Which Bill Clinton pushed, and Hillary advocated for with the “super-predator” nonsense.
Some might argue that it’s unfair to judge Hillary Clinton for the policies her husband championed years ago. But Hillary wasn’t picking out china while she was first lady. She bravely broke the mold and redefined that job in ways no woman ever had before. She not only campaigned for Bill; she also wielded power and significant influence once he was elected, lobbying for legislation and other measures. That record, and her statements from that era, should be scrutinized. In her support for the 1994 crime bill, for example, she used racially coded rhetoric to cast black children as animals. “They are not just gangs of kids anymore,” she said. “They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.”
That being said, Lewis’ remark can legitimately be called a “stinging rebuke” to Sanders’ claims of being an advocate for civil rights. I have a great deal of respect for John Lewis, and don’t appreciate the nastiness already being thrown his way by some jerks on this thread.
Apparently, anyone who doesn’t support Sanders is part of the Clinton smear machine? Aren’t others allowed an opinion? Lewis’ blood wasn’t enough to earn him the right to speak and support who he chooses? This is insane.
[Standard Disclaimer: This commenter wishes it to be known that in November he or she plans to vote for the Democratic nominee, whoever that turns out to be, and will encourage their fellow primary candidate supporters to do likewise.]
No. John Lewis is a great American and a bona fide civil rights hero. He has every right to express his opinion and support the candidate of his choice. Please stop.
If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t Eric Cantor there as well? I’m not even attempting to compare Sanders to the asshole Cantor, but that photo from 2 years ago doesn’t disprove Lewis’ point.
[quote=“Doremus_Jessup, post:10, topic:32723, full:true”]
Bernie Sanders voted for the '94 crime bill.
[/quote]Which obviously was wrong, but the problem with Rutherford bringing this up is that he just endorsed someone who ALSO supported this bill. While not in Congress at the time, Hillary Clinton was someone who might have been able to put in a word or two if she opposed the bill. (I know, you get it.)
Clinton is trying to make the race between the Bernie Sanders, the real man, and Bernie Sanders, the ideal lefty candidate. Obviously the real Bernie Sanders is going to lose this race among lefties! The race needs to be between Clinton and Sanders, both folks in the real world. And Clinton is dodging her real-life record on race, which at best is no better than Sanders’s.
GOP SuperPACs are taking care of the smearing business for Bernie, which is really convenient for him because he can pretend like he’s not getting his hands dirty.
According to the article “Bernie Sanders Tops His Rivals Use of Outside Money” by Nichilas Confessore in the NYT, Conservative SuperPACs have already spent more than $4.3 million in anti-Hillary ads in the early primary states.
To be fair, it’s Bernie’s excitable fans who have been over hyping his civil rights record, not so much Bernie himself. And now here they come after John Lewis. Talk about not helping.
John Lewis got his ass kicked repeatedly for all of us. The man is pretty near to above reproach as far as I’m concerned and I take his pronouncements seriously.
Please, cry more. Poor, poor, Hilary. If she wins the nomination I’ll vote for her. but until then, no thanks. I’m not here to “smear” Mr. Lewis. Her entire campaign is based upon herself and continuing the status quo. How is that inspiring?
Clinton was FLOTUS at the time, and she was often accused of dragging her husband far to the left of where his advisers and the party wanted him to be. We don’t really know what she supported and what she didn’t because as FLOTUS she had to support her husband’s agenda. That’s just the reality of the situation and the times.
Maybe Bernie should’ve put it a word of opposition when he voted for it instead of including this bit.
Mr. Speaker, it is my firm belief that clearly, there are some people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them.
Everybody voted for it. The 90’s were a different time.
