Has the Incident between Black Lives Matter and Bernie Sanders changed your opinion of him?

[el_bryanto]

More negative and more positive are pretty subjective descriptions I have to admit.

Bryant

43 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I have supported Bernie Sanders and I have a more positive impression of him
	4 (9%)
	I have supported Bernie Sanders and my opinion of him hasn't changed
	31 (72%)
	I have supported Bernie Sanders and I have a more negative impression of him
	0 (0%)
	I have not supported Bernie Sanders and I have a more positive impression of him
	0 (0%)
	I have not supported Bernie Sanders and my opinion of him hasn't changed
	2 (5%)
	I have not supported Bernie Sanders and I have a more negative impression of him
	4 (9%)
	I do not support bullshit polls, and this bullshit poll has given me a more negative impression of them
	1 (2%)
	I like to vote!
	1 (2%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[daleanime]

1. Hasn't changed my mind about Bernie.....

wish I could say that it hadn't changed my thoughts at all.

[el_bryanto]

2. I still support Bernie myself - but I will admit that this has lessened him a bit in my estimation.

Bryant

[daleanime]

5. Oh no, hasn't lessened my estimation....

of Bernie.

[HooptieWagon]

24. +1

Hasn't changed my mind about Bernie one bit. Others have lost credibility in my opinion.

[okasha]

3. Leadership skills.

He doesn't have them.

[abakan]

9. What he doesn't have is

billionaire bosses telling him what to do.

[okasha]

18. Irrelevant to the point in question even if true.

If he can't handle a few protesters, how will he respond in a real crisis? He clearly doesn't think on his feet.

[arcane1]

26. He did handle the protesters. Watch the video.

[okasha]

31. The problem is that he handled them badly.

Canceling the later meeting was a particularly inept thing to do.

[arcane1]

32. So was yelling at him before the meeting n/t

[okasha]

33. Not equivalent.

The #BLM protesters are not running for an office whose requirements include dealing with Putin, Netanyahu, Hamas, the Assads, whichever member of the insane ruling dynasty of Pyongyang has not yet been murdered by the others, Ahmadinajad and the Ayatollah Khameini....and those are just a few. They don't wave signs. Many of them have nuclear weapons.
The President of the United States can't walk away from a summit meeting in a snit because someone yelled at him. Can. Not.

[arcane1]

34. That's quite a stretch there! Stretching credibility right along with it

[beam me up scottie]

43. The POTUS also can't phone it in because they were at a fundraiser while everything went down.

She didn't even make an appearance because she got booed last time.

[okasha]

47. So?

She had a prior obligation; she honored it. Sorry, no story there.

[beam me up scottie]

48. So she couldn't take the heat and avoided the kitchen altogether.

If it was important to her she would have been there.

[okasha]

58. No reason why Netroots Nation should be important to her.

[beam me up scottie]

59. Yeah, it wasn't like BLM was going to be there or anything.

[okasha]

62. Good night, BMUS.

[beam me up scottie]

63. Good night, okasha.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

61. If Sanders can't handle the presidency, I promise BLM can't either.

A fuckwit stunt like that would have them thrown out of the Oval Office, never to return.

[okasha]

64. BLM is running? I had no idea.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

65. Cute. Well, not really , but I'm compelled to say something that sounds nice.

[Kalidurga]

52. He didn't cancel any meeting.

That meeting was supposed to be with other people on his staff and the still had the meeting. Would I have rathered he cancelled his meeting with Hispanic labor leaders or rescheduled to go to the meeting with Black Civil Rights leaders instead, yes I would rather he did that. I am not particularly upset he stuck to the schedule he had for the day though.

[okasha]

60. Oh. #BLM was supposed to talk to the hired help.

Well, that explains why they found it necessary to "ambush" Sanders himself, doesn't it?

[Kalidurga]

66. The meeting wasn't with the BLM leadership it was with other civil rights leaders.

Perhaps you disapprove of the way Sanders is talking to civil rights leaders.

[okasha]

68. You're digging the Great Man into an even deeper hole.

Best stop.

[TwilightGardener]

4. I'm neutral between Sanders and O'Malley, but unless one of them had

an angry meltdown or otherwise lost his composure, then no. Showing up at an event like that is an investment of a candidate's precious time and money, especially when they're underdogs in the race--just being shouted down shouldn't reflect poorly on them.

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. I remain an undecided and this incident has not changed my opinion about the candidate. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

7. There really is only one thought folks need to hold in their minds and hearts for the Primary Season.......

[BillZBubb]

8. No, but it certainly changed my opinion of BLM activists.

What a bunch of politically clueless grandstanders.

[HooptieWagon]

25. Yep. They sure changed my opinion of them.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

35. This is what I find perplexing. Republicans don't give a shit about blacks.

Sensible Centrists aren't the ones getting pepper-sprayed or their heads knocked at Occupy. Nor are they ones out in 95-degree heat protesting with Reverend Barber of Moral Mondays. Early Moral Mondays in Raleigh were primarily older white people, older white people getting arrested. Word eventually got out, and the events became much more diverse.

The ones hitting the streets for voting rights, economic justice, social justice, labor rights, womens' rights, etc. are WHITE LIBERALS, standing alongside minorities. Somewhere along the line, #BLM decides to attack/mock/whatever said white liberals... people on their side. I'd like someone explain to me why they think that is winning strategy. Maybe it's not all #BLM, but just these loudmouths in Phoenix.

[MelungeonWoman]

36. That really isn't fair.

A few people hijack a cause for their own purposes and to associate everyone in the #BLM movement with these particular people seems short sighted.

[BillZBubb]

37. Isn't the ringleader of this incident a founder of BLM?

If so, that isn't hijacking, it is the organization.

[MelungeonWoman]

38. I did not know that.

Thank you for the info.

[whatchamacallit]

10. Kinda not what you were hoping?

At least you voted for the desired result.

[el_bryanto]

12. As I said above I still support Bernie - just think this wasn't his finest hour. nt

[whatchamacallit]

15. Fair enough n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

21. I've seen many interruptions of events, it's never anyone's finest hour, it is a form of activism

designed to surprise, confuse and confront. The reception the BLM activists got was by far the very kindest I have ever seen exhibited to any group or person disrupting an event with a political message. They were given a mic and the stage. They were listened to by those they interrupted, not berated, the event staff did not eject them or call security and the audience did not focus ire upon them. I'm here to tell you that in the universe of disruptive activism, that's a very fine result. Results usually range from mean comments from the speaker and shouts from the crowd to tasers, handcuff and security people.
I have seen such activism at political speeches, musical events, a poetry reading, awards ceremonies, religious services. I have never once seen the activists given the time to speak. Not once.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. I like him even more.

[artislife]

13. I still am behind him

But what has changed is my opinion of the supporters.
I have a higher esteem for some of the Hillary supporters--dont' get too excited, a few lower who IMO are capitalizing on this andrubbing their hands..but too many
and I have a lower esteem for some of the Bernie supporter---which causes me anguish

The O'Malley supporters are still the gold standard for civility.

[Warren Stupidity]

14. the continued attempts here to promote gotcha bullshit instead of issues

makes my support for Sanders stronger.

[beam me up scottie]

19. ^^^THIS^^^

Every time I read one of these transparent op's I'm gonna go rec a thread supportive of Sanders.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

16. I don't think there's really been time for it to change.

We have to see still if he takes the opportunity he's been granted and puts together a path to win those voters who have shown him what they need to win their votes. Anyone who simply expected it to spring up instantly hasn't been following the race very carefully. I hope, for his sake as well as the rest of us, that he does seize the opportunity to work with the black community more closely.

[AtomicKitten]

17. This whole "scandal" is completely made-up political bullshit.

But it is fun to watch Clinton supporters self-righteously saddling it and riding it around, particularly after Clinton's disgusting and shameful race-baiting campaign the last time she ran for the WH.

Same Clinton bullshit. Different election.

[murielm99]

23. This was not about Clinton.

She had other plans that day.

The Blame Clinton meme was used on Bill. Drag it out, dust it off, get some more use out of it! LOL.

What is shameful is deflecting your candidates' poor performance and blaming someone who was not even there.

You remind me of some of those LOLcats we see here every Sunday. You are like one of the LOLcats where the cat tears up the house and blames the dog. No, wait. Those are funny. You are not.

[arcane1]

27. What was the "poor performance"? He listened, then spoke.

The spin on this event is far more damaging than the event itself, since spin requires neither honesty nor fact.

[murielm99]

39. Then stop spinning.

I see your name in nearly all of these threads about NN, spinning, spluttering, blustering, casting blame. Give it a rest.

[arcane1]

40. Personal insult instead of an actual response.

That says it all.

[murielm99]

41. Honest response to your behavior.

Goodbye.

[arcane1]

42. Thank you for proving my point :)

Fare thee well.

[stranger81]

49. Exactly. [n/t]

[Prism]

20. I don't get what Sanders was supposed to have done wrong

The activists had their say, Bernie replied in his way, and we're on to the next event.

Where's the story?

[arcane1]

28. That's the narrative that they are STILL trying to put out there.

The focus isn't on what he actually did, it's on what his opponents say he did.

[murielm99]

22. It has not changed my opinion of him.

But I think his supporters are more whackadoo than ever.

[Number23]

54. I co-sign every single word of your post.

Every single word.

[bravenak]

69. Noticeably.

[RandySF]

29. I don't know exactly what happened

But I don't doubt his commitment to civil rights.

[DinahMoeHum]

30. My regard for BLM, OTOH, has dropped a few notches.

Netroots Nation has gone downhill since the absence of DailyKos and Markos Mouklitsas.

[gollygee]

44. About the same

I knew this was a weak area for him, but I think it's a pretty weak area for all of them. Clinton just has the benefit of earlier mistakes, and a big staff to advise her. I don't think any of the candidates are anti-racism champions, but I do think they'll all put good people in the SCOTUS, I think they'll all veto any measures to restrict voting they have the opportunity to veto, etc.

I didn't vote because the intent seems anti-BLM to me. I am fine with BLM protesting and understand them feeling like they couldn't wait until invited (which would be never) and I don't expect protesters to be polite.

[aikoaiko]

45. I'm even more impressed with his message discipline and not pandering

He offered the structural change that BLM demanded; it just wasn't what they were expecting

[OilemFirchen]

46. I DON'T DO LOYALTY OATHS!!!

[geek tragedy]

50. My support hasn't changed, but I'm somewhat less optimistic

about his chances.

Not a good showing. Unfair circumstances? Yes, but welcome to the NFL.

[LuvLoogie]

51. Nope. I still like Bernie.

And I'm still voting for Hillary.

[scarletwoman]

53. I wish he had done better in the moment, but I'm trusting that he's taking BLM's message on board

and will get right with them soon. He needs them in his corner - we need them in our corner.

What this incident - more specifically the reactions to it - has done, has changed my mind about quite a few Bernie supporters. I have been more shocked and disheartened over the past couple days than I have ever been in my 14+ years on DU.

I still want to support Sanders, but frankly it's hard to not feel embarrassed about being associated with his DU supporters. I've never heard so much butthurt white liberal whining as I have since Saturday. It's beyond disappointing, some things I've seen posted here have made me feel literally ill. I can't imagine how the very few remaining DUers of color manage to still stick around.

I stopped being any kind of active poster quite a few years ago, and for a long time have mostly avoided discussing anything overtly political on DU at all.

I decided to finally jump into GD-P because I wanted to support Bernie - especially after my good friend Jackpine Radical died. When I went to his memorial a little over 3 weeks ago, his widow had printed a handout of Sanders' 12 Points for people to pick up, along with the funeral card and memorial program. So I thought the least I could do in Jim's honor was to start getting more involved in supporting Bernie.

Yeesh - what a weekend I picked to do it...

[Number23]

55. If I may co-sign a second post, I nominate this one.

[scarletwoman]

57. Thank you. It's sincerely appreciated.

[Kalidurga]

56. I have a slightly higher opinion of Bernie and my admiration for Martin O'Malley went much higher...

However, my opinion about the aftermath is a very minority opinion and that is that eventually this is going to help both Bernie and Martin in the polls with the AA community. It might take a while, both are going to have to have some long conversations with BLM and Civil Rights leaders of many organizations. I believe this was a good catalyst to get that going. BLM provided a natural segue to having those conversations.

[gwheezie]

67. My opinion of Bernie hasn't changed

They all have work to do. My opinion of these young activists has improved. They put dems on notice, good for them. They aren't going to accept repeated stump speeches.

[NCTraveler]

70. Difficult one to answer honestly with the word support being used.

I support Sanders but will not be voting for him in the primary. I chose the option that I am not supporting him and my opinion of him is unchanged. Here on du, we seem to be for or against. I am for O'Malley. I support Sanders and Clinton at all opportunities.