Sanders: Charleston Shooting Reminder Of ‘Ugly Stain Of Racism’ In US

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally with local residents, Saturday, May 30, 2015, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Thursday condemned the shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C. as a “tragic reminder of the ugly stain of racism” tainting America.

“This senseless violence fills me with outrage, disgust and a deep, deep sadness,” Sanders tweeted.

In a longer statement, the Democratic presidential contender said the killings, which were blamed on a white suspect whose victims included state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D), showed that the U.S. had a long way to go in escaping its history of racial violence.

“The hateful killing of nine people praying inside a church is a horrific reminder that, while we have made significant progress in advancing civil rights in this country, we are far from eradicating racism,” he said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and their congregation,” Sanders added.

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  1. An excellent and honest statement and analysis of our nation by a wonderful man.

    Are we still waiting for Hillary to issue more than one single tweet on Twitter?

  2. Is Bernie the first to mention racism?

    Ya know. If it wasn’t for all those black people, the kid never would have shot anyone.

  3. Really? You’re trying to turn this into a political one-upmanship contest? Christ, get off your high horse and treat this tragedy with the gravitas it deserves. It’s people like you and your attitude that turn people away from Sen Sanders.

  4. Nice statement.

    Interestingly enough, only a few days from his statements on how the US had “overcome racism” by electing a black president. I mean, if we’re going to spend the time pointing out that HRC has only made ONE statement on this…then yes, let’s go there.

    sucks teeth

    (I believe he’s sincere, but he’s not the savior people make him out to be…so they should stop trying)

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