Before we get started on this latest news, it needs to be said that certain tactics are unacceptable in opposing the unethical behavior of the Clinton camp and her supporters at various levels within the Democratic Party. Violence, or the threat thereof, is absolutely, unequivocally unacceptable. No exceptions. A handful of Sanders’ diverse support definitely comes from revolutionary-minded folks, but the campaign trail is neither the time nor the place to invoke that sort of tactic or rhetoric.
Also, sexist slurs and misogynistic comments have absolutely no place in our movement. None. If you disagree with Barbara Boxer’s statement that we should boo ourselves “right out of the election,” and you come back to Facebook to tell others that she’s an ignorant tool of the establishment and needs to be replaced, that’s great. If you say she’s a “stupid bitch,” get the hell out of our movement. You’re not welcome here. Maybe try Trump.
Now, on to the show:
The charges include being “(s)urprised and outraged at the idea of being out-organized and thus outnumbered in the convention hall by Clinton delegates,” as well as “shout(ing) down universally-respected U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who had arrived as a guest of the party to deliver a keynote address in support of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” No word in the complaint that Boxer had a meltdown onstage and harshly insulted Sanders supporters in the audience, but balance isn’t the goal here.
They also report that Sanders Supporters staged a “protest” — the quotes are theirs, not mine — against the NV Dems the next day to “criminally deface the property with graffiti.” For shame! We all know that spraypaint on a building is much worse than tipping the scales of a presidential election. We learned in Ferguson that property rights are more important than the rights of activists, and it remains true today.
The letter wraps with a statement that — not kidding here — Sanders Supporters have brought “dishonor” upon the party, and that “the goal of many of these individuals, sanctioned or encouraged by the Sanders Campaign, is not party-building but something more sinister and unproductive. Their tactics speak for themselves, and have no place in our political process as Democrats.”
I’m not sure what part of “revolution” is confusing to them. As far as I can tell, we’ve been trying to make it as peaceful and orderly as possible, but when we’re met with fraud, voter suppression, and dismissive behavior at so many critical junctures in the process, civil disobedience becomes a necessary next step.
Again, the idiots that made death threats and/or shouted derogatory statements at the women on stage have done something inexcusable, and we should not tolerate that. It is worth the extra effort to call these flagrant violations out as we see them and keep our movement honest. While doing that, we must also keep applying pressure to the state parties and the national party to acknowledge and respect our presence within their ranks, and if they refuse, we must apply pressure externally.
Yes, maybe even in the form of civil disobedience. If they say that peaceful resistance has no place in the Democratic Party while half a million progressives peacefully resist outside the DNC in Philly, they’ll only be hurting themselves, because without progressives, the Democratic Party is obsolete.
And if calling Democrats obsolete sounds like bullying to them, maybe they already are.