In Iowa, Bernie Sanders Gets Pressed on Immigration

[wyldwolf]

It was the closest Senator Bernie Sanders had come to getting heckled during his trip to Iowa. As Sanders was leaving a town hall meeting in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Saturday, Isaac Medina, a 19-year-old University of Iowa sophomore, followed the Democratic presidential candidate out of the building with a question he hadn’t been able to ask during the question-and-answer session: What was Sanders going to do about immigration?

Marshalltown has a sizable Hispanic population—24.1 percent, compared to the statewide average of 5 percent, according to the 2010 census—and has seen immigration raids tear families apart. Yet Sanders had held his event at the local chapter of the United Automobile Workers, signaling his ties to unions without focusing on immigration policy changes during his abbreviated stump speech.

Medina had noticed, and the two had a brief conversation outside. Sanders said he supports comprehensive immigration reform and bringing people out of the shadows.

“Can you say that publicly?” Medina said.

“I’ve said it—I say it all of the time,” Sanders replied.

“I was at the University of Iowa and I had the pleasure to meet you and you declined questions on immigration as well,” Medina said, referring to Sanders’s visit in March.

“No, I didn’t decline questions,” Sanders said, adding that he can’t answer 50 questions a day.

Sanders’s stump speech, which focuses on income inequality and the power of what he calls the “billionaire class,” was well received in Marshalltown, just as it had been in Des Moines the night before. But his exchange with Medina highlights a potential weak spot in his campaign: Immigration hasn't been a major part of his platform, and 82 percent of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers said in a Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll in May that they want candidates to spend a lot of time talking about the issue.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-06-14/in-iowa-bernie-sanders-gets-pressed-on-immigration

[shenmue]

1. It's important

He ought to say something. It's not that hard.

[Cheese Sandwich]

11. Candidate who never talks about immigration delivers 20 minute speech on immigration reform

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017271517

[bigtree]

24. how about in this campaign?

[Cheese Sandwich]

28. Friday June 19th he will address National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/06/09/bernie-sanders-to-address-latino-politicians-group-naleo/

[leftofcool]

2. Economics appears to be Bernie's bag

Not immigration, not racial justice, not LGBT issues. I am not saying he doesn't believe in these things, just that they aren't in him platform.

[wyldwolf]

6. It's interesting how Sanders evaded

Sanders said he supports comprehensive immigration reform and bringing people out of the shadows.

“Can you say that publicly?” Medina said.

“I’ve said it—I say it all of the time,” Sanders replied.

“I was at the University of Iowa and I had the pleasure to meet you and you declined questions on immigration as well,” Medina said, referring to Sanders’s visit in March.

“No, I didn’t decline questions,” Sanders said, adding that he can’t answer 50 questions a day.

--------------------

Sanders didn't deny he evaded question on immigration. He just denies declining questions in general - which wasn't what the person asked him.

[daleanime]

30. ......

[elleng]

3. Good; they'll like Martin O'Malley. He's said a lot, and done a lot.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1281830

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1281831

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1281719

[leftofcool]

52. O"Malley is excellent on immigration and he has been talking about it.

[Report1212]

4. Couldn't the kid have looked up his record before asking that?

I mean he has 100% record on these issues.

[NewSystemNeeded]

7. Not to mention he hails from an immigrant family.

His father was a Polish Jew who fled the area after WW2.

Before people jump all over Bernie for 'not caring about immigrants,' maybe they should do a little research and not insult someone who probably understands its importance more than anyone in the race.

[Report1212]

8. The bottom line is

Hillary folks are stirring this up because hes an older white guy and they wanna do racial whispers about him even though his record on civil rights is much stronger than hers

[NewSystemNeeded]

9. I didn't want to say it was a plant,

but I was sure as hell thinking it.

Because there's no way a 19-year-old who is genuinely interested in a political candidate doesn't Google their record.

[Report1212]

12. Not necessarily a Clinton plant either

He seems to be getting around

http://www.dailyiowanepi.com/2015/04/10/in-iowa-city-rand-paul-works-to-drum-up-young-base/

[dsc]

38. It is hardly unreasonable to ask for a public declaration

I remember when Dean was willing to tell Iowa voters that he favored civil unions and would work to get federal recognition of them, that I considered that important. It showed he was willing to own those positions.

[Report1212]

60. He talks about it in nearly every speech nt

[goldent]

54. I think it is fair to ask him if he hasn't addressed it recently.

I am always for pointed questioning of politicians. I'm not a big Bernie supporter (nor Hillary), but I have been impressed how Bernie handles tough questioning.

[Report1212]

61. He talks about it nearly in every speech

http://www.alternet.org/bernie-sanders-intends-strike-heart-prison-industrial-complex

Its okay to just ask his position if youre truly ignorant but look at my other post up top. This same kid was praising rand paul at another event. He may very well be a professional activist here

[NewSystemNeeded]

5. Isaac Medina doesn't know how to use Google?

What a shame. There's a wealth of information available at one's fingertips. I figured a 19-year-old would know that.

"Sen. Bernie Sanders: Thanks for calling. Let me just say this. I'm a strong supporter of immigration reform, and of the need to provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants. I very strongly support the DREAM Act, and will continue to strongly support it. I very strongly believe, as someone who knows what's going on in the dairy industry in Vermont, that there's no question we need to create a status for immigrant workers in agriculture, and I think the committee is making good progress there."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/25/this-is-a-massive-effort-to-attract-cheap-labor-why-sen-bernie-sanders-is-skeptical-of-guest-workers/

[Autumn]

10. I think Bernie knows a bit on Immigration.

Like from his Father. This is a 'gotcha' fail.

[dsc]

39. couldn't Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio

say the same thing?

[Autumn]

50. Let me know when he asks them.

[Rex]

40. Lol talk about egg on face.

Relying on someone that thinks a moran like Rand Paul is a good politician! Sure is funny how many are worried about Sanders wanting to make Wall Street pay for their 2008 mass consumer fraud crime wave.

You would think all Dems would be for that right? Real justice?

[bigtree]

15. you better have a good explanation for this

[L0oniX]

18. I don't know what you mean. Google "Isaac Medina mug shot".

[Autumn]

46. Mr. Medina seems to appreciate Rand Paul. At least enough to praise him

for catering to a younger generation, which he said is something some Democrats and Republicans have failed to do. I notice he didn't ask Paul about his thoughts on Immigration.

http://www.dailyiowanepi.com/2015/04/10/in-iowa-city-rand-paul-works-to-drum-up-young-base/

[okasha]

19. A damn good explanation.

[sufrommich]

21. Nasty bullshit post. nt

[sufrommich]

14. “No, I didn’t decline questions,” Sanders said, adding that he can’t answer 50 questions a day.

I'm trying to imagine the outrage if Hillary Clinton spoke to a voter like this. I'm imagining endless OPs complaining about "her highness" snapping rudely at innocent questions and a lot of " who does she think she is".

[okasha]

16. Hey, kid!

Don't you know you shouldn't presume to ask the Real Deal questions about issues that concern you?

[beam me up scottie]

17. Right, Bernie's not interested in the plight of immigrants at all...

http://www.ontheissues.org/International/Bernie_Sanders_Immigration.htm

Let's compare his record to Hillary's:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Hillary_Clinton_Immigration.htm

[smokey nj]

20. They're going Rove!

Classy!

[beam me up scottie]

22. Ikr?

They should be more careful.

[smokey nj]

25. This shit started as soon as he announced.

When Bernie told George Snuffalopogus that he wanted the US to have a Scandinavian-style health care system, they accused Bernie of racism because there aren't many people of color in Scandinavian countries. Also, since Bernie's annouced, VT has become an Aryan wonderland.

[beam me up scottie]

29. And Vermont is a gun nut's paradise, too.

As a native Vermonter I dismiss all flatlander criticism.

[smokey nj]

31. You mean it's not true that kids in VT had handguns instead

of thermoses in their Scooby Doo lunchboxes?

[beam me up scottie]

37. And gun racks on our bicycles!

[NewSystemNeeded]

34. Their wedge issues are losing power because the nation is becoming more socially liberal.

The nation might get a little less divided and that's frightening to them.

And now that a candidate is talking at length about issues that actually threaten the establishment, and drawing big crowds and attention because of it, they want to shut him the fuck up.

[Scootaloo]

35. when a candidate has no worthy positions of their own, they can only attack

[leftofcool]

58. No one is saying he doesn't care.

People are asking him to address it in rallys, in speeches, in town halls etc....... This is important to the 20 million or so immigrants.

[bigtree]

23. noticed the deflections here pointing to Bernie's record and his father

...What this fellow (and others) are asking is for candidates to give this issue priority in their campaign rhetoric. The defenses about googling his record are bullshit. If people here can't understand that they need to step back and try and comprehend that what immigration advocates want is to have their interests and concerns elevated to a national level of discussion which a presidential campaign affords issues.

Campaigns prioritize issues the candidates discuss on the stump all of the time. Don't expect immigration advocates to just ignore when their concerns and interests are given less visibility in these campaigns' communications with voters and the press.

[lunamagica]

55. + 1000

[MADem]

62. This IS an issue in VT, too. Many undocumented dairy workers come from south of the border.

The people who pick apples in VT and pull in other crops are JAMAICANS on 'Bracero' style visas. VT has a population the size of Boston, and temporary workers as well as immigrants--legal and undocumented--do contribute in no small way to the economy, and some of them labor under less-than-optimal working conditions.

It's not too much to expect the Senator to have a POV on this matter--it is a factor in the economy of his own sparsely populated state.

http://migrantjustice.net/about

The seeds of Migrant Justice were planted in 2009 after young dairy worker José Obeth Santiz Cruz was pulled into a mechanized gutter scraper and was strangled to death by his own clothing. This tragedy inspired the production of the documentary film Silenced Voices and led to the formation of a solidarity collective organizing to partner with farmworkers to gather the community to share food, discuss community problems, envision solutions and take collective action. From this process members defined problems and created the above human rights agenda.

Migrant Justice has gained national attention for our cutting edge human rights organizing and our concrete victories. We are steadily making progress advancing our members' human rights agenda by:

* Building a broad coalition to pass legislation in 2014 that explicitly prohibits all Vermont Police to use public resources for the purposes of immigration enforcement;
http://migrantjustice.net/node/236

* Organizing a powerful network of farmworkers, farmers, and allies to win legislation in 2013 for all VT residents to access drivers licenses, regardless of immigration status;
http://migrantjustice.net/node/206

* Stopping the deportation of Danilo Lopez in July 2013 in a high profile national Not1More campaign;
http://migrantjustice.net/node/218

* Partnering with Vermont Workers’ Center to include undocumented people in Vermont’s 2011 ground-breaking universal healthcare legislation;
http://migrantjustice.net/node/97

* Winning over $15,000 in back wages through our Workers' Rights Hotline, Teleayuda, pushing the VTDOL to change labor law in 2013 to expand state powers to collect unpaid wages;
http://migrantjustice.net/node/185

* 2015 VT-NEA Human And Civil Rights Award; 2014 VT Peace and Justice Center's Social Justice Organization of the Year; 2013 VT ACLU "David Curtis Civil Liberties Award"; RESIST, Inc. Organization of the Year for 2013; UU Burlington's "Courageous Love" Award for 2013...

More at link.

[ellisonz]

26. He's going to need to work on his campaign trail empathy.

Last edited Sun Jun 14, 2015, 10:55 PM - Edit history (1)

And not talking down to people:

In Marshalltown, the town hall focused on economic issues, though one question hinted at the town’s immigrant population and its struggles. Sue Cahill, a local teacher, said her school was 90 percent minority and 92 percent of its students received free or reduced-price school lunches. She wanted to know what Sanders would do to make sure students are more than just test scores.

“How can we make sure…we’re looking at the whole student, their mental health issues, the issues of how they deal with a parent who’s been deported, issues of going—not sure where they’re going to sleep that night?” she asked.

Sanders said that the U.S. needs to improve the economy so parents earn more; create a better child-care system; fund public education; and end No Child Left Behind, the George W. Bush-era program criticized for too heavily emphasizing test scores.

Is this exchange on tape?

It's one thing to talk policy, it's another to be be good at politics.

[Autumn]

42. I see he didn't ask Rand Paul about his Immigration policy

but it seems the young man does

appreciate the senator catering to a younger generation, which he said is something some Democrats and Republicans have failed to do.

http://www.dailyiowanepi.com/2015/04/10/in-iowa-city-rand-paul-works-to-drum-up-young-base/

I wonder what Rand Pauls policy on Immigration is? Oh here it is. Someone should tell this young man what the difference is between Bernie and Rand Paul on Immigration

http://immigrationimpact.com/2015/04/09/four-things-we-know-about-rand-pauls-immigration-policy-views/

[sufrommich]

45. What difference does that make? It not like the kid

accosted him,he asked a polite question,he's 19 years old, according to the article ,and it's his first presidential campaign, sounds like he's going to many candidate forums,is that a bad thing?

[Autumn]

48. Sure. Go with that.

he might not be praising Rand fucking Paul if he had politely asked him the same question. Bernies stand on Immigration is well known, so is Pauls.

[sufrommich]

49. I think my explanation is a little better than

"omg,he's a monster!", but to each his own.

[ellisonz]

56. It's just begun too.

The caucuses are some ways away. Even if the kid is playing politics, Bernie Sanders needs to not be outplayed by a 19 year old kid.

[ellisonz]

53. You didn't read the article.

I'm quoting Sue Cahill, a local teacher, not Isaac Medina. I should have included the full excerpt. Apologies if that confused you

[Autumn]

57. No I didn't read the article in your post. I responded to you by accident

and another poster responded to me.

[ellisonz]

59. Makes sense

Well Ms. Cahill is certainly a fully legitimate questioner...

[QC]

27. Mr. Medina does seem pretty impressed with Rand Paul, though

especially his willingness to show "up in a more liberal part of the state, which he said makes him a viable and serious candidate."

http://www.dailyiowanepi.com/2015/04/10/in-iowa-city-rand-paul-works-to-drum-up-young-base/

[beam me up scottie]

32. LMAO!

Yeah, this kid has Bernie on the run!

[Autumn]

33. Well now isn't that just interesting? Mr. Medina does get around

[L0oniX]

36. ...and they thought I was being a bad boy for Google'n "Isaac Medina mug shot".

Hell ...that mug shot ain't nothing compared to worshipping Rand Paul.

[QC]

41. But Rand is brave enough to confront the leftist hordes of Iowa!

Gotta give him credit for that.

[Rex]

43. Nervous people. Desperate, relying on a young man that knows nothing about politics.

Can't get really any more desperate then that, maybe you could...but I dunno. Maybe interview a baby on how he feels about Sanders policy on something and pretend to be all serious.

[L0oniX]

44. "interview a baby on how he feels about Sanders policy on something and pretend to be all serious."

LMAO

[NewSystemNeeded]

47. To be fair,

If they made a list of all the things Hillary didn't talk about or answer, 2016 would get here before the book was published.

[lumberjack_jeff]

51. He doesn't need to talk about everything. He needs to talk about one thing. n/t