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THREAD: Since 2016, Bernie Sanders has repeatedly suggested "diverse" candidates often run tokenism, not policy. For example:
"It is not good enough...to say I'm a Latina, vote for me...I have to know whether that Latina is going to stand up for the working class..." #Bernie2020
"It is not good enough...to say I'm a Latina, vote for me...I have to know whether that Latina is going to stand up for the working class..." #Bernie2020
In a GQ article 2 days ago, Bernie tied some diverse candidates and their backers to tokenism: “There are people who are very big into diversity but whose views end up being not particularly sympathetic to working people, whether they’re white or black or Latino." #Bernie2020 
Weeks after the 2016 election, in the speech in the video above (h/t: @Only4RM), Bernie said: "It's not enough to say, I'm a woman: Vote for me"—implying that Hillary Clinton ran on her gender, rather than her policies. In the #NeverBernie trend, you see disdain at this comment.
Who exactly, though, are the women, candidates of color, and, presumably, LGBT candidates Bernie Sanders is talking about when he suggests there are a lot of "diversity" candidates who are just running on their skin color, gender, or identity, and nothing else?
Does he mean Kirsten Gillibrand? Sure, she's upfront about the fact that she's a woman. She's big on #MeToo. She talks about being a mother.
But this ad doesn't say, "I'm a woman: Vote for me." It's about her record & policies she supports:
But this ad doesn't say, "I'm a woman: Vote for me." It's about her record & policies she supports:
Does he mean Elizabeth Warren? She supports many of the same policies he does, and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She recognizes the sexism of being judged on her "likability," but she has never said: "I'm a woman. Vote for me."
nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…
nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…
Does he mean Peter Buttigieg? Yes, he does not hide the fact that he's a gay man, or that he has a husband. But he shouldn't have to. He is the millennial Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and he highlights policies that millennials care about:
Despite Bernie's suggestion that Hillary ran on being a woman & not on policy (he refused to say "I'm With Her" in a campaign ad), a Vox analysis of her speeches found she spent relatively little time on identity politics.
The 3 most common words she used: Jobs, Economy, Worker.
The 3 most common words she used: Jobs, Economy, Worker.
Jobs, economy, workers, and college were the words Hillary Clinton used most in speeches, but what Americans heard about her in 2016 was quite different. Per Gallup, the most common words Americans heard related to her included: Email, lie, health, scandal, pneumonia.
There is something pernicious about suggesting Hillary Clinton's 2016 message was: "I'm a woman, vote for me." Explicitly highlighting her gender with #ImWithHer was a big step. Female candidates in the past were expected to treat it like an elephant in the room.
Irony of Bernie suggesting Hillary ran on "I'm a woman—vote for me" in 2016: In 08, she got the opposite criticism: She didn't talk about being a woman enough. Political wisdom then was that female candidates should emphasize masculine qualities—not remind people of their gender.
A 2015 CNN article celebrated the change in the calculus for female candidates for president between Hillary's 2008 run and her 2016 run: "THIS TIME, HILLARY WILL RUN AS A WOMAN," it proclaimed, noting that she "spent much of 2008 running away from the fact that she is a woman."
While some Democrats criticized Hillary Clinton for not talking enough about being a woman in 2008 (her most significant reference to her own historicity to "glass ceilings" in her concession), by 2016, Bernie Sanders was suggesting she ran on, "I'm a woman: Vote for me."
Bernie was not your average American consumer of politics in 2016—he was Clinton's rival. He was well aware of her policies and what she talked about. He knew she talked about her qualifications, her record, & which policies she discussed. He knew it wasn't about being a woman.
Truth is, it's a new phenomenon for so many women/minority candidates for president to so freely talk about the diversity they bring to the table without worrying much about backlash. Barack Obama didn't talk about being black much in 2008 (though everyone else did).
While women, LGBT people, and POC don't feel they have to sweep their identities under the rug & act like policy machines lacking in self-awareness, I'm not sure who the candidates are Bernie is talking about who are running solely on their race, gender, or LGBT identity.
Another thing: Who are the voters Sen. Sanders alludes to who would vote for these candidates based only on their gender/LGBTQ identity/race? Sure, some Kamala Harris supporters say they want a WOC as president. I doubt any would vote for Condi Rice or Omarosa.
I also doubt that any of the LGBTQ people excited about Peter Buttigieg's historic run would vote for, say... Caitlin Jenner. They probably aren't fans of the notorious villain from history, Roy Cohn, either.
I get that #Bernie2020 needs to find a way to argue that, despite the Dem base's craving for candidates who represents the party's diversity, they should vote for him bc of policy. But it's false to say non-straight white male candidates are running on, "I'm xxx, vote for me!"
So far, all the candidates seem to be running on policy. So again: Who is Bernie talking about when he mentions candidates/voters who are "big on diversity," but don't talk or think much about policy? I haven't found those candidates or voters. Not even in the #NeverBernie trend.
Also, @witliftin notes another recent instance in which Bernie made a similar argument about diversity:
Here’s a totally related thread:
From a related thread:
