I am not a concern troll.

[retrowire]

Look at my post history for confirmation of this. I'm a true blue Bernie supporter and I will do whatever it takes!

But is this Netroots Nation controversy something to be worried about? I read that he handled it well, then I read that he seemed annoyed and was booed off the stage.

That said, is Netroots something that's well known? Is this going to do anything to Bernie in the long run?

I just wanna know. I'm a political noob, I've admitted this before. Bernie is the first politician to actually make me believe there's a chance. I'm new to all of this, I'm actually going to register to vote for the first time in my life for Bernie. Anyways, fill me in. I need knowledge. Thanks in advance.

[peacebird]

1. Watch the video. I think he did well, & netroots effed up. That's my take. Watch & make your own

[retrowire]

2. I sadly cannot watch the videos.

Internet problems. :p

[840high]

19. Exactly what I thought.

[Autumn]

3. Watch the video and decide for yourself.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251457244

Don't believe every thing you read on DU. I'm very happy and not surprised at all that Bernie is the first politician to make you believe there's a chance. I've been voting well over 40 years and Bernie is the first politician that makes me believe.

[retrowire]

4. I sadly cannot watch the videos.

Internet problems. :p

[Autumn]

5. Too bad. He did really well.

[retrowire]

8. Well I'm afraid of people spinning it like they are.

Is Netroots Nation a widely known thing?

[Autumn]

9. There are several thread on it here in the group and some of them go into detail. n/t

[marym625]

6. He was not booed off stage

He handled it very well. In fact, he probably won't over a couple people. But I don't think anyone can do enough. That's not a criticism. I think it is too big of a monster. .How can you quell watching your brothers and sisters murdered by the government, with no punishment, repeatedly, and find any comfort in anything anyone says? especially if it isn't that each cop will be prosecuted, and each person wrongly thrown in jail, is let out?

[retrowire]

7. Well said.

[marym625]

12. Thank you.

I think I'm pretty much alone here on DU, that I'm not upset about what happened. I don't like the organizers doing what they did. I believe that O'Malley and Sanders are owed an apology. I think that the way they did it, could have been done much better. Much, much better.

But it's a few minutes that Black Lives Matter received some attention.

I think the host was rude and way too touchy feely for me.

The entire thing has left me very sad.

[beam me up scottie]

35. No, you're not alone mary.

I agree with everything you said.

They know the msm doesn't care so they're taking it to the candidates directly. If I was angry and desperate to get my message out I would do the same thing.

I think they need to have their own venue where the candidates can answer questions specific to blm.

[marym625]

40. That's a great idea!

I wonder if they've thought of that

[swilton]

43. Agree with everything you said

Netroots - don't know how it's organized - should have had a separate forum for blm. And yes O'Malley and Sanders are owed an apology.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

10. NN in and of itself is not an electoral problem.

Social media (tweets and whatnot) slamming Sanders for his response at NN might end up being far more problematic. For every person who actually sees video of the thing, there will be a thousand who merely heard about it via tweets or facebook posts or whatnot.

It's obvious, though, that a lot of folks in the AA community don't feel that Bernie is really listening to them about what THEY feel they need. Sort of like when America was screaming for jobs, and the President delivered health insurance instead. Bernie needs to work with some AA advisers to better tailor his speeches for AA audiences. His underlying ideas are fine, but his messaging just isn't connecting with a lot of folks who think he's 'dismissive' of their needs and their pain because he talks about the problems in a different framework.

[marym625]

13. He should bring some people

From Black Lives Matter and/or the families of some that have lost loved ones, with him like he does the young people with student loans. That's if he can get any of them to come

I know he cares. Absolutely cares. He just needs to make sure they know it.

[Cheese Sandwich]

14. +1 and Bernie needs to hire a lot more black people.

For outreach, to help craft a message, etc.

If you want to organize in a community, you have to hire some organizers FROM that community.

[retrowire]

26. what if Bernie went marching again?

alongside the blm movement? or would that be too extreme? don't look at me, I am no political strategist.

[Cheese Sandwich]

32. Depends on the venue

If well organized then maybe yes.

So he needs to hire organizers from a community he wants to represent.

[Cheese Sandwich]

11. I think Bernie needs to practice better answers for these questions.

I have heard him address these issues well before, but that's because I'm reading Bernie Bernie Bernie on the internet all the time looking for it.

This right here does not work:

Protesters: Stop shooting us!

Bernie: Yes I will lower the unemployment rate!

Sorry friends that answer sucks. Bernie is right, there is a connection between economics and systemic racism, but he would have to do a better job of explaining the connection.

That explanation could be a bit heavy for a stump speech, so instead he could skip that and simply some up with some reasonable answers about how he will use the justice department to fight systemic racism.

But honestly I do see a problem.

[Scootaloo]

15. Who is Bernie shooting at?

[Cheese Sandwich]

17. He's not shooting anyone, but "Stop Shooting Us"

or "Stop Killing Us" is probably like the top demand of the #blackLivesMatter movement.

That's what they are protesting. Police killing people is what sparked the movement. The answer can't be just I will give jobs to kids so they aren't hanging out getting in trouble. It's too much like blaming the victim. The ones to blame for police abuse are police and the systems of power that protect them.

There may well be a connection to unemployment but that's not clear to people and can't necessarily be explained to people's satisfaction.

[Scootaloo]

20. It's an understandable demand when made at the police who are doing it.

And it's a perfectly understandable and righteous concern. But it's an absolutely misplaced and hostile accusation when made agaisnt people who are not responsible, who do not have a hand in the problem. That's not to say the problem shouldn't be broguht up, but the protestors have to craft their message for the forum as well, you know? They delivered vitriol and invective. Can't really complain when snarling and spitting at someone doesn't produce useful dialogue.

he still did better than O'Malley. "All lives matter. White lives matter" is not a skilled response to this.

[Cheese Sandwich]

22. omg :0

LOL O'Malley said that?? That's hilarious. I haven't seen it yet.

But getting back to your point about the protest being misdirected... maybe, but on the other hand maybe it is perfectly well directed at the place where it is likely to have maximum impact.

The white liberal establishment has not been a friend of the black community as abusive policing and excessive prison terms grew over the last 30 years. O'Malley is a great example. He is a highly proper target for these protests since as Mayor of Baltimore he instigated a racist campaign of illegal mass arrests and civil rights abuses.

That time when the NAACP and ACLU sued Martin O'Malley over thousands of illegal arrests

As Baltimore mayor, O’Malley’s police tactics sowed distrust

"Failed the African-American community of Baltimore"

Bernie didn't do anything nearly so grotesque. Still, as a progressive leader he has an obligation to speak out on these issues and if he doesn't do it then he will hear about it.

Maybe it seems misdirected, but people said the same thing when the rioters burn down grocery stores and stuff like that. People think it's misdirected but the real point is to disrupt so people are forced to pay attention and address the issue.

[Scootaloo]

23. Like I said, it DOEs need to be brought up and addressed. There's no argument there, I don't think

But you've got to decide if you want to demonstrate, or have dialogue. It's matter of tactics for a given encounter. You can't get good dialogue through what makes good demonstration, nor vice versa.

[swilton]

44. +++++++++++++

Excellent post.

[marym625]

16. Great answer

I think O'Malley really screwed up. I'm sorry. I don't think he is a bad guy, I like and respect him. But his one answer was just, well, bad.

[aspirant]

33. I read O'malley's Super PAC

is paying for his Iowa campaign people. I know he distanced himself from their "Gun Nut" ad but is he giving in on this?

[marym625]

39. I honestly haven't followed his stuff much

But I'm not surprised. I have so much respect for Sanders for refusing anything to do with super pacs

[99th_Monkey]

18. I pretty much agree with your assessment.

However I do think the whole thing kinda stunk, that NN were lousy hosts to
both O'Malley and Sanders . And I'm not sure there wasn't some kind of ulterior
agenda that engineered the encounter, tho I have yet to see any proof of this,
except a few weird tweets the moderator sent out beforehand, which were fishy,

That said, I really think Team Bernie needs to bone up on the cops murdering
blacks epidemic, and address it forcefully and passionately, just as he is doing
with economic justice. It doesn't fly to just talk about jobs & 1%.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

28. What's his answer? OK I will?

[Cheese Sandwich]

31. He should give his honest answer about how to fix the criminal justice system

Or however he thinks we can start getting cops and courts to treat black people like human beings instead of like garbage.

If his answer is we need to give black kids jobs, I don't think that answer is sufficient. If that is the answer then he needs to connect the dots better about how jobs for teenagers solves the problem of police murdering people.

One problem is saying policies, so that means maybe using the Justice Department to investigate police abuse, body cameras, demilitarizing the police, and more.

Another problem is tone. That means caring. Say the names of the victims of killer cops. That's what the protesters chanted today: say her name. It deserves to be a central issue in the 2016 campaign and in the country.

[Ed Suspicious]

21. Watch the video. You tell me what happened. What you read doesn't resemble reality.

[R. P. McMurphy]

24. "But I play one on DU."

Sorry. That's the first thing that popped into my head. It's late and I'm feeling silly.

[retrowire]

25. LOL good one.

[Blue_In_AK]

27. Watch the video.

I think he did well, given the circumstances.

[TM99]

30. I am in Phoenix and I want to share my thoughts on this.

I am also bi-racial and fully support BlackLivesMatter.

I support social protests. I love that they did this especially at Netroots Nation. What I didn't like was that both Sanders and O'Malley were more than willing to dialogue, and the protesters would not stop.

I think Sanders handled it better than O'Malley. He was not there to address one issue alone so off the cuff, he spoke truths. O'Malley unfortunately chose to say all lives matter which does piss off those of us who support this. Of course, all lives matter but when a disproportionate amount of young black men and women are being killed by the police, it is important to address that head on.

Sanders spoke more in his later speech about this problem and received a huge round of applause and standing ovation for his statement about holding this police officers fully accountable for their actions. And this crowd was hugely diverse. Hell, some of the early morning protesters were there.

Now was this a setup? I think that Elon James knew this was going to happen and did nothing to warn his fellow organizers of NN that it was coming. So it did broadside them. I think the hosts handled it the worst of all.

I am a bit perplexed why they chose this particular event alone and frankly I would not be at all surprised if the Clinton campaign was involved. People will scream this is a conspiracy theory. Yeah, I fully admit it, and it is simply my informed opinion. But the timing and the way it was done begs some questions.

If and when I see BlackLivesMatter activists at the next Clinton Town Hall protesting and at all six debates disrupting things, then I will believe this was the start of a valid protest movement raising awareness among allies this campaign season. Of course I am an old school activist. I think that attacking your allies instead of your enemies is a rather stupid way of getting your goals met, and it tends to back fire. But hey, like I said, I don't do Post New Left liberalism.

If they are going to do this, then fucking do this. Go to as many Town Halls and protests. Do this with ALL candidates including the queen apparent. Do this at each and every one of the primary debates. Mount a massive protest at the Democratic convention next summer. But if this was it and only it, well, it was poorly planned and executed. It will make them look bad, not the candidates. And it doesn't help Clinton a damned bit. Not after the speech Sanders just gave tonight to close to 12,000 people in Phoenix fucking Arizona!

[MissDeeds]

37. I wondered about the Clinton campaign too

and their possible involvement. It seemed strange she didn't attend the event. I know it sounds like tin foil hat stuff, but their campaign isn't called "The Machine" for nothing. I think they will pull out all stops to make sure HRC wins the nomination.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

38. They started chanted almost before Bernie had a chance to say anything, then wouldn't stop.

I wonder why they were completely silent the entire time Hillary was talking? Since she's (currently) the front runner, you'd think they say SOMETHING to her. Seems extremely fishy.

[TBF]

41. I think this was obviously orchestrated -

and I have no doubt where it comes from (Clinton campaign). The more she can push things like this it takes the focus off economics - where she is very weak given her loyalty to Wall Street. And she is just beginning to fight back. IMO, this will be ugly because she is determined to get the nomination or take everyone down with her. Sanders is going to have to think about this and plan accordingly.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

46. I think Bernie should give a separate speech to #BLACKLIVESMATTER

Give them everything they want and need - all progressive values. Bernie has been concentrating on how to change the political and economic systems, which really ultimately is what affects all other issues.

Bernie believes what anyone with common sense believes. You can't cure stupid, and you can't love talk hatred. It's all intertwined, but I know that Bernie accepts all works of God, unlike some who only accept those that were created in their own image.

The #BLACKLIVESMATTER movement is very good. No doubt Bernie supports it, but he needs to come out and blow people away by the facts of his history, and what he thinks needs to be done with the "killer police" phenomenon.

[Warpy]

34. There is no way to handle a bunch of loudmouths

who won't allow you to speak, at all, which is what those guys were doing.

Yes, they had a good point to make. Had they made it and listened to his answer, it would have been a great moment for them. However, all they did was piss people off.

That is a shame. Black lives do matter and candidates need to address what's been going on to end so many of them over stupid things like DWB traffic stops and selling loose cigarettes to poor people.

[djean111]

36. Within minutes, the same person posted "trainwreck for Bernie" in multiple threads.

Others had pretty long and obviously (to me) previously prepared posts against Bernie.
O'Malley was barely mentioned.
This, IMO, is orchestrated, and it will be interesting to see where else these carefully plotted demonstrations show up.

Here's the thing - the only person who could possibly gain from this is Hillary. Or the GOP.
I fully acknowledge that I will not vote for Hillary under any circumstances. But I will vote for, and work for, Bernie.
There seems to be an ugly current of "who else you gonna vote for" Rahm-style sewage running through DU at the moment. Didn't work last time, won't work this time.

[TBF]

42. ^ Agree with your assessment 100%. nt

[swilton]

45. +^