Bernie-Backing Liberal Group Apologizes For Saying Hillary “Won The Confederacy”

[sufrommich]

Under a barrage of criticism from Democrats, a progressive group supporting Bernie Sanders for president has retracted, and apologized for, describing Hillary Clinton’s victories in the South as winning “the Confederacy.”.

But the Progressive Democrats of America’s attempt to apologize on Twitter ended with PDA getting more criticism and eventually publicly attacking some of those critics with, among other things, suggestions that Clinton supporters upset about the Confederacy line were hypocrites.

The controversy began when PDA, a small liberal group founded in 2004 out of the remnants of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s and former Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s progressive insurgent presidential campaigns, wrote in an email that “Hillary won the Confederacy, now the rest of the country is primed to go for Bernie.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/progressive-democrats-of-america-bro-out?utm_term=.otNgORB33&bftw=pol#.ttYeJlY11






I've seen this term used many times here and can't help but think its an angry jab at minority voters. Glad to see they got called out for it.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

1. Good.

Anyone who refers to large swaths of AA voters as "The Confederacy" better apologize.

[bravenak]

2. It was a NASTY JAB at black voters

I can see why his grassroots felt so comfortable posting such harmful things about us all year.
Finally they decide to apologize. I hope they notice how their grassroots talks to and about us soon and we can get an apology for that.

[geek tragedy]

5. were these the same neurourgeons who coined #mississippiberning? nt

[bravenak]

19. I bet they were

[NurseJackie]

7. I admire your optimism.

[bravenak]

22. Aww!

You think he won't do it?

[geek tragedy]

3. Lol, but I hear this Bernie Bro thing is a myth

I just can't imagine why geniuses like this aren't helping his outreach to black voters.

[bobbobbins01]

32. I believe the Bernie Bros were anti-woman

So this group needs a new moniker. I know its hard to keep track since his base seems to house every single hate group imaginable. Who would have thought that all these progressives were actually skinheads!

[geek tragedy]

34. not skinheads, just lacking in cultural competence. nt

[bobbobbins01]

38. Kind of like saying Nancy Reagan fought against AIDS?

Or that black youths are child predators that need to be brought to heel?
Or that gays shouldn't have the right marry?
Or that children from Guatemala should be shipped back?

You're right...with our candidate having said these horrible things, it makes sense that we have no cultural competence...oh wait...

[bravenak]

54. Or saying black folks have stockholm syndrome?

Or like harassing John Lewis and Dolores Huerta and calling them sell outs?
Like putting a man who calls Obama niggerized as a spokesman?
Like saying he can help racism by giving poor kids jobs so they wont be hanging on stree corners?
Like telling at a black woman " I SAID BLACK FIFTY TIMES!"
Lije allowing his grassroots to harass us day in day out calling us ignorant and uninformed and saying we dont know bernie because we dont have the internet?
Like calling black hillary voters tools of the oligarchy and servant/master type stuff?
Like never once apologizing for any of it?

[bobbobbins01]

55. Herp...derp?

derp?

[bravenak]

57. Aint got nothing to say now, huh?

[bobbobbins01]

60. I don't speak derp, sorry.

Derp, the ancient language of the troll people.

[bravenak]

62. Yeah right.

[SidDithers]

77. ...

Sid

[Armstead]

4. No it's a misguided jab at the old Southern Strategy folks

You know those right wing white racist bigots and born again fundies that people here used to criticize.

It is a bad stereotype too, but it's not a jibe at minorities.

[geek tragedy]

9. except that, of course, the majority of Democratic primary voters in those states are black

I can't imagine why black voters would object to being dismissed as "The Confederacy" by some white hipster blogger, can you?

Kind of like how it's a mystery why they took offense to #mississippiberning.

[Armstead]

14. It was a stupid term to use...but it was not intended as racist

I will be curious to see how DUers react if Clinton loses the south big time in the general

[geek tragedy]

16. not intentional, but indicative of a complete lack of sensitivity to the

concerns of black Democratic voters.

Democratic losses in the south are not due to the votes of black Democratic voters.

[sufrommich]

17. There's a difference between southern democrats who vote in

our primaries and general election southern voters,the major difference is the minority percentages. You'd have to be living in a cave not to notice this.

[Armstead]

29. The term Confederacy has traditionally been used as a euphemism for Rednecks

And -- please pay attention again -- I said they said something stupid.

[KittyWampus]

31. it wasn't consciously intended as racist. But sometimes things bubble up

from our subconscious without our intending it.

[Armstead]

37. There's plenty enough real racism around-- no need to make it up when its not there

People generally use the word Confederacy to refer to White Southern Consercvatives

[Skid Rogue]

39. Of course Clinton will lose the South...

I'm sitting here in Alabama knowing that the Republicans will take this state in the GE. They always do. Hell, everyone in the Democratic Party already knows that. It sucks living in Republican Land, Armstead, but we're down here, we know we live in a red state, and our votes still count.

[Armstead]

40. Yiour votes do count ..and as I said several times, they wrote something stupid

But it was not intended to be racist...Just the opposite.

And if you live there you know the people who carry the flag for the Confederacy

[Skid Rogue]

67. Wish I didn't know any...

It just seems to me Democrats outside the South should be criticizing the Republican/money base down here, instead of focusing on their fellow Democrats. The politically negative aspects of the South aren't caused by the Democratic Party. We're actually the good guys in this whole mess.

Maybe elections bring out the worst in people. We start addressing each other like demographic blips that are not moving in our preferred direction, instead of talking and listening to real people with real concerns and priorities.

It's a big diverse nation. If Bernie's message doesn't resonate with Southern Democrats, maybe the problem is in the message, or the way that message is being delivered. That's not a knock on Bernie. It's just an issue he needed to overcome.

[Armstead]

69. I don't disagree

I think his message would resonate if there had been time to hone it, get it out, and get more surrogates who various "demographic groups" could relate to.

That was largely a matter of times and logistics.

I personally don't like to think of any group or region as "demographic blips." I prefer to think people are individuals with minds of their own instead of monolithic entities.

MY main point originally simply was that referring to the Confederacy was dumb, but not intended as racist.

[Skid Rogue]

74. I understand... and people (including myself) say dumb things sometimes.

These primaries seem so annoyingly long, but once they start moving there's very little time to adjust. Clinton also had the advantage of having done this before... and watching her husband do it a couple of times, as well. I wish Bernie could have had a few practice runs, too. Peace

[Lizzie Poppet]

72. So what?

Being black doesn't exempt them from criticism, and there's nothing wrong with stating that you think someone has voted against their own self interest. It's not like working class Republicans aren't criticized for doing exactly that all the time.

Of course, I feel that way about any working class person who votes for Republicans...or the Democratic Party version thereof. Race has precisely nothing to do with it.

[geek tragedy]

80. It is not the place of white people to lecture black people

about what is in their interest and how they are going about things the wrong way

[Lizzie Poppet]

81. "Know my place?" Yeah...fuck that.

I repeat: being black doesn't make someone immune from criticism of their political actions. I'll criticize anyone I damn well please about their political choices.

[geek tragedy]

82. yes, you know everything and couldn't possibly have anything

to learn from black folks who disagree with you.

You obviously know what is best for them and if they had any sense they would just do as you tell them they should do.

[Lizzie Poppet]

83. Nice strawman!

If you want to address anything I actually said or implied, let me know.

[geek tragedy]

84. That you think you are in a position to criticize black voters

for voting for Hillary Clinton indicates you do not respect their decision and aren't terribly interested in their reasons.

Maybe some day you will realize why this is offputtng but probably not.

[Lizzie Poppet]

86. Of course I'm in that position. We all are.

Goes hand-in-hand with being an American. They're in the same position to criticize my votes. I might argue with them, but I sure wouldn't resent it. Do you think you're in no position to criticize Republican voters? Somehow I doubt that.

You are, I should point out, completely wrong about my willingness to discuss this issue with black people. But I'm getting the feeling that anything I add to that will get me called a liar...and I'm trying real hard not to add any more to my suddenly-enormous Ignore list. You haven't been an asshole about this disagreement, and I appreciate that.

[geek tragedy]

87. Here is the deal.

We as white people have no clue what their historical perspective is, why they might think about politics and candidates differently. We just can't.

That does not mean they are always voting for the right person. Just that they perceive interests, benefits, and risks differently.

Criticizing their decisions doesn't help your cause. At best it accomplishes nothing, with significant possible downsides.

if this Bernie thing is to become a genuine movement there has to be better outreach than what the campaign did. Has to be a lot better.

[Lizzie Poppet]

88. I disagree.

In fact, I disagree strongly that we "can have no clue what their historical perspective is, why they might think about politics and candidates differently." (emphasis mine) I think that with a genuine attempt to understand that different perspective, through honest discussions and a bit of historical reading, we can get at least a grasp of that perspective, an admittedly very incomplete but useful understanding. In fact, I think anyone serious about advancing social justice has to make that effort.

I can't say I've been able to make that effort with black people to nearly the degree I have with Latinos. I've lived in either the Southwest or the Pacific Northwest all my life, save for my college years in New York. African-Americans are only the third-largest minority here in Portland (there are more Latinos and Asians). I've lived in neighborhoods in the SW that were majority Latino, etc...I've had a lot more opportunity learn about their experiences. But even with my lesser understanding of black experiences, the differences between those two demographic groups socio-political outlooks is pretty evident to me, a white female. I think you can get a pretty decent working take on others' perspectives that way, if you make the effort.

[geek tragedy]

89. Sure, we can listen--we can hear, but we can't know.

In the case of the Sanders campaign, they've been having white politicians making unrealistic promises to them since 40 acres and a mule. Remember all that talk from Clinton about needing to make realistic promises that white progressives derided as "no we can't?"

It worked. Sanders never became able to convince them that he would deliver the goods. Nice guy, means well, believes what he's saying, but nothing beyond "revolution" as an explanation for how it would happen. White milennials ate it up, black voters had heard it all before.

[JoePhilly]

10. I thought it was Bernie supporters throwing the 50 state strategy under the bus.

[seabeyond]

6. Seriously? He would nto be so stupid to say that. Lordy. Just throw up a Flag and be done with it

[Starry Messenger]

8. SMH

[PeaceNikki]

11. Good. It was a shitty jab at Southern AA voters like many posts here.

[MaggieD]

12. Yes, it's no surprise AA won't vote for Bernie

And it's no surprise who makes up the lion's share of Bernie's fans. And yes, it was repeated here many, many times. Embarrassing for DU and Democrats in general.

[notadmblnd]

26. PDA board members include

Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Keith Ellison. So it isn't about race no matter how desperately you want it to be MaggieD.

[geek tragedy]

33. care to guess the race of the genius who handles their twitter account? nt

[giftedgirl77]

13. I don't think they know what liberal means.

[LexVegas]

15. Disgusting marginalization of black voters. Truly sick.

[Human101948]

25. Not at all...but it sure does feel good to call Bernie supporters racists doesn't it...

The point was that they are the states that will go for the Republican candidate in a big way. They will not provide any help in electing a Democratic candidate. It was a perhaps a crude reply to the Hillary supporters crowing about her victories which were of no significance in the general election.


. Another Clinton ally, Mr. Mondale, the former vice president, credited Super Tuesday victories in Alabama and Georgia in 1984 with keeping him alive against Gary Hart, and he said he
believed that Mrs. Clinton’s strengths with minority voters and working­class white Democrats would provide decisive advantages in the South for her.

“If I hadn’t won in the South, I think I would have lost the nomination,
and I think it’s the South that will be the key for Hillary, too,” Mr. Mondale
said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/us/politics/hillary-clinton-relying-on-southern-primaries-to-fend-off-rivals.html

And of course we know how well that one turned out in the general election.

[Lizzie Poppet]

73. From the safe (relative) anonymity of the internet.

"Internet courage."

[juxtaposed]

18. what ever works hillary, you can pick your relatives but, your internet friends

are something you need to ask yourself why would they support me? Crazy shit going on, I know HRC has nothing in common with racists. This is some funny shit when you read the reasoning..



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-kkk_us_56e7373ae4b0b25c918304f2

http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Ku-Klux-Klan-leader-Will-Quigg-endorses-Hillary-6889761.php
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12192975/The-KKK-leader-who-says-he-backs-Hillary-Clinton.html

[JaneyVee]

20. Jesus. And now they even got Alan Grayson apologizing.

What awful language these "progressives" use. This "revolution" doesnt seem very inclusive.

[geek tragedy]

24. Grayson didn't apologize, he called PDA out when they tried to blame him

for their own shitty language

[JaneyVee]

28. But Grayson saying "old south" over and over again...

Same thing. What a douche considering he represents Florida.

[geek tragedy]

30. no argument from me nt

[UMTerp01]

21. Just like the "the map gets better for Bernie after March 15" is a swipe at Black voters

I keep hearing that whole strategy talk of "the map gets better for Bernie after March 15" which is essentially, the map gets whiter for Bernie and we won't have those pesky Blacks to run up Hillary's numbers. Y'all ain't slick. When your strategy is to have to rely on the whiter states for your guy to win, thats not a good strategy when you are running as a Democrat. Now we can talk about why Hillary has the support of so many Black voters when arguably Bernie's message is better for them, but in terms of optics, its not a good look the way that Black voters have been discounted and looked down upon by many Bernie supporters for voting for Hillary Clinton.

[Human101948]

27. How many is many Bernie supporters?

20%? 50%? 100%?

[geek tragedy]

23. Lol, and then they tried to blame it on Alan Grayson.

Who said, no wasn't me, I'd never be that insensitive.

Oops.

[Vattel]

35. Of course you think it is an angry jab at minority voters. It fits the idiotic narratives so well.

[geek tragedy]

42. not an angry jab, just a racially tone deaf remark from a clueless white person who has

little to no cultural sensitivity.

[Vattel]

43. spare me the bullshit.

[geek tragedy]

45. Are you denying this was offensive and incredibly racially tone deaf? nt

[Vattel]

48. it was offensive to southerners, but not racially insensitive.

[geek tragedy]

51. you should tell that to all of the black people on Twitter who say otherwise.

Go ahead and explain to them why they're wrong about how it offends black people.

Go ahead and tell them that dismissing black voters in the South (which is why Clinton won those states) as being associated with the people who enslaved and committed genocide against their ancestors isn't racially offensive.

I'm sure they'd appreciate you setting them straight.

[Vattel]

53. The remark was obviously based on the idea that the South is especially conservative

and especially anti-progressive. Their was no reason to take it as directed at any race, especially not the race that the Confederacy screwed over.

[geek tragedy]

56. you seem to think that something needs to be intentionally hurtful to be insensitive.

even if this wasn't intentional, it most certainly was insensitive to African-Americans.

EVERYONE knows that Clinton swept the south because of black voters. Let's not play dumb.

[Vattel]

65. I can see how people could be uncharitable in their

interpretation of the remark and so unjustifiably conclude that it was a jab at black voters.

[geek tragedy]

66. Even if it was unintentional it was still racially

insensitive.

[Vattel]

70. I disagree.

[geek tragedy]

85. Black people find it offensive. Ergo it is racially insensitive. Ipso facto

[bravenak]

59. Oh bullshit

I am just a watching you guys try to clean up that dispicable shit yall pulled and bout to kick some old threads to help you if you all have forgotten.

[Chitown Kev]

68. Not all the Murphy's Oil Soap in the world

can clean some of the filth that's been thrown around.

[Vattel]

71. That's for sure

[bravenak]

78. So true, Kev. So true.

[kristopher]

36. It's a reference to states whose current government emerged out of feudalism

There are distinct philosophical differences in basic assumptions about the role of government and power between that tradition and the Yankee democratic tradition.

[geek tragedy]

41. how does that explain the votes of black Democrats? nt

[sufrommich]

44. Have you ever seen the term "won the Confederacy" used to explain

winning democratic primaries before? If so,when?

[JaneyVee]

46. Youre not obligated to defend every dumb Bernie campaign mishap.

Some things you can agree are stupid.

[Armstead]

47. How many AAs walk around carrying or wearing Confederate flags?

It was a poor choice of words, but it was not racist. Just the opposite. It was aimed at white bigots. That's who identify with the Confederacy.

[bravenak]

61. Bull

His camp has been making crazy comments for months.
I complained about that crap from his grassroot and all that happened was i was stfu. But they will pretend none of that stuff matters.
I remember his grassroots calling black folks race baiters day after day but now we should believe all was goodly intended
When yall gon own up to what happened?

[Armstead]

63. Whatever you say

[bravenak]

64. I notice everybody has amnesia now

[brooklynite]

49. Meanwhile, there's this gem...

Sanders Campaign Disavows Bern the Witch

“Just like the Clinton campaign’s volunteer event maker, our system allows for any user to create an event and have it posted publicly on our website. We have a team of people who scan and delete any events that are deemed inappropriate. This event was removed immediately from our system after its discovery and the user has been banned.”



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/11/1500001/-Sanders-Campaign-Disavows-Bern-the-Witch

[sufrommich]

52. Yikes.nt

[riversedge]

75. I read about that vile posting serveral days ago. Past time they finally

spoke about it.

[hrmjustin]

50. That was foolish of them.

[book_worm]

58. Good for them.

[Trust Buster]

76. The term "confederacy" has been thrown around many times on DU. It's absolutely shameful.

This is the second time that Sanders had to speak to his supporters about their tactics. One would think that, if they honor the man, they might respect his requests.

[ismnotwasm]

79. Good, that was very, very nasty.

Left me speechless.

[Cha]

90. That was big of them.. what the hell were they thinking? Oh.. that's right..

Mahalo Su~