Bernie Sanders just sent me an email.

[yardwork]

Naturally, I was curious. Would Sanders address why he didn't show up yesterday for a Senate vote to continue sanctions against a Russian criminal?

Or was Sanders writing to tell me what he learned during his hour-long meeting yesterday with more than two dozen former staffers who accuse his campaign of "sexual predation?"

Nope. Sanders' long email to me was a complaint about public education in California. I don't live in California.

[SunSeeker]

1. I do live in California, and I still think his email misses the mark.

Sounds like deflection to me.

[yardwork]

2. Deflection was exactly what I thought. And a very lame deflection at that.

[JCanete]

6. oh yeah, continuing to talk about the issues is deflection. That's genius. Totally

wagging the dog with issues that the media should report and people should care about. Way to distract them. I'm sure with the media in particular, that will do wonders. Any time an important issue affecting millions hits their desk, they're totally on it.

[pnwmom]

14. Russian election interference is an extremely serious ISSUE.

And he hasn't explained why he didn't bother to vote against the sanctions against Oleg Deripaska, a Putin and Manafort associated oligarch.

[JCanete]

16. why would he do that in an email? That's a demand you have, not one most of us have at this time.

Why would him sending out an email about an IMPORTANT FUCKING ISSUE be construed as deflection? Do we have to go back to every other email about an important issue he's ever mailed out and ask "what was he trying to deflect from?" Or is that actually a fucking ridiculous premise? I await your reply.

[pnwmom]

17. Why wouldn't he? It's an "important fucking issue" that he hasn't explained. An email

would be better than the nothing we've gotten.

[JCanete]

18. I just told you why. You find his not voting on this important. Not most of us do. It didn't

change the outcome of the bill. Let me ask you this. Do you and I care about the state of California schools?

Besides that, who do you know, goes around and responds to every criticism in a mass email drive?

[pnwmom]

19. The vote was very close and his vote could have been the crucial one -- there's no way to know.

I didn't get the email about CA schools so I don't know what it said.

[George II]

63. He held a press conference about an hour after the vote. He could have mentioned it there.

I find it very interesting that some people are saying "it wouldn't have changed the result" or "his vote wasn't important", essentially declaring the votes of the 57 who voted Yea weren't important.

Interesting that 99 of 100 Senators found the vote important enough to go to the Senate Chambers and cast their vote.

[lapucelle]

31. "Most of" who? Who is "us"?

For many, the avoidance of having one's vote publicly recorded on an issue that goes to the heart of the Trump administration's abuse of power in the service of a foreign adversary is a question of character, courage, and motive.

I find that important.

[emulatorloo]

32. I understand that Bernie told you in March that Russian Interference was a 'distraction'

so therefore you feel obligated to defend that position and twist yourself into a pretzel to make blowing off an important vote into a virtue.

Bernie Sanders: Russia and Stormy Daniels distract us from real problem of inequality
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/20/bernie-sanders-russia-and-stormy-daniels-distract-us-from-real-problem-of-inequality

But not all DU’ers by in to that. dU’ers believe getting to bottom of Putin’s campaign to elect Trump is a important thing, don’t like seeing Congress giving his pointman Deripaska a free pass is a good thing.

We also want to see Trump held accountable for selling out the US.

We’d like to see Sanders on our side, just as we respect all the Dems who stood up for us yesterday to hold Trump and Deripaska accountable.


We can do that and also focus on income inequality, civil rights, health care and all the other things that we want.

I hope you can respect that and stop acting as if DU’ers are irrational for wanting to do so.

[JCanete]

34. I didn't make it a virtue, nor do I know the reasons for his abstention. I do know what hyperbole

and witch hunts are though. You don't have a case to make yet and you don't care...same as people here and the Jane Sanders "scandal." It is entirely reasonable to want an answer. Its another thing altogether to come with the half-baked conclusions, and insinuations of deflecting because he sent out an email on an important issue. That is bogus.


As to Sanders, he has no bones about saying Russian interfered with our elections and that it is a major security issue.

[yardwork]

67. He didn't abstain. He was absent.

[Squinch]

78. Actually, I think most people DO want to know why he chose not to vote on one of the most

important issues of our time. And why his voting pattern seems clearly to be supporting Russian oligarchs.

I DO want to know why it looks like he is so interested in giving breaks to those who crapped all over my government.

To suggest this is not something that interests people is silly.

[SunSeeker]

22. He's not talking about the issues before him in that email.

Instead, he reached all the way across the country to find a local Los Angeles issue that was not "on his desk" in Vermont nor in the Senate. Meanwhile, his campaign is in turmail with sexual harassment allegations. But he doesn't talk about that. Nor does he discuss why he didn't vote with the Democrats yesterday on Russia sanctions. Those two issues actually were on his desk.

[JCanete]

23. No its not in turmoil. You can keep saying that, and you can find an echo chamber here. But he

didn't fabricate the California crisis, and others have already been there on the left talking about it. This is really silly. Why would he do that in his email, it makes no bloody sense. Nobody sends an email out to talk about the criticisms being levied at them. They may address them on TV or on twitter these days or in an official statement, but they don't breathe life into them, particularly the absurd ones, by sending out an email with them to all of their supporters. That's a really dumb thing to expect. I suspect if you think about it, you know it.

On the other hand, what is your point about caring about California? He shouldn't? If we aren't in the state we shouldn't? We shouldn't care about the Flint water crisis? We shouldn't care about the Dakota Access pipeline?

Feel free to attempt to address any of my questions.

[SunSeeker]

25. Why wouldn't he address the things actuallly on his desk?

People absolutely do address, in emails, claims against them. The reason he is being criticized about the sexual harassment in his campaign is he didn't do anything about it. How about listing what he is doing to adress the criticism and to prevent sexual harassment in the future? That would actually help him...if he was really doing that.

And why no mention/explanation of his Russia sanctions nonvote? Because it makes him look bad? Where's the authenticity in that? How about at least mention that his Senate colleagues should not have lifted the sanctions? WTF?

And support of a west coast teacher strike is nice---but when that is the only thing he mentions while these other issues are out there directly involving him, it smacks of diversion.

[JCanete]

26. no, you spin it as diversion. it would be convoluted to put everyting like that in an email. that

is not what people do. Its ridiculous. I hope and suspect you know this. You are crying about his vote. Some people are making hay out of his missing this vote. I don't yet care. Most people don't yet care. If outlets think its a gotcha question, I assure you they will ask him and then you'll have your answer. If they don't ever think that, then it probably doesn't rise to that level.


Sanders has publicly apologized for the conduct of his campaign. Is he supposed to do so every day in email? Again, what the fuck are you asking for here?

[SunSeeker]

27. I'm asking him to explain his actions. His explanation should not be "convoluted."

You channeling Melania's "don't care" jacket is not helping Sanders nor the interests of our country. Sanders needs to explain why he didn't support the Democrats on Russian sanctions. I and many others do care.

[JCanete]

30. ugh...it would be convluted and distracting to package such a thing that has no widespread demand

(sorry), into an email specifically about California and the teachers strike. Why would it be in there? Why in your head, is addressing the California crisis a distraction? A distraction to who? Those of us who don't have his missing vote high on our lists(most people), or those who refuse to care about the issues at all because they want to hold onto any gotcha they have that might tarnish Sanders? Clearly he's not writing that email with you in mind, and that latter group in general is not going to be convinced no matter what his reasons. What is the other group registering concern at this time? I'm not aware of one.

[SunSeeker]

40. If you don't care that he doesn't support Russia sanctions, then we have nothing to talk about.

Sorry, but that tells me all I need to know about you.

[R B Garr]

71. It's only wishful thinking on your part to deflect that people

don’t care about Sanders ignoring Russia sanction votes. What you are saying is that he benefits from people not paying attention. But the majority of people are paying attention. Just because you choose to select news sources that adhere only to his repetitive stump speech doesn’t mean that others aren’t listening to the real world news and events.

He is a Vermont Senator, so his concern about California serves him personally. Not everyone here is concerned about what serves him personally. The stolen election is big news here. No more excusing his votes / non-votes. That’s laughable that you are asserting that his non-votes against true global oligarchs is not “in demand”. Letting oligarchs slide undercuts his entire repetitive stump speech. It looks like your frustration is that people are actually paying attention.

[lapucelle]

33. This is the second time I've heard the word "silly" used in reference to BS's failure

to take a principled stand by casting an important vote as the representative of the people of Vermont.

Either way, it makes no difference. The sanctions still wouldn’t be in place. This is a silly thing to be upset about.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211679857#post233

[JCanete]

35. I said it twice. Do you have a point or are you just into insignificant trivia? Did you bother with

reading what I wrote and what I was referring to? nt

[lapucelle]

39. Yes.

My point is that

this is the second time I've heard the word "silly" used in reference to BS's failure to take a principled stand by casting an important vote as the representative of the people of Vermont.

The first time, I did not hear it from you. (It was from someone else with a different name.)

Do you have a link to the first time you said it?



https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100211679857#post233

[JCanete]

44. pretty sure its right here somewhere. Just look through the posts.

edit:

doing a search through my posts, I see at least 3 times I've used it in the last day. Apparently not again in this particular thread. One of the 3 was agreeing that ruling out Gillibrand for her call for franken to resign was silly.

[lapucelle]

46. My post was about the use of

the word "silly" used in reference to BS's failure to take a principled stand by casting an important vote as the representative of the people of Vermont.

I'll take you at your word that "silly" is a go-to descriptor in your lexicon.

[JCanete]

47. yeah, but usually only when something is silly, like the expectation by people about an email in

this case.

[lapucelle]

48. Some would argue that the casual dismissal

of other people's perspectives based solely on one's own perspective is ill-considered and entitled at best.

[JCanete]

50. I don't expect these people to have the same standard for just about anybody on anything else.

What they are asking for is not standard practice by anybody.

[lapucelle]

57. The politics of distraction as a tactic is a common topic on DU and in the media,

no matter who the practitioner. This is not an idiosyncratic standard.

[JCanete]

58. pretending that this is a distraction remains absurd. Who is it distracting? While you

have questions about his vote and sexual harassment on his campaign he should stop everything else he's doing because otherwise emailing is a distraction? Again, why don't we go through every email he's ever sent that's related to a national or local issue somewhere and try to figure out what he was distracting us all from, because obviously that's what those are about.

[lapucelle]

59. It's presumptive and dismissive to insist that others are "pretending"

to have a perspective simply because one does not share that perspective.

For example, I don't share the perspective that the Russia investigation or the fight for a woman's right to choose are distractions, but I have no doubt whatsoever that others genuinely believe such things, rather than merely pretend to do so.

I also wouldn't assume that because one email is sent as a distraction, all emails are likewise motivated. After all, many of political emails involve the solicitation of donations, so the motivation might well be financial, as it is with many emails from politicians.

[JCanete]

69. sure, people will believe what they will believe. At some point you should actually demand they back

up their claims and assertions with evidence. This had none of that. Unless a pattern can be established that Sanders only sends out emails to distract, and that otherwise he cares naught for these very issues, , ie all (or most)issues emails by sanders seem to correlate to some attempt to distract from a scandal that absolutely no corporate media outlet in the world would be distracted by --since truly they hate liberal ideology, this is a correlation without any evidence at all of causation. I would hope you'd care a little about not siding or giving credence to those who accept such unsupported insinuations as fact.

[betsuni]

70. "otherwise he cares naught for these very issues"

"liberal ideology" LOL.

[JCanete]

73. well parried...

[lapucelle]

76. It was a feint, not a parry, and given the reaction, it was successful.

Don't you hate it it when people use fencing terms incorrectly?

[JCanete]

79. mine had a clear meaning in the context. Are you saying that the statement

I responded to was a fake-out in some way, and not actually directed at my previous statement? I probably should have used riposte, if that suits you better.

[lapucelle]

82. A feint is an offensive (rather than defensive) move whose goal

is to provoke a reaction. A parry is primarily a defensive move. I'm not aware of the term "fake out" in fencing.

It goes without saying that terms of art are frequently co-opted in colloquial language and employed without precision. If they are used incorrectly in an attempt to ridicule or belittle, correction is probably in order.

[lapucelle]

75. Do you have any evidence to support your claim that people are pretending

to believe that the BS email was meant to distract from the fact that he failed to show up for a crucial Senate vote? Can you back up that claim with evidence or is this simply an object example of "people will believe what they believe"?

I'm sure you can understand why someone would be reluctant to accept that unsupported accusation as fact.

[JCanete]

80. okay, fair enough. I hope they are simply pretending. That's me using the generous read. nt

[R B Garr]

72. His concern about California serves him personally.

His non-vote on Russian oligarch sanctions serves him personally.

His actions or non-actions are strategic or he wouldn’t have done them. In this case, the poster was observing his strategic moves that serve him personally and contrasting the effort to assert his name in a state with millions of voters. Vermont only has about 300,000 active voters.

But the reality is that his non-vote against a true global oligarch undercuts his stump speech that blames oligarchs for all the worlds problems. So it looks like his priorities are states with huge voting populations, not stopping oligarchs, hence the glaring hypocrisy again.

[2naSalit]

3. Hmmmm.

[LunaSea]

4. I received the same email.

And have unsubscribed to his list.

[JCanete]

5. ah...then why should you care. not YOUR problem apparently nt

[NurseJackie]

7. I guess it missed the mark...

I don't live in California.

I guess it missed the mark. Maybe it was a fundraising letter that wasn't specifically targeted to California voters. That might explain why you received it.

me was a complaint about public education in California.

Was it just a laundry-list of complaints, or did it provide any practical, workable and realistic real-world solutions?

It's odd that this would be a topic he'd want to get involved with. I think it would be more appropriate for California's elected representatives be the ones to address any problems with CALIFORNIA's public education system. California has elected many sharp and competent Democrats, I'm confident that they can handle it without outside "help".

All I'm saying is something that's been often said before, namely that people outside of New England aren't always receptive to Vermont-style politics. Personally, I think I'd feel a little resentful (and suspicious) if an outsider came into Maryland with a checklist of everything wrong with Maryland public schools (as if we're too dumb to run things ourselves and as if we need to be saved). Yeah, that would be offensive to me also and I wouldn't blame anyone for feeling that way.

[BigmanPigman]

8. As a CA teacher I can definitely agree that the schools in CA need help.

However, sending an email about that subject in response to a completely different issue is just more generic campaigning and is disappointing.

[Eliot Rosewater]

11. I cant fucking believe what is happening RIGHT BEFORE OUR FUCKING eyes

yet look at all the DANCING we have to do about it!

[BigmanPigman]

15. I know...I read your post yesterday.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211680139
300 replies too. Very informative.

[Apollyonus]

9. You mean he was there only for an hour for a day-long meeting?

Oh my world. There was no reason for him to miss the important senate vote then! I thought he was at the meeting the whole day.

[yardwork]

12. Correct. He dropped into the meeting for an hour.

[aidbo]

10. Well if you don't want emails, you could unsubscribe.

[yardwork]

13. No way. I like to hear what Bernie is saying.

[aidbo]

20. Well, if it is the same email I just got..

..then I would characterize it as an email about standing in solidarity with the teachers’ union striking in LA. He also had a message in there about reforming education nationwide. I just think it was less about a “complaint about public education in California”, and more about support for teachers.

But maybe I got a different email than you did.

[aidbo]

21. Perhaps posting the text of the email would provide context.

I don't know if this is the email you received, but I just got this one:

There is something happening in Los Angeles that you need to know about and that we all need to do something about.

Today, for the first time in 30 years, more than 30,000 Los Angeles public school teachers are on strike fighting for smaller class sizes and decent wages, for nurses, counselors and librarians in their schools, and against a coordinated effort from billionaires on the right to make money privatizing public education.

Public education is fundamental to any functioning democracy, and teaching is one of its most valuable and indispensable professions.

So how is it that the top 25 hedge fund managers in this country make more money than the combined salaries of every kindergarten teacher?

How is it that the billionaires of this country get huge tax breaks, but our teachers and children get broken chairs, flooded classrooms and inadequate support staff in their schools?

That is what a rigged economy looks like.

In the richest country in the history of the world, our teachers should be the best-paid in the developed world, not among the worst-paid.

So I stand in solidarity with the United Teachers of Los Angeles. Because a nation that does not educate its children properly will fail, and I applaud these teachers for leading this country in the fight to change our national priorities. Today, I am asking you to do the same:

Add Your Name: Tell the striking teachers in Los Angeles that you are following their struggle and stand in solidarity with them. We will make sure your messages of support get to these teachers.

But what we really need in this country is a revolution in public education.

What we accept as normal today with regards to education, I want your grandchildren to tell you that you were crazy to accept.

And in my view, that conversation starts, but does not end, with early-childhood education.

That is not just my opinion. Research tells us that the “most efficient means to boost the productivity of the workforce 15 to 20 years down the road is to invest in today’s youngest children.”

So it is not a radical idea to say that we need to provide free, full-day, high-quality child care for every child, starting at age three, so that they will be guaranteed a pre-kindergarten education regardless of family income.

That is common sense.

But in the twenty-first century, a public education system that goes from early childhood education through high school is not good enough.

The world is changing, technology is changing, our economy is changing. If we are to succeed in the highly competitive global economy and have the best-educated workforce in the world, I believe that higher education in America should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few.

That means that everyone, regardless of their station in life, should be able to get all of the education they need.

Today in America, hundreds of thousands of bright young people who have the desire and the ability to get a college education will not be able to do so because their families lack the money. This is a tragedy for those young people and their families, but it is also a tragedy for our nation.

Our mission must be to give hope to those young people. If every parent in this country, every teacher in this country, and every student in this country understands that if kids study hard and do well in school they will be able to go to college, regardless of the income of their family, that will have a radical impact on primary and secondary education in the United States—and on the lives of millions of families.

That is what we can accomplish by making public colleges and universities tuition-free, because every American, no matter his or her economic status, should have the opportunity for a higher education. And, at the same time, we must substantially lower student debt.

But getting there will take a political revolution in this country, and a radical change in national priorities.

Instead of giving huge tax breaks to billionaires and profitable corporations, we must create the best public educational system in the country. Instead of major increases in military spending, we must invest in our kids.

And today, the most important step in that direction starts with standing in solidarity with the teachers in Los Angeles.

Add Your Name: Tell the striking teachers in Los Angeles that you are following their struggle and stand in solidarity with them. We will make sure your messages of support get to these teachers.

Through our support for these teachers, we have a chance to reaffirm our support for quality public education and the right of all children to receive the best education possible.

Thank you for standing with them.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

ADD YOUR NAME

[dgauss]

56. Thanks for posting. It helps put this thread in context.

[mountain grammy]

81. wow, sounds like everything I ever believed as a Democrat

and a loyal unionist.

Common sense and common goals... how scary is that..

I got an email from Bernie Sanders.. be very afraid.

[R B Garr]

24. Seems like the Vermont Senator should worry about VERMONT.

Maybe Feinstein and Harris should start trolling him about what’s going on way across the country.

[JCanete]

74. that would almost be genius...except he's a US Senator. uh...oops. nt

[R B Garr]

77. LOL!

California didn’t vote Bernie in to his Vermont Senate seat. Uh...oops yourself.

[Lockwood]

28. ME TOO

I got the email too.

[Nanjeanne]

29. I was happy to sign my name to support the teachers in California when I got the email.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

37. Yep.

Apparently people want to cut off teachers’ noses to spite Bernie’s face.

Par for the course.

[SunSeeker]

42. How is Bernie helping the teachers?

By using the LAUSD teachers' strike to help build his email list? I don't think so.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

43. Yeah yeah. $15 dollars is too much, don't pick on Amazon and MFA will never ever happen.

Leave Disney alone.

Heard it all before.

I wish we had 10 more Bernie Sanders.

[SunSeeker]

45. Um whut? These teachers don't need an email from Bernie.

They are getting ZERO pay while out on strike. They could use actual support, like what this taco truck is doing (funded by a GoFundMe page):

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/01/14/lausd-strike-teachers-find-taco-trucks-waiting-along-picket-line/2574236002/

[George II]

61. He sells his books on Amazon. In fact he has his own page on Amazon.

[SunSeeker]

41. That is not helping the teachers. That is just helping Bernie build his email list.

The teachers already have the support of progressive politicians:

The strike has gained attention and support from progressive politicians.

"Very proud of L.A. public school teachers today for taking a stand. Teachers are the unsung heroes of American democracy. Today they're putting everything on the line so our nation's children can have a better shot," tweeted New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

"Los Angeles teachers work day in and day out to inspire and educate the next generation of leaders. I'm standing in solidarity with them as they strike for improved student conditions, such as smaller class sizes and more counselors and librarians," tweeted California Senator Kamala Harris.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/14/teachers-in-los-angeles-want-more-than-just-a-raise--heres-why-over-30000-are-on-strike-today-.html

It's not like Bernie is sticking his neck out here.

[Nanjeanne]

49. Oh dear. I guess I'll stop adding my name to the many requests I get from politicians and

other groups that ask me to support something that already has much support.

So glad you stopped me from not helping others. Thanks so much.

[SunSeeker]

52. I'm not stopping you from anything.

If you want to give your email to politicians, knock yourself out. I'm not saying that is in and of itself a bad thing, so long as you know that is what you are doing.

But you are not helping these striking teachers by giving your email address to Bernie. They don't need a petition from Bernie. They are getting zero pay while out on strike. They could use actual support, like the meals they're getting from this taco truck (funded by a GoFundMe page):

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/01/14/lausd-strike-teachers-find-taco-trucks-waiting-along-picket-line/2574236002/

[Nanjeanne]

53. Uh he has my email. That's why I got an email.

[SunSeeker]

54. You are confirming it is a good email for his campaign to reach you.

That is valuable info for a campaign.

Phone bankers also already have your phone number, and one of their key tasks is conform it is still a good number for you. That saves time for future phone bankers and makes sure future GOTV campaigns reach their targets.

I get why Bernie's doing it. He's keeping his email list current, but he's not actually helping striking LAUSD teachers.

[Nanjeanne]

55. Oh good. Then I'm glad I did it. You have all the answers. Thanks.

[George II]

62. Coincidentally I started receiving emails from the Sanders campaign a day or two after....

....his IT improperly accessed the DNC database in December 2015.

I was receiving up to five a day for a few months, from different email addresses so I couldn't even block them or flag them as "junk" in Outlook.

[yardwork]

66. Thank you for this insight!

I think you're exactly correct. Not only does this little maneuver give Bernie's campaign updated email address information, it builds a list of gullible people.

Anybody who responds positively to this email demonstrates that they aren't concerned about Bernie's not showing up to vote on Russian sanctions. They are true believers.

[ms liberty]

36. I would not describe an email in support of teachers striking for better conditions

As a complaint about education. Way to support the teachers union there, yardwork. The issues they're going on strike for out there are things all of us want in our schools, all over the country, things like smaller class sizes. All democrats should be supportive of their efforts, but I guess not, if Bernie is for it...

[David__77]

51. Some would rather complain about Russia.

...

[sheshe2]

38. Interesting.

[George II]

60. "I don't live in California." - neither does he. I got the same email, basically his stump speech...

.....with only a few sentences about the strike.

[yardwork]

64. SunSeeker provided the reason for this email above.

This is Bernie's way of updating his email list with current addresses of gullible people.

[George II]

68. Right, to support the LA teachers you have to give HIM your email address...

..."We will make sure your messages of support get to these teachers."

Why not set up a site for the teachers and get the messages directly to the teachers?

And at the bottom of the page in the link:

Friends of Bernie Sanders
PO Box 391
Burlington, VT 05402