# Tell me again why Bernie Sanders isn't electable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 8, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014 "2015-06-08T22:36:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/121 "2015-06-11T21:49:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > She should have apologized immediately once Sanders corrected her. “Immediately” meaning the next words out of her mouth, not “But you’re on some random list somewhere that must be accurate!”. That seems to be an unreasonable standard for a live conversation where it was an answer she clearly did not expect. > [@](#): > > And the anti-Semitism in the statement seems pretty clear to me. The implication of “You’re an Israeli citizen…” is “…and you are therefore on the side of the Evil Jews”. There’s a reason that the list-maker only included politicians they don’t like, and why they picked Israel as the nation to have the dual citizenship. That may be true of the list-makers, but do you really think that’s Rehm’s thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/122 "2015-06-11T21:57:56Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > That seems to be an unreasonable standard for a live conversation where it was an answer she clearly did not expect. > > That may be true of the list-makers, but do you really think that’s Rehm’s thinking? She told Sanders that he has dual citizenship. Sanders said no. She doubled down by saying she has a list and he’s on the list. He said no - again. Did Rehm stop then? No. She TRIPLED down by asking him whether any of his colleagues are double citizens. What do you think her motivation was in that? ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/123 "2015-06-11T22:00:45Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > She told Sanders that he has dual citizenship. Sanders said no. She doubled down by saying she has a list and he’s on the list. He said no - again. Did Rehm stop then? No. She TRIPLED down by asking him whether any of his colleagues are double citizens. What do you think her motivation was in that? I don’t think there was a sinister motivation; I think she fucked up. What do you think it was? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/124 "2015-06-11T22:07:33Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > I don’t think there was a sinister motivation; I think she fucked up. What do you think it was? Anti-Semitism. There was no other reason for her to ask about the other people on “the list”. None. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/125 "2015-06-11T22:12:59Z")
It’s possible that Rehm isn’t anti-Semitic herself, but at the very least, she’s acting as a mouthpiece for anti-Semites and she’s also an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/126 "2015-06-11T22:15:44Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Anti-Semitism. There was no other reason for her to ask about the other people on “the list”. None. That’s just asinine. She fucked up, accepted something as fact she shouldn’t have, and sputtered in real-time when she got a response that contradicted what she understood to be factually true. I have no reason to believe that she didn’t act in good faith, and neither do you. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/127 "2015-06-11T22:16:59Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Anti-Semitism. There was no other reason for her to ask about the other people on “the list”. None. She’s not antisemitic. She’s been broadcasting for like 40 years and in fact her views come off as the opposite. She’s very Liberal. Can you find any other thing she has said in those 4 decades that has even of whiff of being antisemitic? She fucked up. Her source may have well been anti Semitic and she fell into a trap. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/128 "2015-06-11T22:17:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s possible that Rehm isn’t anti-Semitic herself, but at the very least, she’s acting as a mouthpiece for anti-Semites and she’s also an idiot. Not sure why you chose the present progressive tense there. I think it’s reasonable to say she acted (inadvertently) as a mouthpiece for anti-Semites. But I haven’t seen anything to suggest an on-going aspect to it. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/129 "2015-06-11T22:37:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > She’s not antisemitic. She’s been broadcasting for like 40 years and in fact her views come off as the opposite. She’s very Liberal. Yes, she’s very liberal, as I said. Why do you think that means she’s not anti-Semitic? > [@](#): > > Can you find any other thing she has said in those 4 decades that has even of whiff of being antisemitic? I haven’t monitored Rehm’s programs, but AFAIU, Helen Thomas was not known for her anti-Semitism either before her outburst. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/130 "2015-06-11T22:47:07Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I haven’t monitored Rehm’s programs, but AFAIU, Helen Thomas was not known for her anti-Semitism either before her outburst. Nor after. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/131 "2015-06-11T22:52:48Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Yes, she’s very liberal, as I said. Why do you think that means she’s not anti-Semitic? So you think she’s been working as a Liberal broadcaster for 40 years, much of it at NPR, carefully hiding the fact that indeed she’s a radical bigoted racist, and never, ever- until this one question- revealing the slightest hint of such bias? :rolleyes::dubious::rolleyes::dubious: _Dayum_, she’s good then. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/132 "2015-06-11T22:54:40Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Nor after. To be clear, are you saying that Helen Thomas never made statements you would consider anti-Semitic after she wound up being forced to resign for claiming that the Jews should get out of Israel and “go home”? Or, are you trying to suggest she wasn’t being anti-Semitic when she demanded the Jews in Israel “go home”? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/133 "2015-06-11T22:56:42Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Yes, she’s very liberal, as I said. Why do you think that means she’s not anti-Semitic? > I haven’t monitored Rehm’s programs, but AFAIU, Helen Thomas was not known for her anti-Semitism either before her outburst. I really hope you’re not bringing up Thomas because she and Rehm are both Arab Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/134 "2015-06-11T23:58:05Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I really hope you’re not bringing up Thomas because she and Rehm are both Arab Americans. They are both anti-Semites and both journalists. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/135 "2015-06-12T00:10:13Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > They are both anti-Semites and both journalists. No comment on Thomas, but Rehm is fairly clearly not an anti-Semite, as has been demonstrated repeatedly in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/136 "2015-06-12T00:27:50Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > No comment on Thomas, but Rehm is fairly clearly not an anti-Semite, as has been demonstrated repeatedly in this thread. I think she was being stupid and unprofessional in the extreme but how is it “fairly clear” that “she’s not an anti-Semite” any more than its “fairly clear” that Bill O’Reilly “isn’t a racist”? I also haven’t seen anyone demonstrate she’s clearly not an anti-Semite. BTW, why the “no comment” on Thomas? Is it because you’re not familiar enough with the situation or her career to make a decision one way or another, that you think what she did didn’t amount to anti-Semitism or something else? FTR, I think she clearly made a number of anti-Semitic statements, should have stepped down from her job years ago, and deserved to have the award in her honor discontinued, but she was also 90 years old when that happened and I tend to give people that old a pass so I’ll just ignore her rants about “the Zionists” controlling America. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/137 "2015-06-12T00:43:17Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I think she was being stupid and unprofessional in the extreme but how is it “fairly clear” that “she’s not an anti-Semite” any more than its “fairly clear” that Bill O’Reilly “isn’t a racist”? I also haven’t seen anyone demonstrate she’s clearly not an anti-Semite. In the spirit of “you can’t really know what’s in her heart”, feel free to translate that to, “the evidence for the proposition that Rehm is an anti-Semite is thin, despite multiple chances that you [Terr] have had to provide it.” > [@](#): > > BTW, why the “no comment” on Thomas? I don’t know jack-shit about her. I mean, I remember the controversy for a few years back, but my recollection is fuzzy and I don’t really recall anything the other data points you mention. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/138 "2015-06-12T05:33:42Z")
Josh Marshall at TPM: "[Sorry Diane, that’s BS](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sorry-diane-thats-bs): [INDENT][INDENT]I think the only way you find yourself saying this is if you are totally oblivious to what you are saying and relying entirely on a researcher to feed you lines (the theory Sanders puts forward) or you have a worldview that makes these kind of anti-Semitic canards plausible. [/INDENT][/INDENT] As I see it this is either a Helen Thomas situation, where folks of a certain age voice certain indiscretions, or she had a clusterf\*#k with her support staff. ## [Bernie Sanders](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/bernie-sanders-rehm-question-screwed-up): “I like Diane Rehm. She is a good radio interviewer. I suspect what happens is her staff gives her a list of questions and someone screwed up pretty bad.” I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt -that this was a case of incompetence- unless somebody can at least come up with example number 2. “MfM, you are a dual citizen with Russia.” “What? No.” “You’re on a list.” “Oh, yeah: a crackpot list.” “Forgive me, but…” \ “Forget it, Jake. It’s the internet.” ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/139 "2015-06-12T06:43:11Z")
Even _National Review_ does not consider Bernie Sanders to be a Socialist: [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/419266/bernie-sanders-socialist-charade?utm\_source=taboola&utm\_medium=referral](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/419266/bernie-sanders-socialist-charade?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral) > [@](#): > > If he is a “socialist,” who isn’t? In olden days, socialism meant something robust — government ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. Then, voters and reality being resistant to such socialism, the idea was diluted to mean just government ownership of an economy’s “commanding heights,” principally heavy industries, coal mines, railroads, etc. > > In 1928, even the U.S. Socialist party’s candidate, Norman Thomas (Princeton class of 1905), campaigned on a platform whose first plank was: “Nationalization of our natural resources, beginning with the coal mines and water sites, particularly at Boulder Dam and Muscle Shoals.” Today, Boulder (now Hoover) Dam and Muscle Shoals are federal enterprises. The Socialist platform called for government ownership of the railroads. So far, the government’s passenger rail monopoly, Amtrak, has accumulated $1.3 billion of red ink from 45 years of applied socialism. > > America’s Socialist party did what Karl Marx said the state would do under Communism: It withered away when the New Deal adopted much of its agenda of ameliorative government. Today, “socialism,” at least in Western Europe where the term is still part of the political lexicon, is the thin gruel of “social democracy.” This means three things — heavy government regulation of commercial activities, government provision of a “social safety net,” and redistribution of wealth through progressive taxation and entitlement programs. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014/140 "2015-06-12T06:55:19Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Josh Marshall at TPM: "[Sorry Diane, that’s BS](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sorry-diane-thats-bs): [INDENT][INDENT]I think the only way you find yourself saying this is if you are totally oblivious to what you are saying and relying entirely on a researcher to feed you lines (the theory Sanders puts forward) or you have a worldview that makes these kind of anti-Semitic canards plausible. [/INDENT][/INDENT] As I see it this is either a Helen Thomas situation, where folks of a certain age voice certain indiscretions, or she had a clusterf\*#k with her support staff. > > ## [Bernie Sanders](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/bernie-sanders-rehm-question-screwed-up): “I like Diane Rehm. She is a good radio interviewer. I suspect what happens is her staff gives her a list of questions and someone screwed up pretty bad.” I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt -that this was a case of incompetence- unless somebody can at least come up with example number 2. > > “MfM, you are a dual citizen with Russia.” > “What? No.” > “You’re on a list.” > “Oh, yeah: a crackpot list.” > “Forgive me, but…” \ > “Forget it, Jake. It’s the internet.” I thought Marshal’s post was extremely thoughtful and really well-written. Now, she is almost 80 years old and listening to a recording of the exchange on youtube(I did to see if there was any evidence to support the contention she "apologized immediately) she sounded either like she was suffering from a medical condition or she was under heavy sedation. It’s really sad that her best and most plausible defense is “I don’t hate Jews, I’m just senile!”. Either way, whether her issue is anti-Semitism or incompetence, she has no business hosting a national public affairs show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-again-why-bernie-sanders-isnt-electable/722014.md?page=8)