Tuesday Reads: Black Lives Matter More Than Candidates’ Hurt Feelings
Posted: August 11, 2015 Filed under: Criminal Justice System, Democratic Politics, morning reads, U.S. Politics | Tags: #BlackLivesMatter, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, Obamabots, Racism 42 Comments
Good Morning!!
There has been quite a bit of discussion the past couple of days about the protesters who have been disrupting speeches by Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley. Why aren’t they doing this to Republicans? Why are they being so rude to Bernie Sanders, who many years ago marched for civil rights? There are people responding to these questions. Will the white people doing the questioning listen to the answers?
Here’s one response from Jamil Smith at The New Republic: #BlackLivesMatter Protesters Are Not the Problem. One year after Michael Brown’s death, both liberals and conservatives are still getting it wrong.
The activist group #BlackLivesMatter emerged out of the rage and mourning that accompanied George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin more than three years ago. However, the first time that the hashtag—and its accompanying message—entered the American lexicon to stay was one year ago this past Sunday, when Michael Brown, another unarmed black teenager, was gunned down by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer, less than one month after an NYPD chokehold took Eric Garner’s life. On Sunday night, Ferguson reverted to its younger, violent self again, complete with a commemorative protest on West Florissant Avenue being met with police and things turning tragically violent in short order. And two days before the anniversary of Brown’s death, Christian Taylor became the 24th unarmed black man killed by police in 2015.
We might not have heard about Taylor in previous years because attention on black men, women, and children suffering violence and death at the hands of police, in particular, is now at a level unseen perhaps since the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo. That’s backed up by a new Gallup pollindicating that Americans describing themselves as “satisfied with the way blacks are treated in U.S. society” is lower than it’s been since before the turn of the millennium. Ever since Ferguson, it’s evident that #BlackLivesMatter, in many respects, has worked.
In the last year, #BlackLivesMatter has—much like Occupy years beforehand—fundamentally changed the national conversation about a major societal ill. The movement has made millions of people aware of the white supremacy they either perpetuate themselves or support with their silence. With the emergence of the 2016 presidential campaign, #BlackLivesMatter’s demands have become more acutely focused on the candidates, pushing for policy platforms that address structural racism. Yet, as we mark one year since Brown’s death, we’ve seen both liberals and conservatives—from Senator Bernie Sanders’ supporters to Dr. Ben Carson’s—painting #BlackLivesMatter as a divisive force in U.S. racial relations. That someone might consider those fighting racism to be more divisive than racist people or structures would be laughable if black men in America weren’t seven times more likely to die by cop than white men.
Yes, supporters of Bernie Sanders are upset that his events have been disrupted by black women protesting the killing of black men and women by police officers. Supposedly Sanders wants radical changes in the system, buit what are his proposals for changing structural racism in law enforcement?
More from Jamil Smith:
Sanders, given to touting his record of working for civil rights and uttering names like Sandra Bland since the Netroots incident, experienced a second interruption during a planned event in Seattle on Saturday. Two women and one man claiming affiliation with #BlackLivesMatter disrupted the event before the Vermont senator could speak. Some Sanders backers in the crowd booed when they were told that one of the women, Marissa Johnson, would get her say before the candidate. “Bernie, you were confronted at Netroots at by black women,” Johnson said before adding, “you have yet to put out a criminal justice reform package like O’Malley did.”
Having already responded to the crowd’s boos by telling them that they proved how “racist” the reputably liberal Seattle is, Johnson also called for a four-and-one-half minute-long moment of silence for Brown. Instead, more shouting from the crowd followed, including, per reports, shouts of “arrest her.” Sanders, rather than letting the protesters have their say and responding, left the stage. The event concluded without him speaking. A chorus of his supporters took to social media to question Johnson’s tactics—as if that’s what mattered most—and to tell anyone who dared question why Sanders didn’t have a set of racial-justice proposals that they somehow already existed. They were wrong.
A page entitled “Racial Justice” only appeared on his site early Sunday morning, containing a long list of proposals. A campaign representative reached out to me to say that those proposals, in the works for the three weeks since Netroots, were derived from a speech that’s been on the site since July 25. Given the pressure being put on them and the urgency they showed in creating the platform, it’s odd that the campaign put it online, essentially, under the cover of darkness.
The policies on Sanders’s racial justice page, while surely more welcome than none at all, are undeniably blurrier than those O’Malley put forth, and need considerably more specificity and clarity. There’s a lot of the typically forcefully liberal language Sanders likes to employ in order to inspire, but it seems even more fanciful than the O’Malley plan. But those ideas are certainly signs that he is hearing #BlackLivesMatter’s message. The problem isn’t so much him as it is his supporters, cursing protesters and later, on social media, touting their guy’s record whenever they are challenged on his (heretofore) lack of a platform regarding structural racism.
Please go read the whole article if you want to understand the anger of the #BlackLivesMatter protesters. Personally, I didn’t know that the movement began long before the killing of Michael Brown. Here’s some background from one of the founders in a piece at The Feminist Wire dated October 7, 2014: A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza.
I created #BlackLivesMatter with Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, two of my sisters, as a call to action for Black people after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was post-humously placed on trial for his own murder and the killer, George Zimmerman, was not held accountable for the crime he committed. It was a response to the anti-Black racism that permeates our society and also, unfortunately, our movements.
Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.
We were humbled when cultural workers, artists, designers and techies offered their labor and love to expand #BlackLivesMatter beyond a social media hashtag. Opal, Patrisse, and I created the infrastructure for this movement project—moving the hashtag from social media to the streets. Our team grew through a very successful Black Lives Matter ride, led and designed by Patrisse Cullors and Darnell L. Moore, organized to support the movement that is growing in St. Louis, MO, after 18-year old Mike Brown was killed at the hands of Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. We’ve hosted national conference calls focused on issues of critical importance to Black people working hard for the liberation of our people. We’ve connected people across the country working to end the various forms of injustice impacting our people. We’ve created space for the celebration and humanization of Black lives.
As their slogan spread to the mainstream, the creaters of the #BlackLivesMatter movement saw others trying to change the meaning of their words:
The Theft of Black Queer Women’s Work
Suddenly, we began to come across varied adaptations of our work–all lives matter, brown lives matter, migrant lives matter, women’s lives matter, and on and on. While imitation is said to be the highest form of flattery, I was surprised when an organization called to ask if they could use “Black Lives Matter” in one of their campaigns. We agreed to it, with the caveat that a) as a team, we preferred that we not use the meme to celebrate the imprisonment of any individual and b) that it was important to us they acknowledged the genesis of #BlackLivesMatter. I was surprised when they did exactly the opposite and then justified their actions by saying they hadn’t used the “exact” slogan and, therefore, they deemed it okay to take our work, use it as their own, fail to credit where it came from, and then use it to applaud incarceration.
I was surprised when a community institution wrote asking us to provide materials and action steps for an art show they were curating, entitled “Our Lives Matter.” When questioned about who was involved and why they felt the need to change the very specific call and demand around Black lives to “our lives,” I was told the artists decided it needed to be more inclusive of all people of color. I was even more surprised when, in the promotion of their event, one of the artists conducted an interview that completely erased the origins of their work–rooted in the labor and love of queer Black women.
Read more at the link.
Has Bernie Sanders responded to the prosecution of African American journalist Wesley Lowery yet? From yesterday’s Washington Post:
A Washington Post reporter who was arrested at a restaurant last year while reporting on protests in Ferguson, Mo., has been charged in St. Louis County with trespassing and interfering with a police officer and ordered to appear in court.
Wesley Lowery, a reporter on The Post’s national desk, was detained in a McDonald’s while he was in Missouri covering demonstrations sparked by a white police officer fatally shooting an unarmed black 18-year-old.
A court summons dated Aug. 6 — just under a year after Lowery’s arrest — was sent to Lowery, 25, ordering him to appear in a St. Louis County municipal court on Aug. 24. The summons notes that he could be arrested if he does not appear.
“Charging a reporter with trespassing and interfering with a police officer when he was just doing his job is outrageous,” Martin Baron, executive editor of The Post, said in a statement Monday. “You’d have thought law enforcement authorities would have come to their senses about this incident. Wes Lowery should never have been arrested in the first place. That was an abuse of police authority.
“This latest action represents contemptible overreaching by prosecutors who seem to have no regard for the role of journalists seeking to cover a major story and following normal practice,” Baron continued.
It seems the powers that be in Ferguson have learned very little. Democratic candidates should address this issue and so should Bernie Sanders, independent socialist.
I’ll end with this post by Melissa McEwan at Shakesville: Sanders and #BlackLivesMatter, Again.
I can understand why Sanders was aggravated that his event was disrupted, and I can understand why people who had been waiting for an hour and a half to hear him speak were aggravated that his event was disrupted. But here’s the thing: If you are positioning yourself as a candidate who advocates for radical change, or you are supporting a candidate on the basis that he advocates for radical change, then surely you should be able to get on board with providing space to people who are involved with a campaign that advocates radical change.
If disrupting a rally is too radical for you, I don’t know how you expect to disrupt systems of institutional oppression, which will take way the hell more than an unexpected change in a campaign event schedule.
Don’t pretend you’re supporting revolution when you’re really just supporting a change in management.
Sanders then released a “Statement on Seattle Protesters,” reading in total: “I am disappointed that two people disrupted a rally attended by thousands at which I was invited to speak about fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare. I was especially disappointed because on criminal justice reform and the need to fight racism there is no other candidate for president who will fight harder than me.”
I’m going to go ahead and say: Maybe that’s true! Maybe there really is no other candidate currently running for president who will fight harder for dismantling racism than Bernie Sanders! Maybe it’s also true that each of the candidates currently running will take different approaches, and, because the activists involved with #BlackLivesMatter aren’t a monolith, there will be disagreement on whose approach is best. And maybe, no matter how good any of the white Democratic presidential candidates are on racial issues, it won’t be good enough. Maybe the inescapable fact is that white people must let black people speak on the large platforms created by and for white candidates.
Again, please go read the whole thing, especially if you are supporting Sanders. Personally, I support Hillary Clinton. I like Bernie, but I think it’s time for a woman President of the U.S. Sanders has no chance to win the Democratic nomination–he’s not even a Democrat! But he isn’t the problem. The problem is his supporters, who remind me of the Obamabots of 2008. Let Bernie handle this situation. My guess is he’ll respond to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, because he’s an intelligent man. He’ll probably get it right in the long run. I think Hillary Clinton will too.
This is an open thread. Please post your thoughts and links on any topic in the comments to this post, and have a great day.
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
On a much much smaller scale, this reminds me of what happened in 2008 when a small group of us on another blog got together behind the idea of one of our commenters, who suggested a slogan: PUMA–meaning Party Unity My Ass. The slogan was soon stolen by a bunch of people we didn’t even know who then twisted its meaning to the point that we had to drop it and disassociate ourselves from the thieves.
Jamil Smith at TNR (see link in post):
So they are acting as if Sanders is responsible for all of these atrocities? If you want to protest, great. At least protest against those who are deserving. Sanders isn’t from a Southern State. It isn’t like he is Governor of Missouri or something like that. He is basically powerless. They are just using him to achieve notoriety and fame because a lot of us happen to believe in his message to a large degree. Same as we agree with Mrs. Clinton. Right now in politics I see only 4 or 5 bright lights out there. Clinton, Sanders, Webb, & Warren. These folks are all the real deal and would actually attempt to fix these problems. Protesting at any of their speaking engagements might help some but really seems counterproductive to me. The people who have the power (Republican congressmen, Republican governors, conservative media) are the ones that needs to be the target.
No one is acting as if Sanders is responsible for the problems. They are asking him to formulate specific policies to deal with the problems.
I’ve been following the BLM movement for months and frankly I’m surprised that it’s taken Bernie so long, especially after the Net Roots fiasco, to bring the issue Front and Center.
Bernie is a good man, with a long history of support for civil rights. I recently read that Bernie attended the 1963 MLK March on Washington. I wasn’t surprised, because that is Bernie Sanders, but I am surprised that some of Bernie’s followers believe that should be the balm that heals all wounds. Hillary, unlike Bernie, invited BLM to her official Announcement. They tweeted that they weren’t impressed with her message, I suppose it wasn’t specific enough for them, but at least Hillary understands that this movement needs to be able to have it’s voices heard by the Democratic Candidates.
And again, I’m going to worry a bit about Hillary’s campaign because I am seeing this slow creep by Dems to Bernie who, as BB has pointed out, is not a Democrat. This worries me because the creep is similar to what happened to Hillary in 2008. Last night Bernie turned out a crowd of nearly 30K in LA. He also grabbed a key endorsement “National Nurses United, the largest organization of nurses with 185,000 members, formally endorsed him at the event.”
So, am I just seeing shadows or is this really happening? Folks, this is really happening, and I’m a little concerned about it even though The 538 Blog says the “surge” is over. http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-bernie-sanders-surge-appears-to-be-over/
Still, I think Hillary’s campaign is being too cautious and moving too slowly. AGAIN, I understand that she doesn’t want to bring it too soon, but this Bernie phenomena could get out of control quickly because frankly I don’t think Hillary’s support among Dems is as solid as Hillary’s campaign thinks it is. in fact I think it’s a bit soft, especially among those who supported Obama in 2008. I
NOTE TO HILLARY: From one Woman to Another, GET GOING BEFORE THE GOOD OLD BOYZ CLUB BEATS YOU INTO THE BACKGROUND, AGAIN. CRANK IT UP, HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m not worried about it; I’m royally pissed off!! I’m sick and tired of young white men deciding who should be president. American women deserve a woman president. The time has come. BTW, Bernie Sanders is a lot older than Hillary, so I’d better not hear those young white men claiming she’s too old.
BB…..Hillary’s campaign to this point has been lackluster. I know it’s not the popular thing for me to say on this blog, but from my perspective that’s the truth. Hillary’s campaign is being far to cautious and they should have learned the lesson of being over cautious 8 years ago. When Hillary is unleashed she’s is at her best, a force of nature, but thus far they’ve not chosen to turn that Hillary on. I believe Hillary could draw as big a crowd as Bernie, but she isn’t doing those sort of events and there’s a vacuum there that Bernie is filling. Bernie’s message is resonating with large audiences, Hillary is talking to small gatherings. IMHO, NOT A GOOD PLACE TO BE!!!. I’m not going to blame Bernie for being Bernie, but I am concerned that Hillary’s campaign is keeping her from being Hillary. Momentum is everything and Bernie has it. As a donor to the Hillary Campaign I’ve already lodged my complaint about keeping her in small venues, not allowing her to interact with the press and putting her in appearances that look like controlled events that are not being viewed by large numbers of Americans.
And I don’t think the age thing will be used by other Democrats or their supporters. I think that’s an issue for the GOP not the Democratic Party.
It is very, very early in the process. Don’t want to peak to early, lose momentum at the wrong time and then lose the election. Now the question is to me is she doing enough? I think so. She has raised tons of money and these faux scandals are not really hurting her. To use a baseball analogy: They always say you can’t win the pennant in April but you can sure as hell lose it. All she needs to do at this point is NOT lose the election at this point. Later in the process she needs to definitely be more dynamic and charismatic but those things are easy for her. Honestly, she already has my vote. It is basically chiseled in stone at this point. The only way she loses me is if she does something really stupid. I think that goes for most of the Democratic base.
I agree, we’re fifteen months away from the election.
Right now, Hillary is on her listening tour and, imo, that ‘s a good place to be.
But, we’re only 11 months away from the Convention and 10 months away from the last primary. I know y’all think I’m pearl clutching, but I’m still experiencing shell shock from the 2008 primary season. There’s little to no mainstream media coverage of her and I don’t like the idea of her going into the first debate with Bernie having all the attention and momentum. If you’ve ever listened to Bernie, you know he’s an excellent public speaker, debater and he knows his stuff. I think Hillary needs to turn it up a few notches.
Excuse the error: I meant the 2000 Primary season.
Or did I? LOL. I haven’t taken anything for granted since Al Gore let GWB run all over him on the campaign trail during the run up to the 2000 GE. And what the GOP did to John Kerry was devastating. I just want Hillary to get so far out front that Bernie becomes a memory.
I agree. Sanders has to make himself visible. Hillary is wise to wait until the real campaign begins.
You nailed BB. Here this morning, a friend on facebook, was for Hillary, and now for Sanders. That’s fine by me, but I got wrapped up in the positives for Hillary (including her new College Compact plans, which Elizabeth Warren supports), and all of a sudden I was not welcomed in my comments. Another Hillary supporter got all pissed off and called the lady a C……that pissed me off, and I didn’t let him off the hook, and blocked him, and I was told they don’t care about Hillary!
I am tired of women doing exactly what the young white men what them to do.. The lady who was called the C word accepted it, saying she was called worst, I then had to tell her she should never tolerant anybody degrading her. He doesn’t get off the hook.
I know the fight for the union endorsements is a hot item. It’s been going on far to early, but here it is. Hillary was endorsed by Teachers Union, and endorsed by National Organization for Women. Hillary is the only one going after the Republicans. She needs a damn group out, and on this or she isn’t going to make it. She always takes the high road, and she been able to hold on, but given the present conditions, I just hope as democrats we don’t make a tragic mistake, and have a republican in office.
Hi ya’ll – I’m delurking for just a moment to thank you for echoing my own sentiment about the BernieBots….they are absolutely the same young white boyz from 2008. The comments sections at their hangouts are dripping with misogyny – you see “hag” and “twat” a lot.
If Bernie wins the nomination and loses the general – we’ll have them to thank. Just like we have them to thank for Obama – who turned out exactly as we predicted and they refused to believe. But good ole’ Bernie – he’s the REAL DEAL doncha know.
I do like Bernie but he doesn’t get how institutionalized bigotry is. I hate that he’s speechifying at Liberty University – believing there is any consensus with that sort of institution is very naive.
And yes – it’s time for a woman.
Thanks, Enheduanna. There’s no chance of Bernie winning the nomination. He’s not trying to. He just wants to have an effect on the discussion, and I’m glad he’s doing it. It’s his supporters that don’t get it.
Jamil Smith writes: “Sanders, rather than letting the protesters have their say and responding, left the stage.”
I guess Smith didn’t bother to watch the readily available video of the event. And for anyone else too lazy to voice informed opinions, Sanders’ people gave the BLM interlopers the mic for 20 minutes. They had their say, and that say included name calling and quite a bit of incoherent rambling. Sanders probably would have addressed some of their more cogent points, that is if the would have moved off the stage and allowed to speak. The BLM women were not at all interested in any kind of dialogue though, just spewing the kind of hate that they claim to stand against.
Please watch the video of these women for yourself before deciding on affiliating yourself with them and defending their juvenile behavior.
http://www.king5.com/videos/news/2015/08/08/sanders-rally-2/31359953/
Thanks for stopping by and proving my point.
Thank you BB. Bernie’s supporters are acting like they took a knife and scarred his face for life. I see this movement as showing us that blacks have been dying on streets of America’s in all cities, the world sees this deep scar that has been placed on America’s image.
As you and Dak pointed out, history is repeating itself. The south is rising again, the KKK, and CSA Flag is flying high. The police are back to being Pigs. Black people have been saying for years, this MUST CHANGE. We need to understand they must forcefully say, Black Lives Matter. Incarceration rates are high, unemployment is high, and white people seem to expect this, and expect the operating procedures of the police departments to be standards. It’s not, it’s a total failure, and black people do not have equal access, or a good life. We should not be dismissing these problems. They are significant, and black lives matter.
I made similar comments on Monday’s thread. Their appearance at Bernie’s event really had nothing to do with Bernie and everything to do with having a white audience of Liberal Bernie Supporters and the Democratic Party take notice. Some of Bernie’s supporters behaved badly, but in all fairness, if this had happened at a Hillary event do you think the white supporters would have behaved differently? I don’t think so because I think MOST white people don’t really understand the depth of pain, disappointment and hopelessness that is felt in the poorer black communities. That means that as a Party, as Liberals, and as white people, we have failed. It means that we need to look inside of ourselves and ask ourselves WHY, 152 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, do we still have neighborhoods that for all intent and purposes, remain racially segregated and desperately poor? Why are the vast majority of underperforming schools in poor black communities? Why is the black unemployment rate so high, especially among young adults? Why are the most underserved communities, even communities in big cities, black communities? Why do black teens go to jail for minor traffic or drug offenses when white kids don’t? And why do tolerate neighborhoods in our U.S. cities that resemble the Gaza Strip?
I think this is the most important issue of our time.
Well said, and Mouse I sent message to Hillary’s camp about our concerns. I hope to hear back!
Thanks Fannie. I think Hillary’s campaign needs to take notice of Bernie Sanders and not allow him to pull primary voters away from her like Obama did in 2007/2008. I see Bernie as a very dangerous primary opponent, but a very weak GE opponent. If Bernie wins the nomination we lose the White House. Still, his message really resonates strongly among the most energetic factions of the base which means he’ll have the right sort of grassroots resources and that’s what helps win primaries.
By the way, I spent a lot of time surfing around the liberal blogosphere and the gay blogosphere after Bernie’s event on Saturday afternoon where BLM took the microphone. Some of the Bernie supporters were very disappointed that he left the Stage without addressing the crowd of Senior Citizens that had gathered to hear him speak. They felt like he made himself look like a “doddering old man” and “impotent”. I didn’t try and talk them out of that opinion. I think Bernie didn’t really know how to handle it and I was surprised he was caught off guard by what happened. Still, I think he left, probably on the advice of security or his handlers. It was a fiasco.
Sanders won’t take votes away from Hillary. His only support is among white liberals. His appeal is limited. Furthermore, he won’t get the support of Democratic Party leaders, and they have extra influence on who gets the nomination as we saw in 2008 when Hillary actually had more votes than Obama.
The other part that I focused in on, was the need for her to get Boise, Idaho on her calendar. Pres. Obama has been here twice, and she needs to get here to the University, and I told her she had a place to stay, in my guest bedroom. I am a good cook too. Hahaha.
That’s funny, everytime I see him, his sleeves are rolled up, and sweating like……..and screaming. I don’t see him as exciting, after all he’s a 74 year old man from Vermont. Nuff said.
“Sanders won’t take votes away from Hillary.”
I hope you’re right. Hillary is still far ahead in National polling, but Bernie is gaining momentum in NH. I know that’s a neighboring State, but it’s still the 2nd primary. I’m not comfortable with how slowly Hillary’s campaign is moving.
“His only support is among white liberals.”
I disagree. I’ve watched a few of his speeches and his audience is somewhat diverse. Not the sort of diversity we saw with Obama, but it’s certainly more diverse than I expected. And you know there’s always that voting booth issue with men who just cannot pull the lever for a woman.
“Furthermore, he won’t get the support of Democratic Party leaders, and they have extra influence on who gets the nomination”
I made that point earlier, primarily because Bernie is not a Democrat. Still, I think the Party is somewhat concerned about fallout from the bogus email story and there’s really no one else running now that could take the mantle if that story was to somehow erupt (never put anything past the MSM). O’Malley, Chaffee and Webb are all polling very low nationally and in the first 3 primary States. I don’t think Biden will run, but Biden is doing better than Bernie in the SC polling, and comes in 2nd to Bernie in National Polling and Biden’s not even declared. There is a lot of speculation about Biden getting into the race, just in case there was to be a setback in the Hillary campaign, but like I said, I don’t think Biden will run or really wants to run. I think losing his son was it for Biden.
Here’s what Bernie Sanders said about Hillary on CNN:
I think it’s way too early for lots of excitement and action on the part of Hillary’s campaign. Most people are not paying much attention yet, and don’t want to this far in advance — it’s off-putting to non-political junkies, lol!
Hillary is in it for the long haul, and just needs to hang in there and be her smart and committed self. She can count on lots of support from the grassroots and from the active Dem party members when it’s time to move. Less established candidates are the ones who need to drum up supporters.
Sanders will have to formally switch to the Dem party if he wants to be a Dem candidate.
I watched that CNN interview.
And I’m still waiting to see if Joe Biden jumps into the mix. I think the Democratic Party will encourage a Biden Run IF they think or sense that Hillary is failing to perform up to par. The truth is the Party doesn’t really want Bernie to win the nomination, not only because he isn’t a Democrat, but because he cannot win the GE with the Socialist tag. If Biden comes into the race I think that’s a sign that the Party is worried about Hillary. JMHO!!!
Biden has no chance. If he starts running, all the old baggage will come up again. I doubt he’ll even try.
So then why don’t all of us email Hillary’s campaign and ask them to SET HILLARY FREE. In less than a year the Democratic National Convention will be upon us. A YEAR!!!! We Oldies know how quickly a year passes. Hillary can’t afford to lose primary voters to Bernie and we can’t afford to behave as if it’s 2008. We have to make our voices heard TODAY. So we tell them, “Hillary had a great speech at the Urban League, so who the fuck heard it, other than the Urban League and die hards?” “Put Hillary in front of the American public and trust her to be Hillary and win primary votes. Then let the chips fall where they may”.
This is the second time I’ve pleaded with a campaign to unleash their candidate. The first time I did it was with Al Gore. Believe it or not after I forwarded my email of concern to Brazile, I received a not to agreeable email from Brazile. I’m telling you, I’ve watched this happen so many times I recognize it.
https://hrc-demo.secure.force.com/contact/
Thanks so much for this great post. I’ve been so dismayed by all of this. It’s like I’m a my little kindergarten girlself who is watching the 60s unfold again.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/11/oath-keepers-ferguson-automatic-rifles
These oath keepers are scary as hell. We have a bunch of them up here in Banjoville. Doctors and lawyers in that bunch too…not just stereotypical dumbass rednecks.
i saw your snake post last night … it sounds like a hell realm there.
http://m.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/rattlesnake-found-drive-thru-georgia-business/nnHxJ/
eeesh … think I’d really not like that. The few times I ran into them in Arizona when my folks lived there I just walked away.
http://www.vox.com/2015/8/11/9127653/bernie-sanders-black-lives-matter