For your consideration
first and foremost, I campaigned for Sanders in the primaries and campaigned for Clinton in the general. I DO NOT agree with everything Sanders says or does (in as much I don’t always agree with Clinton or even Obama on occasion)
That being said:
Despite evidence to the contrary, many continue to say he is dismissive or derogatory toward women and especially his wife (yes, video, seen it)
Despite that this sort of circumstantial generalization and criticism of the Clinton marriage is universally deemed rude and disrespectful there is cognitive dissonance on this issue with some in regards to the Sanders marriage.
i.e. who are you to sit in judgement of their marriage?
Despite being married to Jane for almost 30 years
Despite Jane herself clearly and unambiguously stating she does not feel Bernie is dismissive or disrespectful toward her and that she loves him and is proud of him
People are making circumstantial, snapshots in time, broad brush conclusions about their marriage and his supposed opinions of her despite conclusive evidence to the contrary (see points above)
The claim about his opinion of women is not supported by his overall voting record (yes, not perfect voting record but overall voting record) nor his ratings from NARAL or Planned Parenthood or NOW nor his stated policy positions on women’s issues.
That being said I HATE the term identity politics because I believe that issues like women’s reproductive healthcare and LGBTQ rights to be human rights, not throw-aways, bargaining chips or fringe issues.
I also think that Sanders can come across as a one trick one-issue pony though that is not true but he does himself no favors in this area at times
Lastly, I do not want him to run in 2020 and would not campaign for him in those primaries if he ran.
I think that the best thing that icons of the Party like the Clintons or Sanders or Biden or Inslee or even Obama can do for the future of our Party is to encourage the next generation of political leaders to run for office, from city and county to state and federal, and support and mentor them. That is the most important and longest lasting impact that they can have for the Democratic Party going into the future.
We have more important issues than this intractable nonsense that is just a rehash of the primaries.
You are going to like who you like and so be it. Moving along now...
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