helps move us all in a positive direction.
Sanders/Warren 2020.
16
@PM
I support Bernie.
I like Warren, but her Senate seat would be filled by a Republican governor...
Sanders' VP, maybe Nina Turner, Ro Khanna...
5
St. Bernie, the old Socialist revolutionary and 30+ year "public servant" with ZERO accomplishments to show "for the people" is God's Gift to Trump.
Since the only thing Bernie has accomplished in his long life is to have fulfilled the ultimate role of all "public servants" and make himself a millionaire while living off the taxpayer, now that he is the owner of 3 homes, I am certain that in keeping with his core Socialist values and those of his supporters, he will be liquidating those hideous assets, fruit of the awful capitalist system, and spreading the wealth among "the people". Right???
The average American does NOT want to replace the current "chaos" incumbent with a "break all the furniture, burn the house down" revolutionary incompetent. I mean, for crying out loud, Bernie got kicked out of his commune for being too lazy. And haven't we all had enough of lazy and incompetent over the last 3 years??!!
Bernie does not even rank as a legitimate "has been"....more of a "Never was" and "Never will be". End of.
6
The Times has asked me to "share my thoughts", so I will.
Please view these postings, many of them, with skepticism: it is clear that many KGB paid posters are at work, and have been give their marching orders to undermine our Democracy.
Secondly, please write down/note the actual policies Bernie champions. Exactly zero of them benefit him, unlike every trumper.
Finally, we are all now keenly aware of the trump familiy's cheating and grift. The entire family has enriched themselves at your family's expense. If it's YOUR child who needs healthcare, you're out of luck. If it's a trump family member, who maybe shoots himself in the head, while slaughtering endangered wildlife, the'll have plenty of access. It's only you, and your insignificant tiny "needs" that are expendable. Hey, as long as the military service age trump kids are off shooting high powered bullets at helpless endangered species, why can't they be shoved to the front lines in Ukraine? USA! USA! USA!!
8
@Portland Dan Why is it that you can dismiss all other posters by by claiming they are paid by the KGB, but we are to accept your postings as legitimate? Something's not quite right there.
Also a minor point, but typical of the frequent inaccuracies seen from Bernie supporters: None of the Trump are draft age. Barron is too young, all of the others are too old. Why not address relevant, and accurate, issues instead.
2
"It wasn't me"?? Is that what Bernie will say when, not if, he loses to Trump, as he surely will if he's the Democrat nominee?
"It was the voters, not me" or "I'm not even a Democrat, so why are you bothering me?" or "Oh well"?
I am furious beyond words at the inanity of it all!
7
The behavior of some of Bernie's supporters reflects the frustration of much of the world. American (global) politics is dominated by wealthy interests -- to the detriment of public health, public education, help for the poor and displaced, as well as the environment.
17
Wow, extensive article. I know there are hostile Bernie supporters online. There is also the overwhelming majority of his supporters, who behave themselves. I’m not surprised to see this article come out as Bernie surges in the polls and the Iowa Caucus looms.
23
As long as it's easy for anyone to anonymously pose as a Sanders "supporter" and with total impunity spew anything whatsoever online, this article has no moral value. And since this stuff obviously attracts mainstream media there is probably more to come.
It's by the way an old tradition. When Kermit Roosevelt staged a coup in Iran in 1953 he bought a bunch of jobless youngsters to act as Mossadeq "supporters" and let them rampage the city. To be sure he also bought "anti-Mossadeq" demonstrators to secure street-fights.
Nothing is new under the sun.
19
Let's just pray Bernie's Internet Army stays on the internet and doesn't bother voting, as they are wont to do.
2
Which Democrat is most likely to the win general election votes of the still-persuadable 5-10% of people in Wisconsin, Ohio, and a few other states? That is the whole ball of wax. Arguing about how pure Bernie or Warren are relative to moderate Democrats is absurd. Get real about the kind of people that make up much of America. Vanity votes are just that, vanity.
7
I won't lie. One of the things that makes me resistant to Bernie Sanders is the frequency with which I have come under attack from his over-zealous supporters for not pledging allegiance to him unconditionally.
In fact, strangely enough they even come across as the most vehement of Trump fans who can't bear to hear one word spoken against their fearless leader.
And as long as he continues to foment the kind of campaign that maligns Democrats who don't necessarily share his view, there's little to no chance that those voters will come out and vote for him in the end.
Just like what happened in 2016.
Some things don't change.
10
Concern trolling? Really?
I think that conformity for the sake of conformity is a form of oppression and authoritarianism.
Is the objective of the recent deluge of the "Bernie's got a problem" articles an effort to dissuade undecided voters; normalize distain for Bernie; apply social pressure on Bernie supporters; externalize others visceral fear of paradigm shifts; punish the multitude of working class people for vocalizing consequential damages they experience in America; or all of the above?
23
Like the MAGA crowd and the Tea Party before it, the Bernie Bros seem to know only how to nurture grievances that supposedly justify their brutality. Any of the other top democratic candidates would do a reasonable job as POTUS, but, I fear that, like Trump, a President Sanders would revert to constant campaigning, where he could spend all his time comfortably denouncing billionaires.
8
@Sandra Scott Bernie bros were made up by the Clinton team. There were Obama boys before that. Most of the Bernie supporters I know are women, single working moms, senior women, women in need of health care.
12
@Claudia F In 2016, 70% men age 18-24 supported Bernie in 2016.
1
@Sandra Scott Have you ever met a mythical Bernie Bro? No? That's pure propaganda. Try meeting a few of his volunteers in the nearest office to you. They're the finest, most selfless people I've ever met. Try a little reality.
6
The comments have convinced me that I shouldn't have Bernie as my #2 choice. I'm going with Warren and Amy as #1 and #2 instead.
8
@Lia B ...As a fellow Michigander, I thank you. Bernie is the oldest candidate with the thinnest resume ( as in ZERO accomplishments after 30+ years in gov't.).....and as an old Socialist would be a gift to Trump. I could support your choices. Though I think Bloomberg is the one Trump truly cannot compete with and I'm not just talking $$$.
4
People are angry. We've been dealing with an unresponsive government, elected officials who refuse to meet with us, and decades of stagnant wages. This is not about Sanders. This is about how people are being treated in America.
28
I am wondering if I am a Bernie bro? white. female 70. college educator. grandmother. and a long time Bernie supporter. I try to explain to those who ask why I support Bernie...green new deal, immigration, Medicare for all and honesty and his commitment to helping others. if this is a cult I'm on.
37
I wonder if a lot of this is part of an effort to actually undermine Sander's campaign, For example the Russians, , trying to get their man reelected.
25
It’s not the Russians. It’s the political establishment. A Sanders Presidency would be a paradigm shift in power. Those who have enjoyed their position of power in this country for decades are going to pull out all the stops to prevent that from happening.
10
As a Bernie supporter who supported him in 2016 and now again in 2020 (I had a brief period where I lost faith in our political system and drifted away from politics but Bernie brought me back in this year), I am truly saddened at the miss characterization of Bernie supporters.
People either conflate all in to one homogenous group or try to project the worst behaviors of some of his supporters to actions he somehow endorses.
It reminds me of how people have judged Muslims in this country. Taking the actions of a few, multiplying it and then applying it to the whole.
I truly hate generalizations.
Also I am equally amazed that such people who are sexist or racist can even call themselves Bernie supporters when that is exactly what he is against. They are either just pretending to be Bernie bro’s so they troll without repercussions or are just gravely confused about life.
Also I am sorry that you guys have been harassed by such people.
I hope you give Bernie a chance because I truly believe even if he doesn’t get everything he promised achieved he will truly fight for it and he will at least get some stuff done, even that would be a great help to our nation in these trying times.
40
Bernie needs to approve every tweet before it is posted. Problem solved!
13
Having recently been undecided, I have been moved further and further into the Sanders camp, in part due to coverage like this. This absurd tut-tutting and hand-wringing when we are experiencing national and global crises is ridiculous. It seems like this paper, afraid to touch on any actual issues, resorts to contemptible meta-narrative nonsense.
46
Bernie Sanders earned his front runner status.
One thoughtful person at a time.
The most diverse demographically; the most individual donors, the most progressive agenda AND the most active military support.
You can’t beat him, and you can’t win without him.
31
The premise of this whole article is that Bernie supporters are fundamentally different then all the other candidates' supporters. We should stop accepting loaded assertions that lack even an iota of empirical support. A qualitative description of "some" sample of Bernie supporters without any comparison to similar groups from the other candidates is basically meaningless. That sure doesn't stop them though.
30
@carl bumba Thanks Carl. The lack of empirical evidence makes this article worthy of only condemnation.
13
"A sizable number could be automated bots or fictitious accounts. Federal prosecutors have detailed coordinated efforts by Russian nationals to interfere in the 2016 election, with an emphasis on two candidates — Donald J. Trump and Mr. Sanders — whom the Russians hoped to bolster while denigrating their opponents."
How many of the 10M following him are actually Sanders' supporters? How many of those attacking are verified Sanders' supporters? Hold the accusations until we know. Full disclosure: Sanders is not my first choice but he deserves a fair shake.
20
Is it asking too much to expect some quantitative research on which to narrativize the impressions of a select group of commentators? As pervasive as this media narrative is—that Sanders's supporters are disproportionately more abusive online than those of other candidates'—I have to believe that if analysts were as thoroughly convinced of its veracity as they appear to be, there would long ago have been research on this. I am sincerely open to accepting any contention based on evidence.
This piece, in my opinion, gets a lot wrong, but its most egregious (and, frankly, shocking) misstep is interviewing Candice Aiston, whose own NSFW vitriol online is by now the stuff of legend in some corners of Twitter. If this is truly a concern for the Times, one that merits repeating periodically (coincidentally, this time, when Sanders is surging), then invest in the design and implementation of a quality study so that we can, at long last, address the matter as settled fact rather than as some unchallenged claim that just "feels" self-evidently true.
26
This makes no sense. How can a candidate be politically responsible for the actions of each and every one of their supporters.
22
To those willing to throw around the word “cult,” how very hurtful and inaccurate that feels to me, an indigenous mother of three who has been waiting my whole life for the imperiled ecosystem to be the foremost issue of our lives and work and politics.
My loyalty is to a living earth, and I trust Bernie because he fearlessly advocates for a Green New Deal and refuses money from entities that profit from our poisoning.
His consistency and small dollar donations mean he is accountable to US, not special interests.
Think about it : why should online vitriol (the source of which we cannot know) be taken as a more accurate representation of Sanders’ support than the fact that the majority of his donations are verifiably from TEACHERS?
This is about the lives of our children and our hurting planet. Please don’t sweepingly refer to the many who know we desperately need major changes, now not later, as a cult. I am just an everyday person who cares very deeply about righting the many wrongs that have left us nearly bereft of hope.
27
People who are most offended by Bernie Sanders supporters obviously haven't been to Breitbart News or many other right-wing social media sites. It's brutal over there. At least Sanders doesn't egg supporters on to bully and harass like President Trump does. These young people probably picked up this rude, vile behavior from him.
5
I've been an activist most of my 70 years of life but I have never threatened anyone publicly or in private beyond saying Trump should be jailed for his many crimes, as a civilian and as president, agaisnt people, our nation, and all of humanity. I also believe that Senators Sanders and Warren represented our best hopes for the future but I will vote for any of the candidates who win the nomination. All that being said, I understand the anger some of Senator Sanders supporters display. I too have been angry from my youth to now about Vietnam (though I enlisted in the Navy due to patriotism) and ceaseless wars, corruption in government, inequality both in wealth and in races and sexes, and, no less important, that the people of the rest of the world are seeing us far worse than they ever have - because of Trump we are now all ugly Americans. There are many young people in my life. I've heard many of them ranting profanely while playing Call to Duty and other violent games. All of them use profanity, at times, even in peaceful conversations. All of that is just part of their culture. But none of them would threaten another human if they were not first threatened and, as this article says, only a tiny fraction of Senator Sanders online supporters (17,000 out of 300,000) post threatening language. It's unlikely any of them would carry through - they are not neonazis or white supremacists. My only advice to them is, get out and vote for whoever is the Democratic candidate in 2020.
10
A major difference between Bernie and Trump is that Trump was willing to destroy the GOP for his own ends. Bernie was classy enough to campaign for Hillary. Unless Bernie embraces destroying Dems he must either quit or accept his political destruction.
4
I am a Bernie supporter and a volunteer that uses social media to promote Bernie's position on the issues that matter to the people.
This is the guideline set by our team leaders: "What will Bernie do"
We respect people's opinion and we are aware that soon, those supporting other candidates, will be soon fighting for Bernie against our only enemies: Trump and the Republican Party.
21
After reading this aRtiCle... I am shocked. I can’t believe that anyone would act aggressively online. Especially in regards to the political future of this country and decisions that will also impact the worlds future. This is unacceptable.
I am in turn making another donation to Bernies Sanders campaign.
31
I speak from a personal experience. Me and my friend have been personally attached by a “Bernie-bro” with bluntly racist sexist remarks. He went below the belt with those vicious comments without feeling a slight of remorse. So to the Bernie supporters, you tell me how I should feel.
7
You should feel however it makes you feel. You should also realize he doesn't represent us. I'm in South America right now; I've encountered rude S. Americans. I'm not insisting that all other S Americans apologize for those who are rude.
13
@Grey please elaborate; the "Bernie-Bro" fable is hitting old
9
you should feel like it's wrong to characterize an entire group of people by the actions of an individual much in the same way you were wronged
13
Precisely the disingenuous framing I'd expect from corporate media.
Anyone who's buying into the nonsense that there's somehow an equivalence - regardless of where you stand - needs to read "Manufacturing Consent" by Noam Chomsky. Or just read a few articles from the FAIR website.
22
Both Sander's and Trump's internet armies display characteristically militaristic misogyny.
Nothing about either man makes me think they care in the slightest.
I'm supporting Warren for two reasons: She's the best candidate with the most detailed plans. She's a she.
18
did Sarah Palin get your support?
8
@m.r.f. I’m a she and I support Sanders.
9
@m.r.f.
Most Bernie supporters are female. I doubt there are many misogynists among them.
12
I love Bernie himself. I caucused for Bernie in 2016. I followed his lead in voting for Clinton in the general election, and urged others to do so. This year I support Warren, but I'll will weep with joy should Warren OR Bernie become president. And every time I say anything about the Sanders candidacy or his supporters online, a dozen angry guys who support Bernie start ranting at me about Hillary Clinton and centrism and Biden and the war in Iraq. There are plenty of angry, unhinged Sanders supporters looking to bash anyone who is even mildly supportive of another candidate, and they are doing their candidate and cause no good at all. And they don't care.
13
@Ms. Boyer I’ve had Warren supporters attack me, a supporter of Senator Sanders. Neither of us has empirical evidence that Warren supporters are worse than Sanders supporters. Nor of the converse. This article is not based systematic research with a published methodology & post subjected to peer review. It is shameful gossip.
5
In the interest of fairness, did you do any research whatsoever into the online behavior of Biden, Pete, or Warren supporters? My experience and intuition tell me you’ll find similarly appalling behavior from a small segment of their supporters as well.
29
What is your experience that makes you so wise?
3
Exactly! This article does not convince me for one second that this is a Bernie-supporter specific issue. Political online discussions very often get uncivil and rude. People seem to just exchange buzz words with each other and get enragedby them without dampening factor like talking to somebody’s face. How is this in any way Bernie-specific?
13
Because she knows that every coin has two sides!
Bernie supporters are just as fact-averse as Trump supporters, which Bernie relies on just as Trump does. They are violent and abusive, which again Bernie relies on — at best, his reaction is wink, wink; at worst, he encourages it, and indeed participatesin the smearing and lying.
Fish rots from the head.
17
@Lisa And, the Bernie supporters put the toilet paper roll the wrong way, right ?
6
Violent? Do you have any examples of this violence?
5
..AND the NYTs continues to force its endorsement of Liz down our throats by publishing yet another Bernie is Bad article. We get it. And we don’t agree.
32
Will any of this negative reporting on the Sanders backers do anything to change the policies that Sanders wants to put in place that will help the majority of the nation? The answer is no. The actual problem with this piece is that I would venture all candidates have brash supporters. But what would be more productive would be for the NY Times, rather than running non stop negative reporting about Sanders run some comparisons in policy among the candidates.
41
The irony is that many of the comments to this article from anti-Bernie readers will be bullying and toxic just like the over-hyped Bernie “Bro”.
35
What should we expect then, if Sanders wins?
1
I am a Bernie supporter, and I have never encountered a Bernie bro. Instead, anytime I try (very respectfully) to broach the subject of Bernie on social media I am attacked by Bernie haters. There is enormous animosity out there towards Bernie, and certainly this article does nothing to alleviate it. Bernie is routinely blamed for HRC's losing the election. Bernie haters ignore crucial facts -- Bernie did more campaigning for Hillary than Hillary did for Obama. More Bernie supporters voted for Hillary than Hillary supporters voted for Obama. And most crucially HRC had the support and the coverage of the mainstream media. Bernie was ignored until it was impossible to dismiss him. He had everything working against him except for the love of the tens of thousands of Americans who flocked to his rallies. Each time I try to discuss Bernie on social media I am reminded that "Bernie isn't a real Democrat." What is a real Democrat? To my mind it is FDR, and nobody in my long life has come closer to embodying FDR's ideals and values than Bernie Sanders. I never engage in nasty behavior online, and I certainly don't condone anyone else misbehaving. But please, let's not pretend that only Bernie's supporters are vitriolic.
54
I love that you mentioned Bernie Bros. You're analysis is spot on. The funny thing is that Bernie's base is more female and less White than the base of the centrist Dems. However the corporate Dems' allies in the corporate press keep insisting on marginalizing Bernie. It's a cheap framing trick.
What they're doing is circumscribing debate so the public is fed a Republican-light agenda as the progressive alternative to Republican-regular, thus guaranteeing the power hierarchy will more or less remain intact regardless of whether a Dem or Repub wins. Anything left of Repub-light is just off the charts - it's basically Soviet Communism!
Fortunately, Bernie just might pull this off despite the prevailing forces against him.
15
There are many similarities between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump (i.e., populism, demagoguery, divisive rhetorics us vs. them), and between their supporters (i.e., online bullying, threats of violence, cult like behaviors), even though they are at the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. If that is not enough reason for alarm, I don't know what else will.
We cannot replace a right wing populism with a left wing populism, a right wing bully with a left wing bully. We need someone who can unite the country, not to divide it even further.
26
@JGM There is no evidence of any kind that Bernie is a bully. Take the time to watch one of his rallies or town halls. You'll discover that he's a gentleman, a mensch. Trump was frightened of running against Bernie because he knows that Bernie is nothing like him. Bernie is incorruptible. He promises to fight for working people -- unlike Trump, he means it. The motto of Bernie's campaign is Not Me, Us. He is the opposite of the egomaniac in the White House and indeed of Hillary Clinton who still needs to blame others for her loss.
24
In the NYT efforts to rehash the false narrative that Sanders's supporters as horrible, violent people, it continues to publish false information about the 2016 Nevada Democratic convention. The accusations of "chairs being thrown", has been fact checked and debunked.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-sanders-supporters-throw-chairs-at-nevada-democratic-convention
29
It's notable that complaints about political divisiveness in the Democratic primary coming from mainstream journalists and pundits sympathetic to Democrats have consistently focused on the Sander's campaign while ignoring the far more blatantly divisive tactics coming recently from Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton. Calls for "party unity" coming from various mainstreamers will remain highly suspect as long as such unity is presumed to be under the leadership of one small but powerful faction in the Party - neoliberal centrists - at the expense of everyone else. This sort of forced, undemocratic, top-down "unity" is a recipe for disunity and splits, and those who pursue it should be warned of unintended consequences.
23
@john riehle That is inaccurate. There are many of us who are life-long democrats and don't support Sanders having been attacked online by his supporters. His supporters call me a republican simply because I disagree with Bernie's proposals. If that is not divisive, what else is?
9
@JGM I am a Sanders supporter. I have been attacked by supporters of his opponents dozens of times. You & I have anecdotes. Supporters of all candidates, including Sanders, have anecdotes. I am sure you know anecdotes are not meaningful evidence. There is no systematic evidence collected by a methodology that has been published in a political science journal & peer reviewed.
6
Oh man here we go again NYTimes! Did you not learn anything from your conduct last time?
Guess what we are in a war for the future of this nation!
Instead of castigating those in the war from Montclair and Midtown how about help us fight?
15
@Nathan Just another example of the militant Bernie support...
8
I’ve personally had many nasty run-ins online with Sanders supporters for choosing Clinton and, now Warren, over him. If he wins the nomination, I’ll need him to come out vigorously against the kind of online threatening and demonization his supporters perpetuate or I won’t vote for him. We don’t need yet another demagogue running our country. These people need to check themselves before they wreck us all.
14
I'm a Warren supporter, and I've gotten way more hate from HRC fans as a Bernie supporter in 2016 than I ever got from Bernie supporters over Warren (though I have got some). If you refuse to vote for Bernie because a few of his supporters do what the most obnoxious supporters of every other candidate does, you're not actually better than those you claim to hate. Especially when the alternative of another 4 years of Trump is staring you in the face.
21
@Lori You have no published & peer-reviewed evidence that Clinton or Warren supporters were worse than Sanders supporters. Nor do you have any published & peer-reviewed evidence that his supporters are worse. I have dozens of anecdotes about vile comments made to me by supporters of Sanders opponents. My anecdotal evidence is that supporters of other candidates are far worse than Sanders supporters. Anecdotes are not systematic evidence subjected to peer review.
3
Inflaming your base? Sounds like a recipe for victory these days. Maybe I need to give Bernie another look.
11
Bernie seems to be oblivious to the nasty and damaging comments his supporters leave on websites.
Maybe he should follow each of their comments with the comment that they are destroying his candidacy if he hopes to attract voters outside of his cult.
8
@Marilyn Have Bernie approve every Tweet and comment from his supporters? Sure, count on it...
2
Oh come on. You don't even mention the fact that in 2016 it was proven in a study that Bernie Bro was a myth, that it was more likely for misogyny to come from an HRC fan.
I rarely tweet, but the ONE time that I did say something in defense of Bernie (not an offense against another candidate) I was swarmed by the KHIve people. THe person I know from the Warren campaign is regularly red-baiting Bernie even as she claims that she is being attacked when someone says something defending him against attacks. This is just insane.
31
What study is that?
2
Which candidates besides Bernie have condemned online harassment?
None.
And no comparative data is cited here to suggest this is a problem unique to just one candidate’s supporters.
Remember:
In an election, you’re voting for a candidate’s policies. You’re not making a dinner party for their supporters.
30
Sound like the kind of supporters who got behind Lenin and then Stalin. Well, given Bernie’s affection for the Russian Revolution, can’t say I am surprised.
13
If Sanders is nominated, his worst behaved supporters will double down on their bullying because, hey, it's effective! And we'll have the most vile election to make 2016 look like a garden party.
I like many of Mr. Sanders' ideas. And, if nominated I will vote for him. But it is most unfortunate that he cannot or will not squash the vitriol.
I have seen some of his most devoted supporters in person. My impression, they are a fanatical cult who will break any and all social bounds to achieve their goal. In fact, breaking the basic rules of civil society seems to be a feature rather than a necessary evil.
Most Americans want civility and kindness. Forced to choose between two cultlike campaigns and utterly repulsed by the vitriol and violence, moderates will stay home. In that scenario, the Trump cult will outnumber the Bernie cult and we'll end up with at least four more years of Trump rule.
14
Bernie bros are the cult of thee left and almost as worse as the cult of the right that supports Donald Trump. Trump and Bernie share a lot of the same attributes, they both think they are the Gods gift to earth, they both think they cant do anything wrong, unwilling to tolerate criticism, throw enemies under the bus, just promise the world. The left and right cult seem to think the same they are right and everyone else is wrong and if someone contradicts them then they are the enemy of the world and should be flayed.
7
It’s about time this article was written. Frankly, Bernie’s internet and texting army has been a complete turnoff. They only reinforce my personal decision to *never* vote for this man. We don’t need another cult of nasty followers. Trump’s cult is enough for me. Bernie never did enough to stop this behavior in 2016. Anyone who watched the Democratic convention knows that. He and they pouted, whined and blamed everybody but themselves for his failed bid. He’s an angry cranky old man who tolerates angry and nasty behaviors in his cochairs and followers. I can’t tolerate or excuse it now or then.
I recently received a text from his campaign. Same thing...a testy exchange that was a turn off.
20
We’ve already seen the disastrous results of electing a cult leader into the presidency. We will not make that mistake again this year.
17
To all those concerned about online bullying: If you’re weaponizing abuse to try to marginalize the most diverse, most working class, most female-supported campaign in the race (#Bernie2020) instead of calling out all abuse equally, you’re part of the problem — not the solution.
25
most female supported? Where are your facts. You don't have facts supporting that because the don't exist. More lies from Bernie Bros Inc.
4
@Paula https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2019/11/27/these-are-the-2020-presidential-candidates-getting-the-most-financial-support-from-the-female-electorate/#187a9dd76c33
Here's one piece of evidence.
14
@Nicholas Kiersey
^^^This should be a NYT PICK~!^^^
4
When will the media, including the NYT, back off of unwarranted criticism of Senator Sanders? He's a moderate reformer and that's where his policies end, but mild reform scares the banks, the arms manufacturers, and the very wealthy who want the party for the rich that began under Reagan to go on forever.
29
when will Bernie come out and tell his supporters that every democrat candidate has better ideas then Trump and to not only stop harassment but help uncover Russian operatives amplifying the harassment messages. He has the power to stop this. Senator McCain stepped forward and told one of his supporters that Obama was not a Muslim and that he was decent man that had opinions he did not agree with. This is Bernie's moment to unite. Until he gets that message the media should continue to call out him and his Bros.
9
First of all, this article wasn’t even criticizing Sanders policies. It was critiquing the behavior of some of his supporters and the half-hearted attempts of the campaign to crack down on some of the worst vigilantes.
Second, the free press can criticize a candidate all it wants, because that is their right. You do remember that’s a big reason many if us are fighting against Trump, right? To elect a leader who respects the role of the press even when they don’t agree with what they’re saying, not throw tantrums every time the newspapers print something less than flattering about you.
2
I will not vote for Bernie in the primary. I may consider voting for him if he is nominated. I am commenting as a Democrat and Bernie is no Democrat.
13
I don’t have a horse in this race yet. But I suspect it’s a numbers game. He has a huge number of supporters in general and specifically lots of young supporters who are using social media for politics more actively. I don’t think this is so much a reflection on him/his movement versus a reflection of the vitriol all too common in our political system these days. Politics brings out crazies and all campaigns have them. And Russia has exploited that to great effect.
15
To the extent that any Sanders supporters say vicious things online (and I mean genuine supporters, not bots or conservative activists etc. etc.), they're undermining their own cause. I say this as a Sanders supporter (NOT an official in the campaign). To anyone who's been stung like that, I'm personally sorry.
During the last election, I saw bitter online sparring matches between people who identified themselves as Clinton and Sanders supporters. Whether they were all really genuine, not provocateurs in disguise, who can tell anymore? But that said, both sides were equally rude to the other. I thought it was ridiculous. Whoever clinched the nomination was going to need their rival's supporters. It should have been obvious that insulting and alienating the other side isn't a great way to win their support. But neither the "Sanders" nor the "Clinton" backers seemed to care.
Corporate media clearly doesn't want Sanders, and they continue to present a lopsided view of this issue. Clinton's backers had plenty of venom, too. And Clinton herself hasn't been a model of deportment lately, with her ad hominem, Jr. High School quip that "nobody likes him."
It feels like now that corporate media's "ignore Bernie" strategy has backfired, they're scrambling to hit him with something. Blaming Bernie for some of his supporter's behavior feels desperate, unconvincing, and peripheral.
23
I just recently talked to a Bernie supporter. He said he might vote for Warren but never Biden. I asked why and he made the claim, as a nurse, he knew Biden had mental disabilities because of brain aneurysms. I had never heard that so I checked. Sure enough, Biden had a mild stroke THIRTY TWO YEARS AGO. He served 3 Senate terms and two terms as VP since then! This supporter failed to mention that Bernie had a heart attack during this campaign. It's this kind of rudeness that I really hate about Bernie supporter. Why can't you guys debate the issues instead of making it personal. I will vote for who ever, Bernie included, that wins the nomination. I hope you do too.
6
“I don’t go to the Hamptons to raise money from billionaires" says Bernie. well, I have a home in the Hamptons, and most of us out there are not Billionaires with favors to be bought. I am a fervent progressive who is sympathetic to all of his goals. there are many, maybe most, out here who are similar to me. we contribute to Bernie, and other Democrats, and want to defeat Trump at all costs. Just because we have money do not diminish our dedication to Progressive values. Do not turn this into class warfare like the Republicans are doing. we need each other to Win.
8
Sanders is to the radical Left as Trump is to the radical Right. No more extremists needed! Our country needs unity, not divisiveness.
10
Yup. So true. One is a racist, xenophobic bigot who strokes his ego at rallies. The other one has spent his life fighting for other people and actually tries to make change.
One wants to deprive people of their rights, the other wants to expand rights.
One is self absorbed, the other selfless.
Total equivalence. You don't have to support Sanders, but you should come up with a counter argument that's not disingenuous.
Same old trope that's always been used against America's greatest progressive heroes.
Anyone who agrees with this gentleman really needs to read "Manufacturing Consent" by Noam Chomsky.
10
If this is not the sort of unrest, dissonance, discord and disgust the Russian regime wants for us, what is?
8
Trump was blowback from Obama. Bernie would be a blowback from Trump. The pendulum doesn’t swing from far right to center.
6
He is as nice as they come. What a radical idea: a politician working for the public, always voting for the benefit of the public. Go Bernie, we love you!!!
75
Threats, abuse and harassment of any kind are to be condemned. But I question what the real purpose of this piece is. It seems the authors are trying to connect Bernie to these terrible tactics. Once again a subtle, not so subtle way to attack the most progressive candidate in years who actually has a chance to win the democratic nomination. The democratic machine is trembling with the notion that Sanders could actually win the primaries. Let's stick to the issues and not confuse the Sanders campaign with bullies or bully tactics.
78
It is not the economy. It is the healthcare, 'stupid.' If you, your family member, your neighbor has suffered an even harder life or old age because of crippling healthcare costs there is only a sense of desperation and fury at political and corporate indifference that does not see all men (and women and children) as created equal and worthy of a life without so much pain, fear and indignity.
If you or your loved ones, or neighbors have lost their teeth or some of them because you or they could not support the lavish, upper middle class lifestyle of dentists, much of whose educations may have been funded by the federal government and you have experienced pain, shame and discrimination you just want to vote for the person who will give you your diginity and health back.
The same can be said if you cannot afford Medigap insurance for Medicare: if you access Medicare to help you with some dire medical problem, the 20% of the bill you owe may relieve you of your house or your entire retirement savings no matter how hard you saved to pay for the lavish lifestyles of the fortunately educated medical establishment and after that there is no more to pay for any other 20% again.
Please try to understand the vast inequality that has overwhelmed millions of Americans. It is most obvious in Bernie Sanders' support.
Come to rural or lower middle class America where people thought Trump would solve this. They are more desperate now. More low-paying jobs cannot solve this.
24
@DF Tell me about it. I'm sitting here right now with a broken tooth after losing most of my back teeth to plain ole poverty and wondering how exactly any corporate, centrist dem plans on fixing this system where I can't afford a dentist.
1
And right on cue, a substance-free hit piece on Sanders right as he emerges as a frontrunner. Embarrassing.
89
I’m sorry, but The NY Times does not want a Sanders Presidency because they are part and parcel of the one percent.
63
Will there be a comparable Times inquiry into the vitriol spewed by mainstream and neoliberal Democrats against leftists? I shan’t hold my breath...
64
When you write about the Clinton smear "Bernie bros" you are canceling out the most diverse coalition in the democratic race.
Dont forget it was Clinton that started the turbin on Obama posters.
45
How about The NY Times does a story on the bad behavior amongst Trump supporter. Plenty of material there!
21
After all of Robert Mueller's work documenting Russians stirring up discord among Democrats in 2016 by pretending to be American "Bernie Bros", I see only two sentences in the original article, and none in the comment section so far, considering the possibility that the most outrageous of these anecdotes may well actually be "straight outta St. Petersburg." If you were Putin, isn't that what you'd be doing?
24
You are on target and just the unrest we should expect from those who wish us dissonance, discord and disgust in our elections.
7
Donald Trump true to form issues a threat (that mimics third world dictators and Russian oligarchs) against Rep. Schiff heading the House Managers of the Impeachment. It also sounds like a line from a gangster film ("He'll get his" while ominous music fills the film score).
Sanders cult members issue death threats and personal insults according to this article against any who dare to back another candidate in our party. Just disagreeing with Sanders on any point brings an organized swarm down on you. This is so typical of the closed minded, our way or else, control freaks and zealots he cannot disown or disavow. They are his and he bears fill responsibility.
This is how the hard Left operates. it has always performed in this fashion. Sanders line that it is all a plot by "millionaires and billionaires" to nominate another candidate is simplistic nonsense. Millions of voters honestly prefer other Democrats and we are not counting our non-existent millions. We own no Fortune 500 companies. We run no legacy news or public affairs media. Are we allowed to have a different opinion or is this just up to twenty somethings still living with Mom?
7
The Democratic Party is historically liberal. You seem to have forgotten what that means. I had a conversation with Bella Abzug when Bill Clinton was running for President. She did not like the Clintons because they weren’t liberal enough. Hillary wasn’t any kind of liberal when she was running against Trump. She blew with the wind until she settled on taking a lot of Bernie’s messages, because they resonated with people. He actually inspired people. He actually inspired millennials to get out and vote for him. He was never on the “fringe” that the Hillary campaign and the DNC tried to tag him with.
I’m not sure Bernie is the right candidate now. Maybe. Probably. But I firmly believe he would’ve beat Trump in the last election.
8
@Beth I've forgotten nothing. Bill Clinton won two terms. He stood tall against Gingrich's Contract on America, an won states in the south and Midwest.
It was not Norman Thomas who gave us Social security. It was not a leftist but a liberal in every true sense of the word who gave the U.S. Medicare, Medicaid, the civil rights acts and voting acts or appointments to the Supreme Court winning the Miranda rights, right to counsel and a right to use and purchase contraceptives. The only thing the left gave us was Nixon by harpooning Humphrey in 1968 Chicago and running McGovern in 72. The hard Left is a self-righteous wrecking crew.
3
After listening to the dishonest Republicans defend Trump, it seems clear to me that Joe Biden is damaged goods as Hillary Clinton was. Hunter Biden and Ukraine are his emails and Benghazi vulnerability. Thus he could be a stalking horse candidate in preparation for a brokered convention and is queued up for one of the billionaires or a DNC power ringer like Amy Klobuchar backed by automatic delegates formerly known as superdelegates. There’s just too much money backing some of the current candidates and an odd primary participation scheduling for most of them to halt their campaigns and allow a true front runner to eventually emerge.
And folks, don’t get too lost in the weeds!
All we want is the truth, love, peace, and equitable access to good jobs, housing, healthcare, and resources. Yes!
13
Bullying,marginalized: victim “studies” vernacular slithering into political realm like kryptonite,emasculating term/concept repulsing white male trump deplorable/Bernie Bros toxic fusion.
2
This is quite sad to read. The comments are quite sad to read. All these negative narratives just help the candidate that thrives on them. Perhaps the first thing the Times should ask when editing a piece should be 'are we propagating a divisive issue based on sketchy anecdotal evidence?' The second thing might be some research on the source of that narrative. I'm quite skeptical of poison pills inserted into the political conversation. 'Bernie Bros', 'Obama dudes' were really the invention of David Brock (along with other earworms), whose nasty but effective help in the Clinton campaigns is much more worthy of an article, since he's the genesis of much of this. It might be worth a back-check to find out he was also the steamroller of smear against Anita Hill, before his lucrative conversion of heart to work for the Clintons. It sticks out that such a flimsy story about a candidate is pasted up without an even-handed comparison of campaign strategy in others. It makes me wonder if the oversight is on purpose, and I'm afraid of the answer.
37
Sanders is a populist. The stock in trade of all populists is anger. Look at the Trump camp, which is the mirror image of Sanders campaign, which is why they share cross-over voters. Like any campaign, Bernie knows who's doing his 'hatchet' work. The notion is that he isn't, or is above it, is naive. The man is a career politician.
18
You're right; there's totally an equivalence between Sanders' history of fighting for the downtrodden, the environment, peace, etc., and Trump's brand of faux-populism. I'm in the Sanders camp, but I'm willing to listen to (and as a last resort vote for, the centrist side). I will back any of the Dems over Trump (or any of the extremists of our far-right, extremist party. With that said, it's disingenuous and dishonest yo equate Trump and Sanders. Look at the policies. Look at the principles.
The equivalence is a corporate media talking point.
11
I hear everyone referring to the Bernie bros, yet they must be some type of unicorn cause I have been Sanders supporter since 2015 and have never encountered them. Also most of Sanders supporters I know are women so that whole narrative smacks of sexism. I have occasionally mildly critiqued other candidates online and had their supporters jump down my throat. Lack of civility is intrinsic to social media, and this article would feel less propagandistic and gossipy if it examined harassment and bullying by supporters of all candidates. But we know that the corporate media is working hard to take Sanders down. You elected Trump, but still not happy with the damage you have done.
67
@Claudia F, the vitriol from some of Sanders supporters' is generated by themselves and often in response to people like me with questions about Bernie. I have met many supporters of all of the Dem candidates--in person and online. I met Bernie Bros during the 2016 campaign and again in this campaign. They are not unicorns. Nope, they are loud and aggressive. Rude. When I have asked questions about Bernie, they attacked me as a person. I wanted to know why he didn't release all of his taxes? Why does he support guns? He's a multi-millionaire and he has money in the stock market, which means he supports corporations, right? He's had a heart attack and he's 78 years old, which concerns me. And what about Jane Sanders and Burlington College? As an older black woman on the Left, I don't feel welcome in Bernie's world. I'm giving my support to Elizabeth Warren. She's charming, smart, and has the political record.
8
Amazing to watch elites squirm at a politican that excites people enough for them to be active engaged in the system instead of just turning up to vote every four years.
Make no mistake, this is what makes people from both parties afraid. They don't want average people to be engaged and paying attention.
50
When I try to talk politics and get the brush off I point out that this is EXACTLY what politicians want. I don’t put it on one party because it’s all of them working for a corporate master.
5
I'm always surprised how vitriolic –and sometimes threatening– the Sanders supporters can be if you disagree with them on any particular policy issue... and also how unaware they are about how their level of vitriol affects the undecided voters observing them.
18
As a Sanders supporter in the last election, I never saw or heard any Bernie Bros. What I did see much evidence of was the dirty tricks and divisiveness the Hillary campaign did and sewed. What I experienced personally was Hillary supporters attacking me because, among other things, they said Hillary was the only one who could win. She didn’t. She never could. There were always too many Hillary haters out there. They’ve been around for decades.
9
This is such a lazy, tired, and false narrative. Demonizing the entire progressive wing of the party right as Bernie takes the lead is disappointing clickbait that does real harm to our effort to unify behind whichever candidate is chosen. There are Bernie trolls, just like there are Warren trolls, Biden trolls, and trolls for every candidate. Cherry picking internet comments and painting Bernie’s mostly decent, honest, and respectful grassroots following as an “army” that engages in “lashing” its enemies is disgraceful and disingenuous journalism.
67
Bravo!
5
I find Sanders insufferable, and many of his supporters the same. I’ll also vote for him without hesitation if he’s the nominee. It’s past time to stop running these kinds of stories on *any* of the candidates—what’s the gist? “This candidate has strong support from some quarters—but others say they don’t support this candidate!”
Report on something real.
23
Yes, Sanders definitely has a cult of personality. And I doubt he is so pure that he doesn't see the value of cultivating such a cult of personality, or the value of having aggressive supporters. Some of them are even here to yell at the New York Times for running this article...
But in the end, none of that invalidates the value of the policies he champions, and he may still be the best candidate to defeat Trump and preserve something resembling a democracy in the United States.
16
Nice to know that middle class liberals are so divorced from the hardships of 21st Century America that they can look past Medicare for All, Green New Deal, $15 minimum wage, tuition-free public universities and criminal justice reform and focus on the issue that really matters: anonymous posters being mean to them on social media.
55
@Ben Yes, because believing in the right policies means you're allowed to act like an animal to people who disagree with you. Cool story, bro!
9
@Ben The hardships of the 21st Century? Try My parent’s generation—WWI, The Great Depression, and WWII. I’m not saying that there aren’t serious problems now, but let’s not get melodramatic.
4
Thank you, Ben.
As a Sanders’ supporter (Boomer, woman), I’m sadly not surprised by the responses your astute comment provoked.
9
Considering all of Trumps physical, in person extreme right wing rallies? I'm not concerned in the least about internet actions by Bernie's people. They are a necessary counterbalance to Trumps minions.
10
I know several people, some of them women, who support Sanders online and who receive vile responses, and often harassment, from anti-Bernie people.
It's obvious that there are many who are anti-Bernie who don't control their online rage.
28
There is a lot of anger out there on the extremes of the left and right. I would say the nasty Sanders supporters are only going to help the opposition. How many Democrats are going to vote for a candidate with these type of people flinging all kind of nasty attacks at people? This stuff would be expected from Trump's white supremacist supporters and anti-government militia types but people who support socialism. Voters on the left don't get this. Most support civility not crude comments.
4
Seems to me there is a concerted effort on the part of the Democratic establishment and their class allies in the NYT and elsewhere to paint Bernie as some kind of personal villain; it started with the Bernie Bro slur in '16, racism (also in 2016, then because support for the working class is racist!) picked up again a few months ago with the anti semitism stuff, now the Warren promoted misogyny charge, dislikability (HRC), liar (Krugman) extremist (John Kerry) and now this one that charges him of enabling racist bullying as we've circled back to Bernie bros. The upside for Bernie supporters is that made ad hominem slurs and guilt by association are all they have to go on.
I've been abused by democrat supporters for criticizing John Kerry as a hopeless candidate in 2004 and serially abused by HRC supporters as a misogynist for criticising her politics and campaign in '16. When do I get my NYT article?
16
Interesting how the NYT is worried about bullying from anonymous social media posters after their endorsement of Amy Klobuchar: a serial staff abuser whose notorious bullying is apparently alright.
20
Believing in the "right" policies makes some people think everything to do is cool. Making anonymous sexist threats? Hey, it's all in service of the greater good!
The fact that so many comment-writers are mad at the NY Times and can't even acknowledge the Bernie swarms that happen says a lot.
6
The basic thing for most people who've been around for a while is they recognize a divider when they see one. Dividers don't make good presidents. Like many others, I think BS would make a terrible president, if he were to be elected. But if he becomes the nominee, the invisible forces that are supporting his nomination (GOP operatives, Russians) will no longer be fueling the same fire. The centrists and independents may no longer buy what he's selling (and many of them already aren't).
12
@Barbara Please make the effort to watch a Bernie rally or town hall online. You'll notice that Bernie is anything but a divider.
3
Just curious––is the NYT planning on writing a similarly critical article about the fact that Joe Biden has been lying about his support for the Iraq War for several months now? Which has been more calamitous for the U.S. and the world? That conflict or a minority of Bernie supporters saying rude things online? This is precisely why so many people across the political spectrum don't trust the corporate media.
35
reading a wide variety of posts I see by far thr most nasty, brutish remarks coming from Trump supporters, e.g. "shifty Schiff" and "Crazy Bernie" - o wait, that's from Trump himself. So the occasional unpleasantness from some extremist supporting Sanders hardly justifies this story
13
My preferred candidate is Sanders, and has been since 2015. however, if he is not nominated I will certainly vote for the democrat that is. US elections are about voting for the lesser evil. Trump is definitely not that. Staying home is also not the lesser evil. It only increases the chance for more Trump. Don't be stupid, vote for a candidate based on their ideas, record, and promises. I will even vote for Joe Biden over Trump. He is less likely to jail families at the border, turn the EPA backwards, or ban religions, just to name a few. It doesn't mean he will be perfect. I would much rather pressure Biden to move toward Medicare for all than bang our heads against the wall with any monster the republican party is likely to put up. That is all they have had to offer in the past 40 years.
10
there is a not so subtle negative tone in all the NYT coverage regarding Sander's campaign...he might be surging in the polls, but the Times will only refer to his 'loyal base', rather than reflecting on the appeal of his message. i can only hope that sheer numbers will eventually force the fact of support for bernie sanders 'down the throat' of the NYT editorial board as well as the DNC. his curmudgeon-ness is probably the only hope against trump...
23
Ah yes, the voice of savvy reason. The same voice that’s been picking so very many winners in the past - who can forget the glorious victories of Kerry 2004 and Clinton 2016! Good times.
5
@cossak Sanders supporters are deeply delusional about his chances against Trump.
7
This article is anecdotal at best. Can you show your math please?
21
What the NYTimes means to so is they don’t really understand New Media and their writers get mad when the plebs talk back.
10
Yet another not so subtle attack by the NYT on the progressive left... Warren used to be their target when she was leading the polls, now it's Bernie's turn.
16
Any Hilary Clinton supporter taking to this comment section to throw dirt on Bernie, his campaign and his supporters need only look back one week. One single week! To read Hilary, on record, tell the press that “nobody likes Bernie”... if that isn’t the very definition of juvenile school yard bullying, I don’t know what is. This article is divisive nonsense... who’s bidding is this???
25
This is clearly a manipulative negative spin on the NYTimes favorite candidate’s biggest rival.
Please stop the mudslinging and try to analyze the candidates political programmes instead as fair and balanced as possible as you can.
15
Odd that I've never been attacked for my support of a specific candidate in person or online by any other supporters except for Sanders supporters. In fact, I've had many civil discussions with the self-named "Yang Gang," as well as with supporters of Buttigieg, Biden, and Warren. Sanders can and should do more to set the tone for his staff, his surrogates and his supporters. He simply chooses not to because it's working for him. But if he hopes to expand beyond his base, he really needs to think of how his supporters' behavior reflects poorly on him.
11
Honestly one of the major factor keeping me from even considering voting for Sanders is how toxic so many of his supporters are -- especially the guys. Not a party I want to be a part of.
12
Are we supposed to wring our hands over the mythical "Bernie Bros" and the fact that someone threw a chair in Nevada over DNC trickery in 2016? I worked in a Bernie campaign office and it was mostly women, and the finest group of people I've ever met. Working 15 hour days, living on pizza delivered from next door, working in very cold weather. If Bernie is nominated, his selfless volunteers will be up against a heavily armed cult capable of almost anything. Lies and intimidation, that is Trump's forte.
20
I doubt if those raising objections about Sanders supporters can point to anyone on the level of Alex Jones, Sebastian Gorka and Roger Stone.
6
For better or worse, Bernie has become the hero of the adolescent left. Everybody pretends to believe that the key to a bright progressive future lies in activating a largely dormant and apathetic American youth. But then when it actually starts to happen, nobody likes their manners. Everybody expects them to behave like Chelsea Clinton.
America is a wounded country, and nobody is more wounded than the youth underclass. They are angry and impatient. They believe global capitalism has destroyed their future. They live in a world that is starkly divided between haves and have nots. For them the situation is dire and the time for civil discourse long past.
The adolescent left and the alt-right are pretty much two sides of the same coin. They seek a cure for powerlessness in achieving mastery of the online world and anonymously weaponizing that mastery. The adolescent left conspiracy theories are arguably the more benign of the two, but a sharp edge of unreality is undeniably there as well.
This is simply another facet of the bigger question staring us in the face: has the American psyche become so abused and damaged that we are no longer capable of rationally governing ourselves within a democratic framework? If the young people who support Sanders cannot be harmoniously integrated into the political process, the prospects for success will be bleak.
6
This online army seems to be ready to mobilize the minute Sanders receives any unfavorable (in their minds) coverage. I noticed when the NYT was reporting on the recent Warren-Sanders dustup, there was immediate pushback in what seemed to be much greater numbers of comments that were pro-Bernie than those for Warren. This is no accident. It is organized and it is frightening.
8
Just as i am tired of the extremes in the Republicans, such as the Tea Party that seems to have taken over the total soul of the Republicans. I am also fearful of the extreme Burnie supporters, who he has NO control over, as evidenced from the last election and their scorch-earth tactics. i am sad to realize i will struggle to vote for Bernie, and I will possibly sit out the election if he is the nominee, as his supporters are no better than the Tea Party people. Extremes are extremes. ALL are dangerous.
6
Reading another reactionary article about Bernie "bros" from the NYT is really disappointing. Bernie activates a passionate response from a wide range of voters who believe in a just society and who are tired of settling for less.
I admire that the campaign doesn't respond to bait like this article but instead remains relentlessly on-message. No one can control to a person the real-world actions or online comments of tens of millions of people, nor should they seek to.
We'd be well advised to listen to our young people this time around. This year is nothing like 1972.
13
Poor unfortunate souls. Sanders is like Ursula from the Little Mermaid. Mesmerizing youngsters with his talk of utopia, and the promise of rewards without much effort. What do they understand about trade offs?
Please, please don’t make us vote for another man who believes only in his thoughts. Bring in a candidate who will listen to the majority of this nation. And I am not a centrist, simply a person who has lived long enough to understand, change has to be won over not thrust. But, I’ll vote blue for anyone who is nominated, even if it’s Bernie.
5
I'm the admin on the main Facebook page for supporters in Iowa of a Democratic presidential candidate. By FAR the most troll activity on this page arises not from Trumpians, as you might suspect, but from Sanders supporters. They join the group under false pretenses, they post derisive comments, they post articles attacking our candidate. They are toxic. And then I have to block and ban.
The Sanders campaign has a problem with its culture. The candidate could do something about this--that he chooses not to says a lot about who he is.
12
Why are there so many articles like this as of late? It's like the Times is deliberately attempting to sabotage Sanders by putting these non-scandals on the front page. Anyone with half their wits about them can see that Bernie is the only candidate who has a serious chance of unseating Donny. The furor over Joe Rogan's endorsement and Bernie's supposedly sexist remarks are transparent attempts to convince the general public to support one of the other candidates at the last moment. The problem is that no body wants a weak, uninspiring neoliberal like Biden or Buttigieg. Donny got into the power because people are fed up with the status quo of the past forty years, a status quo that's degraded the environment and widened income inequality. The party elites are failing to read the political landscape correctly. They're trying to do a repeat of 2016 and it's going to have disastrous consequences. If the Democrats ignore popular discontent than they'll go to Donny before they go to Biden.
12
There seems to be very little daylight between Sanders and Trump. Sure, there are glaring surface differences--one a longtime Senator with big ideas but no legislative accomplishments, the other a reality tv star with no government experience. What unites them? Both are two old, grumpy narcissistic white men at the center of a cult of personality created by a zealous base of supporters, many of whom are susceptible to disinformation.
7
I have canvassed and phone banked for Bernie and gone to debate-watch parties for him. To an individual, I have found my fellow Bernie supporters to be pleasant and well-mannered; we are enthusiastic, but that isn't a crime. However, the New York Times and the rest of the corporate media make us sound like the most renegade band of marauding sociopaths since the sack of Rome. I assume this means Bernie is surging, and I look forward to attending his inauguration.
15
Hmmm.
As of about 6pm EST the top 8 recommended replies are either obviously or at least arguably pro-Sanders. Seems a bit...skewed?
The pace of change is almost never as rapid as you would like it to be--until it is so fast that it kills you.
2
Bernie's Bros are alive and well.
I find it unlikely that the same mean-spirited, vile behavior from 2016 has reared it's ugly head again, with all new staff, and Bernie doesn't know about it.
The bottom line is Bernie's supporters did not back the nominee last time and they will not this time either.
They voted for Trump and they will do the same again this time.
Ironically, they expect ALL of the supporters from the other candidates to get behind him. Bernie, his staff, his supporters have vile reputations, making it unlikely that the Democratic Party will band together behind him. They have no one to blame, but themselves.
Bernie supporters sound more and more like Trump supporters every day. If this is the tone Bernie sets on the campaign trial, imagine the tone of a Bernie White House?
Bernie Sanders is a multi-millionaire with three homes and the perpetrator of a great con.
Discerning voters aren't falling for it and are turned off by the hostility, dirty tricks and vile behavior of his entire camp.
16
The bullying and intimidation of people online and on social media is destroying the intent of our right to freedom of speech. Posting in a bullying and intimidating way is not free speech, it is a distorted and dangerous form of squelching free speech. I hope and pray that we can get the abusive way many use social media sorted out or our democracy will be destroyed. Trump is setting the tone and teaching many how to go down this dangerous path. ALL the Democratic candidates need to condemn bullying and threatening behavior STRONGLY AND LOUDLY or they are no better than Trump. We're probably doomed anyway, social media is an insurmountable behemoth. Here's to 4 more devastating years of an unleashed Trump, oh, and his tweets.
8
In defense of Bernie supporters, there has been some degree of frustration for some of us who witnessed Donald Trump's ONLY pathway to election victory in 2016 being given to him by the democratic party and mainstream media. Since then, they have chosen to demonize Trump rather than accept some responsibility for this turn of events. This has only increased Trump's popularity among the general population, giving him more pathways to victory in 2020 than one... again pretty frustrating.
7
It’s hard to take anyone who worked with Hillary Clinton in 2016, like Ms. Rocketto, seriously, since the DNC worked hand in hand with Clinton to ensure she would be the Democratic candidate. On the other hand I do believe Barbara Boxer, when she describes her experience at the Nevada convention. As one of the older Bernie supporters who rarely uses the internet and still has a flip phone, I would implore the most vocal of our group to restrain from harassment. We are better than that.
But I understand. My daughter is one who contributes weekly to the Sanders’ campaign even though she earns 15 an hour, luckily in a state that mandates that from employers. That is one hour a week that she donates to a cause she feels passionately about. The bitterness of the 2016 campaign still resonates with her and us. And we feel the angst of the democratic center right seeking all the advantages it can muster to disarm the Sanders campaign. While many of us remember how the feminists of my generation disparaged the young women supporters of Sanders, this article, too, focuses on fracturing the support of women. It’s not the Sanders campaign that is divisive, it is the status quo fearing change. Imagine, this grass roots wave of ardent supporters is exactly the kind of tsunami that will sweep the tinsel king out of office.
15
@John Emmanuel
It was Barbara Boxer who wrote the then secret compact with all woman Senators in 2013 to not challenge Hillary Clinton in 2016. Question authority.
1
@Joel H
Didn't know that. Thanks for sharing, will look into that.
1
Can the NYT please do research into whether the source of this negative press is not interference from outside the campaign and supporters?
23
This is how Trump won in 2016. Anyone familiar with the internet in 2016 could have told you Trump was going to win. His online support was huge. Now in 2020, the dems have a candidate that is backed by the largest voting group, hands down, wanting to play the game that Trump plays, but arguably...better, and they are balking at it? What for a cry of civility? Stick Harris or Booker as his VP and you have your progressive/moderate pair, and get it done. Stop trying so hard to lose..
10
Mr Sanders is truly a man of his time. Dog-whistling to the worst instincts of your supporters is very 2020.
13
So is this headline / article just meant to paint Sanders supporters as internet trolls? Every candidate and indeed every cause has an “internet army” behind it, it’s 2020.
13
Trump supporters include white supremacists who carry automatic weapons and threaten civil war but we apparently should be afraid of online Bernie supporters deploying snake emojis.
11
@Billy I think it’s the death threats, and reputation destruction that worry people not snake or any other emojis.
4
What kind of reaction might this article provoke? Fear of Bernie and his Internet Army! Yikes! Thanks for the heads up! Is it full of innuendo, rumor and misrepresentation to confirm your well-sourced beliefs, suspicions, and fears?
Nope. It’s actually all true because you read it in the totally fair and balanced New York Times.
11
Have you not learned anything yet?
It is not Bernie's followers. It is the Russians trying to divide us to help Trump again!
9
My question is why no Tad Devine in 2020? He was the chief campaign strategist in 2016. Prior to that he was a colleague of Paul Manafort.
1
Bernie Sanders followers are members of a stripe Trump knows all too well, the cult of personality. Sanders assertion that he can not control and isn’t responsible for what they do is at odds with the privileged position he’s in. He is a white male, educated, powerful, with access to media, money, and a marketing machine. He’d do well to have an on air John McCain moment.... akin to the one at a campaign rally where McCain admonished a supporter about spreading the lie that his opponent, Barack Obama was an anti- American, non-American Muslim from Kenya. McCain was willing to tell his supporter, “No, Your Wrong Ma’am”, and moreover its dangerous to be so hateful.
10
@Karen Willemsen You remember how Hillary Clinton never apologized for doing the same thing to Obama in 2008? This demonization is an extension of mischaracterizations of Bernie supporters from 2016, and from that an extension of Clinton's anti-Obama "Obama's Boys" in 2008. Representationalism is no substitute for anti-oppression movements, and he has no "media machine"; just look at the trash articles here and in the Wash Post.
1
@Karen Willemsen
So the state of VT has been a cult of personality for nearly four decades?
2
Of all the things you can educate Dem primary voters on... this is 2016 all over again.
5
1. don't you journalists see how these ugly, bullying messages are amplified by bots (hey, there Vlad!) 2. the Bernie bros are just like the Trump hardcore base, minus the racism. 3. just like Trump, Bernie fails to be a responsible leader and call for the trolling to end. 4. Because he is a lot like Trump: he makes grand, sweeping claims that he has never been able to or won't be able to realize .
5
A guy took me out to dinner to meet a colleague and they hanged up on me about why I hadn’t yet renounced Hillary(this was after the election) and like wow their personal hatred for her seemed a little out of proportion to things she had done or not done. It’s like they didn’t even realize that the sexist trope, “Hillary’s unlikable” was stoked so heavily by the right wing and that they were simply buying into that talking point, if you can call it that.
8
@Charlotte Morton I mean, "Her policies are actively harmful and she lost the most winnable election in our lifetimes" should be enough, especially when you are on the hurting end of those policies.
3
The Times can't write about Sanders without attacking people who dedicate their time and meager paychecks to supporting a candidate they believe in?
It pains me deeply that the Times, when covering Sanders, resorts to scare-tactics and tries to muddy his supporters.
I am proud to knock on doors and make phone calls for change. I talk to my friends about the issues. And what? The New York Times wants its readers to associate me with this some militia of online trolls?
Where are the articles about the voter-registration Sanders' campaign has driven?
Where are the articles about the 8 million phone calls Sanders' volunteers have made?
19
Mr. Sanders responded, “Those cannot be my people.”
With that comment, Bernie, yet again, nailed it.
Politics is a sneaky, dirty blood sport for most of its participants.
1
Bernie is not a Democrat and Democrats deserve to have Democrats on the ballot. Bernie is a betrayal of all Democrats and does not represent most Democrats much less most Americans. He is too cowardly to run as an independent or socialist. What a fraud.
11
@SMS The Democrats are not a true political party; they lack a cohesive policy platform for candidates to collectively run on. Instead it is a place where candidates can build coalitions, locally and nationally. By the time this is through, the coalition will hopefully be one that fully rejects neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus.
2
@SMS Bernie is a Democrat. Everyone knows that. Just like everyone knows Trump is a Republican.
4
The NYTimes with another anti-Sanders article.
The moment it started to look like he was in or near the lead for the Iowa primary it’s been practically daily posts to try to swing voters away.
How many more pieces are slated for this week? I get the sense they have one reporter prepping for publication Tuesday, then another on Wednesday, and then maybe two articles will be ready for Thursday.
Don’t forget to keep mentioning ‘Bernie Bros’ too - I think the polling shows people don’t want to be associated with those. Maybe that’ll push a few votes to one of the two(?) endorsed NYT candidates.
10
Of course it's his problem if his supporters bully and spread vicious attacks on his rivals for the nomination. I will vote for Bernie if he's the nominee, but I will not volunteer for him or give him money because he and his folks are just plain mean and intolerant.
9
The horrible "Bernie Bros" put me off Bernie in 2016, and it will be very difficult to vote for him if he wins the primary.
9
Remember, the Sanders campaign says that if any Bernie supporters threaten you with violence, you "do not have the right to feel threatened."
Bernie, Tulsi and Yang are the only Democratic candidates that would not only have me not voting for them against Trump, but actually holding my nose and voting for Trump...especially Bernie and Tulsi.
2
@Jim
If anyone feels that Trump will make a better president than Sanders, they should indeed vote for them. And live with the consequences.
Such a person might do well to pause and consider if they are, in reality, cutting off their nose to spite their face.
2
Is it me or is starting to feel that democrats could have won in 2016 with Bernie and can now lose thanks to his mindless intolerance? This should not be a big surprise. Mob mentality and fanaticism are not ideological traits; they are dangerous to civil society.
1
This narrative is getting very tired. There are always going to be lunatics who support every candidate.
There is a concerted, media push to frighten the general public away from a Sanders presidency. These are clear illusions to Trumpism and its disgusting. Editors feel that everyone is so frightened of another Trump, a smear like this will work.
It won't. Sanders has been advocating "leftist" positions for generations, and he was laughed at. Nobody is laughing now and corporate america is in panic mode.
14
Fear mongering and moral posturing for the elites... its weekly here now, and it’s all because of one honest man.
6
Your statement could be used, and is, to support Trump.
Can’t you guys see that ? Blinded by some kind of messianic illusion.
1
A predictable, corporate inspired hit piece on the emerging front runner in the Democratic primaries--who could possibly have seen it, given that the NYT positively clutches its pearls when forced to acknowledge that Trump and the GOP lie/distort on a regular basis. If there is one single unifying issue in this campaign its the absolute terror that the neoliberal establishment feels around an ascendent Sanders campaign. The guy got more than 13 million votes in 2016 and has single-handedly pushed the entire incompetent Democratic party to the left. The only threat that Sanders supporters represent is to the Dem establishment, they highlight past records and behaviors which is exactly what most neoliberal, centrist dems fear most given a record of alarming complicity with the GOP around issues of social justice, crime, housing, welfare, military interventions, money in politics, college debt, healthcare, etc. These idiotic complaints like a thousand other slights and media distortions around the Sanders Campaign are the result of the abject fear that Sanders cannot be controlled because he is not dependent on the DNC or large donors given the financial support he receives from supporters and that just maybe the era of plutocrats, corporate elites and pundits is ending.
9
@rsr What I find puzzling about Bernie supporters in general is their universal contempt for the Democratic Party. Then why are they Democrats? Bernie is not a Democrat. They are angry that the DNC doesn’t fully support Bernie. Why should it? Again, Bernie is not a Democrat. I think a third party is the answer.
4
Why are we Democrats? Because the political system in our country makes a viable 3rd party challenge virtually impossible. Thus, we progressives have decided to take our party back from the “60s Republican-lite leadership. If you spend the time to look at platforms, you will find Bernie aligns well with FDR while Biden/Clinton/Obama align nicely with the GOP platform of 1956. Read the platforms before instinctively insulting this 61 year old woman as yet another of the mythical “Bernie Bros”.
6
All I see is that those Bernie supporters guilty of such behavior - and I’m sure they are a vocal minority - are no better than the trolls present within the Trump Base who commit similar acts. I call this “e-mail courage.” I saw this firsthand in 2016 when my late wife was part of a Hillary phone bank meeting at a local Panera and angry Trumpkins showed up and walked around menacing them while they worked. After that I, a Republican, invited them to have the phone banks at my home. I sat on the front steps wearing my “Retired Marine” hat, glaring at slowing cars curious what was going on (It’s a small town - very small) and it was necessary, as I live in Trump Country and word had somehow leaked out. As she canvassed on Election Day, I prominently cruised along behind her in my huge F-150 pickup, making sure she was safe. So I take those reported death threats and other harassment seriously. And by the way, I’m no longer a Republican. Bernie cannot Win, folks and you’re steering us towards four more years of Trump? Why do you think he was so desperate to tar Biden? Because he knew - knows - Biden can beat him. That’s what he fears. Use it. That should be the lamp unto our feet.
6
I have been so discouraged by the red flagging going on here at the Times, suddenly with no explanation after being able to get almost all my comments accepted over the past year - the change - the repeated red "repaste and save message" - has only been showing up since the "endorsements" - in articles whose various numbers of comment vary greatly, so it's not volume.
If this is technical rather than ideological, I'm sure because of the Times normal notification system, they could have told their "regulars" about the technical problems of their system, going on for more than a week ...whatever the nature.
Congrats NY Times, you've discouraged me from commenting on this article, and I have something very constructive and first hand to say as a Bernie supporter who posts regularly at the Daily Kos.
6
Compared to Trump supporters, the Berners conduct themselves with the quiescence of a local library reading group discussing Latin works in the original.
7
Yes. Yes! Right on schedule! Self-labeled a socialist, Senator Sanders is a hectoring old man who just had a serious heart attack. He comes from tiny Vermont. Add in he is Jewish, which will turn off many Americans because, well, you know, they're not real accepting, and you have a recipe for a landslide for Trump in 2020. Imagine a Trump unbound by re-election and egged on by a landslide. Democrats accuse Republicans of ignoring facts, and they do ignore facts routinely. And so do Sanders Democrats.
1
Sanders has more young supporters than any other candidate. Young people are using social media more frequently than other age groups. Wouldn’t it therefore stand to reason that Sanders supporters would have an outsized imprint in every way, including the jerks? I just don’t see this as an issue of anything other than demographics.
5
I see a lot of ugliness out of Hillary and Trump supporters still. Looks like MSM, as usual, is out to smear Bernie and his supporters. Follow the money. Being able to bribe legislators for legislation is good cause for MSM to want to smear and try to eliminate Bernie. Not surprised to see this article being so biased and aimed at Bernie and supporters.
4
Pathetic, desperate, and entirely predictable on the part of the NYT, as the Sanders campaign gathers in strength and endorsements. To slow the momentum, establishment outlets perpetuate the propaganda maligning Sanders as a sexist and his supporters as bullies. People from diverse backgrounds support Sanders because they want to live in a country where sick and vulnerable people are cared for, regardless of income or status; where workers receive a living wage; and where housing, health care, and education are affordable. It's that simple.These millions of people don't deserve to be slandered and dragged through the mud by the so-called "paper of record." Just stop.
12
Finally, some decent vetting of Sanders in this article from establishment media. The “little guys” in the media have been complaining about this for ages. I’m glad NY Times noticed at last.
4
Although I feel empathy towards those that have received overt harassment I don’t agree that you can blame a presidential campaign for toxic internet culture. In fact it’s quite reductive. Sanders has been a great teacher in the arts of non violent resistance, organizing, and sharing love with everyone around you. That can be a tough principle in an online era but we are doing it. Our society has many faults so let’s have those discussions person to person and not leave it to a corporate media who finds it more profitable to see us divided. Bernie 2020
8
Sanders has positioned himself as the providential hero who alone can save America (one of his fervent supporters recently told me that for her Sanders is, essentially, "Jesus Christ"). He has refused to have anything to do with the party of FDR, and in branding himself a "socialist" and calling for a "revolution" he signals to those of his followers who are fans of Trotsky and Lenin that he would like to do away, if he could, with the private-enterprise economic system upon which all successful modern economies, including the social democracies of Scandinavia and Western Europe, are based. Leninism has always carried with it an aura of violence, vitriol, and deceit, and therefore neither Sanders' evasiveness about his real views nor the uncivil communications of some of his supporters should be surprising. He would have us believe, like all cult leaders, that alone among all public figures he has the moral rectitude to know right from wrong. Some of his followers are happy to take on the same mantle of moral superiority. Anyone who disagrees is to be disregarded or destroyed. Sanders is not a team player, and neither are some of his followers. The call for a "revolution" itself conjures visions of violent upheaval and mob rule, not the steady working through of public issues through democratic, constitutional means.
4
Unfortunately these tactics seemed to be ingrained in many grassroot movements, whether it be on the left or right. The interesting part is that people are used to it coming from the right but haven’t seen this type of leftist power since the 70s-80s.
3
I disapprove of the said behavior of (online) bullying. Some questions: what percentage of Bernie Sanders’ base is active in this way? How do we know they are who they say they are - or posing as Bernie Bro’s (not unlikely right?).
And how many other candidates’ followers do the same. I for one have been accused of being a Russian bot and other more threatening language for asking a question on a Kamala Harris post. And finally: is this a coincidence that this article appears when Bernie is leading in Iowa?
I am for debate, dialogue and stronly oppose all the unnecessary bullying. And I support Bernie. Not all Bernie supporters are the same. Thank you for reading.
7
Sanders is supported -- and his opponents vilified --by a vocal set of Political Hobbyists. These are typically college educated white men who, as Hiesh explains in his book, Politics is for Power, satisfy their emotional needs by consuming political information, which is then regurgitated through office chatter and a variety of electronic media. Trump is supported by a similar set of people. They raise their voices for effect, not for democracy.
3
The Bernie supporters are very happy their guy is leading the polls. They claim he has the widest appeal. But that appeal does not appeal to a majority, i.e., more than 50%, of Democratic voters.
What Bernie does have, is the most ardent supporters. Most likely, anyway.
I personally don't think he is the best candidate. He is very abrasive, and he has already and will again divide the Democrats in a way that others don't, with such emotional power, that it is difficult for the sides to come back together.
Further, some of his policies, as expressed to the editors of the NYTimes showed he is too radical for the country, and probably the world. Not because he can be labeled a "socialist" but because he wants to turn the country completely inward with little concern about the world beyond the US borders. The world needs the US, not in the militarily adventurous way, but as a leader in negotiations, to bring parties together. So far Bernie has not shown any capability of being able to do that. We get a lot of "my way or the highway" from him, which might work within our borders, but is not Jimmy Carter type of approach for solving world problems. What Carter did for Egypt and Israel can be done for other Middle East problems, but not by a Bernie type.
Sorry....
5
I follow several of the Democratic candidates' campaigns on Twitter, and after every positive Warren announcement or mention, Sanders' supporters, of whom a good number appear to be bots, troll the comments with vile slurs, lies and misleading statements. It doesn't happen only occasionally, but rather, after every single tweet by or about Senator Warren.
They use the same language, insults and claims used by low information rabid Trump supporters.
Between that behavior and Sanders' medical problems, advanced age and rigid thinking, I am not supporting him.
We need someone who doesn't allow anyone - supporters, volunteers or workers - to slander and libel as a substitute for facts, evidence and logical argument. We need someone who is in command of the facts and evidence, uses experts in wise ways, and who adjusts decisions based on the most compelling factual picture in context. We need someone who can bring us back together in light of Trump's declaration of so many Americans as enemies.
That is not Bernie Sanders.
7
It's easy to criticize a passel of anonymous online commenters. How many are real people, how many are bots, how many are trolls sowing Russian, centrist, or right-wing disinformation? Nobody really knows. Generalizing about Sanders' supporters based on online activity is an opaque exercise, because few of these claims of harassment are specific and most cannot be traced back to their sources. Don't forget the 400-lb. Trumpist sitting in his mother's basement doling out online death threats, either!
13
Why not back a candidate so truly progressive they understand it is well past time for this nation's first female president?
4
Look, I'll preface this with:
1) I will vote for and support the nominee, whoever that is.
2) I'm not in the business of bullying/threats.
But does anyone remember 2008? Really and truly remember it, on how people verifiably connected to (not anonymous internet Twittermongers or whomever) Clinton campaign were directly leaning into the same kind of smears and rumors about Obama that the Right would later double down on (secret Muslim identity, birtherism, etc)?
Or how Clinton rode that train all the way to the convention and even got a cabinet seat out of the package?
8 years later, "Bernie didn't campaign hard enough for Clinton" and 12 years later goofballs are posting snakes on Twitter.
The outrage here is pretty suspect when you get right down to it.
(People making threats and actually, truly harassing others are crossing an unjustifiable line though. Let's make this entirely clear).
5
The Democratic party is finished. You watch, once Trump is inevitably re-elected in November, the party of the Copperheads will be in ashes. Bernie and his followers will accomplish what Trump and McConnell never could.
3
I feel like this is really just another vaguely disguised hit-piece against Bernie Sanders from the mainstream media. Bernie’s message has always been clear and consistent—it’s always been about embracing all kinds of people; it’s mostly about inclusivity and doing unto others as you would have one do unto you. I have been guilty of getting upset with certain people online, but mostly those who really don’t “get it”, and those who straight up lie, saying he is “too far left” (doesn’t exist in today’s Democratic Party), or he would be “disastrous” for the party, or he is sewing “divisiveness” in the party, as Jennifer Rubin of Washington Post Opinions boldly, and falsely, stated just today. There’s a ton of misinformation out there about Bernie Sanders and his campaign, and a lot of it has to o with the media not properly and honestly covering him. Yeah, I do get upset sometimes at those folks, especially supposed Democrats who can’t get behind him, because he’s just too progressive for them. I don’t understand it, and I feel that those are the folks disrupting the direction the Democratic Party should be moving in. And when you, in this article, imply that someone stating facts about Kamala Harris’ campaign by pointing out stark differences in fundraising between her and Sanders, is somehow akin to “bullying”, that’s insane. I get that there are probably some supporters who take it too far, but the vast majority of us are not being threatening or causing problems.
12
I'm convinced much of the infighting is caused by trolls rather than actual supporters of Democratic candidates. To a lesser extent I've noticed the same issue in the NYT comments section.
Anyone reading social media should discount the vitriolic bait. Don't engage.
5
Bernie is more conservative than FDR and John F. Kennedy. Let that sink in.
4
Bernie Bros are just Trumpers for the other team. Bernie constantly lies about his ability or willingness to control his supporters, and his awareness of their proclivities. How, in this day and age, has somebody who repeatedly undermined HRC, whose campaign had widespread sexual harassment that he said he didn't know about because he was "a little busy making the argument," and who is doing the same thing now gaslighting Warren to say she didn't hear what she knows he said, managed to avoid #timesup and be revered as an authority on equality? How many lies and distortions have Jeff Weaver and Nina Turner been caught in? How many bills has Bernie ever got passed and made into laws? He was perfectly aware of "Bernie or Bust" and encouraged it through his surrogates because it's just a cult to gratify his ego. We busted.
7
Wait, so his supporters called out Harris for corruption and things like doing Hamptons fund raisers and that was... correct. And Bernie’s twitter followers might be bots because of Russia? Wow. The daily kitchen sink throwing continues. Maybe you guys would have a slightly different view of the internet if you used it more. Like, check twitter responses to Kobe passing, it’s full of trolls and haters. Gross, but it’s everywhere and it ain’t just Bernie fans. I’d rather have them call someone out for real then have constant corporate lies and meetings like Trump’s millionaire sessions caught on video. Choose your battles, people.
5
After listening to Trump for these past four years, and those sycophants that support him, my ears are well tuned to identifying the vile non-sense, the red chum, broadcast or tossed to the MAGA crowd. I have to mute the T.V. or radio, or turn my head and figuratively raise up a handkerchief to avoid the equally hot uncouth spittle accompanying the words. I don't want to hear, or suffer it, from our own democratic opponents of this lying, hateful petit-tyrant. Woe onto those that mimic Trump or the quislings that support him. Argue issues, vision, and goals, plus the paths to achieving them. Shape the arguments to penetrate the illness afflicting Trump's cult followers - doing so may break the fever. Be kind, firm, forthright, speak your truth for the entire nation to hear. Don't look like an enraged, rabid partisan with pursed lips and cold eyes, hands or fingers raised to add a gestural punctuation mark to your angry words. Think of Roosevelt's four freedoms, addressed through the principle medium of the time radio: words chosen well to those listening; calm, compelling, broadly understood, and empathetic. For in a sense, we are at war - to save the Republic.
2
Another hit piece by the corporate media in attempt to slow down Bernie's momentum. The vast majority of our politicians are bought and sold by various corporate interests. This "democracy" of ours is more so showing its true colors of being a farce.
Hey Plutocrats, get out of the way of the will of the people. You may want to hold onto the whole pie as long as you can but that strategy will result in tragedy for everyone. Bernie can't be bought by billionaires and that's why I'll be knocking doors in a swing state for him.
11
Witness the corporate establishment so desperately GRASP for straws. Same as the President's defense team who make no arguments based on the merits of the impeachment charges, the corporate wing of the Democratic Party cannot defeat Bernie on the merits because he has the backing of working class people who are SICK of being disregarded and exploited. It's glorious to watch the establishment flail so desperately.
6
After witnessing the flood of facebook disinformation during the 2016 campaigns, it seems entirely possible that the worst of the vitriolic tweets sent to Sanders' rivals could be coming from trolls, aiming to disgrace his campaign.
6
Bernie Sanders will win the California primary on super Tuesday, there is little doubt about that.
Just look at the polling. This will change everything
except the negative press he will continue to receive.
The mainstream news media including this newspaper will lose all credibility for not endorsing him.
5
Right after the debate was horrible. Women and men attacked Warrens page like an infestation. It was so abusive and disrespectful. It was so vilifying. So all or nothing. So cult like - mob like.
The bullying on my own posts about Elizabeth Warren is intense, irritation and makes me wish he was not running so Elizabeth Warren could shine without constant harassment. She is the better candidate, in my Opinion, she has what it takes to write policy and get things done. She talks to people instead of at them and answers questions thoughtfully and specifically. There is no comparison when listening or reading an interview w Bernie. All is general, nothing specific. I got attacked for this position several times - by women. Women are very sexist also. Incredibly so.
The comments in the times article about warren are also filled w inaccuracies by Bernie supporters. They say she snubbed him and lied and set this entire thing up to gain feminist support, she played the gender card. People pronounced even if she was the candidate they could never vote for her. The endless broad swiping of all she is and in the end it’s a snake.
I almost caved because I just can’t take another campaign where a woman is verbally brutalized. By Trump and by Bernie people. Stop.
4
I wish bernie supporters viciously attacked — no, compassionately confronted and called-in other bernie supporters for being bullies.
I wish there was an understanding amongst bernie supporters that there are likely folks hiding amongst their comrades who are actually political agents trying to sow dissent by bullying.
I wish there was an agreement to look at everyone bullying online with extreme suspicion as potential agents of disruption and to cultivate an almost saccharine online demeanor, and instead have these urgent discussions about disagreements of policy and strategy as a community as much as possible. Slide into earnest engagement. Treat vitriol as the political poison it is.
2
Bernie and his supporters are undemocratic. They want all of their way and none of anyone else's. They don't listen, especially when called out on nonsense, such as substantial errors in logic and basic math. With Trump and then Sanders the decline of the US as a world leader would truly be sealed, especially as it pertains to supporting and upholding a democracy in which a plethora of voices are heard and respected.
2
No candidate has complete control of his/her supporters, and that has always been the case. The difference is, in the past, what a supporter may have had to say seldom got past his companions at the bar room or other social gathering place. The internet and social media makes it possible for someone to respond, sometimes unkindly, to what someone else has said a continent away.
Last election cycle, as in 2008, I supported Clinton's opponent because of issues that I need not get into here. Hillary supporters accused me of misogyny, being a male chauvinist, anti-woman and every other status up to being a Neanderthal. Only since her defeat do some of those former supporters now agree with my criticisms, which Mrs. Clinton still helps to fuel with some of her recent remarks.
So supporters of all candidates can be nasty. And the higher the enthusiasm, the greater the potential for nastiness, it seems.
3
These revelations are depressing and discouraging. Many of us may be quick to condemn the excesses of Mr. Trump's giant base of intractable zealots, but are Mr. Sanders' intractable zealots any better? Is this how Democracy dies, going down in flames?
The results of a recent (Jan. 25) NYT/Siena College Poll of a sample of Iowa voters shows Mr. Trump ahead of EVERY democratic candidate, including Mr. Sanders (Trump -48% to Sanders 42%). ("Sanders Seizes Lead in Volatile Iowa Race") Previous polling showed the president trailing some of the democratic candidates. Should these results be surprising? Why should moderate Iowa voters, who may dislike and disapprove of Mr. Trump, jump ship and vote for Mr. Sanders? They're speaking to us loud and clear.
Haven't we learned our lesson from 2016? Clinton could have won Pennsylvania had it not been for some disgruntled members of the "liberal/progressive" electorate who chose to vote against Clinton in protest; i.e., for Jill Stein. Trump beat Clinton in Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes. Stein garnered 49,941 votes in Pennsylvania that year. Your votes do indeed make a difference!! Come to your senses, setting aside your hatreds and pulling together to defeat a common foe is the only way to proceed. If we lose the race for president, we lose everything - across all issues, including Climate Change, reproductive freedoms, reasonable gun legislation, etc. Mr. Sanders needs to control the vitriol of some of his supporters.
2
@Sprari
Jilll Stein's votes did not belong to anyone other than Jill Stein.
A common mistake.
1
Here come the Bernie hit pieces. They can’t get Bernie on anything because he’s authentic, so they’ll throw anything desperately at the wall to make it stick, so the neoliberal aim for his supporters.
7
Bernie Bros are the mirror image of the MAGA hatters.
Bullying and intolerance are no better when coming from the left than the right.
5
No defense, but Bernie Bros hardly corner the market on social media nastiness. Rivers of insult, threat and hate flow in every direction on twitter.
It wasn't my idea (or Sanders') to give all humans, regardless of criteria, full voice to engage politically and personally with all other humans, constantly and anonymously. But, if you do politics on twitter you can hardly complain about the result. Unplug.
PS- My view of humanity is somewhere between Calvin and Hobbes.
3
Sanders certainly stirs up the passions of people. But starting with the whole "Bernie bro" thing in 2016, much of the issue seems to be a cultivated meme. Not sure this article helps much.
Why?
Well, the Russian interest in exploiting and amplifying division is sort of nudged up to, but then the matter is dropped.
Having some experience as a internet editor, I can tell you that often the most extreme statements made are likely to be false flag operations targtting the reputation of the person supposedly being supported by whatever nastiness is being served.
It's also been noted that this tactic is often used by the Russians. Now, I would be the first to say that the Russians are NOT behind all abusive internet behavior, but they probably do represent a significant source of it. And that being so, it tends to encourage people who just enjoy participating in posting up similar stuff.
Of course, anyone with a significant public profile is going to attract a wide audience consisting of all sorts of people with a diverse range of opinion, from support to opposition to false flag dreck. Consider the source before doing anything other than hitting Delete. If it's just leading to stupid juxtaposition vs what a candidate has stated, then it likely has next to nothing to do with the candidate involved.
That is what makes Trump's massive such support especially worrisome, as he feels no need to tamp in down and in fact often takes pains to stir it up.
3
After the last Democratic debate, I posted a mildly critical comment on FB concerning Sanders' gruff and alienating communication style. A fellow Sanders supporter, someone I personally know, then proceeded to bully and threaten me, going so far as to state that other local Sanders supporters would not support my own local advocacy and activist work. She was unhinged and made these threats over FB and through texting me on my phone.
4
This is a hit-piece by the NY Times making a last-ditch effort to slow down Bernie's momentum. I am a Warren supporter. I think it's time for us to elect a president with bold ideas that can transform our corrupt system. But what the mainstream media don't get is that it's this kind of biased reporting that attempts to give unfair coverage that riles up Bernie supporters, just like they did to Trump voters in 2016! And we all know how that went!
6
Bernie should immediately shut down the online campaign. It will hurt him, as it's hurting others. He can only control the bullying by taking a very strong stand. He'll be respected for that.
1
Those “alarmed” by the zeal of Sanders’s supporters should be far more alarmed by the zeal of Trump supporters.
2
"Latstetter said, adding that he was unsure if he would support any of the other Democratic candidates if they won the nomination."
These people are not Democrats, to be fair, they are the other side of the Freedom Party Caucus, purity tests and all.
3
The NY Times is routinely critical of Sanders, often more harshly than other candidates. If you take a look online, there are plenty of threats and other nonsense going on with supporters of all presidential candidates. Bernie Sanders has a uniquely strong and passionate fan base because he is building a movement, not just a presidential campaign. When people believe strongly and powerfully in what they are fighting for, they ARE uncompromising - look at any major figure, MLK, Gandhi etc.
That's no excuse for nastiness. But Sanders isn't responsible for what a small numbers of his supporters may say. And the problem has much more to do with internet culture, in my opinion, than this particular presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, many Sanders supporters are particularly motivated because of the way the Democratic party has attacked him. (he needs to be "ground to a pulp" - John Podesta) Talk about nasty.
8
He's building a movement alright, and it's the same kind of movement that Jeremy Corbyn built in the UK - scrupulously woke, with grandiose visions of punitively taxing the rich and corporations to spend big establishing a egalitarian utopia (only that won't raise anything near the $6 trillion per annum that his plan requires, so the middle classes will be taxed into oblivion too), and opening himself up to obvious attack-points that Trump will gleefully milk to destroy his chances with the electoral college. Bernie will fail. Trump will destroy him. The masses will not rise up and elevate him to the Oval Office, because your American electoral college makes that revolution extraordinarily unlikely. The Cult of Bernie on Twitter just has no concept of political reality.
3
@PeteH Trumps supporters will turn on him and vote for their self interests i.e.
Bernie Sanders. Bernie will connect with
all voters except the very rich.
1
What if reporting in this way is doing the work of Russian interference in our elections again? We have been told but the intelligence community that Russia is actively working to even more subtly create chaos and subvert our election. What if reporting on this without researching where this discord originates is assisting Russian interests in our national downfall? Please consider this possibility.
7
It's incomprehensible to me why anyone would vote for an old man with a heart condition with absolutely no record in Congress. Say what you will about Hillary, she is right about that. No plan, nothing specific, just shouting about rights for all. He does not really care about that agenda or he would get out of the way and let a far more qualified candidate move forward: Elizabeth Warren, with a track record out the party's ears.
5
Every time Sanders goes up in the polls, The Times has to find a way to demonize him and his supporters.
I have never heard Sanders say any of his supporters should act in the reprehensible fashions described in the article. I have heard Trump tell his many times to including to inflict violence on those with whom they disagree. The implication of the article that Sanders supporters and his behavior are similar to those of Trump and his supporters is beneath the dignity of The Times.
On the internet anyone can say anything and can claim they are whatever they want. Can The Times prove that the disgusting messages were not the work of those trying to denigrate Sanders in the eyes of the voters.
10
So basically Sanders denies any responsibility for his followers. How Trump-like.
6
Not for me. He wasn't in 2016 and definitely not now. He strikes me as extremely caustic. His my way or the highway mentality does not bode well for 2020.
4
If true, I hardly see how such behavior will influence people to vote for Sanders. If you feel like you have to intimidate people to vote for your candidate, then either your persuasion skills are lacking, or your candidate's ideas just aren't that popular.
3
Sanders and his supporters are evolving to compete with trump and his populist supporters as dangers to democracy. This shouldn't be a surprise- whenever a cult of personality develops a religious zeal takes hold, as if the "leader" is a messiah and anything is permissible in order to usher in the promised paradise. It is a no more or less than the secular version of a crusade against infidels.
5
Trump himself said in the Parnas tape that if HRC had made Sanders VP, they likely would've won.
I agree. This is what is needed for the two camps to unite. A Biden Sanders ticket would be high on age but would work (anyone who dies can be replaced). It's about the nature of the team.
A Warren/Buttigieg ticket would work too.
2
The Republican party has been dragged to the right since the Reagon day with the Dems willingly following them. Sanders is returning the party to where it has historically been
7
This is a legitimate issue. I have been leaning more towards Bernie after he out preformed Warren in battle ground state polls, but these incidents do give me pause. The story does not say anything about similar behavior by extremists who back other candidates, however. One assumes that this is because there isn’t any such behavior from other camps. It would be helpful to see that in writing.
3
We Americans must learn how to compete--in politics, in business, in life--without scorched earth, winner-take-all, burn-the-building down tactics. (That's what we dislike so much in the GOP, after all.) Whoever the nominee is, in a few months we're going to all have to unite and go door-to-door to beat Trump in the swing states. Our future will depend on it.
I am still undecided, but I am encouraged that in 2020 we have so much talent on display. Each candidate has significant strengths (and weaknesses), and none of them will embarrass us in front of the world. Those who fail to get the nomination will make great additions to the cabinet or as agency heads, if they so choose.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good--especially when we have the atrociously bad running things now.
Thank you for this article! I’m so tired of the Bernie Bro effect. I wish he was held accountable as a leader in the debates, not one question on the matter. As a progressive that likes him, will vote for him if he’s the nominee, his toxic supporters are THE I’m turned off from him and his message. He needs to demonstrate that he can unify and show empathy and not just fuel a different kind of fire.
7
Any semi-intelligent Democrat has to make peace with the fact that a large contingent of our party’s most active and engaged members are not people we have a lot in common with or frankly much patience for.
In this regard we share a position with our semi-intelligent Republican brethren.
1
I support Joe Biden. In 2016 I was all in for Bernie; vocally and financial.
In 1968 I was fervent for RFK. Went to Convention.
So i understand passion. But our RFK passion - and McCarthy passion - probably helped Nixon beat Humphrey.
“Dump the Hump” was the slogan. We did, we lost and I went to Vietnam.
Bernie gets the nomination will be same outcome. 4 more years of Trump.
Biden a very strong progressive - not all Bernie Bros but time for our head not our heart.
7
Many women I follow on Twitter have chosen candidates other than Sanders, and I've seen them get a lot of online abuse. We're normal citizens and not even online celebrities, and I really wish I could talk about the candidates I like without being afraid of abuse from random men on the platform. I'm still undecided (down to weighing two candidates), and I'm not voting for Sanders in the primaries because the behavior of his supporters is a dealbreaker. (That's not the only reason. I don't have faith in his ability to push initiatives through if we get an R/R House/Senate, and a few of the other candidates seem to have a better handle on that. Candidates should prepare for the worst case scenario.) It bothers me when people put so much faith in a single person that they are willing to be abusive to others who don't share their vision. This just shouldn't happen in a democracy.
7
I have similar experiences with Bernie Bros.. even good friends. You can’t have an intelligent conversation with them.. it’s all about DNC,DNC,HRC... the reason Bernie did not get the nomination is that people did not vote for him
It will be the same this time...
I’m sincerely sorry he tried to run again!
5
The top reader picks in the comment section really drive home the content of the article, since it’s mostly defensive comments.
Bernie is a great candidate, it’s fine to be his supporter. But it only takes a few days on r/politics to recognize that the Bernie echo chamber is strong and fierce, with sometimes lack of introspection. Bernie is in my top 2, but some of his supporters’ brand of loyalty is a big turnoff for me.
4
I am a Democrat and WILL VOTE for any Democrat that wins the nomination. (Including Sanders, if I have to)
I like Mr Sanders just fine, but he is not my top choice.
Many of his supporters behave like bullies and take the “my way or the highway” (Bernie or Bust) approach.
This is NOT helping Mr Sanders and NOT helping the country.
I might even call it almost Trumpian.
7
I agree. Bernie is fine, but his supporters scare me and remind me of the Trump crowds. The "only Trump (or Bernie) can save us" mentality is dangerous.
1
The answer to the question "Is it his problem if...?" is Yes.
If he can't control his message and supporters, how is he going to govern a nation of several hundred million people.
(Secondary answer: It doesn't look like he's trying that hard to stop the bullying. The tone flows from the top.)
5
@SYJ I am no Sanders fan (quite the opposite), but the concept that a candidate has to be able to control all of his supporters in order to be able to govern the country is a nonsense. For a start, the President does not "control" the people of the U.S. Secondly, every single candidate has supporters that say or write things that would horrify the candidate. You don't get to pick who supports you. You can only disavow them. That, Mr Sanders has failed to do.
1
@SYJ
He’s not trying very hard to stop the bullying, just like he didn’t try to stop the bullying in 2016, when his supporters were chanting against Clinton—after she was chosen— at that Democratic convention.
2
The sudden onslaught of negative coverage of Senator Bernie Sanders's campaign in recent days, just before the Iowa Caucus, showing him in the lead in the polls, as well as in New Hampshire, is proof of how well his campaign is doing. It also points the extent to which neo-liberals centrists and mainstream media will go to distort to derail his candidacy. It is not going to work. His support is solid as a rock. Ditto for the ever growing and record breaking grass root donations to his presidential run. Trashing Bernie Sanders will not work. We all know better.
8
@La Rana
If you want to nominate a candidate who will most certainly lose the general election to Trump, be my guest. I for one will not forgive you.
What Bernie Sanders does, is questioning other candidates' IDEALS.
He suggest that if they don't promise radical change overnight, it's because contrary to him, they don't want radical change in the first place, they put career before country.
That is completely false. It's why the bottom line of his presidential campaigns ARE about bullying. His supporters seem to perfectly get this.
And as all bullying, unfortunately, it cultivates cynicism, rather than leading to real, democratic, lasting change...
2
I eagerly await some actual research on the online behaviour of supporters of various presidential candidates - after all as educated people we will all agree that the plural of anecdote isn't data; and equally it is dangerous to rely on the conventional wisdom as promulgated, for example, by this paper (for the older folks among us, I will remind you of the 2000 campaign - anyone uncritically taking in what this paper and the Post were putting out would have come away with the conviction that it was Al Gore who had a problem with the truth, not George W. Bush).
3
Two things. First, there is a difference between passion and harassment. Many of Bernie's supporters are harassing people and this is unacceptable. To equate harassment with passion is morally wrong. Second, for proof of this harassment, to those who claim it's a myth, just look at Elizabeth Warren's social media feeds. Bernie's supporters have literally trashed her online and her support has plummeted as a result. Bernie's talk of "revolution" incites bad behavior.
3
If the Russians and Bernie folks are trashing Warren, it means they fear her. She is my top pick for president. May she win.
@Lulu
If Bernie supporters are hard on Warren it's not because they fear she will get elected (which wouldn't be so bad). It's because they fear she'll only split the progressives and thereby get Biden - and then Trump - elected.
1
I am trying to decide whether to support Bernie Sanders. But the internet campaign emphasized by this article has little to do with my decision.
I like the Sanders vision to ensure universal health care for all Americans. But what about the details?
Here's one possible approach. Set up scholarships for graduating seniors in middle America high schools. Those scholarships would provide 4 years of education in a university followed by 4 years of medical school. Then the students would be required to serve for some period of time as physicians in the communities from which they came.
This would not provide us with immediate universal health care, but would set us on the trajectory.
But here is the controversial part. I would couple that with a complete halt to illegal immigration. (That would garner support among Republicans of course.)
The reason is that illegal immigration does little to fight poverty in countries like Guatemala. The population INCREASE in Guatemala is about 340,000 per year; just to offset that increase we would need 340,000 immigrants per year from that country.
On the other hand, America's resources are limited. The resources we might spend on potential physicians is spent instead on K12 education of immigrants.
Thus illegal immigration sets in motion growth trends in the US which prevent our achieving universal health care.
Why don't the candidates (Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg) speak out on this issue?
We need to be informed.
2
This article fails to consider generational change. Generation Z and millennials grew up on the internet and inhabit the communities named- reddit, Twitter etc. Bernie Sanders is overwhelmingly popular with younger voters- and those people are especially active on reddit and Twitter. Additionally, cancel culture and online political discourse are largely shaped by younger people. So I think this article is actually speaking out to a underlying difference in generational politics and generational ways of communicating on the internet. Obviously this doesn’t encompass personal threats to people- but I think most of the patterns of “rude” behaviors people associate with online Bernie supporters is youth internet culture. And there is a separate debate about pros and cons of that form of expression
214
@Tyler Right, the same culture that demand safe spaces at college against micro-aggressions. Fail.
16
@Tyler Internet culture may be the ultimate oxymoron. Civil discourse is thin on the ground. I don’t expect every generation to follow the sMe old rules, but rude is rude, and disrespectful is disrespectful regardless of the medium.
18
@Tyler I was a much bigger hot head years ago and more reactive in my early 20's. I'm not entirely sure it's just a generational difference and more of a need to grow and mature.
12
Why didn't the NY Times ask him about his supporters and the fact that in 2016 some of them chose not to vote, or to vote for Trump? How does that reflect on his leadership skills?
8
@DebbieR I am a Bernie supported who voted for Hillary and I know many others who also voted for Hillary. I do not know of any 2016 Bernie supporter who did not vote for Hillary.
Bernie supporters will NOT vote for Trump.
3
@GolferBob
I know many did, but there were definitely some who chose not to vote at all, and I believe I read about some who even voted for Trump. That to me is a failure of message. It cannot and should not be all about the one person.
1
This article is alarmist nonsense that's trying to re-frame politics as they've been conducted in this country for decades as something new. Dirty tricks are pretty much nonstop, and every Democratic candidate has used them. Every candidate has used proxies to go out and flame/troll their opponents, every candidate has used insinuation, sophistry and fear mongering. Every single one of them has supporters who scream and yell and issue threats online. The Times just notices is more from Sanders since they don't like his program. I still remember when Clinton was trying to pitch Obama, of all people, and a questionable outsider with a weird past. Politics are dirty.
3
One thought should be uppermost in the minds of people who want to defeat Trump. The president did *not* want Bernie on the ticket with Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders is the anti-Trump and he can win and Trump knows it.
6
I'm not here to defend the behavior of individuals. I don't think there is any defending of certain instances of bullying etc. Full stop.
However:
If one is more concerned with the abrasiveness of supporters, than with the goodness of what they are fighting for: reducing inequality, mitigating global warming, increasing healthcare coverage, stopping endless war, then one is misguided. The impact and scale of these two things is non-comparable.
411
@Teddy Roosevelt
The ends don’t justify the means.
That’s what Bernie is signaling with his turning a blind eye to this evil. That’s what Bernie is signaling with his promotion of Joe Rogan’s endorsement - and throwing all allies (women, African Americans, Trans people) to win the mythical white working class voters (who switched to Trump).
It’s not about win at all costs.
Values matter.
46
@Teddy Roosevelt Bernie and his Bros are not the only ones fighting for these things; Warren is just as progressive (and has the record to prove it). If it really were the cause and not the personality, you would be okay with any progressive candidate.
42
@Annie Towne
Thank you, Annie.
We must confront any mob with courage and stay true to our values
Whether it includes the extremists among Trump’s supporters including the “Proud Boys”. Or, the extremists in Bernie’s base including the “Bernie Bros”
25
We Bernie supporters want nothing less than a Revolution. We will not be silenced. The revolutions that happened in Cuba and Russia were nothing compared to what we have in store. America will soon feel the burn.
13
@CJT you just proved their point.
36
@CJT
It's true. Bernie's supporters are angry at the system that gave us Trump. The others are just angry at Trump and want to replace him so they can go back to brunch.
14
@CJT The result of the revolutions our mention, is the perfect reason for me to never vote for someone promising it
16
While I condemn (and report) any Bernie supporters tweeting death threats or sexist/racist slurs, I’ve found that’s very rare. People are angry and uncouth, but rarely truly offensive, and often quite funny.
Meanwhile, the power imbalance in this “bullying” often goes entirely uncommented upon. Moderate Dem pundits and politicos are hugely powerful, with massive platforms that they regularly use to inform the plebes that, as many Sanders supporters joke, “Better things aren’t possible.” For us Twitter nobodies who need these “better things” to live — people barely able to make rent or treat chronic medical conditions, drowning in debt, unable to afford education that will improve their lives — these pundits aren’t just privileged and clueless, they’re dangerous. Sanders fans are tweeting like our lives depend on it, because they often are. Yet we’re painted as the bullies, rather than the internecine network of politicians and pundits that keep this system of immiseration in place — and are rarely, if ever, subject to it.
659
@Maria agree 100%
38
@Maria
"Cities [will] burn" if US President Donald Trump is re-elected, Kyle Jurek, who is described as a Bernie Sanders campaign field organizer, told Project Veritas."
It gets much worse from there, and I won't quote the rest. I can bring up similar sentiments from other people positioned in his campaign as well.
While I don't consider Bernie to be truly " far left" -- his dangerous followers are. As is Ilhan Omar - who endorses Bernie Sanders.
15
@Maria Being aggrieved has its limits. If people feel the need to act fanatical, whatever the reason, it will drive away other potential supporters condemning Bernie to be a perpetual outsider.
16
Mild campaign behavior as compared to what the DNC did to Bernie in 2016. Systemic change is not as frightening as some thought. That is why Bernie has popped into the lead lead. It has been a long , loyal and patient wait for Bernie’s supporters. All good.
11
i not only support bernie sanders, i am currently in iowa volunteering for him. the weather is cold and the culture here is warm, friendly and inviting. every single activity training session includes behavioral/decorum instruction and everyone i have met is mindful and filled with bernie enthusiasm. the volunteers are local and from coast to coast, young and old. this is a life (and country) affirming experience.
15
@karen Welcome to Iowa, Karen. I've received a few calls, texts, and visits from Bernie volunteers, and when I have told them I'll be supporting Warren, they've all been gracious and understanding.
On the very few (couple) of times I have posted anything on social media about Warren, I have been bombarded by Sanders' supporters saying crazy, offensive things.
4
Let me try to explain where this "rabid" Bernie supporter is coming from.
In 2016, I took two of our home-schooled kids up to Ottumwa Iowa to witness a caucus as sort of a "civics field trip". I was thoroughly impressed with the process, the dialogue and collective participation by ALL members of the community. (Just moving back to America, it made me feel a little proud even.) But what did disturb me was how the DNC administrators used different criteria for registering the participants and thereby GAVE Hillary one extra delegate (at Bernie's expense, since O'Malley had no supporters). The net effect of two delegates in this ONE precinct was nearly the difference that Hillary had for the entire state, three delegates! In the precinct just next to ours they rounded both Bernie's and Hillary's vote numbers down to calculate their awarded delegates, thereby leaving one delegate free to assign - which they did based on the fact that Hillary's number was rounded down MORE (by a few hundreth places!) than Bernie's - when they should have HERE flipped a coin. Thus, Bernie would have had a 50/50 chance of picking up two more delegates if he wasn't ripped off. (The first incident I saw with my own eyes; the second one I pieced together the next morning in speaking with Bernie's precinct representative, as his campaign HQ, all volunteer, was being packed up.)
So, I may not be so respectful this time around as an observer (with my younger kids) if we see such shenanigans again!
18
what's behind the Sanders' supporters saying "“Some of you millionaires need to realize that many of us actually *need* Bernie Sanders to win the Presidency,”
where they "need" Bernie as opposed to some other non-Trump president? pls explain.
Bernie's promise to cancel all student loan debt? If that's so, it's the desperate belief in an untenable promise. What else could it be??
5
Forgiving student loan debt would be a boon for two generations of Americans and increase their spending power. It is public policy that is informed by economic, is the right thing to do and we can afford it as a nation.
4
People declaring over and over that the attacks from Sanders supporters are "myth" have never been the target of them. It's not myth and it's NOT rare.
18
So true. They get unhinged if you even criticize him mildly while still openly supporting him.
1
@turtle Please provide examples of these NON RARE events that you have experienced.
1
I agree with much of the Sanders critique about the challenges facing our nation, but I don't think he is the one our country should choose to meet those challenges. Well into his second campaign for president, his policy prescriptions remain shallow. This tells me he really does not have the ability to champion his own platform. This shortcoming is disqualifying for the office sought.
The fact that his supporters choose to fill Sanders' vacuum with noise is disconcerting, particularly if they won't vote for the eventual nominee and live in Wisconsin, Michigan, or Pennsylvania.
There is a rational reason both Trump (and Putin) would like Sanders to be the Democratic nominee. Trump's repeated praising of Sanders (and courting of Sanders supporters) should deeply trouble Sanders supporters. Trump knows the polling, and thus he knows exactly who would be easiest to beat.
12
@South Halsted If not mistaken, Trump calls Sanders, Crazy Bernie. I don't see that as a recommendation.
Imagine if Sander's on line followers turned against Trump's vitriolic tongue. I think the tinsel king would find himself tarnished.
@John Emmanuel For one example, Trump described Biden and Sanders to Boston Herald Radio as follows, Biden "In many ways, I like him" — but added "he's not as smart as Bernie [Sanders]. And he's not as quick."
This month in Wisconsin Trump addressed Elizabeth Warren’s claim that Sanders told her a woman could not defeat Trump in 2020 by saying "I don’t believe that Bernie said that."
While I like a lot of Bernie’s ideas, I won’t be voting for him in the primary, as he like his Bernie bro’s don’t like being challenged on their policies or ideas and the bullying is more of the same of what we are currently being subjected to for the past 3 years.
The more his supporters bully others online the further they push others away. I’ll vote for Warren first, she’s a lot more palatable & progressive enough for me. I really hope Bernie doesn’t win the nomination as it will mean 4 more years of bullying and vitriol no matter if it’s him or trump.
I don’t expect any candidate to be perfect but I do expect them and their supporters to talk to others with decorum. If Bernie wins the nomination I’ll hold my nose and vote, but also knowing that we had such a better choice.
17
If I could vote in your election I would vote for Bernie Sanders. In the United States, you consider him a radical socialist. In Canada, he wouldn't be considered radical at all. He would be somewhere between the Liberal Party (Trudeau) and the New Democratic Party (Singh). There is nothing radical about universal health care and more equal society where everyone pays their fair share. You're the only advanced western democracy that doesn't have some form of it.
13
I think it is a strategic mistake by Sanders' campaign to let this continue. What everyone wants and needs right now is a break from the infantile name calling and bullying on Twitter - from all sides. It is a coward's game, which is why Trump excels at it.
What I hope for from Democrats is an alternative to this type of behavior. Going low is a Republican game. They know it reduces voter turnout and we all know what that means. Democrats only hope is to be inclusive. That's how they win, even if it isn't their preferred candidate. The Republicans have a long game; it's time the Democrats do too.
8
@Never mind the...
Let what continue? Random people on twitter be mean to other random people on twitter? That's literally all anybody does on twitter. Bernie has more pressing issues to deal with.
2
@MK Plausible deniability is another Republican tactic.
Most of these "bullying" posts are being directed at powerful gatekeepers in the democratic and media establishment. The same people who have architected, defended, and profited from the neoliberal hellscape in which we currently live. I'm sorry if they're offended, but let's not pretend that their power is being credibly threatened by tweets.
15
Not always true. Even as a Sanders supporter I was viciously bullied by a Sanders campaigner because I mildly criticized his gruff demeanor.
1
It is incredibly alienating and scaring people away.
I'm very progressive (and loud and proud about it) but I don't simply fall in line for any candidate, and I have received a lot of push back from Bernie-supporting friends for this perceived lack of purity. As a result of posts about Elizabeth Warren I've had to mute or de-friend many angry "friends" on social media. I once even had to walk out of a blind date amid a torrent of explicit verbal abuse.
I hate to break it to many good-hearted Berie supporters, but BERNIE BROS ARE REAL and they are dangerous -- both to individuals and to the greater progressive cause. Bernie himself, a clear-eyed and inspiring leader, clearly cannot control his army.
I urge those who love Bernie to vote for him and support him enthusiastically, but also to put down the pitchforks -- and ask your friends to do the same. Part of the point of progressivism is allowing the political space and freedom for everyone to think (and vote) for themselves. We are better than this.
12
Everyone needs to consider where vicious comments come from before pointing to the Bernie campaign. I have been a Bernie supporter since the 2016 campaign and I have never heard anything negative from another supporter about any of the situations or people mentioned in the article. Is it inconceivable that they are NOT Bernie supporters...but hired thugs to denigrate the campaign? There are many people and organizations, both in the U.S. and abroad, who would happily derail this campaign. I urge Bernie to take a stronger approach for all of us to make the space much bigger between real supporters and others whose goal is disinformation and creating negative influence about the Bernie campaign. Look what Trump did to influence the election against Joe Biden...does anyone think he will not do the same to Bernie if he wins in the early states?
5
It is especially relevant if these online bullies associated with bernie are hired thugs for the ‘true’ bernie supporters to confront it first and foremost because it drives away a lot of folks. The responsibility falls with y’all, because they’re bullying people in your name.
1
@Hysa ..I agree. We need to respond - and quickly - to negative and hateful posts, actions and other things which can effect Bernie and the campaign. It is our campaign...it's belongs to us as his supporters. We must do better to make the campaign really representative of what Bernie represents for us all.
I was campaigning in Iowa this weekend for Elizabeth Warren. I encountered many Sanders supporters, who were, without a single exception, polite and welcoming. Many of them went out of their way to assure me that they would vote for Warren if she were nominated. This social media bullying is certainly a real problem (that Sanders should certainly try harder to control), but I think that the vast majority of Sanders supporters are decent people who would never stoop to this level. I urge the NYTimes to refocus their election coverage towards big issues like climate change.
32
@E My experience as an Iowa Warren supporter. Not my experience as a "social media consumer."
Here’s the key thing about Bernie supporters that you should be reporting: most of us, like Bernie, are driven by compassion, integrity and a concern for the common good. We want a livable planet, and we believe healthcare is a human right. And we understand that the candidate we can trust most to realize these goals is Bernie, who has spoken truth to power his entire career.
48
@Miriam Osofsky
The problem is even if Bernie was elected like many presidents have found out if you do not have the backing of both house and Senate there is not much you can do.
Like President Obama found out after he used most of his political capital getting the ACA (which helped many people) passed and lost the house and then the senate.
I like a lot of the ideas that the candidates have but thinking they can get them done is another thing.but
And oh yes do not forget the big money will be there to try and stop many of these good ideas.
5
@Miriam Osofsky
Yes he’s spoken truth to power. And that’s good. But it’s also true that he is an ineffective legislator due to his obstinate, abrasive character, and allowed Trump to win by not enthusiastically energizing his base to vote for Clinton after she beat him. Remember the chanting and the taped mouths at the convention —and Sanders’ doing nothing about it? I’ll vote for him if he wins the nomination, but I sincerely hope he doesn’t.
4
@Miriam Osofsky
Bernie has collected a government check his entire career. He has done absolutely nothing in 30 years in congress. In fact, I would bet almost anything he has accomplished less in his time in congress than anyone who has served for a similar period of time. He has sponsored exactly 3 bills that have been signed into law, and two were to rename post offices.
He's done so little it's almost laughable. And now you think he's going to literally save the planet? Like PT Barnum said...
3
Perfect, so Sanders has the DJT supporters of the left. Just great.
13
I listened to a professor at Clemson University on NPR the other day who studies cyber attacks. He stated Russian and Chinese trolls were trying to sow discord in our politics. Sounds more like trolls than U.S. citizens supporting the person who does not take corporate bribes and has ALWAYS stood up for the working masses.
I support Bernie because I trust him.
29
You can support him even more by giving the kind of behavior and rhetoric these bullies / potential foreign political agents no quarter in the campaign; educate your comrades and elevate your message and inoculate against trolls and agents of disruption. If bernie supporters directed all the energy wasted at being outraged at these accusations instead into discipline about successfully conveying his message by removing the conditions for saboteurs to hide? Just imagine.
I was a Bernie Bro in 2016. Not now. Too much at stake and I don't want someone who absolutely can't win.
For all his internet warriors, lets live in reality. For all the freebies, math doesn't add up
35
@SHY
We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the history of the world. The countries that are as wealthy as ours on a per capita basis have somehow found a way to guarantee healthcare for all their citizens, provide free or low cost higher education and provide universal Pre-K and paid parental leave. It boggles my mind when people say such goals are unrealistic when examples to the contrary are literally all over the world.
18
@SHY Ain't freebies when I pay taxes and receive nothing back but more wars in the middle east. I pay for my right to have my tax money used in ways I allocate; my vote is my signal that I want that money spent on progressive causes.
It's not free. We're already paying for it. We have a right to demand it's given back to us.
4
@SHY There’s plenty of money for more benefits for our people, but our government squander it on foreign bases and foreign wars.
2
The majority of Bernie’s supporters are women. Where’s that article?
45
@Miles Gantcher It is the women, the young voters and the disenfranchised democrats that will determine the outcome of the 2020 elections for the House, for the Senate and for the White House. Good for them. Good for all of us.
1
Is this another hit-job against Bernie? Bernie supporters are passionate and - although I do not endorse any uncivil behavior online or offline - rightfully angry that the major new media, such as CNN, MSNBC and others have consistently downplayed his support among voters. The way the DNC mistreated Bernie-supporters in 2016 - silencing Bernie supporters during Caucus', purging thousands off their party registration - also qualifies as bullying. The New York Times obviously has a problem with Bernie supporters too and preferred to endorse Klobuchar. She is female and younger, that's it. She would be a sure way to get impeached Trump another term! I think the allegation that Bernie said to Warren 2 years ago (!!!!) that a woman could not win the presidency was planted by establishment Democrats who feared a potential. Bernie-Warren ticket. Because that would bring too many Democrats together. Better keep accusing Bernie people for all kinds of ills, including Hillary's loss in 2016, antisemitism, sexism and why not through in some global warming too
30
This is such a transparently shallow hit piece. It is quite clear that the mainstream media is increasingly nervous about Sanders. This only makes us like him more.
42
@Jerome S.
Call it a hit piece, but it is quite accurate. Sanders’ policy proposals are mostly fine. I’m all for progressive change. The man himself is not presidential timber. Too many personality flaws.
1
First, I've been supporting Warren in this election, though I'm glad to see Bernie doing well in the polls.
Second, it doesn't surprise me that there are some rude Sanders supporters on social media. Sanders did connect himself to the movement on the left for social, economic, and environmental Justice. This movement is very big and contains many kinds of people. There are large numbers of very young people that support Bernie and they don't all have the emotional maturity of older voters. They grew up on a social media that encourages rudeness through anonymity.
The Left is very anti-hierarchy these days, which is both a strength and a weakness. An anti-hierarchy movement is hard to attack from the top down, but nearly impossible to control and relatively easy to attack from the bottom up, through infiltration, or plain rude stupidity.
Bernie needs to reign then in as possible.
Four, calling someone out for taking corporate cash is not rude.
Five, Where was the article about all of the attacks on Bernie Bros by Clinton supporters for the last 4 years? On the NY Times comment pages most of the insults I see are Centrists accusing "Bernie Bros," of being "mysoginisysts," "not real Democrats, "childish," and other insults. I remember reading here that female supporters were only there for the Bros.
Be fair.
17
With the establishment, including the NYT, getting worried about Mr. Sanders, it is time for me to send his campaign some money.
35
the trick will be, when Bernie loses the primary, how to get these hoards of followers to back one of his rivels and put their finely-honed skills to defeating DJT.
14
The question is, will you vote for Sanders when we win the Primaries?
1
@Sally McCart, if Hilary Clinton was half the politician she pretends to be, she would have put him on her ticket. She would be president, could have focused on foreign policy, leaving Bernie to drive domestic policy. Instead, she arrogantly assumed Tim Kaine was a suitable replacement, presumably because he speak fluent Espanol.
It was a fatal mistake.
1
Bernie supporters and their scorched earth tactics are every bit as destructive as Trump supporters. The way they have treated Elizabeth Warren and subjected her to a completely different set of rules sickens me. Ask your candidate for some details already, Bernie zealots.
20
@New World I'm afraid that sounds like a very Trumpian conspiracy theory.
For a year now, I've watched Trump supporters trash Elizabeth Warren's social media feeds daily. Recently Bernie's supporters started to do so with even more unwarranted contempt and hate. Is there any difference between the two camps? I can see how Bernie could win over Trump's supporters, but why would he want to?
One thing I noticed at a Warren rally was how nice Warren's staff and supporters were. It makes a difference, a big one.
I'm sick of Trump and his awful supporters. We need to move beyond the hate and vitriol.
23
Pieces like this keep causing me to donate to the Sanders campaign.
24
@GW I am donating daily for over a year. I want his platform to be realized for all Americans!
2
It's quite clear that Sanders appeals to younger people who like his rhetoric, but lack the wisdom to differentiate stump speech promises from deliverable legislation. I used to think Sanders might be a viable candidate in the 2016 election cycle, but his lack of specifics associated with any of his promises rang hollow. I further detested how he joined with Clinton adversaries to claim that she had to be in the pocket of Wall Street because she accepted money to speak to bankers. What a sexist thing to say -- assuming that paying her certainly means she was corrupted. In my mind, that's the assumption that if you pay for a date's dinner, they are obligated to have sex for dessert. Really? Maybe he wouldn't be able to maintain his values after accepting a large sum for public speaking, but nobody has offered it to him, and maybe he knows he, himself, would be too easily 'bought.' That he can't control the disgusting behavior of his minions doesn't speak well for his statemanship. I know, comparing him to Trump he's still a gem, but not when there are other candidates who are as or better equipped for the enormity of the healing our nation has in store.
9
@Brian Holy smokes, it's sexist to call out someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars by speaking to the very people who absolutely trashed our economy in 2008? News to me, Brian. Here, I thought it was a good way to point out the soft corruption that runs rampant in wealthy, elite circles on both sides of the aisle.
1
@Brian
Do you think VT voters have been fooled for forty years?
2
The TBTF banks paid Hillary millions, not just a dinner. And $675,000 for three speeches? Why do you think they “donated” that money?
2
This feels a lot like a hit piece, similar to the "Bernie Bros" attacks in 2016. I am disappointed that the Times runs these biased pieces that have no quantitative evidence, but cites instead some still-bitter Clinton campaigners from 2016. I have seen brutal ad hominem attacks by supporters of every candidate in the field, including Trump, and I have seen a lot of attacks on Bernie supporters too, and I have been attacked myself. The Internet, and twitter, aren't known for their detailed analyses or politeness, which is no excuse for bad behavior, but this type of article is divisive, and an attack, in its own right. This isn't journalism, but a political hit piece designed to make people who support OR oppose Sanders angry. Why you choose to single out Sanders as largely responsible for systemic online bullying presents some interesting questions of bias and media control of the Democratic party.
25
Maybe some of the comments by so-called "Bernie Bros" are internet trolls and maybe some of the comments condemning the "Bernie Bros" are trolls? It's very likely that this is the case.
Why not believe that Bernie isn't happy with the situation and let the NYT articles and comments stick to the issues. This current setup is not how you build a coalition to defeat Trump.
12
There is not a single democratic candidate that is worse than having Trump reelected. And (unless you are pro-Trump I suppose) failure to support whichever candidate runs against Trump is unforgivable as an American. It's not about "personal principles" this time around. It is about democracy, climate change, the widening wealth gap, xenophobia, and nuclear war. It's time to VOTE.
7
I don't blame Bernie for this type of behavior per se, but to anyone who has read these comments sections in the Times over the last 5 years, say, dating back to the start of the 2016 campaign, we all know a few things about Sanders supporters:
1. They are the biggest crybabies on earth. Anything less than fawning media coverage and the explode in tears and anger (see the comments here).
2. They are as aggressive and nasty as Trump supporters.
3. If you don't agree with them in lock step, they will absolutely vilify you. They are 100% right about everything, and if you don't agree with them completely, you are the enemy.
They are driving a TON of people out of the Democratic Party. I would know: after 25 yeas, I'm changing my voter registration in NY on February 15th to independent, which will allow me to still vote in the NYS Democratic primary in April, and then vote in the general as an independent.
As the saying goes, I haven't left the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party has left me.
Good riddance.
16
@Mike You won't be able to vote in the Democratic primary if you're a registered independent. New York has closed primaries.
@Terri
Changes made after February 14th get set aside until after the primary.
"Want and lack exploded in their minds like a grenade and left shrapnel of desperation in its wake ..." (The Fisherman, C. Obioma). Want and lack, the two sided blade slicing through a decent people. None can excuse the hate-fueled behaviour on any grounds, but the disease that feeds the desperation demands a reckoning. Mr. Sanders and Ms. Warren's motives are praiseworthy, guided as they are by their understanding of the want of fairness and justice.
2
I really wish NYT would focus on the policy. We read countless fear-mongering about Bernie Sanders, but we do not read enough of the stories of people who, for instance, have gone bankrupt from suddenly being sick. Sanders has stuck to the issues while opponents focus on "Bernie Bros" and other irrelevant media stories.
12
@kechacha Yes, why aren’t we getting reporting on the proposed platform ideas?
1
This article is deeply troubling, as are the comments I have read so far.
Anyone remember the phrase "plausible deniability"? That seems to be Sen. Sanders' approach to more than trolling--some of the reported messages are threatening legitimate candidates, and Sanders has to disavow them all. After all, if he wants to be President, he should know what responsibility is and not pass the buck.
Of course the internet and anti-social media have become a Hobbesian war of all against all--and it's all "free speech" with no consequences under USSCt precedent and failures of "hosts" to moderate speech hosted by their portals. So I agree Sanders can't control all messages--but I have experienced working on two highly successful presidential campaigns in the "internet era" that *did* control messages and disavowed craziness, threats, exposes, etc.--
Oh, forgot Trump has made it all about Twitter. . . .
8
The passion of Sanders supporters is what all y’all are going to need to beat Trump. Keep that in mind, please. Eyes on the prize.
14
I've suffered the wrath of both Bernie and Trump bullies. While it's scary that Bernie doesn't appear to vigorously disavow his any more than Trump does, even scarier is the question as to why they both attract such a following.
I would suggest they are both demagogues making promises they can never enact while vilifying anyone that dares to disagree with their populist rhetoric.
15
@American Abroad If you lived here your heart would break to see massive homeless camps, schools underfunded, poverty wages, lack of health care. Then you might agree that we need big systemic change. I am supporting Sanders for his policies not his personality.
It is not a personality cult, the Sanders followers care about people.
2
@Linda McKim-Bell
What exactly Sanders has done to improve these conditions in his almost 30 year career in Congress? In my estimation, Biden and Klobachar have done far more. Just saying.
1
@Linda McKim-Bell
I've lived in the U.S. long enough to have witnessed the inexcusable suffering you are referring to. But what I see from too many Sanders supported is an outright vicious my-way-or-the-highway attitude that presumes no one else but Sanders cares and that only Sanders can fix things which, given his own attitude, is unlikely.
1
The fact that Sanders has raised tens of millions from the poorer citizens is astonishing in and of itself. Let’s talk about the implications of how much more a dollar given to Sanders represents versus the dollars collected by other candidates from wealthy donors. Let’s also talk about how the passion of Sanders supporters equals if not outweighs that of Trump supporters and potentially brings them into our side by recognizing their issues empathetically and with potential solutions, that include having a leader with a spirituality and integrity that their religious interests can accept too. This all increases representative democracy and unites the country.
Sanders for President
22
here's an idea, if Warren wanted to avoid be attacked to online, then she shouldn't have lied about what Sanders said in a private Dec 2018 meeting.
oh, and Harris is in no position to complain about her remarks to corpo donors being disclosed.
11
She did not lie.
1
Some time ago the NYT did an article reporting that the two major concerns of American families were the cost of health care and the cost of higher education.
I realize the Dems need that money from Big Insurance and Big Pharma. And I realize Big Banks need to yoke our children to high interest debt.
The more the establishment attacks Bernie, the more money and time I donate to Bernie.
9
I'm sure there are some vehement attacks that are unjustified against some of the candidates by Sanders supporters but the examples I have seen given are relatively benign. Calling someone a "corporate sellout" when they accept donations from huge corporations or even using a snake emoji re: Warren. These are actually benign insults compared to what these candidates would face from Republicans and the general public. If they can't face those now, how do they expect to win the election?
6
It is important to recognize the Sanders has a disproportionate following among the young -- the group that youth is wasted on.
Don't forget that the Russians are at it again, and are trying to foment hate and discontent among voters. Ms. Clinton isn't helping, either.
3
Bullying, Bernie bros...threatening behavior, a complete myth as far as what I have witnessed over the past almost 5 years of following many of his supporters. For the most part, they are caring individuals, whose goal in all of this, is to make the world a far better place for all. They are generous, supportive of one another and strive constantly to deliver Senator Sander's consistent message...platform. The entire establishment is officially and unfairly attacking Senator Sanders and his supporters in an attempt to undermine what should be a just and thoroughly informative democratic primary. These un-journalistic performances (and there have been a slew) are manufactured, or at a bare minimum, blown way out of proportion, in my view.
7
I recall reading an Op-Ed piece last week about Bernie Sanders having to "fight dirty" if he intends to stay in the race and especially if he intends to win.
After reading this article, I guess Bernie Sanders' attitude of "it wasn't me" continues to ring true as long as his on- line supporters continue to fight dirty on his behalf.
For Bernie Sanders to take NO responsibility for what happens under his watch as a candidate is just passing the blame onto others. For crying out loud, these horrible, mean, reckless and hurtful comments, which are usually more false than true, has consequences and yet he continues to walk away, oblivious to what is being written.
I recall when Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. Bobby Kennedy flow into Indianapolis to help calm the waters and tempers and incredible feelings of anger and hate. And he was successful. People listened to him. He asked people to be calm and to mourn with him over the senseless death of a truly great man. Bobby Kennedy was a leader and an effective one.
I don't see Bernie Sanders as a positive leader or role model. And his following on the internet proves just that.
We already have someone at the helm who is filled with anger and rancor. The last thing this country needs is a repeat of that attitude.
10
I was a Hillary supporter in 2016; I had many Bernie Bro online arguments and never got personally flamed. (These were mostly on FaceBook.)
So while I've experienced a taste of people's passionate and aggressive advocacy, I think this article is a little exaggerated. I'd like to see:
- Interviews with "Bernie Bros" who have actually flamed somebody with vulgar insults. Put them on the spot, as you do with some of Trump's more radical supporters, and see how they justify their tactics.
- Interview with Shaun King.
-Interview with Homeland Security to get input on how much Russian interference is happening with Bernie's and all other candidate groups.
While I have seen some Bernie supporters be more vocal and vitriolic in their advocacy, this makes them sound like a pack of political wildebeests. Well, go to any WaPo comments page and see how people act on the left and right. They aren't all BernieBros; it's equal opportunity abusiveness.
7
Bernie is ahead in the polls, in Iowa, NH and in a matchup against Trump nationwide. So here come the hits: Hillary, the mainstream media, and a final stab in the back may come from Obama, it's been rumored. And here we have a hit piece on Bernie and his supporters on front page of the NYT. I have seen some ugly vitriolic posts against Sanders from my own "friends" on social media. I'll warrant that there are positive and well-intentioned people as well as the opposite supporting every candidate. The numbers of young people supporting Sanders may explain why social media may blow up more than for other candidates in his defense and perhaps, not always in good way, on the offense. But social media savvy will be a strength for his candidacy, as well as his administration, if he can get past the hurdle of winning the Democratic nomination to beat Trump in a landslide. What are the DNC and coastal elites afraid of? That Bernie may not be a nice guy? Or that they may have to pay a little more tax so that all Americans can get the health care they need and a decent education?
11
On one hand, we have a few angry supporters who, outside of a twitter storm, are mostly powerless.
On the other hand, we have Barack Obama pledging to do what he can to prevent Sanders from winning the nomination.
10
Do better, NYT. As a volunteer for the Sanders campaign, I hold myself up to the highest standards of civility. I deeply respect the opinions of all candidates and their supporters. We're in this together.
10
Reading the comments from the Bernie people just serve to reinforce the validity of this article. I could never, in good conscience, vote for Bernie Sanders. He is the left's equivalent to Trump. And his supporters are equally scary as Trump's. In the lead up to the 2016 general election, the only FB friends who dumped me were Bernie people. My friends who were Trump supporters remained (and continue to remain) my friends. I am a lifelong Democrat, but I could care less who my friends vote for. We don't need to be in lockstep on issues to have deep, rewarding friendships and relationships. The Bernie people seem to not be able to grasp that. On any level.
6
I’m glad to be outside of Twitter and reddit!
My real-life encounters with Bernie supporters are overwhelmingly focused on the need for transformative change in the face of Climate Crisis, income inequality, and corporate control of government. We are worried about the direction of the world, but hopeful that there is still a chance to choose justice and sustainability.
Online, I enjoy being able to watch Bernie’s speeches and interviews with my 10 year old, knowing the message will not only clearly outline the ravages of greed, but also highlight how positive changes are possible, and depend upon compassion and solidarity.
“Fight for someone you don’t know.” “Not me. Us”. These are the key terms of the Sanders campaign, and I hope far more influential than online nonsense the origin of which cannot be verified.
6
At 37 years old, I have never heard a candidate speak about the policies I want to see enacted. I had always assumed that the facade of American democracy was truly a ruse, designed to draw out the energies of those who wanted change in our society through centrist politics that propped up the status quo.
The only place where I have found a voice for my politics is online. Only here, temporarily beyond the reach of corporate filters and state infiltrators have we begun to find spaces for actual alternatives. Many of us feel that Bernie Sanders is the compromise candidate. One that allows our broken system of government, our corporate state, to return some of those goods that have been stolen from the land and the people. He isn't a radical leftist. He is FDR, here to save redeem capitalism from its worst atrocities.
The earth runs out of time. Our lives grow shorter. Some online chatter is a hoax of an issue. A distraction. It's exactly what I expect form the corporate media, desperate to avoid confronting their sins.
10
What's scary is that it's starting to spill offline: some women friends of mine who organize for Elizabeth Warren were gathering ballot signatures in a subway station last week, and several men hissed at them as they walked by — the in-person equivalent of the snake emoji comments from Bernie Bros & bots that have flooded Warren's social media comments in the past few weeks. My friends were scared by the aggression. It reflects very poorly on the Sanders campaign that so many of his supporters behave like this, and the ways described in this article.
5
We Bernie supporters fight so hard because we have seen too many people—our friends, our families, our neighbors—suffer because of expensive for-profit “health care” and high interest student debt.
An investment in our health care and in our children’s education will bring far greater dividends to our nation than continuing to throw trillions at our bloated military industrial complex and endless wars for oil.
I don’t understand the opposition. It must be the money Dems get from Big Insurance, Big Pharma, Big Banks.
7
Bernie can’t control what his supporters say, that’s true: but his own rhetoric is dangerously close to demagoguery. Scroll through the comments on here and look at the jargon about revolution. He embraces this talk and blithely skips over how it’s supposed to get done
4
Even the NYT board that endorsed the candidates shows how Bernie does compromise, Bernie is for peace, Bernie works across the aisle and not only gets things done, he has shifted the Overton window so we can speak more honestly about why Biden and other moderates are not who we need in this moment of human history. I don’t agree with him on some things, but Bernie is without a doubt the one to beat Trump, Bernie’s supporters have a passion that matches or exceeds those of the Amateur Dictator in Chief and we should not, arguably must not, pass up this chance. Eyes on the prize. Bernie2020
9
There is no proof a Bernie supporter made threats. How easy would it be for an outsider to step in and do so? Easiest thing in the world. Too easy. As for Nevada, there were shenanigans there on primary night, part of the War on Bernie courtesy of the DNC. Well, this time Bernie owns Iowa. I saw Bernie speak four times around Iowa in 2016, to a stand-up crowd of thousands. When Hillary stopped in Iowa City, she spoke to a subdued crowd of 200 or so, I was there. She had virtually nothing to say, it was pretty sad.
7
Bernie may be leading in Iowa but the non-Bernie candidates together have many more votes. Bernie is taking advantage of the same quirks in the system Trump did. Win with your base and ignore everyone else. I voted for Bernie in the 2016 primary. Now I wish he could use his energy to support an electable Democrat instead of using his energy to support his ego.
2
@Mary Why should he, when he himself is the electable democrat?
3
From the article:
But he and his senior team also nursed a sharp sense of grievance. Jeff Weaver, a top Sanders strategist, played down the gravity of the Nevada unrest, telling CNN afterward that “no one had a right to feel threatened.”
In addition to being the arbiter of what positions are considered progressive, Bernie's campaign gets to decide when people are justified in feeling threatened.
3
America needs serious change, and Bernie is the only one with plans to make those changes. Politicians on both sides of the aisle (and especially their handlers/donors) don't like him because things like Medicare For All, an increase in the minimum wage, a reduction in defense spending, and free college takes dollars out of their already overstuffed pockets. Every other Democratic candidate will be continuance of the status quo, and that is just not acceptable.
30
@Cate. Actually, a Sanders candidacy will ensure a Trump victory and a “status quo” of dishonesty, racism, corruption and disrespect for the rule of law. We must nominate a candidate who can win in key Electoral College states; Sanders is not that candidate. Moreover, nominating a soon to be 79- year old man with serious health issues makes zero sense. Sanders should stay in the Senate and work to build a coalition that can effect positive changes in key policy areas.
3
@Cate - your insistence that Bernie - and only Bernie - has all the solutions is the reason I do not support his campaign. It is arrogant and just plain incorrect. I work in higher ed. Bernie's free college doesn't even begin to address the problems we face, and it may very well make things worse. Other candidates have brought thoughtful ideas to the table. Good solutions would come from working together.
The thing about Bernie one should get to know is what Europe has gone through. If Europe has a societal socialist component of approximately 30% then the USA has roughly 5-10% and therein lies the crux: One really should not go higher than this 30%. Europe tried to go higher and there has been massiv pushback, even in places like Sweden, especially in the segment of immigration.
Bernie, therefore, is no more than a vice presidential candidate, not a presidential candidate, due to this 30% rule and therein lies the problem. If he wins the nomination, he will lose against Trump due to swing voters. A solid plan, therefore, is to include him as a VP with this concept in mind, because swing voters might understand his job as VP to be focused on key items like healthcare and childcare, but not the nuts and bolts on the main capitalist side. That would be reserved for someone like Amy Klobuchar knows the value of being reasonable and profitable within a capitalist system.
4
Even the NYT board that endorsed the candidates shows how Bernie does compromise, Bernie works across the aisle and not only gets things done, he has shifted the Overton window so we can speak more honestly about why Biden and other moderates are not who we need in this moment of human history. Bernie is the one to beat Trump, Bernie’s supporters have a passion that matches or exceeds those of the Amateur Dictator in Chief and we should not, arguably must not, pass up this chance. Eyes on the prize. Bernie2020
5
@New World and millions and millions more who live a life that the rest of the world envies.
Its good to have critical articles about Bernie’s supporters. It’s a real phenomenon. But can the NYT also run an article about the more positive side of Bernie’s support - not merely flippant characterizations of Bernie Bro’s and young people. This ‘movement’ is a multifaceted phenomenon which could determine the primaries, has changed fundraising, and effects chances at winning the general election. It deserves reporting that does this complexity justice.
36
The fact that Sanders has raised tens of millions from the poorer citizens is astonishing in and of itself. Let’s talk about the implications of how much more a dollar given to Sanders represents versus the dollars collected by other candidates from wealthy donors. Let’s also talk about how the passion of Sanders supporters equals if not outweighs that of Trump supporters and potentially brings them into our side by recognizing their issues empathetically and with potential solutions, that include having a leader with a spirituality and integrity that their religious interests can accept too. This all increases representative democracy and unites the country.
6
Please tell us what positive steps Bernie Bros have been taking. Is it the harassment of women? The vicious derision directed at anyone who questions their sacred cow? Complete refusal to compromise or to consider voting for a moderate Democrat?
2
Everyone I know, and Bernie made us furious at first by urging us to vote for her, voted for Clinton. Come out and talk to us volunteering for Sanders campaign. We are nice. We are focused on making the world a better place for everyone.
2
Another ridiculous throw shade on and scare people NY Times Bernie article. Like he personally supervises each and every one of his supporter's tweets. We never hear this bilge about Republicans and Republican office holders, some of whom tweet the most rancid lies and character assassination on an hourly basis. Why?
And why shouldn't Bernie supporters be angry? Bernie would be president now if not for the machinations of the DNC in 2015 and 16; as well as the studious disregard and the consistent publication of bogus, strained hatchet jobs in the Times and other so-call liberal media. They meticulously covered Donald Trump's idiotic bombast and empty podiums for hours while Bernie was having rallies with 30,000 plus turn outs in 2015 and 2016, with no coverage.
They all hate Sanders because they are all uber wealthy and they hate paying taxes. It's as simple as that.
48
@Ignatz Farquad Ok, I get frustrated by this common Bernie supporter sentiment. Look, Hillary won the primary votes by a wide margin - Bernie mostly won states with caucuses. The honest truth is that there are more moderates in the party, and Bernie wasn't as widely known or trusted as Hillary in 2016. And while I agree that the DNC's delegate rules are ridiculous, those rules were set long before Bernie and Hillary competed. Barack and Hillary had to deal with the same rules in 2007, and all the Democrats are going to have to deal with them in 2019. Yes, there were some nasty emails among DNC staff about Bernie - big deal, not everyone will like everyone. The point is, Bernie was and is an Independent, and the DNC didn't have to let him use DNC infrastructure to run. It's poor form for Bernie to ask to use an existing infrastructure because it advantaged him, then complain that the rules were unfair when everybody else was playing by them.
7
@Ignatz Farquad , I am not uber wealthy and I will vote for Senator Sanders if he becomes the Democratic party candidate.
You can be angry, but is that anger producing something constructive?
3
@Ignatz Farquad: Sanders people even project like Trump backers. Nihilism is ambidextrous.
6
This same article, with different wording, comes out every day at the NYT. How many times have their opinion columnists begged us to comprehend that he's DANGEROUS? Uncountably many.
When Bernie releases an audio of Biden -- speaking himself -- saying that we need to 'freeze' and 'make changes to' social security, and Biden calls for Bernie to retract his "doctored" video, (you can find it on the web) all of the major American papers run headlines like, the NYT's (1/18/20): "Biden and Sanders Clash Over Social Security" or The Guardian's (1/19/20): "Biden Calls for Sanders to Disown 'Doctored' Video on Social Security" (see https://www.salon.com/2020/01/24/media-headlines-obscure-joe-bidens-false-statements-on-cutting-social-security/). Maybe our "journalists" should report on Biden's 40-year history of calling for revisions to social security?
When Hillary says, "nobody likes Bernie, nobody wants to work with him", and refuses to say that she'll endorse him should he win the nomination; and Bernie responds by saying "On a good day, my wife likes me" -- how does our news spin that? ABC News said, "Hillary hits Bernie, and Bernie fires right back", and the others respond about the same.
Clearly FAKE NEWS is something of a conspiracy theory as wielded by that liar, Trump. And yet equally plainly, our papers are working overtime to hide facts from us, and to distort reality. The Republicans have no monopoly on fear mongering. Look at Bernie's record, get real.
62
Mr. Sanders's followers are notorious for their vicious harassment of people with whom they disagree, particularly women. I believe they would behave less abominably should the candidate remonstrate them. I believe Mr. Sanders knows this, and deliberately refrains from doing so. His disingenuous protestations that he is not to blame ring hollow.
24
@tinfoil hattie The majority of Bernie supporters are women. Stop erasing them.
11
These people ARE scary. I made the mistake on a large group email (with mostly "Bernie-or-bust"ers to plead that they should still vote for Clinton after she won the nomination. If they knew where I lived I would have felt in personal danger. They really think that it was okay to vote for the Green party and elect Trump than to give up their guy and vote for Clinton. We run the risk again of these people permitting Trump to get a second term!
21
@Denver7756 75% of 2016 Bernie primary voters voted for Clinton. That's more than 2008 Clinton primary voters turned out for Obama in the general. This is a ridiculous zombie attack. Here is an article shedding light on what happened in 2008. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/09/clinton-sanders-primary-new-book
2
Because of their fanaticism, a core of Sanders supporters will probably ensure the re-election of Trump.
I'm no fan of Hillary Clinton, but a Sanders supporter who detests all other Democratic candidates recently told me that Clinton is as bad as Trump, and that Obama gets a bit of a pass, he was terrible, but not quite as bad as Trump.
Sounded just like a Trump supporter to whom facts are meaningless.
12
Bernie would lose to Trump is a true popular and electoral college landslide because of his ideology and toxic supporters. Moderate suburban voters, who were instrumental to Democrats' 2018 congressional victory, and they will not turnout for a Socialist. Remember, of the over 40 seats that Dems flipped in 2018, almost all of them were moderate candidates that were not ideologues. We have the model of how to win back power in 2020, and it is not by nominating a man who praised the USSR post-Chernobyl.
9
@IG well, the redbaiting is unfair. But in any case, poll after poll shows Bernie doing the best against Trump in the general, of current primary candidates.
4
It appears that America has arrived at a point where, if someone sees himself as marginalized, then any behavior, no matter how coarse or threatening, is justified.
With each example of the excesses of Bernie's on-line supporters, I found myself cringing, much as I do when I watch news coverage of a Trump rally.
I'm beginning to get the idea that I don't have the stomach for political confrontation at the margins.
Will be voting blue anyhooooooo.
14
@dove Cool! Just a suggestion, if you don't care about who the nominee is, why not take a cue from those who do, the people affected by the differences in policies between the candidates? Or act in solidarity with the least powerful, people like teachers and nurses, and vote Bernie, the working class candidate?
4
Toxicity of the fans is not unique to Sanders Supporters nor Trump supporters. It's a widespread phenomenon, amplified and encouraged by the design of social media. Some Supporters of Hillary Clinton have been equally vile to those of us that support Bernie. Even non toxic Trump supporters (they do exist. My extended family is full of them) are frequently issued death threats from those on the fringe of the left.
I'm tired of the Media blaming Bernie for this. He's not like Trump, going out and intentionally trying to induce toxic behavior.
The problem is that Social Media, and the clickbait headline era we find ourselves in, are intentionally designed to inflame emotions and stoke them to get as hot as possible. The hotter our passions run, to more profitable Facebook and Twitter are.
We need to slow down the conversation. The current design of Social Media, not Sanders, Trump, or any other politician, is the greatest threat to our democracy at the moment. Even if we oust Trump this November, if we don't change the culture and design of the Internet, he, or someone like him, will be back in 2024.
12
Is it safe to comment? The comments section, as usual, has been overwhelmed by Bernie supporters in a way that is disproportionate to reality. If sanders cannot “control” what his supporters say, neither can any other candidate (including trump).
9
Perhaps Sanders is organically popular?
7
We knew this was coming, and we can expect more of it. As Bernie rises in the polls, the Democratic Party establishment and the corporate media are feeling more and more threatened. As a result, there will be more and more misleading "hit pieces" like this one. It's a sad commentary on our political culture that the most authentic, honest, sincere, and compassionate presidential candidate this country has seen in decades is the target of a concerted smear campaign by the Billionaire class and its surrogates in the mainstream media. Sad, but not surprising.
26
Bernie's internet "army" is probably even greater than it appears. One can only guess how many others there are like me whose comments get silenced (or put on ice until the forums close) for nothing other than respectful critiques of the establishment candidates, democratic party or mainstream media. (So far today, I am 1 for 4 here and 0 for 3 at another article.) Such under-representation of the strengths of Bernie's and of Trump's support is probably one reason that the media was blindsided by their successes in 2016.
19
@carl bumba God bless you. Keep at it!
3
If the intensity of support for Bernie can be concentrated and directed squarely at the heart of the GOP, then this could be an incredibly powerful tool to fight the slide toward fascism we have been experiencing for the last 3 years.
I am for it, I just want all of it directed at the right places. I like Bernie but after the primary I am voting blue no matter who. It’s the only way out.
5
I attended the 2008 Democratic caucus in Washington State and it was a civil, thoughtful, patient, and open discussion.
The 2016 caucus was ugly and bordered on dangerous. The Bernie or busters dominated the stage, shouted down opposition, and were bent on intimidating their fellow Democrats that opposed them. Instead of the best and the brightest having a civil discourse it was the brutes and the boors who held sway
I'm glad we've moved to a primary here in Washington so we can avoid that melee...
8
I attended the 2016 caucus in Seattle; I was for Bernie, my partner for Clinton. Things were completely civil on both sides.
2
@Michael respectability politics is inherently oppressive friend. Demands are rarely met when prefaced with a "please, I beg of you."
1
This is another Mainstream-Media hit piece signaling the discomfort elites have with Bernie's ideas. For months Bernie flew under the radar while the Times lavished attention upon Buttiegieg, Biden, Warren and others. Now that Bernie maybe on the cusp of winning the Iowa caucasuses, we can see that the mainstream media is in full blown panic mode, pulling out all the stops to characterize Bernie and his supporters as extremists.
And what is so radical about Bernie Sanders? That he calls for Medicare for All? Literally every other industrialized country has some version of Universal Healthcare. Is it that he has the most ambitious plan to confront climate change? Leaving an uninhabitable planet for those who come after us seems like a much more irrational and selfish decision. Is it his decades long anti-war stance? Or his advocacy for a 15 minimum wage? It seems to me that Bernie is the only politician campaigning on viable solutions to solve today's problems. Everyone else is just campaigning for band-aids.
12
NY Times is bringing out the smear machine now that Sanders is surging.
Sanders is personally a good and compassionate man. Has always stood with the weakest in society...African Americans during civil rights, LGBTQ in the 1980s even when it was not safe to do so.
Sanders' unmatched online presence will be huge boon to the Democratic party worth 100s of millions of dollars once he is up against Trump.
Trump-Russia disinformation will be dwarfed and effectively countered by the response from the Sanders' online base.
No other Dem candidate has the ability to counter Trump-Russia information warfare in 2020.
11
If Bernie fails to become the chosen Dem candidate, his supporters will likely not vote at all. They are true believers but, as their worldview reveals, not long on common sense.
6
@Teller I understand that you might feel this way, but the numbers do not back it up. More 2016 Berners supported Clinton in the general than 2008 Clintonites supported Obama. Clinton lost the 2016 general all on her own.
5
The not-so-subtle takeaway from this story is that Bernie supporters are "deplorable." Worked like a charm last time.
13
"Some progressive activists who declined to back Mr. Sanders have begun traveling with private security after incurring online harassment." I just gotta say, it must be nice to be able to afford private security, while the rest of us out here are living on poverty wages and trying to survive without medical insurance. Sure lends credence to this theory that somehow, us Bernie supporters -- largely women and minorities -- are a danger.
What you're seeing isn't violence. It's working-class outrage. Maybe you oughta approach it from that angle instead.
15
@Abigail Amen.
4
I went to a Bernie rally yesterday in Sioux City, Iowa. He was with AOC, the inspiration of many liberals and feminists in America. Half the audience were women. They (and I among them) support Bernie because of the issues, and we are passionate about what he stands for because rarely ever does any democrat stand so fiercely and unapologetically for these issues. This movement is good for Democrats and liberals and I believe it’s good for America.
21
The problem with Sanders supporters - and I'm a vocal supporter of another candidate and have seen this up close -- is that they are mostly an online presence and they swarm frighteningly well. With any article/criticism, they overwhelm the discussions with quantity if not quality (as witnessed here in the Times comments on this article). I admire any candidate who can amass followers but 1) they appear to be many many times larger than they actually are 2) they will likely knock out candidates who do represent the party (and most Americans) well.
15
One might ask how Bernie is so incredibly popular online and in shear number of followers when the popular media has so many derogatory names for him. And that’s when they grant him any space at all.
I have zero confidence in pop media political reporting. I also have zero confidence in the DNC to do what its members want.
Bernie is the only one I’ve seen in more than 50 years who I think can follow through.
8
I think Bernies supporters are just as bullish and self serving as Trumps. Both sets like to play the victim and both will and holding the whole country hostage to their demands.
What is so awful about Trump is that he is President to a small percentage of the American citizens. The same will be true if Sanders is elected.
In a time where unification is important the last thing that is needed is another President who will divide the country even further.
158
Yes, better to be held hostage to corporate/financial interests instead of democratic ones.
Amen!
62
Please don't compare me to a Trump supporter. I have absolutely nothing in common with them, other than we live on the same planet. Thanks.
27
Honestly, what does the unification look like? I don't think there is a center large enough to hold anyone. I say this because I truly feel that, absent generational change in power centers, we are functionally beyond repair.
Too many conservatives have been fed "liberalism is a mental illness" line to have any ounce of good faith. And the liberals, after eight years of being stonewalled but still succeeding on the margins, have realized that in a world of hyper partisans like McConnell you have to run with the football when you get it. And they also now know that half the country hates them and their openness.
4
The establishment is getting nervous. Myself and the vast majority of the human race condemn bullying. That doesn’t mean we can control what some morons behind a screen say and do. (For the record, the anonymity of online existence suggests these harassments could come from any direction, not necessarily true Bernie supporters). If a few people receive letters or nasty emails from some rogue losers as the price for class consciousness and a progressive revolution in this country, so be it.
630
@Spencer exactly, what hard proof is there that the vitriol came from legitimate Bernie supporters? Online anonymity is rampant, and it’s so easy to “pose” as a Bernie supporter, and then turn around and make death threats to women.
71
@Spencer
What a failure to accept responsibility for the actions of the Bernie supporters. Leading your campaign is a proxy for how you will lead the country. I don't accept trolling by Trump supporters, or anyone else. We can do better, and your acceptance of degrading behavior is disheartening.
21
The attacks on Bernie’s supporters are all in bad faith. You’re not changing anyone’s mind.
16
I’ve been a fan of Bernie’s long before most of his supporters even knew who he was (Thanks, Bill Mahr). But right now, I’m sorely disappointed in him. This is far worse than 2016. I know he has told his supporters to be civil, but he obviously needs to STRONGLY condemn their behavior as unacceptable. He needs to get downright angry.
10
"Meet the new boss; same as the old boss."
Sanders is so much like Trump in how he motivates and energizes his crowds, it is as if they are two sides of the same coin. We do not need an ideologue of any stripe to be president. We need a rational, logical, no drama man or woman who manages the country properly, assesses where resources should be directed, and can articulate issues with clarity. People on both sides of the fence who are so caught up in this race that they are emotionally spent and anxiously preoccupied need to shift to a candidate who is soothing, calm, and demonstrates the capacity to work with anyone anywhere.
6
@boji3 This is contentless. Bernie has crowds, so does Trump, therefore Bernie is Trump and therefore bad? We had no-drama Obama, and he gave us technocratic neoliberalism alongside the Washington consensus. The policies Bernie is advocating for are not dreams of a giant wall, but of bringing the country in line with other industrialized nations regarding redistribution and general welfare. That is something we should all get behind.
1
@RadicalLawStudent You need to look up the definition of “neoliberalism.” I see the word tossed around by Bernie supporters, and you using it incorrectly. Obama against regulations? Trump is busy reversing all of Obama’s environmental regulations.
1
Bernie and his supporters are not about enacting policy --
Bernie has produced no meaningful legislation to his name in all his years as a Congressman or as a Senator. Bernie Sanders is a johnny-one-note ideologue and his railing against the establishment or 'the system' or what have you is presented as an expression of outrage and a fight for justice but is closer to narcissistic rage. I would believe them if they were less about "look at me -- how pure I am" and more about "what can we do to alleviate your suffering." His supporters are only enacting what Bernie would acknowledge in himself. He is about 'self-expression' not public policy. Talk is cheap, Bernie. How do you think you are going to get the job done without tanking the economy on top of the trillion-plus debt that the Republicans have engineered once again so that the Democrats' hands are are tied. Show me!!
4
@reju lavtok I mean, he was nicknamed the amendment king for all of the amendments he managed to pass as the sole socialist in the House, and he overhauled the Vets Administration as a Senator, but somehow this myth keeps popping up. He has in fact accomplished quite a bit, with many more obstacles to overcome than most other lawmakers. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/24/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-was-roll-call-amendment-king-1995-2/
1
Show me proof that what they are accused of 1. actually comes from Bernie supporters; and 2. that what they do is much different in degree and/or kind from what’s done by the supporters of other candidates. I’ll exclude Biden suporters from this, as he doesn’t appear to have any ardent supporters who put any emotion into their support. Oops, am I now guilty of being an insulting BernieBro?
9
I have visited the sites of other candidates, and never seen anything more than the occasional “Yang2020.” They are real and they are awful. I have gone from hoping he wins the primaries to hoping he gets bounced early.
1
Thanks you New York Times for this report. Bernie’s supporters and him are terrible people and don’t deserve to be in the election
2
Can the NYT please do research into whether the source of this negative press is not only interference from outside the campaign and supporters?
12
Ridiculous accusations against Sanders and supporters. Let’s stick to the facts. It is disheartening and disturbing that the NYT is perpetuating these myths about Bernie Sanders’ supporters.
22
Three bylines for this weak take down and you still forgot to mention that Kamala Harris’s fundraiser was with Harvey Weinstein. That seems notable!
10
It's about time that the obnoxious behavior of Bernie's online followers gets addressed. Reading through the comments, I see the same outrage and media attacks I see from Trump's followers. To say he cannot control his online followers is absolute nonsense. I admit that I feel social media is cesspool of anger and stupidity much of the time. Only highly moderated forums like this comment section show any dignity. To fight fire with fire in this case is not the answer. This approach only leads to further and more emotional divisions in this country. It's not what the nation needs right now.
7
Absolutely true. There are many fanatical Bernie fans. His inability to control them is disqualifyng, in my opinion. I would never support or vote for him. I’ll vote for someone else in the primary.
5
"Vote blue no matter who" is a phrase thrown at only Bernie supporters I gather. If people enjoy Donald Trump I suggest they vote for him.
2
This has been my experience. Mocked, criticized, aggressively denounced and argued with, bullied. This happened to me on the Axios website, where I commented that we should stop arguing via the internet! Bernie supporters came at me with all manner of aggression and belittling of other candidates. Utterly turned me off of him though he isn't my preferred candidate anyway.
9
@Carol To me, almost everything you’re describing seems to be political argument and disagreeing with your views. Is that anathema?
5
This piece was overdue.
Some Sanders supporters are as fanatical and crazy as far right Trump supporters. Neither is acceptable.
And to write that Bernie can't control these people or stop every tweet, it's a weak defense.
It speaks to what kind of president Bernie would be, ineffective.
And here come the Bernie Bros.....I expect 87 replies to this post, all telling me that Bernie has hung the moon.
15
@N
"And to write that Bernie can't control these people or stop every tweet, it's a weak defense."
Well then maybe you can enlighten us. How is Bernie supposed to stop people from tweeting?
3
@Nathan B. If they so ardently support him, don't you think they ought to listen and act on what he says? He can't control anyone, but he can call out bad behavior when he sees it.
1
@N Please do not compare me to Trump supporters who run down protestors with a car or threaten people. This both sides ism is an inaccurate view of Sanders supporters. Most Sanders supporters are women who have truly gotten the shaft in the economy over the last 40 years.
1
Typical NYT and TV cable news stuff-- gossip, personal animosity, amplified extremes.
Instead, the press should be explaining to the public the proposals of each candidate---in concrete terms using real-people examples of how they would affect our lives.
That's the purpose of the free press in a democracy--not to grab readers/viewers with over dramatized stories of personal hostilities.
It's the effect of the FOX News Media empire-- putting the other media on the defensive, lest they look too 'left wing', by our distorted standards. It's fashionable to bash Bernie, whose proposals are centrist in other democracies. Why is this NYT?
We're the only modern country still lacking universal health care in the 21st Century. I still haven't seen the Times explain how dozens of countries pay for this, for generations.
So much for our famous 'free' press. They keep dark what we need to know.
Our media is proud of it's 1st Amendment protections against explicit govt censorship. But there are other pressures that 'censor' it, that keep the scope of it's coverage too narrow.
Powerful moneyed interests define what's left/right/center.
It's the 10th Anniversary of Citizens United.
The media gets big profits from campaign ads -- the biggest expense. Mega donors who pay for these media ads dominate our political norms. We have to judge media articles in that light.
Per Wiki--many countries ban these paid ads on their media.
Ripple effects on political norms.
9
Its interesting how Sanders supporters keep being maligned by news outlets without any real empirical evidence that his supporters are any worse or better than the supporters of other candidates. Peter Daou, part of the Clinton campaign in 2016 but switched to supporting Sanders in 2020 had some good comments on this phenomenon in a recent op ed.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/21/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-attacks-netflix
The following quote in particular is telling:
"...we have come to realize the extent to which the term Bernie bro marginalizes and erases the voices of millions of people of color and women who are part of the Sanders-inspired “Not me. Us” movement."
Here is the irony: as we began to embrace #NotMeUs and express support for Sanders, a cadre of Sanders haters began trolling and harassing us with the same venom that they attribute to so-called Bernie bros. They impugned our motives and character, called us traitors and sellouts, and mobbed our Twitter threads. It was a disconcerting awakening to the hypocrisy of those who slam Sanders supporters as a bunch of sexist young white males, then engage in identical behavior to those they criticize.
The lesson is unmistakable: there are angry and obnoxious supporters of all candidates. Isolating Sanders supporters and implying they are a misogynistic monolith is profoundly unfair. Why are other candidates’ backers allowed to fight hard without being reduced to a regressive moniker?"...
9
I have a blue check mark on my Twitter account because I'm an affluent and powerful political contributor. I post fear-mongering about Bernie Sanders and get told off. Given my bias against the campaign, this anecdote is evidence of a Very Important Problem. I shall write about this in the "paper of record."
8
A vote for Bernie is a vote for Trump...he cannot win a national election and anyone who thinks so is either ignorant of history (President George McGovern) or simply deluded.
These living-in-their-parents-basement twitter people with nothing better to do than to imitate Russian revolutionaries do not reflect the larger electorate.
7
I'd love for them to actually point to one instance of Bernie supporting or condoning this type of behavior. There wasn't one in the entire article. The best they could come up with is Bernie attacking Harris for taking money from big donors. That's not him condoning bullying, thats him criticizing a political opponent.
And as it says in this very article, Sanders supporters have received more than enough of their fair share of death threats, hate speech, racism, sexism etc. Its clear that Sanders supporters are more fervent and do engage in this type of behavior more than other candidates, mostly because he has more active supporters in general. But Bernie has never supported this or condoned this behavior. Its absurd to try and hold this against him, but I wouldn't expect any less from the NYTimes. I can't believe I thought this newspaper was impartial or intellectual. Its basically a propaganda machine for the DNC and government.
7
Switch the maga hats to bernie bros. hats and no one could tell the difference. Awful.
5
Candice Aiston went after an innocent person who wrongfully spent over six brutal years in prison. She organized a thousand people on Twitter to try to re-traumatize him by accusing him of being actually guilty. She did this all because he was originally prosecuted by Kamala Harris’ office.
If you're going to write this article, write about both sides.
7
Let's be clear. The problem with *SOME* Sanders supporters acting out and behaving badly online, especially in a racist or sexist manner, is completely due to THE PATRIARCHY. When legions of men get together and become 'bros' they become dangerous. This issue is not a Sanders issue it is a white male culture issue that needs to be addressed.
Sanders OBVIOUSLY does not condone this behavior. Stop disparaging his name.
1
@Alex If he does not speak out forcefully and continually against it, he is essentially condoning it.
It seems strange that this article's lead example of online "bullying" is people pointing out that a candidate is taking money from the same plutocrats who have been corrupting American politics for 150 years.
That sort of observation almost sounds like something you would expect to find in ... newspaper reporting.
6
This article is spot-on. I do. Or have an issue with Sanders policies, in fact I like them - but I do not like the candidate himself, I don’t think he’s collaborative and I don’t think he’ll be effective. That said, if he’s the candidate? Fine, I’ll vote for him over Trump or nothing.
Sanders supporters do not seem to understand that many of us do not admire their candidate, but are going to stay pretty quiet when he comes up because there’s almost always one rabid Bernie fan in a group and you do not want to get on that person’s radar.
As the race tightens, we’re going to have to have those conversations - but right now? Don’t take the quiet as silent agreement or even neutrality. We just don’t want to get into it (online or off) with someone who can’t find the nuance between discussion and browbeating. And that’s not even getting into the doxxing and identity politics.
6
I am a Democrat, not a Democratic Socialist as defined on the DSA website.
I will not vote for Bernie Sanders in the primary, but if he is the nominee and Trump is the other alternative, I will vote against Trump. I guess that means I will have voted for Bernie Sanders, not something for which I will be proud.
5
@gpickard You can always write in someone else.
Are there any supporters of a presidential candidate that have more GROUNDS to be defensive about how the media portrays their candidate (besides Trump... or, more recently, Tulsi)?
BTW, this is my second comment. My primary comment will surely be posted long afterwards, if at all (for no other reason than political censoring).
3
All those Bernie supporters better beware. Why do you think he's jumped ahead in the Iowa polls? Because Iowans know that if Bernie wins the nomination Trump will get a second term.
5
Exactly what I was thinking as I read the article!
3
I like Sen. Sanders very much and was thrilled to support him in 2016 and while I’m not sure if I’ll support him in the primary, if he wins the nomination I would happily vote for him in the general election. I think he brings a sincerity to politics that is badly needed. You always know where Bernie stands on an issue and I respect and admire him for his frankness especially when I don’t agree with his position. While other politicians rely on focus groups to tell them what to support, Bernie is fighting for what he has always believed in.
That’s why I I’m disappointed when Bernie is unwilling to admonish his supporters when they go to far and start making personal attacks on his critics. In the 2008 election I disagreed with Sen. McCain on most issues and was a very vocal Obama supporter, but when McCain rebuked a few ignorant supporters who thought Obama was dangerous because he might be an Arab I was overwhelmed by the courage and decency that John McCain showed by correcting the record and defending his opponent and critic. Watching McCain continue to defend Obama despite the boo’s and jeers from his supporters I realized that John McCain was a true leader and while I still wanted Obama to win, I knew the country would have a capable and decent president in the event that McCain won the election.
Bernie Sanders has an opportunity to demonstrate his leadership by reining in those ignorant supporters that have gone to far. I only hope he takes it.
7
Bernie is the Trump of the Left. Rabid populism, from Right or Left, in place of objective, data-driven policy, is extremely dangerous, and I will not be participating, ever.
3
This is nothing compared to the sliming that Sanders is undergoing at the hands of Hillary Clinton herself. Not her supporters, but herself.
And unlike Trump, Sanders has never offered to pay the legal costs of anyone who would physically attack other candidates.
5
All popular movements go through growing pains when their membership grows rapidly and people’s passions are reasonably inflamed by the current political and economic and environmental climate. There is always plenty of internal education to do and the necessity for institutional mechanisms to ensure that local Sanders groups adhere to the principles and values of the campaign, but this does take time and the movement is growing and people are obviously upset. Trump is a symptom of that. There cannot be a lid placed on the vital demands for major structural change. Would you prefer a committed passionate honest socialist, or a fascist demagogue. Your choice, but there is no going back to a fantasy time of moderate bipartisan technocratic administration.
3
The premise that Sanders is to be blamed for everything his online supporters say is ridiculous. But lets take this claim seriously for a moment; why are many Sanders supporters on the attack?
One of the central issue's of our current political juncture which NYT often seems to obfuscate is that of class warfare, and Sanders more than any of the other democratic candidates is seen as the working class candidate. Its not that Sanders will be some panacea to all the woes of the working class but at least his policies have the potential to get the boot of capitalism off the throat of working people. In other words, the stakes here are serious, and it is even a matter of life or death for many people, so people are understandably angry and wish to advocate for and defend Sanders. Internet scuffles and twitter "bullying" (lol) are pretty small stakes compared to the potential for actual violent conflict which seems inevitable if the interests of the working class are not sufficiently represented and if their suffering and anxiety continues to be channeled towards the racist right wing. Calls to "civility" and "unity" by moderate liberals online actively obfuscate the real material conflict that is going on in the US. Insofar as Sanders currently best represents working class interests and is seen by many as a once in a lifetime candidate in this respect, I would claim that anger and frustration towards those who actively work against Sanders is warranted.
5
I live in Vermont, where Bernie is revered as a kind of Jesus figure. And for me, the old joke about Jesus holds true for Bernie too: that guy has some great ideas, it's just followers I'm not so sure about.
6
Yes, politics is a blood sport, and the stakes have never been higher. I have seen as much negativity from supporters of other candidates as I've seen from Bernie's, mostly fueled by fear that we will not win in 2020 if a particular candidate is not the nominee. The fact is, though, that the vast majority of Bernie's supporters voted for Hillary in 2016. I volunteered at my local Hillary campaign headquarters, which was entirely staffed by young people who had voted for Bernie in the primary. I intend to campaign and vote for whoever our nominee is in November, and I make no negative comments about any of the current Democratic contenders either online or in private. Most people I know are committed to doing the same. I'm tired of the Times trying to foment distrust between the Democratic factions. I think most of us know we have to coalesce around the nominee and turn out the vote in November. Those who wavered or voted third party in 2016 now understand what will happen if they do the same in 2020.
12
Another attack article conveniently published a week before the Iowa caucus. Just like HRC's "nobody likes him" comment, this will only energize Bernie's supporters and boost his polling numbers further.
We are staring down the end of civilization as we know it, yet the NYT continues to try to discredit the one candidate whose climate plan has the strongest endorsements of the entire field. We are out of time, people. If some of Bernie's supporters are angry, THIS is why.
22
I like Bernie. I like Hillary, too. I would gladly have voted for either and did.
Most people feel this way if you leave elite circles.
6
Bolster Bernie's supporters, maybe... but will it win him new ones? Probably not. So the Bernie Bros echo-chambers on social media have very little sway in the real world. Remember that? The world that's not in Twitter? The real world? Where the people is?
1
I expect this comment section to be brigaded by Sanders supporters very soon. I hope that they can keep it civil considering any nastiness will just reinforce the point of this entire article.
5
@Lewis Please--PLEASE--find one instance of an uncivil Sanders supporter anywhere on this thread. Please.
3
This is just total garbage. Politics is a blood sport -
Another hit piece, by the paper whose subtitle should no longer be "all the news that's fit to print" but "Anyone but Bernie".
For over 40 years I have always voted for the Democratic nominee, that is changing fast. I want a FDR, LBJ (minus the war) Democrat. I have no interest in the DNC Republic lite mentality.
Sanders would have been a run of the mill Democrat in the 60's. The Democratic party has moved so far right it is far more conservative than Richard Nixon and is starting to match Ronald Reagan.
25
@jay: Nixon even proposed a guaranteed minimum income, much like Andrew Yang's plank.
5
Bernie just frightens me as too much. He is like Trump in a left wing mirror. He has the same fanaticism and personality cult, the same absolute certainty in his every thought and the same contempt for his opponents. I just don't trust him and the fanaticism he engenders in his bully bros.
16
Finally, some hard-hitting journalism on the issue that everyday Americans care about: who is being mean on Twitter.
30
I've met countless Bernie supporters at canvasses, phone banks and debate-watch parties. They are dedicated, loyal and, for lack of a better term, gentle. I've long since grown weary of efforts by the New York Times in particular and the corporate media in general to portray us as marauding sociopaths not seen since the sack of Rome and take it as yet another indicator that Bernie is surging.
30
So, Bernie supporters are nice to other Bernie supporters. Nobody is contesting that. It’s everyone else that get the swarming personal attacks.
5
How do you stop online people? You can’t. Bernie isn’t encouraging it, and this culture isn’t in any of the campaigns.
“Bernie bro’s” the term is a misogynist slander aimed at Sanders Supporters, which is obviously meant by implication to tar the candidate himself.
By the way, this is coming from a female supporter of 1. Amy 2. Biden/Pete. ok with, but not wild about Bernie, but I’ll be voting blue no matter what.
9
How is "Bernie Bros" misogyny? Your complaint is straight from echo the Twitter universe. Everything is misogynistic. Everything is transphobic. Everything is ageist. None of this is based in reality.
3
To dispel the widely held view that The NY Times is merely the PR arm of the rich Democratic Party establishment, how about an article showing a chart of NY Times coverage of all Democratic presidential candidates from 2015 forward? How much coverage, and negative versus positive coverage, does Sanders get from the Times compared to other candidates. Just because Sanders might force rich Democrats into an existential crisis about the meaning of their lives relative to their wealth doesn’t mean Sanders doesn’t deserve equal treatment by the Times. Dare for the best in journalism to stand up instead of hiding greed behind clever arguments and rationalizations.
18
Sanders is the polar opposite of Trump which is all I need to vote for Bernie. It will take years to unscramble the despicable mess Trump made out of America and regain the faith of our allies.
Trump focused on only one thing and that was Trump. He discarded the 99% like yesterday's trash. He demeaned the 34 soldiers injured in the Iranian attack as "a headache".
It is baffling how 40% of Americans still believe in this low class con man despite all of the evidence of malfeasance, ignorance and outright theft.
I remain outraged knowing the difficulty my son has with the VA whereas Trump wastes $3.3 million every weekend he flies Air Forces One to his estate in Florida to play golf.
There is something radically wrong with people who remain oblivious to the liar and con man so obvious.
8
It is a conundrum and a quandary when Mr. Sanders, a Leftist bully condemns bullying. The credibility gap widens each time this career political charlatan opens his vitriolic mouth. It is no surprise that his staff mirrors Mr. Sanders’ behavior in its hostility and intolerance.
6
Working people have been taking a beating in the class war orchestrated by the .1% and carried about by their minions in both parties.
Finally, a candidate has emerged who sincerely fights on the behalf of working people, and now an unprecedented number of working people are getting involved in political discussions.
Many are understandably quite angry at the establishment - and we're working people who lack that thin veneer of refinement that the elite display so proudly.
What's more worrisome, an establishment candidate whose veneer ruptured as he called a voter an "idiot" and challenged him to a push-up contest or the pent-up angst of the working class?
11
I find this a bit laughable when you consider how often Hilarys 'Attack dogs' hammered into Bernie back 4 years ago. A lot of it disgraceful but very few know of it sadly as she was the 'anointed one' by the elitist media and conveniently managed to keep it covered up.
Bernies Campaign is going to come under immense pressure now from the mass media as it builds up its head of steam, which will include trolls (Russian probably as nothings been learned since last time) masquerading as so called 'Bernie Bros' who are nothing more than a figment of weak and lazy imaginations...
6
What does it say about this candidate that a large and loyal group of his followers are misogynistic bullies?
7
@She Persisted It says that the times is making things up based on random anecdotes. They should either find some hard data that says Sanders supporters are more toxic than others, or shove it.
1
You just proved it Bernie bro
1
Slanted, biased reporting — a hatchet job accompanied by a breathless narrative and cherry-picked evidence, accepted uncritically.
I have no doubt that the same story could have been written about Buttigieg's supporters, Warren's, Klobuchar's, Clinton's, and Biden's, not to mention Trump's.
One could readily assemble a series of high profile attacks, critiques, Tweet storms, cyber-bullying, etc. by the passionate, over-the-top backers of any of the major candidates — and the candidates eschewing those attacks.
What's worse, though, are the snarky, underhanded attacks on Sanders and Warren by the *other candidates* themselves! Buttigieg, Biden, and Klobuchar have issued patronizing screeds against both Bernie and Warren. They've issued those in debates and town halls — and their stump speeches.
Add in the horrendously nasty and uncivil attacks on Sanders by both Hillary and Obama, and you’re seeing the meltdown of the neoliberal, corporate centrists. It tells us who they really are and whose interests they really represent.
It's imperative that this same NY Times reporting team be assigned to do a similar story about several of the other candidates. It would be a good lesson in journalism and fair reporting. Otherwise, they are simply playing the same anti-Bernie media role as happened in 2016.
8
I know these three reporters have been put on "Find something on Bernie" duty and I don't blame them personally for this article.
When Abby Philips of CNN asks Warren "So how did you feel when Sen. Sanders told you a woman can't win the Presidency?" right after he denied saying it, in her mind she just sinked Bernie's poll numbers and secured her promotion. NY Times editorial board did the same in their conjured-up-by-Chad-at-Marketing reality TV show - "The endorsement" when they cynically remarked "Bernie is Trumpian".
But in the minds of the people Bernie's the underdog ambushed by the very same elements that have lied them into wars and woodoo top-down economics keeping poor and oppressed. No wonder Bernie's poll numbers went up.
These attack pieces by the mainstream media fast losing the control and narrative over the minds of the masses will only strengthen his position. They still don't get the anti-establishment current sweeping through the masses.
Where is the wall-to-wall reporting on climate change? Why hasn't there been a climate-change focused debate yet? Because the billionaire owners of these media outlets don't want it.
The media is fast losing its already diminished credibility with smear pieces like these. Expect more articles reeking of desperation in the coming months.
10
So that’s your narrative . You guys have the whole
Story figured out without any insight or analysis. Just Bernie as a victim as is throughout These commends.
You know who else is a victim this week? Trump . Weinstein. The poor male victim and that
Evil Elizabeth Warren . This is a narrative you guys created and it’s disrespectful and not true.
Haven’t any of you had any nuance ?
Read the nations piece on unity requiring believing Elizabeth Warren . Neither lied . They remember it differently. Can you imagine how many times she has heard that - or the equivalent of that - as Bernie said - ? No you can’t - bc you guys can’t slow down, you jump and attack. You become paranoid heroes of some mythical hero and everyone else is out to get him.
I’m voting for Warren bc of her expertise and readiness for the job. She can accomplish a lot more. She is smart as a whip and always respectful and honest.
The attacks were sexist and as usual assume the woman is a lying snake . Thanks for the Eve reference guys- it was a nice touch.
I’m voting for the smartest one running.
Another day, another attack on Sanders by the left wing media mouth piece.
And of course, lost in the article, the message you're trying to send: '... endorse Senator Elizabeth Warren ...'. Yea like that subliminal message was not clear as a bell.
It's amazing how the loudspeaker of the DNC continues to fracture and divide the Democrat vote.
The Bernie people will read this and, following the recent patter, correctly assume the DNC and their cronies are out to steal the election again. Why? you tell us.
'Divided they fall' - except the DNC is the one surgically removing support by the most ardent of fans of the left.
Whomever is creating your strategy, fire them today, they just gave the Sanders people to Trump.
4
I think that Bernnie's recent Poll Results were marinated in vodka.
2
Queue the daily smear on Bernie from the New York Times.
"Bernie Refuses To Control the Internet and Its Millions of Users."
Come on. Why is the mainstream media so terrified of Bernie? I think I know, and that is exactly why I like him so much.
6
The bullies I worry about write and edit for large media corporations, constantly and consistently pushing their own agendas.
8
Sanders is a cancer on Democrats.
And he can't win.
His support for Chavez, Maduro, and Castro means he has already lost Florida.
His plan to take employer provided health insurance from 200 million people, replace it with a vague lie and tax hikes for all, and decriminalizing illegal border crossings means he's lost Virginia and every other competitive state.
That he honeymooned in the Soviet Union means he has already lost Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
And he takes Georgia and Texas out of play.
We Democrats must nominate a Democrat. Not Sanders.
4
Wow, another slam against Bernie by the Times. What a surprise. Bernie is quickly becoming the Democratic frontrunner, his message of compassion, honesty, equality and fairness are resonating with millions of Americans. Why is the Times trying so hard to make him look bad? He's our best chance for creating a better America.
11
How is this even a story? Bernie’s supporters are enthusiastic because he is a breath of fresh air compared to corporately captured centrist Democrats. Bernie has said nothing to encourage supposed “bad behavior “ from his supporters. This “Bernie Bro” narrative conflicts with his majority female supporters.
6
This article makes a critical error of eliding two very different strains of Sanders' online supporters: those who criticize and attack his opponents in the Democratic primary (along with other centrist Democrats), and those who make misogynist/racist comments, or even threaten and "dox" those they disagree with. The former group is far larger than the latter, and engages in completely reasonable and justified political discourse; the latter is a tiny fraction of Sanders' online supporters, which is itself a tiny fraction of Sanders' overall support.
Take the opening anecdote, for example. We're supposed to empathize with poor, poor Kamala Harris who has been unfairly targeted by an online brigade of people who... criticize her for the corrupt-yet-somehow-legal practice of begging billionaires for huge sums in campaign contributions? Spare me -- she deserves ridicule for that!
None of this is meant to minimize the harm that the second strain inflicts, but they are a minority of a minority among Sanders' supporters, and are a subgroup most of the rest of us detest for giving us a bad name.
At the end of the day, if you're a politician or public person whose position is that poor people don't deserve as good healthcare as you, I'm not going to show you much sympathy when the rose emoji crowd swoops down to righteously dunk on you.
6
and Nytimes is at it again, I very vividly recall NYtimes' bias against Bernie during the 2016 campaign and look where it landed us. Bernie does not control what a random 500 pound (Trump's reference) guy posts online. If you have any REAL issues to raise then please bring to the fore and not resort to linking trolls as if Bernie is asking them to post things online. I don't agree with Trump calling NYtimes fake news but you don't care for ordinary people.
9
Why is Bernie the GOP's favorite Dem candidate for president? It's real simple, they know that Trump can beat him. One has to wonder, what percentage of Bernie's online army is orchestrated by Trump supporters or Putin?
7
Well, accusing your opponents for good reason of being influenced by lobbyists and billionaire donors is disgraceful! I've never ever heard of any politician ever accusing an opponent of anything in the history of the U.S., and I'm so glad NYT is on it. As well as the fact, which should be obvious, that just because a billionaire, say the Sackler family, contributes money to politicians is no reason to suspect in the slightest that they could get something, say pressure not to prosecute opioid cases, or legislate, in return! Why, that is like saying people do things for money! Outrageous!
1
Seems the NYT is engaging in a get Sanders campaign. Both through reporting and op-ed editorials it is clear that the Democratic establishment does not want anything to do with even a mild form of social democracy.
Without people like Sanders public health care will never be an American reality. Without people like Sanders corporate power will remain unchecked.
8
Clinton supporters in 2016 were just as bad. I have been met with rage at just mild criticism of her.
3
There is no such thing as a Bernie Bros.
It was a smear from Hillary and Republican retread David Brock.
Bernie has the most diverse voting Bloc.
5
Not to point out the obvious but...
We're having an impeachment trial over White House attempts to damage the previously leading Democratic nominee. Bernie Sanders is now possibly the leading nominee. If you were Trump, or one of his advocates, how would you seek to damage the new leading nominee?
Sending out racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive communications on behalf of Sanders seems like a great way to reignite 2016 tensions. Just saying. Use your head. The most egregious people cited probably aren't actually Bernie supporters at all. You're dealing with pro-Trump misdirection. My first glance goes to Russia.
5
Years in Vermont haven't managed to erase Bernie Sanders bombastic bloviating bullying buffoonery Brooklyn New York roots and styles.
That Sanders can't control his supporters digital electrionic antics is besides the point. What really matters is how he reacts in real time to those he claims are not speaking for him nor on his behalf.
4
I am a socialist and was a Bernie delegate to the county convention in 2016, but I flipped my vote to Clinton, because the other Bernie delegates behaved so appallingly. The Bernie bro culture is real.
When a longtime staunch progressive candidate for DA got up to speak at the convention, the Bernie delegates heckled her about her age (late 60s) in a rude, aggressive and, I might add, sexist manner. I guess they preferred the younger male candidate, though he didn't have the same progressive bona fides. I'll never forget how Wellington Webb, a former mayor of Denver, later got up on the stage and put the bros in their place, saying, "Let me explain a few things to you, since some of you seem to have missed the first half of the movie."
3
More and more, Sanders’ supporters remind me of Trump’s. Relying on rabid Twitter frothers and online trolls while pushing back against their poor behavior with watered-down finger wagging is no way to give the rest of us confidence that you can govern, Bernie.
And while you’re at it, enough with the class war stuff. You need a coalition to pass legislation.
6
@PacNWMom
In the unlikely event that he is president, he will not get coalitions. No one in Congress likes him.
1
further proof that the rich really really really fear Bernie Sanders and are desperate to find a way to knock down his impeccable integrity. Sorry but the person in the white house has normalized responding to reporters with childish name calling and tantrums, a few internet trolls have nothing to do with Bernie and his leadership.
8
Bernie and the bros are at it again. I don't buy his disingenuous bewilderment. He'd be a gift to the Republican party anyway-- he's the one they want to get the nomination.
Warren will get my vote.
4
Isn't the real reason for this that Bernie just has way more online supporters than any other candidate? I mean Biden's supporters are just not on twitter, neither are really any other candidates. They all appeal to an older crowd while Bernie appeals to a younger crowd that is more likely to express their opinions online.
If you have more online supporters aren't you going to have more negative and positive posts in general? Was any attempt made to control for that fact? Also was any attempt made to control for non-online negative and positive expressions? How about negative and positive statements from the candidates themselves?
This article lacks almost any semblance of any real substance.
But that's the problem isn't it? It's really hard to argue against Bernie's substantive positions so the attacks are usually about his demeanor, tone, gruffness etc.
And now its just about random people online.
9
The paper should publicly state it’s ‘Never Bernie’ position in the interest of transparency and good faith. I suggest the paper also try harder with its smears of candidate Sanders.
9
I have been repulsed by the ugliness of some of Sanders' online supporters and campaign aides.
But I have to ask, how much of the online content has been generated by actual supporters, as opposed to Republican trolls, Russian interference, and bots?
After what happened in the last election, why isn't that being scrutinized in this article?
10
@acj that’s an excellent question!
2
There is a myth perpetuated by corporate-Democrats that “Bernie Bros” and trump supporters are of the same cloth because they both express anger at the system. There is a huge difference however: Bernie supporters are tired of the constant gaslighting and straw-manning by moderates and conservatives on reasonable issues such as single payer healthcare and free college, while trump supporters manifest their anger through racism and repressing democracy. There is a difference between expressing anger because you could not afford a medical bill to save your child’s life, than anger expressed because someone has dark skin.
6
Looks like Sanders has perfected the art of distancing himself from his own Bernie Bros mob while at the same time enjoying the benefits of their attacks.
4
It's almost certain that a few of Bernie's supporters have expressed their views uncivilly. But a word of caution should be taken here. A good way for an enemy--foreign or domestic--to subvert a campaign would be to have fake supporters write wildly intemperate or threatening posts which leave the candidate open to the charge that his supporters are nothing more than a mob of thugs. Certainly, we saw something similar in the 2016 campaign, when fake Bernie supporters--most of them bots, in fact---expressed more hostility for Hillary than for Trump. The Sanders camp must continue to speak out against any online abuse done in its name. But the public also needs to be aware of the danger of online subterfuge.
5
The discussion of Bernard Sander's online supporters is an important one, as we are clearly in a postmodern digital age that
has technologically surpassed traditional media and punditry. I am a queer woman of color, and candidly support Sanders--so perhaps I am biased here. However, I have pushed back to sexist trolls whom attack Warren online, and as such, understand why Sanders campaign is blamed directly. And yet, this is a social issue that has more to do with isolated toxic masculinity online and less about the character, beliefs or policies of Sanders. After all, he has consistently supported women, queer and transgender, people of color, undocumented immigrants, the working-poor and folks with disabilities for over 40 years. In contrast, Warren was a Republican till she was 47. HR Clinton loved Barry Goldwater whose entire world view was premised upon denying people of color, women, and gay people civil rights. There is intense visceral populist rage on the right and left due to 40 years of neoliberalism and neoconservative policies that have utterly destroyed the local economies. Bernie's base and surrogates are mostly women of color under 40, and his angry white male online trolls are a small subset of the base--not its entirety.
3
Politics isn't a game. Peoples' lives are at stake. Bernie's supporters are motivated by hope, but also by anger - anger at the inaction on the part of democrats for the past several decades that has led us to this point. I personally would not engage in any personal attacks, much less anything sexist or racist, but I also appreciate that there's a legitimate source for their anger.
4
A few months ago, the Times featured a series of articles attacking Warren. Now the Times is featuring a series of articles attacking Sanders. Let us look at the first example of Sanders's so-called bullying. His followers were scathing about Harris's funding-raising among the well-to-do in the Hamptons. He eventually mentioned Harris's fund-raising among the well-to-do in the Hamptons. This is not bullying; it is decent campaigning with the goal of showing that Harris was chumming up to the same people who donated to Clinton in the 2016 fiasco.
In good journalism, you start out with one of your strongest cases. The Times started out with a non-case. There was no bullying, only quite proper criticism of a rival.
Maybe this article, like some of the recent OpEds by Stephens, isn't good journalism?
6
I think Bernie has his own cult following, just like Trump. They seem to think that if Bernie is elected, everything he promises will just magically happen, regardless of the reality of our system of government. The truth is that such a massive overhaul of our country would be extremely difficult and no crowds in the street, “our” revolution “, will be enough to make it happen. Cults don’t question reality, they just believe what they’re told.
They ignore the cold, hard fact that he has just suffered a heart attack and that the presidency is probably one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. Are we to believe that a very old man in questionable health can safely take on this challenge? I don’t believe it because I’m not in the Bernie cult.
If Bernie Sanders really wants to prove that his way of implementing radical change can work, then he should mobilize his supporters to swarm the streets right now to demand witnesses and evidence in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. If he truly believes that Trump is a pathological liar and a danger to our country, then he should use his resources that he believes are the key to profound change to help the Democrats and the American people who want a fair trial.
Because, as the Senator says, it’s not about him, it’s about us.
6
@Me He's one year older than Biden.
@Sam Harrison
Biden did not just have a heart attack.
Your reply proved my point.
1
Candice Aiston has been banned from Twitter several times for abuse and open racism. Most recently she used her online platform to harrass someone over their sexual assault because the victim supports Sanders. Great cast of characters y'all found for this article about the dreaded bros. We all love in-depth reporting with a critical eye like this.
7
Please let Bernie Sanders be the Democrat nominee for president. It will insure an overwhelming Trump victory. Democrats just can't help shooting themselves in the foot. In their overwhelming desire to be inclusive of all viewpoints and lifestyles on the left, they are embracing an avowed far, far left socialist who had no use for the Democrat party until he was forced to join it in order to run for president. And now he is leading in Iowa. Be careful what you wish for, and who you embrace as your own.
As I recall from the Mueller report, the Russian IRA troll farm was so successful at impersonating Americans on both sides of the aisle that they managed to arrange a protest, organized online, in Houston - a protest in which Trump supporters faced off against liberals and progressives, both groups being manipulated into being there in person by Russian trolls.
Mueller himself said that Russians and other foreign actors will continue to interfere in our politics and elections in sweeping and systematic fashion.
On Twitter, the # of Trump's followers keeps miraculously growing and growing and growing at record - some might say inhuman - pace. Yet the media continues to talk of it as if those numbers represent actual individuals when it is common knowledge that Twitter is littered with bots and trolls. As is Facebook.
Then we have homegrown activity: for the 2016 primaries, HRC hired former GOP operative David Brock (best known for smearing Anita Hill when she testified against Clarence Thomas). Brock headed up the Orwellian "Correct the Record" PAC's online effort to smear Sanders and his supporters (who they labeled "Bernie Bros" so similar to 2008's "Obama boys") and spread disinformation and rancor at every turn, gobbled up by HRC fans.
If we have learned anything from 2016 and the Mueller report, it is "beware the trolls." I treat online political activity with great skepticism as I do mainstream reports such as this one.
Who benefits? The usual suspects.
11
What I want to hear from every Democrat, including Sanders supporters, is that they will vote for the nominee no matter who it is. What I don't want to hear is a bunch of divisive lies and conspiracy theories about rigged this and that, media bias, corporate Democrats, and the like. In particular, I don't want to hear folks parroting the aims of Trump's Ukraine scheme and calling Biden corrupt. We're all in this together. The Democratic candidates agree on the same set of broad general aims. All of the candidates are human, including St. Bernie. And all of them have made and will continue to make mistakes, including St. Bernie. What happened 20 years ago isn't relevant. I'm sure Sanders today would not vote for an nth time against the Brady Bill. And I'm sure none of the candidates would vote for the second Iraq war today given what we now know about the Republican WMD lie. Let's talk plans and policies and other things that matter. For instance, every Democratic candidate should long since have adopted Inslee's pretty darned good climate plan. And none of the candidates should be downplaying impeachment or otherwise trolling for Trumpy deplorables.
6
Commenters (and editorialists) espousing how divisive Bernie is and how toxic his supporters are: you may find that you, yourself, are in the position to be a Bernie supporter quite soon if he wins the nomination.
As a Bernie supporter in 2016, I quickly morphed into a Hilary supporter when she became the Democratic candidate. I even phone banked for her. A lot of blame gets thrown around for Democrats' losing that election. Are you willing to do what is necessary to avoid that blame this time? And are you willing to crawl under the same enormous "Bernie Bro" blanket you are helping to construct with such generalizations.
By the way, I will be voting for Warren in the primary, but will gladly vote for whoever the Democratic nominee is in November.
3
As a mob, Sanders's supporters are acting exactly the same as Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager, in how they strategize to attack perceived enemies and spread lies. Parscale has virtually unlimited funds to place fake ads and access FB data to target his messages, but otherwise there isn't much difference in tactics.
3
If it's any consolation, the only time you can control what followers will say is when you run a ship so tight that the "people" can't get in. This is a rocky time.
I count on Bernie Sanders to continue the high road and to warn that anyone who abuses and threatens is not welcome in his campaign.
I also expect more anti Sanders pieces disguised as hand wringing from media gatekeepers.
4
Some of the divisive 'supporters' are probably not Americans (or even humans) at all. Our elections are being actively interfered with. The goal is to split Dems from Repubs, and Dems from Dems. At each others' throats is exactly the position they want us to take.
4
Everyone is responsible for their own voice on social media. The people who are amazed that Bernie cannot control everyone are the same people who ignore voices they deem non-important on a regular basis. Bernie has respect for every human life. I wish I could say the same to those that think the current system of rising homeless, inability to access a good education and a slave to health care executives.
3
“With more than 10 million followers on Twitter, Mr. Sanders has a larger audience on the platform than Ms. Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Amy Klobuchar combined.”
Of course there is going to be more vitriol coming from supporters of Bernie than others when he has many more supporters.
More supporters doesn’t equate to nastier supporters, obviously.
The proper analysis would be to compare, for each candidate, the number of insults/threats to the number of supporters. But that would have been too hard.
As a Trump supporter, I would love Bernie to win the nomination but I don’t think the Democratic establishment will let him. It’s rigged.
4
@Jay Peters Thanks for your support. We hope you'll come around to Bernie in the general.
3
I've been surprised at the bullying of Bernie supporters that show up in comment sections. They appear to be mimicking the tactics of Trump's base. I don't see anything close in supporters of other candidates.
4
He wants to govern our nation, but cannot control his campaign supporters.
Not a good sign.
He needs to do more than just say that he finds such intimidation intolerable. He needs to delegate responsibility among his senior staff and to ensure that such hostility is stopped.
That is what leaders do. His ability to stir up crowds and get donations is impressive, but if he cannot stop them from intimidating his opponents then he is a danger.
3
I read the comments accompanying articles in newspapers and magazines because they offer interesting perspectives on the ideas presented in the articles. However, I’ve been amazed at how much plain ignorance and nastiness are displayed in the comments overall, in all the publications and on all subjects! Much of the commentary devolves into ad hominem attacks on other commentators, the author, or the politician who is the subject of the article. Often there is little real consideration of the ideas or policies presented in the article. I’ve come to the unhappy conclusion that this is simply the nature of anonymous social media communication: people of all political stripes say things in ways that they would not if they could be identified. The Bernie Bros are just one example of this unfortunate phenomenon and will continue no matter how much Sanders asks them to desist, as he has! I am grateful for the NYT’s policy of weeding out this type of commentary. I wish other publications would do the same. Hate speech is the very worst kind of free speech; it adds absolutely nothing to the interchange of ideas.
1
Bernie supporters on Reddit's /r/politics repeat ad nauseam, as the candidate himself has, that we will support whoever wins the nomination. Don't believe me? Check yourself. Of course there is a vocal minority of bad apples. This is because Bernie's ground support is so widespread. And that's the real reason the established powerbrokers and their surrogates are afraid and so quick to paint all of us with the same brush.
1
Anyone who has read the Mueller report and what it says about Russia's aggressive and damaging support of Sanders' campaign in 2016 should be embarrassed to support him at this juncture.
2
I don't like nasty campaigning. Alas, the anonymity of the Internet has greatly amplified some voters' mean-spiritedness and intolerance. Personally, though, I have never encountered even one of the so-called "Bernie bros."
When I did some volunteer work for Sen. Sanders's 2016 campaign, the other volunteers were all aging boomers and hopeful young people--people who wouldn't hurt a fly. The media, for some reason, seem to focus on the stereotypical "Bernie bro," instead of Sen. Sanders's many sincere and well-intentioned supporters. I would say what I think of the Times's steady drumbeat of anti-Sanders reporting, but then I'd be accused of being a Bernie bro.
6
Bernie's army doesn't seem to understand that their candidate must be able to win a general election against an incumbent.
He has active heart disease, little support from fellow legislators and a poor record for actually getting anything done in DC.
He is not a member of the Democratic party and his supporters showed little solidarity with the nominee in 2016.
Move on.
6
Bernie beats Trump. We hope you will help us create the landslide to remove Trump in November. Peace
1
There's this interesting idea that Sanders's supporters are "more online" than everyone else, whatever that means. Yet articles about his supporters are about attacks on other people who are also voluntarily online. I'm not quite sure what is being asked here: that social media should be a space for his detractors to smear and slander the senator without any opposition? Because that's how social media is used by his moderate/establishment opponents.
Such a small number of people dominate Twitter in general: "Overall, the top 10 percent of Twitter users in the United States generate approximately 80 percent of tweets on the platform."
Hyper-focusing on a tiny sliver of the population does nothing but erase the broad, non-Twitter based coalition that Senator Sanders has built in the real world. I'm a millennial supporter of the senator and my only interaction with Twitter is embedded posts in news articles, which drive me crazy. I see social media use as a personal hobby and I don't consider the happenings on Twitter to be news or of any interest or benefit to our society. I can't imagine that I'm the only person that feels this way.
I take my cues from the hardworking community groups on the ground who are actually making the changes our country need, not the opinions of anonymous online posters.
1
While I agree with much of Bernie's views and voted for him in the 2016 primary, I find that many of his supporters resemble Trump's supporters in their online decorum and willingness to buy into any conspiracy theory that explains their guy's failures or other voters' dislike of their guy. Very troubling for the direction of our democracy.
5
One of the sad outcomes of the vitriol of the Sanders supporters is that many of them will not vote for another Democratic nominee. I guess they prefer 4 more years of Trump. In 2008, I quickly changed my allegiance from Hillary to Obama after he won the nomination. I didn’t understand the anger in my fellow Hillary supporters that delayed them doing so. So I say to my brothers and sisters supporting Bernie, keep your eyes on the prize. Support the nominee as I will enthusiastically support Bernie if he wins though he is not my choice now.
5
It is quite hilarious to see the defenses of Sanders on this article's comment section. They are the same defenses that ardent Trump supporters use to defend him being endorsed by white nationalists and other authoritarian groups.
You can argue the size of the "silent" Trump voter all day but they do exist, particularly among younger (older millennials and young Gen X), white-collar workers in urban/suburban environments. Voting for Trump would be problematic socially so they will lie and claim to have voted against him. We saw it with Hillary and we will see it doubly with Bernie.
These are the swing voters in the swing areas. I have never seen a single Trump sign or sticker in my neighborhood (Strip District in Pittsburgh, PA). I have never met someone who openly acknowledges having voted for him in 2016. Yet, he captured 29% of the voter. How can this be possible? People will lie to their friends, family, coworkers and pollsters because their is a stigma associated with possessing certain political views. People will self-censor to avoid uncomfortable social situations but in the comfort of the voting booth vote Trump.
2
He is never going to be the Democrat nominee. He will get decimated in the south - and in the end it will be between Biden and Warren period. Bernie is a great 'spoiler' and what he will really end up doing is making sure Warren can't win. Then his bitter supporters will help Trump and make it more difficult for Biden to defeat Trump. That's the reality of Bernie or bust.
3
For those seeking respectful discourse, please read the following essay. It is well-written and well-researched. It makes the case for Bernie Sanders as the strongest candidate to win against Trump in the general: https://medium.com/@brettclt/bernie-sanders-is-the-most-electable-candidate-f9edfed715cf
Two key points from the essay, to pique your interest:
1) Only 35% of self-identified moderates hold centrist positions on both fiscal and social policy. Many people identify as moderate because they hold both left wing and right wing views. Thus, they don't fit neatly into one political party.
2) Due to increased polarization, the American electorate looks less like a bell curve and more like the letter M today. Thus, more votes can be gained by moving toward a far-left or far-right position than toward the center.
6
Quick question to Ms. DeMoro: If a candidate can't effectively exhort his own followers to tone down the vitriol, why on earth would I believe he stands any chance as president of a supremely divided nation? He's not leading a movement - it looks more like herding cats at this point.
2
I don't know about the Bernie's supporters, but I did see the vicious attack on Bernie from high- ranked supporter of the moderate approach. Hillary Clinton, who recently berated Bernie refused to say if she will support him if he wins the nomination. If the high-ranking moderate can do it so publicly, without condemnation of the other candidates, I can only imagine what the supporters of moderates say in the Internet.
8
in my state bernie won the primary but after the super delegates were added the state became somehow for hrc. They have reason not to trust. oh and yes i worked for and supported hrc in the general
3
Bernie Sanders has done a fabulous job articulating policies which may be considered extreme here but are effective elements of countries more progressive than ours. But he's walking a tightrope now. In his book, "Our Revolution" he said that he ran in 2016 because Elizabeth Warren did not. After she entered the 2020 race, he entered anyway. I would like an explanation for that because, otherwise, I am left thinking that he just wants to be President and is intoxicated by the devotion of his base.
3
Trump wants Bernie Sanders to run. WHY? He is very easy for Trump to beat.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/bernie-sanderss-biggest-challenges/605500/
"Bernie Sanders is a fragile candidate. He has never fought a race in which he had to face serious personal scrutiny. ... The Trump campaign... Will depict him as a... Useless career politician who oversaw a culture of sexual harassment in his 2016 campaign. Through 2019, Donald Trump and his proxies hailed Sanders as a true voice of the people..... fuggeddaboudit
BERNIE CAN'T WIN.
7
@M: The Democrats don't even control their own brand, and Republicans back the weakest Democratic candidates in important primaries.
@M There’s a recording of Trump, released by Lev Parnas, speculating that he would have lost if Hillary had chosen Bernie as her running mate... Trump is afraid of him.
1
The Bernie Bros, the libertarians of the Left. Mostly young, self centered and supremely sure of themselves.
Grow up. Please.
35
@Phyliss Dalmatian “Grow up” is the kind of criticism delivered when someone has nothing substantive to say about another.
16
It is also the kind of criticism directed at immature politics signified by certitude and purism.
6
@Zenon Rinia
No, it’s the least to say, when attempting to remain “ polite and civil “ and not upset the moderators.
Period.
2
Yesterday afternoon in a local bar, I struck up conversation with a woman, and conversation turned (somehow) to Bernie. She informed me that if Bernie was "cheated" again in the primaries, then "nobody would show up to vote on Election Day" and that "I have been warned".
I told her that was the stupidest strategy I had ever heard and she become more belligerent, trying to force me to "promise that I will do the right thing when the time comes".
So I guess that Bernie supporters will "show" us by not voting. What an idiotic way to bring a democracy down. My support for Bernie Sanders just went WAY down into the garbage based on ridiculous drivel like that.
37
@Emily
That is a meaningless anecdote. There are crazy people in every election. This woman has nothing to do with him. You can’t control every crazy person who supports you.
18
@Emily Except your one anecdotal experience doesn't represent all Bernie supporters...I would bet at least 90% of his supporters voted for Hillary when the time came to show up. Will the past Hillary voters turn up this time when it's Bernie's time to shine?
5
@Emily Pretty clear you had no support for Senator Sanders if a statement from one person in a bar lost your "support".
7
The tactics chronicled in this article are nothing less than fascism. They are disgusting. And if Sanders can't or won't disown the supporters who use them, he'll never get my vote. He doesn't deserve anyone else's either.
13
Seems really silly that a candidate’s supporters could get you to completely change your mind about improving the healthcare system, reuniting separated immigrant families, and fighting climate change. Go ahead and vote for Trump. We’ll win without you.
3
The paper that has called Bernie supporter's "Bernie Bros" is now all to eager to jump onto a high horse.
31
I hope the NYT is being unbiased and doing the important work of exposing the truth in a balanced and accurate way as possible. We Bernie supporters can take responsibility for doing our part to build a just, civil, and sustainable democracy starting from now. This is not me experience of any one who supports Bernie, but I hope everyone takes their cues from Bernie, who is consistently a trustworthy gentleman of the highest integrity.
18
One of the individuals quoted in this article, Candice Aiston, has been suspended from Twitter before for......harassment.
39
It is really hard to understand the appeal of Bernie Sanders unless you are angry, jealous, and want to topple societal structure and engage in violence.
One of his campaign folks has advocated on record as wanting to act violently against " the rich." He still holds a place of significance in the Sanders campaign.
But the tone of what the article depicts, and in my opinion accurately, is exactly why centralization and control by a Federal government is a bad idea.
Bernie Sanders' ideas about a new type of insurance for all ( it is the same as Medicare as the Boeing 737-max is the same as other 737s), eliminating all American Billionaires, and free college tuition for all ( which means taxes for everyone for life) all point in only one direction -- A big sucking sound of cash removal from American citizens into a bottomless inefficient pit of a centralized government who then controls everything..Socialism. And loss of individuality and entrepreneurship.
Our Constitution was agreed upon to unite states under a shared balance of power between states and a federal government. That's why California and Florida are different and people can choose.
Bernie Sanders is just an angry divisive person with no new thinking.
12
I invite the Bernie Bros to sit out the election if Sanders is not the candidate, as so many are threatening to do. I can't imagine a more effective way to convince the Democratic party that the far left can't be counted on.
Do it. Let the Democratic party know that in 2024, they shouldn't even bother to court your vote.
37
@MM
You card-carrying "Democrats" really need to listen to yourselves, if this is the way you promote unity and civility.
11
@MM Your suggestion is not at all helpful.
7
@MM I voted for a third party candidate in 1992, 1996 and 2000. I voted for Obama because he promised progressive reforms, but in 2016, I voted Green again. And I will continue to do so if the Democratic Party wants to ignore progressive voters. If that's what you want, that's what you will get.
3
The comments will be overwhelmingly favor Sanders because the wave of his supporters have every right to react to this article and be angry. Trump doesn't know Lev Parnas and his Ukraine phone call was "perfect" - Sanders wants to be president of the whole USA and yet admits he cannot criticize his followers for their exuberance. Chants of "lock her up" rang in my head because Trump seems to be on the same wavelength - just get a lot of people to see you as the leader they cannot live without and your path to the WH is secure. Sanders' one great political claim is that he didn't vote for invading Iraq. Truth is that if Gore was president, as he should have been, then Sanders would have very little political chops that he can produce to show that his many years in Congress has had meaningful impact on Americans. And his Medicare For All is as much a bargain for Americans as Trump's "tax cut" has ben for the 90% of Americans for whom it has had no beneficial effect. Finally, anyone who even mentions the word revolution as a solution to the "rigged" system of politics in America should be disqualified from running. The history of revolutions, read Hannah Arendt's "On Revolution" will give anyone pause to even think that revolutions are solutions. The American revolution is still evolving so as a problem solving post-election event it fails the test of being part of a political campaign. Warren can beat Trump but will struggle when Sanders supporters do not vote in protest.
12
@Michael exactly. Bernie is a fragile candidate who will be easily pushed aside by Trump and his gang
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/bernie-sanderss-biggest-challenges/605500/
Sanders is far from blameless. His own combative language inflames his supporters. He is the leader of a "revolution," not merely a candidate for President; his opponents are "corrupt," not pursuing a different fundraising strategy; the system is "rigged" against him, etc. etc. I will hold my nose and vote for him if he is the nominee, but I don't hold out much hope for his ability to unify the country if he were to become President.
87
@Anna Apparently, you have no problem voting for a party that backs corporate interests. I do.
7
@Anna You, I discourage my fellow Sanders supporters from using Trumpian rhetoric like "rigged" because the nomination is the party's to give. They don't even have to hold a primary--American never did until 1912.
The DNC can hand deliver their nomination to whoever they want, so, not "rigged". But card-carrying Democrats have to internalize the notion that the Party confers their nomination at their own peril.
In 2016 they conferred--and Donna Brazile confirms this--the conferred the nomination on the candidate who won primaries in states that never give a Democrat a single electoral vote. Then the DNC pretended to be blind-sided by the fact that the Electoral College even existed. Gullywash.
You're right, as long as the Democratic Party keeps ignoring their own blunders and goes on looking for phantom scapegoats, there will be little hope "to unify the country".
3
Some Bernie supporters are angry. But why they may be angry? I'm sure it's has nothing to do whit calling them "Bernie bros" or trying to smear Bernie as a secret sexists. It has nothing to with media trying to ignore Bernies campaign for weeks. It has nothing to do with DNC being obviously biased against Sanders in last primary. They are angry without any good reason. And let's remember when when it's the establishment attacking Sanders it's for a good of the country and party and if Sanders or his supporter fire back pointing to legitimate issues like Bidens terrible record on social security they are "divisive".
46
I'm not worried about it, because he will not be the nominee. He is too far left for the moderate democrats and the independents to gain any traction in important swing states.
But let me just say: if Sanders does become the nominee, I will not vote for him precisely because of his obnoxious supporters, who are mirror images to Trump's loser base.
Both sides could use a large bar of soap to wash their mouths.
18
@BothSides
'I'm not worried about it, because he will not be the nominee. '
You're right.
That will be Biden, the favorite of the establishment.
The Democrats want to erase the election of 2016, and want to hand feed you their selected person as president for 2020.
In such a rigged and gross system, why vote at all?
2
Just as Trump's supporters overwhelmed the those of the fragmented other Republicans, so Sanders's base will outnumber the supporters of both the lackluster and the strong Democratic candidates.
When will political parties learn that having ten candidates is the way to get the worst of them nominated?
Sanders is the bizarro-world Trump. They are both angry, divisive demagogues.
4
@AutumnLeaf
I was at both 2016 conventions. You weren't Bernie Sanders is just as money grubbing and obnoxious as the rest of them.
Rather than fight, he pledged his fealty to HRC *within an hour.*
Also, please note that he has *very serious* health issues that cannot be overlooked. But please do perpetuate the fiction that he's fit as a fiddle and ready to rumble. Big reveal: He's not.
Finally, notably, I did not say who the candidate would be. But thanks for trying to put words in my mouth.
This is infuriating journalism, since there are such big gaps in this article. First, unless the other groups of supporters are all bully-free, then the question is really a comparative one: is the Sanders campaign notably *more* aggressive than others? But this article doesn't show this to be the case. In addition, it's a common trope that when those bullied fight back, they are then painted as aggressors. And this false equivalence is distorting--- it overlooks the question of why some Bernie supporters might be angry and if they have good reason to be. So why not consider some context like Hilary's recent comments - which were as vicious as can be - before throwing shade at Bernie's supporters?
79
@Laura Yes, they are notably more aggressive than others.
5
The 2016 Nevada caucuses were an utter travesty of election rigging by the Nevada Democratic Party, who changed the rules at the last minute to favor Clinton, and and then ejected 64 Sanders delegates for "lacking credentials." True, a more civilized response to this might have involved not throwing chairs etc, but the outrage was real, and the anger very much justified.
And by the way, the Nevada State Democratic Party's claims about chair throwing, death threats etc have never been verified. They originally claimed to have video footage, but never produced it.
Are we really going to open up these old wounds? If so, just know that Sanders supporters, myself included, see Nevada May 2016 as a flagrant attack on democracy — followed by a flagrant and unfair slander campaign against us.
...and yes, I voted for Hillary in the general.
59
@Wakeman Thank you.
3
This comes down to an independent complaining that the Nevada Democratic caucuses favored Democrats. If you want to join the party, you have to join the Party.
1
@Paul Goode If he runs as an indie, Trump would win. Do you want that? I don't.
2
I am a Facebook addict, very politically involved, and have never encountered any “Bernie Bros”. I’m sure some exist, but they are not anything close to representing the majority of Sanders’ supporters. The most ardent Bernie fans I know are women. I know that’s mere anecdotal evidence, but it’s the truth. Stop trying to build a myth.
85
@J.A. Prufrock
'...have never encountered any “Bernie Bros”. I’m sure some exist'
I love sharks, they are my passion. But just because I have never seen one (other than photos), I could not claim they do not exist, or are in every ocean, just because I do not run into them on 8th Ave.
Same here. Just because you never go to where the Bernie Brops congregate, does not mean they do not exist. They are out there, in force, just maybe not down your neck of the woods.
Just like I would need to go cage diving to see white sharks, you should come to Brooklyn so you can meet a whole lot of them. just don't tell me they do not exist if you do not run into them on the street where you live.
16
@J.A. Prufrock go to warren's posts.
6
@J.A. Prufrock
I'm 30, white and male. The 'myth' you say NYT is building is already there online, it is 100% there. While I disagree strongly with unfriending people purely for political reasons, I have unfollowed/snoozed several guys who have been radicalized by the online communities of Sanders or Trump. It's the memes, the flooding of comments underneath a post, the constant divisiveness, and anytime there is a news article that paints Sanders in a negative light- it gets a flame throwing caption denouncing whatever the article is saying. Many Sander's supporters really are the worst part of the democratic party... but I will vote for him in a heartbeat if Sanders is the nominee against Trump.
11
I have been a huge supporter of Sanders and most of his policies (particularly economic) for many years. Like him, I eschew the hatred and bullying on the internet.
But if were to act out like some of the dopes on many campaigns do, how would the Senator be able to stop me? He is not responsible for the actions of every misanthrope on the internet. All he can do is condemn it. Unlike Trump, who encourages it.
27
@Concernicus
Condemn and refuse to profit from the adversity it sets up, would be good.
It may have started when Macedonian teenagers were busy creating disinformation webs for Putin in 2016. In a Times story they explained that when they discovered they could make money from ads if they set up websites pushing extreme conservative (usually false) stories if they got redistributed to others, they tried to see if the same idea would work with other voter blocs.
According to the story, it didn't usually work EXCEPT with one other definable group, Bernie supporters. They discovered that his supporters would redistribute attacks and false stories and were often immune to other points of view.
Welcome to 2020.
11
@John I unfollowed several Bernie supporters in 2015/16 because I saw them reposting the same trashy anti-Hillary memes as I saw from the hard-right, carrying water for the likes of Breitbart and Newsmax. They got played but still wouldn't admit it to this day. In my opinion, any fanatical group is easy prey for operations spreading hate and misinformation.
Bernie's Bullies are all over these news sites. His spit-mouthed rhetoric sounds the same coming through other voices, and just as unhelpful in defeating Donald Trump.
10
This understates the case of how many people have faced smears, vitriol, and mass attacks for saying something, anything, that is even mildly critical of Bernie Sanders, and of how huge an impact it's had on who can say what where. Ady Barkan. Fred Guttenberg. The heads of the Working Families Party. A lot of ordinary people who should be able to have an opinion in public without a bunch of enraged social media warriors dogpiling on them.
19
Reporting needs to stick to the issues. What are Sanders' positions, how do they differ from Biden etc.
The headline is inflammatory. One reason the Sanders campaign needs the internet is the mainstream media doesn't give him coverage and when they do it typically follows a familiar pattern: Two days ago, Sanders was surging in the polls in Iowa. There wasn't even the margin of error they are so quick to point out. So what was MSNBC's coverage in the morning? They went to the Buttigieg campaign and asked how they were going to get into first place. Then they went to the Biden campaign (in third place) and explained just how powerful Biden really was. They ignored the front runner entirely. It is this kind of biased coverage that makes people who haven't made up their minds be more interested in Sanders. It also alienates Sanders supporters.
48
I’m sending a False Flag campaign getting revved up here.
Bernie already has millions of confirmed supporters, judging by his donor base, whose size and passion dwarfs that of his competitors. Does it not stand to reason that he will have that many more unruly supporters?
At least this article for once entertains the idea that outside forces see this and may be trying to exploit this.
9
Just a reminder: Before you get all up in arms about the bad behavior of Bernie's (or anybody's) online supporters, make sure they're real. And if you don't know how to do that, you need to educate yourself. Start now, because the disinformation war is happening, Russian interference is happening, and it's going to be a long and bitter fight to Election Day 2020.
27
Sometimes, we need to be forceful in the way we speak about subjects, especially in times of great crisis. Bernie has ascended, and his political vision has become meaningful for a national movement of people, who won’t go away or stop fighting when Bernie isn’t here anymore.
Calling Bernie supporters “bros” and “bullies” won’t make us go away, and won’t change the fact that we are, in fact, a very diverse group. Much moreso than Warren’s coalition. We have legitimate political demands, and it terrifies the powerful that we have a leader who voices these demands. No one is in politics to be nice and make friends, but only Bernie supporters will ever be called out for it. What it’s really about, though, is policy. No one in power wants Bernie to be in office, and NYT is a powerful, publicly traded news organization worth 1.7 billion dollars, whose controlling shareholder is worth 50 billion dollars. 50 billion dollars! How do you think that guy feels about Bernie? About his policy ideas?
This comment is probably going to be thrown out by the moderators, for being too ‘uncivil.’ But that won’t change the fact that sometimes, when the political world is paralyzed, and people are suffering, we need to be forceful, not conciliatory and compromising.
32
@Julia Well said.
4
Other than plain vanilla rhetoric about bullying, what has Senator Sanders and his campaign done to deal with the problems described in this article? Has anyone in management been fired or even reprimanded? Internal memos? Code of conduct? Can anyone connected to the campaign speak to that?
8
@Hamilton Lagrange Sounds like Sanders should fold up his tent and go back to Vermont.
I see we have reached “Bernie is polling 30% in Iowa” levels of centrist desperation. Carry on.
45
The tone, character and direction of any organization is set at the top. People are quick to emulate the nuances, both obvious and subtle of their leaders, and what behavior can be pursued with little or no discipline or notice.
8
The challenge of the moderate-progressive divide is a critical dynamic for November 2020. I recently read that, in a poll, 25% of Sanders supporters would not vote for Biden (or another moderate) democrat should he win the nomination. If the same sentiment is shared in the opposite direction from moderates, the Democratic nominee could be facing strong headwinds independent of Trump's campaign and debate efforts.
What I think is this: socio-economics changes over years and decades. The needs of individuals, communities, and society change. The partisan and (on the aggregate level) moderate nature of our government limits our ability to pass laws that adequately address the needs of the aforementioned. Single-payor healthcare is not "inherently progressive" in my opinion if the needs of our society justify it.
Far too often, we are compassionate in our opinions, but not in our voting and actions. As long as you and yours are well-off enough, a passive selfishness reigns and many democrats do not vote for progressively as they fear being worse off and not the beneficiary of a certain program.
This really comes down to our political culture. People hold onto their opinions even as facts change. As the needs of individuals, communities, and society shift to the right, we must use government in a responsible way to adequately meet the needs of our citizens.
As economist John Maynard Keynes said, "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do sir?"
16
@Tempest
" recently read that, in a poll, 25% of Sanders supporters would not vote for Biden (or another moderate) democrat should he win the nomination."
I'm gonna need a citation for that because the last two polls I read that had that data said that number was around 4%, and supporters for all the other candidates were around 12-13%. I find it hard to believe that a 20 point swing happened in the last month to embitter Sanders supporters.
6
@Tempest
Biden is not moderate. He is right wing. He is a corporate hack. He is one of the DEMs who betrayed us and went along with passing laws that removed protections from exploitation.
He would be another corporately controlled too scared to fight for anything that took real time and effort to accomplish. He's a nice smiley guy for dinner parties, I wouldn't want to have him as a partner in anything.
7
I still think there is more than one way to get to this goal and that does get drowned out.
You are judged by the friends you keep. Sanders' online friends are bullies and worse. These people behave similarly online or worse than Trump's supporters. This makes me question what there is about Sanders that attracts such crude behavior. I know he's a gun supporter but not all gun people are crude. He's also promising free everything which may attract a free-loading crowd. And at his advanced age, he comes across in a macho style, gruff, loud, not giving an inch. He conveys the message, "I'm rough and tough," which appeals to those who think of themselves the same way and behave that way too. In 2016 I decided not to support him after encounters online with his believers. In 2020, regardless of how sincere he is, my decision is the same.
31
@blgreenie confirmation bias, this post is every bit as hostile and unreasonable as you accuse people of being
this isn't a Sanders problem it's an internet problem and anyone who has used it for 20 years instead of 4 knows that. neoliberal medi blames bernie because it's easy for them to control that narrative.
10
@blgreenie
Your comment sounds very, very much like what I would expect to hear from a Trump supporter.
If it comes down to Bernie vs Trump, who would you vote for?
4
@blgreenie
Bernie supporter here. Please stop with unfounded accusations. I would say based on what I'm reading in the comments here and elsewhere, anger and mean behavior are not limited to Bernie supporters and actually of the Bernie supporters I know, this stereotype of the 'Bernie Bro' applies to none. Let's stick to the issues please because that is what will truly make a difference in people's lives whereas this other stuff is just pointless and a waste of precious time.
4
Bernie will continue to grow in strength as voters (and former non-voters) hear his clear, moral and reasonable message. Disingenuous attacks from the media and anti-Bernie partisans will only increase his appeal, as we see more and more of Bernie and it becomes clear how much he differs from the "Bernie bro" caricature used to slander him and to erase the diverse and overwhelmingly good-willed nature of his supporters.
112
The anger of some of Bernie's following is directly related to what happened during the 2016 nomination.
Yet there is not even a mention of even the most striking intervention by the DNC: the New Hampshire superdelegates all siding with Clinton despite Bernie's overwhelming victory in that state.
96
@Bender
Once there is a clear winner, that's what superdelegates do. To have a contested convention spells doom in November. Remember when the superdelegates supported Hillary against Obama, untill he pulled ahead? Then they mostly all switched to Obama.
Superdelegates have always given the majority of their support to who ever was in the overall lead.
15
@Bender He's not a democrat. Get this thru thick skin please.
5
@Bender She still got 4 million more votes in the primary, and beat Bernie like a drum in the South, sometimes by double digits.
9
Just what we need--more ugliness and rage in an atmosphere already so thick with both that many of us feel ill as we read the news. I don't care in whose name hate- and fear-mongering is done: cut it out, grow up, stop making life unpleasant for the rest of us.
34
If you really want to see the much feared Bernie Bro army tamed, just have Bernie stopped advocating for M4A, Student loan forgiveness and ending austerity. If he embraced Clintonian Third Way positions (bank deregulation, cuts of social services to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, a massive prison complex to sweep away the debris from these policies and hide them from view, permanent war etc.) the bernie bro army would immediately disband. That's all you need to do. Because it's not so much the man as much as it's what he represents, power for working people against their bosses, landlords, corporations etc.
78
@Bo Then why are they so incredibly hostile to Elizabeth Warren?
4
In the scientific research realm, there is what is known as "anecdotal evidence." It is typically criticized as something akin to cherry-picking things. Well-designed survey research uses random sampling techniques and non-leading questions. Some people who go to extremes in support of Sanders can be found, but is that behavior even in any way typical? This article does not answer that question, which I think is actually appropriate because of the reliance on anecdotes. Moreover, I'm glad that it has included the need to be tough because of Republican ruthlessness. MLK was for non-violent resistance but relentlessly. I'm a Sanders supporter and would never be abusive in maintaining that support. There is my anecdote.
123
Anger at false statements is not bullying. Hillary’s recent statements qualifying Bernie Sanders as a fraud ”it’s all just baloney” and a career politician who “got nothing done” are precisely the kind of rhetoric that fuels that anger. And rightfully so.
Established Democrats should not expect their position to be received with respectful discourse when saying these kinds of things because those statements are perceived as Trumpesque propaganda. And they are.
State your opinion and your evidence for it or get out of the way. Bernie has had everything he says heavily scrutinized by everyone. He’s still here. You may not like that he’s going to tax you a lot more because you’re wealthy, but that doesn’t make him wrong.
For the record my preference is with Elizabeth Warren. But I am merely an interested spectator.
91
@Jacques Petit
Close on to 40 years in Congress is about as career politician as one can get. That is the definition of "establishment."
Bernie is the least vetted candidate in the entire field. He is every Republican's dream. From ihs inability to hold a job in his 20s and 30s to his decades long misogyny. You can't make this stuff up. The popping of champagne corks at republican households will be heard all over the country if Sanders is chosen. It will look as if the Democrats have taken up the chant, "4 more years."
6
@Carol-Ann Listen to that tape of Trump that just came out.. He saw Sanders as the one threat that would take much of his base. He was worried Hillay would make him VP.
2
@Carol-Ann What misogyny? And frankly, given how many people struggle, no one with half a lick of common sense is going to care that he struggled to hold down a job, because guess what? That's what we're struggling with now!
Bernie beats Trump in about 95% of polling, but okay, boomer.
4
I was a Clinton supporter in 2016 and a Bernie supporter now. I'm biased like anyone else, but I've seen both sides of the coin. Yes, there are angry and belligerent Bernie supporters. They are counter-productive and we should always condemn cruelty and those who use our movement to be unkind to others.
But this is part of a larger error that the media continues to make over and over again: they simply do not understand what would cause this anger. Many young people have grown up in a country that they are told is the greatest country in the world. Meanwhile they are saddled with life-changing student debt, can't afford rent, they are one illness away from bankruptcy, and oh yeah, climate change is an existential threat to our very future. No one was held responsible for the Iraq War. No one was held responsible for the Great Recession. In fact, the architects of both are richer and better off than ever before.
Those who are privileged and oblivious to all this will never understand why people are angry. Civility is very easy when you have nothing on the line and are blind to the fact that this country has not worked for millions of people, not just young people like me. Kindness is important. Seeing the best in others is vital. We can never excuse bad behavior, especially from the most privileged types who use our movement to settle scores. But if you can't understand why people are angry, then you indict yourself. And it is the reason why so many of us are frustrated.
234
@BReed Well-said. Complacency is a problem.
11
@BReed well, well said.
11
Kids these days, with their rock 'n' roll, and their desire to reverse climate change and decades of inequality resulting from failed trickle-down economics...
Bernie can't pre-approve every comment written on the Internet. Bullying is unacceptable. However, someone disagreeing passionately with you is not necessarily bullying.
People on the right often claim they are persecuted or "canceled," when in reality nobody is infringing upon their right to free speech. It just makes them deeply uncomfortable when a wave of people also exercise their right to free speech in disagreement. I see some of those same complaints appearing among centrists now.
711
@Zep
He doesn't have to pre-approve every comment. He has to condemn the threats, the vitriol and the fascist tactics of some of his supporters.
Why is that controversial to you?
50
@Zep A socialist is a 48 state loser in the general.
16
It isn’t controversial. He already has disavowed said behavior.
36
I'm a Sanders supporter. I don't believe that Bernie endorses this kind of bullying from his supporters. It appears that he needs to do more to actively prevent it. I get a LOT of emails from the campaign. At least some of these emails could carry an explanation asking supporters to refrain from this kind of bullying, on the grounds that it hurts the campaign more than it helps.
The problem shouldn't come as a surprise. Bernie has a disproportionate number of young followers. Their youth and passion may lead them not to consider that other people have their own points of view that need to be respected. But, there is only one other candidate with supporters this passionate, and that's Donald Trump. Bernie should address the problem of bullying by some of his most activist supporters, but the passion of his base also suggests that Bernie is the candidate most likely to defeat Donald Trump in November.
16
Why is criticizing fundraising from wealthy people the most offensive thing that progressives can do?
Isn't the platform of the Democratic party centered around overturning Citizens United and getting big money out of politics?
Why don't the corporate-funded Democrats show a little party unity and actually work toward that goal instead of using the "unilateral disarmament excuse" every time they're questioned about their fundraising.
38
Because they resent the idea of anyone having the moral high ground over them. They think being ever-so-slightly to the left of Mitch McConnell is as left as a progressive needs to be. Anyone proposing policies to left of theirs is sowing “disunity” in the party.
3
There are many reasons I’m so happy to Elizabeth Warren for President in 2020. One is that her supporters are so positive. I was very disturbed by the hatred and sexism among some, and I emphasize some, of my fellow Sanders supporters in 2016. I am seeing it again on social media this campaign season. I try not to reply to these posts, but I am left to ask, “Do you believe your vitriol will motivate me to work to get out the vote in November if Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee for President?”
36
@Greg I appreciate this too. She is both tough and respectful.
4
I'm a Sanders supporter. Any Sanders supporter who says that Bernie can't do better about his followers' toxicity is lying to themselves.
We hold Trump accountable for his fanning the flames of his followers darkest instincts, by egging on their calls for violence and refusing to criticize the demons among them.
Hold ourselves to the same standard. Bernie is long overdue for calling out to his supporters to be more inclusive, to be more positive, and to better understand that any fight between even the most corporate Democrat and Bernie is a mere squabbling between friends in the context of the forest fire rampaging on the right that we must see beyond the trees.
Sanders himself is done a disservice by the toxicity of this vocal minority of supporters, and he would do himself a massive favor to say something as simple as: "While I am honored by the enthusiastic support that my campaign has attracted, I would urge everyone to funnel that energy in positive ways and to not aim to denigrate fellow Americans. We're in this together, we're building this together."
Instead, he remains silent and many in his campaign fan these fires. That's a substantial error in judgment.
124
@Frank Thank you. Yes. I voted for Bernie in 2016, but am preferring Warren now. I wish that he had restrained his followers from attacking her recently. She can do a lot of the things they would like done-- if they could just see it. The attacks guarantee a backlash, they are so nasty. Just look at Warren's Facebook pages and you can see it all over. How about we just post in support of our candidates on their OWN pages?
14
@Hilary Strain I am right there with you. I caucused for Bernie in 2016, but I am caucusing for Warren this time around. I've mentioned this to a couple of Bernie supporters and have been attacked as some sort of heretic. However, I have told a couple of Bernie campaign workers this same thing (I live in Iowa; I get a lot campaign calls and visits), and they have been gracious and understanding.
4
Yes agreed . It is horrible. It has upset me for a week. I’m disgusted .
A real leader can do something to elevate his supporter's discourse online and anywhere else. It's called leadership.
I was a Bernie supporter in 2016 but even then I was appalled by the utter vitriol and hatred some of his supporters spewed online. There' is no place in my world for that.
I've moved on and will caucus for another candidate this go-round because I don't support some of Bernie's policies. But if he wins the nomination, I will happily vote for him. My mantra for the 2020 presidential election is Anybody But Joe!
6
@Sydney I was with you until your “Anybody But Joe” mantra for November. Shouldn’t that be “Anybody But Trump”?
1
Another interesting tidbit in this article about how a lot of the autobots from Russia are supporting two candidates, Trump and Sanders. It is not a coincidence that a they picked the most divisive of candidates to support, and any vitriol spewed is normal for these campaigns given their divisive nature.
Anyway my guess is that they picked Sanders not only for his divisiveness but also for the fact that he might be the easiest to beat in the general.
19
As I've noted in some of my other comments on this website, I've been on both sides of the coin: as both a Clinton supporter and a Bernie supporter. I have my biases like everyone else, but I like to think I have a solid perspective of things here.
Yes, there are some Bernie supporters who are belligerent and aggressive. It's true. And they are counter-productive, annoying, and unnecessary. But they make up a tiny fraction of Bernie supporters: this is a diverse movement of all kinds of people and the overwhelming majority are not as online as a bunch of well-off Brooklynites. Implying they are the norm, instead of the outlier, is deeply dishonest and reveals the bubble in which the writers reside in. Do you see Bernie supporters beating people up at rallies? No. Do you see a policy platform that sees the worst in other human beings? On the contrary. Bernie has also gone out of his way on numerous occasions to tell people online to be good and kind.
It's not a coincidence these attacks are coming from all over the place. Bernie is surging in the polls and establishment figures are flinging stuff at the wall. Is there some truth to this? Of course. But one need only the most basic of perspective to realize it is hardly something deserving of such an article. The NYT also completely discredits itself by citing individuals criticizing Bernie supporters who have themselves been banned from Twitter multiple times for harassment. The hypocrisy and irony is through the roof.
42
In my opinion, Sanders is just the lefty version of Trump.
And if it comes down to a choice between them, I’d rather have Trump.
I never imagined I’d feel this way because I don’t like Trump. But I dislike Sanders more. And I think a lot of moderates and independents feel the same way.
10
@David G
Both men are said to attract voters with lower educational achievement. If so, Trump may be more honest about it saying repeated that he "likes the poorly educated." Indeed.
1
@David G
No wise person thinks anyone is worse than Trump. Your comment suggests you haven't talked to many outside your bubble. Across the board. the wide variety of Democrats with whom I've spoken have every intention of supporting their dream candidates in the primary and BLUE in the general election. If it ends up being Sanders we will vote for Sanders. It would be suicidal to do anything else.
3
You’re wrong about independents and totally on the money about moderates. Makes sense since “moderates” in today’s context means “Reagan republican”.
2
The reason why he has a "troll army" of supporters is because people are seriously angry about our current system. Bernie is offering real change. Change that is frightening the corporate overlords and the shill politicians who do their bidding. If you don't want to be "harassed" online then get on the right side of history and support a candidate that wants to actually cares about people and wants to give everyone in our country dignity and respect. An "internet army" is much better than a real insurgent army with pitchforks and molotovs. That is what our future holds if serious reform is denied.
21
@NW
This is a great example of the problem. This article documents several examples of attacks on leftist women and POC. Elizabeth Warren is hardly supporting corporate overlords. And your reply is "so what, get on board." Its rigid zealotry.
6
@NW So the "real insurgent army with pitchforks and molotov" is waiting to emerge until a moderate Democrat is elected? How comforting to Trump.
@NW
"If you want us to leave you alone, do what we want you do to."
1
The easy answer to the article's question is "yes". If the media and others are holding Trump responsible for the action of Trumpers then each of the Dem candidates need to be held to the same standard with their supporters.
7
The media coverage of Senator Bernard Sanders has been relentlessly negative. I've been tracking the NYT and Wash Post. Every story and opinion piece is just so slanted toward the other candidates. It's really quite sad to see. That said - let's take a step back and think about the headline of this piece. We can't say anything bad about Sanders himself (because he's a great candidate), so now let's run articles and pieces about his supporters. I've long supported Mr. Sanders and I am polite, reasonable, rational, etc. Please don't confuse passion with "some crazy army". The supporters are passionate, which will get the vote out, it will bring new people to the polls. And the supporters also keep seeing a relentless almost malign and quite strong bias, almost fear, among the media and top pundits. I'm not certain where that fear among the media stems from. Sanders is compassionate and charismatic with a clear message. His supporters are normal people who are passionate about his message. That's it. So I really challenge the NYT and Wash Post to please - look for a positive story about Mr. Sanders. Don't demonize people who are passionate about him. Let's stay focused on the candidates and what they offer. And how the candidates conduct themselves. Mr. Senator Bernard B. Sanders is gracious, kind, honest, and concerned for the U.S. Let's start with that. He's not like Donald and neither are most of his supporters.
108
@Percaeus
Sanders supporters may worry too much about NYT and WA PO as somehow leading Dem thinking. Unlike Trump supporters of whom many live in a Fox News singularity universe, most mainstream media readers also read/listen widely other publications/sites and seek other points of view. Many of us have subscriptions to keep reporting and journalism alive (not a small matter) but it’s far from our only news source. Since all news on FB and opening browser pages inevitably starts curating to ones customs, one nowadays has to be an actively seeking information kind of citizen.
Sigh. Another in what will surely be a long series of anti-Sanders articles in the MSM. It's okay, we're used to it, and we don't expect any support from the NYT. I do hope, however, that when Sanders wins the nomination, that at least you won't actively campaign for Trump. But for now the endless attacks don't particularly bother me. They just confirm Sanders is the true anti-establishment candidate, which is why he is winning.
81
Social media has spawned an increased level of emotional content. Hate speech which people did privately has found its way into the public domain. The campaign of 2020 will be fought on social media. The Trump campaign inn 2016 was ahead of the game: hate speech galvanizes your supporters. Sanders' supporters are aggressive but their activities are manageable for Sanders'. He is not an aggressive zero sum politician. He sees the need to argue his ideas not tear down his opponents in angry negative rhetoric.
1
After four years of constant Trump turmoil and disruption, so we need Sanders and his "Bernie Bros?"
No.
America is exhausted and wants peace.
14
I find it interesting this article mentions Russian online influence, but does not mention the possibly that some of the “bullying” could be maliciously done in order to sow discord.
The premise of this entire article strikes me as naive and largely irrelevant to the key issues of climate change, income inequality, healthcare, and corruption. Let’s focus on those, please.
34
It's unfortunate that these articles never try to estimate the amount of 'angry online Bernie supporters' there are. If they did, and even if that hypothetical number was inflated, doing so would show just how minuscule a fraction of Bernie supporters they are.
When I've gone to phone banks, canvasses, and rallies for Bernie, I've met a young-ish, very diverse group concerned mostly with universal healthcare and beating Trump. This is the foundation of Bernie's base and if you don't believe me I encourage you to attend and event and see for yourself.
41
I remember when Mr. Sanders was simply sexist. Not too impressive, it was just last week. Now he's also a bully. I predict just before voting in southern states he'll be a racist. Unless and until someone needs his endorsement.
Why let him run as a Democrat if the democratic party doesn't want him? Smearing him too much is going to leave the MSM with less creadability and influence than it has now. It is possible.
10
It would be great if the press would just stick to policy issues of the Candidates. It would serve all of us better.
21
@Jean
Think about it. Do you really want to start limiting the press?
Why not limit what you are willing to read or spend time on. I don't want to start saying what their job is, or isn't, or pretty soon you will be calling them "fake news".
1
@Doc Weaver
Hi Doc
Of course I do not want to limit the President
What I would like to happen is to discuss serious policy issues on the front page not put stories about rogue volunteers in any candidate’s camp. It is not germane to the danger our country face right now.
3
"With more than 10 million followers on Twitter, Mr. Sanders has a larger audience on the platform than Ms. Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Amy Klobuchar combined. A sizable number could be automated bots or fictitious accounts. Federal prosecutors have detailed coordinated efforts by Russian nationals to interfere in the 2016 election, with an emphasis on two candidates — Donald J. Trump and Mr. Sanders — whom the Russians hoped to bolster while denigrating their opponents."
The Times, as well as almost all other News media, allowed themselves to be manipulated by outside actors and -- despite the brief paragraph quoted above -- given the gist of this article, it looks like the Russians will be successful in sewing divisiveness again.
8
@M. *sowing*
2
Tell people that all other candidates are corrupt (which is basically what Sanders was saying, when he rejects arguments from other candidates about Medicare for All by saying that he rejects billionaires as donors), and in today's culture, with the average attention span lower than that of a goldfish (and yes, that has been proven) and cynicism rampant, millions will feel fired up.
Whether your message is that the government is by definition corrupt (= the GOP's message), or that all other candidates are because they all somehow support capitalism (all while rejecting savage capitalism) - which is basically Sanders' message - in the end, it comes down to the same thing: cultivating political illiteracy.
As Saul Alinsky has shown: that is NOT how real, radical, lasting, non-violent, democratic legislative change takes place.
You need politically literate citizens for that.
Of course, Sanders did take over Obama's notion of community organizing, which IS crucial to increase people's political literacy.
But he falsely claims that IF we would all organize, then tomorrow already, as soon as we'd elect him as president, it would be signed into law.
That is NOT how a democracy works. In a democracy, EVERYTHING takes time. It's because Obama voters didn't get this in 2010 that they gave Congress to the GOP. That was not a vote FOR Republican policies, it merely reflected deep disappointment AND the fear that Obama himself be "sold out". THAT idea is "bullying" too ...
5
To be clear: Russian misinformation agents were absolutely everywhere in 2016, stoking the fires of resentment between Democratic factions. This has been extensively documented.
And here they are again, but hey, it's a bunch of "Bernie Bros", right?
Also, why are almost all Bernie supporters I know women?
24
I witnessed the aftermath of a Bernie rally, it was kind of like Woodstock on steroids. It was intimidating.
There is a feeling of anarchy which I witnessed with Bernie Sanders followers online and in person.
No hate, no racism and no sexism but a no "rules " mentality.
Watch a tape of Woodstock and you will get an idea what a Sanders following is like.
Passionate people online and in person who are always on the brink of anarchy.
2
"With more than 10 million followers on Twitter, Mr. Sanders has a larger audience on the platform than Ms. Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Amy Klobuchar combined."
Why is there not a NY Times article that focuses on the unprecedented level of volunteer activism propelling Sanders? The millions of Bernie phone calls EVERY month that volunteers make? Instead, the NY Times calls it an "army" and focuses on the bad apples of the millions of supporters.
43
Was it a problem for Obama or Hillary when their supporters went at each others throats in 2008? Sanders himself hasn't done a thing that even approaches Hillary's comments on Obama just twelve years ago, which is of course far too long for editors to think that their brand-loyal readers will recall.
You know, stuff about how RFK got shot in June, so...you know, mathematical impossibility might yet be trumped. No pun intended.
Remember that? And if you're a Democrat, remember the tantrums on both sides? A longtime friend with a PhD railed that Hillary was evil and would play zero role in any Obama admin. I noted that the two candidates were virtually identical in policy, with HRC being possibly a bit more bellicose in foreign affairs. And that he needed her voters, so she'd get VP or something meatier. Which occurred, and which my cat, Grendel, also expected. Because when you're not ego-connected to, introjected into, or overly identifying with a political candidate, you can use your whole cortex. :)
Btw, even with that statement by HRC, she was clearly the person to elect in 2016. Cuz it's not all about overly hurt fee-fees stemming from nasty campaign moves. Which is why I support Warren for VP and SecTreasury, which his team was researching while Warren was conniving with CNN, if Sanders wins.
As Sanders' rises, similar darts will be thrown by the usual suspects at their usual suspects. Which is itself a metric of note that perhaps Nate Silver can add to his oracles.
6
The political establishment and corporate media is nervous. That means we are winning. If you’re frustrated by articles like this, fight back with action — turn that energy into donating and volunteering for Bernie. (I just donated $27 after reading this story)
30
“It wasn’t me”, says Bernie. Who could also have been referencing the lyrics of a popular song from a few years back.
Ah, yes: the hallmark of a leader escaping responsibility. Also, evident in his slogan “not me, us.”
The ‘win at all costs’ attitude that typifies the Bernie campaign is evident in the comments here. “People are dying without healthcare”... and so that justifies sacrificing all values in service of the end goal? That justifies sexist and misogynist attacks against the other 2020 primary candidates? That justifies documented threats of violence against people who speak out against this evil.
Values matter.
8
Reporting on the mean things that people tweet is the ultimate violation of the adage “don’t feed the trolls”. I’m not sure what it accomplishes besides giving them publicity. If this is meant as a reflection of Sanders as a candidate then the report should also include mean things tweeted by Warren and Buttigieg supporters (Biden has little online support to speak of) for completeness.
12
He is not responsible for anyone but himself.
Let us not forget the duplicity and corruptness of republican propaganda or of their Russian Communist allies.
Mr Sanders career is public service has always been about Public Service. He is not corrupt or a cheater or any of the things it seems the machine is trying to invent and apply to him.
Lets not forget there never was anything like a "Bernie Bro". That was entirely fiction created by the Clinton campaign in an attempt to blacken his reputation and peel off all the young women who supported him. They shot themselves in the foot again with the snide shot at them all by claiming they were only supporting Bernie to get with the boys.
Gotta wonder what goes through the mind of 3rd way DEMs (that means republican) that they think of things to say that are diametrically opposed to DEM values. Money Corrupts.
8
"Sanders fans were sharing details of Ms. Harris’s recent fund-raising swing in the Hamptons with former Hillary Clinton donors"
Thank you NYTimes for exposing this nefarious and "bullying" activity by Sanders fans.
I am amazed that my fellow American citizens were unaware that schmoozing with wealthy millionaires and billionaires in the Hamptons is a sacrosanct activity...and criticizing such activity is not allowed and is considered a "bullying" tactic.
And it is also clear that the act of Kamala Harris "stepping toward him" (Sanders) on the Senate floor and declaring "Do we have a problem"........is Not bullying. Harris is just a victim of the evil bully known as Bernie Sanders.
Conclusions:
1. Sanders is becoming a real threat.
2. The attacks on Sanders by the media will become relentless.
3. The defense of Biden will become relentless....see today's other political piece: "Biden’s Iowa Problem: Our Poll Suggests His Voters Aren’t the Caucusing Type"
27
Thank you for a great piece. This article basically sums up why I've never liked the Sanders campaign. If he wins the nomination, I'll likely vote for him since I live in a critical swing state though I'd be holding my nose to do so. It's too bad so many Sanders' supporters won't do the same if he doesn't win the nomination, and in their fits of pique they'll do nothing more than help Trump's reelection.
83
@JD
1) Centrist Presidential Democratic candidates have lost every election for the past 20yrs (if another candidate should win the nomination and lose - the reason for their loss extends beyond Sanders). Obama ran as a progressive 'agent of change' before he revealed his subservience to Wall St. and quickly lost support.
2) 5million registered democrats didn't show up to vote for a centrist in 2016 vs 2008. The scapegoating of Sanders is insufficient to address the failures of corporate democrats. 1K democratic state seats (governorships, mayors, etc) have been lost over the last 10yrs.
3) For many of Sanders supporters his candidacy is the last exit before the apocalypse with the other candidates being relatively meaningless in correcting course & openly opposing the status quo direction the country will continue to go in. This view is not unfounded, even the 2nd most 'progressive candidate' has chosen to smear Sanders while voting for increases in military spending, reauthorization of the Patriot Act, and approval of Trump's NAFTA bill while backing down from supporting Medicare4All. 'Big structural change' requires making enemies of powerful interests not voting to further empower them. In addition, smearing potential allies shows a weakness in leadership and seriousness in taking on entrenched power.
4)Corporate Dems have not faced their failures to improve the material reality of everyday voters that has empowered charlatans like Trump and candidates like Sanders.
8
The truth hurts. You should be prepared to defend your record if you're running for President. When Joe Biden shouted down an attendee asking a tough question, he called him a "liar". I don't think Biden got much criticism for the bully tactics, impersonating Trump. Bernie Sanders is passionate about his ideas and vision for America. Quit making this a negative. The establishment is finding it hard to squelch the popularity that Bernie attracts. The enthusiasm for his candidacy is a positive and hopefully a turning point in our country towards equality.
389
@Greg This article was mainly about the bad behavior of some of Bernie's fans, not himself. Quit avoiding that.
12
@Greg
To constantly suggests that when a candidate does NOT promise radical change overnight, he must be a corrupt corporate shill - as Sanders does - is not "a positive".
It is perpetuating the "political illiteracy" that fatally damages this country's political backbone and as a consequence democracy time and again.
You either have change overnight AND a dictatorship, OR you have a democracy and then accept that we all have to be in it for the long haul, as by definition, in a democracy radical change needs time, and only happens step by step, election after election, compromise after compromise.
What Sanders does is keeping people's dream alive that democratic change overnight IS possible, and then adds that HE knows how to do so, and that those who don't sign it into law yet are by definition corrupt corporate shills, so bad people.
By doing so, he keeps his base in an "alternative facts" world, with his voters standing at the sidelines and yelling "not enough!" each time those who are standing in the mud managed to bring us one step closer to the finish line. And make no mistake, that finish line is basically the SAME for both Sanders and Harris or Biden.
It's in this way that Sanders' entire message is based on a misrepresentation of his opponent's ideals, and a misrepresentation of how a democracy works.
That can only severely slow down progress, rather than accelerating it ... .
17
@Greg Why do you think everyone who is concerned about the behavior of Sander's supporters are supporting Biden? I've never understood this blindness (on both sides for that matter). I and many other women really aren't supportive of either of them but would vote for either of them should one win the primary.
3
I hope whoever these people are, they will look to Bernie to set the tone of discourse. Politeness can be a function of feeling heard. And I fully understand the anger and frustration of literally being told to shut up and get in line for years, but I agree that creating a just, civil and sustainable society starts now. Bernie2020
54
This article convinced me that because a random twitter user tweeted something not nice at someone, we really shouldn't have Medicare For All or try to save the planet from destruction with a Green New Deal.
1032
Lolll
35
@Sean Perfect. Well said
28
@Sean Unfortunately, some people who vote are that easily swayed as the people posting the falsehoods are well aware.
9
When you can't find dirt on the candidate, I suppose the next approach is to attack the behavior and record of random supporters on the internet? Seems reasonable.
918
@Brad
It's not about dirt. His proposed policies are entirely unworkable and will not pass the crucible toward enacted legislation. Period.
16
@Brad
I have not yet made up my mind for whom I'm voting; but every encounter with a Sanders supporter has been unbelievably rude. I, now, automatically block Sanders supporters because I will not have my conversations hijacked by anyone; neither Biden, nor Warren, nor Sanders. Sanders supporters are the only ones I've had to block out wholesale. Apparently, if Sanders is anti bullying, his message has not gotten through to his supporters.
24
@BothSides Then why isn't the times criticizing his policies? Why are they trying to smear him by association with random supporters?
30
I guess it would be too much to ask the NYT to go more deeply into whether the chair-throwing incident in Nevada actually happened, or if not, how the story spread. It makes for a better story if you just leave it vague, so that people can believe it or not as they choose. if you actually investigated it and found that the chair throwing didn't happen, it might make one wonder who spread it and why it was spread.
The problem with this article is that it gives defenders of the mainstream Democratic Party a way of throwing the kitchen sink at the pro-Sanders movement. There isn't much distinction being made here between actions which are criminal (death threats) and people being rude on Twitter. I have news for you regarding the rudeness--every part of the political spectrum has rude people online and off. I have even heard of former Presidential candidates implying that other candidates are Russian assets.
237
Rude is when I tell you you’re a dope; it’s wrong and counter-productive, but it’s not a slur and it’s not a threat.
What some of the berniacs have been doing goes way past rude.
6
@Donald Far more polite that I would be about the Nevada convention including "reports of thrown chairs, which some Sanders supporters dispute." Those reports of multiple chairs flying, including in the NYT 's opening line about the now notorious affair at the time, were deemed FALSE by Snopes—which found no evidence of even a single chair going airborne—and were retracted by a few of the dozens of news organizations that had trumpeted the story (Real Clear Politics, which worded the clash as between "Democrats and Bernie Sanders supporters," came up with an explanation where someone on the stage might have mistakenly thought a single chair had been thrown, given certain noises and the fact that a chair had indeed been hoisted and then set down). The Times not only never retracted, it apparently feels free to continue propagating a discredited report put out by a local reporter who had already left the event and heard about it secondhand. And people wonder why at least some Bernie supporters distrust the mainstream media so acutely....
7
Here’s the story in Nevada: Bernie’s delegates tried to OVERTURN THE RESULTS OF THE NEVADA CAUCUSES. when they didn’t succeed, they got violent and abusive. A chair was lifted but not thrown. Then hundreds of death threats were made to the state chairwoman at her home and work, including death threats aimed at her grandkids.
After 5 days, Bernie caved to pressure and released a letter. That letter consisted of half a sentence condemning the abusive behaviour toward the state chair, then went on with a “but....” and 4 or 5 paragraphs as to why it was acceptable.
He never addressed the attempt to overturn the caucus results by his delegates, except to spread the idea that HE was wronged and cheated in not being able to do so.
What a guy.
3
Ok, since NYT officially endorsed Warren and Klobuchar, we start seeing mud slinging at other candidates, especially Sanders, since he clearly is a dangerously popular guy.
I'd like to see the NYT focus more on the program of each candidate, and provide a thorough analysis of them, instead of focusing on gosship or supporters behavior.
594
@Lauwenmark ....exactly, that's what's lacking....the press must explain to the public the proposals of each candidate. Do it in concrete terms using real-people examples of how they would affect our lives.
That's the whole purpose of the free press in a democracy--not to grab readers and viewers with over dramatized stories of personal hostilities.
We are seeing the effect of the FOX News Media empire-- putting the other media on the defensive, lest they look too 'left wing', by our distorted standards. It's fashionable to bash Bernie.
Meanwhile we're the only modern country still lacking universal health care in the 21st C. I still haven't seen the Times explain just how universal HC has been financed for generations in dozens of other democracies.
So much for our famous 'free' press.
18
@Lauwenmark
The nastiness against non-Bernie supporters is real. Not all of it can be explained away as Russian bots or a small minority lunatic fringe.
The Times is well within reason reporting these unfortunate elements of the current political discourse. To explain it away as extreme bias is just misguided in my opinion.
Bernie may not be directly responsible for those who behave improperly in his support, but his tone seems to attract them like bees to honey.
Not all Sander's supporters are like this by any stretch, but more than enough to sully his image.
Is a bully from the left any better than a bully from the right?
As a progressive, I suspect that if Bernie was the nominee I'd support him, but his fringe supporters so remind me of Tea Party lunatics I'll be doing so with my nose pinched.
I'm wary that Bernie's well intentioned radicalism will not lead to sustainable progressive growth as a country and just spawn a pendulum swing back to the right down the road a short bit.
10
Actually they did an entire series of interviews - 80-90 minutes with each person running. They are good and thorough and worth reading . I researched and listened, I read and analyzed.
Bernie answered questions with slogans. I am unconvinced.
and they just added another segment that is really good interviewing everyone except Biden and Bernie, I imagine bc neither were endorsed by the paper and their egos were too huge to go through that door again.
8
There are many of us who are still battered and bruised by the online vitriol of Sanders' supporters in 2016 to even consider voting for Sanders in 2018. Just take a look at the NYT's comment section to see Bernie Bros in action.
139
@cfaye Why do you think they were angry? The DNC interfered directly with the nomination.
The most striking was Bernie's overwhelming win in NH, only to find the NH superdelegates all voting for Clinton, resulting in an overall tie.
There's a reason why the superdelegate system has been reformed since.
Some of that anger still lingers, and rightfully so.
47
@cfaye
I'll "Vote Blue No Matter Who", but Bernie is definitely my last choice.
23
@cfaye Battered and bruised? Are you kidding? Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden supported the invasion and murder of Iraq, how many Arab women/men/children were bruised in that operation?
29
I am - was - a Sanders supporter, until I read this.
19
@True Left Then that's a shame that you don't do independent research and just believe what you read in opinion pieces -- because this is definitely not neutral reporting.
Educate yourself, don't take anyone words for it. Newspapers are not neutral.
10
@True Left seriously? Think a little more critically.
9
I'm a proud Bernie Bro and could care less.
21
@Rick Well that makes sense for sure . . . Why should you care about people who don't agree with you being bullied and terrified by you and yours even tho they actually agree with most of the policies touted by Bernie but just don't think he is the best suited to accomplish them?
13
@Rick I'm a Bernie Bros too - a FEMALE one, something that all these haters try to minimize or ignore. Bernie has the greatest diversity in his supporters and more women than anyone else. So why is Hillary Clinton's derogatory Bernie Bros trope still a thing. Just like the Obama Boys she whipped out for that race.
11
@Rick "couldn't care less." It's nice being corrected, isn't it?
2
By the end of the 2016 campaign, Sanders had created a monster he could no longer control with respect to his supporters: after promising at the beginning of the campaign that he would not engage in smear tactics, he began to do so against HRC when it became clear he might not win the nomination. The degree of his vilification was so strong that by the time of the nomination - and his waiting so long to endorse her - his own supporters not only abandoned him, but actually called him a "traitor" for supporting her. In doing this, he caused some of his supporters to sit out the election, and some to vote for Donald Trump. And while this was certainly not the deciding factor in HRC's loss, it was nevertheless a factor. Now here we are again, with many of his surrogates so single-minded in their worship of their messiah (ring a bell?) that once again many are threatening to sit out the election if he is not nominated, rather than "vote blue, no matter who." If this occurs, they will again be partly responsible for giving us another four years of national nightmare and the ongoing destruction of our democratically representative constitutional republic.
151
@Maani Rantel
What I recommend is that you supply evidence of any of this, since it has long been shown that it was the 47% of the Democratic Party who didn’t vote that caused the election outcome. There were also many blunders on the part of the Clinton campaign, such as completely ignoring Sanders supporters & not campaigning in swing states. Despite that, she got the popular vote. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to win elections.
Even The NY Times, even former Hillary strategists, even Sanders detractors—all admit there is zero evidence of Sanders vilifying Hillary Clinton or anyone. And he campaigned in more swing states for her than she did herself.
It’s comical that the Democratic establishment is imploring its constituents to not attack any candidate and “vote blue no matter who,” and yet they continue the attacks on Bernie & HRC made her “unvarnished” thoughts about not supporting Sanders known. She effectively has a Bernie temper tantrum every 6 months.
“And while this was certainly not the deciding factor in HRC's loss, it was nevertheless a factor. “
^^ Lol. That’s the kind of circular logic centrists champion...this clearly did nothing, but clearly it did something.
I’m looking forward to ushering in President Sanders and an era of middle class prosperity 40 years overdue.
73
This is inaccurate. I was one of those on a national call with Bernie after the convention catastrophe and Bernie told everyone to put our anguish and anger aside, but hold on to righteous outrage that Trump might win and use it to wholeheartedly support Clinton.
82
You are repeating falsehoods. A greater percentage of Sanders’ supporters voted for Hillary than Hillary supporters voted fir Obama in 2008. Of course,there are always going be some who don’t support the eventual nominee, as some Hillary supporters hated Obama and did not vote fir him or did not vote at all. The vast majority of Sanders supporters will vote for the eventual nominee.
21
the few who engage in bad behavior, online or otherwise, definitely do not represent Bernie or his many supporters. How much of a problem this really is is hard to determine as the mainstream media has latched onto this issue as a way to slow down Bernie's momentum.
108
@T SB
I was not influenced by the media to know without a doubt that Sanders is not presidential material and that his cult followers are mindless.
9
@Buddydog
If Sanders wins the primary vote, I will vote for him. Trump is a fascist. There is not one candidate running for the Democratic nod who is not a universe better than the Republican Administration.
5
His team has an uphill battle and they're lashing out. He's leading some polls now by having 30% support, so roughly that also means 70% do not support him as a candidate. Would that mean a Biden or a Warren could command more unilaterally, possibly? Possibly but don't let the mob hear you say that.
14
@Mike
Lol.
This is why we need tuition-free public college for all. That’s some fuzzy math going on there. Might want to talk it through with Nate Silver.
6
Imagine- the Democratic frontrunner has the most inspired supporters. While I realize this is a hard concept for the Times to grasp, in order to beat Trump you want to nominate the candidate with the widest appeal.
89
@greg inspired/mean potato/potatah
2
@greg Crowning Bernie as the front runner before a single primary vote has been cast is premature. I think you are going to be disappointed.
3
“Through the end of 2019, Mr. Sanders had raised nearly $100 million from over five million individual donations, without ever holding traditional fund-raisers, leading the primary field.”
This is what really has the corporate fawning elite really upset. Politicians have become millionaires and have gained power by doing the wealthy’s bidding - the people having control ruins their grift. For decades the wealthy have donated and then politicians pushed through their policies behind closed doors while publicly pretending they were with the people. Bernie has upended that system.
“the power of his internet army has also alarmed Democrats who are familiar with its underside, experienced in ways large and small.”
The corporate controlled media is losing it’s control. They bring on guest consultants from big Pharma and military contractors, always against Medicare for All and for wars - never a contrary opinion. They push their political candidates while shunning and belittling those against their corporate advertisers.
“Some prominent Sanders supporters had been flaming Ms. Harris publicly as the preferred choice of the corporate Democratic establishment against which Mr. Sanders had long railed”
Ms Harris was the establishments pick, who courted billionaires in the Hamptons. Is pointing out facts now flaming?
262
How do you know? He refused to finalise his FEC filings from 2016. From his preliminaries, we know he lied about his average donation, and there’s 10 million in dark money that he refused to explain.
Why don’t you insist on campaign finance disclosure from him?
1
Holding Sanders responsible for what ALL his supporters say is ridiculous.
There are legitimate arguments, for example Biden's past statements on cutting social security and Warren's evasiveness important questions, but sure, there are those that engage in a more vitriolic fashion, but then Sanders has the LARGEST group of YOUNG supporters, some of whom don't have the maturity to temper their emotions.
53
@Mario
Bernie is more evasive than Warren.
7
There was once a time when Washington actually got things done through compromise. Today it’s a dirty word, but Biden’s goal was never to cut Social Security. It was to keep the Social Security trust fund solvent. If the trust fund runs out (as it’s projected to do in 2036) everyone’s Social Security check will be cut by 25 percent.
2
@Mario Gee, I’m a 74 year old boomer and I have been waiting all my life for this kind of candidate. I am so sad that young people today are not receiving the benefits and life chances that I had.
3
This is a story? As polls make clear Sanders has the largest youth support by a mile, most of them social media savvy. Many are radical, some are immoderate in their commentary. Does this make for a bullying phenomenon. No it doesn't. Bernie Sanders is notable for the civilized way in which he conducts himself -- he never sics his supporters on his political opponents. Ever. He has millions of Twitter followers. Are some annoying. Yes, sure. So what?
425
@PP
Exactly.
Remember in a debate, when the moderator asked Bernie, "What do you think about all this talk about Hillary's email server?" Bernie said, "I think it's been talked about too much already, let's move on." As you say, he's so, so civilized. Which other candidate --ever-- has dismissed such a chance to bash an opponent?
22
Bernie supporters have been bracing for this nonsense media coverage for months. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize, friends. #NotMeUs
676
@Jeff
Such an easy researched subject.
https://www.npr.org/2017/08/24/545812242/1-in-10-sanders-primary-voters-ended-up-supporting-trump-survey-finds
Be aware of divisive Boris folks.
They are out there and active.
They will happily lie in every comment they make.
12
@Jeff During the last election 90% of Bernie voters voted for Hillary. Meanwhile in 2008 only 80% of Hillary voters went for Obama. Don't smear us and then complain that we're angry.
13
@Jeff, Clinton got the same number of votes in 2016 as Obama got in 2012. It is a myth that Clinton lost a bunch of Bernie bro votes.
9
Here comes the deluge against Bernie! It's a terrible strategy for Democrats to slam his supporters and then dare them to vote for the Third Way alternative candidate. See:www.politico.com › news › democrats-bernie-sanders-rise-105825
Dems tormented over how to stop Bernie - Politico
We can expect more of this and worse. Go Bernie!
285
@PH Bernie's supported by and large, did not voted s for Clinton and will not vote for whomever the Democratic nominee will be this time, whom will not be Bernie. Bernie is all talk and no accomplishments. Please don't be fooled again.
3
@Jeff 90% of Bernie supporters voted for Clinton, but in 2008 only 80% of Clinton voters went for Obama. Don't smear us and then complain that we're angry.
14
@Jeff You are misinformed. Most of Bernie's supporters (certainly myself and everyone I know) did vote for Hillary. Alas, a larger percentage of Hillary's dem voters crossed over and voted for McCain than did Bernie voters for Trump.
11
Yes there are the fanatics. But he also inspires the youth to believe in politics again, and many voters none of the other candidates have been able to connect with.
I don’t think we can hold the behavior of some of his fans against him when looking at that larger picture. The 2016 process, in which the DNC put its thumb on the scales, was traumatizing for many Bernie supporters. Some of the suspicion against the establishment still flows from that. Nonetheless Sanders rallied a lot more for Clinton than she did for Obama, and the facts show most Bernie supporters listened and voted for her, despite the claims in her struggling to own her loss.
100
@Liz
Bernie lost fair and square in 2016. Live with it for God’s sake.
49
@CarolinaJoe
At the polls Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire’s pledged delegates by a landslide 22 percent. Bernie Sanders received 60.4 percent of the poll vote, just about 150,000 votes. Clinton received 38 percent of the poll vote, about 95,000 votes. Yet, all six Democratic New Hampshire superdelegates gave their support to Hillary Clinton, effectively erasing Sanders win, leading both candidates to leave the state with the same 15 delegates."
Facts matter.
32
@CarolinaJoe
And Hillary lost the general election fair and square in 2016. Live with it for God’s sake.
Speaking of which...2016 is ancient history. Perhaps it is time for ALL of us (including Hillary) to deal with the issue at hand in 2020---defeating Trump. Which will not be an easy task.
FORWARD!
10
I think Sanders has mobilized a huge part of the left in America, the same left that was out at Iraq war protests in the lead-up to that war, when the New York Times was uncritically repeating lies from the Bush Administration to pave the way for the atrocities that have happened since.
I think in some ways the intensity of Sanders' supporters reflects the dark side of the Internet (which is not unique to Mr. Sanders), mixed with the frustration so many on the left have felt for years, being told their positions (like opposing the Iraq war, climate change, on and on) are wrong simply because they aren't part of a safe, centrist, corporate, mainstream "popular wisdom".
Centrists put too much faith in contemporary consciousness. And we on the left are tired of being told we are wrong when not always, but often, we are absolutely right.
455
Couldn’t have said it better. Gets a little old when educated folks such as you and I are reprimanded for reaching a different conclusion at the end of a political debate.
54
@M Does the 'intensity' described in this article being due to 'frustration' mitigate wrong behavior?
4
@M Unfortunately the Bernie portion of the left will not vote for anyone Democratic Party Candidate against Trump unless it is Bernie.
4
Given his heart attack I would really want to know who his vice president might be. He, like me, is an old man. Stop the nonsense about age being just a number. I was born 10 days before him so I know what it means, nothing.
14
Well maybe they just don’t listen to him.
I know I sure don’t.
11
It isn't just Sanders, folks. If you are a Sanders supporter you got labeled a "Bernie bro" (whatever the heck that means) and treated as if you were the mortal enemy of women's rights if you opposed Clinton. Not by all Clinton supporters but by some.
I am a Warren fan now, by the way, but would gladly back Bernie or just about any of the others.
315
If political views (such as they are) were deleted from the more extreme statements of this very vocal and active group of Sanders supporters, the content (racist, sexist, violent) would be indistinguishable from those of many Trump supporters. I guess every candidacy has a lunatic fringe, but this is more than a fringe for Sanders and Trump. It’s a similarity that can hardly be ignored. The question is, what is the root of this similarity? Is it demographics? Is it the (perceived) extremism of their positions that attracts certain types? Although no one can accuse Sanders of flagrantly flaming aggression, his response seems strangely muted.
86
The common denominator is society is broken and people are furious. They want a wrecking ball to demolish the institutions they see as impediments to happiness. Trump and Bernie both promise to be that wrecking ball.
11
@Spencer Only partially agree. The response to feeling left behind has been iconoclasm and doubling down on libertarianism (we don't need anybody). Republicans have exploited this to the maximum extent.
Bernie has been able to convince some of them to believe change from within is possible. That's a big achievement.
25
@NYC
Yes, I agree, many of both Trump and Bernie's supporters are the same kind of people, attracted to a candidate who insists
1) they are out to get us
2) only I can save you
5
This is insane. You cannot do anything about what a bunch of anonymous people online post or tweet or share. It is not possible.
Also, let’s not try to pretend that this is a particularly ‘Bernie’ issue. There are, sadly, vile trolls from all walks of life and political persuasions. It is just a fact if the internet.
‘Bernie Bros’ is a myth...just like the equally sexist “Obama Boys” (both conveniently made up by Hillary Clinton’s team....).
Get over it and focus on THE ISSUES, because that is where any campaign is won and lost, regardless of what most media outlets would have you believe.
1046
@Rob Walker
What seemed out of the mainstream in 2016 are now accepted as realistic by millions.
A $15 hour minimum wage. Stopping the endless wars. Not starting endless wars by not engaging in regime change. True universal healthcare for ALL. Not just for all who can afford it. An opportunity for a debt free education for all. Addressing climate change. A Green New Deal.
The only candidates that will be wiped out on Super Tuesday are the corporately owned candidates that want more of the same old policies.
57
@Rob Walker
How are they out of the mainstream when he is leading the race and has the most number of supporters, volunteers and individual donations?
On sheer logic alone, your assertion is absurd. And Bernie’s ideas are so mainstream, America once embraced and implemented them. College was free when I lived in California. Wages used to be high. Blue Cross/Blue Shield was nonprofit.
Those are the conditions that let children of immigrants like me actually join the middle class.
44
@KW On the contrary, candidates set the tone for their campaigns and Sanders has sent a clear message that 'no holds barred' campaigning to the point of cyberbullying is acceptable if not encouraged. While every campaign is going to have a few overly zealous supporters, I don't know of any campaign -- other than Trump's -- with so many overly aggressive and mean-spirited supporters as the Sanders' one. It's very telling to me that not only does he seem to attract some people in droves but that he's done absolutely nothing to rein it in. Frankly, it's this combative approach that so many of them take (of course, #NotAll) that has turned me off of the Sanders' campaign in both election seasons. Sanders has always been an outside agitator, in the Senate and elsewhere; he's never had to work with those who aren't in lockstep with him. There's nothing about his campaign that suggests that as president, he'd be able to function as a true leader and bring the party and ideally the nation together.
83