Bernie does not subscribe to identity politics, even though many argue his 2016 campaign failed because it failed to attract black voters, especially older black voters. Announcing his 2020 campaign last month, Sanders told Vermont Public Radio: “We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age. I mean, I think we have got to try to move us toward a non-discriminatory society which looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for.”
The blowback from the left was broad and swift. Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress commented: “At a time where folks feel under attack because of who they are, saying race or gender or sexual orientation or identity doesn’t matter is not off, it’s simply wrong.”
Late-night yakker Stephen Colbert “joked” that Sanders was saying: “Yes, like Dr. King, I have a dream—a dream where this diverse nation can come together and be led by an old white guy.” Even a writer at Teen Vogue opined that Bernie’s comment “feels like the equivalent of him telling everyone who is not a straight, white, cisgender male that we shouldn’t care about seeing ourselves represented in our government.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member