As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) gears up for another likely run at the presidency, women who worked on his last campaign are voicing their pain and anger after experiencing indignities including sexual harassment and pay inequality.
As first reported by Politico, 2016 Bernie alums got the ball rolling Sunday with a letter to the senator’s campaign committee asking for a meeting to discuss the sexism that clouded the previous campaign, and devise methods to prevent it from happening again.
A Wednesday New York Times report delved into specific experiences female staffers endured, as well as some reactions by former senior staffers.
Female campaign staffers told tales of uncomfortable sleeping arrangements in rooms of men, inappropriate sexual advances coupled with a lack of response by higher-ups and flagrant pay gaps.
“Was it too male? Yes. Was it too white? Yes,” former campaign manager Jeff Weaver told the Times of the 2016 campaign. “Would this be a priority to remedy on any future campaign? Definitely, and we share deeply in the urgency for all of us to make change. In 2016, as the size of our campaign exploded, we made efforts to make it a positive experience for people. That there was a failure pains me very much.”
Don’t run again, Senator Sanders. Please.
Why does anyone respect this guy? Why?
You would think this would bother some of the Bernie-bots, wouldn’t you?
All those millennials who think Bernie can do no wrong. Who believe in him like kids believe in Santa and the bunny…
Why will this have no more impact on his true believers than the minions who fall for the President’s BS every day of the week and twice on Sunday?
It might be kind of painful for Bernie to find out how much help he got from Vlad.
I think one can make a reasonably compelling argument that Sanders had a positive effect on political discourse over his time in the 2016 campaign (you don’t have to agree with the conclusion in the end, but it’s a cogent argument).
I don’t think one can make a very compelling argument that Sanders’ time in the sun continues to present. For a variety of reasons, I think the conversation has moved on without him. His political goals are not unique within the likely 2020 field, he’s got these huge, glaring vulnerabilities vis-a-vis the Democratic Party constituency and current race/gender discourse, and he will forever be looked upon askance (if we’re being nice) by a substantial part of the primary electorate.
Just seems past his sell-by date.