The "Bernie Bros" Narrative: A Cheap Campaign Tactic

[SamKnause]

Masquerading as Journalism and Social Activism.

2 examples were found.

1 was a female.

Source: The Intercept

http://theintercept.com/2016/01/31/the-bernie-bros-narrative-a-cheap-false-campaign-tactic-masquerading-as-journalism-and-social-activism/

FEEL THE BERN

[leftofcool]

1. You left out Joan Walsh and others who turned their emails over to Bernie's campaign

Why do you think Bernie was forced to come out to the public on this?

[SamKnause]

2. Hi.

Could please supply a link or article title.

By forced, do you mean when he was questioned about it in an

interview on the Sunday news shows ???

If so, your definition of forced defers from mine.

Do you think he gave a sufficient answer ???

[leftofcool]

3. You can Google Joan's article on this

Bernie's answer was sufficient but he has been given emails, posts, forum posts and FB posts for months and has done nothing about it. You can't allow your supporters to go around posting things like "Hillary is a bitch" and worse for months then come out and say, "our campaign doesn't condone this" when you have known about it for over 6 months.

[SamKnause]

6. Thanks.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. Not that most Clinton fans will bother to read it all, but down near the bottom...

To put it simply: if you really think that Sanders supporters are particularly abusive online, that says a great deal about which candidate you want to win, and nothing about Sanders supporters. If you spend your time praising Clinton and/or criticizing Sanders, of course you personally will experience more anger and vitriol from Sanders supporters than Clinton supporters.

Conversely, if you spend your time praising Sanders, you will experience far more anger and vitriol from Clinton supporters.

Now there's a shock. But, yeah, that's how it works. By and large, Clinton fans aren't going out of their way to attack other Clinton fans, Sanders fans aren't going out of their way to attack other Sanders fans. So you end up seeing far more negativity aimed at you, and get that reinforced when you sit around commiserating with like-minded supporters.

[pnwmom]

9. Greenwald writes for the libertarian Cato Institute and The American Conservative.

He's also gotten pieces into the mainstream press but he is not a progressive.

http://www.cato-unbound.org/contributors/glenn-greenwald

[JackRiddler]

22. This is a long-dead cheap talking point...

that you have been repeating for years to no end, ever since you decided to defend the surveillance state and demonize Snowden.

Greenwald has in the past written articles against the surveillance state and against the drug war for Cato. Good for him! Money well-spent by them.

Are you for the surveillance state? Are you for the drug war?

[intersectionality]

35. Also that poster doesn't read their sources...

The Cato link shows the single article he wrote for them (anti-surveillance, surprise surprise). Then you click on it and notice that their in-house authors have written at least 3 responses countering his article (pro-surveillance). What a joke.

[raouldukelives]

14. Case in point. They rally round Kissinger but a Glenn artcle? Gasp! nt

[dsc]

20. Not a single, solitary, famous endorser of Bernie, not one

has had his or her facebook page trashed like the mother of Treyvon Martin did when she had the temerity to endorse Clinton. She was literally told she was responsible for her son's death. Again, no such example, none, can be found. Not a one.

[CreekDog]

63. and Trayvon Martin's mother was trashed here on DU for endorsing Hillary Clinton

[Chathamization]

39. Fair point, though at the upper level I'm not see the same kind of name-calling from Sanders'

supporters (upper level in terms of name recognition). Krugman has made multiple posts about "Bernie Bros," Joan Walsh talks about Berniebots. But I'm not seeing Dean Baker or Robert Reich throw around terms like "Hillbot" or whatever the equivalent would be.

I don't see the insinuations from high-profile Sanders supporters that the vast majority of core Clinton supporters must be women the way I keep seeing the insinuation that the vast majority of core Sanders supporters must be men (In the NYT, The Nation, Vox, The Atlantic, etc.). I'm not seeing Sanders' supporters going on talk shows and saying that Jews who support Clinton are just trying to suck up to the goyim (the way we've been told women who support Sanders are just trying to be around the boys), or that there'd be a special place in hell for them.

I agree that looking at random online comments you can find vile stuff written by supporters of every candidate. But in terms of high-profile supporters, there seems to be a lot more garbage coming from the Clinton side than the Sanders side. Or am I just missing something?

[Odin2005]

5. Hillary supporters cannot help themselves from shitting on Millennials.

It must be some kind of pathological tic.

[Empowerer]

7. I love how, now that they've ben exposed and Sanders is telling them to cut it out, his supporters

are acting like the Bernie Bros are a myth that never existed.

[A Simple Game]

10. I have never understood what a Bernie Bro is, as you seem to be someone in the know

could you explain it for those of us that don't understand?

[Tarc]

15. The BernieBro phenomenon is tied to the so-called Men's Rights Movement

the MRAs are a virulently hateful and misogynistic group of people who gravitate from place to place spreading their "message". They descended upon the video game devs and journalists over a year ago in a mess known as "Gamergate" (links below), and have mounted a sustained campaign of harassment against several women in the industry. More recently they have infested the Sanders campaign because his opponent is a woman. Not all of Sanders supporters fall into this hate group, not by a long shot, but it took Sanders longer than it should have to condemn these people.



Gamergate:
What Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non-Geeks
Zoe Quinn: 'All Gamergate has done is ruin people's lives'

MRAs:
Mad Men: Inside the Men's Rights Movement—and the Army of Misogynists and Trolls It Spawned
The Toxic Appeal of the Men’s Rights Movement

[A Simple Game]

25. Interesting but none of it matches what the article in the OP says nor

does it match very closely with what the polls say. Nor did I see the word Bro, Bernie or otherwise, in either article you linked to, I may have missed it as I did more of a skim than an actual read.

Starting to sound to me like a manufactured and false meme being used by Hillary supporters which wouldn't be a surprise.

I'll await Empowerer's response maybe it will be more enlightening.

[Kip Humphrey]

26. please provide proof of any link between MRM and the Bernie Sanders campaign.

[PeaceNikki]

30. Google it

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=men%27s%20rights%20movement%20bernie%20sanders

Or go to Reddit for 12 seconds.

[Kip Humphrey]

33. 2 people wanting Bernie to talk about Men's Rights, which Bernie HAS NOT DONE, and an article

about Bernie's failed literary career - a completely dead attack issue?

Thanks, You just demonstrated conclusively that Bernie has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH MEN'S RIGHTS GROUPS.

[PeaceNikki]

34. I agree that Bernie doesn't. A very real very vocal minority of his supporters are a huge problem.

His campaign is addressing it. I don't know why people here are getting so defensive and in such denial about it. Thankfully his staff is much smarter.

[Kip Humphrey]

37. we are upset because "Bernie Bros" is a lie concocted by the Clinton campaign and

spread by her acolytes.

[PeaceNikki]

38. No, it's not. A very real very vocal minority of his supporters are a huge problem.

And again, thankfully his campaign staff knows better than you.

[Kip Humphrey]

40. Just as soon as I see a "Bernie Bros" on the TV I will believe you - but I won't and I can't

because there is no such animal.

[PeaceNikki]

41. kthxbai!!

[Tarc]

42. Er, how can it be a lie if Bernie Sanders himself is addressing it?

Are you actually paying attention to what your candidate is saying when he calls out the BernieBros specifically, labels it "crap", and tells them to knock it off?

[Kip Humphrey]

44. it is crap and Bernie is having none of it...does not rewrite the history of the "Bernie Bro" attack

The fact that this tactic was employed by Hillary in 2008 destroys any assertion that "Bernie Bros' are any more real than "Obama Boys" were.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1280112658

[Tarc]

48. Bernie is having quite a bit of it actually

Sanders isn't denying the BernieBro problem, he has identified it, accepted that these are people saying bad things on his behalf, and he is calling them out specifically to stop. Sanders is not backpedaling and trying to turn it onto Hillary, as you are doing right now.

I am obviously a Clinton supporter but I admire in Bernie this take-no-bullshit trait, and commend him for doing what he can to rid his base of this tiny yet vocal problem within his camp.

You are doing Sanders a disservice with your misplaced attacks.

[frylock]

59. It was addressed by Bernie in the same fashion that voter fraud perpetrated by ACORN was addressed..

by Congress. Arbitrarily and unnecessary.

[LiberalArkie]

47. Hey, Obama boys: Back off already!

Young women are growing increasingly frustrated with the fanatical support of Barack and gleeful bashing of Hillary.
Rebecca Traister

Dana Lossia, a 29-year-old labor lawyer in Brooklyn, describes herself as a “pretty big Obama supporter. ” She worked for a year at Michelle Obama’s Public Allies Chicago, where she met Barack a few times. She called him “the most inspiring, amazing person, a different kind of politician.” Of Hillary Clinton, whom Lossia supported in her Senate runs, Lossia said, “I just think she’s acted badly during this campaign.”

And yet, as Lossia wrote in a recent e-mail, “I’ve been really bothered by what I perceive as sexism and have spent hours defending … A lot of guys just can’t stand Hillary, and it’s the intensity of their irritation with her that disturbs me more than their devotion to Obama.”

This riveting Democratic primary campaign has provided us with its own stock characters: There are the young “Daily Show”-watching Obama-maniacs getting over their irony addiction by falling earnestly in love with the senator from Illinois. There are the pissed-off second-wave feminists, uptight and out of touch, howling as their dream of seeing a woman in the Oval Office fades. And then there are the young women caught between them.

According to the media script, these cool young customers have embodied their elders’ worst nightmare of a generation that takes feminism‘s victories for granted by throwing over Hillary Clinton for her challenger faster than you can say “I’ve got a crush on Obama.” These young women are way over feminism, we’re told, and perceive gender bias to be an antiquated notion. They are embarrassed and annoyed by the public entreaties of warhorses like Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan. Pressure from their forebears only serves to alienate them from the second wave and drive them further into the disheveled embrace of the “Yes We Can!” dude down the block.

Continued: http://www.salon.com/2008/04/14/obama_supporters/

[Turn CO Blue]

55. HOW DARE YOU? There are thousands of women over 50 years old LIKE ME who support Sanders.

I hardly ever repond, but your comment really spins me up. I rarely get angry, like once in a blue moon, but I am breathing fire right now!!!

I ain't no fucking men's rights advocate in any way, shape or form. I more appalled by GamerGate and understand it far more intensely and personally than you could imagine.

"The Bernie phenomenon is tied to the Men's Rights Movement"??!!!

HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?!

The Bernie phenomenon is because he's is a fantastic human being, he is an unparalleled civil servant, he knows that the system is rigged, and he ACTUALLY understands the struggles of poor and middle-class Americans. This MOVEMENT IS NOT ABOUT HIM. It's about the future of this nation. It's about my kids. Period.

I'm 50 years old. I AM A WOMAN. I'm a mom. A wife. A Democrat. A yellowdog, bleeding heart liberal, progressive, Democratic Socialist. I worked for Obama's campaign 25 or more hours a week for months-on-end AFTER MY 45-50 hour a week job. I'm a humanist, a feminist, an activist, a retiree, an artist, and a lot more besides.

I was for Bernie LONG before it was cool.

You should realize before you try to tie me, thousands of middle-aged WOMEN for Bernie and MILLIONS of innocent, young millennials of both genders equally -- LIKE MY GROWN KIDS-- to that garbage above, that there are tens of thousands, perhaps MILLIONS of women in my age group who support Bernie OVER Hillary Clinton.

Bernie has some millenials, that is certain. HOWEVER, we are finding in polls that he has JUST AS MANY "women of a certain age" as Hillary does.

For you to fucking deny my existence is BY DEFINITION sexism.

GET IT? FOR YOU TO DENY MY EXISTENCE AND MY SUPPORT FOR BERNIE IS SEXISM.

FOR YOU TO DENY THIS GIGANTIC COALITION OF WOMEN FOR BERNIE IS SEXIST.

FOR YOU TO ASSERT THAT A "REAL" WOMAN CANNOT HOLD CERTAIN VIEWPOINTS OR THAT WE ARE SILLY TO HOLD THEM - IS SEXIST.

We are women.
We are feminists.
We support Bernie so get over it.

I am a Sanders supporter. I'm training to be precinct captain on Saturday.

For you to tie millions of women like me to GamerGate is desperate, ugly, illogical, reprehensible -- all to make some political hay - and is the most TONE-DEAF, out-of-touch thing I've seen in awhile.

[Turn CO Blue]

62. More sexist bunk from you telling women like me to go back to the kitchen and to shut up.

[frylock]

64. Glad you got that in before that garbage was hidden.

[JackRiddler]

24. It's a completely made up smear that takes advantage of the fact...

that every group on earth, especially on the Internet, will have mean and nasty and sexist people among it. So some idiots saying mean things on the Internet are equated with the Bernie campaign, and in the particularly ambitious move by the other poster responding to you, the MRA movement itself! Wow, apparently even "Gamergate" can now be pinned on Sanders. The intent is to create a taint on the campaign that has overwhelmingly won over young women and men in equal numbers.

Read the excellent deconstruction by Greenwald in the OP. At the height of pundits frothing at the mouth about "Bernie Bros" (again, nothing that anyone ever called themselves), they were repeating the same two examples over and over, one of which was by a woman (who didn't even attack Clinton on sexist grounds).

[A Simple Game]

28. I did read it and it was much more enlightening than the other poster's response was.

The linked articles in that response even admitted that women were a part of the equal rights for men movement.

Then again I never expected a good response from a Hillary supporter, in fact I never expected any response from a Hillary supporter, it's not something they seem to be good at.

I do realize it's derogatory but I still don't understand the Bro part, it's probably a generational thing and it really doesn't matter.

Thanks for your response it did help.

[jhart3333]

45. It's a derogatory term for young white men stemming from a plea uttered during this incident:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Florida_Taser_incident

and morphed into an internet meme: Don't taze me bro!

Pretty horrific if you ask me.

[1StrongBlackMan]

43. We say this behavior all the time, here on DU, and other liberal spaces ...

wherever racism is pointed out, the inevitable response is, "What? Where? ... post a link ... I had no idea!" ... and it is, most often, done by the very people that have posted (or "Yepped&quot the racist thing.

[shawn703]

46. Bernie Bros is laughable considering Clinton has surrogates

Stating that younger women can't think for themselves and only support Bernie because of boys, or that they have a special place in hell if they don't support a woman. When is Clinton going to address this?

[pnwmom]

8. Written by the libertarian, Greenwald. Not a progressive. He writes for

the libertarian Cato institute as well as The American Conservative.

http://www.cato-unbound.org/contributors/glenn-greenwald

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Double Standard much? You post promotions of the world's leading anti choice activist, also the

planet's most influential anti gay bigot. You promote people and things that are decidedly not progressive here all the damn time.
If you are going to post praise of anti gay clergy, you have no standing to be the judge of who is progressive and who can be posted on DU. You post about people who say minority groups are demon influenced and abortion is the murder of cute babies. How is that progressive? You tell us all how March For Life is progressive.

[Nanjeanne]

11. And the same one she used in 2008 against Obama

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511171793

[PeaceNikki]

12. Thankfully Sanders campaign isn't in such denial and is working to reign in these jerks.

[Zorra]

54. The campaign did not say that these jerks are Bernie supporters. Only that

they did not want these jerks in the campaign.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had a terse message for any of his supporters who engage in online harassment: “We don’t want that crap.” He told CNN on Sunday that the so-called “Berniebro” phenomenon is “disgusting” and that “anybody who is supporting me that is doing the sexist things — we don’t want them.”

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/02/07/3746988/bernie-sanders-tells-berniebros-to-knock-it-off-we-dont-want-that-crap/

You see, the Bernie campaign doesn't have to worry about these jerks being part of the Bernie campaign, because these jerks aren't really Bernie supporters.

They are jerks from a different campaign.

See how that works?

[iandhr]

16. Really?

Why did Bernie Sanders himself denounce these people then?


http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/02/07/3746988/bernie-sanders-tells-berniebros-to-knock-it-off-we-dont-want-that-crap/

Not ever criticism of Sanders is a smear.

[Ino]

19. Do you denounce this vile website?

http://jackassradicals.com

Welcome to Jackass Radicals
Here we unabashedly attack smears and myths prevalent on the internet on other sites.

When voices are silenced by the 'cult' and any opposition stonewalled, we must stand up and make our voices bitingly powerful. We are not here to protect the collective web-feelings of the saint/messiah Bernie Sanders and/or Berniebros, the rabid and/or stupid group of followers who are devoid of reality and reason.

So, relax, enjoy the discussion and give/get a dose of reality.

[Ino]

21. Just to be clear...

This Jackass Radicals site is populated by Hillary supporters who pretend to be ignorant, racist, sexist Bernie supporters.

For all anyone knows, these Jackass Radicals are the so-called Bernie Bros who post vile things elsewhere.

[7962]

27. "pretend". There you have the explanation for a lot of things on the internet!

People will post shit claiming to be someone else all the time. The right does it, the left does it. Facebook even admits many of their "members' are fake. Hell, I've had friends who found out they had copycat pages.
I wouldnt put it past some Hillary supporters to fake posts insulting her. Why? Because he's gaining. Bet this wasnt happening when he was polling at 6% nationally

[George II]

17. So "cheap" that Sanders himself has addressed it?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sanders-condemns-bernie-bros_us_56b75a28e4b08069c7a79b1e

Sanders Condemns ‘Bernie Bros’

It is a nickname for Sanders supporters who say sexist things about Hillary Clinton or her backers.

Bernie Sanders likes to express appreciation for his grass-roots supporters, but he is not standing by the so-called Bernie Bros.

Jake Tapper asked Sen. Sanders (I-Vt.) about the phenomenon of his backers saying sexist things to supporters of Hillary Clinton, his rival for the Democratic nomination, on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

Sanders renounced them unequivocally.

“I have heard about it. It's disgusting,” Sanders said. “Look, we don't want that crap. ... We will do everything we can and I think we have tried. Look, anybody who is supporting me that is doing the sexist things is -- we don't want them. I don't want them. That is not what this campaign is about.”

[Kip Humphrey]

31. Bernie Bros: a term to define white male Sanders supporters CREATED BY THE HILLARY CAMP to

attack and demean Sanders campaign. Since no one has produced an actual live "Bernie Bro" in person, one can only assume that the propaganda campaign by Hillary and here followers around "Bernie Bros" in general is fantastical. That Bernie disassociates himself and his campaign from this marketing ploy by the Clintons is not surprising. Bernie is letting the world know he condemns personal attacks in his campaign. So, "Bernie Bros" have NOTHING to do with Bernie or his campaign and indeed do not exist as a group, as a type, as a genus, or as a species.

[Tarc]

50. Again, a lie

Bernie Sanders has emphatically condemned the "Bros" that are saying, under a guise of supporting him, misogynistic and hateful things against Clinton. He does not want this type of supporters in his corner.

[Kip Humphrey]

53. I agree with Bernie, but NOT with you... Oh and my post stands, is no lie, and I am no liar.

[klook]

18. Enlightening article -

particularly the Michelle Alexander and Ta-Nehisi quotes. Thanks for posting.

[Live and Learn]

23. K&R This is what I have felt all along. nt

[bravenak]

29. Bernie seems to disagree.

I stand with Bernie on this. He does not want that type of support.

[workinclasszero]

32. Tell it to...Bernie Sanders?

Bernie Sanders Tells Berniebros To Knock It Off — ‘We Don’t Want That Crap’
BY IAN MILLHISER FEB 7, 2016 10:21 AM

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had a terse message for any of his supporters who engage in online harassment: “We don’t want that crap.” He told CNN on Sunday that the so-called “Berniebro” phenomenon is “disgusting” and that “anybody who is supporting me that is doing the sexist things — we don’t want them.”

The “Berniebro” phenomenon, where a mob of online Sanders supporters attack politicians and writers who express views critical of the Vermont senator or supportive of his Democratic rival Secretary Hilary Clinton, launched numerous thinkpieces from journalists unfortunate enough to encounter them online. At their worst, Berniebros have accused Clinton supporters of voting “based on who had the vagina” and have invented novel sexist terms such as “clitrash.”

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/02/07/3746988/bernie-sanders-tells-berniebros-to-knock-it-off-we-dont-want-that-crap/

[99Forever]

36. Of course it is.

Dirty tricks and smearing are Clinton campaign staples.

[Tarc]

49. This is a lie

Again, Sanders himself has identified the "Bros" as a problem within his campaign and is calling them out specifically to cut the crap.

Your candidate is not attacking Clinton on this so...why are you?

[redstateblues]

51. What do Rush and Hannity have to say?

Might as well get the full spectrum of RW talking points

[SamKnause]

52. I will check in with David Brock.

[frylock]

60. d'oh!

[Andy823]

56. So then

Anyone who might use that term "Bernie Bros" when talking to others, calling them Bernie bros, would be involved in a "cheap campaign" tactic because these people don't exist?

[Tarc]

58. Kinda hard to dismiss it as a "cheap campaign tactic"

When Sanders himself has stepped up, publicly and forcefully, to acknowledge that the "BernieBros" are a problem, to denounce them utterly, and wants them out of his side entirely.

Your candidate has taken the high road on this matter. Follow his lead and don't throw him under the bus, please.

[frylock]

61. Link to a quote from Sanders using the term "BernieBros"

[Todays_Illusion]

65. Yes, and the name BernieBros created by the libertarian Atlantic.

Nothing but a political dirty trick operation.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/08/are-the-berniebros-a-problem-of-politics-or-one-of-internet-culture/