Sanders is pandering!
Not to Catholics, as his detractors insist. "Oh, look! He's sucking up to the Pope!" Sorry, but way off the mark, not even on the target. Sanders is "pandering" to people who think Pope Francis may represent an opportunity to use organized religion as an agent for social change. Don't worry. Nobody thinks the church is suddenly all progressive on all issues, ready to ordain women priests, etc. But the Vatican seems willing to facilitate discussion concerning climate change and possible solutions. So a bunch of people from around the world show up to discuss climate change and related issues, and Sanders jumps at the chance to participate, to speak with like-minded people, to promote possible solutions to a significant problem. So, yes, that is pandering, but not pandering for Catholic votes. He might be pandering for environmental votes, but that should not upset the Clinton campaign, since they probably have the majority of all 28 environmental votes, anyway.
What interests me is the way so many Clinton supporters cannot wrap their heads around the idea that Sanders would go to the Vatican meeting without a promised photo op with the Pope. Sanders was even called "irresponsible" for leaving NY to go off on a junket. Now the Clinton camp is criticizing him for using campaign funds to travel when he should be in New York, eating spaghetti in an Italian neighborhood or something like that. I guess he's incompetent because he doesn't even know how to pander correctly. Now they're accusing Sanders of faking a papal endorsement, and then saying, "We never said that!" They go to remarkable lengths to discredit this old, irrelevant, socialist who is not even a real Democrat, who poses no threat to the mighty Hillary Clinton juggernaut, etc. Hunting mosquitoes with a 12 gauge, I would say.
Of course, if Hillary Clinton had gone to the Vatican, well... I don't even need to explain, do I?
= new reply since forum marked as read
