2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumShowing up: Bernie at the Black America Forum last night
Hillary avoids tough encounters and audiences- I suspect because of potential bad optics. Bernie does not. That is courage. That is leadership.
BERNIE SANDERS TALKS 'BLACK AMERICA' IN HEATED NORTH MINNEAPOLIS FORUM
Bernie Sanders is not afraid to talk "black issues," to black people, and is not afraid to say the word "black." The Democratic candidate for president proved as much during an occasionally testy forum event in north Minneapolis Friday evening, engaging with panel and audience members who'd come loaded with questions about criminal justice, inequality, and racism.
Even the avowed socialist's appearance at Patrick Henry High School was historic, in a way: Sanders became the first major presidential candidate to campaign on the city's north side since Jesse Jackson in 1992.
At one point near the end of the discussion, one panelist faulted Sanders for speaking in generalities, and said he was "afraid to say the word black." Sanders disputed that claim in his response.
I've said black 50 times," Sanders said. "That was the 51st time."
Nearly 1,000 people crammed the auditorium for the event staged by Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, and thousands more watched the event streaming online. Sanders was already scheduled to be in town for the night's Humphrey-Mondale dinner, an annual fundraiser for the Minnesota DFL Party; his agreement to participate in the discussion centered on race was only announced earlier this week.
Hillary Clinton, also in town for the Humphrey-Mondale fundraiser, was invited, but turned down the offer to attend. Instead, Clinton issued a preemptive strike via press release earlier Friday, highlighting her support from prominent black Minnesotans, including retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, who said Clinton "knows how to govern."
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http://www.citypages.com/news/bernie-sanders-talks-black-america-in-heated-north-minneapolis-forum-8043029
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)The forum event, meanwhile, was kicked-off by Sanders' own prominent black supporter, DFL U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison. In introducing the Vermont U.S. senator, Ellison said his "dear friend" was the only member of the senate he could find to sponsor federal legislation for a $15 minimum wage. Ellison touted Sanders' opposition to privatized prisons, and support for other policies, saying Sanders gives voters "an opportunity to vote for someone... who will bring true racial equality," and close the racial gap on economic outcomes.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)She's never been President, never been a Governor, never been a mayor. She was a lawyer for a while, a legislator for a while, an appointed bureaucrat for a while. Upon what basis might one make an assessment that she 'knows how to govern'? Her time as a Walmart board member?
DrDan
(20,411 posts)I can't imagine how meager you consider PBO's credentials.
cali
(114,904 posts)DrDan
(20,411 posts)she is, sadly, simply a target - for both sides
thesquanderer
(11,953 posts)did she take hard questions in Flint? Nobody can accuse Bernie's appearance yesterday of being a photo op.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)of pandering
cali
(114,904 posts)where she has to face tough, unfiltered questions
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)As was Alexander Haig.
As was Henry Kissinger.
That doesn't mean that they would know how to govern. In fact, I wouldn't want to be governed by any of them.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)thesquanderer
(11,953 posts)so she probably has a pretty good idea of how it's done.
SheenaR
(2,052 posts)for 25 years. I don't know how to do it. Nor do I have a "pretty good idea" about it.
thesquanderer
(11,953 posts)catnhatnh
(8,976 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,111 posts)Thanks for the thread, cali.
Wig Master
(95 posts)HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)say whut?